Chapter 37: The Canary Captured by the Enemy Emperor 24

The babies were so tiny—just over two about 1 kg each—but their skin was fair and their features delicate, like porcelain dolls.

Jun Yuanming looked down at them. The tears he had just managed to hold back now rolled silently down his face. A wave of indescribable emotion washed over him: warmth, longing, contentment… and lingering fear.

These were his and Qing’er’s children.

Children born of his blood and hers, the ones he had worried about for eight long months.

Do they really look like me? he wondered.

Jun Yuanming lowered his gaze to Lin Muqing, silently asking the question with his eyes. Their unspoken bond had long been strong—she saw the babies clearly and nodded with a faint smile.

“They really do. Look, even their eyes are teary like yours.”

Though her words might have sounded irreverent to others, Jun Yuanming simply chuckled softly. He took the child from the Empress Dowager and gently laid the baby in front of her.

“You’re right,” he said.

The Empress Dowager shook her head with a smile, pretending she hadn’t heard.

“You’ve worked so hard, Imperial Noble Consort. The royal family owes you greatly for giving birth to three princes.”

“This is what I ought to do,” Lin Muqing replied, her cheek brushing against her baby’s tiny hand. The freshly washed infant smelled of milk—sweet and soft.

—

It wasn’t long before the room filled with cries again.

“Waaah—!”

They were hungry again. One started crying, then all three joined in, their wails deafening.

“No use soothing them… maybe they’re just hungry.”

“We’ll feed them in the other room,” Jun Yuanming said, then bent down to pick Lin Muqing up in his arms. “You’ve gotten so light. You’ll need to regain your strength.”

“You try carrying three babies and see if you don’t lose weight,” the Empress Dowager muttered, half teasing. She left with the palace maids, each carrying a child.

—

Having been through childbirth in a past life, Lin Muqing had prepared early, trading an ounce of gold for some secret herbal lactation pills and drinking them in secret.

Now, she had more than enough milk.

She breastfed each of the three one by one until they were all full and fast asleep—and she still had milk to spare.

But exhaustion caught up with her, and she quickly fell asleep.

Jun Yuanming handed the babies off to the maids, who brought them back to the Empress Dowager. He then turned back and noticed her chest damp from feeding, her robe slightly soaked. He frowned.

Should I change her clothes?

He lifted her collar slightly—and froze, unsure what to do next.

This was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.

In her half-sleep, Lin Muqing turned toward him, her body cold to the touch. She reached out and held his hand.

“Your Majesty… are you going to sleep with me?”

“…Yes.”

He hadn’t slept all night either. Fatigue finally caught up.

Still fully dressed, he lay down beside her, holding her gently, a quiet smile playing at his lips. He was filled with an unparalleled sense of peace.

His throat tightened. His heart softened.

He wrapped his arms around her and finally drifted off to sleep.

---

Within three days, the entire kingdom of Northern Qi had heard the news.

The Imperial Noble Consort had given birth to three princes.

The country rejoiced.

The Emperor declared three years of tax exemption for the people.

—

Lin Muqing’s life afterward was exceptionally comfortable.

She split the two Cognitive Awakening Pills  between the three children, giving them each a dose.

Once her body had fully recovered…

Jun Yuanming held a grand coronation, officially crowning her as Empress of Northern Qi.

Even though she was a commoner and a foreigner—an orphan from the enemy kingdom of Dongliao—no one dared to object anymore.

She had given birth to three princes, and the emperor’s love for her ran to his bones.

He willingly disbanded the harem for her. With no rivals left, the other palace beauties, realizing the emperor would never love them, accepted a payout and voluntarily left the palace.

Her daily life became simple: raising her children and chatting with her system.

—

When the three princes turned one year old, the palace held their Zhuazhou ceremony (a traditional Chinese ritual where toddlers pick symbolic objects to predict their future).

All major court officials were present—more than ten of them, seated on both sides of the grand hall.

The three boys were not only growing strong but were also exceptionally handsome.

More than one courtier whispered in awe:

“They’re not just royal blood… they’re celestial.”