The Imperial Study.
Eunuch Wang stopped outside the doors of the inner chamber, extending a hand to invite Prince Kang to enter alone.
Thinking of his imperial father's furious outburst in the great hall over his aunt, Prince Kang grew nervous before even seeing him. He feared his father might suspect that he had offended his aunt first, provoking her to use such vicious methods to frame him.
With his heart beating like a drum, Prince Kang barely managed to steady his expression as he walked in with his head lowered.
On the east side of the inner chamber sat a desk and the dragon throne, where his imperial father reviewed memorials, read, and practiced calligraphy. On the south side, by the window, was a long couch where his father could rest or place a low table to read and review memorials while seated.
The dragon throne was empty. Out of the corner of his eye, Prince Kang glanced toward the long couch and caught sight of his father lying flat on his back against a high pillow.
Prince Kang was startled. Growing up, he had visited the Imperial Study countless times. In the middle of the morning, his father would only lie down like this if he was sick and weak.
Prince Kang looked at his father's face with worry, noticing that although his father's eyes were open, his gaze toward the carved beams on the ceiling was hollow and lifeless.
"Your son greets Imperial Father."
When his father finally blinked and turned his head to look at him, Prince Kang hurriedly bowed.
Emperor Yongchang waved his hand dismissively and patted the edge of the couch beside him. "Come over here and speak."
Prince Kang took a few steps and stopped by the couch. Seeing his father's lack of energy, he asked worriedly, "Is Imperial Father feeling unwell? Shall your son send for an imperial physician?"
Emperor Yongchang twitched the corners of his mouth in a self-deprecating smile. "There is no need. I am simply furious with your aunt and your third brother. They ran amok for the sake of their own ambitions and selfish desires, dragging me and the entire imperial family down, ruining our dignity."
Family scandals should not be aired in public, but the matter of digging the canal had long spread throughout Qingxia County. So many commoners were waiting for the government to give them an explanation, and Di Xian's urgent memorial, sent by four-hundred-li express, had also arrived. Emperor Yongchang could not possibly chill the heart of a capable minister and the many commoners just to cover up an imperial scandal.
The imperial family had bad seeds who intended to prey upon the people. As the head of the family, he had to expose such bad seeds and punish them severely. He needed to let the commoners know that although the imperial family had produced a vicious royal relative, there was still a wise ruler willing and able to seek justice for them. At the same time, this would serve as a warning, deterring other royal relatives from ever harboring thoughts of factional disputes or harming the people again.
Righteousness aside, the pain in Emperor Yongchang's heart was real. One was his own younger sister, and the other was his own son. No matter how much they deserved their punishment, he, who had personally handed it down, could not just let it go in the blink of an eye. This was especially true regarding his third imperial grandson, whom he had held not long ago. The young child was innocent, yet he was stuck with such greedy, stupid, and inferior parents!
Hearing this, Prince Kang knelt down and lowered his head, saying, "It is all your son's fault. If your son had noticed Aunt's grievances earlier and found a way to comfort her, perhaps she would not have reached this point today."
Emperor Yongchang was speechless.
He sat up cross-legged and stared at his eldest son below for a moment. "According to what you are saying, shouldn't I also bear the responsibility for failing to notice?"
Prince Kang hurriedly said, "What does this have to do with Imperial Father? Imperial Father attends to myriad state affairs daily..."
Emperor Yongchang interrupted, "Enough, get up. The evil she committed herself has nothing to do with me or you. I did not call you here to blame you."
Prince Kang had no choice but to stand up straight. A robust man over eight feet tall, he immediately towered over his father sitting on the couch.
Feeling very unaccustomed to this, Prince Kang took two steps back and bowed his waist.
Emperor Yongchang fell silent for a moment before saying, "I only have four sons. Your third brother has already been implicated by his ambition to fight for the throne and has had his title demoted. Your fourth brother is still young. That leaves only you and your second brother..."
Prince Kang immediately knelt down again, his face flushed red as he said, "Imperial Father, your son is foolish and far inferior to Second Brother. Please give that position to Second Brother. Your son will absolutely not have any unwillingness or dissatisfaction, nor will he follow in Aunt's footsteps!"
He had long since submitted to his second brother. It was only because his second brother's legs were crippled that he felt he could compete with his third brother. But competing was competing; he had never thought of using any harmful methods. No matter who his father chose, he would accept it!
