The final outcome of this matter was that He Yuan won. He was the emperor, and if he really wanted to do something regardless of the consequences, who could stop him?
But they all lost again.
After two absurd emperors, the Chu Kingdom was already in chaos and in danger. The choice of He Yuan, the "long-term ruler," was intended to quickly stabilize the situation and govern the country well. However, this one turned out to be even more absurd than the previous one. He neglected state affairs for his own selfish reasons, plunging the entire court into a ridiculous internal struggle, wasting its strength.
Three years later, just as he had finally achieved his wish of posthumously conferring the title of emperor on his biological father, contentedly placing his spirit tablet in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where it would stand alongside the emperors of the Qin Dynasty, the iron cavalry of the Northwestern Wolf Clan marched south, overwhelming the lands of the Chu State with unstoppable force. In just six months, they had captured the capital and captured the emperor and his ministers.
The Great Chu was destroyed.
He Yuan, known in history as the Last Emperor.
Such an ending was too tragic, far beyond He Qing's ability to bear. So even though she had made up her mind to protect herself, she still couldn't help but remind Empress Dowager Lin.
Anyone is fine, but you can’t choose this ambitious and ungrateful King of Zhongshan!
It's not that she is particularly loyal to the emperor and patriotic, nor is it that she is reluctant to give up the position of the eldest princess... It's just that, compared to an individual, the vast empire is too big and too heavy. He Qing subconsciously doesn't want this dynasty to end as ridiculously as her own, with no dignity at all.
This was a shallow thought brought to her by the vast river of history.
This inexplicable emotion weighed on her, making her toss and turn, but she finally stood up.
He Qing was in a trance, and Empress Dowager Lin had already made her decision. The Chu Empire was certainly important, but it had been doing well for over a decade, so it wouldn't be a disaster. As for her, the one sitting on the throne wasn't her husband or son, but a stranger who didn't need her help. So how could she maintain her current status?
"Good child, if you hadn't reminded me, I would have made a mistake." She shook He Qing's hand, "It's just that the child is too young, and I'm afraid he can't stand."
Worried about not being able to raise an older child, she considered bringing a baby home to raise. Raising one by herself was always more intimate. Furthermore, with the Emperor unable to rule for the past decade or so, everything depended on her, the Grand Empress Dowager.
"You don't have to choose someone too young," He Qing said. "Six or seven years old is fine. They know what's important, but they can't make decisions on their own, so they need someone to rely on."
Empress Dowager Lin hesitated and said, "He can already remember things at the age of six or seven. Is he not close to me?"
"He's the emperor, and his background can't be concealed. Rather than hiding it, it's better to be open and aboveboard," He Qing said. "It's best to choose someone with both parents alive. To avoid suspicion, they won't dare get close to you, which will make you appear more kind. It also prevents the emperor from posthumously honoring his biological parents and ancestors when he grows up. He can't welcome him back to the palace to be the retired emperor while he's still alive."
He Qing was now quite afraid of the ropes, having been bitten once, and was taking extremely strict precautions. Empress Dowager Lin, however, hadn't considered this for a moment. Suddenly, a sudden thought struck her, and she couldn't help but think of He Yuan, Prince of Zhongshan. That child had lost everyone in his family, so who knew he wouldn't do the same thing in the future?
How would she cope with it then?
The last bit of hesitation in her heart disappeared, and she nodded, "I appreciate you've thought it through. I've been so tired lately that I hadn't even thought of it at all."
"Your Majesty is busy with all kinds of affairs every day, so naturally she can't take care of these trivial matters." He Qing said modestly.
After their conversation, Empress Dowager Lin's attitude towards He Qing became more genuinely affectionate. Thinking that He Qing was understanding and that they would have to support each other in the palace, she said, "When you have time in the future, please come to my place more often. We can talk and keep each other company. I have other things to do today, so I won't keep you here."
He Qing knew she was planning to restructure the situation for a new emperor, so he stood up and bowed to Empress Dowager Lin before finally revealing his true identity. "No matter how good someone brought back from outside is, they're not as good as someone from your own family. I remember that although the late emperor didn't have any concubines, he did have a few attendants around him. Before the Empress Dowager chooses anyone from outside, why don't you have the imperial physician check their pulses first?"
The soul cannot feel pain or fatigue, so He Qing continued walking. This road seemed to have no end, and in this mechanical walking, the past events flashed before his eyes frame by frame, and then gradually blurred and faded away.
She should have been a daughter of a wealthy family, a favored daughter of heaven.
However, she was born at the wrong time. Her mother, a low-ranking concubine, died during childbirth. Soon after her birth, her father, Emperor Hui, fell ill and passed away the following year. With the change of power, the palace and the court were filled with grief, and a princess who had not yet grown up was naturally forgotten.
After his elder brother ascended the throne, he was arrogant, extravagant, incompetent and ruthless. He only knew how to have fun but not how to govern the country. He neglected the affairs of state, so that the former dynasty and the harem were controlled by eunuchs and corrupt officials. He Qing had the title of the eldest princess but did not have a status that matched her status. She was controlled by the maids around her and had no opinion of her own.
When she was sixteen, her elder brother, Emperor Ling, passed away. Her fourteen-year-old nephew, Yuji, ascended the throne. He sat on the throne for only two short years before falling from his horse and passing away suddenly. He became Emperor Xian. Emperor Xian had no children, and the imperial court and the harem were locked in a fierce dispute over who would succeed him. Upon his ascension, the new emperor launched a massive purge of the imperial harem and the court. He Qing, the eldest princess who had served four dynasties, was married off as soon as her mourning period ended.
At that time, He Qing thought that this was the beginning of a new life, but unexpectedly it was the first step into hell.
The emperor paid no attention to her, and the palace maids were naturally perfunctory. He Buping, the eunuch in charge of choosing a husband for her, accepted bribes and conspired with others to deceive his superiors and subordinates, marrying her off to a dying consumptive.
Using the golden branches and jade leaves of the imperial family to bring good luck, I am afraid there has never been a more ridiculous joke than this throughout history.
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