The two princes glared fiercely at Mu Niancheng.
"Since youâre all here, then hear My decree... cough, cough..." The eunuch supported Baili Yan; he coughed several times after every few words, and what he coughed up was already blood. "I know My end is near. I now pass the throne to the Crown Prince, Baili Mingshen. The enthronement ceremony shall be held three months from now."
"Also, I confer... confer Mu Niancheng as Head Imperial Physician of the Imperial Infirmary, to command the Imperial Infirmary."
"I confer the Second Prince... Baili Mingyue as Prince Yu."
"Ye Ziâan is to be made Grand Chancellor, bearing the duty of assisting and guiding the new Emperor, supervising all the civil and military officials of the court. Should the new Emperor become muddleâheaded and unfit to rule, he may exercise the power to depose and establish the sovereign. He need not attend court... need not return to the capital... nor need he come back to observe mourning. They, they, in Funan, shall bow to Heaven three times northward; that shall, that shall be counted as having fulfilled the sentiments owed between ruler and subject."
This "they" naturally included Mu Shaoling as well.
"Emperor... the Crown Princeâs merits over the years are plain for all to see. We have nothing to say against Your choice to let him ascend the throne; we shall of course do our utmost to assist the new Emperor. But, but to let Marquis Changning wield the power to depose and establish the sovereignâdoes that not throw everything into chaos?"
The speaker was the newly appointed Clan Chief of the Baili Clan. The power to depose and establish the sovereign, apart from the Emperor himself, should by rights belong most to their clan.
How could such great authority now be placed in the hands of an outside minister?
"Clan Uncle, this is the imperial will." His Highness Crown Prince glanced at him coolly out of the corner of his eye.
The Clan Chiefâs words stuck in his throat. "Yes."
By this time, Prince Yu and Prince An had already taken the lead to kneel and bow to the new Emperor.
"Your subject pays respects to the new Emperor. Long live, long live, long live the Emperor!"
"We subjects pay respects to the new Emperor..."
"Good, good, good!" Seeing this, Baili Yan shouted "good" three times, then clasped the new Emperorâs hand. "The Great Zhou is... is entrusted to you..."
In the five hundred and sixtyâeighth year of the Great Zhou, the twentyâninth Emperor of Great Zhou, Baili Yan, passed away! He was fiftyâsix at the time of his death!
Later generations honored him with the temple name Emperor Zhizong. All his life he labored tirelessly and exhausted his heartâs blood for Great Zhou, and in the end an old ailment flared up before the imperial desk; there was no cure, and he died!
Even in his final moments he was still reviewing memorials. His lifeâs achievements were passed down in praise among later generations; he was a rarely seen enlightened ruler in the history of Great Zhou.
His son Baili Mingshen spent his life modeling himself on his late father, vowing to be a good Emperor like his Father Emperor. This new Emperor, in terms of talent and intellect, could not match his father, but he excelled in being humble and prudent, in listening well to others, and in knowing and properly employing people. Thus for several decades to come, Great Zhou remained peaceful and prosperous, flourishing and thriving.
"Father Emperor!"
"Emperor..."
By the time news of Baili Yanâs death reached Funan, a month had already passed.
Upon hearing his final will, Ye Ziâan sat there stunned for quite a while.
"What does he mean by this?" Mu Shaoling was somewhat puzzled. How was it that even on his deathbed he left some decree about making him Grand Chancellor?
"These past years the Situ Family has grown ever more outrageous, riding on the influence of the Empress and the new Emperor. He wants to make use of me to keep the Situ Family in check."
"But in that case, wonât the new Emperor see you as a thorn in his side?"
Ye Ziâan shook his head. "Not necessarily. Iâm already at this ageâhow many more years can I live? I wonât affect him much. But the first few years after a new Emperor ascends the throne are often the most unstable. And among all the princes, the new Emperor was not the most outstanding. He feared he could not hold that seat. I suppose he wants me to assist the new Emperor through the hardest of those years."
"I really canât fathom him. Since he was uneasy, why make such a choice at all?" Why not establish someone more capable instead? He had more than one son.
"Because among all the princes, he is the one with the kindest and most benevolent heart."
Had it not been him, if it were another, the imperial clan of Great Zhou would likely have descended into another round of bloody slaughter. In the end the imperial bloodline would have withered, merely giving others the chance to seize the highest seat for themselves.