Xuanyuan Zhan felt utterly helpless as he listened to Xuanyuan Peng's long will.
Who writes a will that appoints both the empress and the crown prince? If he's already appointed both the empress and the crown prince, what else is there to appoint?
The courtiers and imperial relatives below were also surprised to find that the late emperor's edict, in addition to passing the throne to the crown prince, also included the appointment of an empress and the establishment of a crown prince.
Isn't it the new emperor's job to appoint an empress?
Although the new emperor dotes on the new empress, and the position of empress is undoubtedly hers, how could the new emperor not give her a chance to prove herself after ascending the throne?
Furthermore, what if the new emperor has other ideas? Wouldn't the late emperor's edict block the new emperor's path?
There's also the matter of establishing a crown prince. Although the new emperor and empress only have one son, the youngest grandson, they will surely have other children in the future. If they have many sons in the future, they may not necessarily establish the eldest grandson as the crown prince.
Even if the new emperor wanted to make his grandson the crown prince, wouldn't it still require the new emperor to issue the decree himself?
The late emperor has already done what the new emperor was supposed to do!
Su Xuening understood Xuan Yuanpeng's intentions quite well.
Even on his deathbed, the late emperor was still worried and asked her to bring Xiao Bao back. How could he not name Xiao Bao as the crown prince?
He was probably afraid that Xuanyuan Zhan would send Xiaobao to Xiliang, and that there would be no one to inherit the throne of Dongchu in the future. So he skipped Xuanyuan Zhan and made Xiaobao the crown prince himself, so that he would bring Xiaobao back after his death.
This will was probably his last obsession!
After reading Xuanyuan Peng's last edict in a long and eloquent manner, King Kang knelt down and presented it, saying, "Please, Your Majesty, ascend the throne!"
Xuanyuan Zhan received the imperial edict, and Prince Kang and everyone else shouted in unison: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Crown Prince!"
The cheers of the courtiers did not satisfy Xuanyuan Zhan. He darkened his face and said, "The Empress is the Crown Princess of Western Liang and will be the Empress of Western Liang in the future. Although she is the Empress in Eastern Chu, her position is equal to mine. From now on, I will be the same age as the Empress. If you call her 'Long Live the Emperor,' then you shall also call me 'Long Live the Emperor'!"
Anyway, he won't live to be a thousand years old, so it doesn't really matter whether he lives to be a thousand or ten thousand years old. He just finds it awkward.
Of course, even if he were given a long life, he wouldn't want to live without her!
The ministers looked at each other, feeling that this was against the rules, but then they realized that what the emperor said made sense.
Although the empress is only the empress of Eastern Chu, she is the crown princess of Western Liang. When she succeeds as empress, she will have to address her as "Long Live the Empress".
Since the Emperor requested to be the same age as the Empress, it was impossible to address the Emperor as "Long Live the Emperor," so they had no choice but to comply and address the Empress as "Long Live the Emperor."
After the ministers understood, they all changed their tune in unison: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Crown Prince!"
Xuanyuan Zhan was finally satisfied upon hearing this. It was fine as long as his wife was the same age as him; as for whether his son could be the same age, it didn't matter.
Xuanyuan Zhan held Su Xuening's hand as he listened to the chants of "Long live the Emperor!" echoing down the ranks, finally giving him the feeling of possessing the entire world.
With the country and his lover in his hands, isn't that the same as owning the whole world?
After the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven and the enthronement ceremony, Xuanyuan Zhan and Su Xuening entered the Imperial Ancestral Temple to fulfill Xuanyuan Peng's last wish, to record Xiaobao in the genealogy of Eastern Chu, and to change his name back to Xuanyuan Xi.
No, it's not about changing it back to Xuanyuanxi, but about giving Duanmuxi the name Xuanyuanxi as well.
King Kang solemnly recorded Xiao Bao in the genealogy of the Eastern Chu clan, placed the name Xuan Yuanxi under Xuan Yuanzhan and Duanmu Xuening, and even wrote the title of Crown Prince.
Before his death, the late emperor summoned him and instructed him to make sure that the young imperial grandson was recognized as a member of the imperial family. Even if the new emperor and empress failed to do so, he was to keep reminding them to ensure that the young imperial grandson returned to Eastern Chu.
It was only then that he learned that the new empress was the crown princess of Western Liang, and that this little prince was not only the little prince of Eastern Chu, but also the little prince of Western Liang.
Most importantly, the young imperial grandson was born in Xiliang, and was directly recorded in the Xiliang family genealogy by the Xiliang Empress, who also bestowed upon him the surname Duanmu.
Isn't this absurd? The young imperial grandson is clearly the eldest grandson of the Eastern Chu emperor, so how can he bear the surname Duanmu? Let alone the late emperor being unhappy, even he couldn't accept it!
Fortunately, the new emperor and empress kept their word and brought the young prince back, allowing him to recognize his ancestors and revert to the surname Xuanyuan.
After recording Xiao Bao in the family genealogy, King Kang once again drew out the Xuanwu Sword.
Su Xuening knew they were going to imprint the Xuanwu mark on Xiaobao, and she was reluctant to let Xiaobao suffer.
Xuanyuan Zhan was also reluctant to let Xiaobao suffer, so he frowned and said, "Let's forget about the mark. Xiaobao already has the Vermilion Bird mark."
Xuanyuan Zhan's words made King Kang's face darken, and he immediately retorted, "How can this be? His Highness the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince of our Eastern Chu. How can he not have the Xuanwu mark? Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince already has the Vermilion Bird mark, so why not have another Xuanwu mark?"
His Highness the Crown Prince is not only the eldest grandson of the Emperor of Western Liang, but also the eldest grandson of the Emperor of Eastern Chu. How can you favor one over the other?
If our ancestors knew that their Crown Prince of Eastern Chu only had the Vermilion Bird mark on his head and not the Black Tortoise mark, they would be so angry that they would come back to life!
Su Xuening was all too aware of these people's obsession with the Vermilion Bird Mark and the Black Tortoise Mark; she and Yun An had also been marked with the Vermilion Bird Mark.
As a member of the royal bloodline, this mark is inescapable; even if one grows up, one must still bear it.
It's better to have Xiaobao get the mark now. Infants don't feel much pain, and it will only hurt more if they get it done when they're older. When we got the Vermilion Bird mark before, Xiaobao only cried for a little while and then it was over, but she and Yun'an were in so much pain that they felt like they wanted to die.
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