During the birthday banquet, they were meant to choose their career paths by grabbing items. However, the events at the Li residence had stimulated Fan Zehao, and he had settled this matter that very day.
As a result, Fan Sen favored a whip and was uninterested in the lustrous gold. Instead, Fan Yao, the legitimate eldest son, was fond of gold, clutching the gold ingots tightly and refusing to let go. Anyone who tried to snatch the gold ingot from his hand would be met with his fierce resistance; he'd open his mouth and bite.
The heir apparent was thus decided in such a dramatic fashion, unlike the noble families who established succession based on legitimacy or primogeniture.
After dinner, Pingting and Fan Xudong also stayed behind. She also wanted to know why His Majesty had sent him here.
"Steward Wang, did my father have any specific business sending you?"
In the study, Pingting and her husband, along with Fan Zehao and his wife, were present. Gao Wenbin stood guard at the door. With him there, no one could approach the study, so their conversation inside did not need to be guarded.
Wang Zhanlin took out a tightly wrapped object from his embrace and, with trembling hands, opened it. "Your Highness, there are two imperial edicts here. One is a blank imperial edict, and the other is an imperial edict granting control over all military power in Yun Kingdom!"
The moment Fan Zehao reached for the imperial edict, he heard Wang Zhanlin's words and immediately threw it back at him. Fan Zehao felt as though he had touched a burning hot iron.
His face instantly darkened. He knew that either of these two imperial edicts was a matter of life and death.
"What does the Emperor mean by this?" It was practically a death sentence.
No, if it were a death sentence, it would be over with one swift blow. This edict was like placing him on a fire and roasting him repeatedly.
Wang Zhanlin knelt before Fan Zehao and revealed what had been kept secret for two years. "Two years ago, His Majesty learned that he had consumption and his time was short. However, knowing that the Crown Prince's background was too weak, he feared that after His Majesty's demise, the two adult princes would desperately vie for the throne."
"Therefore, when Prince Xian proposed that Your Highness return to your fiefdom, His Majesty already had a plan. He wanted Your Highness to return to the fiefdom, far from the chaotic capital, to preserve your strength. He also arranged for General Fang to be transferred here. If any rebels appeared, Your Highness would have control over General Fang's troops to quell the unrest. All of this was to protect the Crown Prince, also known as the Royalist faction."
Fan Zehao closed his eyes and listened to the entire explanation. It turned out the Emperor had designated him as a Royalist, and the calculations were indeed meticulous.
"Isn't the Emperor afraid that I might kill the Crown Prince and establish myself as king?" After a long pause, Fan Zehao voiced his inner doubts.
Wang Zhanlin shook his head firmly. "Your Highness would not do such a thing. His Majesty trusts that Your Highness is not that kind of person, which is why he dares to entrust all military power to you!"
"Then... then if, I mean, if, what if I fail to protect the Crown Prince, or if, while I am saving him, the Crown Prince unfortunately dies? Who should I protect then?"
Everyone in the room, except for Fan Zehao, whose face twitched, had their faces contorted with shock. They wondered if this man was foolish to ask such a direct question. He certainly did not fear the powerful.
Wang Zhanlin pointed to the blank imperial edict. "If the Crown Prince unfortunately perishes, then the one appointed as the heir apparent on this edict will be Fan Zehao, Your Highness. This is His Majesty's intention."
Fan Zehao immediately stood up. He felt as though the chair beneath him was suddenly prickly, and his heart was tormented by a thousand claws.
"Well, then, I absolutely, unequivocally will protect the Crown Prince well and will absolutely not allow any problems to arise with the heir apparent. Take this blank imperial edict away... no, destroy it. Do not expect me to become emperor. It is impossible in this life, and impossible in the next life or the life after that!"
The shock he had received in one evening was too great. Fan Zehao had not yet recovered. He picked up the other imperial edict and left. Even when Wang Zhanlin called him, he did not turn back.
Wang Zhanlin rose and respectfully handed another item to Zhao Jiaqi. "Your Highness Consort, because of the matter concerning the rice, His Majesty has bestowed upon you an imperial tablet of immunity from death. Please keep it safe! I am fortunate to be alive to see Your Highness and Your Highness Consort, and have finally fulfilled His Majesty's mission. It is a pity about the five Dragon Guards; their deaths were truly tragic!"
