Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran was afraid that Qi Xiuyuan would go back on his word, so he did not make this news public after leaving the room. Instead, he secretly looked for Zijin and Ah Ling to discuss it. "Let’s not tell Little Treasure and the rest about this first. We’ll talk about it when Big Brother is certain of that decision."
Fan Zijin looked at him speechlessly and said, "You should strike while the iron is hot to prevent him from going back on his word. Why are you doing the opposite?"
Qi Haoran stared at him in silence.
One was his big brother, and the other was his nephew. Of course, he had to stand on his big brother’s side when considering the issue.
Mu Yangling coughed lightly and said, "Let’s listen to Big Brother."
Qi Haoran imdiately turned to glare at her. "You’re the one who started this."
Mu Yangling glared back at him without any fear. "I did that for Big Brother’s sake, right? Other than being a general, he’s been an Emperor all his life. For the sake of Great Qi, he’s ruined his health. A person can’t just work non-stop in his life. Even you know to retire and travel the world. Can’t you let him take a break?"
Mu Yangling said, "How many years has it been since Big Brother joined the army at the age of 14?"
Considering Qi Xiuyuan had worked for such a long ti, it was inevitable that he would be tired. Mu Yangling didn’t believe that there was anyone in this world who could work continuously without feeling exhaustion. After all, even machines had to stop and be oiled.
Moreover, despite Qi Xiuyuan’s lackluster health, he had to wake up extrely early every day to attend the court eting. Other than reviewing the morials, he would discuss state affairs with the ministers every day. At most, he would take a walk in the imperial garden and go to the temporary imperial residence to avoid the sumr heat for two months.
Even when he went there to avoid the sumr heat, he couldn’t purely rest because there were still many national affairs to deal with every day. Since even she could see the gloom in Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes, how could Qi Haoran not have noticed it?
Qi Haoran opened his mouth and finally said, "Even so, we can’t announce this matter so quickly. We have to wait until Big Brother recovers."
Ultimately, he was still afraid that his big brother would regret it.
After looking at Qi Haoran and then at Mu Yangling, Fan Zijin decisively moved to Qi Haoran’s side.
Mu Yangling nodded and said, "We’ll talk about this after Big Brother wakes up."
In the hall, Qi Xiuyuan was ntally going through everything that had happened in his life and considering what he would do after abdicating.
Perhaps because his state of mind had relaxed, Qi Xiuyuan gradually recovered from the illness which had dragged on for two months. After only one night, he could get out of bed.
For the first ti since his illness, Qi Xiuyuan felt hungry. When he sat up, he heard soone knocking on the door.
It was Little Treasure who ca in. Qi Xiuyuan raised his brows and couldn’t help but size up his son’s expression. However, he saw him go forward with concern and ask, "Daddy, how are you?"
Qi Xiuyuan was in a daze. After Wenchen grew up, he rarely called him daddy anymore. These days, he addressed him as Royal Father. When the family was together, he would call him Father.
"Father?" Little Treasure saw that he was in a daze and quickly went forward to support him with concern.
Qi Xiuyuan patted his hand and said, "I’m fine. I’m just hungry."
Little Treasure imdiately said, "I’ll bring you food."
Eunuch Wan had been waiting outside for a long ti. When he heard the commotion inside, he imdiately asked soone to bring breakfast over. After looking around, Little Treasure only took a bowl of porridge and a small plate of pickled vegetables.
Eunuch Wan opened his mouth. It then occurred to him that the Emperor had been sick for two months and had not eaten much these few days. Indeed, he could not eat too much at the mont.
Little Treasure personally served Qi Xiuyuan breakfast. Qi Xiuyuan looked at his son and heaved a sigh of relief. "You don’t have to co for the ti being. You should focus on making preparations since this is the biggest event since the founding of our dynasty. When the ti cos, we’ll invite the envoys of Great Yuan and Later Xia to attend the ceremony. Don’t embarrass our Great Qi."
Stunned, Little Treasure asked in a daze, "What is it?"
Qi Xiuyuan looked at him seriously for a while. After confirming that he really didn’t know anything, he asked in surprise, "Your Fourth Uncle didn’t look for you last night?"
