Mysterious mirror hanging high

"Lord Xu, are all of you ministers looking forward to the arrival of a sage ruler who can rule with ease?"

Jing Yu shook his head: "Sir, you still have selfish motives."

Xu Fang looked annoyed. "If I had selfish motives, why didn't I just push my own nephew to the throne? Why would I bother to argue with the prince?"

"That's because sugarcane is not sweet at both ends!"

Jing Yu's words were merciless: "Master Xu will be posthumously named Wenzheng and enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. How can he bear the stigma of being a power-hungry relative of the emperor?"

"You want to realize your ambitions and build a good reputation, but you've taken all the good things in the world!"

"Your Highness, these are truly heartbreaking words!"

Even though Xu Fang was a seasoned man, his face flushed red at this moment: "In the end, isn't it all for the benefit of the people of Zhao?"

“It’s not for the people!”

Jing Yu snorted coldly: "Master Xu, there are no outsiders here, why bother pretending to be so hypocritical!"

"I've certainly been away from the court these past few years, but I'm not completely oblivious to what's happening outside. In the past five years alone, I've suppressed seven waves of rebellious armies in the thirteen counties within Zhao State! They were all victims starving to death!"

Xu Fang said helplessly, "Your Highness, this is meaningless. The people are starving because of natural disasters, not human intervention... This is considered a good year! Only seven waves of rebellion in five years. If this happened in the last years of the dynasty..."

"What a bullshit natural disaster! Two years ago, there was a drought around the Imperial City, and the fields that supplied the Imperial City with rice yielded nothing. How come no one in the Imperial City starved to death?"

Jing Yu cursed, "That year, Qinghe County, right next to the Imperial City, had abundant harvests and good weather. How could people starve to death? How could someone rebel?"

Xu Fang's lips trembled and he remained silent.

"Master Xu, some things weigh more than a thousand pounds, not just four ounces." Jing Yu's tone softened. "I believe Master Xu has some thoughts about serving the country and the people, but you and I both know how much of the food and relief funds for disasters actually ended up in the hands of the victims. If you don't know, just look at the rebels and you'll know."

"But do you have a solution for this? Official corruption has always been a chronic disease throughout the dynasties. How many such chronic diseases are there in Zhao? I'm afraid it would be impossible to count them all in a short time."

"Even a great man like you who governs the country is helpless against these chronic diseases. How can I, a martial arts madman with nothing else on my mind but martial arts, do anything?"

Xu Fang was stunned for a long time before he stammered out a few words: "Your Highness truly cares about the world."

"If I truly care about the empire, what's wrong with me sitting on the throne?" Jing Yu sighed. "It's nothing more than being a parasite. My conscience is uneasy, but you can't ask me to give up my royal status just like that."

"So I just buried my head in the ground and closed my eyes, pretending I couldn't see!"

"There's an old story Lord Xu may not be aware of. Two years ago, a popular uprising in Qinghe County resulted in a tragic case of cannibalism. My fourth brother, Zhao Mingcheng, single-handedly handled the case. Later, a memorial was written up and presented to the emperor, and it was also circulated among the ministers. At the time, there was much discussion within the court and the public, and it was quite unpleasant... Actually, before he left, my fourth brother invited me to go with him, but I declined."

"The reason I didn't go to Qinghe County with him was because even if I didn't go, I would have known what happened. I also didn't dare to see how miserable the people of Qinghe County were who suffered such an unprovoked disaster that year!"

"I'm afraid that after this trip and meeting the people there, I won't be able to live as an emperor, let alone a free and easy prince!"

"It's said that those in power must govern their country. The ruler of a country is responsible for the people of that country... This burden is too heavy. I've always been lazy, how can I bear it?"

"Isn't this just deceiving myself and others..." Xu Fang murmured.

"There are so many disappointments in this world. How can we not deceive ourselves?" Jing Yu said softly, "Master Xu, you should look for someone else."

"This……"

Xu Fang looked helpless. As the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, he never thought that he would be rejected by the idle prince Ping Wang.

Is there really an heir in this world who doesn't want to be emperor?

----

Three days later, an imperial decree suddenly came from the palace, ordering Jing Yu to come to the palace for an audience.

When Jing Yu arrived at the palace gate, he saw several teams of carriages from various royal palaces. It was obvious that Emperor Zhao was not summoning him alone this time, but had called all the royal heirs over.

I'm afraid they have come up with a set of rules... Jing Yu thought secretly.

At this critical juncture, the most important matter that could gather all the royal heirs was the appointment of a crown prince.

However, since he had already clearly refused, this drama had nothing to do with him. Jing Yu was naturally calm and walked briskly.

When he entered the Chongming Hall where meetings were held, he found that all his brothers had already arrived, and he was the last one.

Sitting in the main seat in the center of the hall was none other than Emperor Zhao Sheng. Today, Emperor Zhao was dressed very formally, with a bright yellow dragon robe draped over his body, which gave the white-haired old man an aura of majesty without even being angry. Jing Yu looked up and suddenly felt that his father did not seem as old today as he was three days ago.

In addition to the Emperor of Zhao and the royal heirs, several key figures in the Zhao court, both civil and military, were present. The chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Fang, was standing below the Emperor of Zhao at this time. When he saw Jing Yu come in, he just sighed softly.

Emperor Zhao's hawk-like gaze swept across the faces of the royal heirs one by one, sweeping over the gloomy Second Princess Zhao Mingyue, the thoughtful Third Princess Zhao Mingyu, the pretendingly calm Fourth Prince Zhao Mingcheng, the bewildered Fifth Prince Zhao Minglou, and the slightly anxious Seventh Prince Zhao Mingfu.

In the end, Emperor Zhao's gaze fell on Jing Yu who had just arrived, and then he lowered his eyelids.

"Everyone is here."

"I summoned you here today to decide on the selection of the crown prince for our Zhao State."

"what?"

The fifth prince, Zhao Minglou, looked delighted and said repeatedly, "Father, after so many years, you should have decided on the candidate long ago."

"It should have been decided long ago. I always thought I still had some time. Now it seems that after all..." Emperor Zhao coughed violently a few times: "Ahem, after all, it can't beat the timing."

"Father!" Seeing that Emperor Zhao was unwell, Zhao Minglou's heart was in his throat, fearing that Emperor Zhao would pass away before he could name the candidate for the crown prince, and die directly in Chongming Palace.

"This idiot..." Zhao Mingfu looked at Zhao Minglou with disdain and took a step forward: "Father, please speak more slowly. My brothers and sisters are all waiting here. It doesn't matter if we wait for an hour or two."

Emperor Zhao glanced at his youngest son and said calmly, "The position of crown prince is no joke. I have discussed it carefully with several pillars of the court over the past few days and have finally decided on a suitable candidate."

"Today the edict is prepared."

"The fourth prince of the Yu family, Mingcheng, is a man of noble character, a close resemblance to me, and will surely be able to inherit the throne."

"You will succeed me as emperor."