Imperial Study

Chu Hongyu sat alone on the dragon throne, his small frame dwarfed by the imposing seat that diminished his presence.

Four regent ministers stood below.

“I have summoned you all here to discuss the matter of dispatching troops for the eastern campaign,” Chu Hongyu said with a furrowed brow.

After news of his father’s disappearance had been sent back, everyone at the time had said his father was dead and demanded troops be dispatched to exact revenge, to flatten the Eastern Mausoleum Kingdom in retaliation.

But later, after his imperial grandfather passed away, no one mentioned the matter again.

He was truly worried about his father and wanted to dispatch troops as soon as possible.

“In response to Your Majesty, this matter may prove somewhat difficult,” Grand Preceptor Xu sighed and spoke. “During every dynastic succession of imperial power, there are always internal troubles and external threats. Dispatching troops for an eastern campaign at this time would leave the capital vulnerable and could cause unnecessary problems.”

Minister Zhou nodded. “Moreover, of those one hundred fifty thousand troops from before, only twenty thousand were lost. The remaining one hundred thirty thousand can still battle the Eastern Mausoleum Kingdom.”

Minister Qiu followed up, “Your Majesty is young and does not understand the stakes involved. Furthermore, Your Majesty has not yet held the formal enthronement ceremony. It would be better to discuss this matter after the enthronement.”

Grand Secretary Li, the Chief Minister, remained silent without speaking.

Having reached the position of Chief Minister, he was naturally not someone without cunning or depth. He could see clearly that aside from him, the other three were all the Regent Prince’s lackeys.

He couldn’t understand how Grand Preceptor Xu, such a loyal minister, could collude with the Regent Prince.

Of the five regent ministers, he alone was loyal to the young emperor. His voice was suppressed, and whether he spoke or not made little difference.

“What is Your Majesty doing?” Chu Rui suddenly pushed open the door and entered, bowing as he said, “When the late emperor was on his deathbed, he ordered this minister to assist Your Majesty. Your Majesty summons everyone to discuss matters but does not invite this minister to attend. Does Your Majesty believe this minister is unworthy of being a regent?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Imperial Study fell silent, and an oppressive force bore down directly on Chu Hongyu.

Chief Minister Li’s expression turned cold. For someone to speak so harshly to a child—the Regent Prince was being far too presumptuous.

He was just about to speak out when he heard the young emperor say, “I saw that the Regent Prince handles so many matters every day and is too tired, so I deliberately did not have the Regent Prince come to this discussion.”

His soft, wheedling tone caused Chu Rui’s expression to soften somewhat. “Working for the court is this minister’s duty.”

“But you must also rest well,” Chu Hongyu jumped down from the dragon throne. “Keeping vigil and mourning every day is so exhausting. I must return to rest. Do as you please.”

He yawned and stepped out of the Imperial Study, followed by a large group of palace maids and eunuchs.

These palace servants had all been carefully selected by Imperial Consort Yin. The blood relatives of these people were all held in Imperial Consort Yin’s grasp, so at the very least they could not be bought off.

Chu Rui turned to look at Chief Minister Li and said, “The imperial edicts regarding the titles for the imperial princes and princesses in the palace, and the edicts conferring titles on the dowager consorts and empress dowager—Grand Secretary Li must put great effort into these matters.”

Chief Minister Li nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Although he was a first-rank Chief Minister, a close minister to the Son of Heaven and arguably the most powerful minister, before the Regent Prince who controlled the court, he was still a step below.

After the late emperor’s body had lain in state for seven times seven, forty-nine days, it was already deep autumn, and the weather grew increasingly cold.

The new sovereign, accompanied by civil and military officials and members of the imperial family, escorted the late emperor into the imperial mausoleum to be buried alongside the late empress. After the funeral rites concluded, the enthronement ceremony of the Son of Heaven immediately followed.

The enthronement ceremony of the Son of Heaven lasted an entire morning.

After Chu Hongyu ascended to the imperial throne, Chief Minister Li then read the imperial edicts:

The new emperor’s father, Chu Yi, was conferred the title of Great Emperor and given the posthumous title Emperor Shizong.

