northernbook Chapter 295 It's twins!
Chapter 295 It's twins!
The group exchanged glances, realizing that once Tian Tian had made up her mind, there was nothing they could do to change it.
"Alright, let's do it your way. Now let's talk about the brewery." Tian Xiang smiled.
"My brewery... uses rice to brew wine."
"I have all the equipment, yeast, and so on."
"I will provide unified training, and everyone can take turns to conduct inspections on weekdays."
The system has brewing equipment, it's just a bit small, but that's okay, we can just get more.
"I also chose a few names."
"Take a look, everyone."
Cloud Cliff Drunk, Moonlight Condensed, Azure Phoenix Leads, Immortal's Tears, Bamboo Dew White, Ink Spring Fragrance, Lone Goose Drinks, Heartbreaking Spring, Golden Palace Dew, Jade Pot Ice, Thousand Mountains Snow, Misty Waves Drunk, Fusang Drunk...
Lu Tao took the wine list and then handed it to Gu Yu.
"You choose."
None of her family members had much formal education.
Gu Yu took it...
"I think..."
"Moonlight Condensation, Bamboo Dew White, Jade Pot Ice, Thousand Mountains Snow... these are quite good." Gu Yu immediately selected a few.
"Those who drink are all refined people, most of them consider themselves superior, and they like to use elegant words like 'moon,' 'white,' 'ice,' and 'snow.'"
Tian Tian nodded in agreement, "Then... let's name it Yuehua Ning for now."
"I have already sent someone to process the land deeds. Once the deeds are completed, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works will be sent to build the factory."
"When the time comes, please ask your eldest sister and third sister to come and visit."
"No problem, leave it to us."
*
Ling Yao also sent envoys to the Southern Desert.
This messenger... is Qin Qingyun.
The Southern Desert, located to the north of Daqi, is a tribal nation skilled in raising cattle, sheep, and horses.
For so many years, we have been trading with Daqi.
Daqi also often bought horses from them, and the horses were expensive.
However, after receiving the silver, Nanmo used it to buy grain from other countries, where grain prices were also not low.
Now, Ling Yao has sent envoys to the Southern Desert to persuade them to exchange horses directly for grain.
And try to set a fixed amount for the exchange each year, so that Daqi can consume one horse's worth of grain each year.
Besides these two roads.
Tian Tian then went to the Jingji Grand Camp and selected 5,000 soldiers, dividing them into 50 teams. Each team of 100 men formed a merchant caravan, which went to different prefectural cities and county towns to... purchase grain.
The grain was purchased at a unified market price, and all the collected grain was transported back to Beijing.
Tian Tian's plan was to sell the grain to the system, exchange it for silver, and then hand it over to the national treasury.
*
As time went by, Tian Tian's belly grew bigger and bigger, making it increasingly difficult for her to move around.
She simply moved all the documents that needed processing to the East Palace.
Fortunately, the brewery in the capital was being looked after by family members.
The brewery buildings were already completed in the depths of winter.
According to Tian Tian's plan, she should go to the winery to install the brewing equipment.
but...
Her belly was only four months along, but it was already as big as someone else's six months.
Ling Yao was really worried, so he invited the imperial physician to take his pulse.
Doctor Zhang kept taking Tian Tian's pulse. In the past, Tian Tian would lie down with a thin blanket covering her stomach.
He didn't get a chance to see Tian Tian's belly.
This time, Tian Tian deliberately exposed her belly, "Doctor Zhang, is my belly too big?"
Tian Tian wore a bitter expression; she really was too much of a burden...
Her large belly caused her back to ache after standing for even a short while.
After listening to her mother and Aunt Liu's advice, fearing that the child would have a difficult birth and be painful, she deliberately ate less for the past month, but her belly still grew bigger day by day.
Physician Zhang was also surprised when he saw Tian Tian's belly.
He... he hadn't seen a pregnant woman in the palace for a very long time.
But seeing Tian Tian's belly, I still felt something was wrong.
"Your Majesty, may I take your pulse carefully?"
Tian Tian handed him her wrist...
Physician Zhang placed his hand on Tian Tian's pulse, frowning as he carefully felt it.
A normal pregnant woman's pulse is smooth and slippery like rolling beads, but at this moment, what he touched with his fingertips seemed to be two parallel pulses, like two carp playing in the water, one on the left and one on the right, pulsating alternately.
This was no ordinary pregnant woman's pulse; he hadn't even noticed it before.
Physician Zhang frowned slightly, his fingers pressing harder as he carefully examined the area.
The pulse at the left cun-guan position is strong and smooth, like a rushing spring stream.
However, there is another fine and resilient pulse at the right cunguan point, like autumn vines entwining branches, faintly following along.
When the three fingers move down to the ulna, the pressure feels even stronger, unlike the "single-line support" of a single-pregnancy woman, but rather like two undercurrents converging in a deep pool.
When you press down slightly with your fingertips, you feel a slight rebound, like two agile fish leaping lightly in the shallow sand, rising and falling.
Physician Zhang suddenly recalled a passage from the Pulse Classic: "Two pulses as thin as threads, with a boat-like pulse in the cun position, are signs of twins."
