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In the spring of the twelfth year of Xingwu's reign, Emperor Xingwu received two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The good news was that his eldest daughter-in-law, Lü Wenrong, showed signs of pregnancy in the first month of the year. The bad news also came from the Lü family. At the end of February, the spring was still cold and the 68-year-old Duke Chengguo Lü Guangzu fell ill.

At first, everyone thought the old Duke had simply caught a common cold. Unexpectedly, two days later, the imperial physician returned from the Duke's Mansion with grim news for Emperor Xingwu: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Duke Cheng won't survive this night."

The imperial physician lowered his head and said this. After waiting for a long time, the emperor did not respond. The imperial physician slowly raised his eyes cautiously and saw the emperor sitting blankly behind the imperial desk, with two tear marks on his usually majestic face.

The imperial physician knelt hastily, explaining in a trembling voice, "To be honest, Your Majesty, Duke Cheng is getting old. Ever since he suffered a stroke last autumn, his health has been greatly weakened. This time, the cold has invaded his body, and he is already at the end of his strength. No more medicine will help."

Emperor Xingwu turned his head and waved at him.

The imperial physician bowed his head and left.

He Yuanjing stepped forward with red eyes, advising the emperor to take care of his health and asking whether he should send someone to inform the crown prince and the crown princess.

Emperor Xingwu wiped his face casually and said, "I'll also go and tell the several founding heroes to wait outside the palace gate and accompany me to visit the old Duke."

The palace servants in Qianyuan Hall were either passing messages to several meritorious officials or arranging the carriage. Everything was in order. The news of Emperor Xingwu leaving the palace this time did not reach Chongwen Pavilion.

Qingyang listened attentively to Mr. Guo's lecture. When she returned to Jiuhua Palace at noon, she learned about this from her mother who had come to wait for her in advance.

The kind and generous smile of Lu Guangzu appeared in front of Qingyang's eyes. He was also a native of a small county town who had followed his father early on. Because the Lu family had military officers as ancestors, their descendants had been studying and practicing martial arts for generations. Therefore, Lu Guangzu and his son did not have the rustic habits of Wang Shu and Deng Chong, and were more approachable and easy-going than the descendants of famous families such as Yan Xizheng, Zhang Jie, and Meng Ji.

"Why did you suddenly become so ill?" Qingyang asked uncomfortably.

Concubine Li sighed, "When you get old, even the smallest illness can be fatal. It's rare that Duke Cheng lived to be sixty-six years old in good health, and only started to become ill in the past two years."

Qingyang: "Mother, I also want to visit him."

Concubine Li shook her head and advised her daughter: "Your father and the others have returned, and only your eldest brother and sister-in-law are staying over there with him. In his last moments, let him spend more time with his family. They will have to entertain you when you go."

She also didn't want her daughter to go, for fear that her daughter would be even more sad when she saw Lu Guangzu's sick appearance, or even have nightmares at night.

Qingyang listened to his mother and was silent for a moment before asking, "How is Father?"

Concubine Li: "I heard from He Yuanjing that your father stayed alone after returning and didn't even have lunch."

Qingyang: "I don't have much of an appetite right now, so I'll go and keep my father company."

Concubine Li knew that the father and daughter had the best relationship, so she sent her daughter out of the palace and went to the nearby Chengming Palace to talk to her son about this matter.

Qingyang came to the central hall of Qianyuan Palace, exchanged glances with He Yuanjing who was waiting quietly outside, and left Jie Yu to go in alone.

She did not deliberately slow down her steps as she walked in. She drew aside the curtain and saw her father lying on the bed by the window with his eyes closed, motionless. She wondered if he was asleep.

The low table in the middle of the Luohan bed was then placed on the ground by her father. Qingyang carefully placed the low table on the side where her father was leaning. She just sat on it as a bench and when she looked up, she met her father's eyes, which had opened at some point, and were looking at her without any emotion.

Qingyang subconsciously observed his father first. There were no tears or redness in his eyes, but he seemed to have lost his spirit, as if his father was also sick.