The new emperor’s mother consort, Lady Yun Shi, was conferred the title of Empress Dowager and would reside in Kangning Palace.

The new sovereign’s younger sister was conferred the title of Eldest Princess, and the new sovereign’s younger brother was conferred the title of Prince of Yan, both to remain in the palace until coming of age.

The imperial princes were conferred the title of prince and granted fiefs and princely residences, to go to their fiefs upon reaching adulthood.

The imperial princesses were granted princess titles, and suitable marriages were bestowed upon those of appropriate age.

The dowager consorts were granted titles and would reside in the Dowager Consorts’ Palace…

After this entire set of elaborate ceremonies, it was already afternoon.

The first day ended in such exhaustion.

As soon as Chu Hongyu arrived at Kangning Palace, he removed the ceremonial crown from his head and complained, “It’s so heavy! The dragon robe is so heavy! Mother, being emperor truly isn’t something a human can endure.”

Chu Changsheng hurriedly placed the ceremonial crown in its proper position. “Elder brother, this ceremonial crown was crafted by hundreds of artisans over seven times seven, forty-nine days. It’s extremely precious—don’t damage it.”

Just as she finished speaking, a chubby little hand reached over and grabbed onto a small bead.

“Jue’er, let go,” Yun Chu deliberately put on a stern face. “If you don’t listen, I’ll spank your bottom. Quickly let go, don’t damage it.”

The little one pouted and reluctantly released his grip.

“Look at you, little rascal,” Chu Hongyu lightly tapped the chubby hand. “You’re the Prince of Yan now. You can’t be so ignorant anymore, understand?”

The little one had no idea what Prince of Yan meant. His chubby hand lifted and swung, slapping Chu Hongyu across the face.

“You little brat!” Chu Hongyu was furious. “Do you know who I am? I’m the emperor now! You just attacked the emperor! Do you know what crime that is?!”

“Hehe, yah yah—”

Jue’er thought they were playing and slapped his brother’s face again.

Chu Hongyu: “…”

He must be the most good-tempered emperor under heaven.

Chu Changsheng couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“That’s enough from you.” Yun Chu grabbed her younger son’s restless hands. “Be good and drink your congee. Stop making trouble.”

The wet nurse quickly came over to carry the little one away to feed him congee.

“Tomorrow is your first morning court session. Go to bed early tonight,” Yun Chu said seriously. “I’ve arranged for Amao to be your personal bodyguard. The guards in Yangxin Hall are all secret guards your father left behind. You don’t need to worry about anyone plotting against you. Sleep peacefully.”

Chu Hongyu pouted. “Yangxin Hall is so far from Kangning Palace. Mother, I don’t even want to live in Yangxin Hall anymore.”

Chu Changsheng watched the excitement without concern for the consequences. “Kunning Palace is closer to Kangning Palace. If elder brother takes an empress, he could conveniently live in Kunning Palace.”

Chu Hongyu: “…”

He was a child not yet eight years old—wasn’t taking an empress a bit too early?!

He said indignantly, “Changsheng, after you come of age, you’ll have to move to the Eldest Princess’s residence. Hmph, by then even entering the palace once won’t be easy for you.”

Chu Changsheng countered, “When Father returns, you won’t be emperor anymore. Let’s see if you’re still so arrogant then!”

At the mention of Chu Yi, the expressions of the several people in the room became slightly downcast.

Even though they didn’t believe Chu Yi was dead, with no news for so long, even if he wasn’t dead, he was probably…

“The first thing I’ll do when court opens tomorrow is dispatch reinforcement troops,” Chu Hongyu clenched his fists. “If he’s alive, I want to see him; if he’s dead, I want to see his corpse. I will definitely bring Father back to the capital!”

“Good child.” Yun Chu stroked his head. “But you must also understand that you are the new emperor with an unstable foundation. It’s very difficult to shake the opinions of the vast majority. When most people oppose something, table it for future discussion. Don’t be hasty.”

Nearly two months had passed since Chu Yi’s incident.

Yun Chu had gone from her initial frantic anxiety to gradually calming down now… Her father had already sent people to the eastern front to investigate…