The emperor asked with a smile, staring intently at Prime Minister Xiao below. His usually gentle eyes were now particularly deep, as if he was probing, or just asking casually.
Chief Minister Xiao maintained his bowing posture, his every move as if measured with a ruler, and said in a steady tone: "The eldest prince is both the eldest and a virtuous man, he is the legitimate heir, and he deserves the throne."
He lowered his head slightly, his posture revealed a solemn and respectful expression, and his tone was more confident than ever before, but his half-closed eyes made it impossible to see his expression clearly.
Seeing this, Lord Liu and others, who had been full of fighting spirit before, were completely deflated like a punctured leather ball and no longer had the will to fight.
"Good!" The emperor slapped the armrest of the throne heavily. He was in a very good mood and seemed to be several years younger.
At this point, everyone was sure of how they should express their opinions. They all bowed and stepped forward one after another to second the motion:
"I second the motion!"
"I think we should appoint a crown prince as soon as possible. Please grant me your approval, Your Majesty."
"Your Highness the Grand Princess and the other gentlemen are right."
These voices are loud and powerful, showing a scene of unity among the people.
Looking down at the ministers below, the emperor felt better. Deep smile lines appeared in the corners of his old eyes. He ordered in high spirits: "Pei Wenrui, then the Ministry of Rites will prepare for the appointment of the crown prince as soon as possible."
"Qin Tianjian, please calculate an auspicious day as soon as possible."
Minister of Rites Pei Wenrui and the Imperial Observatory immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to receive the order.
The dust has settled.
Feng Yang curled his lips into a smile and looked around again.
She had been seriously ill this time, and her cheeks were slightly sunken, but her eyes were unusually bright and firm.
For her, the most important thing is that the empire that Taizu conquered has successors.
Selecting a crown prince has always been a major national event in every dynasty, and it cannot be decided by just an imperial decree.
After the emperor issued the decree, Minister of Rites Pei Wenrui and a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites spent three full days consulting historical books and formulating the rules for enthroning the crown prince.
"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory has calculated three auspicious days. Your Majesty, please choose one."
"The Ministry of Rites has already drafted the edict to enthrone the crown prince. Please review it before sending it to the various states."
"The various ceremonial robes and crowns for the Crown Prince have been arranged by the Imperial Household Department."
"Before appointing a crown prince, one must first offer sacrifices to the ancestors. It happens to be a year since the late emperor passed away. I think it would be better if the eldest prince could offer sacrifices to the late emperor and the ancestors on your behalf."
"On the day of the enthronement ceremony, one must offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and pay respects to the ancestral temple, before the ceremony is considered complete."
"The Crown Prince is the future monarch, so the enthronement ceremony cannot be rushed."
“…”
The Da Jing Dynasty had only been established for fifty years, and there were not many old precedents to follow. When the previous emperor was named the crown prince, the dynasty had just been established, and Emperor Taizu said that there were many things to be done and everything should be kept simple. When the previous emperor appointed the crown prince, the Minister of Rites at the time was Wang Zi, who came from an aristocratic family. Wang Zi roughly compiled this set of regulations based on the old precedents of the previous dynasty.
This time the Ministry of Rites only made minor modifications.
The emperor carefully read the memorial presented by the Ministry of Rites, was very pleased, and agreed readily.
On the same day, the emperor issued an edict, ordering the eldest prince Chu Yi to go to the imperial mausoleum to offer sacrifices to the late emperor.
Offering sacrifices to the imperial tomb was a major event, and the Ministry of Rites immediately began to prepare for it. The Minister of Rites, the left and right vice ministers and other important officials were so busy that they stayed in the Ministry of Rites for several days in a row, wishing they had three heads and six arms.
After divination by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, the date for offering sacrifices to the imperial tomb was set on April 15, which left more than twenty days for preparation.
As a result, the Ministry of Rites became even busier. They had to draw up a list of people who would accompany the eldest prince to the imperial mausoleum to offer sacrifices, arrange the sacrificial ceremonies, coordinate with the Taichang Temple, arrange fasting before the sacrifice, and so on.
The news that the emperor was about to appoint a crown prince quickly spread throughout the capital, and even the common people felt happy.
It seems like March has passed in the blink of an eye. At the beginning of April, the weather is getting warmer and warmer, with sunny days and gentle breezes.
