radicalducati Page 52
Page 52
But when she finally walked out of Maple Forest Garden, her aura changed instantly. The ruthless and decisive Empress Charlene was back!
Especially during the morning court session, Qin Feng couldn't help but be amazed to see how she had thoroughly reprimanded all the officials. His mother was truly exceptionally strong-willed!
Then, as expected, after the regular meeting, the eldest prince Qin Yu stepped forward. He first praised Qin Feng's achievements in the expedition to Inazuma, and then said that he was inferior to his younger brother Qin Feng in terms of virtue, character and governance of the country. Therefore, he took the initiative to propose that the third prince Qin Feng ascend the throne as the next emperor.
Now that the only competitor, His Highness the First Prince, had spoken up, the rest was easy. All the officials quickly seconded the motion and unanimously agreed to the Third Prince's ascension to the throne!
Since everyone was so enthusiastic in their support, Qin Feng was naturally too embarrassed to refuse. So he stepped forward and exchanged a few polite words, and then, under everyone's strong insistence, he agreed. He was then immediately named the successor emperor and was surrounded and seated on the dragon throne.
Simply put, the successor emperor is a new emperor who has obtained the right to be the legitimate emperor but has not yet had the opportunity to ascend the throne.
According to the rules of the Qin Empire, after the death of the old emperor, the court must immediately determine the successor emperor according to the will. Then the successor emperor would lead the court officials to keep vigil. Seven days later, the burial would be held and the old emperor would be placed in the ancestral mausoleum. Then the enthronement ceremony of the new emperor could be prepared.
Normally, the enthronement ceremony of a new emperor is held one or two months after the funeral. During this period, although the successor emperor does not have a formal imperial title, he can exercise all the rights of an emperor, since a country cannot be without a ruler for a day!
Generally, the successor to the throne is usually the crown prince appointed by the previous emperor. However, if no crown prince has been appointed or there was no time to appoint one, as in the case of Qin Ziming who died from poisoning, then the succession must be determined according to the ranking of the three heirs. The first heir is definitely the first choice, but that doesn't mean the second and third heirs have no chance. This is because the heirs are different from the crown prince. The crown prince's succession to the throne is legitimate and natural, while the succession depends on the considerations of the court officials. Whoever gains the upper hand will ascend to the throne!
Therefore, this period is often the most intense time of struggle within the palace, and bloodshed can easily ensue if one is not careful...
Fortunately, this scene did not unfold in the Qin Dynasty this time, because the eldest prince, Qin Yu, took the initiative to concede and even proposed that the third prince, Qin Feng, succeed to the throne. So the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief and quickly finalized the matter. Otherwise, things could easily go wrong and there would be plot twists, which would be very unpleasant!
Now that the successor emperor has been confirmed, the main task next is to keep vigil. Not only will the successor emperor Qin Feng keep vigil, but the entire capital and even the entire empire must keep vigil for seven days. No one is allowed to wear clothes of any other color; they can only wear white clothes and white robes. Everyone must wear mourning clothes and cease all activities...
Yes, business is no longer allowed, crops cannot be harvested, and even the most urgent matters must be put aside, including war!
There's nothing we can do; that's the emperor's privilege!
Fortunately, it was only seven days; the whole country took a long holiday...
However, after the seven-day vigil ends, everyone still needs to observe three months of mourning, but this is much easier. Everyone is only required to tie a white cloth on their shoulder as a symbolic gesture. There are no other requirements, and life returns to normal.
Next comes the coronation ceremony of the new emperor, which is very lively. The coronation of a new emperor is definitely not a trivial matter, and it cannot be done casually. Therefore, not only must an auspicious day be carefully chosen, but it must also be announced to the whole world and a super grand celebration must be held. At that time, the entire capital will enter a carnival mode, and there may even be a general amnesty!
In short, the Qin Empire is sure to be quite lively in the next few months!
For Qin Feng, the most beneficial thing is that from this moment on, he is actually the new emperor, and everyone must address him as "Your Majesty" instead of "Third Prince"!
Therefore, after the court session ended, he had to prepare for the 'moving' as soon as possible, because the emperor could not continue to live in a place like Fenglin Garden; it had to be Qianqing Palace.
Of course, even if they were to move, it wouldn't be that fast, because all the old emperor's belongings in the Qianqing Palace haven't been completely cleared out yet, and these things would definitely be buried with him, so there's no need to worry about any waste.
