Chapter 172

Everyone in the capital was focused on who would be the successor.

The Jingguo Duke’s Xiao clan was the busiest.

The crown prince’s death naturally made them completely heartbroken, but they would also be happy to see his heir ascend the throne. If their Xiao clan could have an empress dowager, they would still be the emperor’s clan. Their Jingguo Duke Estate would still be the biggest winner.

The Xiao clan secretly instigated court officials to frequently send petitions. Of course, some were in favor and some were opposed. A group of officials headed by Minister Xu were among those who did not approve of this.

This was because the crown prince’s sons were all too young. A child emperor would be easily influenced by his relatives, and there would also be the Xiao clan’s empress dowager behind him. At that point, perhaps the dynasty’s surname would end up being changed.

These days the court was filled with debate and arguments about this issue.

Emperor Xi was seriously ill, and the two senior ministers took charge of the court. But these two ministers were arguing amongst themselves as well, so the court was inevitably a mess.

At this moment, a low-ranked imperial censor from the capital’s investigation bureau spoke up.

This imperial censor was called Guan Zheng, and was a relatively unknown person in the investigation bureau. But what he proposed this time shook the entire court. Guan Zheng’s proposal mentioned two things. One was that the fifth prince Luo Jing’s muteness had been cured long ago, and he was merely taciturn. Not many people knew about this. The second was that under his management, the Jing Province had long since transformed from a barren province to one where the commoners lived happily and peacefully. They all praised him as a great vassal prince.

Of course, there were those who asked how he knew about the situation so clearly. After investigating Guan Zheng’s background, they realized that this Guan Zheng used to be the left adjutant of the Jing Province, and had only finished his posting less than two years ago.

What was previously only one choice now became two. Those who opposed a young successor all shifted their gaze upon the previously obscure location: the Jing Province.

Once they obtained more information, the voices calling for the Jing Prince started growing louder.

Empress Xiao and the Jingguo Duke’s side started panicking once again.

But the situation didn’t remain this way for long. Emperor Xi soon gave the order to summon the Jing Prince back to the capital.

The meaning of this was self-evident.

*

Actually, no one was aware of how hesitant Emperor Xi had been to summon the Jing Prince back to the capital.

Even the Zhenguo Duke had been called into the palace.

“Uncle Mao Shan, what do you think of old fifth?”

This question was very hard to answer. The Zhenguo Duke muttered to himself for a moment before saying: “From the debate in court over the past few days, this fifth highness seems to be a pretty good candidate. He’s just a little repressed and had always remained unknown. People only found out about him recently.”

Wasn’t that obvious? If people knew about him earlier, the grass on top of his grave would probably be knee-high already.

This wasn’t what Emperor Xi really wanted to ask, but the Zhenguo Duke was too vigilant and refused to follow up. Emperor Xi was helpless and could only speak again: “Old fourth that child is also pretty good. His appearance is just a little undignified.”

The Zhenguo Duke nodded and said: “It is a little, and he’s also a little unambitious. Everything revolves around his wife for him.”

Emperor Xi was a little uncomfortable from being choked up, “Does Uncle Mao Shan not wish for old fourth to take Our place?”

“This old official is naturally considering what’s best for the nation. The fourth prince isn’t steady enough. His strong points are extremely obvious but his drawbacks are also extremely obvious. Majesty should reconsider.” The Zhenguo Duke paused and spoke again: “Majesty has already long since come to a decision, right? Why hesitate?”

This decision wasn’t made prior to this matter. It was made several years ago when Emperor Xi ruled out the Yun Prince Luo Huai Yuan. Not only was Luo Huai Yuan’s personality not suited to be the monarch of a nation, there were other complicated reasons. The Shen household was also part of the reason.

The Zhenguo Duke understood this and Emperor Xi understood as well. Although the two didn’t discuss things outright, they had a tacit understanding.

It’s just that times were different now. Only the fourth prince and fifth prince remained as suitable candidates. The Luo surname needed to remain in power, and cannot be changed to Xiao. No matter how much the court was in favor of the crown prince’s son, Emperor Xi wouldn’t permit such a thing to happen. Compared to the unknown fifth prince, Emperor Xi was naturally leaning more towards old fourth who had left an impression on him before. Unfortunately, without even considering his personality, Emperor Xi was very conflicted since Luo Huai Yuan had married Yan Yan.

To put it plainly, it was because of the Shen household.

