The Child Emperor

Chapter 77: Grandma and Grandson

The people from the Cui clan dared to barge straight into the former Emperor’s manor because they had a certain confidence, a confidence stemming from Prince Donghai, who was almost certainly destined to become the new emperor and who was raised single-handedly by the Cui clan. But suddenly, bad news had arrived—the successor was someone else, and their confidence was instantly drained.

Elder Laojun of the Cui clan had been nurtured in luxury all her life and had never suffered such a blow. She stared at his grandson, Cui Sheng, for a while, “Say that again.”

“I heard that the Empress Dowager has already chosen the new emperor, who is very popular among the senior officials.”

Elder Laojun got angry as she spoke and fiercely slapped Cui Sheng, “Nonsense! Why are you spreading rumors based only on hearsay? Have you confirmed it? If the Empress Dowager doesn’t appoint the son of the Graceful Emperor, who else would she appoint?”

Cui Sheng covered his face, “Okay, I will go and inquire again, but rumors say that Prince Donghai has already been sent out of the palace…”

Elder Laojun abruptly turned around, glaring at the Weary Marquis, “You abducted my granddaughter…”

“Your granddaughter is also my wife, and this is also her home.” Han Ruzi glanced at Yang Feng and added: “And yes, Prince Donghai is here as well.”

Upon hearing this, the people of the Cui clan were shocked. Since Prince Donghai was not in the palace, he definitely was not the new emperor.

Elder Laojun stood dazedly for a while before suddenly leaning back. Cui Sheng and a group of women managed to catch her in time. Despite just having been slapped, Cui Sheng, who was very filial to his grandmother, shouted at Han Ruzi, “If anything happens to Elder Laojun, the Cui clan will not let you off!”

Han Ruzi did not understand what this had to do with him, but this old woman was also his wife’s grandmother. He could not stand by and do nothing, so he said, “Take her in.”

Han Ruzi led the way, and the eunuchs moved aside, allowing the women to support Elder Laojun into the main hall of the second courtyard. Cui Sheng wanted to follow, but was stopped by his mother. Suddenly remembering something even more critical, he turned and ran towards the manor’s exit, intending to figure out the situation as soon as possible.

The front yard quieted down. The soldiers looked at each other, deeply impressed by the ladies of the Cui clan. The Manor Marshal emerged from a room, secretly relieved that he had dodged an arrow. However, he quickly became even more worried: there was a new emperor in of the Chu empire, and the future of the Weary Marquis was uncertain. He absolutely did not want to get involved.

In the main hall, the women were busy taking care of Elder Laojun. The male servants who had come along did not dare to enter and were pacing outside the door.

Han Ruzi took advantage of the chaos to pull Yang Feng aside and pointed at Elder Laojun, whispering, “I know I have a lot to learn, but do I have to learn even this?”

“A ranting old woman can be as formidable as an army. You have been sheltered indoors for a long time. It’s not bad to experience everything you can now that you’re out.”

Han Ruzi had no words to reply, but he did not quite agree. Yang Feng smiled and said, “When you were studying national history, did you hear about the records of the Peaceful Emperor and the the Empress Dowager?”

“The Peaceful Emperor made several of his maternal uncles marquises at the Empress Dowager’s deathbed? I’ve heard of it.”

Yang Feng hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing more.[1]

Han Ruzi understood his meaning, but felt that his mother, being both gentle and intelligent, would never rant like Elder Laojun of the Cui clan. Moreover, he didn’t have any maternal uncles.

Elder Laojun slowly came to, forgetting where she was and her granddaughter, and asked tremulously, “Where is my good grandson? Has he become the emperor?”

No one dared to answer, and Elder Laojun’s gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Han Ruzi in the distance, and she said viciously, “It’s you again. From the moment you were born, you’ve been undermining Prince Donghai’s fortune. Why? Why are you not dead yet?”

Han Ruzi was furious inside. However, thinking of Yang Feng’s words, he took this experience as a test. He stepped forward and said with a smile, “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it will first put him through trials and tribulations. Prince Donghai’s luck is bad because he hasn’t suffered enough.”

