Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 159 158. Zong Zheng Fengchang
What to do?

Zhou Ju didn't know either.

He even recalled that one person with such a special talent, whose face had turned pale at that moment.

Now we can only be thankful that since arriving in Xianyang, the Qin ruler has been busy every day and has no time to appreciate them.

I wonder what the future holds...

But that wasn't his concern at the moment, so he urged the Minister of the Imperial Household Department:
"Now that the jade maiden has been bestowed upon the Qin ruler, she shall be responsible for her future arrangements. Minister of the Imperial Household, you should quickly open the storerooms and prepare some more pearls, jade artifacts, and silks..."

Although the king will issue the decree in three days, given his temperament, he might bestow the rewards first thing tomorrow morning. Any slightest negligence from them would be utterly disrespectful.

Despite this, the Minister of the Imperial Household's face was still pale, and he lowered his head to tidy up.

The physician standing to the side remained silent.

As the commander of the palace guards, the existence of the queen had a significant impact on him—for example, the queen's investiture required the presence of personal guards.

How will the selection process be conducted then?
These thoughts swirled together, but in the end, they all coalesced into a silent shock: their king... actually had a queen.

When the Imperial Clan Court and the Imperial Attendant arrived, everyone in the Zhangtai Palace had already been settled. Only the Junior Minister of the Palace was still running around, giving orders to his servants. At this time, it was time to prepare the items needed for the coronation ceremony.

The two exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves: As expected, they are going to establish a crown prince!
Looking at Zhou Ju again, the two hurriedly asked, "Prefect Zhou, you summoned His Majesty in the dead of night, why is His Majesty not here?"

How can the matter of establishing a crown prince be accomplished without Your Majesty giving instructions in person?
Zhou Ju, disregarding pleasantries, quickly said, "His Majesty has already rested; it is I who have come to invite you two gentlemen—"

"Three days from now, the King will appoint a Queen."

Zongzheng's eyes widened instantly, his droopy eyelids almost trying to stay open: "Queen?!"

Feng Chang found it utterly unbelievable: "Prefect Zhou, you're falsely conveying the Emperor's will! You—you—"

It wasn't that he couldn't accept it; it was simply that he had personally submitted a memorial to the king, requesting that the king establish a queen and simultaneously appoint a crown prince.

The king, however, flatly rejected the idea, saying that he had no intention of establishing an empress and that the matter of the crown prince still needed to be considered...

Why is it that in the middle of the night, they suddenly want to establish an empress?!

He was pacing anxiously: "How could such an important matter be kept secret until today?!" It should have been announced at least six months in advance! Otherwise, how could the investiture ceremony be organized and prepared?
Zhou Ju thought to himself: The King originally intended to instruct the court officials on this matter during the New Year, but he never expected that Minister Qin would be so extraordinary!

Even now, when Zhou Ju recalls those words she said, his heart still trembles involuntarily.

At this moment, all he could do was give a wry smile: "Please calm down, Your Majesty. Although Your Majesty wishes to establish a Queen, the investiture ceremony should be held next year."

He did not mention the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai for the time being, but said only: "The imperial edict will be issued in three days. It will still be necessary for the two officials, the Grand Master of Ceremonies and the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, to be by my side. That is why I invited them overnight to discuss this together."

Judging from this, it seems that the matter is already a certainty.

The elderly Zongzheng remained silent for a moment, then asked, "I wonder which noble lady is worthy to be the Queen of my Great Qin?"

Their Qin Dynasty has never been as absurd as King You of Zhou's beacon fire prank, nor have they ever heard of any lovelorn and foolish rulers. If so, why is it that they suddenly and quietly want to establish a queen?

They didn't even know who they were.

Feng Chang also lowered his voice: "Lord Zhou, is the Queen Lady Zheng or Lady Chu? Is His Majesty planning to establish a Crown Prince, and is he therefore accumulating influence from his maternal clan first?"

He was also somewhat worried: "There are women from Qin in the King's palace, so why is it that none of them have a prince?"

The six states had only recently been unified, and the hatred and grudges between the states would take two or three generations to quell. Now, the appointment of a crown prince with blood from another country was truly unsettling. However, Zhou Ju shook his head: "Lord Fengchang, rest assured, the queen appointed by the king is a woman of Qin."

"It was the noble lady from Lanchi whom he brought back during his western tour."

Huh?
That one?!
Everyone immediately remembered the noble lady they had seen at Zhangtai Palace because of the "Falling Star in Dongjun".

The other person had a fair complexion with a rosy glow, and was full of vitality, clearly in excellent health!
Furthermore, he speaks with substance and can instantly soothe the king's anger, and he also has a slight relationship with Prime Minister Wang Fu...

For some reason, recalling how she had calmed the King of Qin's anger with a smile, everyone felt somewhat relaxed.

We can't afford not to relax.

Since the king ascended the throne and seized power, no one has been able to refute what he has wanted to do.

From local prefectures and counties to the standardization of writing, currency, weights and measures, he single-handedly promulgated them all.

If anyone dares to disobey, the Qin army's iron hooves can trample them in an instant!
He was in control of the kingdom, and now it was his turn to establish the weak prince Chenghu as the crown prince. Everyone had no choice but to bow their heads and obey.

The fact that a queen has been appointed now, and that she appears to be a wise and experienced woman from Qin, is already a stroke of good fortune!

Zongzheng stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then slowly nodded: "If that's the case, the enthronement ceremony in three days is difficult to complete in a hurry, but it is appropriate to go to the ancestral temple to pay homage to our ancestors."

"Prefect Zhou, thanks to your timely message, I will immediately lead men to the Temple of the Supreme Lord to make proper arrangements."

The Temple of the Supreme Being is located between the Wei River and the Xianyang Palace. It is the place where the ancestors of the Qin state were worshipped. When the king appoints the queen, he must go to the Temple of the Supreme Being to pay homage.

If Zhou Ju hadn't come to report overnight, and he had to spend the next day at Zhangtai Palace before receiving the news, his old body would have been too frail to ride a horse or carriage, thus missing a whole day. How could he possibly make proper arrangements then?
Thinking of this, Zongzheng bowed slightly and hurriedly turned back.

Feng Chang, lagging behind, hurriedly bowed and followed, saying, "My lord, please wait a moment, I must also go along—"

Zhou Ju: ...Wait!
"Stop the two lords immediately!"

He hasn't mentioned many details yet!

If he hadn't already given the proper instructions and the king's veiled meaning, why would he have summoned the two gentlemen in the dead of night?
……

at the same time.

Fang Palace.

There were no servants in Ji Heng's bedchamber.

Inside the spacious hall, the bronze ice mirrors in the four corners were cool and serene. In the corner of the wall, a mythical beast lamp stand held a single flame in its mouth. The visibility was extremely low, but it was not completely dark.

On the rosewood bed carved with cloud patterns and auspicious beasts, a long sword hung beside the draped bed curtains. In the dead of night, it stood like a shadowy figure, easily taken down by him with a simple movement of his hand as he sat up.

At the same time, there was also a sharpened short sword under Ji Heng's pillow.

He was an unparalleled sage ruler who unified the world, yet he was also surrounded by enemies. The remnants of the six kingdoms and the rebels within their own countries were constantly devising ways to take his life.

This also led him to develop the habit of always carrying a weapon with him.

Now, however, the Fang Palace is quiet, and even the slightest chirping of insects in the grass and trees outside the palace is quickly and deftly chased away by the servants.

In this tranquility, Ji Heng lay quietly on the bed, but he was not asleep.

　Coming!
　　(End of this chapter)