There is no good banquet.
The emperor was seriously ill, and it was a great honor for him to be able to attend the palace banquet on New Year's Eve. Naturally, he could not stay at the palace banquet for long and eat and drink with everyone.
So the emperor hurried to get down to business.
The emperor waved towards Gu Jiu, "Xiao Jiu, come here!"
Gu Jiu was surprised, and all kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind.
She subconsciously looked at Liu Zhao.
Liu Zhao squeezed her hand and told her not to worry.
Gu Jiu lowered his head and stood up, walked forward and came to the center of the hall.
The emperor waved to her again, asking her to come closer.
Gu Jiu took a few steps forward and could clearly see every subtle expression on the emperor's face.
I am getting old and am about to become a rotten tree.
To put it more bluntly: not far from death.
Anyone with eyes could see that the emperor's vitality was slipping away, and that this was beyond human control.
Curing the emperor's hemiplegia caused by a stroke does not mean that his life can be saved.
Looking at the emperor's face, which was filled with dejection, it was obvious that his internal organs were failing to varying degrees.
Birth, aging, sickness and death are the laws of nature.
Human power cannot prevent the disappearance of life.
Obviously, the emperor also realized that his life was coming to an end.
The emperor was sitting in a wheelchair converted from a rocking chair, half lying down, covered with a thick quilt.
He asked Gu Jiu, "How is business outside the South City Gate?"
Gu Jiu bowed and replied, "Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, progress has been smooth, and the plan for this year has basically been completed."
The emperor nodded and said, "After investing so much money, we have to see the results."
Gu Jiu lowered his head, not knowing what the emperor was up to.
The eyes of the princes and princesses present were all focused on her, intentionally or unintentionally.
At this moment, she had replaced Liu Zhao and became the target of everyone.
Gu Jiu didn't like being a target, especially in this situation.
But she couldn't rush the emperor, asking him to hurry up and not waste her time.
She's not tired of living.
The emperor then asked, "Outside the South City Gate, all I see is money being poured in, but no money being made. Can your project actually make money?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "It can make money. Some projects have actually started to make money, but they are not conspicuous and no one has noticed."
The emperor laughed heartily. "Everyone's eyeing those houses. You were able to properly resettle tens of thousands of refugees, which is a great service to the country and to future generations."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "It's all thanks to the strong support of the Shaofu Bank."
"Haha, you can express your gratitude to the Minister of the Imperial Household yourself. After all, you have made contributions, and I naturally cannot be stingy when treating a meritorious official."
Huh?
Will the emperor reward her?
Gu Jiu was curious.
The emperor glanced at Prince Ning and said, "I hereby order that until the construction outside the South City Gate is completed, no one and no government office shall interfere with its operation. All matters concerning the operation of the South City Gate will be decided by Gu Jiu."
Gu Jiu: "..."
She was dumbfounded. She never expected that the emperor would give her such a big gift.
"Your Majesty, your granddaughter-in-law thanks you for your grace." Gu Jiu willingly performed the ceremony to the emperor.
With the emperor's order, she could now work without hesitation. No one else could interfere.
Even if a new emperor ascends the throne one day, he will not touch the South City Gate, at least not in the short term.
The expressions of the others were extremely complicated.
"The Emperor is truly exceptionally tolerant of Liu Zhao and his wife."
"Other royal grandchildren and their wives don't receive this kind of treatment."
"Who told them not to marry a capable wife like Gu Jiu?"
The princes were not shy about discussing the matter in front of the emperor. Some even joked with Liu Zhao that he was able to sit at the palace banquet today thanks to his wife.
"Hahaha……"
Prince Ning suddenly burst into laughter. "Father, you are wise. I cannot trust anyone else with the land outside the South City Gate, with tens of thousands of refugees. Only Gu Jiu can properly manage it. I wholeheartedly support your decision."
The emperor stared at Prince Ning, as if trying to judge from his expression whether his words were sincere or false.
When Prince Ning was serious, his words were pure sincerity, without any falsehood.
