It's important to note that when a princess is choosing a husband, she naturally has more than one candidate. Empress Dowager Lin had no intention of manipulating her and simply gave her the list of names to choose from. Nanny Lu volunteered to investigate the man's character, talent, and appearance, and when she came back, she praised him so highly that she personally chose the Jin family.
This account will have to be settled sooner or later.
During the reign of He Qing's elder brother, Emperor Ling of Chu, He Jun, the previous emperor was a devout believer in Taoism. He repeatedly issued edicts summoning Taoists from across the country to the capital to study Taoist scriptures, build temples, and refine elixirs, leading to a period of rapid Taoist prosperity. Later, he even built the Dao Palace within the imperial gardens and moved in himself. He wore Taoist robes and a Taoist hat, refraining from worldly affairs and government affairs to demonstrate his sincere devotion to the pursuit of immortality and the Way.
So at the age of only 33, he died suddenly from taking too many golden elixirs.
The palace had only been built a short time ago and had been vacant for only two years. Although it looked somewhat desolate, it was in no need of repair.
Because the main hall was the emperor's residence, He Qing chose the eastern side hall to live in. The Inner Palace Bureau hastily sent a few people over to remove the items that were out of place, cleaned the place from top to bottom, and stocked it with the necessary items for a Taoist temple. They also selected a few more people to take charge of cleaning and cooking, all dressed in Taoist attire, and everything was complete.
Next came the elaborate and lengthy funeral of the late emperor. As a monk, He Qing quietly attended to his duties, not asking about other matters, but he could still vaguely hear the Empress Dowager and several officials from the Council of State arguing several times.
It should all be about the new monarch.
He Qing calculated the date and thought it was about time, so he went to Kunhua Palace.
Empress Dowager Lin was currently experiencing a headache. As the saying goes, a country cannot be without a ruler for even a day. While the ministers could discuss matters at court, without an emperor, people's hearts remained unsettled and uneasy. For the sake of the Chu state, a new ruler should be welcomed and appointed as soon as possible. Even if they wanted to conduct the late emperor's funeral first, they should have chosen the right person.
So during this period, the court officials submitted memorials one after another, and every word and sentence was a reminder to her.
In reality, Empress Dowager Lin herself understood this truth. It was something that had to be done sooner or later, and doing it sooner would appear to be a matter of righteousness. But the thought of her son being gone, only for someone else to inherit his glory, and the thought that the future would never be the same as before, was a thorn in her side.
So today, even the clan elders were invited by the court officials to act as lobbyists.
Empress Dowager Lin knew that this matter could no longer be delayed.
Even without her expressing her opinion, the court officials and royal family members had already proposed several alternative royal family members.
So when she heard He Qing coming to greet her, she didn't even see him and asked the outsider to send him away. He Qing only nodded slightly, without further entanglement, and turned away very decisively. She was a monk now, so she had to act like a monk and not get too involved in these matters. At least she had to keep up appearances.
On the second day, Empress Dowager Lin relented and took the initiative to summon several important officials from the Council of State and several respected princes from the royal family, asking them to nominate a candidate to succeed the new emperor.
Although her face remained stern and her tone was firm, her relenting words brought a sigh of relief to everyone. They were about to present their proposed candidates, not caring to comply with her wishes. But Empress Dowager Lin suddenly spoke up, "Gentlemen, you have all served three dynasties and are experienced in statecraft. I have no qualms about the candidates you recommend. However, I must make one point clear: Prince Rui's descendants are not acceptable!"
Prince Rui was the younger brother of Emperor Hui's son He Lin and the uncle of Emperor Ling. Emperor Cheng favored Consort Xu and even considered deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest, causing Emperor Hui a very difficult time. He was even poisoned and nearly died.
Because of this, the naturally gifted and diligent Emperor Huidi suffered from poor health and only lived to the age of forty. It was with great difficulty that he raised his only son, Emperor Lingdi. It was for this reason that he was overly pampered, leaving him without any trace of an imperial aura.
Emperor Ling died young, leaving only one son, the late Emperor He Qi. Therefore, although the three subsequent emperors suppressed the line of Prince Rui to the end, in terms of closeness, his sons and nephews were undoubtedly the most qualified to ascend to that position.
The Empress Dowager's stance was clear, so none of the courtiers wanted to risk bad luck. Regardless of whether or not there were relevant individuals on the previous list, all those mentioned later were far removed from Prince Rui's faction. Some even deliberately distanced themselves from the lineage to avoid suspicion.
Empress Dowager Lin became more and more angry as she listened.
If she hadn't heard them enumerate so carefully, she, who had been in the palace for over twenty years, would not have known that there were so many people in the Great Chu Imperial Family. And the fact that these people could describe it so clearly showed that they had done a lot of research during this period.
Everyone wants to claim the credit for following the emperor, right? Empress Dowager Lin thought coldly.
When a new emperor ascends the throne, he will naturally be very tolerant to those who recommend him.
It is possible that some people have already colluded with each other in private to push the person they chose up.
After all, having lived in the deep palace for so long, Emperor Ling and the recently deceased Emperor Daxing were both reluctant to attend to government affairs. Some matters even had to go through Empress Dowager Lin, so she knew a little about these official affairs. Thinking about it now, her heart was filled with hatred, bitterness, and fear.
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