Reborn of the Rightful

Extra story - The Emperor Reigns Supreme

In the winter of the twenty-eighth year of Chengqian, Emperor Ping, who had ascended the throne at a young age and reigned for nearly twenty-nine years, passed away. Crown Prince Li Mao, born to Emperor Ping’s empress, succeeded to the throne, and the following year, the era name was changed to Tai’an.

At that time, the court of the Great Zhou dynasty was already controlled by the powerful minister Yan Ding. The civil and military officials throughout the court knew only of the Yan family and not of the Li family, as the Yan clan wielded immense power.

In the third year of Emperor Tai’an’s reign, with the support of the Grand Empress Dowager Yan, Emperor Tai’an allied with the Shen clan, the family of his empress, to launch a coup in an attempt to strike against Yan’s faction. However, due to a trusted eunuch’s betrayal, Yan Ding discovered the plot. In the end, Emperor Tai’an met an unnatural death, while the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Shen were poisoned, and the entire Shen clan was massacred.

After Emperor Tai’an’s death, Yan Ding installed Emperor Tai’an’s eight-month-old son, Li Huan, as emperor, changing the era name to Changshun.

In the first year of Changshun, Empress Zhou, the empress dowager and widow of Emperor Tai’an, was strangled to death after Yan Ding learned she had cursed him as an “old dog” within the palace. That same year, Xiao Weiyong, the heir of the Prince of Yanbei, died suddenly in the imperial palace. Rumors spread that Xiao Weiyong had been killed by Yan Ding because he had expressed dissatisfaction with Yan Ding’s restrictions on his freedom of movement and had verbally offended him.

After Xiao Weiyong’s death, the people of Yanbei were outraged. Officials of all ranks in Yanbei jointly submitted a petition to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion, demanding that the Prince of Yanbei seek justice for his heir.

The Prince of Yanbei was deeply grieved by the death of his eldest grandson and fell seriously ill. After recovering, he designated his second son, Xiao Jingxi, as the heir to the Prince of Yanbei and entrusted all affairs of Yanbei to him.

In the spring of the third year of Changshun, the four-year-old Emperor Li Huan choked to death on a piece of pastry. Palace servants whispered that the young emperor had been poisoned by Minister Yan, who sought to exterminate the Li bloodline and install his own eldest grandson as emperor in a deceptive move.

In the summer of the third year of Changshun, the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion and the Hezhong Prince’s Mansion successively issued declarations of war, rallying under the banner of “eliminating treacherous ministers and purging the court” to jointly march south. The commander of the allied forces was Xiao Jingxi, the heir of the Prince of Yanbei.

The armies of the Great Zhou dynasty had long been accustomed to a life of comfort and privilege. Although they matched the Yanbei Army in numbers, the disparity in strength between the two sides was vast. Led by Xiao Jingxi, the Yanbei Army advanced southward, breaking through all resistance like a hot knife through butter. The imperial forces retreated repeatedly until the Yanbei Army pushed all the way to the capital, laying siege to the city.

The Yanbei Army maintained strict discipline and never harassed civilians during their southward march. Initially, ordinary people fled and hid at the sight of the Yanbei Army. However, after observing that the soldiers did not engage in looting or killing, and even paid reasonable prices for provisions requisitioned along the way, the people gradually lost their fear. Some confused commoners, impressed by the Yanbei Army’s tall and imposing soldiers, even brought their daughters to offer water and food, hoping to secure a good son-in-law.

Mu Hu, known as the Black General, once faced such a predicament.

At the time, a middle-aged peasant woman clung to Mu Hu’s thick leg, rolling on the ground and making a scene to prevent him from leaving.

“You accepted my daughter’s pouch, so you must marry her!”

Mu Hu glanced at the shy, burly girl standing nearby—who was even darker and more robust than him—and nearly fell to his knees. “Madam, let go! I didn’t accept your daughter’s pouch! Don’t talk nonsense!”

The woman planted one hand on her hip and pointed at the coarse cloth bag hanging from Mu Hu’s saddle, which held his rations. “Lying with your eyes wide open! What is this? Isn’t this the pouch my daughter embroidered herself?”