But since it's the new emperor's turn to move in, all the furniture, decorations, and even all the clothes need to be custom-made. Qin Feng's new dragon robe is especially important. If Qin Feng is particular, he could even replace the entire renovation, but that would take even longer!
But there was nothing he could do; the palace had a new master, and from now on, everything was up to Qin Feng!
These problems were actually not too difficult to handle, because Qin Feng only needed to give an order and his subordinates would naturally take care of it. All he had to worry about was taking some time to choose a style he liked or have a tailor take his measurements. But soon a problem that gave him a headache came up... What to do with the three thousand beauties in the old emperor Qin Ziming's harem?
To be honest, before he transmigrated, Qin Feng always thought that using the phrase "three thousand beauties" to describe the emperor's harem was a bit of an exaggeration, because how could a normal man face three thousand beauties?
Even if you sleep with one of them every night, it would still take nearly three years to go through the whole cycle...
Do you think every man is like Qin Feng?
Moreover, the reason he is so perverted, besides the enhancement from the Kelvin family bloodline and the super 'tough' technique inherited from his great-grandfather, is mainly due to the super artifact buff of the Beauty Picture. After all, there are so many goddess souls in this artifact, and to revive them, one must constantly play with women. How can one do that without sufficient resources...
Therefore, Qin Feng can continuously gain yang energy while playing with women, thus making him invincible and able to ejaculate endlessly.
But after transmigrating and becoming a real prince, experiencing life in the palace, Qin Feng realized how ridiculous his previous thoughts were. Perhaps it was just as the saying goes…
Poverty limits my imagination! Mei, what do you think? Lin Mei, empty, you Lin, are you here...?
The phrase "three thousand beauties" is not an exaggeration; it is a real concept. These beauties were specially selected from all over the country and kept in the vast complex of courtyards behind the Qianqing Palace. They were even managed by dedicated staff. Whenever His Majesty the Emperor wanted to spend the night with someone but did not want to go to his familiar concubines, he could "choose" one of them.
In short, flipping the cards is the same as drawing a lottery ticket. Anyway, the emperor can't see what they look like, let alone know what their figures and appearances are like. It's just a random flipping, and he can flip as many as he wants. Then the beauties who are flipped will soon be brought to serve him in bed, which is equivalent to winning the lottery for them.
Because all they could do was seize this opportunity. If the emperor was satisfied with their service, he could remove them from the inner palace, and they would be transformed from ugly ducklings into swans!
However, most of them were rotated out of the palace after waiting for three long years, then obediently married and devoted themselves to being wives and mothers...
That's right, you read that right. The imperial harem of three thousand beauties was changed every three years, and those who weren't young and beautiful were simply not chosen!
This is the emperor's privilege!
Chapter 136: What to do with three thousand beauties in the harem?
To put it more bluntly, the so-called emperor's harem of three thousand beauties was actually a different kind of power.
Because of the beauty pageant held every three years, all young girls in the empire aged sixteen to nineteen must participate. However, those who are ugly, have poor figures, or are otherwise unattractive are quickly eliminated, and only the pretty girls can continue to the next round of selection.
Next came the competition of beauty and talent. Ultimately, most of the participants were eliminated, and only three thousand were selected to be sent to the Qianqing Palace to await the Emperor's favor...
If you're lucky enough to be chosen by the emperor, you'll be granted the title of "Talented Lady" or something similar. This means you've escaped the pitfall and truly entered the imperial palace. From then on, you'll have your own palace maids and certain privileges and benefits. As long as you please the emperor, you'll have the opportunity to slowly climb the ranks. If you're even luckier and conceive a royal child, you'll rise to prominence through your son!
But such lucky ones only number two or three out of every batch of three thousand girls. Most of them wait for three years but do nothing, and eventually go back to their own homes.
After all, there are as many as three thousand beauties, and they are replaced every three years. So even if the old emperor chooses a concubine every night, he simply cannot keep up with them all, unless he favors at least three every night, which would really kill him!
Moreover, this batch of three thousand beauties were only selected last year, and they haven't even been in the palace for a full year yet. How could the old emperor possibly take care of them all?
He didn't even bother to look at the cards, let alone flip them over. After all, Qin Ziming is not young anymore, and he simply doesn't have the energy to keep up...
But this is precisely the problem Qin Feng is facing now.
According to the rules passed down from their ancestors, regardless of whether the old emperor had favored them before, they belonged to the old emperor. So under normal circumstances, when the old emperor died, all three thousand beauties of this batch, like the concubines, had to be buried with him!
Isn't that cruel?
