Star Sky Professional

"This plan is not bad..."

Prince Tai's eyes lit up: "Could it be that tonight the Crown Prince is at his wit's end? I would really laugh at that..."

He almost immediately chose the middle plan: "We will remain still for now; also... send someone immediately to gather information, even from inside the palace, at any cost!"

"Yes!"

Mr. Wu sighed in his heart, ready to leave, when Prince Tai asked, "What about the worst plan?"

"The worst plan is to gather all the household troops, ambush at the palace gates, kill the Crown Prince, then siege the palace..."

Mr. Wu sighed.

Prince Tai shook his head like a puja drum: "My household troops are fewer than the Eastern Palace guards, and they may not dare to besiege the Crown Prince... even if they kill the Crown Prince, they wouldn't dare to assault the Imperial Palace... in the end, it would only benefit Prince Kang and the others..."

'If His Majesty were still here, with the prestige of the Founding Ancestor, naturally, anyone who rebels dies... but if he's already deceased, assaulting the Imperial Palace, with the help of the Noble Consort, there is still a glimmer of hope.'

Mr. Wu added in his heart, but did not say much more, he deeply glanced at Prince Tai, saluted, and left.

...

Imperial Palace.

Divine Martial Gate.

This gate is several zhang high, majestic and towering, with the Imperial Guard stationed above the city gate.

To besiege this city gate requires ten times the force, but thousands or even tens of thousands of defenders would find it difficult to hold.

Fang Xing silently observed, and knew that with his Qinggong, he could barely cross it, but there was no one else who could.

'Mainly guard this place, the other gates within the palace can be scattered; they won't be able to stop me...'

He halted the procession, instructing Eunuch Su to go forward and call the gate.

The commander of such a core palace gate would surely be a confidant of the emperor's confidants, not loyal to any other person, especially the Crown Prince or the other princes!

In normal times, even leading an army of ten thousand would find it hard to take it.

Not to mention where in the Capital you could hide ten thousand troops?

It would probably take less than half a day before the nearby Imperial Army came to quell the rebellion.

Fang Xing had come to go through the proper procedures, thus he was quite composed, letting Eunuch Su handle the negotiations.

The commander of the Divine Martial Gate was named Kou Feng, a general deeply loved by the emperor, regrettably not living in a time of chaos, otherwise, he would have been a famed commander.

He was naturally loyal to the emperor, but now knowing what has transpired within the palace, he could only pledge loyalty to whoever sat on the throne.

Eunuch Su bore the Empress Dowager's order and the Golden Token, and without much hesitation, Kou Feng immediately ordered: "Open the gate!"

Whrrrr!

The sound of armor dragging along the ground rang out, as two hundred Eastern Palace guards escorted the Crown Prince through the Divine Martial Gate.

"Zhao Hu, you lead two squads and guard this gate."

Fang Xing walked through the Divine Martial Gate and directly ordered.

"This..."

Kou Feng's eyes became deeply contemplative.

"Yes!"

Zhao Hu responded loudly, urging the Eastern Palace guards to take up positions at the Divine Martial Gate.

"Eunuch Su, let's go!"

Fang Xing looked at Eunuch Su.

"Yes, Your Highness, please."

Eunuch Su bent even lower, knowing that even if the Crown Prince had suspicions, he dared to directly intervene in the palace defenses; this maneuver was precise, swift, ruthless, and venomous.

The key is... no one can stop him.

Even after tonight passes, the tide will turn.

'Even at this moment, he's cautious, indeed prudent.'

Kou Feng admired sincerely, looking towards the direction of the rear palace, tears in his tiger eyes, murmuring: "Your Majesty... there is indeed a successor."

The nine-layer palace gates opened in succession.

Fang Xing habitually left some guards at each gate; when he reached the emperor's sleeping quarters, beside a few serving eunuchs and palace maids, there wasn't a single Armored Soldier.

"This..."

Eunuch Su was stunned seeing this scene.

If he was acting openly and upright, why did he set up guards along the way? Yet reaching here, why did he disregard his own safety?

'Fathers and sons not doubting each other, so difficult... but the Crown Prince is indeed purely filial.'

Eunuch Su led Fang Xing into the emperor's sleeping quarters, seeing many doctors kneeling all around.

Beside them was an old woman with a head full of silver hair, naturally the Empress Dowager.

"Imperial Grandmother."

Fang Xing stepped forward and softly called.

The Imperial Grandmother seemed to have just cried, her eyes red; seeing Fang Xing, her voice was hoarse: "Crown Prince... your father suddenly suffered a heart attack tonight and has left us. The cabinet ministers are on their way; you must maintain composure in your heart now."

"Father?!"

Fang Xing entered the hall and immediately wept.

The reason for not bringing armored troops is that he has absolute confidence in his own strength.

Moreover, bringing armored troops into the emperor's sleeping quarters would not sound good.

Now that he is already the victor, he naturally needs to be dignified and consider the influence.

Before long, the cabinet ministers arrived, all crying.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty ah..."

The Prime Minister of the Cabinet was named Yuan Zhao, the chief strategist when the Emperor rose to power, and upon witnessing the Emperor's passing, he immediately wept like rain.

At this moment, regardless of any inner suspicions, everyone outwardly showed grief.

Next were Vice Chancellor Gao Yang, Minister of Personnel Sun Qiming, and others.

"You are all key officials of the court. I am in deep grief, and I shan't speak much. My imperial son's sudden illness led to his abrupt demise, and now the nation's affairs are in your hands. Yuan Zhao, what do you have to say?"

The Empress Dowager looked towards the Prime Minister.