On sunny days in April, peonies, peonies, roses, pomegranates and other flowers bloom in the sunshine, filling the air with fragrance.
Several colorful butterflies fluttered among the peonies, sometimes stopping among the flowers, sometimes flying, and sometimes playing with each other...
"Meow~"
A snow-white cat and a jet-black cat ran in front of the two people, one after the other. The two cats were happily chasing the butterflies in the garden, and their cries were soft and excited.
One of the butterflies landed on the girl's slender index finger, and its thin wings fluttered twice in the sunlight.
Gu Yanfei curled the corners of his lips and looked at the cats running, sleeping or squatting in the garden. An idea suddenly emerged in his mind: Qingguang will definitely like it here.
“Crack.”
A thin branch was cut off by the scissors. The slight sound startled the butterfly that was resting on Gu Yanfei's finger, and the butterfly flapped its wings and flew away.
Feng Yanghun, who was standing next to him, didn't care. He was trimming the branches of a pot of peonies while explaining, "If you want the peonies to grow well, you have to trim off the overly dense branches and lateral buds. The lateral branches should be fine and not too numerous, so that the other branches can grow stronger."
"The stunted flower buds also need to be cut off to reduce the consumption of nutrients."
"Not only diseased and dead branches need to be pruned, but some long branches also need to be shortened appropriately."
“…”
Fengyang spoke eloquently, his tone quite cheerful.
Gu Yanfei, who was standing by, felt overwhelmed after hearing this.
She liked to prepare herbs for making medicine, but had no interest in tending to the flowers and plants.
However, when they were in the Yaoling Realm, the sect's third senior sister liked to fiddle with these flowers and plants, and she always liked to grab her junior sisters and brothers and talk about these things.
So Gu Yanfei knew a little bit about it. She smiled and said, "When pruning a peony, you should grow one foot taller and retreat eight inches, right?"
Her words summed up the essence of pruning peonies. Feng Yang raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "Yan Fei, you can also grow peonies?"
Fengyang looked at the peony carefully to see if there was anything else that needed pruning.
"It's just a little bit worse than you." Gu Yanfei smiled obediently, and his smile was very cute.
She learned this skill of acting like a spoiled child when she was in the Yaoling Realm under the care of so many senior brothers and sisters. She had already mastered it to perfection. Fengyang liked her, so she was naturally happy and burst out laughing.
The two of them were talking and laughing happily.
The old lady next to it moved away the trimmed peony and brought in another pot of bright red peonies. Dozens of green flower buds had already grown on the branches.
Feng Yang didn't rush to get the scissors. He stretched out his finger and gently plucked one of the buds. "What a pity, this flower budded a few days late this year. I'm afraid it won't be able to catch up with this year's Peony Festival..."
Fengyang half-closed his eyelashes, looking at the pot of red peonies with a hint of loss in his eyes.
A few rays of sunlight danced on her gray eyelashes, dyeing them platinum and making her look somewhat distant.
Gu Yanfei's eyes narrowed.
She knew that Fengyang was not talking about the Peony Festival at all. What Fengyang really wanted to say was that she might not live to see the peony in bloom.
The atmosphere was tinged with a faint sadness.
When the wind blows, the crimson buds on the branches sway gently.
Gu Yanfei's mind moved, and he guided the spiritual energy on the white jade red plum hairpin little by little to the fingertips of his right hand, forming a white light that was invisible to the naked eye.
“Bang!”
She snapped her fingers lightly at the pot of peonies.
The next moment, the flower buds on the peony pot trembled slightly, bloomed little by little, and the layers of petals stretched out... The big red peony flowers bloomed miraculously at an incredible speed.
A faint scent of peony wafted into the air, and even the surrounding butterflies were attracted and circled around the pot of peonies.
This scene is like a dream, beautiful beyond words
Fengyang looked at the flowers blooming in amazement, his eyes instantly lit up and his whole body became radiant.
Fengyang was looking at the flowers, but the old nanny next to her was looking at her without blinking. Her eyes were blurred with mist, as if she saw Fengyang when she was young, with her charming and stunning appearance.
She has served Princess Fengyang for most of her life. In recent years, her princess's physical and mental health have been getting worse and worse.
