Chapter 433 The Grand Finale (3)
When Yun Zhaoxue led her army into the palace, the journey was smooth and without any obstruction.
Zhao Xuan was critically ill and nearing the end of his life. Upon learning that the Zhenbei Army had returned to Lin'an, he clung to life, refusing to close his eyes.
Yun Jiaoyue stood by the bedside, clutching his hand and weeping bitterly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you can't abandon me... In my past life, you lived to be over sixty, and you hadn't yet given me a crown prince, nor made me empress. You can't leave me..."
Zhao Hui, supported by others, stepped into the inner hall and said sternly, "You unfilial son..."
Zhao Xuan was unresponsive to Yun Jiaoyue's mourning. Suddenly hearing this voice, his eyes lit up as if he had a final burst of energy before death. He looked towards the door and said, "Father, Father Emperor? I think I heard Father Emperor's voice... He even scolded me... Your unfilial son."
Yes, he was a rebellious son. In order to secure his throne, he disregarded the lives of his father and other brothers, and even hoped that they would die in Dajing.
"Third son, you disloyal, unfilial, and unjust wretch! I treated you better than your other brothers. Even knowing you harbored ambitions and coveted the throne, I couldn't bear to kill you, only exiling you... How cruel you are, you rebellious son..."
Zhao Hui was old and had suffered greatly in Dajing over the past few years, lacking food and clothing, and had developed rheumatism in his legs, now only able to walk with a cane. He rushed to the dragon bed, raised his heavy sandalwood cane, and struck Zhao Xuan.
"Father, I know I was wrong..."
"You unfilial son! You never thought I'd be able to return, did you? You were able to welcome me back to the Great Zhou a year ago, you unfilial son..."
Zhao Hui grew angrier the more he thought about it, and swung his cane a few more times. The sandalwood cane was heavy and cumbersome, and after a few blows, the dying Zhao Xuan was beaten until he vomited blood and coughed repeatedly.
Yun Jiaoyue knelt down and kowtowed, pleading, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Majesty is unwell, you mustn't hit him! I beg you, please have mercy..."
Despite her pleas, Zhao Hui did not stop, striking again and again with his staff. Yun Jiaoyue lunged forward to shield her, the sandalwood staff landing heavily on her back with a dull thud.
She knew perfectly well that her status as a concubine and her wealth and honor were all tied to Zhao Xuan. If Zhao Xuan died, neither she nor the Yun family would have a good end.
Therefore, he cannot die; he must live.
Zhao Hui finally put down his cane, supported himself, snorted coldly, and turned his head away, unwilling to look at this unfilial son again, afraid that if he looked at him again he would not be able to help but want to beat him to death again, and he still cursed: "Unfilial son... wicked child!"
"Father, your son... your son was wrong, your son is unfilial..." Zhao Xuan uttered a few words with blood in his mouth, then suddenly coughed up blood uncontrollably, "Cough cough..."
The spurting blood splattered all over Yun Jiaoyue's face.
On his deathbed, he envisioned himself as a ruler who would govern diligently after ascending the throne, ruling over half of the country and propelling the economy and culture of the Great Zhou to new heights—though not as great as the founding emperors, he was still one of the most outstanding emperors in the history of the Great Zhou.
Is this what Yun Jiaoyue meant by "the previous life"?
Why is it so different from this life? Everything is different now.
Comparing his experiences in both lifetimes, he realized that he had been wrong from the very beginning. One wrong step led to another, ultimately resulting in a path of no return.
All that talk of an emperor's countenance and a phoenix's destiny is fake! It's all fake!!!
His raised hand slowly fell to the edge of the bed, his eyes still wide open, dying with unresolved grievances.
"Ah!" Yun Jiaoyue's eyes widened in shock, and she fell to the ground. She crawled over on her knees and grabbed his arm, shaking it violently. "Your Majesty? Your Majesty! You can't die... Get up! You haven't made me Empress yet... Issue the decree! Issue the decree to make me Empress! I want to be Empress..."
Zhao Hui turned his head at the sound, his aged pupils shrinking sharply, and his cane clattered to the ground: "Third brother... Xuan'er..."
He actually beat his own son to death.
Forgetting his leg injury, he pushed away the person helping him and rushed towards the bed, but accidentally tripped over his cane and fell: "Ouch..."
He hit his head on the edge of the bed and passed out on the spot.
"The Emperor Emeritus, the Emperor Emeritus..."
Zhao Hui suffered a stroke after the fall, resulting in a crooked mouth, slurred vision, drooling, and paralysis of his lower body, confining him to a wheelchair. However, he remained conscious and mentally sharp.
Yunhua and Murong entered the palace for treatment, and despite their best efforts, they could only extend her life by one or two years.
Zhao Heng was assigned to take care of him, with palace servants handling the rough work. On the surface, he was serving the retired emperor, but in reality, he was under house arrest to prevent him from interfering in politics.