Emperor Xi had always been guarded against in-laws becoming too influential. He was afraid of the Xiao clan, but wouldn’t he be afraid of the Shen household? Of course, their natures were different. However, in the eyes of a monarch, they were still the same.

The Zhenguo Duke actually understood Emperor Xi’s feelings. Ultimately, he was just uneasy. Something that was most important to him was now out of his control. Anyone would be unsettled.

The Jing Prince was the source of Emperor Xi’s unease.

The prosperity of the nation was the most important. Emperor Xi had to consider the Grand Xi’s future but he knew extremely little about the Jing Prince.

After a long, long time, Emperor Xi sighed and wearily waved his hand for the Zhenguo Duke to leave.

In the tenth month of the thirty-fifth year of the Xi Calendar, the emperor summoned the fifth prince Luo Jing back to the capital. The next chapter of the Grand Xi Nation began.

*

Actually, the same problem had occurred between the Jing Prince and Luo Huai Yuan.

The two of them worked together to screw over the people in the capital. The crown prince and Jin Prince were screwed to death, and many of the noble households were also screwed bloody. The two of them were clear of remaining mess.

Emperor Xi wouldn’t allow a young monarch to appear. Therefore, the successor could only be chosen from one of the remaining princes. The Qi Prince had been involved in the rebellion and had also lost an arm. He was naturally not qualified. Thus, there was only the Yun Prince and the Jing Prince left.

Luo Huai Yuan was extremely clear about his own status. He had been the one who ordered his people to take advantage of the chaos to cripple the Qi Prince’s arm. After the matter, he had told the Jing Prince it was to remove any future problems.

The Jing Prince had wondered if the Yun Prince was having some thoughts, but he didn’t raise any objections to this. The two had worked together for a while and understood each other’s personalities. Even if the Yun Prince ascended the throne, he definitely wouldn’t make things difficult for him. They both knew each other’s bottom lines.

Who would have thought that the Yun Prince was merely clearing the obstacles for him?

Luo Huai Yuan put it in a very rascally manner. He told the Jing Prince right away that he was going to be taking it easy in the future. He had long since planned on taking his wife and children to travel around. He told the Jing Prince not to hassle him about remaining in his vassal state in the future.

The meaning was extremely clear, and signified one thing….

This mess will be left for you to deal with.

Afterwards, Luo Huai Yuan also gave the Jing Prince an “ideological lecture”.

It ranged from the situation in the capital to Emperor Xi’s health to the responsibilities of those surnamed Luo. The wellbeing of the citizens and even the good of the nation was brought up.

Regardless, he was an extreme rascal who seemed to have forgotten he was also surnamed Luo. He made it sound like the Jing Prince was the only one remaining surnamed Luo, and if he didn’t shoulder the responsibility, he would be letting everyone down.

After leaving behind these words, Luo Huai Yuan happily took Yan Yan and the rest back to the Yun Province, leaving behind the Jing Prince who was speechless for a long time.

*

The Xiao clan and Empress Xiao naturally wouldn’t just stand by and watch the Jing Prince pick up the pieces. Along with the emperor’s edict, several deathsworn assasins from the Xiao clan headed towards the Jing Province.

The Xiao clan was burning their boats. They would succeed or die trying. They weren’t able to watch as the unknown Jing Prince succeeded. Unfortunately, they had underestimated his influence. How could someone who stirred up the capital be afraid of mere assassins?

There were numerous assassins hidden in ambush on the road from the Jing Prince Estate to the capital. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to prevent the Jing Prince from reaching his destination.

Only now did they realize that the Jing Prince wasn’t one to pull his punches. Having thought highly of themselves for so long, the entire Xiao clan was a little depressed at being hit in the face repeatedly.

Of course, there was always some hope remaining.

Seeing that they couldn’t stop things, the Xiao clan took it in stride. Even if they didn’t have their grandson as the successor, they would still have an empress dowager and an empress surnamed Xiao. The Xiao clan didn’t forget that the Jing Prince’s consort was surnamed Xiao. It was some consolation.

Emperor Xi seemed to have made up his mind. The Jing Prince had only arrived in the capital for two days when he was conferred the crown prince.

The moment the edict came, the Jing Prince’s identity was set in stone.

Along with this edict, an edict proclaiming his consort Xiao-shi as the crown prince consort was also released. The Xiao clan immediately let out a breath of relief.

