Even the ancestors shouldn't think about acting old in front of me.

This was the Yan Emperor's heartfelt sentiment, and also the true reflection of his life.

Knowing full well that he only had ten days left to live, he still upheld the belief of an emperor. Or perhaps, he never wanted to flaunt anything, nor did he want to follow in anyone's footsteps;

To be precise, he wasn't playing the part of an emperor, but rather, he *was* the emperor.

He had given his guarantee,

That in these ten days, before his death, he would give the future of Great Yan an explanation.

Go and fight your battles,

Eliminate the greatest threat to Great Yan's future,

The home front,

I'll take care of it,

*Zhen* (I),

Will take care of it.

Li Liangting pulled out a stool and sat down beside him.

Tian Wujing leaned slightly against the pillar behind him, watching everything with an extremely calm demeanor from beginning to end.

The Yan Emperor and Li Liangting had grown up together,

While Tian Wujing and they simply shared the same path.

It would be a stretch to say that they were particularly close.

Therefore, even at this moment, he was still too lazy to waste his emotions. In this world, the people and things that could stir Tian Wujing's heart were already few and far between.

It was a pity that Marquis Zheng had been sent away early with the First Prince; otherwise, if Marquis Zheng were still here, watching this scene, he would definitely have the urge to paint it all down, or perhaps it was his professional instinct from his previous life.

Inside the not-so-spacious inner hall,

A man was sitting in a bathtub, still full of vigor, dreaming about the future of a country and a people;

Beside him,

A man who already looked old was sitting to the side, with a smile in his eyes, a smile that hid tears;

Across from them,

A man with a stern face stood there, his expression calm.

If this scene were truly painted, it would definitely conform to a certain aesthetic taste.

Putting aside their identities and associating and interpreting it, there would be so much to see;

Adding in their identities, the flavor became even richer.

After all, for true connoisseurs, appreciating a painting is like appreciating wine.

Actually,

From beginning to end,

Aside from exchanging views on the Yan Emperor's sons, they didn't mention the next generation of anyone else.

The past had already been buried;

Some minor details naturally no longer needed to be brought up.

Li Liangting had once told Zheng Fan that all three of them were suffering.

Suffering wasn't actually the most painful thing, but rather, not being able to allow yourself to choose to end it. You had to wait, keep waiting, and wait…

Then,

The scene,

Fell silent.

This was bound to be the last gathering of the three men,

The next time,

Would there be only two?

Would there be only one?

Perhaps,

There wouldn't be anyone left at all.

Someone would probably die on the battlefield;

Someone would move into the ancestral temple;

But precisely because of this, this final farewell didn't have the atmosphere of a farewell at all.

Could they talk about mundane matters?

However,

For the three men, this silence seemed to be the best.

Others didn't even have the qualification to keep them company in their silence.

Finally,

The time was almost up.

They simply let this last precious bit of time slip away in vain.

They didn't talk about what Great Yan should do in the future.

They didn't discuss the military, the court, the localities, how to deal with Chu, with Qian, or the arrangements for some people.

There was nothing, nothing at all.

Tian Wujing straightened his body,

He took one last look at the man who had once sneaked into his mansion to peek at his elder sister.

Then,

He turned,

And walked out of the imperial study.

Li Liangting also stood up,

Wanting to say something, but ultimately unable to say anything.

In the end,

He could only pat the side of the bathtub again with his hand, and at the same time, pull another dry towel from the rack and place it on the stool he had been sitting on earlier.

Silence,

Was because they had already done what they should have done in this lifetime. As far as future generations were concerned, they could only say that they had done too much, far too much. It was impossible for them to think it was too little;

So,

Those remaining odds and ends,

Should be left to the next generation to take care of.

If they couldn't even handle those,

Heh,

Then Great Yan,

Could disappear.

A person only lives once. It is enough to manage one's own life. Trying to establish rules for thousands of generations is too much to ask.

The Jingnan Prince and the Zhenbei Prince of Great Yan left just like that.

When Li Liangting walked out, he saw Tian Wujing waiting for him in front.

The Zhenbei Prince waved his hand,

And laughed:

"My Marquisate has always had a saying passed down through generations, that whether you're in a good mood, in a bad mood, or you don't even know if you're in a good mood or a bad mood,

Then go and chop some barbarians,

After chopping some barbarians,

It's bound to be better."

