Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 149 Qingbai Secretly Appoints the Crown Prince
Fengxian Hall is located in the inner court of the imperial palace, adjacent to Yuqing Palace in the west and Ningshou Palace in the east.

In the courtyard of the Fengxian Hall, there is a "工"-shaped Sumeru pedestal. In front of the Sumeru pedestal is the front hall, which is nine bays wide and four bays deep. Behind the Sumeru pedestal is the rear hall, which is nine bays wide and two bays deep. The front hall and the rear hall are connected by a corridor, forming an "工"-shaped hall, which is integrated into one.

Fengxian Hall is the ancestral temple where the royal families of the Ming and Zhou dynasties worshipped their ancestors. Its architectural layout has remained basically unchanged from the early Ming Dynasty to the present Zhou Dynasty. Unlike other palaces in the imperial palace, Fengxian Hall has neither side halls on the left and right nor corridors around it. It is a unique courtyard layout with only an isolated main hall in the shape of the Chinese character "工".

According to the Great Zhou system, Yuan Qingbai held a grand sacrifice in the front hall of Fengxian Hall on New Year's Day not long ago. Today, Yuan Qingbai offered incense and paid respects to the great Zhou saints and queens in the back hall of Fengxian Hall.

While offering incense and paying respects, Yuan Qingbai stood in front of the tablets of Emperor Jing'an and Emperor Chengtai for a long time in deep thought...

After the ceremony, Yuan Qingbai went to the main hall of the Qianqing Palace and convened an enlarged meeting in front of the emperor.

The participants included Prince Heduan Yuan Sichun, Prince Zhonggong Yuan Siyi, Prince Qian Yuan Qingsong, Prince Rui Yuan Qingshu and many other princes, as well as many ministers headed by Tang Chengyuan and Zhan Erting.

Yuan Qingbai was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, sitting on the throne under the plaque "正大光明", looking at the princes and ministers in the hall, and suddenly said solemnly:

"On New Year's Day nine years ago, the Holy Ancestor abdicated the throne to the late emperor. Only one day later, on the third day of the first lunar month, the late emperor personally wrote an edict in front of the Holy Ancestor in the Qianqing Palace, sealed it, and kept it under the plaque of 'upright and bright', which was the decree to make me the crown prince. The late emperor also said in his will that he would still confer me the title of a county prince or a prince in the future, so that I could prepare for the position of a vassal, be familiar with political affairs, and broaden my knowledge."

"Time flies. I have been on the throne for more than ten months. It has been nine years since the last emperor ascended the throne. Although I am in my prime and strong, the foundation of the country is solid. I should establish a reserve early to prepare for unexpected events."

"I have made up my mind. Following the rules set by my ancestors and the previous emperor, today in this Qianqing Palace, with all the ministers as witnesses, I will personally write the edict on the establishment of the crown prince, seal it, and keep it under the plaque of 'upright and bright'. Today, when I was offering incense and paying homage to the emperors and queens of our Great Zhou in the Fengxian Hall, I prayed devoutly and silently for this matter, praying for the favor of heaven."

These words echoed in the huge Qianqing Palace and stirred the ears of dozens of princes and ministers like thunder, resounding and shocking them all, similar to the reaction of Empress Dowager He last night when she first heard that Yuan Qingbai wanted to secretly appoint a crown prince.

This astonishment mainly stems from two aspects.

First, Yuan Qingbai was really young, only 25 years old, and his age was counted according to his lunar age. He was also in good health, and his situation was very different from that of Emperor Chengtai. The reason why Emperor Chengtai was so anxious to establish a crown prince was mainly because he was under pressure from the retired Emperor Jing'an.

Secondly, Yuan Qingbai actually chose to adopt the method of secretly appointing the successor instead of publicly enthrone the crown prince.

However, the princes and ministers thought about it and understood. Even though Yuan Qingbai was young and strong, the world was unpredictable and he might encounter unexpected events. It was better to establish a crown prince in advance to prepare for the unexpected. After the Jing'an and Chengtai dynasties, it was a wise decision for Yuan Qingbai to secretly establish a crown prince now, and it also followed the way of Emperor Chengtai to establish a crown prince. It was not a wise move to publicly appoint a crown prince.

Establishing a crown prince is the power of the emperor. No one, not even the princes and ministers, has the right to interfere.

Moreover, with the imperial power that Yuan Qingbai currently controls, even if some princes and ministers dare to raise objections, it would be difficult to shake his decision to establish a crown prince.

So, in the presence of all the princes and ministers, Yuan Qingbai sat on the high imperial throne and personally wrote the imperial edict to establish a crown prince, in two copies.

The imperial edict read: "The third son of the emperor, Yanchen, was named by the emperor father. He is my legitimate son, born to the empress. He is intelligent and noble, gifted with extraordinary talents and bearing. The emperor's ancestors and the emperor father loved him, and I love him too. He will be made the crown prince on the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of Tianlong, to bear the heavy responsibility of the ancestral temple and the country."

Yuan Qingbai, who wrote the imperial edict himself, had a lot of thoughts in his mind. He couldn't help his emotions and his pen paused several times.

"How come it's my turn to be crowned as the heir so soon?"

"Where are my grandfather and father, who secretly appointed me as the crown prince in this Qianqing Palace?"

"Although Yan Chen seems to be a good person now, he is only seven years old after all. What will he be like when he grows up?"

"How old can I live in this life? Will I die young due to an accident? Or can I live to be 70, 80 or even 90 years old? Will Yan Chen die earlier than me in the future?"

"What will I, Emperor Tianlong, make of the Great Zhou? Will it be able to flourish on this planet as I expect?"