After Luo Jing moved into the eastern palace, his life became very busy. Seeing that Emperor Xi’s health getting worse by the day, the Jing Prince needed to learn everything from the beginning to make up for his lack of formal education.

Seeming to know his time was short and that his successor was still lacking in quite a few regards, Emperor Xi would personally give him some guidance when his health permitted it. He would also tell him some of the matters of the court. After all, having been the monarch for so many years, he naturally knew the personalities of his officials and the various factions in court like the back of his hand. Luo Jing often felt enlightened whenever he listened to him.

Luo Jing had always been very wooden and taciturn. Prior to him entering the capital, Emperor Xi and the officials were all a little concerned about the future of their nation. After a while, they realized that Luo Jing was a hidden talent. This meant that although he didn’t seem like much on the outside, he was actually very impressive.

Apart from some of his characteristics, such a person was rather suitable to be a nation’s monarch. Wasn’t a monarch supposed to be mysterious and unreadable? At least, this was what Emperor Xi thought.

He was more or less able to see what crown prince Luo Jing’s personality was like over the past few days. He was hardworking, earnest, inwardly brilliant and a quick learner. Only that face of his was a little worrisome. Of course, this wasn’t really a big deal.

Seeing this, Emperor Xi even felt some inspiration. Especially with his failing health, he had the feeling that the heavens was preserving his Grand Xi, and felt emotional.

This won’t be mentioned for now. Emperor Xi was no longer able to hold on. As time continued to pass, his energy faded more and more, and the amount of time he was conscious grew less and less. Now, there were even times when he wouldn’t wake for three days. According to the imperial medical center, he had perhaps a couple of days left.

The water outside turned to ice as the weather grew cold. The Violet Imperial Hall was filled with people.

Empress Xiao was there as well as Senior Concubine Xu. There were also a few of Emperor Xi’s high ranked concubines, and a few princesses of various ages. The room was filled with women, but Luo Jing was the only man present.

After some acupuncture and medicine, Emperor Xi slowly awoke.

The women’s weeping shook the heavens. Emperor Xi’s mouth moved and Zheng Hai Quan leaned over.

“His majesty orders for everyone to leave. Only the crown prince shall remain.”

Empress Xiao led the women out of the hall, leaving the crown prince behind.

Emperor Xi leaned against his pillow with the help of Zheng Hai Quan. His face contained an unnatural trace of color. Luo Jing knew that he had just drank old ginseng soup, and this was essentially the final radiance of the setting sun.

“You’ve understood pretty much everything of what I needed to teach. The Grand Xi Nation will be left to you in the future.”

“Father….”

“Of the two ministers, Xu can be used. Lin needs to be carefully used….”

“Your son understands.”

Emperor Xi had already told Luo Jing this before. He understood the reasoning. Although Minister Xu was part of a faction, he could be said to be an independent official. Minster Lin was the opposite. Behind him stood a very complicated noble household. Nobility had to be used, but couldn’t be overly depended upon. They needed to be raised but also restrained.

Luckily, despite his deficiencies, Emperor Xi was rather clear about court affairs. The noble households had been suppressed by him for many years, and only the Lin family had successfully raised Lin Jian to the forefront.

Emperor Xi didn’t speak further. Zheng Hai Quan walked in and said softly: “The two ministers have arrived.”

“Announcing—–”

The outside of the hall was filled with kneeling people. The sound of suppressed weeping filled the room.

Everyone felt extremely at a loss. After all, those who were kneeling were all related to Emperor Xi in some way. As the old emperor was replaced by the new generation, people like them would no longer be imperial concubines. Those with children were better off, but those without could only live out their days in the depths of the palace.

The calmest person amongst them was Empress Xiao. Out of all these people, she was the clear beneficiary. Once the new emperor ascended the throne, she would become the empress dowager. Since the new emperor didn’t have his birth mother, she would be the only empress dowager within the rear palace.

The Grand Xi Dynasty emphasized filial piety, and her glorious future could only be imagined. Even if she and the new monarch didn’t get along under the surface, as long as she was the empress dowager he had to show her respect. Especially since the future empress was her niece.

After around a quarter of an hour, the crown prince and the two ministers walked out. Their expressions were solemn.

Zheng Hai Quan called hoarsely: “Announcing the empress—–”

Empress Xiao stood up. Her eyes were half shut and her expression showed endless grief that she silently endured by herself. She wasn’t a mess of tears like the others. She lowly took a few steps, stumbled a little and then finally couldn’t control her sorrow and ran into the inner hall.

