The selection of the crown prince was made jointly by the couple, and they chose the newborn great-grandson of the old Prince Yanxi.
Prince Yanxi was a loyal royalist, devoted to the cause and utterly devoted.
This loyalty is not blind loyalty.
During the reign of the late emperor, he favored Consort Shentu and allowed her to harm his children. Prince Yanxi was the first to stand up and impeach the wicked concubine for wreaking havoc in the palace, saying that the emperor favored his concubine and destroyed his wife.
This is a brave man who dared to impeach even the late emperor and dared to point his finger at Consort Shentu and call her a vile concubine.
Unfortunately, Prince Yanxi was the most senior and highly respected among the royal family members, and even the late emperor had to respectfully address him as "Uncle Emperor."
Even though Consort Shentu hated him to the core, she was powerless against the old Prince Yanxi.
Back then, as the only bloodline of the late emperor, Prince Yanxi did his utmost to ensure Jun Chenbi ascended the throne and warded off certain evil spirits with ulterior motives.
Therefore, within the entire royal family, the tyrant treated the lineage of the old Prince Yanxi differently.
Of course, if the old prince dared to criticize the late emperor, the new emperor would also reciprocate without hesitation.
For example, when Jun Chenbi initially chose a man as his empress, he did so under the guise of a prophecy from the temple's national advisor and under the banner of serving the people. People at that time were mostly superstitious, and although the old Prince Yanxi found it quite absurd, he did not step forward to stop it.
However, Qin Ge, having entered the harem, was not only in charge of the Phoenix Seal, but also continued to enter and leave the court, even rising to the position of Prime Minister. The old Prince Yanxi could not possibly turn a blind eye to this.
He submitted a memorial criticizing the emperor and empress.
He rebuked Qin Ge for acting like a hen crowing at dawn and ruling from behind a curtain, and criticized the emperor for indulging in such behavior, arguing that it would be a great calamity for the country.
If Qin Ge's talent and insight hadn't truly moved Prince Yanxi, making him genuinely believe that the absence of Qin Ge as prime minister was a great tragedy for the Great Yong Dynasty, Prince Yanxi probably wouldn't have given up so easily.
However, ever since the old Prince Yanxi changed his opinion of Qin Ge, he has changed his confrontational attitude.
Privately, the old Prince Yanxi even said to Qin Ge, "It must have been hard for you to marry His Majesty. Otherwise, a fine young man like you could have achieved great things, had beautiful wives and concubines, and had many children. Why did you have to go through this?"
He had an air of "I know you were forced by that scoundrel Emperor, you really have to endure this humiliation."
Qin Ge couldn't possibly explain this to the old Prince Yanxi—
No, I'm naturally gay, a pure gay man.
All I could do was smile.
The tyrant, however, turned pale and grabbed Qin Ge's waist, asking, "Beautiful wives and concubines? A multitude of children?"
Qin Ge could only coax the jealous tyrant with kind words.
Prince Yanxi married only one princess in his lifetime. The couple were deeply in love. In addition, the Jun family probably had a bloodline of unwavering love in their bones, from the founding emperor to the late emperor. Therefore, when Jun Chenbi only loved Qin Ge and did not establish two concubines or take two wives, and adopted the crown prince from the imperial clan, Prince Yanxi was the first to agree.
Of course, he did not expect that the emperor and empress would want to adopt the crown prince from his lineage.
Here's what happened—
At that time, it was the 80th birthday of the old Prince Yanxi.
In ancient times, when the average lifespan was only in the forties, eighty years old was considered a very advanced age. The age of eighty was extremely rare in the entire Dayong Dynasty, so the Emperor and Empress attended Prince Yanxi's birthday banquet together.
As mentioned before, the old Prince Yanxi only married one princess in his life. Perhaps it was due to bloodline tradition or what he was influenced by, but this is how it has always been in his lineage. They only marry wives and do not take concubines, staying with one person for life.
This resulted in the decline of the family line of the old Prince Yanxi, with few descendants.
It is rare for someone like Prince Yanxi to live to such an old age. His only son died in his forties, and his grandson was sickly from childhood. A fortune teller said he would not live past twenty. People in ancient times married young. Prince Yanxi married a beautiful princess at the age of sixteen and left behind a posthumous child before he died.
On the day of Prince Yanxi's 80th birthday, no one expected that the Princess Consort, who was only eight months pregnant, would fall.
There is an old saying that seven out of ten people survive and eight out of ten do not.
The Crown Princess's fall was quite severe, even the imperial physicians shook their heads in dismay.
Seeing that the birthday banquet was about to turn from a joyous occasion into a tragedy, Qin Ge stepped forward, took out silver needles, and inserted them into the major acupoints of the Princess Consort, preserving the last trace of bloodline for the old Prince Yanxi.
In ancient times, childbirth was a life-or-death situation for women, let alone the fact that a young lady like the Princess Consort Shisun suffered a fall and severe bleeding.
