Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"So that's how Father entered the cabinet."

When all the senior officials opposed His Highness's appointment of Guo Xun as the Governor-General of Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi, only my father openly supported it.

Your Highness is wise and naturally knows that Father has seen through his meaning and has also understood Father's stance.

Yan Shifan also laughed.

"However, in principle, Your Highness does not have the power to directly appoint cabinet ministers."

What method did Your Highness use to ensure Father's smooth entry into the cabinet as one of the Three Ministers?

"It couldn't be simpler."

Yan Song stroked his long beard and laughed.

"The process of handling affairs in the imperial court does indeed involve the submission of reports by the six ministries and the drafting of proposals by the cabinet."

However, the appointment of cabinet ministers was not something that the Six Ministries had to report on; it was always His Majesty who made the decision alone and appointed them directly by imperial decree.

Unless the candidate is exceptionally special, usually no one can raise objections.

According to the court's custom, the first choice for candidates to become cabinet ministers was the ministers of the six ministries. As the minister of rites, my father was naturally one of them, and it was only right that he entered the cabinet.

His Majesty is unconscious, so Prince Ying's decree may or may not be considered an imperial edict.

If a subject is unwilling to accept an imperial edict, it is naturally not considered disobeying the edict.

But if I am willing to accept the decree, and take His Highness's decree to the cabinet, no one can stop me.

After his father left the court, he went directly to the cabinet office in his capacity as one of the three Grand Secretaries.

The first thing he did was to propose that Zhai Peng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, be promoted to the rank of Minister of War and sent to Shuozhou to succeed as the Governor-General of Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi, leading more than 100,000 troops from the three towns of Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi to quell the rebellion.

The second matter was the proposal that, due to old age and illness, Duke Guo Xun of Yiguo would resign his title of Duke of Yiguo and pass on the hereditary title of Marquis of Wuding to his third son, Guo Shoulu.

After the two ballots were to be sent to the East Side Hall of Renshou Palace, His Highness Prince Ying immediately approved them. They have now been sent to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites, and will be copied and distributed by the Censor.

Tomorrow morning, the two official imperial edicts will be sent to the Imperial Seal Office for sealing.

. . .

The following afternoon.

Renshou Palace, East Side Hall.

"Your subject, Guo Shoulu, pays his respects to Your Highness."

Guo Shoulu, dressed in the attire of a marquis's son, performed a formal kneeling bow to Lu Chen.

The imperial edict was delivered to the Marquis of Wuding's residence at noon. From that moment on, Guo Shoulu's status changed from the third son of a concubine in the Marquis of Wuding's residence to "the one who is granted permission to inherit the title of Marquis of Wuding".

The succession to a marquisate also requires complicated procedures. Lu Chen sent someone to inquire with the Ministry of Rites, and it was estimated that it would take about seven days to complete all the procedures.

During these seven days, Guo Shoulu was not yet the official Marquis of Wuding; he could only wear the robes of a marquis's heir.

Guo Xun himself resigned from his title of Duke of Yiguo and his positions as governor of the three major camps, commander of the five military camps, and head of the Rear Army Commandery.

These past few days have been a time for handing over work to someone.

Guo Shoulu is too young and not yet qualified to command the Beijing Garrison. Guo Xun's original military positions will be taken over by other dukes and marquises in the capital.

Seven days later, Guo Xun was considered to have safely landed. After that, he could either live in seclusion at the Marquis's residence or become a monk, and no one would pursue the matter of him recommending Duan Chaoyong to the emperor.

Starting with Guo Ying, the title of Marquis of Wuding was passed down peacefully for over 170 years, spanning six generations.

Guo Shoulu will become the seventh Marquis of Wuding.

Of course, there were still two people in the Wuding Marquis's residence who weren't in a very good mood.

One was Guo Xun's second wife, Zhao, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Wujing.

The other was Guo Shouqian, the youngest son of Guo Xun, born to Zhao.

He was originally supposed to inherit the title of Marquis of Wuding.

Looking at Guo Shoulu kneeling before him, Lu Chen smiled slightly.

This person is indeed very lucky, but he earned it through his own abilities!

Two years ago, when I first met this person at the Yihong Pavilion, I only wanted to use him as a guinea pig to test the effects of the "red lead" elixir bestowed upon me by the Jiajing Emperor.

Unexpectedly, despite his youth and spoiled appearance, this person was quite adept at assessing situations.

Moreover, he is very decisive and has excellent execution skills.

Even after taking the "Red Lead" elixir and having sex with eleven women in one night, he could no longer walk steadily.

He managed to muster his strength and, by analyzing the origin of the "Red Lead" elixir, guessed his own identity.

In order to save the entire Wuding Marquis's family, he relied on chewing ginseng to boost his spirits and keep his appointment to see me.

He told Guo Xun in detail how Duan Chaoyong approached his father and how he persuaded Guo Xun to involve Tao Zhongwen in recommending Duan Chaoyong to the emperor.

From this point on, Guo Shoulu had in fact pledged allegiance to him.

He was the first, and perhaps even the only, member of the Hokun clan to secretly pledge allegiance to him.

He had secretly come to see me the night before last, telling me about Lu Bing asking Guo Xun to intervene, and we had also discussed the action plan for yesterday's court meeting together.

Unless Guo Xun is stupid, he would have no choice but to abandon his youngest son and pass on the title of Marquis of Wuding to Guo Shoulu.

This was something Lu Chen was naturally happy to see happen.

From this moment on, I have a staunch supporter among the hereditary nobles.

"Please rise, Guo Qing, and have a seat."

Lu Chen gestured for Guo Shoulu to sit down.

"How is your father's health?"

Guo Shoulu himself only took the "red lead" elixir once two years ago, and has not taken it since.

But Guo Xun was different; he started taking it a few months earlier than the Jiajing Emperor, and it has been almost two and a half years now.

Now that Duan Chaoyong and his apprentice are dead, the "red lead" elixir found in the alchemy room and their residence has been ordered to be destroyed.

Even the bag of "ice" that Chen Furong secretly took was replaced with real alum by herself.

These high-purity "ice" from another dimension have been crushed into powder by his own telekinesis, blown away by the wind, and disappeared forever.

Guo Xun has run out of stock and can no longer obtain the "Red Lead" elixir. It remains to be seen how long his remaining stock will last.

Once used up, one will be forced into a painful acute withdrawal period, just like the Jiajing Emperor.

At yesterday's court meeting, Guo Xun's reaction was relatively normal, so the supply should not be completely cut off yet.

"After Duan Chaoyong died, my father had very few 'red lead' elixirs left."

Guo Shoulu certainly knew what Lu Chen was asking.

"In the past few days, my father has also tried to forcibly lengthen the interval between the two doses, but it is very painful for him."

Before going to court yesterday, my father took another pill so that he could remain normal during the meeting.

This thing is truly harmful. Duan Chaoyong and his apprentice were hacked to death that day; it was too good for them.

I don't know how my father will survive after the last bit of supplies are used up.

"He can only rely on himself now; no one can help him."

Lu Chen sighed softly.

"Your brother's situation is actually the same as your father's."

Once you stop taking this medication, there will be seven to two weeks of particularly difficult symptoms. Once you get through this period, the symptoms will gradually lessen.

Once you stop taking it, your body will gradually recover.

Of course, it's probably impossible to completely restore one to the state before taking the medication.

I even think that being in a coma now might not be a bad thing for my elder brother.