Chapter 139 The Unloved Princess 14
The court officials were completely horrified by the sudden change before them; even Lord Wang, who kept shouting and denouncing, was completely stunned.
This, this, this...
It is indeed right to purge the rebels, but...but the eldest prince is gone, and the second, third, fourth and fifth princes were all killed by the eldest prince.
The last prince is gone too.
What should I do?
The court officials felt even more uneasy, and kept looking at Prime Minister Lin, speculating in their hearts.
Could it be...
Could it be that Prime Minister Lin wants to overthrow the entire Great Zhou and become the emperor himself?
Lin Qinghuai was not interested in the complicated thoughts of the court officials. After confirming that the eldest prince was dead, he just smiled faintly, turned around and left the hall, and walked towards the old emperor's bedroom.
Because the eldest prince was plotting treason and forcing the emperor to abdicate, most of the palace servants went into hiding, and the palace roads were quiet.
Most of the palace servants in the old emperor's bedroom had left, leaving only one loyal old palace servant who had served the old emperor since childhood. At this time, the old emperor was lying on the bright yellow bed, his cheeks sunken due to illness.
His old eyes were cloudy and blurry, and he looked like he was on his deathbed.
Seeing Lin Qinghuai striding in, the old palace servant showed no surprise on his face. He took out the edict that had already been written by the old emperor and handed it over respectfully.
Lin Qinghuai took the imperial edict, opened it and looked at it carefully. Seeing that the edict was indeed written by the old emperor, he quickly put it away.
After glancing at the old emperor who was obviously dying, Lin Qinghuai did not stop and turned to leave the bedroom.
Even if he ascended the throne of the Great Zhou as a woman, His Highness should have done so legitimately. He must not be branded as a usurper just because the old emperor had passed away...
Thinking of this, Lin Qinghuai quickened his pace slightly. After leaving the old emperor's bedroom, he walked towards Cuiwei Palace.
At this time, Cuiwei Palace was surrounded by a group of black-armored guards. The palace servants were all terrified and dared not go out.
They all lived in the palace and had never seen such a scene, but even though they were afraid, they still protected their princess desperately.
Nan Qiao was staying in the inner room at this time. It was cold and there were charcoal braziers in the four corners of the inner room, so apart from his slightly pale face, there was nothing wrong with him.
The vermilion window was slightly ajar, and one could see the falling snow outside... and the majestic black-armored guards.
They stood like black sculptures, guarding the four sides of Cuiwei Palace, seemingly...with no intention of harming anyone...
Feeling a little relieved, Nan Qiao lowered his eyes and continued to look at the scripture in his hand, trying hard to focus his attention on the obscure text in the book.
Although no news was received, Nan Qiao could still guess, considering what had happened recently, that something had happened in the previous dynasty.
But what happened...
Nan Qiao couldn't guess it.
The outer door was suddenly pushed open, and then footsteps were heard. Nan Qiao was stunned, put down the scriptures, and calmly held a sharp hairpin in his hand.
In order to avoid implicating other people in the end, she had instructed the palace servants to return to their rooms. The one who would enter the main hall now would definitely not be a palace servant from her palace.
"Your Highness is well."
Nan Qiao was stunned by the familiar voice, but she did not let down her guard and looked over.
"Prime Minister Lin."
The person who came was Lin Qinghuai.
Lin Qinghuai hadn't seen his prince since returning from the hunting ground, and his greedy and burning gaze couldn't help but fall on his prince.
Even someone as cold and aloof as Nan Qiao could sense something was amiss. She frowned and said in a cold voice:
"Minister Lin, why are you here?"
Lin Qinghuai came back to his senses, smiled slightly, took out the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand, and said:
"Your Highness, the eldest prince rebelled and was killed after killing two or four princes."
Nan Qiao was shocked.
Even though she didn't have much impression of the princes, she knew that her father had only five princes.
This is, are they all dead?
Nan Qiao blinked, a little surprised, but she didn't feel sad in her heart. After all, she had only met her royal brothers a few times.
If you don't have much emotion, you won't feel sad.
But the problem is, with all the princes gone, who will inherit the throne? Could it be that a son from one of the royal family's side branches should be found to inherit?
Nan Qiao was guessing in his heart, but did not ask out loud. He just waited quietly for the other party to tell him his intention.
Lin Qinghuai held the imperial edict in both hands, straightened his back, and knelt on the ground.
Kneeling on the ground!
Nan Qiao was startled by the other party's action, and the other party's next words made her eyes widen. She saw that even though he knelt down in a gesture of submission, the Prime Minister Lin still had an extraordinary aura and whispered:
"His Majesty left a decree of succession, allowing Your Highness to inherit the throne!"
…
How is that possible?
Nan Qiao was full of disbelief.
