The emperor's words shocked all the concubines, and the favors he bestowed on Empress Shang and the two princes were truly too great. However, in an instant they all came to their senses, stood up and paid their respects, saying congratulatory words in unison. Empress Shang had just given birth yesterday and hadn't come to pay her respects today, but even if she wasn't present, the congratulations from everyone would still be overwhelming, and her prestige was unmatched by anyone.

  Although the consorts were not pleased in their hearts, they also knew that the emperor's will was a matter of course. Xiangfei had always been favored and this time gave birth to two dragon sons, naturally receiving attention and generous rewards. The two princes were enfeoffed as kings as soon as they were born, although it was too much honor, but there had long been rumors that twin sons should be established as crown princes. The emperor planned for the future, paving the way for the two princes was also reasonable.

  The Empress Dowager heard the edict, her eyebrows didn't move, she just smiled virtuously and said: "It's only fitting, it's been a long time since a boy was born in the palace, Changhe Guifei giving birth to twins is a blessing for the Great Qin, such great merit, Your Majesty should reward her generously." After finishing speaking, she bowed: "I thank Your Majesty's kindness on behalf of Changhe Guifei."

  Taizong said, "The third and fourth princes are indeed the blessings of the Great Qin. However, last night, the two newly born princes had a fever, and the imperial physician diagnosed that their pulse was not good, due to premature birth, weakness, and being twins, they did not grow well in the womb."

  The empress's face also turned gloomy upon hearing this: "Your Majesty, is it really so? Then we must have the imperial physician treat him carefully! With such great fortune, the two princes should be fine."

  Emperor Taizong of Wei looked at the empress and did not respond, but instead said to everyone: "The third prince and fourth prince were born weak and sickly, I am very worried. Liang Yuanyi has already reported to me that if we follow the current pulse, it is likely that they will not survive. According to Liang Yuanyi's suggestion, the capital city is located in the north, the weather is cold and dry, which is not conducive to quiet nursing. If a place with a mild climate can be found, it would be very beneficial for the health of the two princes, and if the imperial physician is sent to carefully treat them, there may be a chance to recover their bodies."

  The words left the people below stunned once again, never expecting that the deeply blessed Third and Fourth Princes were born with serious illnesses. They couldn't help but secretly sigh, it seemed that this boundless good fortune wasn't something everyone could bear.

  "Changhe Guifei has just given birth, and the Jingren Palace is flooded. Isn't this a warning from heaven to me?" Taizong said solemnly: "I have ordered the Imperial Observatory to observe the celestial phenomena at night, and the conclusion drawn is exactly the same as that of Liang Yuyi, both saying that the two princes' fate is too noble, unfortunately they cannot bear it, resulting in physical weakness and frequent illnesses. I suggest that the two princes be moved to a place outside the palace with suitable climate for quiet recuperation, to suppress the noble aura of their fate."

  Many people in the palace are superstitious, and when mentioning Jingren Palace, everyone's face changes. Zhao Shuyuan patted her chest, somewhat flustered, saying: "The emperor is right! The palace is heavily guarded, how could it have happened so suddenly?! Jingren Palace has been safe for over 210 years since its construction, why did disaster strike as soon as the two princes were born?! Indeed, this is a warning from heaven!"

  The imperial consorts all nodded in agreement and said, "Please, Your Majesty, follow the words of the Imperial Astronomer and Minister Liang, and make arrangements for the two princes."

  "What a pity that the Jingren Palace is gone, and it also implicated Huishu Yu." The empress sighed: "This renovation will take at least a year or two to complete."

  Lin Wan had never been particularly eager to move into the Jingren Palace, and now that everyone was discussing it, she didn't think much of it either. She smiled and said: "After all, it's still because the concubine's status is not enough, can't take charge of the main position of Jingren Palace. Heaven also thinks that concubines should be diligent in their duties."

  If it were another concubine who encountered such a misfortune, the fat meat that had been offered would have flown away, and most likely she would have cried and made a scene with the emperor to demand an even more luxurious palace. Lin Yuanyu, on the other hand, let things slide.

  Tuoba Hong listened to these words and was very satisfied, nodding his head: "Hui Jieyu is a person who understands the overall situation. I will choose another good place for you to live."

  They no longer mentioned Jingren Palace, and today's main event was the arrangement of Shangguan and the two princes: "The third prince and the fourth prince are like this. I consider their future and do not dare to let them live in the cold capital again. I have decided that the third prince, Qi Wang, will be enfeoffed in Yangzhou, and the fourth prince, Chu Wang, will be enfeoffed in Kuaiji. The two princes will be sent to their fiefs starting from today. Since they are young, their birth mother, Empress Changhe, will go with them."

  As soon as this edict was issued, the crowd was even more astonished. Since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty, it has always been the case that after the emperor's death and the new emperor's accession to the throne, the brothers and sisters of the new emperor would go to their fiefs. It is rare for a child to be enfeoffed as king and sent out of the palace at birth.

  However, under the current circumstances, the two princes are weak and cannot withstand the climate of the capital. There is no other way but to leave the palace for quiet recuperation. Moreover, the Imperial Observatory also said that their noble energy is too heavy to bear, and after leaving the imperial palace, they can suppress this noble energy.

