Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

Zhou Ning changed into his official robes and immediately rode into the palace!

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the vast majority of civil officials traveled by horse or carriage. This was because the scholar-officials generally believed that the practice of "using people instead of animals" in sedan chairs was immoral and morally offensive.

Funing Palace!

Prime Minister Han arrived first, tears streaming down his face!

High-ranking officials from the three provinces entered the palace one after another, all dressed in purple robes.

Despite his ailing health, the old emperor personally wrote a formal edict confirming that his adopted son, Zhao Zongquan, would inherit the throne. Afterwards, he could only linger on his sickbed, holding Zhao Zongquan's hand and intermittently instructing him to be diligent in governing, to care for the people, to recover lost territories, and never to become a tyrant.

Zhou Ning arrived and saw that the old emperor was on his deathbed, and felt a pang of sorrow.

"Zhou... Minister, you... come!" the old emperor called out with difficulty.

"Your Majesty, I am late!" Zhou Ning heard clearly and hurriedly stepped forward to say.

The old emperor tugged at Zhou Ning's sleeve, wanting to say something, but he could no longer utter a sound, as if he would breathe his last at any moment.

Fearing that he might die if the emperor pulled him down and that this would be recorded by the historians, Zhou Ning grasped the emperor's left hand with his right, and a powerful yet gentle internal force flowed from his palm into the old emperor's body.

The old emperor felt a warm, comforting sensation enter his body from Zhou Ning's palm, instantly making him feel comfortable all over. Although the comfort was slowly fading, it no longer affected his ability to speak. He was both grateful and alarmed, truly unaware of how much more skill Zhou Ning possessed.

"My dear minister, I have something I wish to tell you!" the old emperor said.

"Your Majesty, please speak, I am listening!" Zhou Ning continued to channel his internal energy. If he stopped, the old emperor's organs, which had been forcibly activated, would immediately fail!

For those who practice martial arts, internal energy is of paramount importance. Each time one channels energy, their internal energy diminishes. However, Zhou Ning can recover through body fusion, so he has no such concerns.

The old emperor knew it was Zhou Ning who was helping him, so he didn't let go and asked, "I wish to adopt you as my godson. Are you willing?"

Chancellor Han Zhang said, "Your Majesty, you mustn't! You are the Son of Heaven, how can you recognize a subject as your adopted son?"

The seven men in purple robes knelt down to offer their advice, fearing that the old emperor was confused.

Zhao Zongquan was also surprised. Was the emperor delirious due to his illness?

Why would someone who's about to die take in an adopted son?

But he wouldn't object, since the historian was right there, and he had to be careful with his words and actions.

"Your Majesty is terrified. You are the Son of Heaven; how could I dare disobey? However, the ministers oppose this, and I also feel it is inappropriate. I would never dare to do so!"

Zhou Ning resolutely refused, saying, "If you're alive and well, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging you as my godfather."

But you're about to die, so becoming your adopted son is just nonsense.

Is he afraid that the new emperor will not be wary of him?

The old emperor struggled to get up, led Zhou Ning to the table, and was about to write another edict!

Zhao Zongquan frowned. What was he going to do?

"What's going on? Is the old emperor trying to harm me?" Zhou Ning stopped channeling his internal energy, considering that if it really was such an edict, then none of the people in the hall today could be spared!

He peeked at the beginning of the edict and, seeing that it didn't mention adopting a son and that it referred to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing the old emperor teetering on the brink of collapse, he continued to channel his inner energy into him.

The old emperor perked up, finished writing the edict, released Zhou Ning's hand, held the imperial seal with both hands, and pressed it down forcefully!

"This is my last edict, you must obey it..." The old emperor looked at Zhou Ning, but before he could finish saying the word "edict," he died with his eyes wide open in death!

"Your Majesty!" Zhou Ning reacted quickly and hugged the old emperor.

"Your Majesty!" Empress Cao rushed forward in tears.

The imperial physician immediately stepped forward, quickly shook his head, and tried to close the old emperor's eyes, but he couldn't do so twice!

The historian wiped away his tears and wrote as he read: "At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), His Majesty, on his deathbed, wished to adopt Zhou Ning, the Grand Master of the Palace, as his son. The Chancellor Han Zhang, the Privy Council... seven high-ranking officials knelt and remonstrated against it, and Zhou Ning was forced to politely decline the imperial favor. His Majesty, enraged, fought against his illness, struggled to his feet, pulled Zhou Ning to his desk, left his will, and died with his eyes wide open, unable to finish speaking..."

"What should we do?" Prime Minister Han Zhang and the ministers of the three provinces looked at each other, both terrified. The historians were writing nonsense! Bah, they were writing the truth!

Just write down whatever you see.

In this dynasty, is there any precedent for an emperor adopting a son?

