Chapter 934: Regent Prince of Great Yan!
The Emperor led Zheng Fan into a side hall.
Inside stood a reclining chair.
As though afraid someone might steal it from him, the Emperor hurried over first, sat down, and leaned back.
The chair began rocking gently.
Then the Emperor pointed toward a hanging cradle-like swing beside it.
“You sit there. I had this room arranged after the layout of your quarters when I stayed at your place before. But this one doesn’t feel as comfortable. If I sit too deep in it, my feet can’t even reach the floor.”
Zheng Fan walked to the hanging swing.
He did not sit.
Instead, he reached out... and gave it a push.
The swing rocked forward and back.
Forward.
Back.
Forward.
Back.
The Emperor watched from his reclining chair.
An expression of utter disbelief spread across his face.
Then he cursed:
“Surnamed Zheng, you really are a damned genius!”
Prince Pingxi answered with perfect calm.
“Anyone with a weak waist just can’t handle it.”
“Bullshit!”
“With a strong waist, everything is possible. Anything can become support. Anywhere in the world can become something to lean on. There are only things you can’t do. There’s no such thing as a position you can’t imagine.”
“...” the Emperor.
Eunuch Wei brought over a chair.
Zheng Fan sat down with the easy familiarity of someone in his own home.
At that moment, several palace maids and eunuchs approached the Emperor’s reclining chair carrying what appeared to be rouge and powder.
They began applying makeup.
At first, Zheng Fan assumed it was merely so the Emperor would look radiant at the grand banquet later.
Gradually... he realized that was not what they were doing at all.
The Emperor’s face was deliberately painted somewhat deathly pale.
Even the skin exposed outside the dragon robe was carefully altered to make him look... older.
They went into such detail that even his fingernails were not neglected.
“What is this for?”
“Surnamed Zheng, don’t you have spies planted in the capital?” the Emperor asked in return.
“Why waste the effort?”
“You really don’t?”
Zheng Fan pointed toward Wei Zhonghe standing nearby.
“Eunuch Wei.”
“...” Eunuch Wei.
The Emperor laughed.
“Ever since it was confirmed two months ago that you would come to the capital, I’ve tried to appear in public as little as possible. Even when I had to show myself, I deliberately dressed and made myself up. In the eyes of quite a few ministers close to me... We are almost finished. The rumor should already have spread downward by now. It simply hasn’t reached the common people yet. This time, with you entering the capital, many senior ministers already suspect I intend to entrust the orphaned heir to you. In simple terms... I’m arranging my affairs after death.”
“Pointless fuss.”
The Blind Man had assured Zheng Fan that the operation would go smoothly and that the risk could be reduced to an extremely low level.
So in Zheng Fan’s mind, this entire trip amounted to little more than going through the necessary procedure.
“We are Emperor. We have to take responsibility. If We don’t lay some groundwork in advance and something truly goes wrong, how are we supposed to clean up the situation? Letting word spread early that Our health is failing, and establishing you, Zheng Fan, as the man We personally chose to entrust the orphaned heir to... then no matter what you need to do afterward, your authority will be proper and legitimate.”
“Enough, enough.”
Zheng Fan waved a hand.
“Eunuch Wei, where’s the tea?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Eunuch Wei immediately offered tea.
Zheng Fan took a sip.
Set the cup down.
Then closed his eyes as though resting.
Even so, he still said:
“This hasn’t been easy for you either.”
Things had reached this point.
It could no longer be dismissed as the Emperor staging some performance for the sake of “friendship.”
Or perhaps, once a man had truly put everything on the table and wagered everything he possessed, whether it still counted as acting no longer mattered.
Across all the Emperors of all the ages, the only man who had ever pushed imperial authority and the dragon throne this openly into another man’s hands... was probably Ji Old Sixth.
Naturally, part of that came from the fact that Zheng Fan was different from ordinary powerful ministers.
But fundamentally...
Ji Chengjue had truly inherited the breadth of spirit and courage of the late Emperor.
He really was the imperial son who resembled his father most.
The Emperor was still having makeup applied.
