"Empress, why does she hate the King of Dongning so much? What is the reason for this?" Young Master Yi was truly puzzled.
After a long silence, Yi Shangyun took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and said, word by word, "Because of me!"
Suddenly, Young Master Yi looked into Yi Shangyun's eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Because of you?"
Once again, Yi Shangyun couldn't help but habitually reach up and silently stroke the seven-colored gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, and slowly said, "Since ancient times, the war between women has never been without gunpowder, yet it is more intense than the rolling smoke of war. The struggle in the harem is especially so. Those beautiful women in the harem may have illustrious family backgrounds, or they may have stunning looks and clever wisdom. In order to win favor, to win wealth and glory, and to fight for a man who may not even be worth it, they scheme and deceive each other, wasting their youth and best years in this endless struggle."
Young Master Yi glanced at the bracelet on her wrist, then looked at her profile and listened attentively.
"The current Empress is the only daughter of the late Prime Minister Wen, a meritorious official of the nation. The reason why Father Emperor was able to ascend the throne was entirely due to Prime Minister Wen's support. The Empress is a true lady of noble birth, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age. She is a favored daughter of Heaven and deeply admires the Emperor. Therefore, as soon as she came of age, she became Father Emperor's first concubine. She is deeply in love with Father Emperor and devotes her whole heart to him. Even after Father Emperor ascended the throne, when Prime Minister Wen became arrogant and repeatedly caused trouble in the court and was wanted to be eliminated, the Empress was able to put righteousness before family and produce irrefutable evidence of the Prime Minister's acceptance of huge bribes throughout his life."
At this point, Young Master Yi seemed to have grasped some of the meaning. He paused, got up, and went to the window, looking at the endless drizzle in the pitch-black night outside.
She continued, "But all of this, which the Empress had believed was rightfully hers, was disrupted by the appearance of her mother. She even believed that her mother had stolen all her future and hope. Her mother had taken away her husband, her world, her position—all of which she had obtained by betraying her closest relatives. That's why she harbored resentment and hated her mother so much. She never imagined that there was another me in this world."
Young Master Yi sighed and said, "It is human nature to be fond of the new and tired of the old, and this is no exception for a monarch."
Yi Shangyun said, "It's true that it's human nature to be fickle, but human feelings also have a deeper side. In fact, it's not that Father didn't love the Empress. It's just that some people like to love as they go. Until the very end, they seem to never know who the person they love most in their life is. But Father will never know how the person he loved halfway through and then rejected felt. How tormented and sorrowful their remaining lives will be?"
Young Master Yi disagreed: "That may be true, but which emperor's harem didn't have three thousand beauties? If you want to become the head of a palace and seize a high position, how can you succeed if you are so petty, greedy, and intolerant of others?"
Yi Shangyun turned to look at Yi Sanshao, looked at him seriously, and said, "Sanshao, you are also the Crown Prince of Nan'an Kingdom, the only heir to the throne. One day in the future, you will also be the ruler of a country, and you will also have three thousand beauties in your harem. Who will be the one to receive all the favor of the three thousand? At that time, you will probably face the same dilemma as your father. What choice will you make?"
Young Master Yi stared at her for a moment, then slowly stood up, walked closer to her, looked into her eyes and said, "You are not me. How do you know that I will definitely become the ruler of a country in the future, and how do you know that I will definitely face this dilemma?"
As Young Master Yi leaned down and his gaze drew ever closer to her face, Yi Shangyun felt breathless. Her heart pounded wildly, and in her panic, she involuntarily took two steps back.
Just as he was about to crash into the window frame, he seemed to be stammering as if he wanted to say something, saying, "I, I..."
Just then, Young Master Yi suddenly reached out and patted the window behind her, letting her lean her back naturally against his strong arm, and said gently to her, "In this life, I will only be troubled because of you?"
From the moment they met until now, the two have never been this close. At this moment, it's as if they can hear each other's heartbeats.
In that instant, Yi Shangyun felt that she was about to be conquered by him, but she suddenly came to her senses, tilted her body, and nimbly pulled away from his embrace to dodge.
He hurriedly walked back to the table and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea and gulping it down to ease the extremely awkward and angry feeling he had just experienced.
After hesitating for a moment, recalling what had happened in Qingxin Hall, and how Young Master Yi had followed him without hesitation in such a dangerous moment, he said, "Young Master, if what I swallowed just now was not a tiny amount of poison, but a whole spoonful of 'Instant Death' poison, would you also have followed me without hesitation?"
Seeing her blushing face, which turned bright red instantly, Young Master Yi couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile.
