The emperor rolled his eyes elegantly at the second prince. A child who had no one to rely on since childhood knew what he wanted when he grew up.
"Do you think Fu'an is like you? He has one true love here and another true love there."
The emperor said this only as a joke. For the prince, being amorous is always better than being in love all the time.
The prince's eyes widened upon hearing this, "Father, how did you know that I have found my true love?"
The Emperor looked at the Crown Prince as if he were a fool and asked, "How difficult can it be?"
"Father is so awesome!" The prince flattered the emperor with a forced smile, not daring to express any opinion at all.
"Just be careful about your behavior!" The emperor didn't like to meddle in the affairs of the prince's room, but since the conversation came to this point, he gave a few more instructions.
What's more, in the emperor's view, the prince has always been sensible, affectionate and rational in this regard, so there is nothing to worry about.
The prince responded very obediently, "Don't worry, Father!"
In the heart of the prince, he also clearly knew that the country was the first priority. Without the country, who would love a king who had lost his country?
The emperor thought about his son's situation in the harem and gave him instructions: "After you ascend the throne, make your principal wife the empress. Xie Zixin should be given the title of concubine first! There will be room for promotion in the future."
The Crown Prince had no objection to his father's decision. He even thought the same thing as his father. "Then confer the title of Consort Zhen on Xie Zixin! This will show how much I cherish her!"
"It's up to you to decide the title." The emperor would not decide even such a trivial matter as the title.
The emperor then added, "As for your brothers, except for Yu'er who will be made a prince, the rest will be made county princes! As for the future Zongzheng, you will decide for yourself later."
"I will obey your Majesty Father in all this. But if I kneel here for days and nights, will Your Majesty retract your decision to abdicate?"
The prince was terrified when he thought about the war that Xin'er mentioned, in which his father would die. He did not want his father to take this risk.
The emperor smiled and said, "Why don't you kneel down and try it?"
Crown Prince Li Jingchen could not tell whether this matter was true or false, but he immediately stood up, walked quickly to the center of the hall, and knelt down neatly.
The Emperor was indeed stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and personally stepped forward to help the Crown Prince up. "With a son like this, what else could I ask for? If it were any other Crown Prince, Your Majesty would have been so happy to abdicate so early and die soon."
"Father, why don't you think about it again? I'm still young and there's no need to rush." The prince did not lie and said that he did not want to be the emperor. If he did not even have this ambition, he would not be worthy of being the prince.
The emperor immediately helped his son up, which shows that even after being emperor for so many years, his martial arts skills are still there.
The emperor looked out the window following the sunlight, his heart filled with longing. It would be nice to move a chair outside to bask in the sun.
"I can't think of anything. Sometimes I look at Shuxian's life and I think it's pretty good. Anyway, I have experienced power for so many years. It's time to experience the feeling of freedom.
From now on, I can go wherever I want with just a few people, without mobilizing a large army or wasting money. I can eat whatever I want without a bunch of people telling me to think about the emperor's health. I can sleep in and get up whenever I want.
There is no need to worry about droughts, floods or conflicts anymore, and there is no need to worry even in dreams about whether there is enough money in the treasury.
Speaking of it, I have quite a few concubines in my harem, but given how busy I am, I don’t have much time to spend with them.
It is said that the whole country belongs to me, but what does this country look like? When I was young, I went to war and took a look at the places I passed by. How many years have passed!
The greatest enjoyment is that there is an imperial kitchen ready to cook unlimited dishes for me at any time."
The prince followed his father's gaze and saw the sunlight pouring down onto the windowsill. Suddenly, he felt as if he saw his father's yearning.
The prince followed his heart and promised: "Father, you can do whatever you want! Tianyuan Kingdom has me!"
The emperor was waiting for the prince to say this, "You are indeed my favorite son, so considerate. Find a way to win over your cousin. As for money, I, your father, have worried about it all my life. Perhaps then you won't have to worry about it anymore."
Do you regret not letting Shuxian become a concubine?"
The emperor looked at his son with an eye that showed he was enjoying a good show.
Crown Prince Li Jingchen thought about his uncle, then about his cousin's stubborn attitude. He shook his head without hesitation, "My cousin's personality is something I really can't handle. She's selfless and rational, and even hitting someone hurts."
What the prince didn't say was that he thought his cousin might be less afraid of the imperial power because she had grown up in the palace.
The prince felt that he could not sleep with this kind of woman even if she was his cousin. What if she had a child and she disliked him? How could he sleep with her?
The emperor was speechless when he saw his son's sincerity. He didn't really think his son couldn't control Shuxian, he just thought his son was too sentimental and didn't want to embarrass the queen.
The emperor just smiled and said, "Look at what you have accomplished!"
The atmosphere between the emperor and the prince was warm and harmonious, but many people in Yuan'an were in panic today.
Only the Crown Prince's family cheered silently in their hearts. The hearts of many princes were bitterer than eating coptis root.
No matter what everyone thinks, the emperor's abdication is moving in the direction chosen by the emperor.
The current emperor abdicated cleanly without even performing any drama of fatherly kindness and filial piety to the prince.
Then, Crown Prince Li Jingchen ascended the throne. What Yuan An and other noble ministers did not expect was that not only was the emperor's abdication ceremony simple, but even the crown prince's coronation ceremony was shortened again and again.
This series of events was completed within a month. After the Emperor abdicated, he and the Empress Dowager immediately moved to the Royal Court outside Yuan'an City.
Even if someone was dissatisfied with the new emperor's policies and went to see the retired emperor, he would simply claim he was fishing and had no time to see them. His reasons for refusal were quite perfunctory.
As the emperor refused more and more times, everyone gradually began to understand what was going on. Only then did they believe that an era had truly passed.
As soon as Li Jingchen ascended the throne, he changed the reign title to "Yuanwu," implying the use of force to subjugate the four directions. He conferred titles on the eldest prince, Li Jingze, as Prince Zhuang; the third prince, Li Jingbai, as Prince Gong; the fourth prince, Li Jingxuan, as Prince Yan; and the sixth prince, Li Jingfu, as Prince Li.
The fifth prince Li Jingyu was named Prince Rong, and Princess Yongchun Li Jingtang was named Princess Yongchun.
After Li Jingchen ascended the throne and sorted out things, he found a day and asked Zhou Qiongyue to bring the account book to the royal villa to pay respects to the empress dowager!
Zhou Qiongyue had prepared the account book long ago. If her second cousin didn't mention it, she would find time to let Yuan Bohua ask the emperor.
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