On this day, Yun Zhaoxue came to "visit" dressed in a dragon robe.
Upon seeing her wearing a dragon robe, Zhao Hui's fingers, resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, trembled as he pointed at her. His neck shook with emotion, and he managed to utter, "You...you...a woman...how can she wear a dragon robe..."
Yun Zhaoxue deliberately wore this outfit today, and said coldly, "Why not? My mother is the direct descendant of my maternal grandfather. In terms of bloodline and ability, she is more qualified than you to sit on this throne. If you hadn't been so incompetent, appointing treacherous officials and wronging loyal ones, how could the barbarian hooves have trampled into the Central Plains and wreaked havoc on the Great Zhou? How could they have robbed the dynasty of its wealth and culture accumulated over a hundred years, causing the people of more than a dozen cities in the north to become slaves of the barbarians?"
This princess dares not compare herself to a sage, but she is more than qualified to compare herself to you. Therefore, I request that the Emperor Emeritus abdicate the throne to me.
"No...no...a woman...cannot be emperor...I will pass the throne to Crown Prince Zhao Heng..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng was so frightened that he immediately knelt down: "Father! Your son is of mediocre talent and virtue, unworthy of the throne. I am incapable of conquering the country, let alone protecting it... Please obey the will of Heaven and pass the throne to Princess Zhaoxue!"
"Father, please don't be confused... Do you want me to die before you?"
After Zhao Huizhong suffered a stroke, he became mentally impaired and could not see the situation clearly, but Zhao Heng was very clear-headed, knowing that the military power of the Great Zhou was in the hands of Yunji Zhaoxue.
If he accepts the throne, he will die immediately; if he doesn't, he still has a chance to live.
As long as he curries favor with the new emperor, he shouldn't have a miserable life in the future. He doesn't need the great wealth and honor he had when he was the crown prince; he'll be content as long as he has enough to eat and wear.
Zhao Heng stole a glance at Yun Zhaoxue and almost burst into tears: "Father, please don't pass the throne to me... If you do, I will immediately pass it on to Princess Zhaoxue. Since it's so troublesome, you might as well pass the throne to her directly."
Seeing his pathetic state, Zhao Hui wanted to beat him, but only one finger could move slightly as he pointed at him, trembling, "Get...get up..."
Yun Zhaoxue said calmly, "You don't have to pass the throne to me. Wasn't the death of the Eldest Princess your doing? As long as I announce it to the world, the throne will be mine without your permission. But how do you plan to repay the life you owe my mother?"
"You dare..."
"Don't worry, although I'm not a kind person, I wouldn't go so far as to harm an elderly person with limited mobility." Yun Zhaoxue's gaze swept over Zhao Heng, her meaning clear: use his life to pay for it.
Zhao Heng met her icy gaze and knelt down again: "Father! Your son still wants to live and serve you, I don't want to die... I beg you, pass the throne to Princess Zhaoxue! Your son is incompetent, not much better than you, and can't manage the Great Zhou empire..."
Zhao Hui was afraid of dying, and he was also afraid of his son dying, as he only had Zhao Heng left.
"Don't kill him...I'm passing the throne to you...to...you..."
Yun Zhaoxue ordered the ministers waiting outside the palace to enter and have Zhao Heng convey the Emperor Emeritus's wishes.
The Hanlin Academy scholars drafted the edict of succession, passing the throne to Princess Zhaoxue.
...
Seven days later—
Before the Purple Palace, all the officials bowed their heads.
The Empress, dressed in black robes and a red sash, ascended the throne by divine mandate, and decreed: "Now I change the era name to Zhaoqi, inheriting the virtue of the bright and clear, and opening a new chapter."
From this day forward, the Great Zhou Dynasty welcomes its first female emperor.
Historical records state that after Empress Yun Zhaoxue ascended the throne, she immediately ordered the establishment of the Wenyuan Pavilion, which gathered three thousand scholars and craftsmen to compile the "Zhaoqi Grand Canon" over a period of ten years. This book is all-encompassing, covering volumes on agriculture, industry, astronomy, geography, medicine, divination, astrology, and more.
They also set up movable type printing workshops to make clay tablets of important articles and sell them to the people at low prices, so that ordinary families could afford to buy and read them.
After she ascended the throne, she did not change her own surname, nor did she allow her son to change his surname.
Three years later, she and Xiao Xuance, the Prince of Zhenbei and the Empress Dowager, had another daughter. The daughter took her maternal grandmother's surname, Zhao, and was named Zhao Yuning. She could compose poems at the age of five and practice archery and martial arts at the age of seven. She was talented in both literature and martial arts, and the Empress Dowager made her the Crown Princess.
During her thirty-year reign, foreign enemies dared not invade, and there were no peasant uprisings or rebellions. Taxes were light, and the people's granaries were full. The world was at peace, and there was no famine on the roads. She established the Maritime Silk Road, attracting tribute from all nations, a period known in history as the "Zhaoqi Prosperous Age."
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