This scene was seen by Luo Jing and the two ministers. Luo Jing’s face remained expressionless but the two ministers revealed a strange look in their eyes.

“Majesty…..”

Empress Xiao sprawled onto the bed and couldn’t speak through her sobs.

“Min’er, how long have you been married to Us?”

“Over, over forty years as of today.”

Emperor Xi revealed an absentminded smile. His shriveled and pale lips moved, seemingly muttering something too quiet for Empress Xiao to clearly hear. He raised his hand and she reluctantly straightened up and sat on the couch.

“Min’er. Have you ever regretted marrying Us?”

Empress Xiao froze, “Never.”

“We….have also never regretted marrying you. You, were Our crown prince consort, as well as Our first and only empress.”

Empress Xiao’s expression showed both sadness and joy as her tears flowed once again.

“Majesty….”

“Now that We are about to pass away, do you have any reluctance to part?”

“This servant concubine is naturally heartbroken…..”

Emperor Xi revealed a smile filled with hidden meaning.

The hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Emperor Xi’s gentle voice suddenly sounded out.

“……We will give you two choices. Either accompany Us in death, or live on without the status of empress dowager…..”

Empress Xiao seemed to be immersed in her grief, and only until Emperor Xi finished speaking did she snap out of it.

“Majesty?”

Emperor Xi’s haggard face was untouched by emotion as he looked at Empress Xiao’s extremely astonished and slightly aggrieved expression. The heartlessness of a monarch was completely manifested at this moment.

Only now did Empress Xiao understand that even if this person was unable to move due to illness, as long as he wasn’t dead, he was still the emperor of the Grand Xi nation, and would always be above her.

But, just why?

Why did he give her this sort of choice?

It was reasonable for her to become the future empress dowager, why….

Empress Xiao, whose wisdom and foresight weren’t any worse than any man’s, was a complete mess at the moment. She wasn’t even able to figure out why Emperor Xi would do something like this.

Emperor Xi’s feeble yet clear voice sounded out once again. His gaze contained a coldness Empress Xiao had never seen before.

“……what you and the crown prince did, We will let it slide. Now—-give Us your decision…..”

These words finally broke through Empress Xiao’s mental barriers. She didn’t have the confidence to look at her husband. At this moment, all her grief and sorrow had completely vanished without a trace. What was left was absolute astonishment and fear.

“Majesty—–”

Emperor Xi wearily closed his eyes, as though he no longer had any energy left.

“…..We have already passed on this edict posthumously to the ministers. If you accompany Us in death, you will remain Our only empress. If not, the crown prince will give you a deceased emperor’s concubine position and you can live out your days in peace…..”

“Majesty, how could you treat this one this way? This one has been married to you for so many years, how could you be so cruel?”

Zheng Hai Quan walked over and helped the slightly hysterical empress to the side.

Emperor Xi lay on the royal bed. His lips moved, his voice extremely faint. Only by leaning in close could some of it be heard.

“……forgive Our selfishness….the Grand Xi cannot allow…..an empress dowager from the Xiao clan, along with an empress from the Xiao clan…..”

In the eleventh month of the thirty-fifth year of the Xi Calendar, not far from its thirty-sixth year, the Grand Xi Dynasty’s third monarch, Emperor Xi, passed away within the Violet Imperial Hall. Accompanying him in death was Senior Concubine Xu. Senior Concubine Xu was devoted and righteous, and couldn’t bear to let Emperor Xi head to the afterlife by himself. She was willing to accompany him…..

*

Having just arrived in the Yun Province, before their seats were even warmed, they received news of Emperor Xi’s passing.

As his son and daughter-in-law, Luo Huai Yuan and Yan Yan naturally had to return for the funeral. This included the two little ones.

The edict had come from the succeeding Jing Emperor. He was currently the legitimate emperor of the Grand Xi, and was just waiting for the ascension ceremony. In theory, the succeeding emperor could hold his ascension ceremony during the nation’s mourning period. However, crown prince Luo Jing chose to observe filial piety and first complete the previous emperor’s funeral before holding the ascension ceremony.

They swiftly returned to the capital. Before they could rest, the Yun Prince’s family entered the palace.

The palace was covered in white and grievous crying could be heard everywhere.

The entire funeral rites lasted for forty-nine days. When it was finally done, the entire court and palace’s people had lost some weight. They were all bedraggled.