Elder Laojun tried to stand up, but just as she left the chair, she sat back down again, clutching her chest and saying, “This kid is going to kill me with anger. Beat him, beat him hard!”

The women responded with murmurs, but no one moved. Only one woman whispered a reminder, “Elder Laojun, this is not the Cui Manor…”

Elder Laojun, unable to vent her anger, slapped the woman, “I’m not confused, I don’t need you to tell me!”

The woman covered her face and stepped back, and Elder Laojun once again stared at Han Ruzi, her tone softer, “So, my grandson is in your manor. Tell me, what do you want before you let him go?”

“Let him go? I’d like to know what it would take for Prince Donghai to leave.”

Elder Laojun raised her eyebrows again. At this time, someone rushed in from the door, fell to Elder Laojun’s knees, holding her legs, crying and making a fuss, and Elder Laojun also kept calling him her darling.

Prince Donghai’s carriage was parked outside. He had been scared silly and didn’t dare to come out when he heard that people from the Cui clan had arrived. It wasn’t until he was sure that there was no danger that he ran out to see his maternal grandmother.

Han Ruzi had to admit that his understanding had indeed increased quite a bit in such a short time. He would also act like a child in front of his mother, but he was still very restrained. He never cried like Prince Donghai, but he felt that Prince Donghai’s temperament really matched Elder Laojun’s. He didn’t understand why Prince Donghai had never mentioned his maternal grandmother before.

What surprised him even more was that those women who had just been silent as cicadas in the cold, were now all wiping their tears, each crying with true emotion, even including Cui Xiaojun’s mother.

It seemed that all the world’s a stage. The scene before him was quite similar to the colorful displays of emotions at the Hall of Diligent Administration and in the Imperial Palace.

Han Ruzi nodded slightly to Yang Feng, indicating that he had indeed learned something.

Yang Feng seemed to have not noticed the actions of the Weary Marquis, lost in thought. Han Ruzi whispered, “Have you guessed who the new Emperor is?”

“I have a guess, but I don’t know how the Empress Dowager managed it.”

Just as Han Ruzi was about to ask again, Prince Donghai finally stopped crying. He stood up, wiped away his tears, turned around and said, “Han Ruzi, we have both been deceived by the Empress Dowager. She has abandoned the two sons of the Graceful Emperor to set up a new ruler. You and I must join hands against her.”

Elder Laojun’s tears hadn’t dried yet. She grabbed his grandson’s wrist with one hand and looked up with a smile of near adoration on his face. She was obviously very proud of his grandson.

Han Ruzi shook his head, “Thank you, but no matter who becomes the Emperor, I will continue to be a Marquis here. Being an emperor was never my wish, and I have no such intention now. I yet to settle down properly and am unable to entertain guests. Please leave.”

Seeing her grandson being polite yet being rejected, Elder Laojun was infuriated. She was about to speak when Prince Donghai sneered, “You are indeed beyond help, rejecting opportunities even when they are presented to you. Alright then, you can be a turtle hiding in its shell here. Elder Laojun, let’s go.”

Han Ruzi stepped aside in a gesture of seeing off the guests, “I wish you smooth progress in sticking your neck out. You should stick your neck out more”

In the past, Prince Donghai would have exploded on the spot, but today he was both tired and scared, really in no mood to argue, and there were more pressing crises to handle. He just snorted coldly and walked out, pulling his maternal grandmother’s hand.

Elder Laojun listened to this grandson very much, and only remembered at the door that she had a granddaughter. “Xiaojun is here…”

Prince Donghai snorted angrily again, ” She came here voluntarily, betraying the Cui clan. Why are you still thinking about her? After all, there are several daughters in the Cui family, just act as if she doesn’t exist.”

“Xiaojun was brought up by me, she would not…”

“Why wouldn’t she? You’ve been here for so long, has she come out to see you?”

