Chapter 556

Night fell, and the civil officials huddling outside the hall for warmth quickly received a summons from the Great King, which was grandly called: discussing the aftermath.

Come on, do they still have any say now?

Everyone stared at each other, what's going on? Let them support Baili Jing's ascension?

"I've summoned you all to discuss the late Imperial Uncle's posthumous affairs. Although he made grave mistakes in life, he's gone, and being a son of the Imperial Ancestor, I must handle his posthumous affairs."

His cousin was extremely perceptive, eyes closed in flattery, "Your Highness, you are benevolent and filial!"

Officials: ……

I can barely recognize those two words anymore. Weren't you the one who seized the city by force and drove your uncle to death?

Alright, you won, whatever you say is right.

"The loss this Imperial Uncle caused to Great Jin runs into trillions; it's a disaster year, we can't waste labor and wealth building him a tomb. With this heat, the best course is to swiftly and decently bury him. In my view, let's do this: have the Imperial Uncle be buried alongside the Grand Ancestor in the Shun Mausoleum." Though framed as discussion, it was merely a notice.

The eldest among these officials is the old Minister of Rites, Cheng Guang, who oversees ancestral temple rites and heads the Nine Ministers. The Great King's meddling others could pretend to be dead, but he cannot.

The old man trembled, "Your Highness! This is absolutely out of the question!"

Tsk! The Great King frowned.

I haven't heard that in a while. After all, there aren't many clueless officials in the Northern Border.

"Your Highness, the Grand Ancestor's underground palace has been sealed; how could we lightly reopen it and disturb the peace?" Both of the Grand Ancestor's empresses have been gone for years; the underground palace has long been sealed shut, and no one has heard of reopening it for a son.

The Great King: "Oh~, you mean the Imperial Unfit, being a rebel king, isn't worthy to be buried with the Imperial Ancestor, right?"

Cheng Guang: …… Is that what he meant?

"This old official doesn't mean that……"

The Great King was displeased, "What do you mean then? You're being so willful! This isn't it, that isn't it!"

Cheng Guang: ……

Cheng Guang is already in his seventies, his great-grandson is about as old as the Great King, and today it's his turn to be willful. Indeed, the longer one lives, the more novel things one hears.

"Your Majesty…… Radiant and Fierce…" He opened his mouth twice, realizing that in this situation there was no proper way to address Baili Jun; the old man steeled himself and said, "Even the King of Jiangxia finally recognized his mistake; if a royal tomb had been built in Jiangxia earlier, I support burying him directly in the Jiangxia royal tomb."

The king's intelligence office isn't kept just for show—he knows everything. 'Jiangxia hasn't built the royal tomb; the imperial uncle's silver has all gone to recruiting troops and buying horses. Will Minister Cheng pay to have one built for him? Though I'm his nephew, I have no silver, oh~'

The officials were truly enlightened; many had served in the Ningde court, perhaps never attaining office high enough to enter the Jianzhang Palace, yet they knew the Ningde emperor was a man who cared most about face, valuing dignity above all. Now it's fine—his son, upon meeting them, immediately cries poverty, shouting in public that he has no money, which is the first time they've seen such a thing.

Minister Cheng having silver cannot give it to the rebel king to build a tomb—what nonsense! 'Your Highness, don't joke; this matter… can be discussed further.'

What's there to discuss? 'I'm swamped, with a pile of things to do. My fief is in the northern borders; even eating is a struggle—I lack the strength, I'm willing but unable! Now, either you, out of sentiment for this brief ruler‑minister bond, provide silver for him to build one, or find a spot in the Gaozu mausoleum. Choose!'

The officials fell silent as chickens; to spend money on a tomb for a rebel who seized the throne and was quickly overthrown? That would truly offend people to no end—it's not about money at all.

The first to be offended would be the person right before us.

So in the end we did as the king said: opening the underground palace is impossible; we merely picked a spot in Gaozu's lesser mausoleum, dug a pit, and buried him.

At this moment the officials of Chang'an realized: this isn't just a show of force to intimidate newcomers!

The king summoning them was indeed just a gesture; the Duke of the Eastern Capital and Feng Xiang are also veteran generals, their status not low, and they too felt they should do something. The two exchanged a glance and then fixed their stare on the newly risen old Minister Cheng.

Minister Cheng felt utterly vexed; he understood what those two meant, but he didn't want to just let the king have his way. Having lived to this age, he actually wasn't that afraid of death—once this person takes the throne, their good days will definitely come later.

The old man watched the belated rebellion unfold; the Duke of the Eastern Capital didn't care either, shifting his glare to the recently perceptive Gao Chang—he only needed someone among the Chang'an crowd to take the lead; who it was didn't matter.

Gao Chang's rank isn't high, but he is indeed sharp, able to yield and stand firm; if he weren't so agile, he would have long died or scattered with the main branch of the Gao clan.

The bloody smell in the air hasn't dissipated; the northern border troops only dragged away the corpses, while the clots of blood in the hall haven't had time to be cleaned. Having come this far, any further struggle would be futile.

Never mind whether this young king shares their sentiments; first, let's just survive tonight.

You haven't seen how the fully armored soldiers have encircled the Jianzhang Palace tightly, with no intention of letting them go. Each armored soldier is tall and sturdy, hand on sword hilt; at the king's command, three breaths would be enough to send their heads flying.

The Duke of the Eastern Capital, as a general, hinted too clearly; he promptly went along with the slope.

Gao Chang spoke righteously and loudly: 'The state cannot go a day without a ruler; please, Your Highness, ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor, to pacify the world!'

Wei Shen and the Duke of the Eastern Capital immediately led the echo; the remaining Chang'an officials also began to voice their support, for fear that later this unpredictable lot would bear a grudge.

'Please, Your Highness, ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor, to pacify the world!'

Although not entirely uniform, the Duke of the Eastern Capital was still satisfied.

The king stood before the hall, still wearing his silver armor, having removed only his helmet, holding in his hand a Tai'a sword that didn't quite match his height. Hearing Gao Chang's words, he gave no reaction, and the hall fell silent at once.

He lifted his gaze to the lofty throne, then lowered his eyes to the familiar faces that had followed him from the northern borders into battle. His kin Wei Shen, the Duke of the Eastern Capital and his son who were the first to respond to him, Mengmeng's gift—the Chang Lai, Zhao Chuan who had accompanied him from Chang'an all the way to Youzhou and now fought back to Chang'an, plus the new partner Feng Xiang and the hall-full of Xiaoqi cavalry. Everyone placed great hopes in him, including Mengmeng.

The Duke of the Eastern Capital again broke the silence: 'The Great Jin now faces turbulent times; only Your Highness can safeguard the four seas and bring order. I, like all the people, hope for a wise lord to ascend the throne, to pacify the world and settle the hearts of the populace.'

Minister Cheng glanced at the Duke of the Eastern Capital—you're wasting your talent as a warrior.

The core of the Chang Lai is really an old monster; he has more experience than the Duke of the Eastern Capital.

He stepped forward and said, 'My brothers and I have lived and died together; all we seek is to ease Your Highness's worries and preserve the Great Jin's legitimacy. Now we have already turned chaos into order; if you refuse, when will this turbulent age end? You too must consider the people!'

Minister Cheng: …!

Oh ho, this guy is even more shameless than that rascal Liang Jin!