wear it lord god

Chapter 2683 Being an Empress Isn't Easy 29
Three months later, the spring breeze turned the willow branches green, the vegetable garden of Qianqiu Palace green, and the water in the pond green as well.

The chief eunuch in charge of the palace still personally delivered supplies every day, speaking politely and occasionally revealing some information about what was happening at the front.

The Crown Prince has already advanced from the northern border to the capital.

Although Consort Cui, oh no, she should now be temporarily known as Empress Dowager Cui.

Consort Lü died after only three days as Empress Dowager, reportedly due to excessive grief, and followed the late Emperor in death. Her son was registered under the name of Consort Cui.

Now that the news of Liu Cheng's death could no longer be concealed, they simply stopped trying to hide it. While announcing the national mourning, they also announced that, according to the late emperor's will, Consort Lü's child would be the successor.

Consort Lü then became Empress Dowager, and Empress Dowager Dou became Grand Empress Dowager. As for me, the former Empress, I don't know where I am now, and there's been no news of me at all.

Upon assuming the throne, Empress Dowager Cui, taking advantage of the emperor's one-year-old status, appointed her father as Minister of War.

The Minister of War had already fled to the northern border to seek refuge with the Crown Prince.

The Minister of War may seem like a high-ranking official, but in reality, his role is mainly limited to reporting and impeaching officials. Without the imperial tally, relying solely on the emperor's edict is utterly meaningless!
Currently, he can only mobilize the palace guards under Commander Dou and the capital city guards outside the western suburbs of the capital.

Xi Ning knew that they dared not touch her now. On the one hand, no rational monarch, or even a general, would be coerced. Even if one's own mother were hung on the city wall by the enemy, and the soldiers behind her were crying and begging not to attack the city, they might very well shoot arrows at her themselves.

On the other hand, the Great Yu Dynasty governs the country with reason and filial piety. It can use the late empress as a hostage to blackmail others. This can be done secretly, but if it is done in public, the whole world will condemn it as shameless.

Sooner or later, the Crown Prince will march on the capital. If the Crown Prince dies by accident, there's still the Second Prince. Princess Jiahe and her two young children had already been sent out of the palace to seek refuge with the Zhenguo Duke's family in Jiangnan, in the hometown of the Zhenguo Duke's youngest son's wife.

She began laying the groundwork for this game three years ago, and it's almost time to wrap it up.

More than a month later, when the palace was ablaze, countless torches illuminated the entire fire and the night sky with extraordinary brightness.

Someone is knocking on the door: "Mother, open the door, it's me, your Wen'er is back!"

The heavy door opened, and Gongzi Wen, clad in full armor and wielding a long sword, rushed in with about a hundred guards in similar military attire.

Young Master Wen was only sixteen years old, yet he was already leading troops into battle. His tall, still-growing figure was not yet as imposing as that of a fierce general. His childish face and the red cloak behind him were stained with blood.

Rushing into the palace, he saw the late empress dressed in plain, simple clothes, sitting there sewing. Instantly, the sword in his hand fell to the ground, and he rushed over, burying his face in the late empress's arms and wailing loudly.

Xining quickly put down her needlework, hugged Gongziwen and gently patted him to comfort him: "Good child, your mother is fine. You and your brother have worked hard."

The situation in the palace quickly became clearly one-sided. The next day, in the court, the three high officials testified that the late emperor intended for the crown prince to succeed to the throne.

The crown prince immediately donned the dragon robe and ascended the throne. The Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Rites were tasked with drafting the time and procedures for the enthronement ceremony.

The one-year-old emperor, whose legitimacy was questionable, was deposed; Empress Dowager Cui was deposed; Commander Dou and Minister of War Cui were imprisoned in the imperial prison…

After demoting one group, another was granted titles. The Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince were appointed regents, and the late Emperor's Empress Wang was posthumously honored as Empress Dowager…

That evening, once the situation had stabilized, the Crown Prince came to Qianqiu Palace to discuss matters of the court the following day.

