but yeah, if the epilogue explains more about this, than i'll wait to read it & see what Jing has to say ^^
lol yeah, you'll see in the epilogue why the women he sleeps with don't all end up pregnant. And the harem increases NOT because he demands more woman. Most of the women are sent to the palace regardless of the Emperor's wishes. For one, half of the concubines are tributes or hostages from other countries sent for political reasons. It is in essence, a political marriage. Second, it is customary and expected girls of of high rank are raised at an early age for the chance to enter the palace. Most high ranking family hope that their daughter can be chosen as a royal concubine so that they can gain even more political power. So each year (or was it every few years?) a batch of girls of marriageable age are sent to the palace for selection. What they end up doing is just serving, entertain, and stay within the vicinity of the royals. Not all of them end up as the Emperor's favorite or concubine. Some of them become engaged to Princes or become the confidantes to royal concubines. However, most of them /do/ try to entice the Emperor or at least gain his attention. If at the end of their selection term (it lasts 4-5 years), they can return home. However, to refuse the selection is almost certain death since it's considered insulting the Emperor.
I don't think Jing actively demands more women. He just doesn't deny them since it would eventually cause him problems. If he denies the tributes, it could cause conflict between two nations. If he denies the candidates, it would cause unrest within his own government because powerful families would feel slighted. It may seem like I'm making excuses for Jing, but most of the points I listed above are themes that are used in a lot of Chinese TV dramas based on ancient China. This type of thing happens a lot in the palace.
lol, I wrote a lot without even realizing it. This is why I wanted to wait until I finished the epilogue before I start explaining why Jing is doing what he's doing x'D. Even in Western culture, the love affairs of Kings and Queens are close watched. There's a lot of politics and powerplay that goes on in the bedroom for rulers.
I have to say that is against his power..in ancient chinese dramas the concubines keep increasing, each of them bear hopes to become the King's fave.....its can become so hard for the King to choose the Queen..Usually the concubines with children have better chances to become the Empress..so the King has to at least sleep with them once for a fair play..politics!
@ From what i heard
i know, but still, one woman can bear more than one child, so why keep on increasing his harem ? if he only wanted a heir, he'll make each woman of his bear him several children & than he'll have enough children to survive the infant fatality rate.