There's nothing they can do; that's what an empire is, and it's the emperor's absolute authority. The emperor is always the greatest, so it's just that their lives are really unfortunate!
Fortunately, they met Qin Feng, who was not a native of the Empire at all. Although his body was from the Empire, his consciousness came from Earth in the 21st century. He had the mindset and values of a modern person, and even the core socialist values!
So when Xia Lin discussed with him how to deal with these three thousand beauties, Qin Feng's first reaction was to refuse!
Three thousand beauties, not three hundred, and certainly not thirty!
If it were only three or thirty, Qin Feng wouldn't say anything. So what if they were buried with the emperor? At least someone would be there to accompany him after the emperor's death. But three thousand... especially at the prime of their lives, and to be buried with an old man they'd never even met—Qin Feng really couldn't bring himself to do that!
Besides, since these beauties in the harem were selected from across the country, they are naturally useful to me!
And they are all currently...
Mom, don't you know what I need most is...
How can we waste so many excellent resources?
Hmm, what do we need to do?
Goodness, Mom, don't you know that only the Yin energy within the body is the most concentrated?
Therefore, whether for public or private reasons, I must protect these beauties; they absolutely cannot be buried with me!
The problem is that if Qin Feng insists on protecting these three thousand beauties, he will inevitably break the rules. In any country, rules are very important, and it is especially unacceptable for a new emperor to break the rules before he has even ascended the throne!
Qin Feng might be criticized then...
Fortunately, Xia Lin was somewhat reluctant to do so, which is why she came to discuss it with her son. Otherwise, if she had just given an order, these three thousand beauties would have been taken away and disappeared completely, and who would have cared?
So when Xia Lin saw Qin Feng's firm statement that he would protect them, she was moved and decided to stand firmly on her son's side!
After all, this son was raised by her own hands, so let her see just how far Qin Feng can go in the end...
So after discussing it for a while, Qin Feng and Xia Lin decided that Xia Lin should handle the matter herself!
Because Charlene could use the excuse that the palace needed to be renovated after the new emperor ascended the throne to dismiss all the palace maids on the spot!
But the palace cannot function without maids, and it is impossible to find such a large number of new people to fill the gaps in a short period of time. So what can be done?
It's very simple. Doesn't the Qianqing Palace have three thousand girls of marriageable age?
Anyway, Empress Xia Lin had already investigated. Since this batch of three thousand beauties had only been in the palace for a short time, none of them had been chosen by the old emperor. They were all still fresh and naive, and it would be a pity to send them to be buried with the emperor. It would be better to keep them as palace maids.
Of course, now that the Qianqing Palace is vacant, a new round of beauty pageant selection will have to start again, and the time will be set after the new emperor ascends the throne!
When the Empress spoke, the ministers looked at each other, feeling that it was inappropriate and unreasonable. However, since none of the senior officials spoke, they could only lower their heads and agree.
After all, according to the rules, the Empress is the one who holds all the power in the inner palace, and she really has the right to do so!
Although a new emperor is currently in the process of changing, Qin Feng has not yet officially ascended the throne, so naturally no new empress has been appointed. Therefore, Empress Xia Lin is still the head of the entire harem, and she has the final say in everything!
And I should add one more thing here. Although it is said on the surface that after the empire has determined the successor emperor, he will lead all the officials to keep vigil for seven days, and this will take effect from that time, this vigil does not require the successor emperor to kneel there the whole time... That's not realistic, is it?
After all, once the new emperor's position is established, there are too many things to do, and many of them must be handled personally by the succeeding emperor.
Putting aside other matters, just the dragon robe prepared for the new emperor's ascension to the throne required the successor emperor's relatives to go and take measurements, meticulously measuring the entire body multiple times, which would take up most of the day. Not to mention other similar matters, so normally the successor emperor would designate one or more people to kneel in the Xuanwu Hall as his substitute, leading the court officials in the vigil. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment from another text.)
Then Qin Feng decisively handed over this glorious and arduous task to his elder brother, Qin Yu.
In fact, not every official in the imperial court knelt obediently there.
Although theoretically, during these seven days of vigil, all affairs of the entire empire must be put aside and no one is allowed to do anything, just listen to this and don't take it seriously!
The reason is simple: if this vast empire were to shut down for seven days, wouldn't it be completely paralyzed?
And there are some things you can't just refuse to do?
If an enemy country were to invade during your seven days, would you also wave your hands and say, "I am observing mourning for my parents, so I cannot take action"?
So everyone is actually aware of this rule. On the surface, it's enough to just get by. They might kneel down and pretend when there's nothing to do, or even let out a few shouts, but in reality, they just do what they're supposed to do afterward...
