Chapter 742
Chapter 742
At last, someone from the Empire had arrived. Nineteen days after Ning Yuanxian’s collapse, an imperial envoy from the Great Yan Dynasty traveled south and entered the capital of the State of Yue. The dispatched envoy was a very familiar face: Prince Yan of the Empire. He first expressed his regrets, stating that His Majesty the Emperor had ordered him to check on the comatose Ning Yuanxian. Soon after, the imperial physician sent by the Empire began to examine Ning Yuanxian. Of course, the examination was meaningless. Next, Prince Yan of the Empire went to personally offer his condolences to the Queen Dowager of Yue and urged her a thousand times over. He said that the Queen Dowager's funeral must be held quickly so she could be laid to rest in the royal tombs. How could it be right to leave her coffin in the grand hall? However, with Ning Yuanxian collapsed and the position of Crown Prince still vacant, no one was qualified to conduct the funeral of the Queen Dowager, a great elder of the royal family. Prince Yan’s urging was a clear push for the State of Yue to enthrone a Crown Prince quickly.
“Your Majesty the Queen, do not grieve so.”
Prince Yan of the Empire also offered his condolences to Ning Yuanxian’s wife, Queen Zhu. With this, the once-confined Queen Zhu was finally free. This was no ordinary signal. With Ning Yuanxian collapsed and the Queen Dowager deceased, the highest-ranking member of the royal family was now Queen Zhu. She had a significant say in the matter of choosing a Crown Prince.
Prince Yan of the Empire said.
“A nation cannot be without its sovereign for even a day. Do you intend to keep the capital sealed until the end of the year? Is the court of Yue to grind to a halt as well? Before I came south, His Majesty the Emperor instructed that the matter of Yue’s Crown Prince be settled swiftly. The burial of the Queen Dowager must also not be delayed any further. Is it not said that among all virtues, filial piety comes first?”
“Yes.”
Queen Zhu replied respectfully. Prince Yan of the Empire continued.
“Ning Zheng and Ning Qi are both here, and most of the officials from the Secretariat and the Bureau of Military Affairs are present. I will offer a suggestion here. Listen, and then you may decide for yourselves.”
“We humbly await Your Highness’s wise counsel.”
“Tomorrow’s court session will be presided over by the Queen from behind a screen, and I will sit to the side. But rest assured, I will bring only my eyes and ears to watch and listen, not a mouth to interfere. How does that sound?”
To Prince Yan’s words, Ning Qi and Ning Zheng replied.
“As you wish.”
“Let it be so!”
* * *
The next day, the State of Yue finally held a court session again. Queen Zhu presided from behind a screen, with Prince Yan of the Empire sitting at the end, observing.
“His Majesty suffered a stroke and remains unconscious to this day, but a nation cannot be without a sovereign for even a single day. The matter of establishing a Crown Prince is originally for His Majesty to decide alone; we ministers can only offer suggestions, not make the final decision. Now that Her Majesty the Queen Dowager has also passed away, only Her Majesty the Queen remains among the royal family. What is Your Majesty’s opinion? Which prince do you think should be chosen?”
Zhu Hongzhu asked, looking at Queen Zhu. Although Queen Zhu was his daughter, he showed her not the slightest impropriety, observing all due courtesies. Queen Zhu replied.
“My heart is in turmoil, and I know not what choice to make. Besides, a woman should not meddle in the affairs of state, so I have rarely voiced my opinion. I will defer to the judgment of the ministers and officials.”
Hearing this, Zhu Hongzhu naturally turned to the officials.
“My colleagues of the Secretariat and the Bureau of Military Affairs, what are your thoughts?”
Many shook their heads in unison, indicating that they could not speak on the matter of establishing a Crown Prince. It was all too disingenuous. Before, when King Ning Yuanxian had asked them, they had supported Ning Qi with every word, yet now they acted as if it was difficult to speak. In the end, after half an hour of discussion, nothing was decided. Prince Yan of the Empire spoke with irritation.
“At this rate, we won’t have a result even by next year.”
At this, Zhu Hongzhu said.
“We ask for the Imperial Envoy’s guidance.”
“In a thousand years of history, such an incident has occurred a few times. The sovereign is absent, so a Crown Prince cannot be appointed, and the ministers are not qualified to appoint one. In that case, a king must be chosen! What say you to following the precedent of the State of Jian from three hundred and seventy-five years ago?”
A King-Selecting Assembly? Did such a thing exist in this world? It had on Earth. In 1572, King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland died, leaving the throne vacant. The domestic nobility fought bitterly until they finally established a system where the nobles would elect the king. The first king they ultimately elected was Henri, the brother of the King of France. The nobles elected a foreigner as their king to keep him in their grasp and manipulate him as they pleased. This was not unlike the time the Guangxu Emperor attempted to invite Itō Hirobumi to serve as the prime minister of the Qing dynasty.
“Of course, only the biological sons of the King of Yue may participate in this King-Selecting Assembly. Are not all the King of Yue’s sons present in this hall? Ning Qi, Ning Zhan, Ning Zheng, Ning Jing. You four are the only adult princes currently in the capital. Speak. Who among you wishes to participate?”
Ning Qi stepped forward and said.
“I wish to participate.”
Ning Zheng also stepped forward.
“I, too, will participate.”
Ning Zhan said nothing, lowering his head to look at his shoes. He had once followed Crown Prince Ning Yi, had been quite active, and had maintained close ties with the Zhu Clan. Now, he was worried a single stone might fall and crush him into paste. The sixth prince, Ning Jing, felt a flicker of ambition, his heart pounding with excitement and trepidation.