Xi Ning shook her head: "I will not participate in politics or rule. From now on, you should try to make your own decisions. If the court officials disagree, then come to me for advice." "Why?" the Crown Prince asked, puzzled. "I am still young and need my mother."

Previous empress dowagers all ruled as regents, unwilling to relinquish power until the very end. There was even an emperor who, even at fifty, was still not let go by his empress dowager, who constantly interfered in court affairs. The late emperor only ascended the throne at nearly thirty, thus preventing Empress Dowager Dou from succeeding.

Xi Ning picked up the tea beside her, took a sip, and said, "You will always be a child in your mother's eyes. But children have to grow up on their own. You are almost eighteen years old and have a son. As a king, you should learn to make your own decisions. Your mother only asks you of one thing."

"What is it?" The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment before saying, "I will certainly grant whatever Mother requests."

As the crown prince is, he has already become wary of others. But for now, he will still follow the master's wishes, since his sister has secretly laid out a safe path for him.

"Never kill your brother Wen'er. He has rendered meritorious service. Don't believe other people's lies or be suspicious of him. Even if he rebels, you can still imprison him."

As soon as she spoke, Liu Wen knelt down beside her: "Mother, you are overthinking it. Your son will never betray my elder brother."

Xi Ning smiled and shook her head: "Times have changed. Remember what you said and did tonight, and remember how the other party treated you. Ji'er, tomorrow you must reward the meritorious officials, and your mother will ask you for a favor."

Without thinking, the Crown Prince said directly, "Please speak, Mother."

In the imperial court, the eunuch announcing the decree read aloud: "The Second Prince Liu Wen is hereby enfeoffed as the Prince of Zhao. He is not required to kneel before the Emperor. He will depart for his fiefdom in three months. He may disobey the imperial edict and not return to the capital."

Upon hearing his mother's words, the Crown Prince fell silent. After a long while, he asked, "My second brother has always been close to me. Why is he doing this?"

Xi Ning sighed, “Even a king is a lonely man. The good in your heart will also be your weakness. If you really care about your brother, let him go to his fiefdom, far away from the court, and let him be free in his fiefdom, whether he is a local tyrant or a benevolent prince. Besides, Zhao is relatively close to the northern border. If your maternal grandfather needs help, he can go and provide assistance. That way, his martial skills will not be wasted.”

After considering it, the Crown Prince nodded: "It is entirely up to Mother Empress to decide."

The eunuch continued reading aloud: "He is granted the hereditary title of Duke of Zhenguo, and three gold tokens granting him immunity from death..."

Xi Ning said to the Crown Prince, "The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has worked hard for your Liu family for generations, and its contributions are immense. This time, it has made great efforts again, so it can be trusted. Let the title of Duke of Zhenguo be hereditary."

When asked about the titles of the two Crown Prince's concubines, she replied, "One will be Consort De, and the other Consort Xian. Neither of them is pregnant yet. When they become pregnant and give birth to princes, you can promote them to higher ranks."

The Empress Consort has already given birth to a prince. The Grand Tutor also played a significant role this time, mobilizing students from the east to travel around lobbying and questioning why the Crown Prince wasn't the heir, and how a one-year-old infant could handle state affairs. Furthermore, the Grand Tutor will be needed to counterbalance other forces in the court, so she is a worthy Empress.

If the other two concubines were immediately promoted to the rank of Noble Consort and Virtuous Consort, they would not be able to rise to a higher rank later. Since neither of the two concubines has yet borne any imperial heirs, this arrangement is reasonable.

The crown prince thought this was acceptable and nodded...

The court session finally ended. The Crown Prince went to the Empress Dowager's palace first. The imperial edict had been read for almost half an hour, as there were simply too many people to be rewarded or punished. Now, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo and the newly appointed captain of the Imperial Guard were leading men to confiscate the property of disgraced officials and arrest people.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the Empress Dowager saw him, she hugged him and cried loudly, "My Ji'er, I have seen you again..."

The crown prince was stunned. Shouldn't he have cried like this last night? But his mother was very rational and calm last night.

I quickly tried to comfort her, but something felt off.