Even with Qin Ge's intervention, only the child was saved.
Princess Consort died on the spot after giving birth to her child.
However, she left with a smile on her face.
It is said that she and the grandson of the Yanxi Emperor were childhood sweethearts. When the grandson passed away, the grandson's wife was prepared to commit suicide, but she gave up the idea because she was pregnant with this child.
Now, having fulfilled her wish to leave the last bloodline of the Yanxi Prince's Mansion, the Imperial Concubine Shisun passed away with a smile.
The once grand Yanxi Prince's Mansion was now left with only an old man and a child.
The old man is already in his eighties, and the young child is still crying for milk.
How tragic and lamentable.
The wet nurse handed the child to the old Prince Yanxi. Upon hearing the news that the Crown Princess had died in childbirth, the old Prince Yanxi staggered half a step, then carried his newborn great-grandson to the Emperor and Empress.
"It was Her Majesty the Empress who saved my grandson's life. He was unfortunate; he lost his parents at birth, and his mother passed away before she could even name him. I beg Your Majesty to bestow a name upon him."
Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them.
Even someone as upright, unyielding, and indomitable as the old Prince Yanxi, upon realizing his advanced age and impending death, unable to witness his great-grandson grow up and protect him, couldn't help but set aside all his pride and make some plans for his grandson.
A great-grandson of the Prince of Yanxi, whose name was personally bestowed by the Empress, can smoothly inherit the title even after his death, without being devoured by other members of the royal family or being bullied by wicked servants.
They took advantage of him because he had no elders to protect him and no father or brothers to support him.
Looking at the expectant yet pleading gaze of the old Prince Yanxi, Qin Ge sighed inwardly, finally reaching out to take the child, who could be said to have survived because of him, and gently holding him in his arms.
Qin Ge lowered his eyes, looking at the baby's innocent and pure white face, and after a moment of contemplation, said:
"How about we call him Junyu?"
Qin Ge spoke the last two words while looking at Jun Chenbi, implying a question.
The emperor, dressed in a light gold dragon robe, with a noble and handsome appearance, glanced at the child in his empress's arms. In the setting sun, a thin arc of light appeared on his lips. "A gentleman is like jade. This name is quite good."
At this time, everyone said they envied the great-grandson's good fortune. Although he lost his parents at birth, his name was given by the Empress and praised by His Majesty.
Although, given His Majesty's favor towards the Empress, he would surely agree with whatever she says...
With the most honorable two people in the world bestowing a name upon him, this great-grandson of the Yanxi Prince's Mansion is set for life.
Little did he know, his good fortune was yet to come.
Not long after, an imperial edict was issued—
He was adopted as the Crown Prince of the Dayong Dynasty by Junyu, a great-grandson of the Prince of Yanxi.
Before issuing this imperial edict, the couple privately inquired about the wishes of the old Prince Yanxi. At that time, the old Prince Yanxi had suffered another blow of losing his son, and his health was already failing. He was only holding on for the sake of his newborn great-grandson, Junyu.
He was terrified that if he left, Junyu would die before he could grow up. He had to live a long time, much longer, until Junyu could walk, talk, and call him great-grandfather...
After much deliberation and consideration, the old Prince Yanxi finally agreed, tears streaming down his face as he kowtowed to express his gratitude to the Emperor. "Thank you, Your Majesty and the Empress, for your compassion for my Yanxi Prince's Mansion and your willingness to support Junyu. Such a great favor is something I can never repay even with my life!"
Jun Chenbi personally helped the old Prince Yanxi up, saying, "Your Imperial Uncle is too kind. The Empress and I have no son, and I fear the stability of the country. With Junyu as the Crown Prince, the Empress and I can live a long and worry-free life."
He didn't intend for Qin Ge to have a child.
This decision became even more resolute after witnessing the death of the Crown Princess during childbirth.
Qin Ge, dressed in an elegant moon-white brocade robe, her hair tied up with a sandalwood hairpin, smiled with a radiant beauty that melted away even the coldest snow. "His Majesty and I originally intended to choose a crown prince from among the imperial heirs. The old prince is of noble character, and his grandson will surely be the same. I named him Junyu. It not only reflects the aspiration of a gentleman as pure as jade, but also the meaning of ruling the world."
This yu.
It is both jade and imperial.
However, young children are easily killed, and since they are from a collateral branch and not true heirs, it's best not to use such an ostentatious name, lest it become too overwhelming.
Therefore, Qin Ge gave him the gentler name "Yu".
…
After the death of the old Prince Yanxi, when the young prince was three years old, he was finally brought into the palace for education.
Junyu was a bright child from a young age, and he was practically raised under the watchful eyes of Qin Ge and Jun Chenbi. He could speak when he was one year old, and the first word a toddler uttered wasn't "Grandpa," but rather—
Father and Father.
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