Chapter 1432 - 345

Chapter 1432: Chapter 345

"I am incompetent and have failed your grace. Please, Father, quell your anger!"

Looking at the sons kneeling below, the Yan Emperor’s expression remained gloomy.

Usually, his gaze was more often focused on Qian State, Chu State, Jin land, and the deserts, but when he turned his gaze to his sons;

What they were thinking, what they were doing,

actually,

could be seen through at a glance.

He was not the kind of puppet monarch sitting feebly on the dragon throne, led by the nose by others, at least, he did not think of himself as such.

For a long time,

the Yan Emperor took his right wrist with his left hand, glancing at Wei Zhonghe beside him.

Wei Zhonghe quickly went out and brought back a basin of ice water from the back, evidently prepared in advance.

The Yan Emperor did not shy away,

placing his right hand into the ice basin, relieving somewhat the spasms and numbness in his right hand.

"Cough... cough cough cough..."

After a round of coughing,

the Yan Emperor spoke:

"Rise, continue eating."

"Yes, Father."

"Yes, Father."

The princes all got up, returning to their seats, starting to eat again.

Earlier, the fourth prince had knocked over the porridge bowl, the Yan Emperor pointed to the leftovers in front of him and then looked at the fourth prince.

Wei Zhonghe served the leftovers to the fourth prince.

"Thank you, Father."

In the Imperial Study, the sound of chewing started again.

The Yan Emperor leaned back in the chair, his right hand still in the ice basin, but his gaze kept wandering over his four sons below.

The eldest, though in Nanwang City, soon after his departure, the barbarian princess was rumored to be pregnant.

The second, though his engagement with the county princess fell through, his two concubines were already pregnant.

The crown prince, being the nation’s heir, had the responsibility of marrying into the Earl of North Border’s family. It’s not that he had no women around him; in fact, as long as one was a prince, if he wished, women would never be scarce around him.

Most importantly, it was the prince’s duty to propagate the royal bloodline.

Because, in the future, only one can be emperor and rule the world; the remaining princes are to spread the lineage widely.

Moreover, for an emperor, having many children is a crucial responsibility; if the emperor has no offspring, the kingdom’s foundation would be shaken, potentially causing chaos.

An alternative is to select a child from a collateral line to inherit, but after one’s passing, don’t expect them to acknowledge you as their true father, no matter if you passed the throne to them.

In this era, breaking the line of descendants is the most tragic and unacceptable thing.

The second prince’s previous women likely drank infertility potions, for a legitimate son, preferably the eldest, was best reserved for the county princess.

But now, the second prince apparently doesn’t care anymore.

The fourth prince already had a concubine at the prince’s mansion, and the birth was nearing.

The fifth prince, he was always alone, reportedly staying with craftsmen all day in Wang River.

The sixth prince already had the eldest son of this Ji Family’s generation.

The seventh prince was still young.

They are his sons, and he had two more sons outside.

They are the continuation of his bloodline, the Ji Family, and the extension of Yan.

Soon enough, the third generation will also begin to grow.

The Yan Emperor’s gaze carried little emotion.

Finally, he removed his right hand from the ice basin, and Wei Zhonghe meticulously wiped it with a towel.

The princes had all finished eating one by one.

The crown prince sat upright and solemn.

Ji Chengjue sat there with his head slightly lowered.

The fourth prince was somewhat stuffed.

The seventh prince felt his throat scratched by rice husk, yearning to drink goat milk.

"Cough cough... cough..."

The Yan Emperor coughed a few more times.

"Tea."

Wei Zhonghe quickly called out, "Serve the tea."

Soon, a eunuch brought over a cup of tea, which Wei Zhonghe received and placed in front of the Yan Emperor.

The Yan Emperor lifted the tea cup, removed the lid, and a rich bitter aroma of ginseng wafted forth.

The deterioration of health rarely happens bit by bit; it is often a sudden decline.

Ji Runhao did not like consuming tonic, and after his accession, many of the rare materials supposedly beneficial for health and longevity were exempted from tributes.

But now, without a cup of ginseng tea in the afternoon, it was hard to muster any energy for the entire afternoon.

He was the emperor,

the sovereign ruler of Yan,

the emperor,

he could either suddenly pass away or pull himself together utterly,

the state most feared an emperor sitting on the throne in a muddled state, for such an emperor could only harm the country.

After half a cup of ginseng tea, a bit more spirit appeared in Ji Runhao’s eyes.

"I... have grown old."

Three words,

yet they echoed like thunder, seeming to cause the entire Imperial Study to tremble.

In an instant, even Eunuch Wei swiftly knelt down.

This towering emperor, already showing brilliance while in his residence before ascending the throne, mastering the court affairs during his time in the East Palace, painstakingly cultivated to achieve the current grand national power of Yan after his accession.

Facing the centennial vassal Lord Li, he trusted him like a dear brother;

confronting the highest noble family elder son of Yan, he treated him like a sibling;

he dared to abolish the palace gates’s restriction, allowing thousands of external cavalry into the palace!

He sent a letter to the desert, deterring the barbarian tribe from advancing a single warhorse east!

When Master Zang entered Yanjing to cut the Dragon Vein, he dismissed it as merely street trickery!