Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine

As the new year began, many things happened.

On the first day of the lunar new year, there was a grand court meeting where both imperial concubines and titled madams entered the palace to pay their respects. From the second to the fifth day, it was customary to visit friends and family to offer New Year’s greetings and drink New Year’s wine. On the sixth day, the government offices opened for official business, and those who needed to attend court or report for military duty did so. In this first month, there wasn’t anything serious going on and everyone was just going through the motions. On the tenth day, preparation for the Lantern Festival began, and the festive season continued until the end of the first lunar month.ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Noᴠᴇꜰɪre.nᴇt

Time passed. It was soon the second month of the thirty-fourth year of Emperor Hongjing’s reign, which was destined for chaos.

It was unknown when it started, but the voices calling for the emperor to name a crown prince began to grow louder and louder in court. The voices eventually became a chorus, sweeping across the entire court like a torrent. Initially, Emperor Hongjing didn’t respond, saying that it wasn’t urgent, but the courtiers were like chickens that had been injected with chicken blood, and they continued to plead with the emperor. The atmosphere in the court became increasingly tense every day, and Emperor Hongjing’s temper became more and more violent. Several officials were punished with caning, causing a stir both inside and outside the court.

Things escalated, and one morning, several elderly officials risked their lives and removed their official hats and robes to speak out. Emperor Hongjing finally had to face the matter. He asked the ministers to express their opinions and recommend a morally upright prince to be the heir. Thus began the six-month-long chaos in the court.

Now, the loudest voices in court were those recommending Dai Wang to be the crown prince. This prince was born of the empress and was the oldest among the remaining princes. However, his shortcomings were also very clear; he was too mediocre and didn’t have any outstanding qualities. He couldn’t compare to An Wang in terms of virtue, Yong Wang in terms of knowledge and talents, or Jin Wang in terms of both civil and martial abilities and decisiveness. Even Lu Wang had his own strengths, which the others lacked.

Because of this, there were many ministers who opposed the idea of Dai Wang becoming the crown prince.

At this time, a series of dramas unfolded. First, An Wang shed tears and pleaded to see his Father Emperor. He repeatedly sent messages to the palace, and out of familial affection, Emperor Hongjing summoned him. Father and son had a long talk in the Qianqing Palace, and An Wang was subsequently released from confinement.

Soon after, Yong Wang also pulled off a similar stunt. Knowing that he wouldn’t be released if he didn’t make a bold move, he feigned a serious illness, and in the end, he too was released from confinement.

Both An Wang and Yong Wang had been confined for a long time, and there were few ministers who supported them openly. Now that they were free, they began to rally all their forces to compete with Dai Wang.

In fact, everyone in the court and harem understood Emperor Hongjing’s intentions; he wanted to watch his sons compete against each other. But now, in this situation, there were few people who could sit still. If Dai Wang succeeded, then they would be kneeling for generations to come.

Even Lu Wang and Wu Wang couldn’t resist getting involved, and the only one who could sit still at this time was the freak, Jin Wang.

There were ministers who recommended Jin Wang in court, but they were disorganized and could not form a united front. They were overwhelmed before they even started.

As the weather gradually became hotter, another summer arrived. The court was like a pot of boiling oil, which could explode at any moment.

At this crucial time, Emperor Hongjing was struck with bouts of dizziness and had to temporarily suspend court. All the imperial princes came to Qianqing Palace to attend to him.

To attend to him meant nothing more than watching the eunuchs and palace maids serve him his medicine, and asking a few words of concern. With so many people around him, Emperor Hongjing naturally didn’t need his sons to serve him personally.

Xiaobao came every day, sometimes during the midday rest, sometimes after studying in the study. He was as familiar with Qianqing Palace as his own backyard, especially since he was young. He occasionally went in without even announcing himself.

“Grandfather Emperor, don’t read the memorials, just rest. The memorials won’t disappear even if you don’t read them.”

As soon as Xiaobao came in, he saw Emperor Hongjing sitting on the big Kang, with a layer of bright yellow silk cover on his legs, leaning against the backrest while reading memorials. In front of him was a small kang table with a pile of memorials, along with some ink and an inkstone. He would occasionally make notes on the memorials with a brush.

“You’re here. Have you had lunch?” Emperor Hongjing replied noncommittally.

“I already had lunch in the imperial study. Have you eaten yet, Grandfather Emperor?”

“I don’t have an appetite…”

Before he finished speaking, Xiaobao climbed onto the kang himself and gathered all the memorials in front of Emperor Hongjing into his arms. Just as Li Dequan came over to take off Xiaobao’s shoes, Xiaobao handed him the memorials.

“Grandfather Emperor, you should have lunch first. Don’t read these memorials.” While speaking, he also took Emperor Hongjing’s ink and inkstone and cleaned up the small kang table in a flash. Li Dequan was also a perceptive servant and quickly had tea and snacks brought over, taking over the small kang table.

Emperor Hongjing had no choice but to lean back and laugh, scolding, “You followed along with his words quite quickly.”