In the eighteenth year of Yongping, Qi Qi was eleven years old.
This year is destined to be extraordinary.
Qi Qi will not stop the course of history; the most important thing he wants to do is to protect Qi Defu and himself in the turbulent world.
First, Chen Dianji finally lost faith in the court and left a letter to Qi Qi before resigning. Later, Crown Prince Huangfu Yu was busy traveling to provide relief to disaster victims and supervise water conservancy projects when he unfortunately fell into the water, fell seriously ill, and died of a cold. He was posthumously granted the title of Crown Prince Yonghuai.
The whole country mourns, and the Ninth Prince observes a year of mourning.
Seeing the young Ninth Prince kneeling blankly in front of the mourning hall, all Qi Qi could do was hold his hand tightly; there was nothing else he could do.
The emperor became increasingly incompetent, completely disregarding the lives of the people. The national treasury was empty, yet he continued to indulge in wine, women, wealth, and power. The selection of beauties in the palace was changed from once a year to half a year. The newly built Star Observation Tower took two years to complete, and a large number of extraordinary people and events from the common people entered it. Countless elixirs circulated out, and after taking them, the emperor seemed to be in better spirits, but his temper became increasingly irritable.
With no more children born to the concubines, undercurrents were stirring within the palace, and the eunuchs began to seek their own way out.
Among the remaining princes, the ten-year-old Ninth Prince Huangfu Jue is the legitimate son of the Empress, and his maternal family is the family of the Grand Tutor of the court. Except for being somewhat lazy in his studies when he was young and ignorant, he has reformed himself in the past five years. At such a young age, he has shown extraordinary wisdom and talent, and is often praised by his teachers and has the support of almost all the civil officials in the court. He is one of the most popular candidates for Crown Prince.
The other prince is none other than the seventh prince, Huangfu He, who is now fourteen years old. His mother is the current Imperial Noble Consort, and he is backed by the Marquis of Ding'an's mansion. The old Marquis of Ding'an's mansion is currently serving as the Grand General of Xia Kingdom, in charge of commanding the border army, with 200,000 troops stationed on the frontier.
In recent years, natural disasters have struck, and all countries have suffered. In particular, neighboring countries such as Beiming, Xianbei, and Fusang have been eyeing the country covetously, constantly making various small moves, and are always ready to invade the territory of Great Xia. It was the old general who led the army to hold on and guard the borders of Great Xia. The Seventh Prince himself is about to reach the age of leaving the palace to establish his own government. Although he is not particularly outstanding in academics, he is a genius in martial arts, just like the Ninth Prince, and has the support of most of the military officials in the court.
The other princes were slightly less impressive.
The fourth prince, Huangfu Yue, whose mother is Consort Shu, is eighteen years old this year. He currently serves as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of national finances, household registration, taxation, and other matters. He has a decent number of offspring, having given birth to two sons and a daughter. His maternal family is the Minister of Revenue. Although he is not as outstanding as his two younger brothers, he is already an adult. On the surface, he avoids the limelight of his two younger brothers. He seems to have mediocre academic performance, but behind the scenes, he is adept at social maneuvering and has close personal relationships with many officials. He is also a good candidate.
However, these are the only three who can compete for the title.
The remaining two princes are only seven or eight years old this year. They are of average appearance and intelligence. Their mother is an unfavored concubine, and their maternal clan is unreliable.
There's also the most unlikely candidate, the Fifth Prince Huangfu Yi, who is fifteen years old this year. His grades are mediocre. To put it nicely, he's reserved and steady; to put it bluntly, he's incompetent and unfit for important tasks. He's on good terms with the Fourth Prince. If it weren't for the fact that the Emperor has few children, he probably would have forgotten about him. It was only a few days ago that Consort Shu mentioned him a few times, which reminded the Emperor of this son. Rebuilding a new residence for him is out of the question. The Emperor simply pointed to an old residence of a prince from the previous dynasty in the capital and that was it. He also casually assigned him a position in the Ministry of Works, which is known to be the lowest-ranking, least lucrative, and least powerful position among the Six Ministries. The Emperor's attitude is clear: this is also a hopeless case.
The emperor's grandson, who was in poor health, also went along.
During the mourning period, Qi Qi, along with the Ninth Prince, missed quite some time of classes.
While I was still dreaming, a male electronic voice suddenly spoke in my mind: [Host.]
Qi Qi was dazed for a moment: 【Tongtong, you're here! It's been so long, I missed you so much.】
The system's voice chuckled: "Host, I miss you too."
The system only visits once or twice a year. After catching up for a while, the system said: [The Duke of Zhenguo's former subordinates have contacted the male lead. He will be leaving in two days. Host, where is your jade pendant?]
Oh dear...
Qi Qi felt a little guilty and flustered. He hadn't even snatched the jade pendant yet! This thing had been sitting on Gu Siyan's chest every day, and Qi Qi had only been able to catch a glimpse of it occasionally over the past five years.
Hurry, he'll be leaving soon.
Qi Qi responded, then sighed somewhat dejectedly.
What, you're reluctant to part with it?
Qi Qi said, "That guy is really annoying. It's been five years, and he's still the same. I don't know if he even considers me a good friend."
Qi Qi knew that he carried a deep-seated hatred, but occasionally, he couldn't help but ask himself if he considered him a good friend.
Gu Siyan never answered this question; he would just give him a faint glance.
Okay, let's rob it. We'll go rob it tomorrow.
Qi Qi had something on her mind. As she turned over, a slender, fair hand rested on her back: "Can't sleep?"
Qi Qi whispered, "Your Highness, are we best friends?"
The voice behind him sounded sleepy. Hearing this, he gently punched Qi Qi: "What's wrong with you so late at night?"
Before Qi Qi could even purse his lips, he reached out and pulled Qi Qi into his arms. It was the dead of winter, and Qi Qi shivered as he pressed his perpetually cold skin against him. He covered him with the blanket and then cuddled him as they fell asleep.
This guy cried several times the past few nights, and finally managed to fall asleep today.
The next day, the Ninth Prince still had to go to the mourning hall to keep vigil. Qi Qi made an excuse to retrieve the things that Chen Dianji had left in the library. The Ninth Prince knew that Chen Dianji was Qi Qi's teacher, so he agreed and only told him to come back early.
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