Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 487. Death of Cao Pi
“…ha…uh…”

Cao Pi became more and more disappointed, his voice became smaller and smaller, and his words became more and more difficult to understand. He seemed to understand Cao Cao's thoughts back then.

Although Cao Cao loved his younger brother Cao Zhi very much, Cao Zhi often did some ridiculous things that made Cao Cao furious, so in the end Cao Zhi lost Cao Cao's favor because of a series of wrongdoings.

Cao Pi now felt the same way about Cao Li. A feeling of disappointment and anger welled up in his heart, but the increasing pain in his brain made his thoughts slowly fade away. He just felt angry instinctively, but he could no longer organize his words or even his thoughts.

As Cao Pi's consciousness slowly faded, Cao Li became anxious and began to take action, and all he did was to force Cao Pi to put his handprint on the throne so that he could ascend the throne.

Unfortunately, Cao Pi's eyes became increasingly confused, his pupils slowly dilated, and his arms drooped weakly.

"Marquis Yuancheng, Marquis Yuancheng, your majesty is already seriously ill and cannot stand being shaken like this!"

The imperial physician at the side reminded Cao Li out of his sense of responsibility as a doctor, and Cao Li woke up as if from a dream. He realized that in addition to the imperial physician, his brothers were also staring at him with strange eyes, and Cao Pi, who was shaking constantly, was only breathing out but not breathing in.

"Father, father!"

Cao Li quickly put on a grief-stricken expression, and took advantage of the situation to hug Cao Pi, looking like a father and son with deep affection, but it was a pity that everyone present was a fox spirit, and you were acting out a story from Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio here? Everyone saw clearly how Cao Pi was almost shaken to pieces, but due to Cao Li's status, no one dared to say anything.

"Marquis Yuancheng, please allow me to sort things out for Your Majesty."

The imperial physician saw that Cao Pi's pupils seemed to be dilated and knew that something might be wrong, so he quickly asked Cao Li to move aside so that he could take a closer look.

Cao Li nodded blankly, helped Cao Pi back to the couch, and let the imperial physician continue to take his pulse.

The imperial physician took a closer look at Cao Pi and knew that it was most likely over. Cao Pi's pupils were dilated, his breathing was almost nonexistent, he had no breath at all, and it was obvious that he was going to die.

However, the imperial physician still placed his hand on Cao Pi's pulse, and only after feeling that Cao Pi's pulse had stopped did he dare to confirm it thoroughly.

"Your Highnesses, Your Majesty...Your Majesty has passed away."

The imperial physician stood up and announced the bad news to several kings and dukes with a sad face.

"Father--!"

The younger Handan King Cao Yong couldn't control his emotions and burst into tears. His crying was like a signal, and his brothers started crying as well. The calmer ones cried with their sleeves covered, while the younger ones burst into tears.

"Your Highnesses, please accept my condolences. The most urgent matter is..."

The imperial physician said a few words of comfort. He originally wanted to say that it was summer now and the heat was unbearable, which was very unfavorable for storing Cao Pi's body, so it would be best to bury him early to avoid decay.

"Doctor Wang, please don't make the news of my father's death public for the time being." Cao Li suddenly looked up and stopped the imperial physician, actually wanting to keep the death a secret for the time being.

"Ah?! This..."

The imperial physician looked grim. Since Cao Li said so, it must be related to the topic of succession, which he didn't want to touch at all. He, a small imperial physician, didn't want to get involved at all. If he got involved with no power or influence, he would probably be crushed to pieces in a moment.

However, Cao Li obviously had the situation under control, and this was also the consensus of the other descendants of the Cao family. They could not let this outsider who was most likely to leak the news leave. Moreover, he would be needed as the authority to announce Cao Pi's death, so they could not kill him immediately and could only lock him up in the palace for the time being.

"Yes, I obey your command."

Doctor Wang's face turned bitter. He had heard before that Jingzhou was recruiting famous doctors for exchange and teaching. He had wanted to go, but he was reluctant to give up the high position and generous salary of an imperial physician. If he had known that he would encounter such a thing, he would definitely tell himself a year ago that he would go south to Jiangling no matter what.

Several descendants of the Cao family also nodded with gloomy faces. In any case, this was an internal matter of the Cao family, and they all had the same stance on this.

However, they were divided over who should succeed the throne, because Cao Pi did not formally appoint a successor before his death. When Cao Li pressed Cao Pi to answer, Cao Pi did not give a clear answer, which meant that legally speaking, the Wei Kingdom now had no successor.

Cao Li was privately designated as the heir? Who said that? Is there any official proof? No? That doesn't count. After all, these private "tacit consent" is not official endorsement. Now the descendants of the Cao family are all ready to make a move. Although the probability is not high, what if? What if they can really take over the throne by chance?
This is just like buying lottery tickets and drawing a prize. What matters is the mentality of "what if?" What if you win the prize, what if you get the lucky draw... what if you get lucky and become the emperor?
"The most urgent thing is to ask all the officials in the court to come and discuss this matter. If it is delayed for too long, I am afraid that there will be unrest in the Wei Dynasty."

Cao Li noticed that there was something wrong in the looks of his brothers, so he immediately made a decision and wanted to summon ministers from the court to support him.

Such a major event is indeed not something that the Cao family can resolve on their own. In addition, unlike the original timeline, Cao Pi in the original timeline still had time to select several ministers to assist Cao Rui at that time.

But now, because of the sudden fright and cerebral hemorrhage, he could not even speak clearly. How could he have the time to find a minister to entrust his son to? In addition, after Cao Pi woke up, he could not even speak clearly, so it was impossible for him to make arrangements for his funeral. He could only let his sons fly around like headless flies.

In the end, the brothers issued an edict under the pretext of Cao Pi's order and invited the three dukes and several important officials to enter the palace to prepare for the meeting.

But who in Luoyang is not a shrewd person? Before, all the princes entered the palace at the same time, and now several important officials have been summoned. Anyone with a little bit of brains knows that something must have happened to the person in the palace, but they are still too conservative and dare not think that Cao Pi has passed away for a while.

Now the succession is complicated and confusing, and several descendants of the Cao family have begun to quarrel in front of their father's body. At first, they quarreled over the issue of inheritance rights, but as time went on, even the black material of fighting and getting into trouble when they were young began to be pulled out, making the scene a little chaotic for a while.

Finally, Queen Guo, who received the news, came and stopped the quarrel among Cao's sons.

It is interesting to say that although Empress Guo is now the empress, in fact, Empress Guo has never given birth to any sons or daughters for Cao Pi. In other words, the Cao family sons present have no relationship with Empress Guo in a strict sense. Empress Guo is now only the mother in name, but in fact she is a complete "outsider".

Faced with the somewhat dissatisfied and resentful eyes of Cao's sons, Queen Guo was a little flustered, but she still calmed down and spoke out to stop them.

"Your father has just passed away, and instead of thinking about how to bury him and let him rest in peace, you quarreled in front of him. No one cares about his body. How disgraceful!"

(End of this chapter)