Emperor Yongchang nodded. "You are indeed not as intelligent as your second brother. Your talent and learning are inferior, your foresight and strategy are inferior, your temperament and state of mind are inferior, and your majesty in managing subordinates is also inferior."
This series of 'inferiors' made Prince Kang's face flush with shame, leaving him looking for a hole to hide in.
Emperor Yongchang continued, "But his legs are crippled. An emperor sitting in a wheelchair can only awe his close ministers and capital officials. Many more local officials might never have the chance to see the emperor in their entire lives. If they cannot see your second brother, they will not know that his majesty remains undiminished even while sitting in a wheelchair. And once local officials harbor contempt for your second brother, they will dare to be perfunctory in their official duties."
Prince Kang could be made to feel ashamed by his father, but he could not tolerate others looking down on the imperial family, especially his outstanding second brother. He was instantly angered by the kind of local officials his father mentioned and raised his head, saying, "They wouldn't dare!"
Emperor Yongchang said, "The sky is high and the emperor is far away. There are many things local officials dare to do. Why did your aunt think of digging the canal? Because there really are local officials who deliberately cut corners or destroy dikes to embezzle flood control funds. These are the major ones. There are also those who allow their relatives to commit murder, bully men and women, encroach on civilian fields, and so on. They each have their own wicked ways, like pests eating away at crops, impossible to eradicate completely."
Prince Kang said, "Even if they cannot be completely eradicated, they must be eradicated. Eradicating one can save a whole field of crops."
Emperor Yongchang showed a gratified expression. "What I appreciate most is this righteous spirit in you. You are not cut out to be a wise monarch, but you are an excellent candidate to be a virtuous prince assisting a wise monarch."
Finally receiving praise, Prince Kang felt his face grow hot.
Emperor Yongchang said, "I believe you have already guessed it. I knew last year that your second brother was the one who truly recommended Di Xian and came up with the land reclamation strategy. He indeed has no ambition to fight for the throne; he only wanted to help Qingxia County, Lingshan County, and do something for the imperial court. But I am not a fool either. Following the clues, I forced the truth out of him."
"To tell you the truth, after learning about these things, I had the thought of establishing your second brother as the heir. By the time you were instigated to fight for first place in the hunt, my determination to establish your second brother was already set in stone."
Prince Kang showed a look of shame once again.
Emperor Yongchang said, "You, you are good in every way, but when you encounter major events, you become hesitant and lack decisiveness. Anyone can give you a push. If they push you in the right direction, that's fine, but what if someone deliberately pushes you into a pit? By the time you fall in, will there still be time to regret it?"
Prince Kang accepted this criticism. He really was that kind of person.
Emperor Yongchang continued, "Therefore, I want to temper you into becoming a virtuous prince. I sent you to inspect the canals and mountains, firstly, to let you see your second brother's great talents with your own eyes, so that you would be willing to assist him. Secondly, I wanted you to see for yourself the suffering of the local people in Liangzhou due to drought and water shortage, and the methods of capable water management officials in building canals. I wanted you to see in Lingshan what a truly practical official must do step by step, from coming up with a way to enrich the people to actually implementing it."
"Officials are accustomed to writing memorials, but the things in the memorials can be true or they can be fabricated. Only by experiencing it yourself can you distinguish the truth from the falsehoods in the memorials."
"You handled both of these assignments very well. I am very gratified."
Prince Kang's eyes reddened again. It turned out that his imperial father had harbored so many painstaking intentions!
Emperor Yongchang finally said, "As brothers, your second brother has a brilliant mind, but his legs are crippled. Therefore, I hope you can be his legs. You will inspect the public works he cannot personally visit, and you will intimidate the local civil and military officials he cannot personally face. Look at your tall and sturdy build—when you don your python robe and furrow your brows, acting impartially to reward the good and punish the wicked, with a virtuous prince like you in the imperial court, who would dare to disregard your second brother's decrees?"
Hearing this, the gloom in Prince Kang's eyes vanished completely. He replied with a firm voice, "Rest assured, Imperial Father. I will be a virtuous prince for my entire life!"
.
On the twenty-first of May, as the horizon just began to lighten, the civil and military officials had already entered the hall to prepare for today's morning assembly and political discussions.
