Chapter 708 The Emperor's Will

But what father would want his daughter to be forced into such a situation? At least for Duke Xuanyuan, he hoped that his daughter would never have to face such danger.

Li'er just needs to stay innocent under his wings for the rest of her life.

Therefore, the Duke felt that Hu Xin'er was just coaxing His Majesty and not letting him worry about her.

Although the palace was magnificent with carved beams and painted rafters, the wooden structure had poor sound insulation. Anyone outside who had practiced martial arts could vaguely hear what was said inside. Therefore, Hu Xiner was extremely careful in her choice of words, trying not to let anyone notice anything.

The officials outside were as silent as statues, but those who knew the situation couldn't help but sigh in their hearts that the second princess was truly filial.

Just now, the emperor fainted right after he finished talking about the princess, and he didn't even mention canonizing Hu Xiner as the second princess.

If she were an ordinary woman or someone who was trying to curry favor with the powerful, she would have probably worried too much about this matter, but Hu Xin'er was calm and composed as she performed her filial duties at the bedside of the dying emperor, without even saying a single extra word.

This demeanor doesn't seem like that of an ordinary peasant girl at all.

On the bed, the emperor gradually lost himself in thought as he listened: "All beings are equal, everyone is prosperous... Is this the fairyland you are talking about?"

Hu Xiner blinked her dry eyes gently. She looked at the emperor lying on the bed in front of her and knew that if this illness happened in modern times, it would probably be a piece of cake.

The emperor is only in his fifties now, and in China, it is very common for an old man to live to the age of seventy. At this age, he is still strong and healthy. In contemporary society, any middle-class person can afford the medical expenses.

But the emperor before him, who held the wealth of a country, could only die here due to the limitations of the times. This is the sorrow of everyone in this era.

She said, "Compared to here, it is indeed a fairyland."

A hopeful smile appeared in the emperor's eyes. He wanted to ask if he could be reunited with his daughter in the fairyland after his death, but in the end he could only smile.

After saying this, Hu Xin'er felt a little thirsty, so she comforted him, "The princess will probably be here soon, please be patient and wait."

She turned around and went to the table to drink tea, but after taking two sips, she heard the Duke softly call out "Your Majesty".

The emperor, who had just been chatting with Hu Xiner, did not respond.

Duke Xuanyuan quickly stepped forward, sniffed his breath, then tremblingly withdrew his hand and said sadly, "His Majesty has passed away."

"Dang!" Hu Xin'er turned back in disbelief, and the cup in her hand fell heavily to the ground, breaking into several pieces.

The funeral bells rang, and the bells echoed between the palace walls. All the officials cried out in pain: "Your Majesty!"

Before Hu Xiner could come to her senses, she saw the Duke calmly close His Majesty's eyes, and then take out a brocade box from the beam.

There lay quietly an imperial edict in the brocade box. He took it out and said in a loud voice: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees—"

Just as it started, it was interrupted by the sound of messy footsteps. The eldest princess was standing at the door in a daze, holding Old Man Dou in her hand.

Duke Xuanyuan simply paused before continuing to read the imperial edict: "Princess Nangongyue possesses both talent and virtue. She has recently made outstanding contributions in assisting government affairs, therefore..."

The contents of the imperial edict can be roughly divided into three items: 1. Princess Nangong Yue will be appointed as the Crown Princess, and she will inherit the throne after the emperor's death.

2. Hu Xiner will be appointed as the second princess and will enjoy the honor of the whole country from now on. No one is allowed to bully her and her treatment should be the same as that of the former eldest princess.

3. Order the Duke of Xuanyuan, the Prime Minister, and all the court officials to assist the Empress together and no one is allowed to disobey.

The Duke was still reading the imperial edict, and the ministers listened attentively, seeming to have easily accepted the fact that the emperor had passed away, even though this person had just been chatting and laughing with them at the banquet.

Only the eldest princess looked at Hu Xin'er blankly: "Father, he..."

"He passed away peacefully." Hu Xiner couldn't help but feel a pain in her heart when she saw this. She took her hand and led her to the emperor's body.

The imperial physicians were mourning His Majesty and examining the cause of death. When they saw the eldest princess approaching, they all moved away.

The princess saw the emperor's dying smile and asked, "What did you say to him?"

Hu Xiner moved her lips but no sound came out. She used the method of voice transmission to repeat what she had just said to the princess.

The eldest princess's lips began to tremble. She could no longer hold back and threw herself on the emperor, wailing loudly: "Father, you went to play in the fairyland. What should I do? What should I do if you leave me alone?"

Everyone knows that the emperor's love of fun is just an appearance, and he is actually an extremely majestic monarch.

But the eldest princess knew that her father had been fond of playing since he was young, and it was the burden of the family and the country that forced him to become what he is today. Although the state affairs are now well managed, he is still the young man in his heart.

Even when he was dying, he just wanted to go to new and interesting places to have some fun.

But the dead die with ease, but how will the living spend the rest of their lives?

Hu Xiner gently patted the eldest princess's back.

At some point, the queen had led all the concubines to the palace gate.

After His Majesty fell into a coma, the concubines should have waited at the door before the ministers to serve him, but the insincere cries of the concubines made the emperor dizzy, so he sent them all back to the harem.

Upon hearing the bad news, all the concubines took off their gorgeous jewelry, wore plain clothes, and stood at the door crying miserably, holding their handkerchiefs.

However, after a brief period of turmoil, the concubines and ministers made eye contact.

Amidst the eyebrow-eye dispute, Zhao Yunhe muttered, "Declaring the Princess Empress solely based on His Majesty's dying words—isn't that a bit too hasty?"

Duke Xuanyuan looked over with sharp eyes.

Zhao Yunhe was frightened into silence, but remembering the double act between the Duke and the Emperor at the banquet, he became extremely dissatisfied. "Who knows if this imperial edict is true or not? Would the Duke dare to let us examine it?"

If the emperor were still alive, he would surely rebuke them. How could anyone examine an imperial edict? Would they treat it like street food, breaking off a piece to taste?

"That's right." Seeing Zhao Yunhe's stubbornness, some officials boldly spoke up. "How can a woman be emperor? This goes against the yin and yang of heaven and earth, and will bring about divine punishment!"

"In the past, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ruled the country as a woman. Not only did he receive both praise and criticism, but he also led to the demise of the Li Dynasty. This shows how severe the punishment from heaven is. You must not let the entire dynasty be destroyed just because of your Majesty's selfish desires!" The Minister of Rites, who was over fifty years old, jumped out and said with great sorrow.

Seeing someone taking the lead, all the officials followed suit. Even the concubines started a commotion. Several concubines looked at each other and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, where in the world has there ever been a saying that a woman can rule a country? What you say is not without reason."