He asked:
“Surnamed Zheng, tell me. Do I count as a good Emperor? I mean if you include the things we’re planning to do several years from now.”
“You’re standing too close to judge clearly. Distance creates beauty.”
“Good line.”
Once the makeup was finished... the Emperor fell asleep.
Prince Pingxi, sitting in his chair, fell asleep as well.
Eunuch Wei took an imperial blanket and gently covered the Emperor.
Then he brought another blanket and placed it over Prince Pingxi.
Afterward, Eunuch Wei went to the doorway and stood guard.
Half an hour later... the time was almost right.
Eunuch Wei returned.
He was just about to wake Prince Pingxi first when he saw that the Prince had already opened his eyes and thrown off the blanket.
Zheng Fan rose.
Walked to the reclining chair.
And looked down at the sleeping Emperor, whose face now looked thoroughly “sick.”
Suddenly... the entire scene felt unreal.
When they had parted in eastern Jin half a year ago, the Emperor had sat in his carriage and said:
“I do not believe in fate because I think this so-called Mandate of Heaven is nowhere near as magnificent as you, surnamed Zheng!”
And in truth...
Zheng Fan felt that if Ji Chengjue vanished from this world, many things left behind would suddenly become dull.
Even flattening Chu and destroying Qian later would no longer carry the same excitement.
A man sweats outside all day to earn silver.
What he looks forward to is the hot meal waiting at home... and the satisfaction and pride of placing that money into his wife’s hands.
Compared with that, any amount of hardship outside becomes bearable.
If Zheng Fan went out to campaign in the future and the man sitting on the dragon throne behind him was not Ji Chengjue but Ji Chuanye... something would be missing.
Even thinking about it felt dull.
The Emperor slept soundly.
There was one thing Zheng Fan did not know, though the Empress did.
Whenever Zheng Fan came to the capital and stayed in the princely residence... or whenever the imperial family traveled to eastern Jin and stayed in Prince Pingxi Residence... the Emperor always felt unusually secure.
He slept deeply.
Peacefully.
Looking at the Emperor sleeping this soundly... a faint softness rose inside Zheng Fan as well.
Eunuch Wei stood nearby watching Prince Pingxi’s expression.
He could not help sighing inwardly.
Perhaps this was what it meant to be true confidants—men who were not brothers by blood, yet closer than brothers.
His Majesty and the Prince truly were...
Then...
Eunuch Wei froze.
Because he saw Prince Pingxi crouch down.
Lean close to the sleeping Emperor’s face.
And suddenly shout:
“AH!”
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Thud!
The Emperor was frightened so badly he rolled straight off the reclining chair.
The palace was normally deathly solemn and quiet.
Palace maids and eunuchs were not even permitted to joke and play loudly.
Whenever the Emperor slept, Eunuch Wei personally stood guard outside.
So this was the first time in his life Ji Chengjue had ever been “startled awake” like this.
The Emperor scrambled up from the floor.
Then shouted at Zheng Fan:
“Surnamed Zheng, are you sick in the head?!”
Prince Pingxi showed not the slightest awareness that he had just disturbed the imperial person.
Instead, he answered:
“Look at you. Your own drool already ruined the makeup on your face. Scaring you awake like this is good. Consider it touching up the cosmetics.”
“Surnamed Zheng, We’ll fight you to the death!”
The Emperor made as though he would charge.
Eunuch Wei hurried forward and grabbed him.
“Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty, calm your anger!”
Across from them... the Prince rolled up the sleeves of his python robe.
Then clenched and loosened his fists.
Across the world, a Fourth Grade Martial Artist could already be called a grandmaster.
He could establish a school and found his own lineage without difficulty.
Rare, yes.
But hardly unheard of.
Yet across all of history... how many Fourth Grade Martial Artists had ever been given the opportunity to beat the reigning Emperor?
“Come on, then. It’ll add a little more color to your makeup. Better yet, let me give you some internal bleeding. Then the fake will become indistinguishable from the real thing.”
“Zheng Fan, fuck your uncle!”
...
The grand banquet began.
The dining table had always been one of the places where hierarchy mattered most.
