Chapter 354
Judging by today’s outcome, with him being present even on the sidelines, even if the throne was passed onto someone else, that person probably wouldn’t dare to remain perching on it comfortably.
After all, in terms of identity, Xie Xuanchen was the real Prince who bore the blood of the late Emperor. It was a royal tradition from the nomadic era that the throne would only be passed onto the siblings of the royal line if there were no other royal blood successors.
Xie Xuanchen had status, ability and military exploits. Apart from the previous record of him suddenly going crazy, it could be said that he had no other shortcomings. If there was no hidden risk of him relapsing his insanity, he would be a fine and ideal candidate to be next in the line of succession.
His reputation alone against the other countries already wielded enough power for them to be capable of fear, let alone his actual abilities. If Xie Xuanchen succeeded to the throne, no country would dare to invade the border for at least another decade.
This was very important for a court that was suffering from wars and both internal-external political matters.
After the polo game, an undercurrent surged in the stands. Beirong had only heard about Xie Xuanchen’s reputation before, but upon seeing him in person, they were frightened by his displayed strength.
Originally, the negotiation conditions had been prepared, but after the game ended, Ye Luyan looked solemn as he urgently went to renegotiate the peace treaty with his accompanying officials. On the side of the Ye Dynasty, from the most authoritative Emperor, ranging to the mid-tier civil officials before ending up at the lowest-ranking servants, all of them were thinking about Xie Xuanchen.
Prince An seemed relatively fine, so the rumours that claimed his looming death were probably just rumours. All their original plans were based on the premise that Xie Xuanchen was dying soon, but if Xie Xuanchen was present, many things would change.
The Emperor held a banquet in the evening. The guests played around in the garden throughout the afternoon and only set off to the Daqing Palace when it was time for dinner.
The noble women were divided into their own cliques in the garden. When they saw Mu Mingtang even from a distance, they stood up immediately.
“Princess An.”
Though there was an uproar secretly among the men concerning the royal family, things weren’t all that peaceful in the women’s faction either.
They originally thought that Mu Mingtang’s prosperity would not last long, so they could just deal with her casually. Even though they were fairly respectful to her on the surface, they always remained contemptuous in heart.
However, they now realise that Xie Xuanchen might end up living a long life. Plus, his degree of devotion and affection towards Mu Mingtang was much deeper than they thought.
They could no longer treat Mu Mingtang with a forced smile, because one wrong move and they might be the ones living in agony for their entire lives. They have to be prepared to accept that Mu Mingtang would always live well— and it would only get better.
Everyone felt embarrassed when they thought about it. This morning, when the Empress Dowager scolded Mu Mingtang for being extravagant in the Shuixin Palace, they even thought that they could witness a good drama scene. They wanted to watch a clip where a mother-in-law disciplined her daughter-in-law, but in the end, it was the elder who was lectured. They wanted to spectate the show from the sidelines, but the fire ended up burning them instead.