Mid-July, Luoyang.
Outside the Ningguang Palace, Cao Rui was wandering anxiously beside the steps.
The setting sun lengthened the shadow of the palace across the earth, and the sounds of the maids serving in the palace and walking back and forth made Cao Rui even more anxious.
The four important ministers from the West Pavilion and the East Pavilion were all waiting beside the emperor at this time.
Seeing the emperor's expression, Cao Zhen coughed and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Concubine Mao is a lucky person, and she will be fine."
Sima Yi also cupped his hands and said, "This is a matter of human nature. Your Majesty may feel uneasy the first time, but you will get better after experiencing it a few more times."
Cao Rui stood still and stretched his head to look inside the hall. Bi Jin, the eunuch serving beside him, immediately stepped aside to stop him and said, "It's unlucky for a man to enter the delivery room. How about I send someone to call the imperial physician to ask him?"
Cao Rui stared at Bi Jin for a moment, then shook his head and walked back to the ministers.
At this time in Ningguang Palace, Concubine Mao, who was ten months pregnant, was about to give birth.
As the second emperor of the Wei Dynasty, Cao Rui is about to welcome his first heir, which is a crucial event for both the royal family and the political situation.
Cao Rui was waiting outside the palace, and four ministers from the West Pavilion and the East Pavilion were also waiting beside the emperor.
Cao Rui asked, "I have something to ask you. How do you name your children?"
Several people looked at each other, and Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, there is actually no set rule for naming. For men, strong and positive names, and for women, gentle and decent names, almost all are acceptable."
Cao Rui then asked, "Sikong has three sons now, right? The eldest son is Sima Shi, the second son is Sima Zhao, and last month he had a new son named Sima Yi?"
"Why did Sikong choose these three words?"
Sima Yi was embarrassed now, and after thinking for a while, he answered: "When I was naming it, I also spent a lot of trouble. There are many people in my clan, and the first thing is to avoid having the same name, and the second is to have a good meaning."
"My eldest son, Shi, was born in the 13th year of Jian'an. At that time, I was in Jingzhou and served in the army of Emperor Wu, so I named him 'Shi'."
"My second son Zhao was born in the morning when the sun first rose. Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" says that Zhao means bright sun, so he got this name."
"As for my third son, who I just got last month, and who is also a descendant of the same clan, I hope that he will continue to be rich and noble."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "Mr. Dong's son should be named Dong Zhou! This is a good name. Mr. Dong's family will be rich and prosperous forever."
Dong Zhao smiled awkwardly: "Whether I am rich or not, it all depends on your majesty's great fortune. I am old and weak, I just hope to follow in your footsteps and share in your majesty's blessings."
"What about the general?" Cao Rui's eyes turned to Cao Zhen: "How were the general's four sons named?"
Cao Zhen replied, "It is almost the same as the Minister of Works. My eldest son, Zhaobo, was born in the early morning, just like the Minister of Works' second son."
"'Xunming' is Shuang, 'Riming' is Zhao. Therefore, I named him Shuang and his courtesy name Zhaobo."
Cao Rui nodded, looked up at the sky of Luoyang, and then looked at the top of the palace. After confirming that there were no unusual phenomena in the sky and earth, he slowly said: "Since this is the case, whether Concubine Mao gives birth to a boy or a girl, I have prepared a name for each."
Cao Zhen asked jokingly, "Your Majesty's name must have a deeper meaning than mine. May I ask what name Your Majesty chose?"
Cao Rui smiled and waved his hand: "It does have some meaning, and it's just an auspicious word."
"If I have a son today, I will name him Cao Qi. If I have a daughter, I will name her Cao Shu."
Wei Zhen had been silent for a while, and asked, "Which Qi are you talking about, Your Majesty?"
"The word 'Qi' means opening." Cao Rui replied, "It is the first year of Taihe, so I want to ask for good luck and hope that it will usher in a prosperous era."
启？
After hearing this, Sima Yi began to think about it.
Dayu's son was named Qi, and Emperor Wen of Han's son, Emperor Jing of Han, was called Liu Qi.
Your Majesty, are you going to be like Dayu who cast the Nine Cauldrons, or are you determined to be Emperor Wen of Han?
Not long after, Empress Dowager Bian and Empress Dowager Guo also rushed over from their respective palaces and stood with Cao Rui and others.
Just as a few people were chatting, the cries of the woman in the hall in pain were suddenly mixed with the high-pitched cry of a baby.
Upon hearing the voice, Cao Rui hurriedly turned around and walked to the palace door to go in, but was grabbed by Empress Dowager Guo's sleeve.
Although he was anxious, Cao Rui suddenly realized that he should not go in again.
Given the sanitary conditions of this era, the custom of not allowing men to enter the delivery room can indeed reduce the risk of infection.
After a few moments, the maidservant beside Concubine Mao quickly ran out, knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Prince! Your Majesty, it's the prince!"
Cao Rui asked back: "How is Concubine Mao now?"
The maid replied, "Your Highness is fine, but she is weak and needs to rest. The imperial physician said that outsiders are not allowed to enter yet."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "If you don't allow me to enter, I won't enter."
"Somebody come!"
The four ministers beside him bowed in response.
Cao Rui glanced at them and said, "Sikong, Henei is your native county. Then you should go there in person on my behalf, report the good news to the Maopin clan, and reward their father and brother with a thousand taels of gold!"