Which rank of official sat where.
Which yamen sat where.
Which honored noble sat where.
Which imperial clansman sat where.
Everything had been assigned and arranged clearly in advance.
Wine and dishes had already been served.
But almost no one moved their chopsticks.
A grand palace banquet had never really been a place to come for a meal.
Everyone had eaten something at home before arriving.
Next... the members of the Grand Secretariat entered.
Mao Mingcai, formerly Prefect of Yingdu, was now Chief Grand Secretary.
Six other senior Grand Secretaries followed behind him.
After the new sovereign ascended the throne, he had made many changes to the court.
The most important was the formal establishment and restructuring of the Grand Secretariat.
By now, the Six Ministries were almost reduced to doing support work for it.
The civil and military officials rose and greeted the Grand Secretaries.
Everyone exchanged polite words.
Once the Grand Secretaries were seated...
Great Yan’s Grand Director of the Imperial Clan, Count Min’an Ji Chenglang, entered with his brothers.
In his treatment of his own brothers, the Emperor had shown enormous breadth.
The First Prince currently commanded troops from Nanwang City and effectively controlled the entire southern defense line of Great Yan.
Even Li Liangshen could only serve beneath him.
The Second Prince—the former Crown Prince and present Count Min’an—now served as Grand Director of the Imperial Clan.
The combination of that office and that minor noble title made the Emperor’s mockery of this former rival obvious enough.
But mockery was mockery.
In the years since taking the throne, the Emperor had not deliberately sought trouble for him.
The old grudges of the succession struggle had simply been allowed to pass.
The Fourth Prince, Ji Chengfeng, now held a post in the Ministry of War.
But it was an idle office.
Every so often, the Emperor sent him books, meaning very clearly that he should spend more time cultivating his character.
The Fifth Prince, Ji Chengwen, relied upon the merit he had earned in earlier years constructing river embankments and now served as Vice Minister of Works.
The Seventh Prince, Ji Chengsu, had grown considerably.
He held no office at present.
More importantly, the Emperor had personally said in public that this seventh younger brother thought far too much.
The Yan court had gone through the late Emperor’s great purge of the hereditary clans.
Then years of constant foreign war sent large numbers of local officials with battlefield merit into the capital.
The atmosphere at court remained excellent.
More than that, Yan people did not possess the same coy habit of wanting both virtue and appearances that people of Qian often displayed.
The Emperor had six brothers.
Aside from the First Prince, who held a Marquis title through military merit, the others were all Counts.
The deposed Second Prince had been granted the title Count Min’an.
The rest of the brothers held Count titles as well.
The officials were delighted.
The state treasury had been tight for years.
If the imperial clan could be cut back and savings extracted there, naturally everyone was happy.
As for the Emperor’s beatings and harsh restrictions upon his brothers... even the most prestigious old ministers pretended not to notice.
Those who needed to be warned were warned.
Those whose official careers and political influence needed to be cut off were cut off directly.
That way, there would be less trouble later.
Besides... the Emperor already had two sons.
The succession had heirs.
The foundation of the state was established.
The imperial clansmen could preferably roll as far away as possible.
Naturally... that was merely what people thought privately.
When the Emperor’s brothers entered, everyone greeted them with tremendous enthusiasm.
Next came His Highness the Crown Prince... walking beside Heir Prince Jingnan.
“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince! May Your Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!”
“Greetings, Your Highness the Heir Prince. May Your Highness enjoy health and peace!”
During Zheng Fan’s investiture ceremony as Prince, the Emperor had decreed that Heir Prince Jingnan would become his adopted son and had ordered the Crown Prince to address Tian Tian as elder brother.
So strictly speaking, Tian Tian was not merely a princely Heir.
He counted as half a member of the imperial household.
Still, everyone understood that the reason the Heir Prince could walk shoulder to shoulder with the Crown Prince today did not rest solely upon the legacy left by Prince Jingnan.
More importantly... he was Prince Pingxi’s “eldest son.”
Everyone beneath Heaven knew that the person Prince Pingxi doted upon most... was this godson!
