It was another early morning court day. The atmosphere in the court was solemn and dignified, as if shrouded by an invisible pressure.
After the ministers' daily fierce bickering ended, the court was silent for a while, and even the sound of a pin drop could be heard clearly.
When Li Guangde, who was in charge of presiding over the court meeting, was about to call for the court to be adjourned, the Prince of Ningchuan, a member of the royal family who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, came out with a solemn expression, holding a tablet, and stepped steadily to present a report.
"Your Majesty, I have something important to report."
Emperor Jingxi raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, his face full of surprise, as if he had never expected that the usually extremely low-key Prince Ningchuan would one day take the initiative to say that he had something to report.
You know, Prince Ningchuan is usually very low-key and almost never participates in those complicated party disputes. It is precisely because of this that Emperor Jingxi has special trust in him.
At this moment, Emperor Jingxi couldn't help but speculate in his heart, wondering what he was going to report today.
Thinking of this, Emperor Jingxi nodded slightly, signaling Prince Ningchuan to continue.
Prince Ningchuan said with a solemn expression, righteous words, and selfless impartiality:
"There are many members of the royal family who have no children, and the continuation of the bloodline is a matter of great concern. I implore Your Majesty to adopt sons for these childless members of the royal family, so as to ensure the prosperity of the royal family and the continuation of the lineage."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the court.
The ministers were whispering to each other, and the sound of whispers came one after another.
"Why did Prince Ningchuan suddenly mention this?"
"I think it's because of Prince Kang. Prince Kang has been seriously ill recently and is on the verge of dying, but there are only a few girls in the mansion."
"Prince Ningchuan is in charge of the Imperial Household Department and also takes care of the affairs of the royal family. I saw him go to Prince Kang's residence the other day. Perhaps Prince Kang mentioned the issue of the successor to him?"
What Emperor Jingxi thought in his heart was not much different from what everyone else thought.
He frowned slightly, his eyes like torches, sweeping straight towards Prince Ningchuan, and said in a deep voice: "Is Prince Ningchuan talking about Prince Kang?"
"Besides Prince Kang, there are several other members of the royal family without heirs. The Princes of Qi, Lujiang, and Beining all have no male offspring. I request that Your Majesty adopt a son from the royal family for them to continue the lineage."
The matter of royal family inheritance is indeed of vital importance.
The emperor sat on the high dragon throne, lost in deep thought.
After a moment, he said, "I need to think about this."
Prince Ningchuan, who had been Emperor Jingxi's confidant for many years, understood instantly that Emperor Jingxi had agreed to this matter, but he still needed to think about the candidate for adoption.
Li Guangde received a signal from Emperor Jingxi and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dismiss the court!"
As the ministers were walking out, Prince Ningchuan calmly gave Yan Cheng a look that only the two of them could understand.
*
Yan Guangyi quickly walked over to Yan Cheng, looking anxious. He lowered his voice and asked anxiously, "Why did Prince Ningchuan suddenly mention the adoption?"
"Do you think this matter is related to the Eleventh Prince?"
His brows were furrowed tightly, his eyes full of worry.
It’s no wonder that Yan Guangyi is so worried. You know, in this huge palace, the only prince who has not yet been crowned king is the eleventh prince.
If a prince really wanted to be adopted from the palace to the royal family, then no matter how you looked at it, the candidate would definitely be the eleventh prince.
Yan Cheng nodded slightly, indicating that this matter was indeed related to the Eleventh Prince.
However, he immediately added, "Let's talk about it after we get out."
Yan Guangyi frowned even more tightly, and the worry in his heart surged like a tide, difficult to calm down.
He knew Yan Cheng's character very well. Yan Cheng said that he could only tell her after he left the palace, which showed that he knew the inside story of the matter.
But I am afraid that there are too many people in the palace and that walls have ears. If I talk rashly here, it will cause unnecessary trouble.
The carriage of Prince Yong's Mansion was waiting quietly outside the palace. The sunlight shone on the body of the carriage, casting a faint halo.
Yan Cheng walked over with steady steps, stretched out his hand to lift the curtain of the carriage, and his face did not show any surprise at the man in black waiting inside.
Before he could even sit still in the carriage, Leng Yan quickly handed him something: "This is the letter from the King of Qi."
Yan Cheng took the letter but did not open it. Instead, he calmly asked, "What does the letter say?"
Leng Yan's expression was calm, and he answered in a steady tone, "He agreed."
Upon hearing this, Yan Cheng nodded slightly, as if he had expected this. "As expected, Little Eleven is a very good choice for him. With Little Eleven around, the Emperor will give him some face."
The King of Qi is the eldest son of the late emperor.
When the previous emperor was in power, the Prince of Qi was in charge of state affairs. At that time, almost everyone in the court and the country thought that he would be made the crown prince.
However, the late emperor later unexpectedly appointed his second son, the virtuous prince, as the crown prince. The reason he gave was that although the eldest son had the potential to be a wise ruler, he had no son to inherit the throne.
To this day, the King of Qi still has no son, but he has many daughters.
Perhaps it was because his brothers were too outstanding and brilliant during the previous emperor's time, making him look mediocre.
After ascending the throne, Emperor Jingxi's attitude towards each of his brothers seemed lukewarm and indifferent.
The more brilliant the brothers were during the previous emperor's period, the more likely they were to be secretly tripped up and made trouble for by Emperor Jingxi.
After Emperor Jingxi ascended the throne, he directly drove his brothers who were stranded in the capital to their fiefdoms, and most of the fiefdoms were very poor and sparsely populated.
The King of Qi was one of them.
People like Prince Ning and Prince Han, who were sent to fiefdoms early by the previous emperor and stayed away from the fight for the throne, were still able to safely hold on to the fiefdoms granted by the previous emperor after Emperor Jingxi ascended the throne and lived a relatively good life.
Although their fiefdom was not large and not rich, they were not targeted by Emperor Jingxi and could live a decent life.
The King of Qi had a small fiefdom with barren land, and he was constantly harassed by Emperor Jingxi, so his life in his fiefdom was truly unhappy.
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