Of course, I'm referring to important figures in power, like Qin Feng, who is the emperor. So he can openly designate someone to kneel and keep vigil in his place while he's actually having a great time in Fenglin Garden with Yoda Kaori, Bai Zhiwei, and the Hu Bingjing and Hu Bingxin sisters!
Then there was General Bai. Given his status, he couldn't even kneel to keep vigil. If something were to happen to him, it would be a huge loss. So he was quickly taken away and forcibly sent back to the Royal Military Academy to recuperate in peace!
Then there's Prime Minister Xu Zibo and his group. They already had a lot on their plate, and now it was their time to make a good impression on the new emperor. They were foolishly kneeling here to pledge their loyalty to the dead old emperor. Had they lost their minds?
But if they are ordinary officials, or those without much real power, they should just kneel obediently. Unless they are summoned by their superiors or have something to deal with, they will not be able to leave the Xuanwu Hall, and this will continue for the next seven days...
Chapter 137: The Super Fierce Princess Arrives
To be honest, Qin Feng was unwilling to go to the Xuanwu Hall to keep vigil not only because he didn't want to kneel, but also because he couldn't bear to see the gloomy atmosphere there, especially the concubines crying so heart-wrenchingly that it was unbearable to watch...
But they weren't really saddened by the old emperor's death; they were mainly saddened by their own fate. Everyone knew that once the vigil ended and the old emperor was buried, their lives would come to an end!
There was nothing they could do; it was their fate. Qin Feng wasn't some savior, and he neither wanted nor intended to interfere, so he simply chose to ignore it.
The problem is, just when he finally managed to steal a moment of free time and was getting to know Bai Zhiwei and Yoda Kaori in various ways to deepen their bond, his mother, Xia Lin, suddenly appeared again!
Hello, hey, hey!!
But this can't really be blamed on Charlene, because as the day went on, the more people she met, especially the increasing number of palace maids from Maple Forest Garden, the more shocked she became!
These palace maids were all personally selected by her and then transformed into death guards using secret techniques; they could even be called puppets!
So, although Qiu Xiang and the others' physical appearances are fixed at around twenty years old, their actual ages are all over thirty. Furthermore, because Xia Lin forcibly enhanced their potential and cultivation using special methods, it actually caused significant damage to their bodies. Therefore, as time goes by, their bodies will become increasingly...destructive? (The last part, "梅呢想没林在空你林在在没呢," is a nonsensical string of characters and doesn't translate directly.)
Moreover, according to Charlene's prediction, in a few more years at most, these palace maids will completely lose their function and value...
Simply put, Charlene used a secret technique to condense their entire lives into a mere twenty years!
But it doesn't matter. In twenty years, the naive Qin Feng has grown from three years old to twenty-three, old enough to accept the bloodline inheritance of the Kelvin family!
Xia Lin never expected that when she woke up after sleeping for fifteen years, the palace maids of Maple Forest Garden showed no signs of decay; on the contrary, they were all full of vitality and energy!
This is not surprising, because the goddesses in the Beauty Picture will gradually transform the bodies of the contracted beauties, making them not only beautiful and exquisite, but also with figures so perfect that no one can find fault with them. They will be completely renewed, both inside and out!
So after learning the whole story, and especially after witnessing the changes in the palace maids at Maple Forest Garden, Xia Lin's expression was incredibly conflicted...
The reason is simple: what woman doesn't love beauty?
Charlene certainly loves beauty, otherwise why would she extract the bloodline of the Kelvin family and seal it into her son Qin Feng's body?
The problem is, she can only wait for her soul to grow little by little, and according to Qin Feng, it will take her at least several years to become like Qin Lan and the others!
How can this work! !
Too slow...
Perhaps she came to find her son whenever she had a spare moment, wanting to talk to him about how to accelerate the growth of the goddess's soul, but she didn't expect that Qin Feng was with Bai Zhiwei and Hu Bingjing and a few other girls!
And just when I thought I was having fun, she interrupted me again!
Okay, this is definitely a bit awkward!
Fortunately, Xia Lin wasn't without an excuse. She quickly coughed and said, "Lan'er, there's something outside that needs your personal attention!"
"..."
It's not a big deal.
In other words, the Noah Empire of the Western Continent sent an envoy to the Qin Empire...
Unsurprisingly, Qin Feng became furious upon hearing this.
Damn it, the Noah Empire actually has the nerve to send an envoy? And they even dare to ask to meet with me?