Twins?! Twins!!
To be cautious, Physician Zhang held his breath and probed the Shenmen acupoint again. This is the original acupoint of the Heart Meridian, which governs the root of Qi and blood.
The fingers moved as if two strings were vibrating in unison, one clear and melodious like a phoenix's cry, the other deep and resonant like a dragon's roar.
What's even more remarkable is that although the two meridians run parallel, they do not compete with each other. Instead, they flow harmoniously like the yin and yang fish, head to tail.
Physician Zhang withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and smiled, "I see."
Tian Tian asked, puzzled, "Doctor Zhang, what's wrong?"
Physician Zhang stroked his beard, his expression very certain. "Your Highness, the Crown Princess, your pulse is as smooth as rolling beads, but it runs in two parallel lines."
"The foot section is solid and heavy, like two boats, while the spirit gate has the image of dragons and phoenixes singing in harmony."
"This is a sign of two bloodlines bringing joy to the family, a divinely ordained pair of children!"
Before Tian Tian could process his words, Ling Yao was already shocked. "Doctor Zhang means that Tian Tian is pregnant with twins?"
Physician Zhang nodded, then added with great concern, "Twin pregnancies are especially taxing on the body's energy and blood; Your Highness the Crown Princess needs to take good care of yourself."
"Your humble servant prescribes a dose of Twin Treasures Decoction, using Poria to strengthen the spleen, donkey-hide gelatin to nourish the blood, and supplemented with medicines to stabilize the pregnancy..."
Tian Tian was confused; she had been deliberately eating less before...
It seems I made a mistake.
Her belly... looked big with her first pregnancy, but smaller with her second.
As soon as Physician Zhang left, Ling Yao put his arm around Tian Tian, feeling extremely sorry for her.
"It's all my fault, I let Tian Tian bear such a burden." He felt very guilty, "She was pregnant with twins... and I didn't even know."
"Sweetie, do you want to move back to the Princess's residence?"
"So that your mother and Aunt Liu can take good care of you."
"Will the food in the palace not suit your taste?"
"Or we could let Mother and Aunt Liu go to the palace."
Tian Tian shook her head, "Mother is also pregnant, but she's not settled in yet, so let's not trouble her."
"Aunt Liu, you also need to help me look after the brewery."
"I'll stay in the palace, unless you don't want to see me."
"How could that be?" Ling Yao quickly shook his head and rubbed her cheek. "Of course I want to see Tian Tian, but I'm afraid I won't be able to take good care of you."
Since Tian Tian became pregnant, her face has become rounder, and she looks much more charming than before.
"Don't worry," Tian Tian patted his back gently, "I'll take good care of myself."
"There are so many palace maids in the palace, and they all take good care of me."
Ling Yao nodded. "Mm."
“From now on, I will also bring the memorials to the East Palace to handle, and I will be with you at all times.”
*
Ever since Tian Tian found out she was pregnant with twins, she rarely left the palace.
But the brewery business can't be delayed.
So she simply took out the photovoltaic panels, power bank, and brewing equipment from the system and had the palace servants deliver them to the princess's residence.
Then Tian Xiang and Qin Youyou transported the items to the brewery for installation.
In this way, the equipment for the brewery was installed just before Cui Mingyi and Qin Youyou's wedding.
"Sweetie, with such a big belly... maybe you shouldn't go." Ling Yao reached out and supported Tian Tian's belly.
Tian Tian shook her head. "No."
"Youyou isn't my biological sister, but she's better than my own sister!"
"I must go."
Ling Yao had no choice but to agree, "You can go, but you have to promise me you'll sit there obediently and not wander around."
Tian Tian waved her hand, "Okay, okay."
"With such a big belly, I can't walk around even if I wanted to."
Upon reaching the threshold of the East Palace, Tian Tian held onto the door frame with both hands, and Ling Yao helped her lift her leg to step over.
"Ah Yao, did anyone in your Ling family ever have twins?" Tian Tian stepped over and plopped down on the threshold to rest.
"When my grandmother gave birth to my father, she had twins, but the other twin died at birth."
At this point, Ling Yao's heart skipped a beat. He quickly sat down next to Tian Tian and said, "Tian Tian, you'll be alright. Our children will all be safe."
Tian Tian raised an eyebrow. "Of course."
She stood up, holding onto the door frame. "That makes sense. Your ancestors had twins, so it's not surprising that I'm pregnant with twins."
Ling Yao quickly helped her up, "Slow down."
"Hmm, slow down, slow down, I'm not in a hurry..." Take a step, then stop for a while.
*
At Cui Mingyi and Qin Youyou's wedding, Lu Tao and Tian Tian were both heavily pregnant. The prince and the duke carefully stood by their side, watching them the whole time.
Tian Tian simply shifted her position slightly...
Ling Yao: "Don't move."
Lu Tao wanted to stand up and pour herself a cup of tea.
Gu Yu said, "I'll do it."
Tian Tian glanced awkwardly at Lu Tao, and the mother and daughter exchanged helpless, bitter smiles.
