This time, during the political upheaval in the capital, Jing Shao urgently summoned Old General Shu back to the capital. Originally, he was worried that Emperor Qian Ning might die suddenly and that the old general would harbor resentment, so he simply summoned him back to the capital and intended to keep him under control.
The imperial edict he wrote was not very clear, merely ordering the old general to return to the capital. Old General Shu had never disobeyed an imperial edict, so upon receiving it, he hurriedly rushed back from the border.
He had guarded the borders of the Great Qi Dynasty for decades and had never allowed disorder to break out along Great Qi’s frontier. Yet he had never expected that this time, Great Qi would fall into chaos from within.
Old General Shu hurriedly left Yanmen Pass in the hands of his daughter and rushed back to the capital. But the emperor who had written the edict summoning him back… was already dead.
When Old General Shu returned to the capital and entered the palace, the person he met was Jing Mu, whom the late Emperor’s final edict had designated as the new Emperor. When he met him, Jing Mu was not wearing imperial robes. He was still wearing the ceremonial robes he had worn when he was a prince.
Seeing that Emperor Qian Ning still had some time before his burial, Old General Shu felt quite pleased when he saw Jing Mu dressed this way.
This new Emperor looked modest and filial. Surely the late Emperor had his reasons for appointing him as the new Emperor.
“New Emperor” Jing Mu was quite warm when he met Old General Shu. Before the old general could even complete his salute, Jing Mu stepped forward and helped him up, inviting him to sit nearby. After chatting cordially for a while, Jing Mu even kept him in the palace for a meal.
Old General Shu looked at this young and outstanding new Emperor, becoming more and more satisfied the longer he looked at him. He thought to himself that Great Qi would surely enjoy several decades of peace and prosperity from now on.
Unexpectedly, after he had drunk his fill, the new Emperor began talking nonsense.
“General Shu.” Jing Mu asked with a smile, “What do you think of my fifth younger brother, Jing Cong? Although he is young, he is clever and quick-witted, and he isn’t bound by too many conventions. I think there could be no better person to inherit the throne.”
Old General Shu’s hand trembled when he heard this, spilling half a cup of wine onto his robes.
“Your Majesty, what… what are you saying?” Old General Shu asked. “The late Emperor has already prepared an imperial edict. Once His Majesty is buried, you are to ascend the throne. No matter how outstanding the Fifth Prince may be, he cannot disrupt the order of seniority and rank!”
Jing Mu smiled and shook his head.
“My aspirations do not lie here.”
“Then where do Your Majesty’s aspirations lie?”
Jing Mu smiled and shook his head again.
Only then did Old General Shu vaguely remember that his family’s third son had served as Jing Mu’s Junior Tutor for more than a year. When the crisis in Huzhou had occurred, it was Jing Mu himself who had gone to rescue his son.
Old General Shu asked, “Could it be… Your Majesty, did my foolish son’s overly unconventional thinking lead Your Majesty astray?”
Jing Mu shook his head with a smile.
“Junior Tutor is very good.”
Then he raised his cup.
“Whether General Shu agrees or not, I have already made up my mind. When Jing Cong ascends the throne in the future, I hope the old general will not hesitate to assist him. I would be deeply grateful.”
After saying this, he tilted his head back and drained the wine in his cup.
By the time Old General Shu had eaten and drunk his fill and staggered home, he still felt that the entire situation was too unreal.
This… who would willingly hand over a throne that had already fallen into their hands?
Back when Emperor Qian Ning had fought for the succession, Old General Shu had still been young, but he had personally witnessed the bloodshed in the capital. Yet when it came to Jing Mu, after leading troops all the way back to the capital and slaughtering his way through the city, he had actually learned to play the game of Kong Rong giving up the larger pear to his younger brothers?
Old General Shu truly could not understand it.
And so, he returned home with a belly full of questions.
Everyone in the General’s Residence had been waiting for the old general to return. A general stationed at the border could sometimes be away from home for three or even five years. By the time he entered the residence, a banquet had already been prepared.
Although the old general had already eaten in the palace, he still had to let his family welcome him properly and have a cup of tea.
After returning, Old General Shu sat in the seat of honor and ate a few more bites with his wife, his son, and his eldest daughter-in-law.
“This Emperor is truly strange.” Old General Shu frowned as he sat at the table. “The late Emperor’s imperial edict has already been issued, yet today he told me that he wants Jing Cong to become Emperor.”
Shu Changyu sat at the table and looked at his father, blinking somewhat guiltily.
Then he noticed that his mother’s eyes were filled with deep meaning after hearing those words. She turned her gaze toward him.
“Children grow up, and naturally, they can no longer be controlled,” Madam Li said slowly.
Gu Lanrong and Old General Shu both looked at her in confusion.
Madam Li glanced at Shu Changyu, then turned toward Old General Shu and said leisurely, “The Second Prince isn’t becoming Emperor because he intends to become our Shu family’s daughter-in-law.”
Old General Shu: “…???”
He looked around at everyone at the table in astonishment and suspicion, unable to say anything for a moment.
As a man who was straighter than the long spear in his own hand, Old General Shu did not understand what Madam Li meant for a while.
After a moment, he asked blankly, “…His Majesty… has taken a liking to Lanrong?”
Gu Lanrong, who had originally been just as confused, nearly jumped out of her chair in fright.
