Chapter 1330 - 1271: Refusal
On June 21st, officials returned to the court after their break.
Today’s officials were exceptionally diligent, arriving a quarter of an hour, even half an hour earlier at the main hall than usual.
Upon arriving, they didn’t enter right away but stood at the entrance in twos and threes, gathering and whispering quietly.
They were eager to know whether the rampant rumors of the past few days were true.
If not, is it that the Great General can no longer endure and is trying to force the emperor to abdicate, using this tactic to pressure him through public opinion?
Most of those speculating this were from the Zhao Family faction and neutral officials, the latter worried, while the former were excited.
When Xiahou Ren, Wei An, and others arrived one after another, they were immediately targeted.
Everyone had already figured out that these individuals were present that day, so under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xiahou Ren, Tao Wu, and Wei An were surrounded by three groups of court officials and pushed to the side to be asked, "Did His Majesty really say that day that he wanted to abdicate to the Great General?"
The officials shuffled their feet slightly, pricking up their ears to listen.
Xiahou Ren showed little expression, trying to shake them off, "When the time comes, you’ll know..."
"Brother, don’t be so unkind. Is it true or not? Even a nod or shake of the head would do."
Xiahou Ren dared not move his neck at all, fearing they might misunderstand.
Although it is "true," who knows if the Xun Fan brothers have changed their minds?
He dared not disclose any news and didn’t know who spilled the beans as soon as they left, unaware that mishandling such matters could cost lives.
The big-mouthed officials silently bowed their heads and entered the hall; they just mentioned it to a brother, a close friend, or a brother-in-law, after all, they’re family and must be informed in advance, else how to avoid being disadvantaged at court?
Who knew they would leak the information?
While Xiahou Ren stood frozen, someone announced, "The Great General has arrived—"
Officials immediately released the detained individuals, standing with their backs straight.
Zhao Hanzhang ascended the steps, casting a glance over them before frowning, saying, "His Majesty is arriving soon, why are you still outside the hall?"
The officials thus bypassed Zhao Hanzhang, hustling and bustling into the inner hall, soon finding their places.
Fu Tinghan stood beside Zhao Hanzhang, watching everything unfold in amazement; he had returned late the day before yesterday, and Zhao Hanzhang had only told him, "The Little Emperor is going to abdicate to me."
Fu Tinghan was already prepared for this, not surprised, and merely nodded to indicate he knew, even asking her, "Are we going to move into the Imperial Palace afterwards?"
Zhao Hanzhang nodded, "Yes."
Fu Tinghan said, "Living in the palace would make it convenient to go to the Observatory and Ministry of Industry, but getting out of the city would be a bit more troublesome, requiring passage through two more city gates."
What he assumed was an almost sure abdication, as everyone seemed to know, a very smooth transition, yet most of the officials were still in the speculation stage, without definite news.
Fu Tinghan turned his head to look at Zhao Hanzhang, "About my parents..."
Zhao Hanzhang said, "I sent Ji Yuan to visit them. Since they didn’t come looking for you yesterday, it means they’ve accepted it."
Fu Tinghan nodded once more and then entered the hall with Zhao Hanzhang.
Inside the hall, the officials were already standing in their respective positions, and Fu Tinghan walked to his place as Zhao Hanzhang stepped onto the platform.
On the left side of the platform, next to the dragon throne, was a set of mats and table, where Zhao Hanzhang frequently sat.
She walked to this place, and all the officials in the hall looked up at her with bright eyes, noting she didn’t take a single extra step toward the dragon throne nor even gave it an extra glance; whether in excitement or disappointment, they silently retracted their gaze.
Before they could bow and salute, they heard the eunuch loudly announcing the emperor’s arrival.
The officials quickly composed themselves, waiting with hands lowered, seeing Xun Fan supporting the emperor step by step out from the rear hall, walking from the side to sit on the dragon throne.
Why is Xun Fan here; wasn’t he injured and resting at home?
Seeing him walking steadily, is he better now?
The thought flashed by, and they saw Zhao Hanzhang turn sideways to face the emperor as usual, bowing with clasped hands, and the officials quickly collected themselves, kneeling to salute.
When the eunuch called for them to rise, they stood with bright eyes... staring at the steps, with some bolder ones sweeping their gaze over the emperor, occasionally glancing at Zhao Hanzhang.
It feels like something big is about to happen.
Xun Fan didn’t step down the platform to his position but instead stood by the dragon throne, giving an encouraging nod to the Little Emperor.
The Little Emperor cleared his throat, his voice trembling somewhat, although he was emperor, this was the first time he actively made an opening speech at a court meeting, "I... I..."
Everything he had thought of before going on stage disappeared in an instant, his mind went blank, and the Little Emperor panicked, seeking help from Xun Fan.
Xun Fan frowned, with some anger and frustration; as the emperor, frequently questioned by Zhao Hanzhang in court, although nervous, he wouldn’t be unable to utter a single word; this time, it was just to make an opening, how did he start stuttering?
This scene fell in the eyes of the officials, wouldn’t they think it was Zhao Hanzhang forcing them?
If Zhao Hanzhang suspected they were deliberately acting...
The thought just flashed by when Zhao Hanzhang calmly took over, saying, "Are there any matters for the officials to report? If so, report; if not, you may withdraw."
With someone opening the conversation, the Little Emperor instantly knew how to follow up, immediately saying, "I have a matter!"
Under the gaze of the officials, he took a deep breath and said, "Since I ascended the throne, wars have ravaged, almost leading to the downfall of the country; it was the Great General who saved me, saved the people of the world. Last year, the world initially found peace, the north and south united, and I thought the world could find stability; though there are still territories outside, given time, Great Jin can surely reclaim lost lands, but right after the New Year, a solar eclipse occurred, followed by three months of continuous rain; not only in Luoyang, but Yu State, Jizhou, and Qingzhou all suffered disasters, even Jiangnan was troubled by floods..."
The Little Emperor’s voice fell low, "Although the Great General said this is a natural disaster, unrelated to me, I think, with this warning from heaven, clearly I haven’t done well. Today, I issue a decree of self-reproach, the various calamities, all my fault, if there is punishment, I implore heaven to direct it at me, do not harm the people."
Zhao Hanzhang looked at the young face of the Little Emperor, bowed, and clasped her hands, "Your Majesty, this is a natural disaster, the blame is indeed not on you."
The officials all knelt, in unison saying, "We are in fear!"
The Little Emperor shook his head slightly, "I know, this peaceful kingdom relies entirely on the Great General; I am not a good emperor, and besides, due to the misdeeds of the ancestors, the world is in chaos. We descendants, having inherited the remnants of the ancestors, should also bear their sins."
"Today, with all the officials present, I will hand over this position to the General, hoping the Great General will bear the weight of the kingdom for me."
Zhao Hanzhang hurriedly knelt and bowed, "I am in fear."
Xun Fan then took the written imperial edict forward to read, the general meaning was also so, but what he wrote was much sharper, not blaming the Little Emperor, but rather placing the blame firmly on the heads of the eight rebel princes, believing they caused chaos throughout the country, peoples’ grievances hard to appease, heaven and earth wrathful, the divine mandate no longer on the Sima family, thus needing to pass the throne to Zhao Hanzhang.
Zhao Hanzhang, after hearing the edict, refused to accept, expressing intent to wholeheartedly assist the emperor and co-govern the world.