In the late autumn of the twenty-third year of Emperor Tianren's reign, the Emperor issued an edict ordering the abdication of the throne to the Prince of Jin.
The Prince of Jin was placed under house arrest in his own residence by his son, who then "forced" him to ascend the throne, adopting the reign title Yong'an, and is historically known as Emperor Kangwen.
Of course, this also brought about a change in Tang Zhuyun's identity.
Emperor Wen Wen's first imperial edict upon ascending the throne was to confer the title of Empress upon Tang Zhuyun, grant her residence in Palace of Eternal Peace, and set a date for the enthronement and investiture ceremony.
When Tang Zhuyun was surrounded by people and sat down in Palace of Eternal Peace, she still felt like she was dreaming.
So, he's already on the throne?
It feels like just yesterday I was gritting my teeth, hating the Emperor for his inaction, and feeling sorry for Prince of Jin's predicament, and today she's suddenly the Empress?
I wouldn't even dare to do that in my wildest dreams.
And all of this is thanks to Linlin.
This child moved so fast, like a tornado, that he left his mother completely bewildered and disoriented.
"The palace is so much better!" Ren Yingying's eyes couldn't take it all in; one moment she was touching the gilded crane incense burner, the next she was admiring the carved beams and painted rafters. "Hahahaha, I've finally got my day!"
She can finally walk sideways!
She'll be a super VIP at the Forbidden City from now on!
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
"Tangbao, Tangbao, do you remember that book written by the last emperor, in which he said he ordered the thresholds to be sawed off so he could ride a bicycle in the palace!"
Tang Zhuyun: "So? I can saw it off for you. Do you have a bicycle?"
Ren Yingying: "... No. But what are you asking for? I can have anything! Can't I ask for something high-class?"
"For example, Qu Nian?"
"Can I have three thousand male concubines?"
"If I had that power, would you even have a chance to have three thousand male concubines? Wouldn't it be better for me to enjoy them myself?" Tang Zhuyun rolled her eyes at her.
"Holy crap, Tangbao, watch your manners! Your Majesty!"
"Who swore that once I became empress, I would do great things with them and propel the wheels of history forward?"
Ren Yingying immediately became serious and said righteously, "During the day I benefit mankind, and at night I stabilize the morale of the army!"
"Keep Qu Nian calm, that's a great achievement for you. You've succeeded in capturing the leader first!"
Ren Yingying: "Those who are capable should do more!"
"Then call Qu Nian here. I want to ask you if you really have the ability."
Ren Yingying covered her face with her long sleeves. "Tangbao, Tangbao, poor me, I've suffered so much until now, and you've actually changed your mind!"
Tang Zhuyun ignored her, and after a while she burst into laughter again.
Tang Zhuyun: "What's gotten into you now?"
"Now I don't need to hold back anymore, you're the boss, hahaha, let me be happy for a while!"
Tang Zhuyun ignored her.
"Nanxing, please sit down," she said to Nanxing was standing beside her.
Nanxing is five or six months pregnant, and her pregnancy is quite noticeable.
Because she was worried about her health and whether she could keep the baby, she stayed in bed most of the early stages of her pregnancy and took the utmost care of the child.
She wouldn't have gone out if it weren't for such an important occasion as today.
"Your Majesty, no, Your Majesty the Empress," Nanxing sat down, looking outside, "Where is Linlin?"
She already knew that the current situation was all orchestrated by Linlin.
"They should be with the Emperor," Tang Zhuyun said. "Get busy."
"Your Majesty," Nanxing said, "I originally thought that His Majesty would immediately announce Linlin's identity to the world and appoint him as Crown Prince."
Tang Zhuyun was stunned.
Because the Prince of Jin —no, now we should call him Emperor Wen —was indeed referred to as such before.
Even if she is made empress first, then Linlin should be made crown prince shortly after.
After all, to put it in Versailles' words, she had too many sons, and the age difference between them was too small.
They had discussed this privately before, and it would be best to establish a formal relationship as soon as possible and nurture their children according to their own paths.
They even discussed who was the second in line to the throne.
Tang Zhuyun thought Yanran was suitable, but Emperor Wen said he would wait until his three sons grew up before making a decision.
Tang Zhuyun thought to herself, she didn't know what Wuji would look like, but she couldn't see which of the playful and active Wuji and the silly and cute Wuxian would fit in.
So why not reveal Linlin's true identity to the world?
We clearly agreed on this before!
The more she wanted to know the answer, the less the scoundrel would show up.
Tang Zhuyun has been in the palace for three days, but she hasn't seen her man once.
This is absolutely outrageous.
She was banished to the Cold Palace as soon as she entered the palace; her status as Empress was unprecedented and will likely remain so.