Before the officials could speak, Emperor Yongchang first had Eunuch Wang read the edict conferring the title of Crown Prince upon Prince Hui, Zhao Sui. The wording of the edict was extremely concise, yet every single character was a summary and praise of Prince Hui's talents, moral character, and meritorious deeds. From fighting campaigns in the north and south to guarding the borders, from recommending the worthy and offering strategies to improving the people's livelihood, it was truly the will of Heaven. Thus, he was established as the Crown Prince, with an auspicious day to be chosen later for the official investiture ceremony.
As Eunuch Wang's rhythmic voice faded, Emperor Yongchang glanced at his second son, the only one still sitting in a wheelchair, and then looked at the civil and military officials kneeling across the hall. He said, "The Crown Prince is the foundation of the nation. Establishing an heir is not only my family matter but also a state affair of the Great Qi. If you beloved subjects have any objections to the Crown Prince I have appointed, you may speak your minds freely."
Just as the officials were exchanging glances, Prince Kang straightened his back and said loudly, "Imperial Father is wise and martial. Prince Hui is indeed the unparalleled choice for the Crown Prince. I have no objections!"
The Fourth Prince, who was only fifteen and had been called to attend the court for the first time, heard his eldest brother's words and hurriedly said, "Imperial Father is wise, and your son also has no objections!"
With the two princes no longer contesting, and another prince having been demoted to a commandery prince, how could the civil and military officials dare to court disaster by offending Emperor Yongchang and the new Crown Prince?
"The Emperor is wise, and we subjects have no objections."
Since that was the case, Emperor Yongchang smiled and told everyone to rise.
Eunuch Wang stepped down from the imperial dais and respectfully presented the edict establishing the Crown Prince to Prince Hui.
Zhao Sui received the imperial decree with both hands, raised it to the level of his forehead, and spoke respectfully towards the dragon throne, "I am deeply grateful for Imperial Father's trust and high regard. I shall certainly be diligent and self-disciplined, and I will not fail Imperial Father's expectations."
After speaking, he lowered the decree and completed three kowtows over it.
Eunuch Wang pushed Prince Hui's wheelchair to the center of the grand hall, turning him to face the civil and military officials.
The civil and military officials bowed once more, kneeling to pay their respects to the Crown Prince.
.
Prince Hui's Manor.
Because of the severe punishment inflicted upon Princess Fucheng and Prince Qing, Yao Huang had not left the manor for the past few days. After eating breakfast, she pushed Yun'er, who was lying in a small red sandalwood stroller, to stroll through the garden.
Master Deng had crafted so many increasingly comfortable wheelchairs for Prince Hui; making a stroller for a child according to the Princess Consort's instructions was as easy as flipping his hand. A silk cloth could be propped up on top for shade, and there was a tray underneath the stroller to hold things. Since Yao Huang was used to pushing Prince Hui, who weighed around one hundred and fifty or sixty catties, pushing Yun'er was utterly effortless.
Jinbao followed obediently beside the stroller. Every time the Princess Consort stopped walking, Jinbao would raise its front paws onto the stroller and poke its head in to look at its little master.
Yun'er laughed even more joyously upon seeing Jinbao than when he saw his father, happily kicking his little legs and clapping his small hands together.
Yao Huang looked at Jinbao, and a thought popped into her head to make a dog-drawn cart. Then, she could push Prince Hui's wheelchair while having Jinbao pull Yun'er's stroller in front, accommodating both father and son without delay.
Just as she was thinking about this, the gatekeeper sent someone to pass on a message, saying that an imperial decree had arrived from the palace and requesting the Princess Consort to quickly go and receive it.
Having received imperial decrees far too many times, Yao Huang found the matter entirely unnovel. Handing Yun'er over to the wet nurse's care, she walked forward with Aji, calculating the days and guessing, "Is it a reward of lychees?"
Whenever Emperor Yongchang or Empress Zhou bestowed anything, even a verbal edict was considered an imperial decree.
The little eunuch running the errand said, "I did not see them carrying any chests, only holding a tray with an imperial edict on it."
An edict?
The last time she received an edict was when she was titled Princess Consort Hui!
With her heartbeat quickening, Yao Huang steadied her steps and went to the front, kneeling after a long time on the hard stone floor that had been warmed by the sun.
The eunuch proclaiming the decree held the edict and read a long, continuous string of words. First was the part establishing Prince Hui as the Crown Prince, followed by conferring the title of Crown Princess upon Princess Consort Hui. The shower of glowing praises made even Yao Huang feel that this Princess Consort Hui was truly wonderful, indeed a natural-born Crown Princess!