Qingyang burst into tears for some reason and leaned on his father and said, "I don't want you to be so sad."

Emperor Xingwu gently stroked his daughter's head and said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine tomorrow. I'll just be feeling unwell this afternoon."

It's impossible not to feel uncomfortable.

He lost his father at a young age, and his father was a gambler who was worse than no one. His mother worked hard to make a living and could barely fill his stomach. She had no extra energy to teach him anything. He relied on his thick skin to first worship Mr. Yang, who ran a private school, as his literary teacher, and then followed Deng Chong to the Lu family to learn martial arts, and worshipped Lu Guangzu as his martial arts teacher.

The two treated him as both a teacher and a father. Without their direct or indirect help in broadening his horizons, he might not be where he is today.

Mr. Yang passed away early. At that time, Emperor Xingwu was still young and could cry loudly. Now that he has become a grandfather, he can't even cry out loud if he wants to.

Before he knew it, Emperor Xingwu was telling his daughter the interesting stories of when he was learning martial arts at the Lu family.

"Uncle Lu was young, impulsive, and impatient at the time. We would often make him want to hit people, but he was afraid of Aunt Lu. As long as Aunt Lu protected us, he would be helpless."

"Before Father decided to start the rebellion, Uncle Lu was always against it, fearing that we would fail and die. But when we really wanted to take action, he followed us out of concern and showed no mercy when it came to killing the corrupt officials."

"He used to treat the Emperor like his own son or nephew. After the Emperor ascended the throne, he became even more respectful of the Emperor... The funny thing is, the Emperor not only finds him too cautious and alienating, but also wants others to emulate him and become well-behaved subjects."

Qingyang leaned on her father's arms and listened quietly to him talking to himself until she became hungry and her voice was heard by her father.

Emperor Xingwu sat up suddenly and asked: "Lin'er, haven't you eaten yet?"

Qingyang nodded.

Emperor Xingwu immediately asked He Yuanjing to serve the meal, and he ate two bowls of rice himself to reassure his daughter.

At Duke Lu's mansion, Qin Hong accompanied his father-in-law and mother-in-law to guard outside the old man's house, allowing the pregnant Lu Wenrong to return to her boudoir to rest before getting married.

After taking the medicine, Lu Guangzu slept for the whole afternoon. He woke up in the evening, drank a few mouthfuls of soup and medicine, and continued to sleep. He suddenly woke up at the second watch, and his eyes had regained about 50% of their spirit. Lu Zan looked at the imperial physician who had stayed there with ecstasy, but when he saw the imperial physician shaking his head sadly, Lu Zan suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and realized that his father's condition was what others often called a last hurrah.

Knowing that he didn't have much time left, Lu Guangzu asked his family to leave first and left the prince alone.

Qin Hong sat beside the old man's bed, holding the old man's skinny hand tightly.

Lü Guangzu's voice was hoarse as he looked at the Crown Prince and said, "Since I'm in this state, I won't beat around the bush with Your Highness. I want to know why Your Highness is always trembling with fear. I'm not exaggerating, Your Highness. The Emperor only has three sons, and given his wisdom, he wouldn't abandon you in favor of the Second or Third Prince. So, what is there for Your Highness to fear?"

Facing the old man's loving yet worried look, Qin Hong shed tears. He knelt beside him and whispered to the old man, "I've never been afraid that my father would give the throne to my second and third brothers. What I'm afraid of is disappointing my father's high hopes for me. The more he hopes for me to succeed, the more afraid I am, because I simply can't be like my father..."

Lu Guangzu smiled and said, "No one can compare to the emperor. The emperor is the founding emperor. He will leave you a peaceful and prosperous Great Qi. The crown prince only needs to make use of wise ministers and be a good ruler who maintains the status quo."

Qin Hong wanted to cry even more. "But how can we tell who are the virtuous ministers? You are old, the Left Prime Minister and his men are also getting old, and there are also those great generals..."

Close to them are Wang Shu and Deng Chong, and far away are Meng Ji, Zhang Jie and others. When my father was in their presence, they all submitted to him. Once my father is gone, will they still be willing to submit to him?