However, aside from spending her evenings lying in bed complaining about her aching back, she barely had time to think about these things during the day.
Because of the change of emperor, she, the newly crowned empress, became extremely popular.
Who wouldn't want to get close to the Empress?
Even though Tang Zhuyun disliked socializing, she had to pretend to be an empress, so by the end of the day, her back ached from sitting, and her face was stiff from smiling.
When you want to complain to someone at night, sorry, your man is unreachable.
However, she could understand.
If even the Empress is this busy, the Emperor must be even busier.
Poor man.
She wanted to make him a midnight snack, but he was too reluctant to leave his bed, so Tang Zhuyun ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare a midnight snack and send it to him.
"Hehe, Mother," Yanran peeked out, "Did you miss me?"
I wonder if you've gotten into trouble; I haven't seen you for days.
Tang Zhuyun already knew about her "great achievements," but Prince of Ding was too unlucky to mention.
Yanran came in with a grin, holding a roasted sweet potato in her hand. "Hehe, it's freshly roasted, doesn't it smell good? Come on, let's share it."
"I don't want to eat, I'm afraid of gaining weight." Tang Zhuyun lay on her side on the bed, her head resting on her hand as she looked at her. "You should eat more, you're very active, you won't gain weight."
"I think so too." Yanran broke open a sweet potato, and the aroma became even stronger. She bent down and took a bite, sticking out her tongue repeatedly because it was too hot. "So sweet!"
"What have you been busy with these past few days? Why haven't you come over?" Tang Zhuyun asked.
Yanran licked her lips. "Sigh, just busywork."
Why are they avoiding the topic?
Tang Zhuyun increasingly felt that something was being kept from her, and pretended to have a hard time, saying, "You're going to lie to me? Tell the truth!"
"Actually, it's nothing much..." Yanran said, "It's just that Father and Brother have a small disagreement."
Really!
She said, "Something's not right."
"What disagreement? How to deal with the people from the Prince of Ding's Residence, or how to treat your imperial grandfather?"
Tang Zhuyun subconsciously thought that if the scoundrel was blaming Linlin for acting on her own and dealing with the Emperor Emeritus, she would definitely curse him.
"No. Father wanted my elder brother to be the crown prince, but he refused."
Tang Zhuyun: "Hmm?"
"My brother said that the purge of the court of corrupt officials was his own doing, and had nothing to do with Father. If anyone has to be held responsible, it's him."
Tang Zhuyun instinctively said, "Isn't this ridiculous?"
Are we going to punish Linlin as well?
Before he became emperor, he withstood pressure and refused to let his children suffer; now that he's emperor, why is he making his son take the blame?
If this is how it's supposed to be, then let whoever wants to be emperor be it!
"That's what I think too," Yanran pouted, "But my brother insisted on telling Father that we have to give an explanation to the world."
She just didn't understand, what was there to explain?
If my elder brother doesn't become the crown prince, then who will?
Tang Zhuyun frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What else did your brother say?"
He said he wanted his father to release him; he didn't want to stay in the capital. His father was still young and vigorous and there was no rush to establish an heir. They could wait until Wuji and the Wuji were older.
Tang Zhuyun remained silent for a long time.
"Mother, why is my brother doing this?"
Tang Zhuyun remained silent.
But she had already guessed it.
Linlin's identity, the very concept of "legitimate son," is inherently flawed.
It's not that he couldn't stand up to his ministers; after all, it was expected that someone like Emperor Wen would do something so willful. However, having just ascended the throne, he was somewhat "illegitimate" and faced pressure from all sides.
Linlin didn't want her father, the Emperor, to have to face accusations of "covering up" for her.
"My brother said," Yanran whispered, "That he is willing to undergo investigation by the Court of Judicial Review."
But what kind of review is this?!
Haven't Prince of Ding and the Lang Family committed countless evil deeds?
If she were to be tried by the Court of Judicial Review, regardless of the outcome, Linlin's reputation would suffer a severe blow.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Zhuyun asked, "Do you know where your brother wants to go?"
Yanran: "I know. He said he wanted to go to Liaodong. He also told Father that the Prince of Liaodong was a useless and incompetent ruler, and that Liaodong would soon be in chaos. He wanted to do it for Father and wipe out the trouble in Liaodong."
Tang Zhuyun smiled wryly, "Just as I thought."
Prince of Jin is in his prime, Linlin's early maturity is not actually a good thing for the consolidation of imperial power.
Even if the father and son were absolutely convinced, someone would always have ulterior motives.
Linlin decided to retire gracefully, wanting to avoid unnecessary depletion and also to change her surroundings, away from her parents' protection, to hone her skills.