She knew that His Highness no longer had any attachment to this world, and she had not seen His Highness so energetic for a long time.
It's great. The old lady lowered her head quietly and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
Seeing Fengyang smile, Gu Yanfei raised his chin proudly. Isn't she awesome? Receiving the little girl's proud look, Fengyang's smile became brighter.
"Meow!"
The clingy black cat circled affectionately around the skirt of the woman in green, meowing non-stop.
The woman in green walked up to the two of them without looking away, and said to Fengyang with a fist clasped in a straightforward manner, "Your Highness, a new envoy from the Kingdom of Yue has arrived, and has just proposed a marriage between the two countries to the Emperor."
The woman in green has a tall and straight figure, like a bunch of graceful green bamboo. Even the simple movements she performs exude a heroic temperament.
Feng Yang said "Oh" lightly.
The woman in green immediately continued, "The envoy from Yue said that the saint of Yue heard that King Kang was young and promising, a man of both civil and military talents, brave and resourceful, and wanted to ask for King Kang to be the consort of the eighth princess, Princess Ximing, so that the two countries could form a friendly relationship."
Feng Yang didn't even raise his head, his eyes still fixed on the beautiful peony in front of him. He turned the flower pot around and asked, "Who is from Yue?"
"It was Dou Zixiang, the elder brother of the Crown Princess of Yue." The woman in green replied, "Dou Zixiang said that Yue is willing to give the Huangshuiyang Sea as a dowry for the princess."
This matter should have spread to all the prefectures in the capital by now. I'm afraid that people in each prefecture are speculating whether this marriage was the idea of the Yue Kingdom's sage or the Yue Kingdom's crown prince Baili Zhao.
“Crack.”
Fengyang picked up the scissors and cut off two remaining leaves in succession. The extremely sharp scissors reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight.
Feng Yang asked calmly, "Where is King Kang?"
"The emperor has just summoned Prince Kang to the palace." The woman in green replied.
Feng Yang chuckled.
There was no emotion in this plain smile, no joy, anger, sorrow or happiness could be heard.
"Meow!"
The white cat rubbed against her and rubbed her calf affectionately with its cheek.
Feng Yang was about to bend over to hug the cat when he suddenly felt his vision go dark. He stood up again, unable to hide the fatigue on his face.
She took two steps back and planned to sit down in an armchair next to her.
Gu Yanfei quickly grabbed Fengyang's arm and helped her sit on the chair.
Feng Yang's face turned even paler and his breath became weak.
The old nanny beside him also walked over quickly and asked worriedly, "Your Highness, what do you think?"
Feng Yang waved his hand silently to indicate that he was fine.
Gu Yanfei looked at Fengyang steadily. She could see that the fire of Fengyang's soul was flickering, like a candle flame that was about to be blown out by the wind, flickering from time to time.
Time is running out for Fengyang.
If everything goes well...
Fengyang sat for a while, calmed down, met Gu Yanfei's clear eyes, understood what she meant, and smiled.
"Ruosu, go down." Fengyang waved his hand again and gestured. The woman in green who came to report the message bowed and then left. The black cat chased after her, meowing.
Feng Yang looked at the beautiful peony in front of him with satisfaction and asked with a smile: "Yan Fei, you also contributed a lot to this flower. How about giving it to you?"
However, Gu Yanfei refused without hesitation: "No, you raise it yourself."
The little girl's tone was so firm that Feng Yang couldn't help but laugh.
Gu Yanfei picked up the white cat with mandarin duck eyes on the ground, put it on his knees, gently stroked the cat's back, and said with a joking smile: "You know how to train cats. I see that all the cats in your house are very obedient."
"You don't know, my cat is stupid and bad, it always destroys the best flowers in my house!"
Gu Yanfei tilted her face, revealing a pair of shallow dimples, and her bright eyes looked kind, "So, it's better for you to take care of this pot of peonies yourself, Your Highness."
This last sentence is very meaningful.
Fengyang looked at the man and the cat, his eyebrows slightly curved and a gentle smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
"I'm serious!" Gu Yanfei smiled and moved closer to Fengyang. "Next time I'll bring it to you. It's broken. It's useless except for being pretty!"
"Wrong." Feng Yang finally couldn't help laughing out loud, and even tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Gu Yanfei blinked in confusion.
