Chapter 1354 - 30: Imperial Marriage Decree (2)

Chapter 1354: Chapter 30: Imperial Marriage Decree (2)

Although it was meant to be comforting, Yun Chu’s voice wavered significantly.

She believed that the Third Prince would not deceive Yun Chu, yet the news that the Emperor was bestowing the daughter of Duke Chong’s Mansion in marriage to the Third Prince certainly wasn’t false.

Nobody would dare spread rumors about the Third Prince and the daughter of Duke Chong’s Mansion, especially not when it involved the imperial edict.

There must be a major issue involved here.

Even Yun Chu sensed the unusual nature of this imperial edict, let alone the entire court of officials.

This edict arrived suddenly and shocked many.

The current Empress is the cousin of Duke Chong, and even though Duke Chong repeatedly claimed he wasn’t involved in the decision to appoint the successor and only loyal to the Emperor, doing what a general should do, in the eyes of the officials, he stood on the Sixth Prince’s side as well.

Yet the Emperor bestowed Duke Chong’s daughter in marriage to the Third Prince...

Could it be that the Emperor has decided to make the Third Prince the Crown Prince?

Afraid that the Empress Dowager might hastily eliminate him, he granted this marriage to the Third Prince?

In that case, the Emperor’s intentions were truly thoughtful.

The officials almost unanimously believed this, and it seemed reasonable.

However, the "thoughtful" Emperor was currently in thunderous rage.

Ever since the Crown Prince passed away, the Emperor’s health had been declining day by day, and he knew his end was near.

What worried him most was the empire he both loved and hated.

The question of to whom he should entrust the empire weighed heavily on the Emperor’s mind.

The court was evenly divided between supporting the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince. Originally the Third Prince was at a disadvantage, but with support from the Jibei Marquis Mansion and Duke Chong feigning illness to avoid court, the Third Prince barely matched the Sixth Prince.

The Third Prince was magnanimous; if the empire were entrusted to him, he might lack the ambition to expand its borders, but he was more than sufficient to maintain stability.

The Sixth Prince was ambitious, but his talent wasn’t enough to support his ambition. With the Empress in place, making him the successor might lead to power slipping away from the throne.

After weighing the options, the Emperor decided to make the Third Prince the Crown Prince.

Wanting to spend his last days comfortably, the Emperor wrote the edict to appoint the successor and entrusted it to Duke Zhen for safekeeping.

After his passing, Duke Zhen was to present the edict and help the Third Prince ascend the throne.

Few knew of this matter, and all were those the Emperor trusted.

The Third Prince pleaded with the Emperor to marry Yan Ning as the Third Prince Consort. The Emperor had met Yan Ning, the daughter of Marquis Jibei, gentle in nature. If she married the Third Prince, she was sure to be a mother of the nation when the Third Prince ascended the throne.

With support from the Jibei Marquis Mansion, there was no fear of the empress controlling the entire harem.

The Emperor approved the Third Prince’s request and agreed to grant the marriage.

Now, an error in the marriage edict was a provocation to his imperial authority!

The Emperor’s blood was surging, and his vision darkened.

The Emperor’s strength was much weaker now. The edicts were drafted by the Hanlin Academy, and he only affixed the Jade Seal.

Previously, when the edict was delivered, the Emperor felt dizzy, and the eunuch supported him in returning to his quarters for rest. He wanted to affix the Jade Seal, but the eunuch stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty, take care of your health. The marriage decree isn’t urgent. If you’re worried about the Third Prince’s impatience, I’ll help you affix the seal."

The Emperor didn’t think much of it; who would have thought someone daring enough to tamper with the edict?

The eunuch affixed the Jade Seal on the edict and sent it out to be announced.

Now that there’s a problem with the edict, the eunuch is missing...

The Emperor sent people to find the eunuch, and when he was found, he was already dead.

Upon learning the eunuch was murdered, even the Emperor knew who was behind the scenes. The person he had trusted for over a decade had betrayed him.

Now that the marriage edict had been issued and the matter had blown up, the Emperor was unable to maintain his dignity.