Mu Hu’s face twisted in disbelief. His ration bag had torn, so he had picked up a dusty, nondescript cloth bag from the ground. Could this really be a pouch? Wouldn’t such a bulky thing be a problem hanging from one’s waist?A crowd of onlookers stood around, laughing and joking. Mu Hu scanned the circle and pointed at Xiao Shun not far away, saying, "I’ll give him back to you! Take him back! Look at him—he’s handsome. Go find him as your son-in-law. I’m already married and have three kids!"

The peasant woman glanced at Xiao Shun following Mu Hu’s gesture, frowned, and said, "I need a son-in-law to work the fields. Someone like you is just right." She even gave Mu Hu’s waist and abdomen a firm pat, grinning triumphantly. "My family raised donkeys, so I know what I’m talking about. You’re the sturdy type."

"Pfft—" Laughter erupted all around. Zhu Ruomei, who had come specifically to watch the commotion, laughed especially uproariously. Mu Hu, thoroughly teased, flushed bright red and wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

Unexpectedly, the bold woman spotted Zhu Ruomei in the crowd, her eyes lighting up as she pointed at him and shouted, "You, young man, you! I still have an unmarried daughter at home!"

Zhu Ruomei’s face changed color, and he took off running, provoking a roar of laughter.

In the winter of the third year of Changshun, the Yanbei Army reached the imperial palace of Great Zhou.

The line of Emperor Ping had died out. The current emperor was a young puppet, barely over a year old, handpicked by Yan Ding from the imperial clan. In terms of legitimate lineage, he was even less rightful than the Prince of Hezhong. Even the Great Zhou court had split into two factions. Many upright officials persecuted by Yan’s faction believed it was better to support the Prince of Hezhong than to let Yan’s clique manipulate the court by propping up a distant imperial relative.

On the day they entered the city, General Zhu under Xiao Jingxi’s command led troops to raid the Yan residence. Yan Ding and his eldest son and grandson hid in the palace, while the other masters of the Yan family were captured alive. The Yanbei Army surrounded the palace for three days, laying siege without attacking. Seeing the situation was hopeless, Yan Ding and his son looted all the valuables from the palace and attempted to escape through a secret passage, only to run into Li Tianyou, the Prince of Hezhong’s heir, who had been waiting at the exit. Father and son were both captured.

The Yanbei Army quietly took over the capital’s defenses. The residents hiding in their homes had no idea when the dynasty had changed hands.

With the treacherous faction eliminated, the next step was the new emperor’s ascension.

Although this Yanbei military coup would later be seen as usurpation, the process was so smooth and uneventful that officials at the time hadn’t yet grasped the issue. Seeing Yan’s faction fall, they naturally prepared to support the Prince of Hezhong’s succession—after all, the Prince of Hezhong also bore the surname Li.

But even after Yan’s faction was completely eradicated and order was restored in the capital, the Prince of Hezhong showed no intention of ascending the throne. Gradually, the court officials began to sense something amiss.

In the first month of the fourth year of Changshun, the Prince of Hezhong took the lead in submitting a petition, humbly requesting the Prince of Yanbei—who had quietly entered the capital at some point—to ascend the throne. The entire court was thrown into an uproar.

Some remnants of the old Great Zhou dynasty were unwilling to let an outsider become emperor. But by the time they thought to resist, they realized the entire capital was under the control of the Yanbei Army. While legitimacy mattered in claiming the throne, in the end, it came down to whose fist was harder. Those who tried to reason with the Prince of Yanbei were either beaten down or hadn’t yet been born.

