Upon hearing Duanmu Qingxin's suggestion, the courtiers immediately began to discuss it animatedly.
"Your Highness is right. No matter who His Majesty appoints as the Crown Prince, he must be approved by the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast. Therefore, letting the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast determine who is the true Crown Prince of Western Liang is the best solution!"
"Your Highness has never helped His Majesty with state affairs before. His Majesty's decision to establish an heir is indeed somewhat frivolous. It's really unfair to the Second Prince!"
“I also think the Second Prince’s idea is good. The Vermilion Bird is the guardian beast of our Western Liang, and any empress must obtain its approval. Even if the First Prince is made the Crown Princess now, she still cannot become empress if she does not obtain the approval of the Vermilion Bird when she ascends the throne. It would be better to let the Vermilion Bird choose her now!”
"I think the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast will definitely choose the Second Prince. After all, the Second Prince is the legitimate daughter of the Western Liang Dynasty and grew up in the palace. She has met the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast more than once or twice. The First Prince has just returned to the palace and probably hasn't even seen the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast yet. The Vermilion Bird Divine Beast definitely won't choose her!"
"Without the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, one is nothing. I support the Second Prince. Our Crown Prince of Western Liang must gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast!"
Hearing that the ministers were all on her side, Duanmu Qingxin finally felt a little better.
Now, not only her imperial aunt, but also all the civil and military officials support her. She doesn't believe that the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast wouldn't choose her.
Although she wasn't particularly familiar with the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, she had grown up in the palace and had seen it far more often than Duanmu Xuening. Duanmu Xuening had only seen the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast a few times, so she didn't believe the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast would choose Duanmu Xuening over her!
Duanmu Shenghua glanced at Duanmu Qingxin with concern, but she lacked Duanmu's confidence.
She herself was deeply poisoned by that stinky bird, Zhuque. If it hadn't chosen Duanmu Junyu when selecting the crown prince, how could she have lost to Duanmu Junyu!
Even though Duanmu Junyu is "dead" all this time, she can only be Duanmu Junyu's substitute. This is all thanks to that stinky bird, Zhuque!
If Xin'er really was Duanmu Junyu's child, she wouldn't be worried. But no one knew better than her that Xin'er was born to her.
She didn't gain the Vermilion Bird's approval back then, and now that Xin'er is her child, she might not be able to gain the Vermilion Bird's approval either!
Duanmu Junyu looked at the confident Duanmu Qingxin, then at the worried Duanmu Shenghua, and did not make a decision immediately. Instead, she looked at Su Xuening and asked, "Ning'er, what do you think?"
Su Xuening's eyes shimmered slightly as she bowed and said, "Since gaining the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast is an inevitable path for successive crown princes and even empresses, then I am willing to accept the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast's test."
The courtiers were surprised that Su Xuening dared to accept Duanmu Qingxin's suggestion, and they looked at her with new respect.
Previously, when this princess was imprinted with the Vermilion Bird mark, she didn't utter a sound, which showed her resolute character. Now, this incident shows that she doesn't back down in the face of adversity, and she doesn't simply hide under His Majesty's wing. His Majesty's high regard for her is not without reason.
It all depends on whether she can gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast this time.
Duanmu Qingxin was surprised that Su Xuening would agree to her suggestion, and she looked disdainful.
Who does she think she is? She'll show her just how badly she'll lose.
Duanmu Junyu knew that Su Xuening understood her meaning, and smiled, "If that's the case, then it's decided. Tomorrow, we will invite the Vermilion Bird divine beast to hold the ceremony for the investiture of the Crown Princess."
Duanmu Junyu's decision satisfied everyone, and no one had any further objections.
After the court session, Duanmu Junyu took Su Xuening back to Fengming Palace.
Back in the main hall, Duanmu Junyu looked at Su Xuening and asked, "Do you blame your mother for making you and Duanmu Qingxin undergo Huo'er's test together?"
Su Xuening raised an eyebrow dismissively: "Didn't you always say that gaining the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast in Xiliang is the most important thing? If I don't gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, even if you insist on making me the Crown Princess, no one in the entire Xiliang will acknowledge me, right?"
Duanmu Junyu nodded: "That's right. Every Crown Princess needs the approval of the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast when she is officially appointed. Only the Crown Princess who is approved by the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast can ascend to the position of Empress and be accepted by the officials of Xiliang and all the people of Xiliang! Otherwise, even if I appoint you as Crown Princess, it will be useless."
Su Xuening smiled wryly: "So, since I have to go through this once, what is there for me not to accept?"
Duanmu Junyu patted Su Xuening's shoulder reassuringly: "It's precisely because we had to go through this that I agreed when Duanmu Qingxin brought it up. But your mother believes in you and that you can gain Huo'er's approval."
Actually, she could tell that Huo'er liked Ning'er.
Although it was she who sent Huo'er to Dongchu to pick up Ning'er, the fact that Huo'er brought her and An'er back to Xiliang safely, and even protected Ning'er during her safe delivery on its back, is enough to prove that Huo'er likes Ning'er.
Another crucial reason is that Ning'er looks exactly like her. If Huo'er could accept her back then, she will definitely be able to accept Ning'er now.
Su Xuening nestled in Duanmu Junyu's arms and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't care about anything else, I only care about you."
Actually, she didn't really care whether the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast could accept her, nor did she care about the Empress's position. Originally, she had never thought about becoming an Empress.
What she cared about was her mother and her difficult situation in Xiliang.
If becoming the Crown Prince of Xiliang can help her mother, she will do her best to do so. She will strive to gain the approval of the Vermilion Bird, to be accepted by the officials and people of Xiliang, and to help her mother consolidate the Xiliang government.
A mother and daughter are of one mind, so how could Duanmu Junyu not understand Su Xuening's thoughts?
She gently stroked Su Xuening's back affectionately: "Don't worry, things will get better soon."
"Mmm," Su Xuening responded softly.
In fact, she could sense her mother's relaxation during her visits to court over the past few days.
Although it seemed that all the officials in the court were on the side of that Prince Hui, every time the mother said something, it seemed that many people would come out to oppose it, and many others would second it.
However, judging from the mother's expression, she didn't seem to care about these officials at all.
Even with that Prince Hui, whenever her mother confronted her, she seemed to dare not utter a word.
It's clear that King Hui is wary of his mother, probably because he's afraid she'll reveal how he harmed her in the past.
Her mother was not polite to that Prince Hui, and she would deal with her sooner or later. She also believed that her mother had the ability to take back the power of Xiliang!
Since her mother said that things would soon clear up, she would wait a few more days until the matter in Xiliang was resolved before returning to Dongchu.
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