Hearing this, he suddenly wiped the smile off his face, turned around, and looked steadily into her eyes, saying with unwavering determination and seriousness, "Girl, after all this, I know that you only have Qin Wang Xuanyuan Han in your heart, and that you are deeply in love with him. However, we both know that you will face a very difficult journey in Dongning Kingdom. When he is not by your side and cannot protect you, please allow me to accompany you. Even if you only consider me an old friend, let me protect you and stay by your side at all times. Please don't reject my simple thoughts anymore, okay?"
Yi Shangyun was truly moved. What Young Master Yi said was indeed true. Now that things had come to this, she didn't know how to refuse him anymore. She could only frown and say, "Young Master, why are you making yourself suffer like this? You know perfectly well that I can't promise you anything in this life."
As soon as he finished speaking, Young Master Yi said, "Because I can't bear to see you sad and heartbroken alone, and I don't want to see you suffer. In this life, I don't expect to get anything from you. I just think, if I treat you twice as well as I can in this life, will I have priority in the next life? Will you be the first to come to my side?"
The room fell silent after these words were spoken.
Under the dim candlelight, Young Master Yi reached out and gently wiped away the tears that had already quietly fallen from Yi Shangyun's eyes.
During the period of national mourning, all civil and military officials of the court must observe a full 27-day mourning period. During these 27 days, when reviewing memorials, they must not use vermilion ink to write comments, but instead use blue ink. All ministries and government offices must also use blue seals for their official documents.
During the mourning period, temples and Taoist monasteries must ring their bells 30,000 times, and chanting and condolence activities will continue daily.
From the day of the late emperor's death, civil and military officials and all common people are forbidden from making merry for 100 days, from committing massacres for 49 days, and from getting married for one month.
Finally, the long and oppressive period of national mourning, which lasted for nearly a month, came to an end.
It was springtime, and everywhere was bursting with new life.
In the imperial court, all the civil and military officials knelt down and listened attentively to the imperial decree.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: For over a decade since my ascension to the throne, the realm has been peaceful and prosperous, the people have lived in tranquility, the government has been efficient and efficient, and the relationship between the ruler and his ministers has been harmonious. Now I know that my days are numbered. My eldest daughter, Yongning, is of noble character and closely resembles me; she will surely be able to inherit the throne. All the princes should work together with one heart to support the new ruler. All the ministers should wholeheartedly assist her and work together to uphold the state. Therefore, upon succeeding me to the throne, one shall immediately observe the mourning period for twenty-seven days, after which the mourning period shall be lifted and the whole world shall be informed."
Upon hearing this, it was clear that some of the late emperor's loyal ministers, acting on his orders, recommended Yi Shangyun as the new ruler, who would also be the first female ruler in the country's history since its founding: "As the saying goes, 'a country cannot be without a ruler for a day.' Since the emperor has already made a will, the legitimate princess should succeed to the position of the next ruler, which is beyond doubt!"
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan's faction stepped forward and retorted, "What kind of bullshit secret edict is this? Since the founding of our country, where has there ever been a precedent of a woman becoming the ruler? Where did this secret edict come from? It might just be a fabrication by someone with ulterior motives. The Third Prince is wise and capable; he is undoubtedly the best candidate to become the new ruler."
These words caused an uproar in the court, and everyone immediately stood up and discussed them.
"Has anyone in the world ever heard of a woman becoming a ruler?"
"And she's just a callow, greenhorn girl!"
"Yes, this secret edict must be fake?"
"How could the old king have made such a will?"
"Only His Highness the Third Prince is truly capable of shouldering this great responsibility!"
"Isn't this an insult to Dongning, where there are no good men? To let a woman be called 'ruler'?"
...
At this moment, an elderly official with white hair stepped forward with faltering steps and carefully examined the handwriting on the secret edict. He solemnly declared, "This old minister swears that the handwriting on this secret edict is indeed that of the late monarch, without the slightest falsehood."
After saying this, he tremblingly bowed and knelt in the direction where Yi Shangyun was standing, saying, "This old minister pays respects to Your Majesty, long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Just as Yi Shangyun was staring blankly at the person kneeling down to her and hesitating, not knowing what was going on, Mei Zhixuan, who was already burning with anger and indignation, was about to step forward to say something.
At this moment, another powerful voice rang out: "If we're talking about who is most qualified to inherit the throne of the new king, besides the Second Prince, who is born to the noble Empress, who is more qualified than him?"
At this point, Mei Zhixuan could no longer contain his anger. He never expected that the King of Dongning would leave behind a secret edict before his death. He never imagined that Yi Shangyun, a mere woman, would have the qualifications to succeed to the throne. So he raised his voice and shouted angrily, "Shut up! What right does a wicked son born to a woman who offended the Emperor and was confined to her quarters, as if she had been banished to the cold palace, have to participate in the selection of the throne?"
Just then, a stern voice suddenly came from outside the hall: "How dare you..."
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