The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Then he bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. Would you mind sharing it with me?"

Duke Xiang of Lu grabbed Shusun Bao's arm and said impatiently, "Master Mu, tell me what this brilliant plan is!"

"Yes! My plan is to form a marriage alliance with Fugui City!"

Marriage? Duke Xiang of Lu's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Marriage is great! Why didn't I think of it?"

"Muzi! Do you think we should marry our daughter or our daughter-in-law?"

"It's all right. Although City Lord Zixuan has many children, he loves each of them very much."

"We will select an outstanding prince and princess each and send an envoy to take them to the wealthy city."

"Let's see which one gets chosen. If you like both, that would be great."

Duke Xiang of Lu nodded repeatedly after hearing this and said, "Very good! Let's follow Mu Zi's plan. I will leave this matter to you."

"Don't worry, my king. I will definitely see to it!"

In the Prince's Eastern Palace, Ji Qiu has been feeling anxious, short of breath, and weak in his limbs in recent days.

I feel a sharp pain in my chest and often break out in sweats.

After examining him, the imperial physician said that it was caused by overwork and lack of rest.

He told him to have a good rest and not to overwork, and prescribed a few blood-activating, blood-stasis-removing, mind-soothing and brain-nourishing herbal decoctions before leaving.

In the middle of the night, Ji Qiu felt chest tightness and difficulty breathing.

He hurriedly called the eunuch, but the boss opened his mouth but no sound came out.

He tried desperately to tear his throat, but it was no use. He died of a heart attack a few minutes later.

The next morning, when the palace servants came in to wash him, they found that he was lying straight on the bed and had no breath.

There was immediate chaos in the East Palace, and the palace servants quickly ran to the Council Hall to report to the king.

Duke Xiang of Lu was holding a court meeting when a palace servant suddenly rushed in, shouting in panic, "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Duke Xiang of Lu was startled and immediately shouted, "How can you be so anxious and panicky? Tell me! What happened?"

The palace maid fell to the ground and cried loudly, "Your Majesty, the prince is dead! Wuuwuwu..."

Duke Xiang of Lu was stunned for a moment, then slammed the table and said, "What nonsense! He was fine last night, how could he die just like that?"

"I think you're tired of living! You're just playing tricks on me with your idleness! Come on! Drag me out and beat me to death!"

Here! Immediately, two guards rushed in from outside the hall, dragged him out.

The palace servant was so frightened that he shit in his pants. He struggled desperately and shouted, "The king is indeed dead!"

"I saw it with my own eyes! The body is already cold! Wuwuwu..."

Shusun Bao sensed something was amiss and immediately intervened, saying, "Your Majesty, please wait! I believe the palace maid's words are true. Send someone to investigate and we'll know for sure!"

Duke Xiang of Lu also came to his senses from his anger and quickly sent guards to check.

Not long after, the guards quickly ran into the hall, knelt down, clasped their fists, and said, "Your Majesty! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has indeed ascended to heaven!"

Ah! Duke Xiang of Lu was shocked when he heard this. He stood up with a bang and stumbled towards the East Palace, holding up his robe.

The eunuchs hurried forward to support him, and the ministers followed closely behind.

At this time, Ji Qiu's mother had also arrived and was lying on her son's body, crying loudly.

Duke Xiang of Lu came to Ji Qiu with trembling body, stroked his son's chubby face and tears streamed down his face.

Although Qiuqiu is very fat, he is the most well-behaved, sensible, obedient and filial among all the children.

Because he was chubby and round when he was born, I loved him very much, so I named him Qiu.

He looked at his son's pale face, and scenes from his childhood immediately appeared before his eyes.

He could no longer control his emotions and embraced his son, bursting into tears: "Son...father's treasure..."

"How could you just leave like that... and let your father, an old man, send off his young son... wow wow wow..."

My son... you are so unfilial... you actually left father alone and went away... Ahhh..."

All the ministers knelt down and sobbed.

Zixu crawled a few steps on his knees to Ji Qiu's bed, grabbed his hand, and said with tears in his eyes, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"How could you just leave without even saying goodbye? Woo woo woo..."

Suddenly, Duke Xiang of Lu fell to the ground with a thud and fainted.

Zixu and the ministers were shocked when they saw this and hurriedly called for the imperial physician.

The imperial physician was nearby, and he quickly ordered someone to carry Duke Xiang of Lu to the bed.

After taking the king's pulse, he said, "Your Majesty is suffering from a temporary coma due to excessive grief and anger."

"It's nothing serious. He will wake up after I give him the acupuncture."

After saying that, he took out a pack of silver needles and started treating Duke Xiang of Lu.

Seven days later, the prince's funeral was over.

Since his son's death, Duke Xiang of Lu immediately looked much older.

He had no appetite for food or tea every day, and even stopped visiting his concubines.

After court, he would lock himself in the study and miss his son alone.

A few months later, he fell ill and his ministers were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, running around in circles.

The crown prince is dead, and the king is ill. Without a leader, Qi will soon be in chaos.

So Shusun Bao had no choice but to go to the palace to meet Duke Xiang. Looking at the king lying on the bed with skin and bones, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

He knelt and crawled to the side of Duke Xiang's bed, kowtowed, and said, "Your Majesty, you are now ill and unable to govern. In the long run, chaos will surely follow."

"I, your humble servant, have been entrusted by all the ministers to ask Your Majesty to appoint the Crown Prince as the acting head of state to reassure the people."

Duke Xiang of Lu struggled to open his eyes, which were hidden in their sockets, and asked weakly, "Master Mu, who among the princes do you think is capable of taking on this important task?"

Shusun Bao shook his head and said, "Your Majesty! The decision to enthronize Chu must be made by you. I, a humble servant, cannot interfere."

Duke Xiang sighed: "Alas! Mu Zi, you also understand my heart."

"The reason why I haven't appointed a crown prince yet is because I still miss Qiu'er..."

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is deceased and cannot be resurrected. For the sake of the country and its people, you should appoint another Crown Prince."

Duke Xiang sighed again: "Alas! All right, I will draft the edict..."

Shusun Bao waved to the Minister of the Central Secretariat next to him, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat quickly took out the bamboo slips and started recording.

Duke Xiang of Lu took a deep breath and said, "I hereby decree that Prince Ye be appointed Crown Prince and govern the country."

"The Three Huan families, Shusun Muzi, Ji Wuzi, Meng Xianzi, Confucius, and Zixu, will assist in the administration... I decree this."

Upon hearing this, Shusun Bao kowtowed hurriedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I obey your command!"

The next day, Shusun Bao announced Lu Xianggong's edict in the court.

The ministers were very satisfied. They got what they wanted, and Ji Ye was cowardly and easy to control.

As a result, Qi's government affairs returned to normal operation.

On May 542, 5 BC, Duke Xiang of Lu died in the royal palace of Qufu, and his era came to an end.

Ji Ye naturally inherited the title and became the new generation King of Lu.

But the good times did not last long. Ji Ye died just three months after he ascended the throne.

The specific reason is unknown, but everyone knows about the palace infighting.

Since Ji Ye had no offspring, the issue of the successor to the throne caused disagreements in the court.

After several rounds of debate, the ministers finally unanimously agreed that Lu Xianggong's concubine's son Ji Wei would succeed to the throne.

The era of Duke Zhao of Lu began.