Then came the new emperor’s ascension ceremony. Because it was still the mourning period, he ordered that the ceremony be simplified.

After the ceremony, it was time to write the late emperor’s epitaph and posthumous title. After continuous discussions with the Ministry of Rites, the new emperor proclaimed the epitaph title to be the “sincere virtuous pure filial scholarly mighty worshipful paragon emperor.”

At the same time, the former senior concubine’s posthumous conferral and Empress Xiao’s conferral was written into law.

The former senior concubine loyally accompanied the emperor in death, and everyone was inspired by her devotion in life and death. However, for her to be posthumously awarded the title of empress and buried as the empress together with the former emperor was a little against convention. Especially since it was awkward with the still present previous empress. This was quite a thorny problem for the officials and nobility.

Because of this matter, the court was embroiled in bitter argument once again.

During this time, the Xiao clan naturally made many moves. This was the empress dowager position. Even a ten year old child knew what it meant for the Xiao clan to lose such a position.

However, this was a posthumous edict of the former emperor, and so was not conferring Empress Xiao as empress dowager. Many officials were discerning and naturally wouldn’t get involved. Those whom the Xiao clan could move were merely the old pedants who adhered to convention.

However, there were quite a few of these people and thus the court was filled with argument.

In contrast to the court’s unrest, Yan Yan was filled with joy.

This was because Shen Yi Yao was pregnant.

She was pregnant for some time, but since she was quite old, they didn’t spread the news since they were afraid the pregnancy wasn’t stable. Furthermore, her children were already grown, making her embarrassed to tell others, especially her daughter. Her daughter’s son was already walking around and now his grandmother was pregnant. This made her embarrassed to death.

Luckily she was also happy about it in her heart. Furthermore, once Qi Ran found out she was pregnant, the manly man remained nervous daily, giving her a special sort of sweetness. Actually, in Shen Yi Yao’s heart, she also wanted to leave some descendants for Qi Ran. This man had remained unmarried for her sake. He didn’t even take a chambermaid. After marriage, the two of them had discussed this. She had implicitly suggested him take a chambermaid but Qi Ran had firmly turned her down. Shen Yi Yao felt happy and even more wanted to give him children.

Shen Yi Yao’s pregnancy seemed unintended but she had secretly been nourishing her body, and had also secretly giving offerings to the goddess of fertility.

When the Shen household and Yan Yan found out about this, they inevitably worried about Shen Yi Yao’s health apart from being happy. She wasn’t young anymore and giving birth at her age was naturally different. There was a much higher chance of an accident occurring.

Yan Yan sent quite a few nourishing medicines and similar things. The Shen household also searched for skilled midwives. Qi Ran also ordered people to investigate such things. The entire family busied themselves over this joyous occasion.

During this time, the court’s argument had been resolved.

The new Jing Emperor was a very composed person. He sat and watched the officials argue about his family affairs for over half a month. During this time, he didn’t express any opinions.

The court was generally split into three factions. One faction was composed of the old pedants who stubbornly clung to convention. It seemed to them that not conferring Empress Xiao as the empress dowager would go against proper human relationships, and mess up established customs. The world would devolve into chaos. The other faction argued to the Jing Emperor that the three principles were more important, namely that between a monarch and his officials, a father and his son and a husband and his wife. The former emperor was the monarch, the father and the husband. Therefore, why shouldn’t they listen to him? The new monarch wanted to fulfill his obligations as the son, but also couldn’t violate the principles of the former monarch and his father’s orders. Why should they use convention to denounce him? They even brought up Empress Xiao, saying if she didn’t obey the former emperor’s posthumous edict and insisted on being the empress dowager, it would violate her husband’s orders. Ultimately, the arguments had continued daily. It had to be said these officials had a lot of fighting spirit.

The third faction didn’t get involved and silently watched the other two factions argue.

No matter how large the matter and how much those underneath argued, as long as the person above didn’t express an opinion, they would still get tired of it after a while.

Seeing this, the Jing Emperor finally spoke. His general meaning was that since they weren’t able to come to a consensus, they might as well follow the former emperor’s orders.

The final decision was made!

Only now did everyone understand that the new emperor clearly had an opinion.

He waited until everyone got tired of arguing before speaking and used the former emperor to suppress them. Who would dare to object? Anyone who dared do so would be choked up by a single response: you’ve all argued for so long without any results, so don’t say I’m making my own decisions without consulting others right after ascending. Don’t say that I’m not fulfilling my obligations as a son. You lot weren’t even able to come to a conclusion, so it should be obvious how hard it is for me who’s in the middle of all this.

