Chapter 340 - Empress and Crown Prince Designated, Two Princes Sent to Fiefdoms

Commandery Prince Zhongling was nine years old this year. It was supposed to be a good thing that the Crown Princess was finally pregnant again.

But when she found out about this baby, the Crown Prince’s birth mother, Noble Consort Cui, died of an illness. There couldn’t be any big celebrations. And she had to stay a very low profile during the entire pregnancy.

This time, the birth coincided with the former emperor’s funeral. She returned to the imperial capital in a hurry from Cuihua Mountain. With a bumpy journey and the sudden change of temperature, despite the imperial physicians’ efforts to protect the baby, she had been resting in bed since returning to the imperial capital, except for the first three days when she wept for the former emperor’s death.

So when they heard that she had given birth to a little boy, they were relieved. Everyone thought that it was joy turned from extreme sorrow.

No sooner had they prepared their congratulations than they heard the terrible news that the little prince was gone!

It was a bit of a surprise and a bit of a dumbfounding experience for everyone. After entering the palace like that, should they send congratulations to her or feel sorry for her?

“Don’t cry now, Your Majesty!” Madam Tian looked at her eldest daughter with distress. The mother and daughter had originally been very close, and they did not speak in private with so much care. But since the Wei Family’s position had wavered at a critical moment last year, there had been a gap in the end.

This time the Crown Princess would be promoted to Empress, so Madam Tian didn’t dare to call her by her name as before, “This will lead to illness during the puerperium. Your Majesty is in the prime. Why worry about not having more children in the future? Moreover, you still have Zhongling.”

“Mother, think about it. How many years younger is this child than Zhongling?” The Crown Princess couldn’t suppress her sorrow. She hadn’t been doing very well with this baby. Mainly because when she was just conceived, she didn’t know it. She worried too much and hurt her heart and spirit then, which affected the baby. And then when Noble Consort Cui passed away, as her own daughter-in-law and her eldest legitimate son’s wife, the Crown Princess had to be busy. So, she hadn’t had enough rest to take care of her health for the first three months.

Then the situation calmed down and she had a chance to breathe. But when she was about to give birth, this series of events happened again. And the baby she had been waiting for passed away, when he had just been born!

How could she bear it?

Even though she knew that she couldn’t get the baby back, she couldn’t help but cry, “Besides, I lost my energy before I gave birth this time. The doctor said that I would have to take good care of myself for the next few years, meaning that it would be difficult for me to conceive. Will I have another child? Zhongling is good, but he will be too lonely if he’s the only child!”

Madam Tian heard it and also felt sad. For both public and private reasons, the Wei Family hoped that the Crown Princess would be blessed with many children at this time.

But the little prince had already passed away, and would never resurrect. She could only sigh, “You remember that the doctor told you to take care of yourself. How can you take care of yourself now if you cry like this? If you really want to give Zhongling a younger brother to be his companion, you should stop your grief now and take good care of yourself. That’s the right thing to do!”

She lowered her voice and said, “The former emperor and Emperor had a deep love for each other as father and son. There are rumors in the court that Emperor is determined to observe three years of mourning for the former emperor instead of substituting days for months. For the next 26 months, since Emperor will be in mourning, he will not be close to the harem! If you don’t take advantage of this time to get your health in order, when Emperor then marries another new person, then…”

It cost great efforts to persuade the Crown Princess to stop crying. But, of course, the pain of losing her son could not be healed like this.

The Crown Princess was not the only one who was grief-stricken by the death of her son, but Emperor Duanhua was also deeply distressed.

After all, he lost his loving father, and then his own son died. This wouldn’t be just a simple disaster to a person anywhere.

Strictly speaking, Emperor Duanhua had a harder time than the Crown Princess, who was only a daughter-in-law to Emperor Xianjia. It was not a deep relationship. The Crown Princess was actually a little relieved that her father-in-law had died.

But for Emperor Duanhua, it was a real pain into the marrow of his bones.

“Now that my father has been buried, is it time to hold the ceremony for designating Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager and two Emperor’s Aunts?” Emperor Duanhua locked himself up in the imperial study for half a day before he sent word, summoning Gu Shao to see him. He discussed with Gu Shao, “Although my wife has been admitted to Weiyang Palace, she has not yet been formally enlisted. It is not right anyway.”