After that... the Empress entered the banquet beside Princess Consort Pingxi.
Behind them came Princess Consort Zhenbei and the Commandery Princess of Prince Zhenbei Residence.
Strictly according to etiquette... the Empress should have walked in front.
Siniang should have walked beside Yiguna.
But the Empress took Siniang’s arm and walked beside her.
Siniang did not refuse.
To a certain degree... she understood the confidence eastern Jin possessed even better than her own man did.
Li Qian did not possess the qualification to walk beside them.
Yiguna, meanwhile, consciously followed behind.
“This minister and the others greet Her Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!”
“My beloved ministers, please rise.”
“Greetings, Princess Consort Pingxi. May Your Highness enjoy health and peace.”
Siniang acknowledged them with a smile.
Once the proper courtesies were finished, everyone began waiting.
Since the Emperor had not entered with the Empress... then obviously... the Emperor and Prince Pingxi would enter as a pair.
Strictly speaking, there should still be Prince Zhenbei behind them.
But everyone had already forgotten him.
When it came to realism... when it came to counting every ounce of status and advantage... street hawkers were not even qualified to carry the shoes of the great men of court.
...
“Why didn’t you conceal what happened with Prince Zhenbei?”
“No need to conceal it. What does it matter if they know perfectly well that We are pretending to be sick? During the day, the order transferring Li Chenghui’s command to eastern Jin was already sent to the Grand Secretariat. If the Grand Secretariat knows, then everyone in court who ought to know will naturally know as well. When the time comes, the civil and military officials will only understand one thing: We are drawing blood from Prince Zhenbei Residence to strengthen you, Prince Pingxi. You are the minister We have chosen to entrust the orphaned heir to. Prince Zhenbei Residence can only pretend it knows nothing. They don’t dare make noise. They don’t dare protest. Li Fei and Li Qian are not idiots. If they truly start shouting that all of this was some play acted out by you and Us, what happens to them? The entire realm will only conclude that Prince Zhenbei Residence refuses to accept the arrangement and is searching for an excuse to raise troops. At that point, wouldn’t it be effortless for you to clean them up?”
“Heh.”
Ahead of them stood Li Fei.
The Emperor and Prince Pingxi naturally stopped chatting.
Li Fei saw the Emperor lying upon the imperial litter.
He froze.
That afternoon, the three of them had still been bathing together.
How had His Majesty suddenly reached the point where he needed to be carried?
And from this close... the Emperor’s “sickly appearance” was painfully obvious.
This was...
“Li Fei.”
“This minister is here.”
“Our dragon body is unwell.”
“Yes...”
Li Fei immediately recovered.
“Your Majesty must preserve your dragon body.”
“Mm.”
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction.
Sometimes one could only admire the wisdom of those three men from the previous generation.
Especially Li Liangting.
The people of one generation handled the affairs of their own generation.
How much affection the next generation could inherit... ultimately depended upon “self-awareness” and “knowing one’s place.”
Eastern Jin possessed Zheng Fan’s foundation beneath it.
That naturally gave it the right to stand upright.
Prince Zhenbei Residence, after losing its old Prince, had nothing left except knowing its place.
That was not cowardice.
It was understanding the times.
The great trend itself was already clear.
The new Emperor resembled his father in far more than appearance.
Did people truly believe the late Emperor’s methods and cold blood had somehow vanished from the son?
It was simply that saying certain things openly would damage relationships.
Unless driven to the final extreme, everyone preferred harmony.
At the entrance, Lu Bing waited.
The present Lu Bing held two yamens in his hands at once.
He had become the foremost man beneath Great Yan’s shadows.
“This minister kowtows before my Emperor. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!”
Lu Bing knelt.
The Emperor smiled.
“There is another one.”
Lu Bing shifted on his knees and kowtowed toward Zheng Fan.
“This minister kowtows before Prince Pingxi.”
For Zheng Fan, the surgery carried an extremely high chance of success.
But for the Emperor, he had to settle every piece of his “posthumous business” in advance.
“Let us go in and meet... Our ministers.”
“Yes!”
Lu Bing replaced one of the eunuchs at the front and took up the imperial litter.