Daqian established a Cabinet to divide the power of the previous court chancellors, yet the Prime Minister still held a significant status and authority.

Yuan Zhao, possessing the demeanor of a great minister, was now sixty-seven years old. As he surveyed the grand hall with his clouded aged eyes, he saw the Crown Prince's face full of sorrow, while the lady beside the Empress Dowager looked anxious.

He sighed inwardly, knowing that he must prioritize the greater good at this moment, lest the common people suffer: "Does His Majesty have any edict left behind?"

"None."

The noble lady beside the Empress Dowager showed a moment of struggle within but had no options.

An edict cannot be casually written; a genuine edict requires a particular format, paper, and scribe.

After it is written, it must be sealed, then created in duplicate, and archived...

Forgery is quite difficult unless it's an edict written in the emperor's blood and hidden in his garments, but the emperor fell too swiftly to allow any time.

Attempting forgery at this point would be a death wish.

Unless the emperor had previously issued an edict to replace the Crown Prince, no one could stop the Crown Prince from ascending to the throne.

Indeed, even if there was an edict before, the Crown Prince remains not deposed; perhaps this signifies the beginning of a civil war dividing the empire.

Hearing this, Yuan Zhao felt a sense of relief and bowed once more towards Fang Xing: "Since this is the case, please inherit the Daqian realm before the spirit of the crown prince..."

"I... alas, I am lost in confusion right now..."

Fang Xing declined a few more times, but under the persuasion of the Empress Dowager and officials, he reluctantly accepted their homage.

As it was now late at night, Fang Xing first asked the Empress Dowager to rest and himself summoned several key ministers.

"Prime Minister, Vice Chancellor, esteemed ministers... you are the pillars of Daqian; such significant matters need thorough discussion of protocol..."

Fang Xing spoke and then looked towards Yuan Zhao.

These were procedural matters, and Yuan Zhao naturally said: "This is necessary. First, at tomorrow's morning court, the Empress Dowager must announce the Emperor's passing, and then the Crown Prince should receive the court officials' homage to establish his status... According to filial piety, when a father dies, his son observes mourning for three years, for the Son of Heaven the days can substitute months..."

"How could I, lacking virtue and competence, dare equate myself to the ancient sages by substituting days for years? Let it be days for months..."

Fang Xing waved his hand.

Yuan Zhao was taken aback: "In that case, it shall be thirty-six days of mourning, then formally ascending the throne as Emperor..."

"Hmm, I'll leave these matters to you all."

Fang Xing thought for a moment and said: "Father Emperor was wise and martially gifted; his posthumous title should bear the character 'Wu,' as Grand Ancestor Martial Emperor... As for my reign's title, let it be 'Long Chang,' and there's no need to change it this year; we'll change the era name next year..."

...

After much disturbance, the ministers exited the grand hall, finding that dawn had already broken.

Yuan Zhao wore a heavy-hearted expression and saw that Vice Chancellor Gao Yang approached.

The two exchanged glances, noticed that guards stood at a considerable distance, and greeted each other.

"Prime Minister, you must take care of your health; in an hour, it will be the morning court..."

"Shou Kang..." the Prime Minister Yuan Zhao called out Gao Yang's courtesy name, hesitant to speak further.

The two exchanged a look and nodded subtly.

After exchanging a few pieces of information, Gao Yang took his leave.

Yuan Zhao felt a bit relieved: 'The Crown Prince arrived barely moments before us... Besides, he lacks the capability and couldn't have possibly bribed the entire Imperial Hospital. Given this, His Majesty... was it truly destiny's end for him?'

At this thought, he shed tears silently: 'Your Majesty... Your Majesty...'

...

Inside the side hall.

Fang Xing was consuming a few pieces of pastry.

These pastries were exquisitely crafted and fragrant yet lacked soupy dishes, showing thoughtful consideration, allowing him to be satiated and refreshed, without any risk of embarrassment during his initial court presence.

'The major course is set.'

In Fang Xing's mind, he silently sighed.

'But what's crucial lies ahead!'

'While I inherit something not broken, there are underlying issues...'

'The realm was just established, society still unsettled, the nobility cliques, the literati growing powerful...'

'Within the harem, the Grand Empress Dowager's stance is uncertain, yet those imperial concubines are no pushovers...'

The Grand Empress Dowager, regardless of whom she supports, did not undermine her own position. Summoning the Crown Prince was merely to adhere to the tradition of supporting orthodoxy and stabilizing the situation.

To say there was any closeness must not be assumed, and should the new emperor later infringe upon the Grand Empress Dowager's interests, he would undoubtedly suffer.

'Crucially, who is my ally? Oh, the emperor has no friends...'

Fang Xing pondered silently for a moment; being the emperor, the nation's largest landlord, one seems inclined to align with the landlords?

Yet, being the emperor also equates to the nation's greatest slave master, with all people his slaves; thus, ensuring slaves are well-fed and clothed is necessary for survival?

At least, slaves as the slave master's property should not suffer undue harm.

'Most importantly, I lack the Founding Ancestor's prestige to suppress the arrogant troops and cunning ministers surfacing from the era's turmoil.'

'Thinking that being emperor allows arbitrary slaughter and unchecked actions is utterly fanciful...'

'Tragically, with the current literacy rate, my governing base stands among the literati society...'

'On the brighter side, soon after founding, with so many deaths across the nation, the opportunity is immense...'

'By imposing less tax, limiting large landlords, supporting small landlords and self-sustaining farmers, being slightly lenient with the populace, governing minimally, will prompt natural population and tax growth, perhaps even earning a posthumous 'Long Chang's Prosperity' from future historical evaluation?'

While Fang Xing pondered, a gentle voice called out from outside.