Thinking of this, the Emperor spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

The Emperor fainted after coughing up blood, and the Imperial Physician rushed over, quickly diagnosing the severity of the situation.

The Emperor was at the end of his strength.

The Third Prince knelt before the Dragon Couch; had he known the marriage would cause such a commotion, he would rather not have his father’s marriage grant.

The Emperor held the Third Prince’s hand.

The most enlightened decision he made in his life was perhaps appointing the Third Prince as the successor.

Fearful of further issues with his will, the Emperor, in the presence of the Imperial Physicians and Empress, declared with his last ounce of strength, "I appoint the Third Prince as the successor, and the Jibei Marquis Mansion’s cousin as the Ta, Crown Princess Consort...."

After these words, the Emperor passed away.

The Empress stood aside, turning pale with anger.

Everyone knelt, sending the Emperor off on his journey to the heavens.

Yan Ning and Yun Chu were expecting an explanation from the Third Prince but were greeted by the palace’s toll of mourning bells.

The Emperor’s death made the marriage grant a mere trifle, especially since the Emperor left a verbal decree to appoint Yan Ning as Crown Princess Consort.

With the Emperor’s passing, during the mourning period, music was banned among the populace.

The Emperor left a verbal decree, and with the edict held by Duke Zhen, the Third Prince’s position as the heir was unshakable.

After the late Emperor was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum, the Third Prince ascended to become the Emperor.

After that, the grand marriage ceremony was to follow.

The new Emperor need not observe a three-year mourning period as the nation cannot be without a ruler, and the harem is no different.

The Empress had already bribed the Emperor’s close eunuch; she knew about the appointment of the Third Prince as successor, but the edict was with Duke Zhen.

Such a significant matter Duke Zhen hadn’t even shared with his spouse; obtaining the edict was nearly impossible for the Empress. Moreover, because of the matter with Princess Nanzhang, the Duchess and she had fallen out, unable and unwilling to assist her.

Amidst the chaos, the Emperor also wanted to bestow marriage on the Third Prince—

The throne was no longer in her son’s hands, and how could the position of the Empress fall into someone else’s lap?

If the harem wasn’t under her control, her son’s future would become even dimmer!

There was no time to think, or even consult with the Duchess. The Empress acted first without permission.

The Emperor was gravely ill, with little time left, so he surely wouldn’t allow his image to be tarnished at the end.

Once the edict was issued, there was no turning back.

The Empress took a dangerous gamble and silenced the eunuch before the edict left the palace, leaving no witnesses.

The plan was bold and successful, but she didn’t expect the Emperor’s final move, leaving a verbal decree for marriage.

With this verbal decree, the grand marriage and the choice of Empress would become a significant issue.

The Emperor hadn’t retracted the edict for Duke Chong’s Mansion’s daughter, which made her the Third Prince Consort.

The Emperor left a verbal decree appointing Yan Ning as Crown Princess Consort.

Both edicts were valid; logically, with the Third Prince appointed as Crown Prince, the Third Prince Consort should naturally become the Crown Princess Consort.

Duke Chong wanted to avoid dragging his daughter into this mess, but this was a marriage graced by the late Emperor, not something he could refuse. Moreover, the Duchess would fight for fairness for her daughter, determined to see it through.

Throughout history, it’s not guaranteed that a Princess Consort becomes Crown Princess Consort, nor that the Crown Princess Consort becomes Empress.

There are precedents where the Crown Princess Consort ultimately became an Imperial Concubine, while a concubine became Empress instead.

The ministers discussed for a long time, realizing that with such disputes, no one would back down, leading to endless quarrels.

For the new Emperor, who just ascended, such a dispute for the throne was not a good omen.

It would be better to have a dual marriage on the same day, marrying both of them into the palace. In the future, whoever bears an imperial child first would become Empress.

Let the mother be conferred nobility through her child.

It seemed reasonable and fair.

The ministers all agreed to this arrangement.

The only ones who disagreed were the Empress and Duchess Chong, for the late Emperor first granted her daughter’s marriage, and logically, her daughter should be the first through the door!