“There are indeed some matters to discuss…” Dong Qingping said while glancing toward Chancellor Lu and Lu Jinxian.
Chancellor Lu, being perceptive, understood that some words could not be spoken in his presence and tactfully supported himself on the table to rise and take his leave.
“Chancellor Lu and Master Lu need not be hasty, please sit!” Bai Qingyan waved her hand at Chancellor Lu, who had already risen, signaling for Chancellor Lu and Lu Jinxian to sit. “The four here are all pillar ministers whom Bai Qingyan will need to rely upon in the future. There is nothing that cannot be spoken of. Only in this way… with mutual understanding between ruler and ministers, can we work together wholeheartedly to establish the Great Zhou dynasty well.”
Mutual understanding between ruler and ministers…
Because of these four words, Chancellor Lu’s eyes reddened. Mutual understanding between ruler and ministers – this was the wish of how many ministers? Chancellor Lu hastily bowed in gratitude to Bai Qingyan: “Thank you for Your Majesty’s trust. This old minister… will certainly do everything in his power for the rest of his life to support the Great Zhou dynasty!”
Bai Qingyan nodded and said to Dong Qingping: “Uncle, please speak…”
Dong Qingping raised his hand to touch his nose and began: “It’s like this – Master Lu heard some rumors and feared these rumors might destabilize the Great Zhou dynasty. Thinking that we are family after all, he came to my door asking me to come together with him!”
Seeing that Dong Qingping seemed somewhat embarrassed to bring up the matter, probably considering that Bai Qingyan was an unmarried woman and unable to get to the point after a long while, Lu Jin raised his hand to bow to Bai Qingyan and spoke directly: “Your Majesty’s body was injured in earlier years, making matters of offspring difficult. Although Your Majesty is still young now, court ministers and the nobles of the capital inevitably think about the future succession of the Great Zhou dynasty. While this matter may seem premature to discuss, some people will inevitably harbor certain thoughts. In the long run… this is detrimental to the nation!”
Chancellor Lu nodded upon hearing this. Though he knew this in his heart, he would never dare speak of it to the new emperor Bai Qingyan.
“Your Majesty is a woman, and compared to men… already has disadvantages regarding offspring, not to mention Your Majesty’s body is not as robust as ordinary people! How many disturbances in history originated from succession disputes? The ruler of a nation is the foundation of the Kingdom, and the heir apparent should be the cornerstone of the nation! If following usual practices… after Your Majesty ascends the throne, the first matter should be establishing the imperial harem. Even the Empress of Western Liang, after her coronation, established an imperial consort and quickly bore an heir for Western Liang.” Lu Jin’s brow furrowed tightly, “As long as Your Majesty has no imperial son, those petty people harboring other thoughts will not remain peaceful for a single day.”
Speaking to this point, Lu Jin looked up at Bai Qingyan and boldly continued: “For example, regarding the actions of the Shouyang clan that your humble minister has long heard about… boldly speculating, might the Bai clan attempt to have their descendants adopted under Your Majesty’s name, force their descendants to marry quickly and produce children, and in competing for the position of heir apparent, cause some uncontrollable incident? After all, what the outside world knows… is that Your Majesty’s body has been bedridden with illness, and even this battle to destroy Liang was undertaken by forcing yourself to go! If your humble minister’s mention of the Bai clan contains any offense… please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
After all, they were Bai Qingyan’s clan members. Although Lu Jin knew that the Shouyang Bai clan acted excessively, he still had to give the Shouyang clan proper face in front of Bai Qingyan.
Lu Jin’s words were extremely tactful. He couldn’t directly say… Your Majesty, you pretended to be weak and bedridden for two years, and now others think Your Majesty is about to die, so those related to Your Majesty are probably all eagerly thinking about how to inherit the imperial throne from you.
