The cold wind on the journey back to Yangxin Palace cleared Emperor Jingming’s mind, making him somewhat regret his hasty agreement in Kunning Palace. However, an emperor’s word was as good as gold, and there was no taking it back. Regret aside, he still needed to consider the matter at hand.
Emperor Jingming began his deliberations with the eldest prince, Prince Qin. Prince Qin was his adopted son, and as a normal person with his interests at heart, given that he had a long line of biological sons, he had never considered handing the throne to an adopted child. While Prince Qin held the position of “eldest,” maintaining the status quo was one thing, but if he were to be recorded under the Empress’s name and gain the status of “legitimate,” it would only create trouble for himself. Prince Qin was completely out of consideration.
Next was the fourth son, Prince Qi. The fourth prince was born to Noble Consort Xian, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to give him to the Empress. As for the fifth prince—thinking of Noble Consort Ning’s fiery temper, Emperor Jingming silently shook his head. If he were to give the fifth prince to the Empress, what if he, as the Emperor, was struck by Noble Consort Ning in a fit of rage? He couldn’t bear such humiliation!
The sixth prince’s mother was Noble Consort Zhuang. Although Zhuang was gentle and quiet, she would surely cry and make a fuss if her only son were given to the Empress. He feared being hit by a consort and losing face, but he also dreaded a consort’s tears and wailing.
With this in mind, the fifth and sixth princes were also out of consideration.
This left only the seventh prince, Prince Yan, and the eighth prince, Prince Xiang.
Emperor Jingming first thought of Prince Xiang. The eighth prince’s birth mother, Consort Li, was of humble origins. Even if he were given to the Empress, she wouldn’t dare to make a sound, let alone cry. This would save him a lot of trouble.
Thus, the eighth prince seemed quite suitable. The old emperor felt no shame in picking the easiest option, nodding as he thought of Prince Xiang.
However, this was a significant matter, and he couldn’t just decide like that. So, Emperor Jingming also considered Yu Jin, the seventh prince.
The seventh prince was born to Noble Consort Xian, but this could be overlooked. Given Xian’s attitude towards her son, she probably wouldn’t miss having one less child.
The seventh prince could also be considered.
Emperor Jingming wasn’t very optimistic about Yu Jin. The seventh prince was fine in many aspects, but having grown up outside the palace, his temperament seemed a bit too wild. There was always the worry that the boy would cause trouble every other day.
In comparison, Prince Xiang was more to Emperor Jingming’s liking.
Emperor Jingming sat in contemplation for half a day. By the time he attended court the next day, his mind was still in chaos. The seventh or the eighth prince—which one to choose?
The court officials noticed the emperor’s frequent distractions. The usual scene of them arguing red-faced and neck-veined as if in a marketplace over a single issue did not occur, and the court session ended smoothly.
Seeing this, Emperor Jingming even began to consider whether he should pretend to be lost in thought with a stern face in the future to gain some peace.
Of course, he couldn’t have peace now. The matter raised by the Empress was like a huge boulder weighing on his mind; he wouldn’t be able to relax until it was settled.
After much deliberation, Emperor Jingming asked Pan Hai to summon Yu Jin and Prince Xiang to the palace.
The princes’ mansions were close to each other, so they arrived at the palace at about the same time, meeting at the imperial city gate.
“Seventh Brother, what a coincidence,” said Prince Xiang. He had placed his bets on Prince Qi, so naturally, he didn’t have much goodwill towards Yu Jin, and his tone lacked warmth. In his view, a prince who hadn’t even received a proper royal education should be keeping a low profile, but the seventh prince was just the opposite. Not only did he escape punishment for his provocations, but he was now even more prominent than himself.
Thinking of this, even without any other reasons, Prince Xiang couldn’t bring himself to like Yu Jin.
Yu Jin nodded reservedly, “Indeed, quite a coincidence.”
