CH 133.1

Chapter 133.1 – Sorry

King Wei had never been very bright, but his instinct was still somewhat accurate.

An hour later, all officials of the third rank or higher in the capital had been summoned to the palace. On top of that, the Emperor also called for King Qi, the Fifth Prince1, and King Wu’s heir to enter the palace. As soon as those three arrived, King Wei’s advantageous position was immediately gone.

The Emperor said that he was going to make arrangements for the future2, but his health was not actually so bad that he would die immediately. He might have been hit particularly hard when he learned of the Crown Prince’s death and almost couldn’t recover, but then he thought of the big issue of the country’s succession.

He also knew that his right hand man Zhang Jian died protecting him, and under this tension, he no longer wanted to die and his morale became stronger. Right now, in front of the court’s civil and military officials, the Emperor insisted on arranging everything although he was still weakened.

First of all, the court affairs were temporarily entrusted to the Prime Minister to deal with on his behalf. Then, King Wu’s first son from his legal wife was officially appointed as his heir, inheriting his King title at the age of twelve. The Fifth Prince’s title was not restored, but since he had been called there, it showed that he was not forgotten, and that the Emperor wanted the new monarch to show him some kindness.

The Emperor only had a few sons. King Wu was dead, and his heir was still very young, so he was obviously not a threat. The Fifth Prince’s title was not restored, so it looked like he had no place in the inheritance of the throne. But King Qi was called in at this time, and he did get some wild expectations in his heart.

Under this situation, King Wei was somewhat flustered and didn’t dare to say anything, just looking eagerly at the Emperor.

The Emperor ignored these two sons, took a breath, then waved in Qi Yang’s direction. Seeing this, Qi Yang approached him, only to see the Emperor wave his hand again, but this time his gaze was directed at Lu Qipei.

Lu Qipei hesitated a bit inside, but didn’t dare to show it on her face at all. She followed Qi Yang and called out, “Royal Father?”

The Emperor nodded and turned to look at the attendant beside him – this attendant was Zhang Jian’s protégé. Although he wasn’t as special as Zhang Jian for the Emperor, he also knew a lot as he followed his master. Now that Zhang Jian was gone, the Emperor asked him to temporarily take his place. While waiting for the officials to enter the palace earlier, the Emperor had instructed him to return to Xuanshi Hall to take a brocade box.

Everyone saw the attendant bring the brocade box, but they didn’t know what was inside, let alone who it was for. Right now, seeing the Emperor signal with his eyes, the attendant immediately understood and handed the brocade box to the prince consort.

Lu Qipei was confused, but when she took the brocade box and opened it, she was stunned.

Lying quietly inside the brocade box was a token.

The Emperor’s voice immediately sounded, “This is the token to mobilize the royal guards. In these turbulent times, there will be no peace in the palace. I will give this token to you, I hope Prince Consort will keep the peace in the palace for me.”

No one expected this to happen, including Lu Qipei herself. She held the token with a stunned expression, but when she saw Qi Yang looking back at her, she finally regained her senses and bowed slightly, saying, “This Minister obeys. I will not disappoint Your Majesty’s trust.”

The royal guards had always been loyal to the Emperor and would not allow others to meddle with them, but now the Emperor had handed over the royal guards to Lu Qipei. This was a clear signal. Setting aside the officials who were looking at each other with various guesses in their hearts, no matter how stupid King Qi and King Wei were, even they realized something was wrong. The two brothers stepped forward together without hesitation and shouted urgently, “Royal Father.”

The Emperor still ignored the two of them. After all, now that the groundwork was done, the next thing was the most important. “The Crown Prince died to protect me, my heart is in grief. But the country cannot be without a crown prince. Right now, the Eldest Grandson Cheng Qi looks just like his father. He has been smart ever since he was young, and he has a benevolent heart. He will be especially appointed as the Royal Heir3…”

Upon hearing this, both King Qi and King Wei were stunned, and King Wei couldn’t help but speak up, “Royal Father, please reconsider. The Eldest Grandson is still young!”

The Emperor, as if he did not hear it, continued his unfinished words, “The Prime Minister will be appointed as the Royal Heir’s Grand Tutor, the Nation Protecting Great General is appointed as the Grand Teacher, and King Lu is the Grand Protector. Immediately draft the edict and announce it to the world.”

When the Emperor finished speaking, King Qi and King Wei had both wilted. It was because those three teachers were too powerful – the Prime Minister was the head of all the officials and commanded all of them, and it was needless to mention his prestige in the court. The Nation Protecting Great General was the chief of the military generals. Although he had not let the army for many years, he had incomparable prestige in the army. And the last one, King Lu, was a highly respected elder in the royal clan, someone that King Qi and King Wei could not easily interfere with.

Just looking at these choices for the three teachers, you could see the Emperor’s protectiveness and his determination to set him as the Royal Heir. And that was before mentioning Qi Yang and her prince consort. Although they were not especially conferred titles by the Emperor, but how could entrusting the royal guards to them be anything other than unusual?

A wise person would understand after thinking about it for a while. The three teachers were basically the regents that the Emperor prepared for the Royal Heir, while Qi Yang and her prince consort were the insurance the Emperor prepared for him. Without mentioning what they were capable of, Qi Yang was a staunch member of the Crown Prince faction before, and now she had received the Crown Prince’s entrustment of his son. She and her prince consort would definitely be dedicated to the Royal Heir wholeheartedly.

Also, it’s not like Qi Yang did not have power in her hands. After the Crown Prince’s death, all the forces that were once attached to the Crown Prince would soon inevitably fall to her hands. And with her as the check and balance, the Emperor would not be afraid that the three teachers would become too powerful after the Royal Heir ascended the throne, and could protect him until he was an adult and could rule by himself.

Since the Emperor had made the arrangements clearly, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, then began thinking about the Eldest Grandson who they had never thought much of before.

But the Emperor’s arrangements did not stop there. Finally, he looked at his two sons, who had an ashen look of defeat, and continued, “King Qi and King Wei are conferred as the Uncle Kings, they will stay in the capital to assist with government after the new monarch ascends the throne. Until the new monarch can govern on his own, they are not allowed to leave the capital and become feudal lords.”

What assisting government? There were the three teachers in the court, and also Qi Yang assisting behind the scenes. What place would there be for the two kings? They were heavily suppressed by the Crown Prince, and did not have a lot of influence in the court. Once the Emperor changed, they would lose even their advantage of being a prince. It would already be good if their followers did not change masters, so how could they expect to thrive in the future?

Staying in the capital to assist in government was just so they wouldn’t cause any trouble after becoming feudal lords!

No matter how stupid they were, King Qi and King Wei understood this, but what could they do? It could only be said that the Crown Prince’s death was too late. They didn’t have the opportunity to develop, and they couldn’t compete without a foundation.

In the end, the two of them could only keep a blank face and grit their teeth, accepting their fate. “This Child obeys.”

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