At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

The Shouhuang Hall is located on the central axis of the Yu Palace Imperial Garden. To get to the Shouhuang Hall from the Yu Palace, one must pass through the inner palace to the Xuanwu Gate, and then take an imperial road to reach the complex.

Chu Ling, the successor emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty, dressed himself properly and set off from the Daxing Hall, riding in a sedan chair through the Liangyi Hall and Ganlu Hall towards the Xuanwu Gate.

As they passed the Liangyi Hall, Li Zhong whispered a reminder that the Empress had moved out of the Liangyi Hall and into the Changle Palace. Chu Ling was quite surprised to hear this.

The Daxing Hall was the emperor's bedroom, while the Liangyi Hall was the empress's bedroom. The late emperor had passed away, and he became the successor emperor. However, he was still young and far from reaching adulthood, so it was too early for him to appoint an empress and take in many concubines. During this period, his sister-in-law could still live in the Liangyi Hall.

However, Chu Ling found it strange that his sister-in-law moved out of the Liangyi Palace and went to Changle Palace on the third day after the late emperor's death.

"Li Zhong, shall I wait for the three empresses at Xuanwu Gate?" Chu Ling, sitting in his sedan chair, vaguely saw the majestic city gate tower and asked Li Zhong, who was accompanying him.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to wait."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhong lowered his head and said, "The successor emperor can come to the Shouhuang Hall. The three empresses' carriages have already arrived at the Shouhuang Hall."

really.

Upon hearing this, Chu Ling couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He, the heir apparent of the Great Yu Dynasty, was merely a puppet hastily put forward, and no one cared what he thought.

If you have no expectations, you will not be disappointed.

Chu Ling was clear about his identity from the beginning, so he wouldn't put on airs as the successor emperor. If he did, he probably wouldn't even know how he died.

As the son of Emperor Taizong, he was previously neglected. If the new emperor had not died suddenly, he would never have been able to obtain the supreme throne.

The imperial carriage continued its journey.

As Chu Ling walked from Xuanwu Gate toward the Shouhuang Hall of the Yu Palace Imperial Garden, he remained silent the entire way. He understood the principle that too much talk leads to mistakes.

Moreover, since his body was too young, Chu Ling couldn't act too differently; silence was the best course of action.

On the contrary, Li Zhong informed Chu Ling of some situations when the imperial entourage was heading to the Shouhuang Palace. For example, the imperial relatives, civil and military officials who were going to the Shouhuang Palace had gathered at the Zhuque Gate at 5:45 AM and set off for Fanglin Gate at 5:00 AM. Chu Ling only woke up from his sleep at 5:00 AM.

Chu Ling was quite moved while listening to Li Zhong talk about these things.

While the imperial relatives, civil and military officials, and other groups in the central government of the Yu Dynasty certainly enjoyed privileges and wielded power, they also lost some things.

For example, doing whatever one pleases.

Regardless of the nature of the dynasty or whether it was in its early, middle, or late stages of rule, an invisible system of checks and balances was always in operation.

It's simply a matter of who truly controls this system.

In the current Yu Dynasty, although Chu Ling is the heir apparent, he has no real power. Judging from the current situation, the three empresses truly hold power, but Chu Ling is unsure who has the upper hand.

The delicate balance of power in the Yu Dynasty is formed by the three queens, their respective factions, and other groups.

It's true that Chu Ling is a puppet, someone who is dispensable, but this delicate system of checks and balances cannot do without him, after all, the Yu Dynasty cannot be without an emperor.

Without an emperor, is the Yu Dynasty still the Yu Dynasty?

Therefore, what Chu Ling needs to do right now is to be patient and try to gradually extricate himself from the center of the vortex so that he can take some initiative.

Power can be disregarded for now.

But we should always retain some degree of freedom!

If he is constantly being watched by all sides and cannot do anything, then what awaits Chu Ling is either to be a puppet for life, to leave halfway, or to become a deposed emperor!

In Chu Ling's view, being a puppet for life was unrealistic and unlikely.

After all, if any one of the three successors were to encounter any problems or pass away, it would inevitably disrupt the delicate balance, and turmoil would certainly ensue.

Therefore, Chu Ling, who seems to have a choice, actually has no choice at all. He either takes power or leaves the scene; there is no third option.

The path of life and death was actually laid out before Chu Ling the moment he became the successor emperor.

Mourning music echoed through the air.

A crowd gathered in the square in front of the Shouhuang Hall. They lined up in order, wearing various robes, but without exception, they were all dressed in mourning clothes.

The atmosphere here is very oppressive.

But the whispers among the crowd never stopped.

"It's almost dawn, and the three empresses' carriages have all arrived at the Shouhuang Palace. Why hasn't the successor emperor's carriage arrived yet?"

"I'm afraid he overslept. After all, the heir apparent is only eight years old, and young children need a lot of sleep."

"Our dynasty follows the principle of primogeniture. Even if the late emperor has no heir, the eldest son should still be chosen. Emperor Taizong had an eldest son among his sons born out of wedlock. So why was he chosen as the successor in the end?"

“Yes, even if we don’t select from Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizu still has a legitimate son. Now, the primogeniture system has been overstepped, and they’ve started to establish a meritocracy. Fine, even if it’s a meritocracy, it should be a public selection in court.”

"I'm afraid things won't be peaceful in the Shouhuang Palace from now on. Look at those people, they're all holding back their energy. Alas, I'm afraid things won't be peaceful in the court from now on."

"It seems that there has been quite a bit of turmoil in the inner court in the past seven days, otherwise they would not have hastily established a mere child as the successor emperor."

"Alright, let's all keep quiet..."

Those who came to the Shouhuang Hall to mourn the coffin of the late emperor were the imperial relatives, civil and military officials of the Yu Dynasty, who held considerable power and status.

With so many people, there are bound to be many different thoughts!

Amidst the incessant mournful music, the crowd gathered outside the Shouhuang Hall, though standing in their respective positions, were mostly whispering amongst themselves.

As for which of these words came from their true feelings and which were intentional, only they themselves know best.

Those standing at the front of the crowd remained silent, seemingly oblivious to the discussions behind them.

"The succeeding emperor has arrived!!"

In this situation, a chant rang out, the mournful music stopped, the discussions ceased, and a grand procession began to arrive.

Sitting in the sedan chair, Chu Ling kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.

The crowd began to move.

As the imperial carriage continued forward, all the people on both sides knelt on the ground, the crowd surging like waves. Among these people, Chu Ling noticed the expressions on some of their faces.

Being the successor emperor is no easy task.

Having experienced so much, how could Chu Ling not see through the expressions of some people? Although they were fleeting, Chu Ling saw them clearly. He was afraid that the three emperors regarded him as a puppet. Among the ruling class of the Yu Dynasty, many knew that he was the heir apparent, but he was just a puppet.

This situation is difficult to break.

Chu Ling, who had rushed to the Shouhuang Palace, had not yet seen the coffin of the late emperor. Just by seeing the crowd gathered outside the palace, he knew how difficult the situation he wanted to break was.