…

At the palace banquet, His Majesty the Emperor of Great Yan suddenly spat blood.

For the officials of Great Yan, it was as if a heavy shadow had been cast upon today's noisy celebration;

A truly supreme emperor is, in fact, disliked by his ministers.

Although Great Yan wasn't the Qian Kingdom, the officials of Great Yan actually really envied their counterparts in the Qian Kingdom. Great Qian was truly a beautiful country that scholars and officials yearned for.

But the ministers of Great Yan had long been accustomed to the master on the dragon throne. What he brought was not only a sense of security to the people, but also a sense of stability to the officials.

People are such complex beings. Many ministers chose to support the Crown Prince because the Crown Prince was benevolent. In comparison, the Sixth Prince was really too much like His Majesty in his actions and methods.

But they still didn't want His Majesty to leave like this. One could only say that this was a feeling of attachment that had been whipped out by the Son of Heaven's leather whip.

As for those foreign envoys and the spies lurking in this capital city, it was undoubtedly great news.

He,

Was finally failing.

It wasn't an exaggeration to sigh that the world had suffered under Yan for too long.

Great Yan was originally the most barren of land and had the smallest population among the four great eastern powers. The seemingly vast land was actually not very suitable for human habitation and cultivation in many areas.

Moreover, Great Yan had once been rife with powerful clans and regional warlords. The Northern Feng Prefecture, where the Zhenbei Marquisate was located, had become almost a country within a country.

It was because of the appearance of this emperor that this situation was changed. Great Yan's territory rapidly expanded, and Great Yan's iron cavalry made the entire East tremble in fear.

Some emperors' great achievements benefit from the accumulated power of several generations, or they inherit a rich family fortune, making it naturally much easier to do things. When speaking of their merit, it must be shared with their ancestors.

But the Yan Emperor wasn't like that. It wasn't Great Yan that made him, but rather he who made Great Yan.

For neighboring countries, it was naturally best for such an emperor to die early; otherwise, no one knew what the situation of the East, of the entire world, would become if the heavens were to give him another ten years!

However, in the second half of the night, news came from the palace.

First, His Majesty was unharmed;

Second, the grand court assembly of tomorrow would be held.

The first piece of news was something that no one would believe, but this "second" piece of news made many Yan officials heave a sigh of relief and diluted much of the envoys' previous excitement and joy.

The holding of the grand court assembly meant that the emperor would definitely attend in person. The emperor's body could continue to hold on.

The envoys felt a sense of disappointment in their hearts;

This emperor,

Why hadn't he died yet!

But no matter what,

The rivers continued to flow;

As long as the grand court assembly continued, then the undercurrents that had long been accumulating there would still rush towards their intended direction.

This was no longer something that the leader of one faction could decide; he couldn't stop it either.

Because the emperor's condition tonight,

Was actually more exciting to them than when the Sixth Master of the Sixth Prince's faction had tried to overshadow the Crown Prince at the banquet to launch a signal.

This excitement wasn't joy, but rather… urgency.

The all-out attack,

Had to be launched, because the emperor's body had already revealed its weakness without any concealment;

Once they failed to bring down the Crown Prince before the emperor's death, then when the emperor died, the Crown Prince would naturally ascend the throne.

The Crown Prince's faction could afford to wait; to be precise, the Crown Prince's faction had only been doing one thing all along, and that was… waiting.

For the Sixth Prince's faction,

Victory or defeat,

Would be decided tomorrow,

There was no other choice!

…

Logically speaking,

When the Emperor's body experienced an accident, his sons would inevitably be by his side. At this time, whoever tried to isolate the inner and outer circles would inevitably be condemned by everyone.

Regardless of which country, when dealing with the potential power vacuum caused by the Emperor's physical condition, there was actually a set of emergency mechanisms to ensure that it wouldn't be overturned by those with ulterior motives.

But when Wei Zhonghe took out the imperial decree, telling the princes to all return to their residences to prepare for tomorrow's grand court assembly, the princes all chose to comply.

One reason was that Wei Zhonghe was the Emperor's trusted aide, and even the princes couldn't believe that Wei Zhonghe would betray the Emperor. Another reason was that, no matter what, the Emperor would come out for tomorrow's grand court assembly. If he didn't come out, then it wouldn't be too late to discuss it.