Not only he himself could not believe it, but even the court officials found it unbelievable!
How is that possible?
How could that be?
Even if several princes died, there would always be a suitable-aged member of the royal family. How could it be the turn of Princess Lingqiao, a woman, to succeed to the throne?
No matter how unbelievable it was, no one dared to say a word.
Beauties always have privileges. When everyone saw Princess Lingqiao still in a daze, even if they had some opinions in their hearts, no one wanted to say anything unpleasant in front of His Highness.
and……
Everyone glanced at Lin Qinghuai and Wei Ce, who were standing at the head of the civil and military ministers, and swallowed their saliva.
There are indeed old scholars in the court, and many of them, like Lord Wang, have risked their lives to make clear their opinions, but unfortunately, there are even more people who know what is good for them.
Haven’t you seen how several princes of the royal family who had ulterior motives ended up like this just because of the saying “A hen crows at dawn is a burden to the family”?
Moreover, even the most old-fashioned, pedantic, and Confucian-compliant Minister of Rites, Lord Wang, did not say a word. Why did they object? Were they tired of living and wanted to sacrifice the lives of their entire family?
What's more...
Your Highness is of the bloodline of Li Zhou, and is also known as the Pearl of the Great Zhou. Naturally, he is extraordinary. This, this, this... it's not bad for him to ascend the throne.
If a violent person like the eldest prince were allowed to become emperor, I'm afraid the Great Zhou would be on the verge of destruction.
Moreover, it’s not uncommon for women to succeed to the throne before. So what if a woman succeeds to the throne in their Great Zhou?
With the eldest prince forcing the emperor to abdicate, the court officials were much less resistant to a woman succeeding to the throne.
After all, they knew that resistance was futile.
In the face of absolute power, all opposition is meaningless.
So within two days, everyone in the court, except Nan Qiao himself, had accepted this fact.
Cuiwei Palace
The black-armored guards had been withdrawn, and the palace servants could begin their normal activities. However, the door to the main hall was closed, and the palace servants who passed by looked into the hall with complicated expressions.
Nan Qiao's brows were rarely furious. She looked at the two men standing in front of her and said impatiently, "...I really can't do that!"
Lin Qinghuai said innocently, "Your Highness is being modest. The abbot of Hanyun Temple wrote to me, saying that Your Highness is very intelligent."
No matter how smart he is, he is not qualified to be the leader of a country. Nan Qiao felt even more anxious.
She patiently said, "What I read in Hanyun Temple were mostly scriptures. They are useless for governing the country, useless in the court, and I don't know how to govern the country..."
Lin Qinghuai: "If Your Highness wants to learn, I know all of these and can teach you."
Nan Qiao remained silent, wondering what he was thinking about. He then asked, "If that's the case, why didn't Prime Minister Lin order him to support the royal family members?"
The royal family members received at least more education than her, a princess who had spent more than ten years in front of the ancient Buddha's green lamp, right?
Lin Qinghuai's eyes darkened as he looked at His Highness who was serious, and said with a smile, "Because I can't bear to leave."
He has great power in the court, so he can support another royal family member to ascend the throne. But if he wants his Highness to kneel down and salute a royal family member in the future,
How could he bear to do that?
Can’t bear to part with what?
Nan Qiao didn't ask any further.
But his eyes flickered slightly, and he met the other person's gaze, but he didn't dare to look directly at him. He only looked at Wei Ce, pursed his lips, and said:
"What about the prince? The prince controls the army, so why would he join forces with Lin...Lin Qinghuai? Has he ever thought about..."
Have you ever thought about becoming king?
After all, the imperial capital was in such chaos at that time, and relying on the troops in the hands of the prince of Zhenbei was enough, wasn't it?
Wei Ce laughed and said, "When it comes to political strategies, I can't compare to Prime Minister Lin. I can only command large-scale battles."
The Wei family has been loyal to Li Zhou for generations. If he rebelled, he would probably be kicked out of the house by his father, although he was not afraid of being kicked out.
But if he really rebelled, his Highness would probably end up being called the Princess of a Fallen Country, if nothing else.
Your Highness is like a bright pearl, but even more like the bright moon. How could such a dirty name befall Your Highness?
"But I don't understand anything..."
Nan Qiao was a little hesitant, his face pale, and he muttered to himself in a low voice.
The responsibility of a dynasty was too great for her. She had never received any instruction in this area before. How could she bear it?
Lin Qinghuai sighed softly, took a few tentative steps closer, and chuckled, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry..."
"Everything is under the care of me and the prince. If Your Highness doesn't understand, I will teach you. Your Highness will be the emperor in the future, and no one will blame you."
Even if someone blamed him, what could he do? How could he, Lin Qinghuai, ever put the world in his eyes? In the past, he only cared about himself, and in the future, he would only care about His Highness.