Elder Laojun still wanted to speak, but Prince Donghai pushed her to go, “The throne has been usurped, and you are still concerned about an ungrateful granddaughter? We should hurry back to the manor, and find a way to contact Uncle. He controls the Southern Army outside the city, I don’t believe that the Empress Dowager would really dare to offend Uncle.”

Elder Laojun came to her senses and quickened her pace, “Right, right, my grandson is too smart, let’s go look for your uncle, let’s go…”

The women followed, the mother of Cui Xiaojun pretended to look for something that she had dropped and walked at the back. As she passed Han Ruzi, she whispered, “Are you really not going to fight for the throne?”

“I am not delusional.”

Mother Cui nodded, stuffed a hairpin into Han Ruzi’s hand, “Treat Xiaojun well.” Then she hurried to catch up with Elder Laojun.

The members and servants of the Cui clan came quickly and left just as quickly. In a short while, they were nowhere to be seen.

Han Ruzi held the hairpin in a daze for a long time before saying, “Could the Martial Emperor and the Graceful Emperor really allow the Cui clan to behave so arrogantly for so long?”

“The Martial Emperor was suspicious, and the Graceful Emperor was wary. For them, arrogant Imperial In-laws were more trustworthy than the quiet and brooding lords and senior officials.”

Han Ruzi had never experienced the true feeling of imperial power, so it was hard for him to understand the actions of the Martial Emperor and the Graceful Emperor. Then he thought of himself, “So if I appear more like a imbecilic ruler, it would actually be safer because no one would support a imbecilic ruler?”

Yang Feng nodded with a smile, “You are still far from the standard of a imbecilic ruler’, let’s talk about this later. The Empress Dowager’s selection of a new emperor, however, is a real threat to you.”

“Ah, don’t keep me in suspense, even if it’s just a conjecture. Tell me, who is the Empress Dowager planning to establish as the emperor?” Han Ruzi could not hide his interest in this matter, although the news would come out soon, he still wanted to know earlier.

“If I haven’t guessed wrong—” Yang Feng turned to look at Zhang Youcai who had snuck in and didn’t send him away, “the Empress Dowager has chosen a descendant of the previous crown prince to ascend to the throne.”

“The previous crown prince?”

“The Martial Emperor had established three crown princes, the first two were Crown Prince Ju and Crown Prince Yong, who were both executed one after another. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?”

Han Ruzi nodded. Zhang Youcai stood behind him and whispered, “The two crown princes died in the Eastern Palace, so it’s haunted, and no one dares to go there.”

Yang Feng snorted disdainfully and continued, “The families of the Crown Prince Ju and Crown Prince Yong were also implicated, but it is said that when they were executed, both of them had a son who was less than three years old who was spared. One should be sixteen or seventeen now, the other six or seven. The younger one matches the requirements of the Empress Dowager, but the ministers might support the older one. It’s unknown whom the Empress Dowager will choose.”

“Wouldn’t the Empress Dowager offend Grand Tutor Cui by doing this?” Han Ruzi couldn’t figure out the intentions of the Empress Dowager.

Yang Feng thought for a while, “It can only be the first one. When Crown Prince Ju held state responsibilities, he controlled the Southern Army. His descendant becoming emperor could undermine the Southern Army’s support for Grand Tutor Cui. Moreover, he was the crown prince for more than a decade and was most favored by the ministers in court. However—”

However, the surviving son of the Great Crown Prince was already sixteen or seventeen years old, nearly an adult. It would be very difficult for the Empress Dowager to control the court in the future.

Yang Feng was talking to himself, almost forgetting there were others present. “This is not enough, the Empress Dowager must have more solid assurance to dare to do this…”

The Manor, who had run off during the day, hurriedly came in and said to the Weary Marquis, “An edict has been passed down from the palace, requiring all members of the imperial clan with noble titles to go to the Ancestral Temple immediately to pay respects to the new emperor.”

Han Ruzi and Yang Feng no longer needed to guess.

[1] The implication here is that the Peaceful Emperor failed to properly deal with an old woman and therefore acted against his better judgment.