Originally, he had left one carrying handle empty for Prince Pingxi.
But Prince Pingxi stood nearby... apparently admiring the moonlight.
Then Li Fei walked over.
He took the remaining handle.
The procession... entered the banquet.
The instant the Emperor was carried inside lying down... an uproar swept the entire gathering.
Rumors that the Emperor’s health had developed problems had not been secret for quite some time.
Several days earlier, when Prince Zhenbei entered the capital, the Crown Prince had gone out to welcome him.
Today, when Prince Pingxi entered the capital, the Crown Prince again went to welcome him.
Why had the Son of Heaven not gone personally?
Naturally... because his body could no longer bear it.
“This minister and the others kowtow before my Emperor! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
“This minister and the others kowtow before my Emperor! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
Every person present knelt.
“My beloved ministers... rise... cough, cough...”
“His Majesty has decreed that all ministers rise.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Like that, the Son of Heaven was carried from the outside all the way inward.
Tear tracks already marked the faces of many ministers.
Some had even begun sobbing aloud.
Was some of it performance?
Of course.
Certainly.
But most of the tears... were genuine.
Everyone knew the Son of Heaven had a harsh personality.
Compared with the late Emperor, however, he was actually much easier to deal with.
And unlike the late Emperor’s years of relentless campaigning, the present Emperor had devoted himself to renewal and recovery alongside the people.
One benevolent policy after another had finally given the people of Great Yan a chance to breathe and rebuild.
The new sovereign had not occupied the throne for long.
But the ministers understood him better than anyone.
This Emperor... was a wise sovereign.
The imperial litter reached the platform.
That raised dais formed the central and highest point of the entire banquet.
Upon it stood an extremely broad dragon throne.
The Emperor turned his face toward Zheng Fan standing beside him.
“Surnamed Zheng, carry me up.”
Zheng Fan turned and stared at him.
The Emperor whispered:
“We’re acting. No need to find it disgusting, right? Cough, cough...”
Zheng Fan had no choice.
He walked to the imperial litter.
Wei Zhonghe helped the “gravely ill” Emperor lean onto Prince Pingxi’s back.
Then...
Prince Pingxi carried the Emperor up the steps.
The Emperor rested one hand on Prince Pingxi’s shoulder.
“Surnamed Zheng, I suddenly feel so weak.”
“You’re getting too deep into the role.”
“What’s wrong with being professional?”
“Get any more disgusting and I’ll throw you down.”
“Heh.”
Zheng Fan placed the Emperor onto the dragon throne.
Once seated... the Emperor immediately slumped against one side of it, looking feeble and thoroughly dispirited.
The sobbing among the ministers below gradually quieted.
Quite a few gazes had already shifted toward the “Counts” standing in the front ranks.
In other words... the former imperial Princes.
Yet as those former Princes felt the attention falling upon them, not one experienced the slightest excitement.
Only fear.
They did not know the Emperor was pretending to be sick.
Very few people knew.
Only Prince Pingxi’s household, Prince Zhenbei’s household, and a small number of palace eunuchs under Wei Zhonghe’s strict control.
By ordinary logic, if the new Emperor’s health was collapsing, perhaps these imperial brothers ought to feel that opportunity had returned.
After all... the Crown Prince was still young.
But Prince Pingxi was standing right there.
He was simply... standing there.
That presence.
That silent warning.
It was enough to make every brother of the Emperor crush even the smallest stray thought before it formed.
The Emperor clearly noticed this detail as well.
Then...
Eunuch Wei stepped to the edge of the dais and began reading the edict.
“By Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since We ascended the throne, We have lived in constant fear that We might fail the great expectations of Our ancestors, fail the grace by which the late Emperor entrusted the realm to Us, and fail the countless common people of Great Yan... Yet Heaven carries unforeseen storms, and men know calamity from one dawn to the next. We had wished to devote the blood of Our entire life to bringing Great Yan to flourishing order and unifying All Xia. Regrettably... Heaven has not granted Us long years. Now Our dragon body is unwell. We fear turmoil in the realm. For the altars of state, We seek security. For the myriad people, We seek one upon whom they may rely.”
