Spring gave way to autumn, cold to heat, and another two years passed.
The swing frame at Qingliang Terrace in the western outskirts had been worn to a shine. The two persimmon trees in the back courtyard bore fruit for the first time that year. Qi Yu knocked down a basketful with a bamboo pole, picked out a few large ones to send to the Eastern Palace, and had Chun He dry the rest into persimmon cakes. They sat in a row on the windowsill, turned over once each day.
Over those two years, Crown Prince Qi Ling formally took over as regent. All affairs of court, great and small, went through him for review before being submitted to the emperor, and he brought a fresh order to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue. A few senior ministers remarked in private that His Highness the Crown Prince's methods increasingly resembled His Majesty's in his younger days. When Qi Xiao heard, the corners of his mouth merely shifted a little as he reviewed memorials in the West Warm Pavilion.
In late spring that year, Qi Xiao issued an edict of abdication. De'an read it aloud at morning court. When he reached the words "pass the throne to Crown Prince Qi Ling," the entire hall fell silent.
Kneeling below the imperial steps, Qi Ling received the edict with both hands and bowed his head to the floor. When he looked up, his eyes were slightly red, but his voice was as steady as his father's. "Your son will not fail the trust you have placed in me, Father."
After court adjourned, Qi Ling did not return to the Eastern Palace at once. He sat for a long while in the Side Hall of Xuanzheng Hall, spreading the scroll of