“Father, you must understand! I have never had any improper relationship with the Second Prince! In my heart and my eyes, there has only ever been Changke!”
Old General Shu froze and looked toward Shu Changyu.
“Then doesn’t that mean the only child left in our family is Jingchen?”
Madam Li lowered her eyes without saying anything. Shu Changyu also remained silent as he looked at his father.
At once, Old General Shu’s expression became extraordinarily vivid.
From confusion, to disbelief, and then to explosive fury.
He jumped up from his chair, his trembling finger pointing at Shu Changyu.
“He is… he is a man!”
Shu Changyu lowered his eyes.
“I ask Father to forgive me.”
“He is the Crown Prince!” Old General Shu roared.
Shu Changyu lowered his eyes and gave a quiet hum.
“Yes. I have married above my station.”
At that, Old General Shu was so furious that he could not speak.
He pointed at Shu Changyu, his mouth opening and closing without knowing what to say, his eyes wide and one hand trembling uncontrollably.
“Someone! Where is my spear? Bring me my spear!”
Only after a moment did the old general manage to find his voice again.
“Today, I am going to take this rebellious son’s life!”
Shu Changyu said nothing.
Just then, Madam Li spoke lightly.
“You just got home and you’re already shouting about killing people? If you haven’t killed enough people yet, go back to Yanmen Pass. Why are you drawing your sword against a child who doesn’t even know martial arts?”
Old General Shu’s fury immediately diminished by half.
Hearing Madam Li’s words, he widened his eyes in disbelief. With one trembling hand pointing at Shu Changyu, he turned his head toward Madam Li.
“But… but he?!”
“By now, the Second Prince is already going to be Crown Prince,” Madam Li said. “What use is it for the Shu family to refuse?”
The general looked at Shu Changyu.
“Were you forced into this?”
“…No.” Shu Changyu answered softly.
Then he saw the look of exasperation Madam Li cast at him, as though she could not stand to see him waste his good fortune.
“You…!”
Old General Shu raised his hand, almost wanting to strike him. But when he looked at his son’s frame, which could hardly be called robust, his raised hand stopped halfway and he could not bring himself to strike.
With nowhere to vent the fury in his heart, Old General Shu could only continue raging.
“If I hadn’t come home, were all of you going to keep this from me?! Would I have to wait until they had a whole litter of children before finding out about the two of them?!”
Old General Shu roared.
Gu Lanrong had never seen the old general this furious. Moreover, she had known nothing about the matter from beginning to end, and she was trembling in fright.
Madam Li, however, remained completely calm. She raised a hand and gently patted Gu Lanrong’s back to comfort her while speaking leisurely.
“They won’t. The two of them can’t have children anyway.”
During these three years of receiving no news whatsoever, Madam Li had long since regretted her previous attitude. She thought that she did not absolutely need another child to carry on the family line. If she truly could not separate the two of them, then let them be.
She was already getting old. It was impossible for her to control him for his entire life. Whatever he wanted to do, and whatever consequences he would have to bear in the future, he could deal with them himself.
Originally, Madam Li’s resolve had not been quite firm enough. But on the day Jing Mu rushed back and saved her, she truly could not find any other excuse anymore.
Children and grandchildren had their own blessings. She no longer wanted to meddle in their affairs.
But while she had spent three years coming to terms with it, General Shu had been kept completely in the dark for those three years.
Now, this sudden revelation had struck him senseless and dealt a heavy blow to his entire worldview.
This… how could a man and another man even… huh??
Hearing that they could not have children, the general was rendered speechless once again.
After a moment, as he gradually digested the news, Old General Shu continued scolding him.
“If you don’t want children, are you going to make sure His Majesty… the Second Prince doesn’t have children either?!”
“The Second Prince doesn’t care about it. Why are you worrying about it for him?” Madam Li said lazily.
“You are not allowed to interrupt!”
Old General Shu turned around and, for the first time ever, shouted at his own wife.
Madam Li looked at him.
Old General Shu himself was stunned.
Then he saw Madam Li put down her chopsticks, hardly having eaten more than a few bites, give him a look, and get up to leave.
“I didn’t mean… It’s all his fault… Ah!”
Old General Shu panicked.
But Madam Li ignored him. She simply turned and walked out on her own without even looking back at him.
The general had no choice. He turned around and glared fiercely at Shu Changyu.
“I’ll settle accounts with you later!”
With that, he hurriedly chased after her.
For a moment, only Shu Changyu and Gu Lanrong remained in the hall.
Only then did Gu Lanrong slowly recover from her shock and look toward Shu Changyu.
Shu Changyu leisurely picked up his wine cup and took a sip. He smiled at Gu Lanrong.
“Father is just a little hot-tempered. Sister-in-law, don’t be frightened.”
Gu Lanrong looked at him. After hesitating for a moment, she asked softly, “What Mother said… is it all true?”
Shu Changyu paused, then nodded.
Gu Lanrong let out a soft sigh.
“No wonder the atmosphere at home was so strange during those days when you went to Huzhou. And no wonder Father is so angry…” After saying this, she asked softly, “The Second Prince… after all, he is the Crown Prince named in the imperial edict. Even if you like men, Jingchen, couldn’t it… have been someone else?”
Upon hearing this, Shu Changyu did not hesitate at all.
He set down his wine cup and smiled warmly at Gu Lanrong.
“Sister-in-law, I don’t like men. But it can only be Jing Mu. The only person I admire and love is him.”