Emperor Hui vehemently denied it: "No, no way!"
"I have already exchanged opinions with His Highness Jingchen, and His Highness has no objections."
Zhou Shaoyu: "Father, I have no objection."
"You...you...I have an objection!" Emperor Hui said angrily. "The Great Gan cannot be lost. This is the empire of our ancestors, and I cannot lose it like this."
"Your Majesty has not lost the empire," Xie Zhaozhao said. "I am not discussing this with you, but informing you that the two countries have merged, Daqian has been incorporated into Yulong, and the Zhou family can send one person to serve as prime minister."
Emperor Hui firmly disagreed.
Xie Zhaozhao smiled faintly and said, "You can disagree! We'll settle this on the battlefield."
Emperor Hui: "..."
Prince Jing suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, this old minister would like to ask, after you and Jing Chen pass away, who will inherit the throne next?"
Xie Zhaozhao looked at Xiao Heng'er and said, "In the future, it will naturally be inherited by my child."
In short, both Prince Jing and Emperor Hui shut their mouths.
In the end, the world still belongs to the Zhou family!
Xie Anfeng was relieved; as long as Zhaozhao's son succeeded to the throne, the Xie family had no objections.
Based on this, further negotiations become much easier.
Emperor Hui originally thought Xie Zhaozhao was easy to control, but now he realized that she only spoke softly, but her attitude was quite tough.
It was also discovered that his son was very unhelpful, listening to Emperor An in everything!
After three days of negotiations, the final agreement was reached—
The two countries merged, and the country was named Yulong, with its capital at Daming Prefecture.
There were two emperors in one country: Emperor Chen and Emperor An. Emperor Chen was in charge of the people's livelihood, while Emperor An was in charge of the territory.
The next monarch will be chosen from among the children born to the two.
A relationship is to be committed to one person for life; if either spouse takes a concubine or serves the emperor, it is considered an automatic relinquishment of the throne.
...
Officials who are capable of great work will be selected and appointed based on merit, while the princes will retain their original titles and fiefdoms.
As for what to do with Crown Prince Zhou Jingqi? That's Emperor Hui's business. Yulong Kingdom certainly won't want such a crown prince.
Emperor Hui felt extremely uncomfortable.
Privately, Prince Jing said to Emperor Hui, "Your Majesty, we should proceed gradually..."
Emperor Hui could not afford to be slow; if he acted rashly, the dynasty would become the "former dynasty," which would be nothing more than a few cartloads of earthenware pots of thunder caused by Xie Zhaozhao.
Damn the Ordnance Bureau, a bunch of idiots! They even got Chu Zhongtian into the Ordnance Bureau, and he still hasn't learned anything from them!
***
It was unbearably hot on an August afternoon.
After the peace talks concluded, Xie Anfeng hosted his former monarch and colleagues in the flower hall.
The room was filled with ice pots, which dispelled the chill of summer.
While eating chilled watermelon, Emperor Hui said to Xie Anfeng, "Lord Xie, do you still remember Yuan Zhen's Buddhist prophecy from more than twenty years ago?"
Xie Anfeng naturally remembered: "Didn't you say that Daqian Fuxing is Guan Shanyue's eldest daughter?"
Prince Jing and Grand Secretary Liu both still remember this matter.
Emperor Hui laughed heartily: "That was just to fool the Wei family."
Ah, Xie Anfeng was quite surprised...
The most famous prophet of the Great Gan Dynasty was Yuan Zhen, the abbot of Huguo Temple at that time.
In the 260th year of the Great Gan reign, which was the twelfth year of Emperor Hui's reign, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Emperor Hui, who had been on the throne for a decade, was in high spirits burning the first incense of the new year at Huguo Temple.
Yuan Zhen and Emperor Hui were discussing classics and philosophy. Around 3 a.m., Emperor Hui suddenly felt extremely sleepy and dozed off at his desk.
When he woke up, he found a prophecy left on the table.
Emperor Hui saw Yuan Zhen sitting upright on the prayer mat, his head slightly lowered, already deceased.
He read the prophecy but didn't quite understand it, so he went to find the abbot.
The abbot chuckled and explained to him, "Yuan Zhen predicted before his death that a remarkable woman would be born in Daqian, with the countenance of an emperor, ensuring Daqian's prosperity for a hundred years. It's just a pity that fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and good and evil go hand in hand. With a lucky star, there will naturally also be a calamity star."
Emperor Hui was startled and asked, "What is the relationship between the two?"
"This is a secret of heaven, which even this old monk cannot fathom. I am ashamed!"
Emperor Hui, being an emperor after all, spent a long time studying the Buddhist prophecy behind closed doors with the abbot.
Emperor Hui returned to the palace in high spirits that day, while the abbot announced to the entire temple that he was to resign from his position as abbot, go into seclusion, and never see anyone again.
When Emperor Hui returned from Huguo Temple, he announced Master Yuan Zhen's last prophecy in the court: "Master Yuan Zhen left a prophecy before his death: a baby girl will be born on the 16th of May at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), a great blessing, whose nobility is beyond words."
As a result, the entire capital city was focused on the person born on May 16th of that year.
On that day, after investigation and a series of deductions by the Imperial Observatory, it was discovered that only the eldest daughter of Guan Shanyue, a minor official in the Censorate, seemed to have a different destiny. She was none other than Guan Yingying, who was the focus of everyone's attention.
Guan Yingying was born with a lucky star aura, attracting worldwide attention.
The royal family showered the Fuwa with gifts and even specially assigned a master of the Six Arts to teach Guan Yingying.
It's safe to say that Guan Yingying is the undisputed empress.
Unfortunately, when Guan Yingying was twelve years old, Guan Shanyue colluded with the Wei family to exterminate Yunfei's maternal clan.
Emperor Hui was furious. Using the pretext of a breach of etiquette in front of the palace, he issued an edict: The Guan family shall not be pardoned, and shall never be allowed to set foot in the capital again.
This naturally includes Guan Yingying.
...
As everyone chatted and ate melons, Emperor Hui threw down the melon rinds and uttered a single sentence that shocked the world.
"That prophecy is false! The true prophecy in the Buddhist verses mentions the lucky star appearing on the same day three years later. The great lucky star is someone else entirely!"
He gave Xie Anfeng a meaningful look.
Xie Anfeng only smiled and remained silent.
Hua Zisheng lowered his head and remained silent. He was a close associate of Emperor Hui and had seen the Buddhist prophecy:
On this day of the year, month, and year of Chen, the sun and moon shine brightly in the sky, the phoenix descends from the heavens, all spirits come to pay homage, two dragons appear in the world, and the auspicious day is radiant.
Twenty-two years ago, on May 16th, it was an ordinary day. But three years later, on May 16th at 9:00 AM, the sky was filled with colorful clouds, and a black phoenix descended from the heavens, crying out for three days without leaving.
"Lord Xie, I've heard that Emperor An never celebrates her birthday? What is her birthday?"
Xie Anfeng said calmly, "July 15th."
“Oh, the Ghost Festival! No wonder.” Emperor Hui smiled faintly. “I thought she was born on the sixteenth day of the fifth month at the hour of Si (9-11 AM).
A secret agent once uncovered a crucial detail: two months before Madam Xie, Xu Zhiyan, died, Xie An sealed off her courtyard, strictly forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.
The Xie family spent a huge sum of money to purchase a large quantity of ice.
The secret agent suspects that the funeral for Madam Xie will be delayed by at least two months after her death!
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