Feng Yang pointed at the white cat on Gu Yanfei's lap with a smile on his face and said, "This cat is very bad. It scratches everyone it sees. It's not that my cat is obedient, it's that you are trying to please the cat."
The white cat obviously didn't understand what Fengyang was saying. It meowed innocently and tilted its round face. Its blue and gold cat eyes were as beautiful as a pair of glass beads.
Gu Yanfei lowered his head to look at the cute white cat, smiled too, and nodded, "Yeah, cats always like me!"
Just like sunshine is always likable.
The two people's happy laughter echoed in the garden.
The white cat on Gu Yanfei's lap looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression, then kicked up its hind legs, jumped off her lap, and happily ran off to chase the butterflies again.
"Meow meow cat..."
The two of them sat in the garden, watching the cat catching butterflies and occasionally commenting on it.
I don’t know how long it had been, but the woman in green named Ruosu came back again, and with her was the shiny black cat.
"Your Highness, Prince Kang has already agreed to the marriage." Ruosu said with a fist clasped.
Feng Yang was drinking tea. Hearing this, he just twitched his eyelashes and looked at Gu Yanfei with a smile. Both of them were silent, only the white cat meowed.
Ruosu sorted out her thoughts and continued in an orderly manner: "Prince Kang told the emperor that he already had a principal wife, and if Princess Ximing was willing to be a concubine, he would agree."
"Then the Yue envoy praised the King Kang for his deep affection and said that the Third Prince Baili had written a letter to the Saint to report the matter. Princess Ximing felt that the King Kang was a man of trust, affection and promise, and was willing to be his concubine."
There was no ups and downs in her tone, nor any emotion, she was just stating it.
Feng Yang put down the teacup and said calmly, "Very good."
Gu Yanfei casually played with a peony flower that was cut by Fengyang. He turned it around, and the layers of petals trembled slightly, looking delicate and gorgeous.
She smiled, her eyes sparkling.
Very good indeed.
The news that King Kang agreed to the marriage between the two countries spread throughout the capital in just half a day. This news shocked the entire capital and also made those aristocratic families breathe a sigh of relief.
This was really good news that made them overjoyed.
That evening, Yuan Zhe, Wang Kangyin, Pei Wenrui and others gathered at Prime Minister Xiao's residence, all of them looking radiant.
"King Kang has finally listened to our advice this time." Prime Minister Xiao, who was sitting at the top, stroked his beard and sighed, his eyes unable to hide a hint of complacency, and he looked very pleased.
Wang Kangyin and others nodded and smiled. The haze that had lingered in their hearts for a month was swept away.
The atmosphere in the hall relaxed.
Previously, Prince Kang ignored their opposition and was willing to break with them in order to marry Li Yunmeng. This made all the noble families feel angry, but they did not want to bow to Prince Kang.
Unexpectedly, after more than a month, King Kang finally gave in.
Wang Kangyin, the Minister of Revenue, waved his sleeves lightly and said tactfully: "King Kang still knows that the overall situation is more important... He doesn't have many days left."
"Yeah." Another person sighed meaningfully.
Everyone exchanged tacit glances with each other.
King Kang must have finally realized his panic.
After the sacrifice at the imperial mausoleum on April 15th, the emperor will formally hold a ceremony to appoint the eldest prince as the crown prince. At that time, the eldest prince will be the legitimate crown prince.
The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne and the foundation of the country. He cannot be abolished without reason.
When the late emperor ascended the throne, his ministers requested him to appoint the current emperor as the crown prince in accordance with Taizu's will. The late emperor delayed for several years, but in the end he did not dare to go against Taizu's will and reluctantly issued an edict to establish a crown prince.
This incident became the biggest regret of the late emperor for more than ten years. Until his death, the late emperor never found an opportunity to depose the current crown prince.
If the current emperor officially appoints a crown prince, it will be extremely difficult for Prince Kang to ascend to the throne. Unless the emperor and Chu Yi and his son are both dead, then the next heir to the throne will likely fall to Prince Kang.
Time is running out.
"It was thanks to the Prime Minister's earnest persuasion," Yuan Zhe, who was wearing a sky-blue robe, stroked his sleeves elegantly and said with a smile, "that we were able to persuade Prince Kang to change his mind!"
(End of this chapter)