  The empress immediately said: "Your Majesty has considered everything thoroughly, and is so concerned about the two princes. It's truly a fatherly heart. However, the two princes are still so young and have to leave the palace, leave their father, it's really pitiful." She said this with a sorrowful expression.

  "This arrangement was requested by the Empress Dowager." Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei said slowly, "Originally, I wanted to send the two princes to a temple to receive the blessings of the Buddha, hoping they would be healthy. However, what the Empress Dowager said is also reasonable. Rather than seeking empty protection, it's better to send them to a truly suitable place to recover from their illness. I don't expect them to achieve great things in the future, just that they can grow up safely. Although Yangzhou and Kuaiji are far away, they are located in the rich and warm southern water town, which is very suitable for quiet recuperation. I also cannot bear to be separated from my flesh and blood, but for their own good, I have no choice but to make this decision."

  "What His Majesty has said is absolutely right." The concubines all chimed in with their agreement.

  Afterwards, Tuoba Hong chatted with the Empress for a couple of sentences, discussing nothing more than the arrangements for the Imperial Concubines and Princes to leave the palace. The consorts accompanied them for a moment before the Empress ordered everyone to disperse.

  ***

  "The person who set fire to Jingren Palace, you should know who it is now." Lin Yu said slowly to Chu Xue as they walked towards the Mirror Moon Pavilion together.

  "She's gone, and that's a good thing." Chuxue frowned and said: "After the fire in Jingren Palace, the Emperor thought it was a warning from heaven, letting everyone believe that twins bring bad luck. It would be easy for Xiangfei to leave the palace! The Emperor is already worried about her, now he has an excuse to let her go, why would he investigate the cause of the fire? I really didn't expect her to have such a big move, asking to leave the palace to retreat and advance, it's not a bad way to save her life."

  "The Jingren Palace was burned down, which not only gave me a good reason to move out of the palace but also suppressed me. She still wouldn't let me go even when she was about to leave! Our emperor has many concubines, and among the twelve palaces, only the main position in Jingren Palace is vacant; this fire burned down everything, including the beams. After she left, Linzhi Palace became empty, but unfortunately, the side hall of Linzhi Palace has a higher rank than mine, where Zhenpin resides, so it's impossible for me to move into Yuelou Pavilion while Zhenpin remains in the side hall." Lin Yu's tone was filled with hatred: "In this way, I will never have another chance to become the mistress of a palace and can only live in the side halls of other palaces. I won't forget that when I first entered the palace and wasn't favored, she punished me by making me kneel for an entire night, which made me severely ill."

  Shangguan Li thought of setting a fire. With so many palaces in the palace, which one wouldn't be good to burn? But she insisted on burning Jingren Palace. Everyone knows what's on Sima Zhao's mind.

  Chuxue sighed and said, "Since the empress entered the palace, she has always been at odds with you. Even though she went to Yangzhou, she didn't completely leave the palace either. I secretly observed that the emperor set the fiefs of the two princes in the fertile southern water town with lush grass and rich soil, and it's clear that he hasn't completely given up on the two princes. He also promoted her to noble consort, which is also a way to protect her and prevent others from bullying her. Our emperor may be heartless but also has feelings; even when he was angry with her, he didn't cut off all ties."

  Lin Wan smiled upon hearing this: "You're thinking too simply! The Emperor is suspicious, that's why he suspects she's intentionally seeking a child and competing for the throne. But precisely because it's suspicion, it can't be confirmed as true, and one might even wonder if they themselves are mistakenly suspecting someone who is actually innocent? In any case, the Emperor has favored her for seven years, his feelings towards her are not ordinary. Now that she has requested to leave the palace, it has softened the Emperor's heart."

  Lin Wan is not Xiao Huanghou, accompanied the emperor for over a decade through thick and thin, she has long been familiar with the emperor. However, her position in Tuoba Hong's heart is also different from that of ordinary concubines. Tuoba Hong trusts her, and she has access to some things that concubines should not know about.

  The emperor's annoyance with the two princes is only because he fears that the mother of Shangguan Lixia will hold the young child hostage and force him to abdicate. This kind of thing has happened many times in history, where powerful officials kill the old emperor and support a young puppet ruler, putting the imperial court under their own control. But now the two princes have been driven out of the palace and sent to Yangzhou, 1,800 miles away from the capital. This means that even if there is a struggle for the throne in the future, these two children will not be able to rush back to seize power, as they will be delayed on the road for half a month!

  How many things can happen in half a month? Tuoba Hong had already arranged for the new emperor to be properly settled, with tens of thousands of troops guarding the capital and being fully prepared. By the time the two children returned, the new emperor would have already ascended to the throne. To start another rebellion at that point would be to rebel against the emperor himself, increasing the difficulty by several dozen times!

  According to Lin's knowledge from her past life, when Kangxi passed on the throne in history books, he encountered similar troubles. He originally wanted to pass it to the 14th, but he suddenly fell ill and was about to die. Unfortunately, the 14th was still leading troops in Yunnan. The 14th rushed back to the capital, exhausting two horses, but didn't make it in time. Kangxi died before his return, and in order to stabilize the country, he had to change his mind at the last minute and pass the throne to the fourth son instead.

  Tuoba Hong then announced to the world that the third and fourth princes were weak, so weak that they might not even reach adulthood. Their bodies are the capital of revolution; in their current state, no one in the imperial court would support them succeeding to the throne.