The old emperor looked at Zhu Dan kneeling below and said, "Dan'er, among my sons, I value you the most. As you know, from the age of five, I decided to hand over the throne of the Great Zhou to you."
"I was powerless to help your older brothers who were born before you. I could only try my best to clear obstacles for you, which allowed Zhu Zhi and Zhu Chen to balance power in the court and weaken each other. But since you, no more imperial heirs have been born in my harem. Do you know why?"
Zhu Dan knelt on the ground without saying a word.
"Because I don't want the Great Zhou to suffer the same fate as the previous dynasty, where several sons fought for the throne and ultimately lost their great empire! So I gave each of my concubines an infertility drug! But what did you just say! Are you trying to anger me to death?!"
After saying this, the old emperor coughed loudly again, his face turning bright red.
Zhu Dan hurriedly got up, patted the old emperor on the back, and handed him a sip of tea to help him catch his breath.
From a very young age, he knew that his father had already decided to make him the crown prince.
To clear the way for him, his father used his other four sons. He knew that all his attempts to dissuade him were useless, so he had no choice but to leave the city of Shengjing with the Grand Preceptor.
But what was bound to happen still happened.
The old emperor's withered, age-spotted hand gripped Zhu Dan's wrist tightly, his nails digging almost into his flesh, as he coughed and gasped for breath.
Zhu Dan shouted to summon the imperial physician, but the old emperor waved his hand, saying that the physician had only been gone a short while and what use was he?
After being stabbed by Consort Ye on the day of the imperial examination, the old emperor's wound healed, but his health deteriorated. He often coughed so badly that he couldn't sleep at night. Only after taking the Taoist's elixir could he manage to sleep for an hour or two each day.
Therefore, he became increasingly reliant on elixirs.
Zhu Dan knew that his father was ignoring advice and had been taking pills, which were actually made of heavy metals and were poisonous. Even if Ayan came, he would be powerless to help.
The old emperor removed the handkerchief covering his mouth, revealing it covered in crimson.
Zhu Dan was shocked: "Father!"
The old emperor was also terrified by the bright red blood. His hand, gripping Zhu Dan's wrist, trembled uncontrollably; he didn't want to die.
"Summon the imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician immediately!"
Zhang Zhongwei hurriedly sent a eunuch to fetch Physician Jiang from the Imperial Hospital.
Zhu Dan's eyes were red: "Father, please stop talking, please stop talking."
The old emperor, not wanting to miss this opportunity to persuade Zhu Dan, said while panting heavily, "Dan'er, just two days ago you told me that our Great Zhou is not rich and our people are not strong. Have you forgotten? Why did the Southern Liang Emperor send a letter of state seeking peace at this particular time? Dan, Dan'er, have you thought about this?"
Zhu Dan remained silent, which was his own fault. In recent years, he had been away from Shengjing City to escape the intrigue and treachery. If he had returned to Shengjing earlier and persuaded his father to develop agriculture, industry and commerce, the Great Zhou would not be afraid to fight against the Southern Liang now.
The old emperor grabbed his wrist: "Because they learned of the turmoil within our Great Zhou, they want to challenge the authority of our Great Zhou as a great power, and with our current national strength, we cannot withstand a war with them, so..."
“Therefore, we cannot agree to this marriage alliance!” Lu Xiaoyun strode in, lifted her robe, and knelt down before the old emperor.
“Father, you know that this marriage alliance between Southern Liang and Southern Zhou is a test of our Great Zhou. If we simply endure it and marry Ruoling off, they will not only not treat her well, but the war with our Great Zhou will still continue. At that time, they will kill Ruoling. She will die, Father!”
"How dare you, Zhu Yu! Who gave you permission to enter without prior notice!" the old emperor roared. "Where is Zhang Zhongwei? Is he dead? Who gave you permission to let him in? Do you even respect me, the emperor?"
Zhang Zhongwei scrambled in, but how could he stop Prince An? "Your Majesty, this old servant is guilty!"
“It has nothing to do with Eunuch Zhang. I forced my way in. He couldn’t stop me.”
"Zhu Yu, what are you trying to do! Are you trying to follow Zhu Heng's example and stage a coup?" The old emperor coughed loudly in anger.
"Father, I am filled with fear and trepidation." Lu Xiaoyun knelt upright.
“Father, Fourth Brother is only worried about Ruoling. He shares the same sentiment as me and neither of us wants to see Ruoling go to her death.”
While patting the old emperor's back to soothe him, Zhu Dan said, "Fourth Brother is right. If we back down so easily this time, it will only embolden Southern Liang. This major battle with Southern Liang is unavoidable. As soon as the war starts, they will kill Ruoling."
“Father, didn’t you love her the most? You always said that Ruoling suffered too much when she was young. She is your youngest princess whom you cherish, so you certainly wouldn’t bear to see her die at the hands of the Southern Liang people. Is that right, Father?”
The old emperor looked at Zhu Dan: "Then tell me, who is the person you love? Why did you reject the Fifth Princess of Southern Liang?"
"Father!" Zhu Dan said to the old emperor, but his eyes were on Lu Xiaoyun. "Your subject only did that as a temporary measure. There was no one he was interested in."
"Then how about you marry the Fifth Princess of Southern Liang as your Crown Princess? I believe they would prefer you to marry their princess." The old emperor tightened his grip on Zhu Dan's wrist.
"Father, I can't do it." Zhu Dan lowered his head, not daring to look at the old emperor, let alone his "Fourth Brother". He was unwilling to marry anyone but Yun'er.
"Then what do you want me to do! The great war with Chen has already drained the treasury of the Great Zhou. What else can I use to fight Nanliang! Tell me, what can I use to fight Nanliang! I can barely afford to pay the salaries of my ministers now. What else can I offer!"
The old emperor roared at the two of them, his shrill voice echoing throughout the imperial study.
Zhang Zhongwei was so frightened that he knelt down to the side, wishing he could disappear.
"Father, I want to marry!" A voice, choked with sobs, came from outside the Imperial Study.
The three of them looked outside together, and Ruoling stood at the door of the Imperial Study with tears streaming down her face.
"Ruoling, no!"
"I disagree!"
Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Dan spoke at the same time.
Ruoling stepped over the high steps of the Imperial Study and walked towards the two of them: "Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, I am a princess, supported by the taxes of the people. I have been living in luxury since childhood. This is my responsibility."
“This is not your responsibility!” Lu Xiaoyun stood up. “This is our responsibility as men. You are a princess of our Great Zhou Dynasty. Our Great Zhou Dynasty does not send princesses to marry far away for political reasons!”
The old emperor sneered coldly.
Lu Xiaoyun turned to the old emperor and said, "Father, this letter from Southern Liang is a provocation. Whether we agree or not, it won't change the fact that they are taking advantage of the current weakness of our Great Zhou to try and get a share of the spoils. They have no real intention of marrying Ruoling. Even if they did, I would never agree!"
"If the Southern Liang army dares to invade, your son requests to fight!" Lu Xiaoyun bowed again, her voice resounding.
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