And there are his sisters and brothers. The eldest sister always wants to be the boss, and the second brother doesn't listen to him. Qin Hong can't even be the eldest brother, so how can he be sure to rule the world?

What Lu Guangzu saw was a prince who was even more anxious than usual, a prince who was obviously talented but lacked courage.

If the prince was afraid that his younger brothers would compete with him for the throne, he could still find a way to appease them, but the prince was actually afraid that he would not be able to be a good emperor in the future.

How to sit firmly on the throne?

Lu Guangzu did not teach the prince how to be an emperor, and teaching him inappropriately would only harm him.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Emperor is young and strong. He can imagine the Crown Prince's worries. He will make arrangements for you."

Seeing the old man looking outside, Qin Hong quickly wiped away his tears and went to invite in the Crown Princess and his father-in-law Lu Zan, whom the old man wanted to see.

Lu Guangzu said to his tearful granddaughter, "The Crown Prince is still young and has a heavy burden on his shoulders. You should not interfere in the affairs of the court. Just take care of his daily life and be as tolerant and comforting as water to his worries, fears, anger and sorrow."

Lu Wenrong choked and nodded.

After Lu Guangzu waited for his granddaughter to leave, he looked at his son and said, "When I leave, the Emperor will definitely let you take over as the commander of the Eastern Camp. You must remember that as a general, whether in charge of the Beijing Camp or the border troops, the soldiers under your command are always the Emperor's soldiers. You are only in charge of the troops on behalf of the Emperor. You must not be complacent. You should learn from Zhang Jie and Meng Ji, and never from Deng Chong."

Lü Zan burst into tears and said, "My son knows. He will never make a mistake."

Lu Guangzu tightly grasped his son's hand and said, "You must be loyal to the Emperor. Even if it's the Crown Prince, as long as he doesn't become Emperor, he won't be able to command you and the East Camp. Even if, even if the Emperor decides to appoint a new Crown Prince in the future, you must be loyal to the Emperor's decision and the new Emperor he chooses. You must not impulsively start a rebellion because of your relationship with the Crown Prince and follow in Yuan Zhaoxiong's footsteps!"

The crown prince is too weak, too weak. Who can guarantee that the emperor will not want to change the crown prince?

Lü Zan was horrified: "Father, why do you say that? Could it be..."

Lu Guangzu didn't have the energy to explain. He just stared at his son and kept repeating four words: "Be loyal to the emperor, be loyal to the emperor..."

.

Qingyang didn't sleep well that night. When he woke up, it was pitch dark outside. He called Jie Yu in and found out that it was not yet the hour of Yin.

Not wanting to alarm the other palace maids, Qingyang continued to lie on the bed, sometimes thinking about Lu Guangzu's news, sometimes unable to help but thinking about his father.

Her father once joked with her about his imperial mausoleum. Qingyang didn't like it and cried. She felt that her father was not old at all and could accompany her for a long, long time.

But Lu Guangzu's serious illness this time suddenly made Qingyang realize that the word "old" not only means that old people will gradually develop wrinkles and white hair, but also means that their bodies are gradually withering, so withered that they cannot even withstand or resist a seemingly ordinary cold, which means that no matter how many precious medicinal materials and imperial doctors there are, they cannot save them.

Fortunately, my father is only fifty-one years old this year, his white hair is not obvious, and he doesn’t have many wrinkles.

However, Qingyang no longer looks forward to growing up. She would rather be a little princess controlled by her father forever than grow up and have her father become too old to take care of her.

"Your Highness, it's time to get up."

It seemed like she hadn't been lying there for long when it was dawn and Qinfang came in to wake her up.

The serious illness of an old duke was not enough to stop the princes and princesses from attending school.

It was also on this day that Duke Cheng of Qi, Lü Guangzu, a founding hero of the Great Qi Dynasty, died of illness.

【Author’s words】

[Poor][Poor][Poor], 100 little red envelopes, see you tonight!