Zhao Zongquan picked up the imperial edict from the table, opened it, and breathed a sigh of relief after reading it. It wasn't about adopting a son. He handed it to the prime minister and others for review. After discussing it, they all knelt and said, "Your Majesty, we obey your decree. May you rest in peace!"

The imperial physician tried to close the old emperor's eyes again, but he still couldn't!

The historian hurriedly wrote down: "The Crown Prince, along with the prime minister and other ministers who had previously remonstrated, knelt to receive the imperial decree. His Majesty refused to forgive them and still refused to close his eyes in peace..."

The ministers are furious!

Seeing that he had been implicated as well, Zhao Zongquan stood up, stepped forward, helped Zhou Ning, who was holding the old emperor's body, and handed him the imperial edict, saying, "Take a look! Go quickly and obey the decree to express your gratitude!"

Zhou Ning had only peeked at the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun before, and only now did he read it carefully.

It turns out that, like his predecessors, the old emperor deeply regretted that after losing Yan and Yun, the Great Zhou Dynasty had been constrained by a shortage of warhorses, and could only be in a passive and defensive position in the wars against the Liao and Jin dynasties.

In his will, he not only granted Zhou Ning the honorary title of Protector-General of the State (a second-rank military officer), but also gave him command of eight hundred cavalry! He promised that if Zhou Ning truly possessed the courage of Huo Qubing (the legendary general Huo Tiaoqi), and could reclaim one prefecture in the Yan-Yun region for the Great Zhou, he would be granted the hereditary title of Founding Earl. If he could reclaim three prefectures in the Yan-Yun region, he would be granted the hereditary title of Founding Marquis, and further bestowed with a certificate of merit, with the Crown Prince carrying his coffin in the future! If he could reclaim more than six prefectures, in addition to being granted the hereditary title of Founding Duke, his rank would never be downgraded, remaining with the state forever!

Zhou Ning accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude. The imperial physician tried again, and this time the old emperor finally closed his eyes!

All the officials, including Zhao Zongquan, breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, Zhou Ning had to express his gratitude. The spirit of the late emperor was not far away!

Numerous eunuchs were dispatched from the palace to inform the entire nation that banquets, celebrations, and weddings should be suspended immediately, and that mourning for the late emperor should be observed according to regulations.

Following the Zhou Dynasty's ritual of "dharmacognition and ceremonial attire," the new emperor had to complete the enthronement ceremony before the spirit tablet, a process that took about ten days.

Apart from Zhao Zongquan, Zhou Ning and other ministers had all left first!

They weren't from the Imperial Academy of Rites; they would only officially put on mourning clothes and begin the funeral arrangements after the old emperor was placed in his coffin, according to their rank.

After leaving the palace, Zhou Ning first used the imperial edict and tiger tally to go to the western suburbs camp to muster eight hundred cavalry. By the time he returned, it was already dark!

He hadn't expected that the Great Zhou Dynasty boasted an imperial guard of 800,000, with 400,000 of them stationed in the western suburbs alone.

However, there were fewer than three thousand cavalrymen in the entire country, and the western suburban camp had only sixteen hundred warhorses. When the handover was disrupted, Zhou Ning directly and violently crippled three cavalry commanders, offending the Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion and the Marquis of Ningyuan's Mansion.

(Don't confuse warhorses with ordinary horses)

Chengyuan!

Zhou Ning wrote the transfer agreement for the hot spring resort in the front yard, then went to the back yard. He greeted Yu Yanran in the main courtyard first, and then planned to have a meal at Minglan's place, to "eat" people.

Yu Yanran knew that Zhou Ning had not yet consummated his marriage with Minglan, so she told him that Minglan had been tired all day and he should be gentle with her, and then let him be.

Zhufei Academy!

Minglan was reviewing the accounts for today's repairs to Chengyuan Garden when she saw Zhou Ning arrive, still in his official robes. She helped him change and asked, "You just got back?"

Zhou Ning nodded and said, "I'm so hungry. I'll have dinner here. I'm not leaving tonight. Have you eaten yet?"

Minglan shook her head and told Danju to go to the small kitchen to get a table and food.

Zhou Ning held her in his arms, ignoring Xiao Tao and Cui Wei standing nearby, kissed her a few times, and handed her the transfer document, saying, "With the Emperor's passing, banquets and weddings have been suspended nationwide. Now Cheng Garden has plenty of time to slowly repair itself. I'll be very busy during this time, so you can have Wei Zhi help you. She's quite capable. This is yours!"

Minglan was shy and wanted Xiaotao and Cuiwei to go down first, but Zhou Ning stopped her, saying, "Let them watch, so that when the old lady asks them if I treat you well, they won't know what to say."

The two women tried their best to suppress their laughter.

Upon seeing the transfer deed for the hot spring resort, Minglan asked, "Weren't you keeping it for yourself? How can you transfer it to me? What if they find out..."

"If they find out, I'll spank you like this!"

......