Seeing the new emperor’s attitude and then thinking of the Xiao clan’s situation…

The Xiao clan was powerful. They would have gone from having a former empress to an empress dowager, and then a newly conferred empress. There was probably no emperor who would want two highly ranked women from the Xiao clan in the rear palace.

Not only was the emperor unwilling, many officials weren’t willing either.

Any officials with some slight political savvy no longer dared say anything. No one could afford to be labeled as someone with ulterior motives and a disruptor of the nation. Face with the Jing Emperor’s firm attitude, even the Xiao clan didn’t dare say anything.

Once this was settled, it was easy to carry out.

The edict regarding the former empress was quickly sent out.

Empress Xiao was conferred as an imperial concubine. Due to her special circumstances, the word “royal” was added to her title. But no matter how many words were added, there was only one difference between a royal imperial concubine and an imperial concubine: the former’s title sounded a little better.

It could definitely not be compared to an empress dowager. The empress dowager was the emperor’s mother figure, and needed to be respected. She would live in the Cining Palace and enjoy being worshipped by the harem, and even the emperor and empress. During official ceremonies, her seat would have been above the emperor’s…..

Royal Concubine Xiao and the Xiao clan’s various complaints didn’t need to be mentioned. Royal Concubine Xiao had aged quite a bit overnight.

After the former empress’s matter was settled, it was time to arrange Senior Concubine Xu’s matter.

The former emperor’s posthumous edict proclaimed the senior concubine as the empress, and she would be buried along with the emperor. However, he wasn’t the one who had written this decree. Instead he had left it to the new emperor for some reason.

Perhaps it was to avoid hurting Royal Concubine Xiao’s heart too much? But looking at her current situation, it didn’t seem he was that benevolent. Regardless, no one could figure out his intentions.

The Jing Emperor didn’t think too much about it either, and conferred former Senior Concubine Xu as the Virtuous Loyal Empress, burying her together with the former emperor. Of course, there was still a spot saved for Royal Concubine Xiao with the emperor. It was just that the emperor now had two empresses in his tomb.

That wasn’t quite right. There would be three empresses. The Jing Emperor didn’t forget to confer his own deceased mother the title of the Saintess Empress Dowager, and had her moved into the emperor’s tomb.

……

The Xu household now had a Virtuous Loyal Empress, though it was exchanged with the lives of their daughter and grandson. However, Senior Concubine Xu’s decisiveness was also effective. The Jing Emperor seemed to have forgotten the Chengen Maruis Estate’s role in the rebellion. He ordered all the restrictions to be lifted and also gave them the honor that their title deserved. It wasn’t just because the Jing Emperor was generous and kind. Even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t make a move on the Xu household right after conferring Senior Concubine Xu as the Virtuous Loyal Empress. If he really did so, he would seem a little petty and it wouldn’t be justified.

The Qi Prince’s restrictions were also lifted. He was still the Qi Prince and he could continue living in his vassal state.

The Xu household’s influence finally collapsed after the Jin Prince and Xu Xiang Rong’s unexpected defeat and Senior Concubine Xu’s sacrifice. However, this was also rather good. Without the capital, there would be no ambition. Without ambition, they would be content with their lot.

The Chengen Marquis’s thoughts were now all on having another son. Without Senior Concubine Xu and the extraordinarily brilliant Xu Xiang Rong, the Xu household still had to carry on.

…..

The curtains slowly descended on the capital. Although the Jing Emperor had emerged unexpectedly and still faced many troubles and difficulties, it didn’t have much to do with the Yun Prince’s family anymore.

The Jing Emperor proclaimed that the former emperor’s concubines were free to live out their years with their children outside the palace.

This edict was for the Yun Prince’s sake. Attendant Ma could finally leave the palace she had been trapped in for several decades, and live with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren in the Yun Province.

Author’s notes:

The events in the capital have finally come to an end. The fatty’s contribution to the Jing Emperor afterwards are all minor details and can be briefly summarized. The fatty’s hellish weightloss program is about to start. Also, the family, including the Shen household’s various things will also be taken care of. Of course there won’t be lacking love and happiness. This novel is approaching its end. This author will be wrapping up this novel while working on the outline for the next one. This author doesn’t have a plan for now. How about some suggestions?