Ling Yao and Gu Yu also glanced at each other awkwardly.
"Sweetie is pregnant with twins."
"Tao'er's pregnancy is unstable."
The two men, one old and one young, could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.
The Cui family's wedding was conducted in a very elegant manner, and guests could be heard reciting poems from time to time.
Cui Ming was in high spirits today and engaged in a lively debate with the assembled experts, showcasing his talent.
Tian Tian, who was listening nearby, gave Ling Yao a look.
"Such a talented person, don't you plan to give him an important position?"
Ling Yao whispered, "Let him participate in the imperial examination, so I'll have a reason to give him an important position."
Tian Tian said helplessly, "If you want to promote talent without being bound by convention, you don't necessarily have to go through the imperial examination."
"Then why do other people need to go through scientific expeditions?" Ling Yao countered.
Tian Tian pouted, "Those who pass the imperial examinations may only be good at studying."
"Even a commoner can be appointed prime minister directly."
"So what do you mean?" Ling Yao asked helplessly.
Tian Tian glanced at the spirited Cui Mingyi and winked slyly, "Let him become an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and temper his temperament."
If Cui Ming can pass the test, he might rise from a compiler in the Hanlin Academy to become the Grand Secretary.
By then, Youyou will be the Prime Minister's wife.
"You always have so much to worry about." Ling Yao sighed and patted her belly.
Qin Qingyun went to the Southern Desert as the Great Prayer Envoy.
When he returns from the Southern Desert with his horses, a promotion is inevitable.
Tian Tian propped her head up with her hand and said, "With your eldest sister and third sister keeping an eye on them, you don't need to worry about them having any ulterior motives."
Seeing that she was so exhausted that her head could barely stay upright, Ling Yao suggested, "Why don't you go to the backyard to rest?"
Tian Tian shook her head, preferring to watch the entire wedding ceremony with her head propped up rather than miss a single second of Qin Youyou's happy moment.
*
The equipment at the brewery was installed just before the Lunar New Year.
Qin Qingyun, who went to the Southern Desert, has also returned.
He reached an agreement with Nanmo, exchanging 1,200 catties of grain for one horse, and agreed to trade 5,000 horses after the spring.
Ling Yao was greatly impressed and issued an edict promoting Qin Qingyun to the rank of Left Martial Guard General, in charge of patrolling the capital, a rank of fourth grade.
Taking this opportunity, he also directly arranged a marriage between him and Princess Tian Xiang of Qingping County, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to select an auspicious day.
Cui Mingyi also entered the Hanlin Academy as an editor before the New Year.
*
Since the Emperor and Empress were not present, the New Year's Eve banquet this year was hosted by Ling Yao and Tian Tian.
Inside the palace, the lights shone brightly.
Ling Yao was dressed in a black python robe, while Tian Tian wore the court dress of a crown princess. The pearls hanging from her phoenix hairpin trembled slightly with her steps, and the two of them already had the air of an emperor and empress.
The officials in the hall had already taken their seats according to their ranks. When they saw the two of them coming hand in hand, they all stood up and bowed.
Ling Yao raised his head and gestured for support, "Gentlemen, you may dispense with the formalities."
"On the occasion of the New Year, the Crown Princess and I will preside over the New Year's banquet on behalf of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager." Ling Yao said clearly, "You have all worked hard this year."
He raised his glass, "This toast...I raise it to you all!"
"And I also pay homage to... my great nation, may its land be forever secure!"
After speaking, he tilted his head back and drank it all!
Tian Tian also took a small sip.
"Serve the food!!" Ling Yao gave the order, and the palace servants filed in to serve everyone today's banquet.
"All of you are my meritorious officials. Today's banquet is not based on rank, but on equality among all."
"We have the Crown Princess's personally brewed Moon Essence Wine, which we bestow upon everyone to taste."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince, and thank you, Your Highness the Crown Princess."
Tian Tian smiled. This Moon Essence was brewed by her in the East Palace using a small brewing machine, and she could only produce a dozen or so kilograms a day.
It took a long time to prepare for today's banquet.
Her Yuehua Ning is a rice-aroma type of baijiu, which is different from the yellow wine or low-alcohol wine of this era.
Moreover, the removal of impurities results in a purer taste.
This will surely surprise the officials present.
“This wine…”
"It tastes so fresh."
"It has a delicate honey aroma and a smooth, sweet taste."
"I never expected that the Crown Princess would also know how to brew wine."
"This wine is brewed with new rice, isn't it?"
"It tastes as sweet as a clear spring..."
"Sweet but not cloying!"
"It has the natural sweetness of rice and the mellow and refreshing taste of baijiu. Drinking it is like being bathed in misty rain, elegant and pleasant."
"What fine wine!!"
"This wine was brewed by the Crown Princess herself; we should drink more of it."
"Yes, yes, yes, this might be the only time I'll ever drink this in my life."
Ling Yao looked at Tian Tian, who said, "Everyone, my Moon Essence Condensation has a strong aftereffect. If you can't hold your liquor, you should drink less."
"Of course, if any of my beloved ministers takes a liking to this Moon Essence Condensation, I may present them with a jar."