Chapter 29: The Prince of Lu

Li Ying did not offer any sentimental or emotional pleas for him to look after her father, for she knew he would do so regardless of whether she asked. Moreover, the two families lived only an alley apart, making it easy to visit home whenever she pleased.

When she saw the handsome groom arriving in his bright red robes to collect his bride, half the fear and regret in Li Ying’s heart vanished in an instant. After carefully settling his sister into the bridal sedan, Li Yu gave Wu Jingcheng a stern instruction: "Treat my sister well, or our friendship is over."

It was more than just the end of a friendship; if he were to mistreat her, a sound beating would be the least he deserved for failing to honor the kindness of the old man who raised her.

"Don't worry, brother-in-law. Consider it done."

And so, the Wu family joyfully carried Li Ying away. The bustling Li household suddenly felt cold and empty, and Li Gang was moved to tears of sorrow. The whole family felt a sense of loss, but this sadness did not last long. Because the girl had married so close by and her in-laws were not overly restrictive, she was eager to return home for every meal. Sometimes, if she found a dish particularly delicious, she would roll up her sleeves and declare she was taking some back for her parents-in-law to taste.

"Filial piety toward one's in-laws is a woman's virtue," she would say.

Eating her fill while taking more home, all while spouting platitudes about filial piety, she irritated Li Gang so much he nearly chased her out with a feather duster. Yet, upon reflection, he realized this was a form of happiness—at the very least, his daughter was married off, yet nothing had really changed since she lived at home.

Li Yu and Wu Jingcheng officially began their studies at the county academy. The students there were, at the very least, those who had passed the prefectural examinations. Although the imperial court only stipulated that government students were entitled to free meals... Magistrate Wang paid out of his own pocket to feed every student who had passed the prefectural exams, and during festivals, he would even provide fabric, clothing, and grain. What is a "father-official"? This is what a true father-official looks like. The students ate quite well, with two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and soup provided daily.

On the eighth day of the third month in the twenty-fifth year of the Qianyuan reign, Crown Prince Zhao Jun passed away in the Eastern Palace. The seventy-year-old Emperor Qianyuan, overcome with grief, fell ill. He issued an urgent summons for his second son, the Prince of Lu, his third son, the Prince of Liao, and his fourth son, the Prince of Xing, to return to the capital.

When the Crown Prince passes, the common people must also observe mourning. While the court could not stop you from eating meat in your own home, in the official schools, only tofu was served as a substitute.

"His Majesty has ten sons," Wu Jingcheng, a lover of gossip, remarked, unwilling to let even royal secrets pass him by. "Only the Prince of Lu was born of the same mother as the Crown Prince. Although the Princes of Liao and Xing were not born to the Empress, they were raised by the late Empress."

"His Majesty is the eldest son of the Founding Emperor, but the Founding Emperor favored the second son, the Prince of Jing, at the time, and nearly sparked a crisis over the succession. It was only thanks to the determined remonstrations of the officials that his position was preserved. The Founding Emperor repented and established the rule that, from then on, emperors must be succeeded by their eldest sons."

Seeing that no one was nearby, Wu Jingcheng lowered his voice further. "Do you know the name of our Prince of Lu?"

Li Yu mashed his tofu into his rice, took a large mouthful, and shook his head. Of course he didn't know. People only ever addressed him as "Your Highness, Prince of Lu"; who would dare call a prince by his given name?

"Zhao Yi," Wu Jingcheng whispered. "The character 'Yi' has a good meaning, yet it implies 'to assist,' which suggests that His Majesty never considered the Prince of Lu for the succession in the past. It is said that the Prince of Lu is both cultured and martial, and a man of benevolence and compassion. Now that the Crown Prince is gone, the Prince of Lu is the eldest."

"It would be fine if His Majesty appointed the Prince of Lu as the heir, but what if he chooses the Imperial Grandson?"

The Emperor loved the Crown Prince so dearly, partly because he himself had suffered the bitterness of the struggle for the throne. If he truly intended for his grandson to ascend, how would the Prince of Lu—the most popular candidate—fare? Would the Emperor, for the sake of his grandson's reign, move against his own son? Whether it meant execution or house arrest, the Prince of Lu was truly to be pitied.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Li Yu quietly offered his opinion. "That couldn't be, could it? Isn't the Imperial Grandson only eight years old this year?"

