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

Night fell quietly.

Snow stopped.

Chu Ling leaned against the cushions on the throne, propping his chin up with one hand, staring idly at the lamps on the imperial desk, watching the flames flicker.

This throne is too big for Chu Ling.

Chu Ling's mind was already mature. Having been a subordinate in two lifetimes, although the things he experienced after transmigrating were unbelievable, and now he was the heir to the Great Yu Emperor and completely isolated from the outside world, Chu Ling adapted quite quickly.

With his frail body and awkward age of only eight, Chu Ling couldn't adapt.

However, in the blink of an eye, he, who had the least hope of succeeding to the throne, became the heir apparent. Once the coronation ceremony was held, he would be the new ruler of the Great Yu with the right to rule. This rendered all of Chu Ling's previous thoughts meaningless.

Like a transparent member of the royal family, like a puppet ruler of the Great Yu, neither of them possesses power, yet the implications of their two identities are vastly different!

Even if an emperor is useless, he's still one of a kind!

This is different from the royal family.

Chu Ling's escape route has been cut off, and he is now in a precarious situation. If he wants to get out of this mess, he must find a way to break the deadlock.

But at his age, what can he do to break the deadlock?

Who would believe him?

Who will be loyal to him?

Who would fear him?

Who would be afraid of him?

When you're young, you want to grow up quickly; when you're old, you want to grow old slowly.

Having experienced this state of mind once, Chu Ling has been constantly thinking about one thing ever since he entered the Daxing Palace: why is he so small?

"This time is really hard to bear."

Chu Ling, who was wide awake, gave a wry smile, leaned back on the cushion, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He had seen everything in the great hall, but time was passing by so slowly.

There wasn't even a single piece of paper with writing on it inside this hall!

That would be even more impossible—it's definitely not a book!

Time is hardest to pass when you have nothing to do.

There's nothing to do.

What to do next?

What can be done after that?

This is Chu Ling's current predicament.

Chu Ling had no idea. As for making decisions, well, that was taken away from him after he became the successor emperor. Who could make decisions? Chu Ling didn't know either.

squeak~~

A piercing sound shattered the tranquility of the place.

A gust of cold wind blew in through the slowly opening palace doors.

The tightly closed palace door opened a crack, and a figure walked in from outside, after which the door closed again from the outside.

Li Zhong!!

Chu Ling, who remained leaning against the cushion without moving, stared intently at the approaching figure. Compared to when they first met in the East Square, Li Zhong looked exhausted.

Despite his efforts to restrain himself, this exhaustion could not be eliminated simply by restraint.

"This servant greets the succeeding emperor!"

Li Zhong noticed that Chu Ling was looking at him. When he bowed his head and walked to the emperor's side, Li Zhong respectfully bowed and said hello, but his heart was filled with ripples.

At his age, the succeeding emperor, after entering the Daxing Palace, only spoke a few words during the meal and then remained completely still.

Don't cry or make a fuss.

It's so abnormal.

This made Li Zhong wary; his guess was probably right!

Chu Ling remained silent, still leaning against the cushion, quietly observing Li Zhong.

Time passes minute by minute.

Li Zhong's arms began to ache, but he maintained his posture. For a servant of the imperial family, if he couldn't even do this well, he didn't deserve to live in the inner court!

"Should I say 'No need for formalities'?"

Seeing Li Zhong's reaction, Chu Ling spoke calmly.

"Please forgive this servant for overstepping my bounds, Your Majesty."

Li Zhong replied, "From this day forward, Your Majesty should change your title."

"The Emperor?"

Chu Ling smiled slightly.

"Yes."

Li Zhong maintained his bowing posture.

"No gifts."

Chu Ling sighed softly.

"This servant kowtows to express gratitude for Heaven's grace."

Li Zhong bowed again and said.

It's not going to be easy to win.

After a brief exchange with Li Zhong, Chu Ling arrived at this conclusion.

"What brings you to see me?"

Chu Ling stopped looking at Li Zhong, slowly closed his eyes, and seemed somewhat weary.

"Your Majesty, this servant is here on the orders of the three empresses to inform you that Your Majesty will be visiting the coffin of the late emperor tomorrow," Li Zhong said, bowing slightly.

"I know that you are mourning my elder brother."

Chu Ling replied, but then he opened his eyes, propped himself up on the throne, and looked at Li Zhong, saying, "I'm just a little curious, how did I become the successor emperor?"

Li Zhongxin tensed up, and his hand trembled slightly as it hung down.

"Is it because of the constraints of patriarchal clan system and etiquette that one cannot speak out, or is it because one dares not speak out?"

Chu Ling jumped down from the throne, raised his head, and his youthful face showed no joy or sorrow. As Chu Ling looked up, Li Zhong was already kneeling on the ground, and the two of them were now level.

“Li Xian”.

Li Zhong said with his head down.

"Li Xian?"

Chu Ling laughed. Although he had thought of it, how ridiculous was this whole thing? How was "virtuous" defined? And by whom? As for the succession to the throne, establishing virtue as the standard was riddled with flaws!

Chu Ling knew he had said a bit too much.

When the situation is unknown and the people in front of you are unknown, the more you talk, the more dangerous it becomes.

But Li Zhong is the only person he can currently learn about the inner court's candidates.

He doesn't speak, he doesn't ask, so he knows nothing.

That's the most dangerous part!!

Chu Ling wanted to know what had happened in the inner court and why he had become the successor emperor. Even just a few words would be better than knowing nothing at all.

As for whether it's true or false, he still has the ability to judge that.

"If I remember correctly, our dynasty follows the primogeniture system."

Chu Ling lifted his robe and squatted down, placing his hands on his knees. He looked up and stared into Li Zhong's eyes. "How did it become Cheng Xian? Could there be some unexpected change?"

"Slave..."

Li Zhong kowtowed, kneeling before Chu Ling, the words on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them.

"Will it bring about my death?"

Chu Ling reached out and lightly tapped the three-peaked hat Li Zhong was wearing, but then looked up at the palace gate, "Or is it that there have been eyes watching me from outside this palace all along?"

Through a window, Chu Ling vaguely saw several figures moving about.

"Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for this servant."

Li Zhong said something with a deeper meaning.

It seems the power struggle within the inner court is even more intense than expected.

Chu Ling fell into deep thought. Could it be that someone didn't want to choose from the illegitimate sons of Emperor Taizong Wen, but wanted to elevate the selection to the legitimate sons of Emperor Taizu Gao?

If it has to be this way, it can be explained.

After all, it was a system of primogeniture. If there was a legitimate heir, the eldest son would be chosen; if there was no legitimate heir, the eldest son would be chosen. No matter how different this Yu Dynasty was, the basic meaning was not much different.

Chu Xiong, the second son of Emperor Taizu Gao, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Hai during the reign of Emperor Taizu and was stationed in Haidong Commandery.

Chu Feng, the third son of Emperor Taizu Gao, was enfeoffed as Prince Jing during the reign of Emperor Taizu and was stationed in Jingbei Commandery.

Which of these two would be the person to propose that person?

If it were the two of them, they would become the successors. But if that were the case, where would Emperor Taizong Wen be placed? Would the imperial throne be cut off?

But if one of their sons is chosen as the heir, well, in the end, it would be the younger branch of the family joining the main branch.

If he is eligible to be adopted, he should be the adopted son of Emperor Taizong Wen.

What should the late emperor do?

Just thinking about these things, Chu Ling could imagine what had happened in the inner court over the past seven days, and what kind of fierce clashes and struggles had occurred.