At this point...
Eunuch Wei pressed his lips together.
Then continued:
“Prince Pingxi is steady and restrained, possessed of talent beyond his peers and the cultivated bearing of a man of deep refinement. Though fate has subjected him to repeated hardships and tribulations, he has remained always himself. He has borne in heart the saying that Heaven entrusts great responsibility only after trials. Respectful in duty, broad in spirit, at peace within himself, loving the state and cherishing the people, diligent and conscientious... he has brought great comfort to Our heart. We therefore specially issue this edict and appoint him Regent Prince. From this day onward, forget not home and state. Forget not the injunctions of those who came before. Respect this!”
For an instant... the ministers erupted in shock.
The members of the Grand Secretariat, however, seemed to have expected something of the kind.
Everyone had been deceived.
But not everyone had been deceived to the same degree.
From the Grand Secretaries’ perspective, if the Emperor’s health truly was failing, the best solution was not to hurriedly suppress and destroy Prince Pingxi.
Everyone understood perfectly well that doing so would lead to only one result: a great civil war across all Great Yan.
The best method... was to invite Prince Pingxi away from his fief and into the capital.
Separate him from his territorial base.
Then use the great righteousness of the state to restrain him while imperial authority passed smoothly to the next generation.
Wait until the Crown Prince came of age and personally assumed government.
This... was the best solution available.
In the present circumstances... it was also the only one.
So the Grand Secretaries stepped out first.
They knelt.
“This minister and the others greet the Regent Prince.”
Immediately afterward...
Li Fei stepped forward.
His head was still filled with questions.
But he knelt anyway.
“Greetings, Regent Prince.”
Then... the Crown Prince climbed the dais.
He knelt before Zheng Fan.
“This Chuanye greets Uncle Regent Prince!”
The Emperor’s brothers stepped out as well.
They knelt.
“This minister and the others greet the Regent Prince.”
Once the great men and the imperial clan had already taken the lead... large numbers of officials could only kneel as well, many still with tears on their faces.
Naturally... some ministers began shouting:
“You cannot! Absolutely cannot, Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, how can this beast be allowed to steal such a position!”
“Your Majesty, Great Yan’s realm will be lost!”
Those ministers were immediately “supported” out by groups of eunuchs.
The movement was remarkably efficient.
This was the will of the Son of Heaven.
When the Son of Heaven himself lifted Great Yan’s foremost military Prince—the territorial lord who already possessed the greatest real power—and personally placed him in the regent’s position... resistance was extremely difficult to form.
It might actually have been simpler than if Zheng Fan had led an army into Yanjing himself.
After all... one could hardly ask:
Why has Your Majesty rebelled?
At the same time... every major garrison throughout Great Yan would receive secret edicts from the Emperor.
An Emperor... had already paved the entire road for a powerful minister to usurp the throne.
Paved it flat.
Steady.
He had even planted flowers along both sides.
Zheng Fan remained standing.
Below him, wave after wave of voices continued shouting:
“Greetings, Regent Prince!”
The Emperor, still slumped sickly against the dragon throne, reached out.
He caught the sleeve of Zheng Fan’s python robe.
Gave it a light tug.
No response.
So he tugged again.
Zheng Fan finally turned.
The Emperor raised one hand.
Then patted the empty portion of the dragon throne beside himself.
“Sit.”
Once, when no one else was around, the newly enthroned Emperor had secretly dragged Zheng Fan onto the dragon throne and asked how it felt.
This time... before every eye in the hall... before the gaze of the entire realm... the Emperor offered the invitation again.
Zheng Fan stepped back twice.
Then... sat down upon the dragon throne.
That night... above them, beneath the vast canopy of Heaven, one solitary moon hung high.
Below... upon Great Yan’s dragon throne... sat two silhouettes.
The Emperor leaned against one side of the throne.
His face still painted with that “sickly” pallor.
Then suddenly he said:
“Surnamed Zheng... We suddenly feel that whether this illness gets treated or not... almost doesn’t matter anymore.”
[End of Chapter 934]
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