He had heard that the Crown Prince had lost three sons in succession, leaving only this one young boy. The country was currently in a state of recovery; how could they support a child-emperor? The Empress, who came from a military family, was long gone, and there was no grandmother around to assist him as there had been for Kangxi or Emperor Zhengtong. The current Crown Princess was said to be not even thirty; how could a widow and an orphan maintain control over national affairs? To put it bluntly, could they outmaneuver the old foxes in the imperial court?

"We outsiders think that way, but His Majesty is a doting father!" Wu Jingcheng dumped the bracken fern he hated most into his friend's bowl. "Let's bet a hundred copper coins. I bet you the Emperor will definitely appoint the Imperial Grandson and will definitely deal with the Prince of Lu. Do you believe me?"

Li Yu disdainfully tossed the bracken back. How could a grown man still be such a picky eater? "I won't bet. Aren't you being childish?"

How could such a thing be settled? It all depended on whether the Emperor acted out of reason or emotion. But even the most rational emperor becomes emotional in his old age—no one escapes the onset of senility.

"Aren't you being childish?" Wu Jingcheng, seeing his friend’s feigned seriousness, put down his chopsticks and challenged him. "When Miss Ning asks you to fly kites with her, why don't you call her childish?"

So, his sweetheart is innocent and romantic, but his best friend is just being childish?

Li Yu: "..."

Isn't that obvious? You are at most a relative and a colleague; how can you compare to his future wife?

Shuntian Prefecture, Qianqing Palace.

"Cough, cough..."

The Emperor’s bedchamber was filled with a heavy medicinal scent. As the Emperor’s coughing echoed, the princes who had arrived in the capital knelt and pleaded, "We beg Your Majesty to take care of your health."

Only the second son, Zhao Yi, had red-rimmed eyes, yet he bit his lip and remained silent. He did not kneel with his brothers, his face, which bore a seventy-percent resemblance to the Emperor's, filled with sorrow.

"Second son, come here." Zhao Yi had not seen his second son for nearly ten years, and he couldn't help but summon him to his side, reaching out to stroke his cheek carefully. "You look the most like me; unlike your elder brother, who looked like your mother."

At these words, Zhao Yi finally broke down. He turned his face away and wept bitterly, his voice choked with sobs. "If Father says the word, I... I will never have any objections. I... I have always respected my elder brother all these years, and in the future, I will treat my nephew with the same respect."

He understood what his father was thinking—he was merely afraid that if he (Zhao Yi) became Emperor, he would not treat his elder brother’s bloodline with kindness. Even at this stage, his father still wanted to give the world to his elder brother’s child. Who told him to be the second son? He had long since accepted his fate, hadn't he?

Hearing this, Zhao Yi felt a pang of guilt, but even more so, a sense of relief. "With those words, I can die in peace." The second son was a good child who kept his word.

Chancellor Fan wanted him to take advantage of Yi's return to the capital to imprison him, but how could he bear to treat his own child that way? Shu Niang had left only these two sons, and now only this one remained.

After dismissing the princes, Zhao Yi instructed the eunuch, "Cough... summon Wang Zhiqiu."

Wang Zhiqiu was against appointing the Imperial Grandson as heir, and he was even more vehemently opposed to imprisoning the feudal princes in the capital.

"Your Majesty, please think twice. The borders are being harassed by foreign enemies, the loyalty of the ministers in the court is uncertain, and the rebels from the previous dynasty have yet to be fully eradicated. The Imperial Grandson is young, and the Crown Princess is still inexperienced. If the feudal princes are all neutralized... if there is any upheaval, I fear..."

He believed that even if the Prince of Lu and his brothers were to rebel, so what? Even if they rebelled, wouldn't the world still belong to the Zhao family in the end? The seven or eight sons born to the Founding Emperor had already had their power stripped away. If His Majesty did not leave a few powerful princes to hold the fort, how would the empire survive?