If Your Highness wants to be a wise ruler, then there is no harm in him helping Your Highness become a wise ruler respected by future generations.
As if infected by the calmness of the two people in front of him, the helplessness in Nan Qiao's eyes was slightly reduced, but he was still a little hesitant about ascending the throne.
Lin Qinghuai seemed oblivious and asked excitedly, "What kind of dress does Your Highness like? I have already had people prepare for Your Highness's ascension to the throne."
"I like the floor-length dress. If you don't like bright yellow, that's fine. Your Highness seems to like emerald green. Why not choose emerald green..."
"No, no, bright yellow is fine."
Nan Qiao said that she didn't have any particular preference for clothing colors, and she often wore green dresses because she was used to it.
The court officials have been asked to adapt to the enthronement of a female emperor, so they can't be asked to change the bright yellow color that has symbolized the emperor since ancient times.
How presumptuous.
This was an agreement to ascend the throne, and Lin Qinghuai's smile deepened...
*
Establishing a female emperor was something that had never happened in the hundreds of years since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, the people in the Ministry of Rites were at a loss and had to follow the ceremony of the enthronement of emperors of all dynasties.
The new emperor led all officials to worship heaven, earth, and the ancestral temple.
The new emperor wore a royal robe and accepted the homage of all officials.
The new emperor issued an edict of accession and announced a general amnesty.
…
After all these events, the already frail Nan Qiao's face turned pale. Wei Ce's face turned grim. He resisted the urge to pick her up and whispered to Lin Qinghuai beside him, "Why not simplify the coronation ceremony? They know that the prince is weak, and the people in the Ministry of Rites are all idiots..."
Lin Qinghuai's expression remained unchanged, but his gaze remained fixed on the figure of a woman in a bright yellow dragon robe not far away. He said, "It was His Majesty's order that the coronation ceremony must not be simplified."
This was the first order given by His Majesty after he agreed to ascend the throne. His body was as delicate as a lotus, but his temperament was very stubborn.
Lin Qinghuai said calmly: "Nothing, it's almost over. I have asked the imperial physician to prepare everything."
As long as Your Majesty can't bear it, immediately send the imperial physician to take your pulse and treat you.
Wei Ce had no choice but to keep an eye on His Majesty and be prepared to hold him if he fainted.
Fortunately, after returning to the palace, Nan Qiao's body received a lot of care, both overtly and covertly, and became healthier. This time, the coronation ceremony was finally completed safely.
She believed that there were probably quite a few people in the court who disapproved of her as the empress. If she couldn't even go through the normal ceremonies upon her coronation, they would probably be quite dissatisfied with her.
Moreover, she was not a person who would show off her strength. She knew that she was much better now, so she decided to go ahead with the original coronation ceremony.
She smiled at the two people who were looking at her with concern. The person in the bright yellow dress was as dazzling as the sun and the moon. She quickly climbed onto the dragon throne and sat in the seat that once belonged to her father.
"Long live His Majesty!"
The sounds of the officials paying homage resounded through the sky. Nan Qiao was slightly stunned, and everything that had happened since he returned to the palace flashed before his eyes.
Looking at the court officials kneeling on the ground below, a trace of fear suddenly arose in her heart. No matter how Lin Qinghuai and Wei Ce tried to comfort her, she would still be afraid when she really faced such a grand and solemn scene.
She was not afraid of her ancestors or the court officials. She was just afraid of letting down the millions of subjects of the Great Zhou.
The emperor is supported by the people of the world and must shoulder the responsibilities of the people of the world. Can she really bear such a heavy burden?
The new emperor, who had just ascended the throne, kept asking himself questions in his heart, and seemed to have little confidence in himself.
The new emperor did not call on everyone to stand up for a long time. Although the court officials below were puzzled, they did not dare to look up. Only the first civil and military officials on both sides seemed to have noticed something and looked over.
Meeting their gazes, the new emperor was slightly startled, and then he saw them speaking silently with their mouths wide open:
Wei Ce: Long live Your Majesty.
Lin Qinghuai: Your Majesty, please rest assured.
My fluctuating mood suddenly settled down.
The new emperor, with his stunning appearance, smiled, like a stream breaking through the ice in winter, making the two court officials below lose their minds.
Now that things have come to this, she can't back down, right?
She may not understand now.
But she will try.
Nan Qiao encouraged herself in her heart.
She will work hard to learn how to be a good emperor and how to shoulder the burden of the Great Zhou.
"Everyone, please stand up!"
Two words of coolness and majesty escaped from his mouth.
The court officials stood up, and the sound of cannon salutes suddenly rang out outside the hall.
According to historical records: In 569 BC, the first female emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Hui'an, ascended the throne.
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