Gu Shao knew that he was saying this mainly for the purpose of giving the Crown Princess the title of Empress. Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager had not yet recovered from their illnesses and had difficulty getting up. So wouldn’t it be torturous to have another ceremony for them?

“As Your Majesty’s wife, Crown Princess Wei is rightfully in the middle palace. As for Grand Empress Dowager’s and Empress Dowager’s enthronement ceremony, I have heard that the two madams are still grieving, so I think mentioning this will cause them to grieve again. It’s better to postpone it. The decree has already been issued and the title has been decided.” Gu Shao guessed that the main reason for Emperor Duanhua mentioning this matter at this moment was to comfort the Crown Princess.

After nodding his head, he said without expressions, “But since Your Majesty wants to appoint the Empress, will the royal heirs, such as Commandery Prince Zhongling, also be crowned? After all, according to the dynasty’s system, the son of the Crown Prince is the Commandery Prince, while the son of Emperor shall be the Prince. Now that Your Majesty has been throned, it would be against the rules for the eldest legitimate son to remain a Commandery Prince.”

“Then just give Zhongling the title of Crown Prince!” Emperor Duanhua did not understand that Gu Shao was saying this to test his attitude on settling the Crown Prince, but he would have said so even if he had figured it out.

Firstly, he had been getting along better with the Crown Princess for this half a year. The Crown Princess lost her younger son at this time. So he naturally wanted to find ways to comfort her. Designating her as the Empress had been decided early, so it was really not surprising. The title of Crown Prince should be more precious.

Secondly, Emperor Duanhua himself had been the Crown Prince since childhood. He was satisfied with his upbringing and was grateful and reverent towards his father, Emperor Xianjia. So, of course, he would follow Emperor Xianjia’s example when raising his own son. So he had no resistance to the early designation of the Crown Prince, but rather he thought that doing so would help to dispel the ambitions of his other sons.

After all, Commandery Prince Zhongling had an advantage over Emperor Duanhua. He was not only the eldest son, but also the legitimate son, which made his origin flawless.

But the new Emperor titled the Crown Prince right after he named the Empress. In the eyes of those with an axe to grind, he was a bit uneasy about his brother, so he named the Crown Prince early to show that he had a successor, in order to stop his brothers’ mischief!

The brothers here, of course, referred specifically to Prince of Su and Prince of Xiang.

According to the tacit agreement reached with all parties when Emperor Xianjia was alive, the two Princes were to go to their own fiefdoms after his death.

Originally, they did not intend to stay. But Empress Dowager Su was very bad this time. As her own son, even if he was not her son nominally, he was still thinking of his own mother.

So Prince of Su had privately asked Emperor Duanhua to allow him to leave for the fiefdom until Empress Dowager Su was in a better condition.

Empress Duanhua agreed to this matter quickly. After all, Empress Dowager Su was not his birth mother, and she was indeed very ill at this moment. Without Prince of Su taking care of her, if anything happened to her, would people not suspect the new Emperor of being harsh on his mother, knowing that she was in a serious condition, but sending her only son away, intending to force her to die?

And since Prince of Su didn’t leave, Princess Consort of Xiang couldn’t let go of Grand Princess Daiguo and her husband, so she also pretended to be confused and stayed.

As soon as the Crown Prince was designated, Empress Dowager Su took the initiative to urge Prince of Su to leave, “This is not like the time when the previous emperor was alive. The current Emperor is certainly generous. But how can it be the same when an elder brother be in charge? You don’t need to worry about me anymore. Just take Wuying to leave for the fiefdom. As long as you are well, I will be relieved!”

Prince of Su went to the Palace of Xuanming to ask for permission to leave for the fiefdom right on that day. It was only then that Emperor Duanhua realized the implications of designation of the Crown Prince. But he originally had no intention of making his two brothers stay in the imperial capital for long. So after hearing Prince of Su say that Empress Dowager had improved and that it was time for him to leave, Emperor perfunctorily persuaded him to stay. But seeing that Prince of Su was determined to go, he finally agreed.

However, looking at Prince of Su, who still had a childish look on his face, Emperor Duanhua was a bit intolerant and said, “You grew up in the imperial capital and have never been anywhere else. But you need to go to the place far away this time. You must not be able to pack everything in such a hurry. It is still hot now. So why don’t you stay for a few more days and leave after the Mid-Autumn Festival?”

