Lu Wei was so happy at the thought that he was going to live as an idle prince after the marriage. After all, the Emperor of Da Cheng was still alive, and it was expected that he would continue to rule over Da Cheng for a few more years before he pa.s.sed the throne to his daughter.What Lu Wei did not know was that, while they were busy with the wedding preparation, the Emperor of Da Cheng had summoned up his old friend, the old General Jiang Huan, into the palace.
Jiang Huan had served for the Emperor for years before he decided to retire and handed the military power to his son, Jiang Xiao Xian. The two old friends chatted for hours, but no one knew what they were talking about.
After a few days, during the morning a.s.sembly, the Emperor brought up a matter that shocked the ministers and officers.
He was planning to abdicate and hand over the throne to the Crown Princess after the wedding!
Of course, the ministers and officers were shocked. They pleaded the Emperor to rethink his decision. However, the Emperor had already made up his mind.
The ministers were upset!
In the first place, half of the ministers and officers were against the Crown Princess"s marriage with the Emperor of Qian Rong.
They were worried that once Qian Rong had joined Da Cheng, they would lose their power as some of the Qian Rong"s ministers are joining their court. It was bad enough that the Emperor had allowed a few ministers and scholars from the former Eastern Zhou to be a part of the court. Now, more will be vying for power in the court. Of course, the ministers were agitated.
After the Crown Princess Lingchen and Emperor Lu Wei"s wedding, Qian Rong will be a part of Da Cheng territory. This decision sounded partial to Da Cheng, but many were worried that Qian Rong would pull a trick and claim Da Cheng as theirs instead.
Although the Emperor of Da Cheng had signed an agreement with Emperor Lu Wei, it would be a lie to say that he, too, was not worried. Abdicating the throne and let Crown Princess ascend to power was his way to protect his daughter.
Once the Princess was married, she will have to face a lot of hurdles against the ministers. By giving the Crown Princess the power, the Emperor hoped that he could force his daughter to grow up and control the court.
By the end of the a.s.sembly, the Emperor dismissed the meeting, with his decision unchanged. Despite the minister"s plead, the Emperor was firm with his decision. The minister and officers had no choice but to leave the hall, muttering words of disagreement towards the Emperor"s decision among themselves.
In the afternoon, the news that the Emperor of Da Cheng was planning to abdicate and pa.s.s down the throne to the Princess spread.
Crown Princess Lingchen, who was given a few days off from attending the court to prepare for her wedding, heard the news as well. Immediately, Princess Lingchen went to the Emperor"s palace and knelt on his courtyard, pleading him to rethink his decision.
However, the Emperor did not give in to his daughter"s plead. Since the Princess wanted to kneel on the floor for hours, the Emperor sent his word to let the Princess do as she pleased. He will not change his mind.
Later on, both Jiang Xiao Xian and Jiang Xiao Tian was summoned into the palace to see the Emperor. The two brothers exchanged a glance before they went in into the Emperor"s study. They both greeted the Emperor as they should and stood once the Emperor gave his permission.
The Emperor was sitting behind his study, and his right hand moved as he held a brush. He spoke up without even looking at the two men before him. "Do you know why I called both of you here?"
Jiang Xiao Xian stepped forward. "Pardon me, Your Majesty. But your servant dare not to guess what was on your mind."
The Emperor let out a snort. He put down his brush and blew softly on the paper. "You must have heard the news that I was planning to retire and hand over the throne to the Crown Princess,"
"Yes." the brothers answered in unison.
The Emperor put aside a doc.u.ment on his table. "I did not invite the two of you here to ask for your opinion regarding this matter. I called the two of you here to let you prepare for the day."
The two brothers exchanged another glance.
"I"m sure that many ministers and officers are against my decision. What I worry most was that someone would do something to create a disturbance to stop me from stepping down," the Emperor said. He leaned forward and looked at the brothers for a few seconds longer. "Do you understand what you should do?"
The two brothers bowed at the same time. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"I do not wish for anything to happen before the wedding until I successfully handed over the throne to the Crown Princess," the Emperor warned. "Once the Crown Princess came to power, I hope that the two of you will continue to protect her."
…
Meanwhile, Lu Wei only laughed when he heard the Emperor of Da Cheng"s plan to abdicate.
"Your Majesty, are you that happy?" His closest retainer asked.
"Happy?" Lu Wei sneered.
He was actually speechless now that his plan to stay as an idle prince has gone evaporated. Once the Crown Princess came to power, won"t he be forced to work as well?
"Forget it. You won"t understand this even if I explained to you," Lu Wei glanced at his retainer and waved a hand. "You should go now. I wish to be alone for a while. Don"t let others disturb me."
"Yes," the retainer bowed. He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Once the man was gone, Chief Ye came out of the inner room and walked over her grandson. She looked at her grandson"s face and laughed mockingly.
"You really think that you can avoid responsibilities, huh?" Chief Ye sneered. "Let me tell you, Wei Wei, you cannot escape heaven"s arrangement no matter how hard you try to."
Lu Wei rubbed the s.p.a.ce between his eyebrow. He had a headache, and his grandmother"s taunting words were not helping. Though he did not like the Emperor"s decision that ruined his plan, Lu Wei fully understood why the Emperor of Da Cheng made his decision.
It looked like he will need to meet with the Crown Princess again to discuss their future.