The third, and most important point, was probably that the princes themselves were clear that their father's body had actually been very weak for a long time.

But precisely because of this…

Their father had stubbornly held on for so long;

The story of the boy who cried wolf suddenly became extremely appropriate when applied to their own father.

Before they were sure that their father had really passed away, if they jumped out early, then they would really be rushing to get slapped.

So,

Neither the Crown Prince nor the Sixth Prince,

Had any doubts about this imperial decree, nor did they clamor to see their father, or shout that they were princes and why they couldn't see their father now and so on.

There are no filial sons in front of a sickbed for a long time,

What remained,

Was only reality.

Even among the common people, when an elderly person is about to pass away, the daughters often cry, because the daughters won't get a share of the family property;

The sons, on the other hand, have stern faces;

They wail a few times, just to show some token of grief.

After all, they have to save their strength to compete for the inheritance next.

…

Little Seven lived in the palace. As the Yan Emperor's youngest son, he had never been sent to reside in a prince's residence.

Of course, the prince's residences were now a little too deserted.

The eldest had his own Marquisate, the second lived in the Eastern Palace, the third lived underground,

The fourth almost lived in the military camp now, the fifth was in Yingdu, the sixth had his own royal residence;

If Little Seven was sent out to live in a prince's residence, he would be the only one there.

And whether it was to treat his youngest son especially well or simply to forget about it,

The Yan Emperor didn't proactively bring up this matter,

The foreign ministers and the palace, naturally, no one would proactively bring it up or mention it, and therefore, the Seventh Prince Ji Chengsu was still living with his mother, or rather, in a courtyard next to the Shuxiang Garden.

Today, when the Yan Emperor spat blood at the banquet, the emotions of the ministers, whether in Yan or from foreign countries, actually stemmed from national considerations;

But for these concubines in the harem, it was a bolt from the blue.

New people replace old, and when the Yan Emperor dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, no matter which one becomes the new emperor, they will all move out of the palace.

Because, the two who were most likely to compete for the throne… they both didn't have mothers.

Logically speaking, when a new emperor ascends the throne, in order to promote filial piety, even if their own birth mother isn't there, they will still bestow the title of Empress Dowager upon someone.

Either, it's a Taifei (Imperial Concubine) who raised the new emperor;

But the Sixth Prince had moved into his prince's residence early on. For a long time, he had acted like a foolish prince. Not to mention raising him, the concubines in the palace basically had no contact with this prince because of the Min Consort incident back then and because of the Sixth Prince himself;

The Crown Prince had always been raised by the Empress, and no one dared to compete with the Empress for this power. When the Empress passed away, the Crown Prince had already come of age.

Without the blessing of the kindness of raising someone,

Then they would have to choose one from the Taifei (Imperial Concubine) with the noblest status;

Then,

The most awkward thing came;

After the Empress passed away, the Yan Emperor didn't establish a new Empress, so the highest-ranking concubine in the harem now was the Ming Consort, who was ennobled last year.

And the Ming Consort was the birth mother of the Third Prince.

Since the day the Third Prince died protecting him, this Ming Consort had directly shut herself in her palace, eating vegetarian food and praying to Buddha, not seeing outsiders.

So, this also meant that there wasn't an Empress Dowager who could be put forward. Then, the fate of these concubines of the late Emperor was probably that they would be swept into the pile of fallen leaves.

Those who had princes were still a little better. They could ask their sons to request the new Emperor to allow their mothers to leave the palace for them to support, while those who had no offspring, their treatment might only be a little better than that of the palace maids.

History books wouldn't record them, and foreign ministers and the common people wouldn't care about them.

And just when this entire harem was in a state of panic, Eunuch Huang came to the Shuxiang Garden, bringing an imperial edict from the Emperor:

Ordering the Seventh Prince Ji Chengsu, from this moment on, to attend to the Yangxin Hall.

When people get old, or when people are terminally ill and bedridden, they always hope that there will be a son by their side to keep them company.

Isn't that what most people work hard for their children for most of their lives, what they seek and what they plan for?

It was very understandable that the Yan Emperor had this need. No matter what, His Majesty was still a human being.

At this time, being able to attend to the Emperor's side easily…

After Consort Shu had Eunuch Huang lead Ji Chengsu, who had just returned from the banquet, away, she returned to her room and buried her entire face in the pillow, crying and laughing at the same time, in short, she was very excited.