"As you wish!" Sima Yi replied with a bow.
At this moment, everyone around him had a happy look on their faces.
Bian and Guo, as Cao Rui's grandmother and stepmother, were happy that Cao's bloodline had successors. The four ministers, on the other hand, were more concerned about the political situation.
A moment later, an elderly midwife walked out of the hall steadily, holding in her arms a baby whose eyes had not even opened yet.
"Cao Qi..."
Cao Rui called the baby's name softly, took it carefully, and walked into the sunshine, letting the golden sunset shine on the baby's face.
……
On the morning of the second day, Cao Rui stayed in the palace with Concubine Mao for a long time before coming to the study.
Wei Zhen had been waiting at the study door for a long time.
Cao Rui asked with a hint of surprise: "Master Wei, what do you want to see me about? How long have you been waiting here?"
Wei Zhen cupped his hands and said, "I have been waiting for a while. I do have something to report to Your Majesty."
"Then come in." Cao Rui nodded and walked into the study. At this time, Zhong Yu was waiting in the corner of the study.
Wei Zhen glanced at Zhong Yu and bowed to the emperor.
Cao Rui understood and said, "Zhong Yu, go out first and close the door! Don't let anyone else in."
"As you wish." Zhong Yu retreated carefully.
Cao Rui was already leaning on the recliner at this time, and asked Wei Zhen leisurely: "Master Wei, what do you want to tell me?"
Wei Zhen paused and said, "What I want to talk to Your Majesty about today is Your Majesty's family affairs and also the affairs of the state of Wei."
Hearing the word "family affairs", Cao Rui asked, "Is it related to my son?"
Wei Zhen nodded: "Since ancient times, the issue of succession is the most important for the imperial family. The rise and fall of the dynasty depends on this."
"In the final analysis, it's actually two things: the throne and the throne of empress."
"I am honored to be in the East Chamber, so I am reporting this matter to Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will not be offended."
Cao Rui waved his hand: "Master Wei, you worry too much!"
"Before I ascended the throne, I also served under the previous emperor, so I naturally know the inside story. I also remember all the ups and downs of the government and personnel changes between the previous emperor and Prince Yongqiu."
"As for the matter of appointing a crown prince, I will not do such a thing before the prince reaches adulthood."
Wei Zhen originally wanted to advise His Majesty not to rush to appoint a crown prince, but when he heard that this matter would not be considered until the prince came of age, he was afraid that His Majesty would misunderstand him, so he quickly explained.
"Your Majesty, it is not necessary to wait until the prince reaches adulthood, there is such a clear standard..."
"I know." Cao Rui interrupted Wei Zhen with a smile: "I just had a son. When I have more sons, it will be easier for me to choose."
The emperor said it so easily that Wei Zhen didn't know what to say.
Wei Zhen continued to probe and asked, "What about the matter of establishing a queen?"
Cao Rui nodded at this time: "Mao Concubine is virtuous and kind, and now that she has given birth to a prince, it would not be a problem to give her the position of Empress."
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "Master Wei, you don't know, there are so many people stuffed into my harem, and everyone wants to see me and talk to me every day. It was fresh a few days ago, but later they became more and more impatient."
"Make her the queen, and let her take care of the harem for me, so I can worry less."
"By the way, Master Wei, how is your eldest son, Wei Lie, doing in his studies in Chenliu?"
Wei Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "It would be good to let him study in his hometown of Chenliu and hone his character. At the age of twenty, it is the right time to study."
Just as the two were talking, Cao Rui heard Cao Zhen's voice outside the study door, with a low sound at the end, as if Zhong Yu was explaining something in a low voice.
Cao Rui said loudly: "Let the general in!"
After hearing the voice, Cao Zhen took the initiative to push open the door and walked in quickly with a document in his hand.
"Your Majesty, Bingzhou reports victory!" Cao Zhen laughed loudly, "The Xianbei leader Kebineng invaded Yanmen Pass, but was defeated by the army led by Tian Yu, the captain of the Wuhuan Guard, and Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian, who happened to be patrolling at Yanmen Pass!"
"Your Majesty, please review the detailed battle report."
After saying that, Cao Zhen held the battle report in both hands and put it in front of the emperor.
Cao Rui read it carefully twice, closed it and threw the battle report into Wei Zhen's hands.
"I never thought that Qian Zhao was not in Yanmen, and Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian could do this so beautifully!"
"Zhong Gong personally charged into the battle line, defeated the enemy, and won the first merit!" Cao Rui laughed and said, "Why didn't I realize before that Zhong Gong is such a good fighter?"
Cao Zhen explained: "The general is the courage of the soldiers, and the soldiers are the courage of the general. Only with a brave general and strong soldiers can we fight so beautifully in tactics."
Cao Rui nodded, and then seemed to remember something, looked at Cao Zhen and said: "Tian Yu said that Zhao Bo has made great contributions this time, so he can be promoted from a sergeant to a duke!"
Cao Zhen laughed again: "It seems that sending Zhao Bo to the border for training is indeed the right decision."
Cao Rui stood up from the recliner and said slowly, "Yesterday I had a son, and today I have another victory at the border. Master Wei, pass the message on for me. I will prepare a banquet in the North Palace tonight. All the officials of the three dukes, nine ministers, and two thousand stone officials shall come to the banquet!"
Wei Zhen smiled and replied, "Your Majesty is wise, I will arrange it right away." (End of this chapter)