Prince Ning also warned Gu Jiu, "Xiao Jiu, His Majesty has high hopes for you and the people outside the South City Gate. You must not let His Majesty down, understand?"
Gu Jiu bowed and accepted the order, "I understand, and I will follow my father's instructions."
Prince Ning laughed heartily and waved his hand, "Retreat, Liu Zhao is getting anxious."
The joke actually lightened the mood a bit. Everyone was laughing and looking relaxed and at ease.
Gu Jiu was eager to do so, so he quickly retreated and returned to Liu Zhao.
The couple smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding.
The emperor stared at Prince Ning for a while, then his eyelids drooped. "I'm tired."
"This old servant will escort Your Majesty back to the palace to rest."
The emperor nodded.
Prince Ning threw away his wine cup, "My son is sending my father back."
The emperor did not stop it.
Prince Ning snatched the wheelchair from Chen Dachang and pushed the emperor back to his bedroom.
As soon as the host left, the palace banquet suddenly lost some of its flavor.
But even if I want to leave, I should say goodbye to King Ning.
So everyone sat in their seats, waiting for King Ning to come back.
As a result, Prince Ning's trip was delayed.
Prince Ning sent the emperor back to his bedroom and put him to bed.
Prince Ning wanted to say goodbye and return to the banquet, but the emperor waved his hand and asked him to stay.
King Ning had no choice but to sit beside the dragon bed and listen to the emperor's teachings.
The emperor let out a long sigh, "I'm afraid my time is running out, so there are some things I need to tell you."
"May your father live a hundred years..."
"Stop talking nonsense and listen to me. Prince of Yan, I have already demoted him to a commoner. When you ascend the throne, don't rush to show him favor. Give him at least a year or two to teach him a lesson."
Prince Ning laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. As for my younger brother, Prince Yan, I will make him reflect deeply in the next one or two years."
The King of Yan had been demoted, but for a while, people still couldn't stop calling him the King of Yan.
The emperor then said, "I leave the Sun family to your disposal. Keep them, and do not touch them. The Sun family's affairs have nothing to do with the Sun family."
Prince Ning shook his head. "Sun is my sister-in-law. It is not appropriate for me to deal with her. Your Majesty, please be patient and issue an edict. Whether she lives or dies is entirely up to your will."
The emperor snorted, "I gave you a chance to establish your authority, but you pushed it away."
Prince Ning said, "The Sun family is useless. To establish authority, we need the Cai family's head."
"How's the investigation into the Cai family case going?"
"Two more witnesses were found before the New Year. It seems that Cai was not wrongly accused of the village massacre. Most of the people he led were from the capital region. They have been found one after another and are all imprisoned in the imperial prison. When spring comes, we will try them one by one and make sure this case is proven solid."
The emperor reminded him, "In the early days of ascending the throne, it is important to establish authority, but you must not build large prisons and implicate innocent people."
Prince Ning teased the emperor, "As your father grows older, he becomes more and more merciful."
Back then, in the first two years after the emperor ascended the throne, the capital was a sea of blood and corpses. Now, he ordered Prince Ning not to build a large prison.
The emperor sighed deeply, "I've been thinking about what happened back then a lot lately. Indeed, the killing was excessive. Some people died even though they shouldn't have. Among them were some of the nation's pillars."
Prince Ning remained silent.
In his opinion, if someone needs to be killed, then he should be killed, and there is no need to regret it.
If he had not killed a group of people at the beginning of his reign, the court officials would have regarded him as a new emperor who was easy to control.
Prince Ning dragged on the Cai family case because he wanted to use the heads of the Cai family members and the heads of the soldiers who committed the crime to flex his muscles and let the world know his determination.
The emperor stared at Prince Ning and could already see a hint of sternness in Prince Ning's eyes.
The emperor wanted to persuade him, but then he remembered that he had gone through the same thing in the past.
Whatever, Prince Ning is quite old, not a young man in his twenties. He should know how to make a good choice.