“Master Lu’s words are reasonable!” Chancellor Lu nodded to Bai Qingyan, “Your Majesty must pay attention to this matter. I wonder if Physician Hong returned with Your Majesty this time? For the sake of Great Zhou’s thousand-year plan… Your Majesty needs to recover your health soon, and at the same time, should first establish an imperial consort to reassure people’s hearts.”
Bai Qingyan lowered her gaze. The flickering candlelight reflected her extremely long eyelashes, casting a fan-shaped shadow on her pure, flawless face.
She had originally agreed with Xiao Rongyan that once Great Yan pacified Wei Kingdom, he would come to propose marriage.
But now Xiao Rongyan had to handle all matters, large and small, in Yan Kingdom. Although… no news of the Yan Emperor’s death had come yet, Bai Qingyan speculated… most likely it was because Wei Kingdom had just been settled, so Yan Kingdom was keeping the death secret.
She didn’t know whether Xiao Rongyan had received her letter.
Seeing Bai Qingyan lost in thought, Chancellor Lu softly called: “Your Majesty?”
She looked up upon hearing the call: “There’s no rush to establish an imperial consort. To eliminate these petty thoughts is not difficult. I’ll just need Uncle to perform a play with me, while Chancellor Lu and the two Master Lu keep it strictly confidential.”
“You want Uncle to bring this up during morning court, and you’ll pretend to scold him? Even demote and punish him?” Dong Qingping sighed, “I don’t mind demotion and scolding, but this can only deter temporarily, not permanently. The most secure approach is still to establish an imperial consort.”
“I want Uncle to bring up establishing an imperial consort, and I’ll refuse using the excuse that new policies are not yet settled and state affairs are not yet stable. After all, I’m now in good health. If I adopt offspring, wouldn’t this tell all nations that my body is failing? This would be detrimental to state affairs.” Bai Qingyan leaned against the hidden table, turning the teacup in her hands with a light smile, “Now is precisely when Uncle is needed. If I demote and punish Uncle, then reinstate him, even if others can’t see that we, Uncle and niece, are putting on an act, they’ll think it’s time again to bring up establishing an imperial consort or adopting offspring.”
“Your Majesty… why are you unwilling to establish an imperial consort?” Chancellor Lu bowed to Bai Qingyan before asking, “Throughout history, emperors have had precedents of using the imperial harem to restrain the previous court or form alliances with other nations. This old minister thinks that for Your Majesty’s coronation ceremony, various nations coming to offer congratulations will certainly propose marriage alliances. Could it be that Your Majesty will also politely decline? This old minister boldly speculates – is it because… as a woman, Your Majesty cannot overcome that psychological barrier?”
“It’s not quite like that.” Bai Qingyan rubbed the teacup in her hands, “To be honest with you all, my Bai family still has several younger sisters and brothers who are alive. They will return for the coronation ceremony. Even if Bai Qingyan cannot bear children, in the future, the heir apparent… can very well be selected from among the sons as a suitable person to inherit the throne. It’s not as though there are no successors.”
Chancellor Lu suddenly recalled what Lu Yuanpeng had written in his letter sent back, about accidentally encountering someone in the southern frontier who greatly resembled the Bai family’s Seventh Young Master.
But if there truly were Bai family sons alive, and Bai Qingyan was also counting her younger sisters among those who could inherit the throne, this would be fine for now. But if something unexpected truly happened, it might again plunge the capital into the whirlpool of succession struggles. Thinking of this, Chancellor Lu quickly straightened up: “If Your Majesty is thinking this way…”
“I know what Chancellor Lu is worried about.” Bai Qingyan raised her hand to signal Chancellor Lu to sit down, smiling as she said, “Just like ordinary families where brothers fight over property, Chancellor Lu fears that if I select one from among my brothers or sisters to inherit the throne in the future, it might damage the Bai family’s relationships, leading to siblings killing each other, or even the husbands and wives of brothers and sisters fighting endlessly! It would also cause court ministers with ulterior motives to take sides early, throwing the court into chaos…”