Understanding that Emperor was allowing himself to spend another Mid-Autumn Festival with Empress Dowager Su, Prince of Su held back his mixed feelings and showed gratitude, accepting the new Emperor’s kind offer.

And with him making a start, the Prince of Xiang didn’t dare delay any longer. Emperor Duanhua treated him equally. He was also allowed to leave for the fiefdom after Mid-Autumn Festival.

After this news got out, Great Grand Princess Jinguo summoned Nie Wuying to speak to her almost every day.

In the presence of Nie Wuying, Great Grand Princess Jinguo talked and laughed and was in high spirits. But once this little daughter left, she looked gloomy and sometimes cried in secret.

Jiayue saw this, and she was heartbroken. But there was nothing she could do about it. So she could only reveal to Song Yixiao privately, “Great Grand Princess was grieving over the death of the former emperor. And now County Lady Jinghui is also going away. Although Great Grand Princess is not saying anything, but it is as painful as cutting flesh in her heart! I watch this aside, and even I also feel extremely sad!”

“What Aunt Jiayue means is that she wants us to help speak in front of Emperor.” After Song Yixiao relayed these words to her husband, Jian Xubai shook his head and said, “Emperor has already promised the two Princes to leave after the Mid-Autumn Festival. If we go to intercede again, it will only backfire. Emperor has always respected Mother, and since Mother hasn’t even asked for permission, she naturally understands that this is not an option. Although Aunt Jiayue is well-meaning, the matter is settled and cannot be changed.”

He whispered, “It would be bad if it’s changed!”

It might be that Emperor Duanhua intended to go against the arrangements made by Emperor Xianjia during his lifetime and kill his two younger brothers!

Hearing this, Song Yixiao smiled and understood what to do. When Jiayue mentioned this again, she was no longer vague and politely expressed the fact that there was nothing she could do. Jiayue sighed and stopped mentioning this.

Half a month went by in a flesh. Despite the reluctance of both Great Grand Princess Jinguo and Empress Dowager Su, the Mid-Autumn Festival came as planned.

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival was exceptionally cold.

As it was less than a hundred days after the death of Emperor Xianjia, various taboos were still being observed in the palace.

In addition, Emperor Duanhua was determined to observe his father’s mourning for three years. So who would dare to overstep the bounds?

This was why the feast was so lackluster. Only the food case in front of Grand Empress Dowager had meat on it. The dishes in front of others were vegetarian.

Although the imperial chef was not bad at making vegetarian food, there was no music or wine. Such a banquet was as bland and silent as the one the Duke of Yan had given the Ji Family before.

The only good news was that Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Su were finally able to get up and attend the full banquet. But anyone who was present and saw the two knew in their hearts that Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager Du were definitely not in full health, but were just holding on, due to the fact that Prince of Su and Prince of Xiang were about to go away.

The following morning, Prince of Su and Prince of Xiang, both with their Princess Consorts, went to the palace to excuse themselves. They stayed at the palaces of Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager for a short while. Prince of Xiang and his wife also went to the place of his adoptive mother, Dowager Consort Jiang. Then the Princess Consorts left the palace and the two Princes went to the Palace of Xuanming to greet and excuse themselves.

Sitting on his high imperial throne, Emperor Duanhua watched his two brothers bow and exit the hall. In his sigh, he also felt a sense of relief that a stone had finally fallen to the ground.

“The rewards for the two Princes must not be slackened for future annual festivals!” He exhaled and exhorted the eunuch at his side.

The eunuch crouched to the ground to receive the decree and said, “Your Majesty is kind and generous!”

Before he stood up, there was a flash of a figure at the hall door. It was Prince of Liang who came in, “Brother!”

“What’s the matter?” Although Emperor Duanhua was suspicious of Prince of Su and Prince of Xiang, he was still very fond of and indulgent towards his biological younger brother. When he saw Prince of Liang, his expression eased. And he waved his hand to imply Prince of Liang to quit the formalities, while saying, “Come up and talk. You and I are brothers. Why are you so uncomfortable?”

“Courtesy must not be abolished.” Prince of Liang was not a very cautious person. He said so, but he also rushed to the red stairs, and stopped only 0.6 meters in front of the imperial case. He gathered his sleeves and said, “Brother, I have a favor to ask!”

He said and made a solemn bow, looking serious.

Emperor Duanhua said in surprise, “What is it?”