The emperor mentioned another matter, "When you ascend the throne, will you appoint a crown prince?"
Prince Ning's heart skipped a beat. "Please teach me, Father."
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "I suggest you not appoint a crown prince for now. All the princes should leave the palace and start their own residences. Your youngest son is of marriageable age, so there is no need to stick to the rules."
Normally, princes usually lived in the palace before being crowned kings and granted titles.
However, Prince Ning's situation is special.
Because his sons were already grown up, it was not appropriate for them to live in the palace.
Prince Ning nodded. "Son, I understand. I also think it's best not to appoint a crown prince for now. There are rumors among the people that no crown prince in our dynasty has ever had a good end, and even fewer legitimate princes have had a good end. I'm afraid this has something to do with the premature appointment of a crown prince."
The emperor shouted angrily, "You believe the nonsense of the market."
Prince Ning laughed heartily, "That does make some sense. Therefore, my son plans not to appoint a crown prince. If necessary, he will only appoint a crown prince."
The crown prince seems to be the same as the prince, but in fact there are essential differences.
The crown prince lives in the palace, and the prince lives in the East Palace.
The prince has his own team, commonly known as the small court, but the crown prince has none.
In addition to having his own administrative team, the prince is also allowed to have a personal army of 5,000 people.
The crown prince has none of these.
The crown prince only has one more right of inheritance than other princes, but he does not actually have much power.
Without the emperor's order, the crown prince cannot establish his own small court while the emperor is alive, nor can he have his own army of 5,000 people.
Like Prince Ning now, he spends the whole day arguing with the court officials because he does not have his own administrative team and cannot replace the court ministers.
The emperor nodded and said, "Your idea is good. Don't appoint a crown prince in the future. The crown prince has a bad fate and won't live long. It's such a pity."
Those who were able to be appointed as the crown prince were both talented and well-born. However, it was a pity that they did not live long due to various reasons.
Prince Ning laughed heartily, "Father also believes in the nonsense of the common people."
The emperor waved his hand, a little tiredly, "You can handle your sons yourself."
Prince Ning suppressed his smile and said, "We are all young and impulsive. Let's wait and see for a few more years. There is no need to rush, son."
The emperor remained silent.
Only after the emperor fell asleep did Prince Ning get up and return to the banquet.
The princes were already drunk.
Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu ran away without saying goodbye.
Prince Ning chuckled, "You're becoming more and more unruly."
Chang En said with a smile, "I heard that Madam Zhao disliked the food at the palace banquet, so she hurried back to the palace to have the New Year's Eve dinner."
Prince Ning laughed out loud, "The food and wine at the palace banquet are indeed unpalatable, and I despise them. Well, the palace banquet is over, and everyone can go home."
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao took a carriage back to the palace and finally had a hot meal, feeling very satisfied.
"The chefs in the palace are still better. The chefs in the imperial kitchen, I don't know if it's because they have too many restrictions, but the food they make is always a little worse."
Liu Zhao said: "The food prepared by the imperial kitchen is first and foremost about nourishing the body, and secondly about taste."
Especially since the emperor suffered a stroke, the meals in the imperial kitchen have become less oily and less salty. It's as if everyone in the palace has to emulate the emperor and eat the same diet.
To put it bluntly, the imperial kitchen just doesn't want to take risks.
Can they cook delicious meals?
Of course!
And it tastes better than anyone else.
But life is more important than delicious food.
It is better to make something unpalatable and not make a mistake than to make something delicious and lose your head.
Gu Jiu shook his head. "Life is all about eating and drinking. If I'm asked to eat that kind of food without oil and salt every day, what's the point of living? When father ascends the throne, we must not live in the palace. It will shorten our lives."
Liu Zhao laughed heartily. "Is it because the food in the palace is not tasty?"
"Also, because the palace has strict rules, it's extremely difficult to leave the palace. Since I want to run the project outside the South City Gate, I naturally can't live in the palace."
Gu Jiu had all the reasons for not living in the palace.
Liu Zhao smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't live in the palace."
