"Your Majesty!"
Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing now stood before Lady Zhu.
Lady Zhu was Sun Xiu's empress.
She was also a legitimate daughter of the Zhu Clan, one of Jiangdong's four great clans. Her father was the late General of Agile Cavalry Zhu Ju, and her mother was Sun Luyu-the Princess Zhu whom Sun Luban had persecuted to death...
Strictly speaking, Sun Xiu was her maternal uncle, her actual maternal uncle, her mother's own brother.
But to the great clans, as long as they did not share a surname, there was little issue. An uncle marrying his niece was hardly unheard of; Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Ying, had done just that during the Former Han.
She looked somewhat aloof, with an air of refined, otherworldly elegance and poised, gracious manners. She and Sun Xiu were an excellent match.
After receiving the terrible news of Sun Xiu's death, her eyes had reddened, yet she had shed no tears.
Zhang Bu and Puyang Xing exchanged a glance before Puyang Xing spoke. "Your Majesty, His Majesty's passing grieves us deeply. But the realm cannot go a single day without a ruler. We must give careful consideration to the matter of the new sovereign."
As expected of someone born into a great clan, Empress Zhu soon regained her composure. She looked at the two men before her and said, "That is indeed true. What instructions do you two have?"
Zhang Bu said nothing and slowly stepped back a few paces, leaving Puyang Xing, as chancellor, to speak.
"Your Majesty, the situation throughout the realm has reached a critical point. The Cao Thief is stirring, ready to strike. Wang Ji's army is in Jingnan, and Huo Yi's army is in Jiaozhou. Both seek to plunder Jiangdong."
"And rebellions abound within our borders. The