Yuan Qingbai had a lot of thoughts and emotions in his mind. He finally finished writing two copies of the edict on establishing a crown prince. He kept one copy for himself and sealed the other in a brocade box. It was still kept under the plaque "Zhengda Guangming" in the Qianqing Palace in front of dozens of princes and ministers who were present.

Although it was said that the succession was appointed in secret, it was not really kept secret.

Dozens of princes and ministers present at the scene almost unanimously speculated that the crown prince appointed by Yuan Qingbai this time was Yuan Yanchen.

Nevertheless, it is better to secretly appoint a crown prince this time than to appoint a crown prince openly. For example, if Yuan Qingbai wants to change the crown prince in the future, it won't be very troublesome.

In fact, Yuan Qingbai secretly appointed a crown prince not only to prepare for a rainy day, but also to keep considering the candidates for crown prince based on the growth of his sons in the future!
On that day, Yuan Qingbai issued an edict, announcing the secret appointment of the crown prince to the world.

……

……

The Yanxi Palace was He Zhenmin's sleeping palace in the imperial palace. This palace was one of the six eastern palaces and was first built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally named "Changshou Palace" and renamed "Yanqi Palace" in the 14th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt during the Jing'an period of the Great Zhou Dynasty and was renamed "Yanxi Palace" after the reconstruction, which means "welcoming blessings and inviting happiness."

At this time, He Zhenmin was staying in the warm room of the Yanx Palace, looking gloomy and depressed.

This was because she had heard the news that Yuan Qingbai had secretly appointed a crown prince today, and she also guessed that the crown prince was the third prince Yuan Yanchen, born to Queen Yuanchun. She was both envious and jealous.

So far, in addition to Empress Yuanchun, Yuan Qingbai has only five concubines. Yuanchun, Youshi, Wang Xifeng, Qin Keqing, and Lingxue have all had children, but He Zhenmin has never been pregnant.

The main reason was that He Zhenmin was not promised to Yuan Qingbai until the sixth year of Chengtai, and then met the mourning period of Emperor Jing'an and Emperor Chengtai. Moreover, He Zhenmin was not very old, and was only 19 years old.

He Zhenmin also knew that even if she had a son now, it would be difficult for her to surpass Yuan Yanchen and become the crown prince among the secret heirs today.

But she was unwilling to give up. Ever since her aunt (Empress Dowager He) arranged for her to become Yuan Qingbai's concubine, she had been thinking about helping her own son ascend to the throne and inherit the throne of the Great Zhou. This was both her ambition and her family's hope for her. In her and her family's view, this was possible, after all, Empress Dowager He was her aunt.

However, now, He Zhenmin could not help but feel unhappy and lost. Yuan Qingbai had secretly appointed Yuan Yanchen as the crown prince. Even if she gave birth to a prince in the future, it would be difficult to replace Yuan Yanchen.

It’s hard…but there is hope.

At this moment, there were only two people in the warm room, in addition to He Zhenmin, there was a middle-aged woman named Ma, called Ma Ma. Ma Ma was He Zhenmin's wet nurse, and He Zhenmin had been raised by Ma Ma since he was a baby. The master and servant were very close, and there was almost nothing they could not talk about.

Ma Ma looked around, then sneaked up to He Zhenmin, lowered her head and whispered to her, "Madam, don't be upset. It's not good to hurt yourself."

"Your Majesty only secretly appointed a crown prince, and did not publicly appoint a crown prince, even though we all know that the crown prince candidate is most likely the third prince. Because he did not appoint him publicly, the third prince would not have a share of the crown prince position!"

"I think the Third Prince doesn't seem to be able to live long. He had a serious illness last time. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of a doctor named Ye, he would have died. Even if the Third Prince escaped this disaster by luck, he might die of illness in the future. Even if he doesn't die of illness, the emperor will change the crown prince. Back then, the Holy Ancestor appointed the crown prince early, but in the end he was deposed and the late emperor became the emperor."

"Our emperor is still young and in good health. It is not a good thing for a prince to be born too early. If the emperor lives to be nearly seventy years old like the Holy Ancestor, the third prince will be over fifty by then. Besides, after so many years, are you afraid that the third prince will not commit a crime and offend the emperor?"

"From Taizu to the previous emperor, there has never been an emperor in the Great Zhou who was the legitimate son of the empress. This is the fate of the Great Zhou! If Your Majesty really appoints the third prince as the crown prince, wouldn't it be against the will of heaven? Although Your Majesty is the emperor, you cannot go against the will of heaven."

"Your Majesty, you should take good care of yourself and give birth to a prince as soon as possible. With a prince and the support of the empress dowager, the prince you give birth to will have the opportunity to become the emperor in the future. Then you will be the empress dowager of the right and proper order! You are so blessed in this life that even the queen cannot compare to you!"

Although Ma Ma had not received much education, her words made perfect sense.

He Zhenmin had thought about all of Ma's words. Even so, after hearing Ma's comfort and advice, He Zhenmin still felt benefited and thought it made a lot of sense, which relieved her depression a little.

"The most urgent thing is to get pregnant as soon as possible. Due to the mourning period, His Majesty's concubines are not allowed to get pregnant within a year, and this year is almost over. My aunt has already informed His Majesty that he will call me after a year!"

He Zhenmin pondered secretly, with a fighting spirit in his heart.

In fact, on this day, Youshi, Wang Xifeng, Qin Keqing and even Lingxue all felt jealous and had fighting spirits similar to He Zhenmin. The depth of their jealousy and the strength of their fighting spirits were different...

As for Queen Yuanchun, she was not very happy because Yuan Yanchen was not openly appointed as the Crown Prince, but she was not disappointed either.

The atmosphere at Rongguo Mansion on this Lantern Festival was rather bad, and Lady Jia, Mrs. Wang and others were disappointed.

(End of this chapter)