Prince Xiang’s mouth twitched, deeply regretting his chattiness. He shouldn’t have initiated the greeting; now this wild child was acting reserved in front of him.
With this, the two had nothing more to say and were led by the eunuchs to see Emperor Jingming.
As Prince Xiang bowed, he was secretly surprised: the Empress was also present.
They were princes, and it wasn’t unusual for them to pay respects to the Empress, but that was usually during festivals. Ordinarily, they would at most visit their birth mothers. Why were they meeting the Empress today?
What was going on?
Compared to Prince Xiang’s confusion, Yu Jin understood much more.
It seemed his arrangements had worked. Not only had the Empress had thoughts, but she had also already laid her cards on the table with the Emperor.
Yu Jin felt he hadn’t misjudged her. The Empress appeared magnanimous and uncontentious on the surface, but she was tough on the inside. Once she made a decision, she would act swiftly and decisively.
If the plan succeeded, it would be a pleasure to work with such an “ally.”
Yu Jin saw through this. He and the Empress obviously couldn’t have a deep mother-son relationship; it was just a partnership.
But there was nothing wrong with a relationship based solely on interests. He was a man of his word. Now that the Empress was lending him a helping hand, even though he couldn’t treat her as a true mother, he would give her due respect and take good care of Princess Fuqing.
Yu Jin was very satisfied with the Empress, but not so much with Emperor Jingming.
Huh, after all that consideration, the old emperor had included the eighth prince? Shouldn’t he be the only choice?
Thinking this, Yu Jin suddenly felt angry, inwardly cursing Emperor Jingming for his lack of discernment.
“Seventh son, what are you thinking about?” Seeing Yu Jin not saying much, while Prince Xiang was chatting and joking nearby, Emperor Jingming couldn’t help but ask.
He had summoned both the seventh and eighth princes to the palace today and invited the Empress to observe them more closely.
Although Emperor Jingming was leaning slightly towards Prince Xiang, seeing Yu Jin unable to even make conversation, he felt somewhat frustrated. Didn’t this foolish boy know how crucial today was? Being this stupid was worrying.
As this thought flashed through his mind, looking at the smiling and chatting Prince Xiang again, Emperor Jingming inexplicably felt a hint of disgust. Come to think of it, given their status, it would be more appropriate to be more reserved.
When asked by Emperor Jingming, Yu Jin replied, “Your son was thinking about how Thirteenth Sister is doing.”
Hearing this, Emperor Jingming was relatively unmoved, but the Empress’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.
It must be Prince Yan!
She had already been inclined towards Prince Yan, but out of concern for the Emperor’s thoughts, she hadn’t dared to express it too much. She had even considered settling for Prince Xiang if the Emperor favored him. After all, Prince Xiang’s birth mother was of humble origins, and even if he were to ascend to that position in the future, there would be no fear of Consort Li causing trouble for her.
But now, the Empress had made up her mind: she wanted Prince Yan as her son!
The incident of Princess Fuqing’s danger at Xuande Tower, even if the princes didn’t know about it at the time, should have reached their ears by now. Yet Prince Xiang, after entering, had said a bunch of flattering words without mentioning Fuqing once.
How could she expect such a brother to truly protect Fuqing in the future?
Looking at Prince Yan again, he had barely spoken since entering, but his first words were to ask about Fuqing, showing that he had been pondering who might have harmed Fuqing all these days.
After some more conversation, the two princes were dismissed, leaving Prince Xiang completely bewildered.
“What are your thoughts, Empress?” Yesterday, the Empress wouldn’t have dared to say anything, but today was different. Since the Emperor had called her to meet the two princes, it wouldn’t be overstepping to share a few thoughts.
“I don’t have any particular thoughts, just that Prince Yan seems quite concerned about Fuqing.”
She was just a mother wholeheartedly considering her daughter’s interests.
Emperor Jingming’s gaze deepened as he slowly said, “I’ll think about it some more.”