He had left the capital before October and, after more than two months in this fiefdom, at the cost of five lives, he had protected the imperial edicts and conveyed His Majesty's instructions. Now, he had no fear of life or death.
At this moment, Zhao Jiaqi finally understood His Majesty's intentions. The Crown Prince's background was inferior to the other two princes, and supporting their couple was essentially entrusting the Crown Prince to them.
Zhao Jiaqi marveled. This father was truly considerate!
Seeing that Steward Wang had explained everything clearly, Pingting quickly inquired, "How is my father? Why have I never heard him mention it, and even my imperial mother never spoke a word about it to me!"
"Very few people know about this matter. Her Imperial Highness the Consort is unaware of it. Princess, please bear with me!"
Pingting was so anxious she almost stomped her foot. "There's nothing to bear with. I just want to know how my father is doing! Is he really running out of time?"
Wang Zhanlin did not want to nod, but he had no choice but to lower his heavy head. "I dare not deceive the Princess. When I left, His Majesty was already coughing blood; his end is near!"
Otherwise, why would he have been sent out of the capital!
Pingting was on the verge of collapsing. Her father, who had doted on her for so many years, was now at the end of his life, and she was unable to attend to him.
Seeing Pingting silently shedding tears, Fan Xudong held her and was at a loss for words of comfort, allowing her tears to soak his clothes.
"As long as my husband does not act, those who plot behind the scenes will not make a move. Even if the Princess were to return to the capital, it is unlikely to cause her harm. At most, they would hold her hostage to threaten Fan Xudong!"
Zhao Jiaqi, having calmed down, carefully analyzed the current situation. As long as certain people and factions could be restrained, a return to the capital for Pingting to visit her family would not be impossible.
"Does Your Highness Consort mean to have the Princess return to the capital?" Wang Zhanlin guessed the consort's intentions.
Seeing the consort nod, Wang Zhanlin strongly disagreed. "It is not that I am preventing the Princess from returning to the capital to attend to His Majesty, but once she returns, it will be harder than ascending to heaven to leave again. Despite my martial arts skills, I still had to disguise myself to come here. You can imagine how ruthless those who plot behind the scenes are!"
"To speak a disrespectful word, if the Princess were to be kidnapped, would General Fan abandon her to save her? If he goes to save her and succeeds, it is good. But what if he fails? Where does that leave Your Highness?"
"At that point, it would be a choice between loyalty to the Emperor and filial piety, and it would also disrupt His Majesty's plan, rendering all his efforts futile!"
She could not return. She could not fulfill her filial duty. Pingting was truly helpless.
Wang Zhanlin, who had watched her grow up, sighed and advised her, "His Majesty knows of your filial piety, but for the sake of the country, you must... endure it for now. I believe you would not want to ruin His Majesty's hard work, would you!"
Pingting nodded painfully, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. Fan Xudong, seeing no other way, knocked her unconscious so she could finally calm down.
"Sister-in-law, Steward Wang, I'll take her back to rest first!" Fan Xudong was also in a somber mood.
His father-in-law was dying, and his daughter could not return. As a son-in-law, he was even more helpless, fearing that his father-in-law might pass away without ever seeing his granddaughter.
At this moment, he felt even more for the Princess. As royalty, born noble, they still had so much sorrow.
After the couple left, Wang Zhanlin also advised Zhao Jiaqi that if it truly came to that, the throne should be occupied by His Highness, for only then would the people of Yun Kingdom truly benefit, and the nation would prosper.
"It is still too early to say such things. Regardless, we will definitely protect the Crown Prince. We will fully embrace our role as Royalists and will not disappoint His Majesty. As for the worst-case scenario, anyone might become Emperor, but my husband absolutely will not!"
A prince with a large fiefdom still had so many trivial matters to attend to. If he were to rise another level, the battles would be even more arduous. In a few years, Fan Zehao would likely be having tea with the late Emperor.
They would rather be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken.