Chapter 190: The Dragon Carries the Esteemed Guest

Xiande Year Six, spring.

The atmosphere in Kaifeng City was oppressive enough to make one breathless.

Inside the imperial palace, it was even more gloomy and miserable.

Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, Guo Rong, after barely holding on for a few months, finally collapsed completely and was bedridden.

All the famous physicians in the world were summoned to the palace.

Bowl after bowl of precious decoctions were sent into the emperor's sleeping quarters.

But everyone knew this was futile.

This heaven‑gifted emperor's life flame was like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

A heavy medicinal smell filled the sleeping quarters.

Guo Rong lay on the dragon bed, emaciated, his breathing faint. His once sharp eyes were now clouded.

Beside him knelt Empress Chai and the most senior regent ministers—Chancellor Fan Zhi and Grand Marshal Wang Pu.

Also his seven‑year‑old son, Crown Prince Chai Zongxun.

The little crown prince knelt beside the bed, looking at his dying father, too frightened to cry, his small body trembling incessantly.

"Get… up." Guo Rong summoned all his strength to utter a few words.

"Your Majesty…" Empress Chai had already dissolved into tears.

"Don't cry." Guo Rong forced a smile uglier than crying, "I… am not afraid of death. I… just can't let go…"

His gaze fell on the young crown prince, Chai Zongxun, filled with reluctance and worry.

"Zun'er… is still too young."

He knew that once he passed, leaving this orphaned widow and child to face a pack of wolf‑like generals would be dire.

He had to arrange everything before his death.

His gaze swept over the faces of Fan Zhi and Wang Pu.

"Chancellor Fan… Marshal Wang…" Guo Rong gasped a few breaths, voice weak, "After I am gone, the crown prince and the realm of Later Zhou are entrusted to you."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Fan Zhi and Wang Pu knocked their heads to the ground, weeping uncontrollably, "We will devote ourselves until death, assist the new monarch, to repay your grace!"

Guo Rong nodded slightly, but he knew two civil officials alone could not hold the situation.

He still needed to leave a few military commanders who could control the army and were absolutely loyal for the crown prince.

Names of generals flashed through his mind.

Zhang Yongde? No, he is his brother‑in‑law, an outside relative, too powerful, likely to become top‑heavy.

Zhao Kuangyin? This man is brave in battle, highly respected in the army. But… Guo Rong always felt his ambition too great, his eyes hiding something he could not see through.

One name after another came to mind, only to be rejected one by one.

At that moment, a name inevitably surfaced in his thoughts.

— Wang Hao.

In talent, strategy, and influence both in the army and among the people, Wang Hao was undoubtedly the best choice to assist the new monarch.

With him, those arrogant troops would dare not harbor the slightest disloyalty.

With the Wang family behind him, the Later Zhou treasury and logistics would be as stable as Mount Tai.

Empress Chai seemed to see through his thoughts, and from the side she whispered, "Your Majesty, Lord Wang of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is talented and virtuous, utterly loyal. If he could assist the crown prince, I… could rest a little easier."

Guo Rong fell silent.

In his mind, heaven and man waged war.

Reason told him choosing Wang Hao was the best option.

But emotion—or rather, the emperor's final suspicion and fear—struggled desperately to stop him.

His father's dying instruction echoed again in his mind like a demonic chant.

"The Wang family is the greatest variable in this world."

"You may use them, but cannot trust them completely."

"Water can carry a boat, yet it can also capsize it."

He dared not gamble.

He dared not stake the future of Later Zhou, his son's life, on the Wang family's "goodwill."

The Wang family now appeared harmless, with no desire for power.

Who could guarantee that after his death, when Later Zhou faced a young ruler and doubtful state, with court turmoil, they would not develop other thoughts?

With the Wang family's wealth rivaling a nation, even enough to overturn a dynasty, if they wanted to do something, who could stop them?

Guo Rong dared not imagine that outcome.

He would rather choose a few less capable but utterly loyal retainers than a supremely capable yet unfathomable "outsider."

This was his final, most selfish decision as both an emperor and a father.

"Cough… cough…" Guo Rong suffered another violent coughing fit, feeling his life ebbing away rapidly.

He knew he had no time left to hesitate.

"Issue the edict…" he said with his last strength to the nearby eunuch.

"Order… the Chief Inspector of the Palace Front Zhao Kuangyin, the Commander of the Palace Front Shi Shouxin… Han Chongxun… to enter the palace and receive the decree."

In the end he still chose those he had promoted himself, the grass‑roots Imperial Guard commanders who seemed loyally devoted to him.

He alone did not mention Wang Hao's name.

Upon hearing this decision, Empress Chai and Fan Zhi were stunned.

They wanted to advise, but seeing Guo Rong's unquestionable "last‑glimpse" gaze, they knew everything was settled.

…

That night, deep into the night, above Kaifeng city, a huge meteor, trailing a long tail of flame, sliced through the night sky, fell toward the northwest.

Inside the imperial palace, the bell rang loudly.

The Later Zhou Emperor Shizong, wise and martial, Guo Rong, who nearly unified the world, has ascended the dragon chariot.

He died at the age of thirty-nine.

What he left behind was an unprecedentedly powerful empire, and a seven-year-old orphaned young ruler.

And a power vacuum filled with ambition and desire.

The empire's dusk quietly fell.