Gu Jiu was curious, "Did father promise you?"
"Father thinks we are too old to live in the palace."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines. When my father ascends the throne, the palace will be bustling again."
Given Prince Ning's lustful nature, he will surely take in many concubines and enjoy life after ascending the throne.
Now, there are still dozens of women who were favored by Prince Ning living in the backyard of the palace.
In the past, those women wanted to leave the palace and find someone to marry.
Now that Prince Ning was crown prince, no one wanted to leave the palace. They all waited for Prince Ning to ascend the throne so they could follow him and become his concubines, enjoying a lifetime of glory and promoting their families.
When Prince Ning and Lady Pei returned from the palace, everyone gathered in Chunhe Hall to celebrate the New Year.
Several children were playing together, and the second young master's pregnant concubine was also fortunate enough to attend the family gathering tonight.
Xiao Qin'er seemed to be smiling, obviously laughing at Ouyang Fu's joke.
Ouyang Fu was very calm and didn't give anyone the chance to laugh at her.
Prince Ning sat on the Arhat couch, looking very relaxed.
He looked at his sons and suddenly said, "I don't expect you brothers to be friendly and respectful to each other, but I also don't want to see you killing each other. From now on, you must be tactful in everything you do. If I find out who is behind this, don't blame me for being ruthless."
The originally lively atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
Several young masters had expressionless faces.
Pei frowned, "Why are you saying all this during the New Year? Can't you wait until after the New Year to talk about this?"
Prince Ning shook his head. "After the New Year, I've been very busy. I'm afraid there won't be any chance for the family to get together like this. Since I have something to say, I must take this rare opportunity to speak it out."
Pei was helpless.
Liu Zhao was the first to speak: "My son will remember my father's teachings."
Prince Ning looked at his other sons again.
Several brothers expressed their stance that they would never act rashly and would exercise discretion in everything they did.
Prince Ning was probably worried that the excitement wasn't enough, so he dropped another bombshell: "When I ascend the throne, I will not appoint a crown prince."
boom!
No crown prince?
What does this mean?
Everyone was shocked and confused, but no one stood up to ask Prince Ning why he didn't appoint a crown prince.
Pei was worried, "Has this been decided?"
Prince Ning nodded. "I have already discussed this matter with my father, and he agrees not to appoint a crown prince and not to establish an Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace is redundant and wasteful."
Pei sighed, "It's better not to have an Eastern Palace, so as to avoid creating divisions within the family. If the officials in the Eastern Palace are good, that's fine. But if they have ulterior motives, the Crown Prince will let them lead them astray."
Prince Ning laughed heartily. "The princess truly understands my intentions. My sons, listen carefully. There will be no crown prince, and no Crown Prince Palace. So, put all your little schemes aside and don't engage in any struggle for the throne. Anyone who dares to stir up trouble will be dealt with by me."
After hearing these words, all the gentlemen felt tired.
My father is as reckless as ever and never plays by the rules.
Prince Ning, however, laughed heartily, very happy to have given his sons a good beating.
This may be the royal family's bad taste. They feel happy when they see the children being humiliated.
"Drink, drink." Pei picked up the wine glass.
Everyone wanted to give him face and raised their glasses, and the atmosphere became lively again.
The eldest brother and Nianjie started fighting over a toy.
Their respective wet nurses quickly carried the two children to the side hall.
As for Yu Ge'er, he was sleeping soundly in Nanny Fang's arms. No matter how much his brothers and sisters cried, he didn't wake up.
Prince Ning listened to the crying of the children and reminded them, "You brothers, hurry up and have children, and have as many as you can. It's time to get the fifth and sixth brothers married. After the New Year, the princess should remember to look for them."
"Speaking of marriage, has Your Highness considered Miss Huan's marriage?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
The rapid pace of updating damaged my liver and greatly reduced my vitality. After two days of recuperation, I recovered a little bit of my vitality.
Sorry for the late update today.
I've had a good rest today and will resume normal updates tomorrow.
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