"Fourth Uncle was already very tired after rushing back overnight. In addition, he had been by Royal Father’s side for so long, so I didn’t disturb him."
Qi Xiuyuan was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. ’Shouldn’t Haoran be treating such an important matter as the abdication with more importance? Shouldn’t he inform everyone imdiately so that everyone can look up to ?’
Qi Xiuyuan shouted angrily, "Soone, call King Rong over."
Qi Haoran rushed back worriedly and did not sleep well at all. Now that Qi Xiuyuan’s condition had improved, his heart was put to ease and he was sound asleep with his arms wrapped around Mu Yangling at the mont.
Hearing the commotion outside, he couldn’t help but hamr the bed fra angrily. When he heard that it was the Emperor calling for him, he got up and put on his clothes. Still, he grumbled in dissatisfaction, "I’ve just fallen asleep."
"Could he be looking for you to talk about the abdication matter?"
Only then did Qi Haoran dare not delay. He put on his clothes and ran to the main hall.
As soon as he entered, a pillow was thrown in his direction. Qi Xiuyuan snapped angrily, "How’s the preparation going along regarding the matter I instructed you last night?"
Qi Haoran imdiately said, "I haven’t started preparing, Big Brother. I have to seek confirmation considering it’s such a big matter, right?"
"I’m very sober. You don’t have to confirm it repeatedly." Not at all appreciative of his thoughtfulness, Qi Xiuyuan pointed at Little Treasure and said, "Coincidentally, the Crown Prince is here. You can discuss it with him."
Qi Haoran muttered, "Aren’t I doing this for your own good?"
Little Treasure asked curiously, "Fourth Uncle, what exactly did Royal Father ask you to do?"
Qi Haoran coughed lightly and looked at his big brother. Seeing that he kept a straight face and didn’t say anything, he said to Little Treasure seriously, "Your Royal Father intends to abdicate his throne to you."
Little Treasure’s mouth fell open, and his mind went blank.
Qi Haoran understandingly stepped forward and patted his shoulder. "Take your ti."
Little Treasure was still in a daze at first, but when he heard Fourth Uncle’s words, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He turned to look at his father and was about to decline when Qi Xiuyuan raised his hand to stop him. "Alright, don’t say anything else. I’ve made up my mind. Go and prepare."
Little Treasure was stunned for a while. In the end, he knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed to his father three tis before retreating.
Little Treasure went to look for Little Bear in a daze. He sat in front of him for a long ti before saying, "Royal Father wants to abdicate the throne to ."
Little Bear was in the midst of eating breakfast and was curious why Little Treasure was sitting there without saying anything. When he heard this, his eyes widened in surprise. Then, he chewed the food in his mouth and swallowed it. After a while, he nodded and said, "Right. So you’re going to be the Emperor."
Little Treasure was unwilling to believe that Little Bear was calr than him. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he chose not to say anything. However, he turned his head to look outside and wondered how the courtiers would react when they heard this news.
After finishing his breakfast, Little Bear only stopped to rub his face when he walked out of the East Palace. He turned around and smiled at Little Treasure. "I didn’t sleep well these few days. I actually fell asleep while eating just now and even had a dream. I dread that you told that Royal Uncle wanted to abdicate his throne to you. I was so shocked."
Little Treasure burst out laughing. Looking at Little Bear, he laughed out loud. "Looking at how abnormally calm you were, I thought you learned that from Fourth Aunt. Turns out that’s not the case."
Little Bear opened his mouth wide. "So it’s true?"
The courtiers’ reaction was much greater than Little Bear’s. As soon as the news spread, their first reaction was, "The Crown Prince couldn’t wait for the Emperor to die. He actually usurped the throne and forced His Majesty to abdicate!"
When they ca back to their senses, they realized that it was impossible. The Emperor and the Crown Prince did not have much conflict, and the Crown Prince had always been filial. How was it possible that he usurped the throne just like that?
Moreover, the Emperor was not in good health, and his condition was rather life-threatening this ti. Considering the Emperor probably didn’t have that many more years left to live, the Crown Prince needn’t take such a risk.
Regardless, everyone entered the palace with suspicion.
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