Xiao Yi turned his head and glanced at Duoduo.
“Don’t worry. There are no bells ringing in the palace.”
Since ancient times, whenever an emperor passed away, the mourning bells would be rung.
Duoduo blinked her big eyes and looked at Xiao Yi in disbelief.
“Daddy, if Grandpa is gone, then you’ll be an orphan!”
A flicker passed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
Ever since his mother had died, he had already been an orphan.
In that place where people devoured one another, he had fought desperately just to survive.
Later, through his own efforts, he had finally caught his father’s attention.
But that was all.
His father had more than one imperial son, and to make matters worse, he himself was a discarded pawn.
If he looked at things from his father’s perspective, he too would have given up on a son with no hope and focused instead on the others.
After all, the empire had to be inherited by someone.
Seeing that her father’s mood had darkened, Duoduo secretly stuck out her tongue.
Oh no!
She had said the wrong thing!
“Daddy, Mommy just promised me that she’d give me a little brother!”
“Daddy, you have to work hard!”
“Lüdou and I are going back to study pastries. We’ll earn money to raise my little brother!”
After saying this, Duoduo bowed to Xiao Yi, grabbed Lüdou, and hurried away.
When Xiao Yi came back to himself, Duoduo’s tiny figure had already disappeared through the doorway.
“She certainly runs fast.”
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips curved upward despite himself.
A son?
He had no interest in one.
However, having another daughter like Duoduo…
That would not be bad.
Then Duoduo would not always feel so insecure.
The two sisters could easily play together.
They would also have plenty to talk about.
At that thought, Xiao Yi suddenly froze.
How had Duoduo managed to lead him off topic?
Have children? Nonsense!
Xiao Yi straightened his expression.
“Yunxiao!”
“My lord!”
The door opened, and a guard entered.
“My lord, Yunxiao escorted the Eighth Prince back to the palace and hasn’t returned yet,” the guard reported with a bow.
When Xiao Yi saw the guard, he realized what had happened.
He nodded and waved lightly.
The guard withdrew.
Xiao Yi opened the documents on the desk.
The last time he had fought the Xiongnu, he had suffered serious injuries and fallen unconscious.
After he awoke, Lingfeng told him that the imperial court and the Xiongnu had signed an agreement for ten years of peaceful relations and trade.
Because of the resounding victory in that campaign, the Minister of War had even been rewarded by the emperor.
Recently, perhaps because the Xiongnu had received word that the emperor was gravely ill, they had been harassing the border with increasing frequency. It seemed they were considering an invasion.
Prince Rui was currently overseeing the government. Like his father-in-law, he valued civil officials over military commanders.
Once he took the throne, he would certainly promote large numbers of civil officials and cultivate his own faction.
With civil officials in power, military commanders would inevitably be suppressed.
After the Minister of War was imprisoned, the emperor had fallen ill.
Prince Ling had been overseeing the government, yet he had not arranged a replacement right away.
Xiao Yi did not know whether Prince Ling had simply overlooked the matter or had done so deliberately.
With the military commanders left without a leader and subjected to suppression and ostracism, many of them would surely resign.
By then, the court’s experienced generals would have all retired to their hometowns, leaving the remaining commanders scattered and disorganized.
If war broke out, the generals who remained might not be able to defeat the fierce Xiongnu.
The documents Xiao Yi had received must have reached Prince Rui as well.
But he was certain Prince Rui would set them aside and refuse to deal with them.
The capital was far from the border, and Prince Rui was clearly planning to delay matters.
If the Xiongnu started a war, it would be the common people living along the border who suffered.
Xiao Yi closed the document and wheeled himself over to the window.
Beyond it, the garden was lush with trees, and the water rippled gently. The view was quite pleasing.
Yet Xiao Yi’s heart was restless.
Until the Xiongnu were subdued, the people at the border would never have a single day of peace.
But Prince Rui had no ambition to unify the realm.
He was suited only to preserving what already existed.
Prince Ling’s ambitions, on the other hand, were considerable.
Unfortunately, his ambitions extended not only outward, but inward as well.
Putting him on the throne would be like allowing a wolf to take power. You could never know when it might turn around and bite you.
As for the other princes…
Xiao Yi’s brows drew together so tightly they seemed capable of trapping a mosquito.
He seemed to understand his father’s thoughts now.
If they did not even have the ability to win a struggle over the throne, what made them think they could protect the empire and its people?
Xiao Yi was momentarily stunned.
Since when had he started speaking on behalf of his father?
Besides, this was not even his empire. Why was he worrying about it?
All he needed to do was protect the people he wanted to protect.
Didn’t all his brothers believe they were capable?
Then let them prove themselves and protect the Xiao family’s empire!
With that thought, Xiao Yi wheeled himself back to the desk.
A knock sounded from outside, followed by Yunxiao’s voice.
“My lord, you sent for me?”
“Come in!”
Xiao Yi’s brows were still tightly furrowed.
Yunxiao pushed open the door and closed it again after entering.
“Did you escort him back?” Xiao Yi asked as though the matter were of little importance.
“Yes. This subordinate personally watched the Eighth Prince enter the imperial palace,” Yunxiao replied.
“Did anyone stop and question him?” Xiao Yi considered for a moment.
Yunxiao nodded.
“Yes. But the Eighth Prince displayed his token, and the eunuch let him through.”
“Did you notice anything unusual?” Xiao Yi continued.
Yunxiao thought back.
“My lord, this subordinate noticed that there seemed to be far more imperial guards patrolling the palace.”
“In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, two patrols passed by.”
Yunxiao was deeply puzzled.
“My lord, could something have happened in the palace?”
“Should I ask around and find out what’s going on?”
There was no need to guess. Xiao Yi knew that Prince Rui must have received the same documents.
“Have any secret messages been sent out by our people in the palace?”
Yunxiao shook his head.
“No.”
“I specifically checked on my way back.”
Xiao Yi rubbed his fingers thoughtfully.
Today, Xiao Che had come over looking troubled.
He had tried to probe for information about the palace.
Unfortunately, Xiao Che had refused to say a word.
Ever since Prince Ling had begun overseeing the government, the Eighth Prince had been placed under surveillance.
Other than attending the Imperial Academy, he was not allowed to leave his chambers.
Even the box of pastries he had brought for Duoduo today had taken him an enormous amount of effort to gather.
In order to get Xiao Che out, Xiao Yi had sent word to the empress dowager.
The empress dowager had said that she wanted to eat pastries from outside the palace and had deliberately ordered Xiao Che to leave the palace and buy some for her.
Only with the empress dowager’s decree and his token had Xiao Che been able to leave the palace.
Otherwise, he would never have been able to get out.
“How was the situation at court this morning?” Xiao Yi changed the subject.
“I heard that many officials requested sick leave today.”
“There was no discussion of state affairs at all. The court was dismissed very quickly,” Yunxiao reported everything he had learned to Xiao Yi.
“What about the Crown Prince? Has he made any moves?”
Prince Ling certainly would not be willing to simply hand the throne over like this.