Waiting bitterly, hoping, anticipating,

It seemed,

To be right in front of her!

The other princes had all been dismissed, and only her son was attending by his side. As long as the Emperor's heart softened, everything would be possible!

Excitement was suppressed in the entire Shuxiang Garden, and even the eunuchs and palace maids inside couldn't suppress the upturning of the corners of their mouths. For them, once their young master really became the Emperor, then their life in the palace would inevitably be better.

Living in the palace, their lives were tied to the palace,

Even if they were just these lowest-level eunuchs and palace maids, how could it be possible that they didn't understand anything or know anything?

…

Also on this day,

An imperial decree was read in the Yupan City garrison command;

Ran Min knelt on the ground, listening to the decree.

"By the decree of the Emperor, who is blessed by Heaven: Yupan City Garrison Ran Min, diligent in royal affairs, loyal to the court… promoted to Youji General of Nanmen Pass, to depart for his post immediately."

"General Ran, what are you waiting for? Receive the decree."

"Your subject, Ran Min, receives the decree and gives thanks to His Majesty. May His Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years!"

…

The Fourth Prince Ji Chengfeng, upon returning to the military camp, met Eunuch Qu, who had delivered the imperial decree to the First Prince outside the city during the day.

Eunuch Qu conveyed His Majesty's verbal decree to the Fourth Prince,

While holding the tiger tally and seal.

Ji Chengfeng had checked the tiger tally and seal and confirmed that they were correct. The procedure for dispatching troops was also correct.

Unless,

Unless Wei Zhonghe and his gang of inner eunuchs had imprisoned the unconscious Emperor and falsely issued an imperial decree to dispatch troops.

But, with the two princes in the palace, the eunuchs wouldn't dare to do that.

And if they really did, why would they dispatch this army led by himself, a prince?

Eunuch Qu left.

Ji Chengfeng, on the other hand, sat blankly in his chair.

The verbal decree was very simple,

Ordering the Fourth Prince Ji Chengfeng to lead the five thousand soldiers of his command into the city at dawn and station them at the Huangji Gate.

This was the southern gateway of the imperial palace, and once he led five thousand soldiers to station there, it would be equivalent to directly controlling most of the safety of the imperial palace.

Moreover, there was another clause in the verbal decree: to control all the departments of the palace gates and to take overall charge of the palace defenses.

In other words, the garrison troops of the palace gates and the palace guards would all be under his Ji Chengfeng's jurisdiction;

This wasn't just half of the safety of the imperial palace,

This was the Emperor directly handing over the entire imperial palace to him.

With the Emperor critically ill,

Leading troops to enter for an audience,

Taking control of the imperial palace,

This was the route that he was tired of hearing in operas.

But precisely because of this, it had actually happened to him, Ji Chengfeng.

But the problem was,

He had already said in the roasted duck restaurant, in front of the Emperor and the two princes, that he wouldn't covet that position;

For a time,

The Fourth Prince, sitting in his chair, didn't feel the slightest bit of joy at being "entrusted with an important task" at this moment,

Nor was there the slightest sign of that fire, which had been extinguished in the roasted duck restaurant, rekindling,

On the contrary, it was as if a piece of ice had been heavily smashed on top of it!

He felt a little cold,

And in the darkness,

It was as if he saw his third brother standing in front of him, holding a book of poetry, reciting it as he walked.

He wanted to refuse,

Instinctively,

He felt that this was a terrible vortex that might drag him in, and then he would be crushed to pieces.

But he simply didn't dare to disobey his father's decree,

He was their ruler, he was their father,

He gave birth to them and raised them, and he could arbitrarily play with them and torment them.

Sons,

For him,

Seemed to be just snacks that he could put in his mouth and chew on to relieve boredom in his spare time,

After chewing them into crumbs,

He would even spit them out with a hint of disgust,

And scold:

Useless!

"Fourth Brother, it's so cold at the Lakeside Pavilion……"

The voice of his third brother came from his ear.

"Fourth Brother, it's colder below the Lakeside Pavilion……"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

The Fourth Prince let out a low roar,

Slipping from the chair,

Kneeling on the ground,

Clenching his fists,

Slamming the ground,

Father,

Father,

Why couldn't you just die a little earlier!

Father,

Ji Runhao,

You old thing,

You old beast,

Why don't you just go die, go die!!!