*Can I… can I also participate?*
He desperately wanted to, but he lacked the courage.
“I… I…”
Prince Yan of the Empire looked at Ning Jing with a cool gaze and asked.
“Ning Jing, will you participate as well?”
At his question, Ning Jing quickly shrank back, forcing an awkward smile.
“No. How could I possess the virtue and ability to be a sovereign?”
*It’s good that you know. If you had dared to say you would participate today, you would have met your end within a few days.*
Ning Zheng stepped forward and said.
“What if, when my royal father awakens, the one chosen is not the one he had in mind?”
Prince Yan of the Empire furrowed his brow and asked back.
“What are your thoughts?”
“Naturally, we must follow my royal father’s will.”
“Are you saying that unless the King of Yue awakens, the matter of the Crown Prince cannot be decided?”
“The one chosen first should preside over the court, but there should be a one-month grace period. If my royal father awakens within that time, we will naturally follow his will. If he does not, then we must discuss the matter separately.”
Prince Yan thought for a moment, then sought everyone’s opinion.
“What do you all think? Zhu Hongzhu, Zhong E, Ning Qi, Ning Ji. What are your thoughts on this idea?”
“That seems acceptable!”
“That would be fine!”
Zhu Hongzhu, Ning Qi, and the others believed in their hearts that there was no hope of King Ning Yuanxian ever waking up.
“Then it is settled. First, we will hold a King-Selecting Assembly to choose a prince to preside over the court. If the King of Yue awakens within a month, the prince he designates will become the Crown Prince. However, if the King of Yue does not awaken, the prince presiding over the court will automatically become the Crown Prince of Yue. Your Majesty the Queen, and all you ministers of Yue, are there any objections?”
“None!”
“Very well. Every official present in the grand hall today is eligible to vote. You will recommend the one you deem a suitable Crown Prince. Each person gets one vote, and it will be anonymous.”
A moment later, every official was given a brush and a sheet of special paper. The paper had a unique pattern that could not be forged in a short time.
“The person you, the ministers of Yue, recommend may one day inherit the throne. All of you, consider the greater good and write with caution, caution, and more caution! Now, write on the paper. You need only write the name Ning Zheng or Ning Qi. If you do not write a name, it will be considered an abstention.”
As his words fell, the hundreds of ministers of Yue in the grand hall began to write on their papers. They would write the name of the person they thought was suited to be Crown Prince. After writing, they folded the paper to conceal their choice from others. After fifteen minutes, everyone had finished, and several eunuchs walked around with golden basins to collect the votes. Thirty minutes later, all the votes had been collected. Then, the tallying began in front of everyone.
Prince Yan of the Empire, Zhu Hongzhu, Zhong E, and the others were quite relaxed. The result was as good as certain. Among all the civil and military officials in the court, over eighty percent would support Ning Qi. Ning Zheng had always been weak in influence. This kind of selection system seemed fair, but was in fact the most unfair of all. Ning Qi’s victory was a foregone conclusion.
However, as the tallying progressed, their expressions began to change.
“Ning Zheng, Ning Zheng, Ning Qi, Ning Zheng…”
Of the first fifteen votes counted, Ning Zheng had received ten, while Ning Qi had only five. Unexpectedly, Ning Zheng had taken an overwhelming lead.
*What… what is happening? This is utterly baffling.*
* * *
On the road from the Great Southern Kingdom, Shen Lang had not rested or slept for seven days and nights, scanning and scanning relentlessly. He looked like a withered old tree, swaying as if he might collapse at any moment. He had never been so exhausted in his life, but he dared not delay for a single minute, a single second. Even the slightest delay could lead to a great crisis.
Shen Lang had scanned over several hundred thousand pages of ancient records, yet he still could not find any mention of that special gem. It was truly like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was like searching for a single required page among tens of thousands of books in a library without an index. Just then, Shen Lang’s body suddenly trembled.
He found it! He had finally found it. Now he could save the king!
The unbearably exhausted Shen Lang suddenly felt his mind become incomparably clear. He quickly scanned while rapidly deciphering the contents. The gem was indeed an ancient artifact. But what was very strange was that it was unexpectedly a beneficial object. Many tribes of the ancient civilization wore this object; some made it into a brooch, others into a hairpin.
So what was its purpose? To strengthen the mind and brain. This gem emitted a very special energy wave from within that could provide intense stimulation to a person’s nerves. The longer they were exposed to that stimulation, the faster the ancient humans’ neural response speed became, and the sharper their mental thoughts grew.
But that was a bit strange. Modern Earth also had electroconvulsive therapy, but wasn't it mostly used to treat mental illness? Yet this was somewhat similar to training muscles. It was like going to the gym and doing high-intensity anaerobic training, which first tears old muscle tissue and then rebuilds it, making the muscles stronger. However, the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion giving this special gem to Ning Yuanxian through Crown Prince Ning Qi was obviously not to make his nerves and thoughts stronger. Mulan’s case alone was enough to show that the physique of ancient humans was far stronger than that of the people of this world.
While this object had the effect of strengthening the brains and nerves of ancient humans, for Ning Yuanxian, it was a fatal blow, causing his entire nervous system to be paralyzed in an instant. It was like a computer immediately crashing when the electrical current becomes excessive. Of course, the computer could also burn out completely. Fortunately, a detailed examination of Ning Yuanxian’s brain by Shen Lang had revealed no obvious trauma. This was probably because the energy released by the gem was only momentary. If it had released energy for a longer period, Ning Yuanxian’s brain would have been completely destroyed.