On the eighth day of the second month in the fourth year of Changshun, the deposed emperor abdicated. The Prince of Yanbei, Xiao Yan, ascended the throne as emperor, changing the dynasty’s name to Ming and designating the era as Jianyuan. On the day of his ascension, Xiao Yan produced the genuine imperial jade seal. Only then did the world realize that the so-called jade seals used by emperors in recent years had all been fakes. Rumors spread among the people that the Li family’s mandate had run its course, and the Xiao Family were the true dragons.After Xiao Yan ascended the throne, he established the original principal consort of the Prince of Yanbei, Lady Yun, as empress. This was unsurprising, as the Prince of Yanbei had only this one principal wife. However, when it came to appointing the crown prince, Xiao Yan's actions sparked debates among later generations, because he did not appoint his own legitimate son—his only son, Xiao Jingxi—as crown prince. Instead, he appointed his legitimate grandson, Xiao Weizhuo.

After Xiao Yan's accession, Xiao Jingxi was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yanbei and continued to guard the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Many scholars analyzing the history of this period later concluded that Xiao Yan's decision to appoint his grandson instead of his son was the result of a compromise between Yanbei and Hezhong.

Xiao Yan wanted to become emperor, but did Li Qian not desire the same? Compared to Xiao Yan, Li Qian was the true descendant of imperial lineage. Even if the relationship between the Yanbei Prince's Mansion and the Hezhong Prince's Mansion was excellent, when it came to the throne, any friendship would pale into insignificance. So why was it Xiao Yan, the Prince of Yanbei, who ultimately became emperor, and not Li Qian, the Prince of Hezhong? Was Li Qian truly content with this outcome?

The first reason later scholars proposed: Li Qian did not lack the desire to become emperor; he simply lacked the capability.

The Prince of Yanbei had been consolidating power in Yanbei for many years, and the Yanbei Army was strong and well-equipped. In terms of military might, Li Qian could not defeat the Prince of Yanbei. After all, the Prince of Hezhong had only controlled the Hezhong forces for a few years and had few troops at his disposal. Therefore, Li Qian had no choice but to recognize the reality: when your own strength is inferior, what else can you do but concede the vast territory?

The second reason: The Prince of Hezhong's line had no male heir.

The Prince of Hezhong and his Princess Consort had only one son and one daughter. Their son had been married for many years without producing offspring, reportedly because Empress Dowager Yan had poisoned him, cutting off the bloodline. Even if the Prince of Hezhong had ascended the throne, he would eventually have had to appoint a clan member as his successor—what was the point? His only daughter married into the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, and his granddaughter was the daughter-in-law of Xiao Yan, the Prince of Yanbei, as well as the mother of the crown prince personally appointed by Xiao Yan. Thus, in essence, the bloodline of the Prince of Hezhong resided within the Yanbei Prince's Mansion.

The third reason: This was the result of mutual compromise between the Prince of Yanbei and the Prince of Hezhong.

With no successor and lacking the strength to claim the throne, the Prince of Hezhong preferred to support his own great-grandson rather than some distant relative of unknown origin—after all, it was his own bloodline. The Prince of Yanbei also made a concession by appointing his grandson instead of his son to safeguard the interests of the Hezhong Prince's Mansion. If the Prince of Yanbei had appointed his own son as crown prince, who could guarantee that decades later the throne would pass to the descendants of the Prince of Hezhong's granddaughter? Who knew how many concubines Xiao Jingxi might marry or how many sons he might father?

The fourth reason: The father fights to conquer the realm, while the son reaps the benefits—this is only natural!

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun served as the northern barrier of the Great Ming Dynasty. The Yanbei Prince's Mansion had guarded the northern frontier for generations and could not be abandoned under any circumstances. However, at that time, aside from Xiao Jingxi, there was no one else with the capability and prestige to defend the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. If someone else held significant military power, Xiao Yan might have been concerned, but if his son was guarding the realm for his grandson, what was there to worry about? The realm he, as the grandfather, had fought so hard to secure, enduring the condemnation of the world, would ultimately be passed on to his beloved grandson.

For all these reasons, Xiao Jingxi became the Prince of Yanbei, remaining in Yanbei with his Princess Consort and young son, while his eldest son, Azhuo, became the crown prince and reaped the benefits.In the Yanbei Prince's Mansion in Yunyang City, Ren Yaoqi was teaching her five-year-old daughter A-Wu to write. Though young, A-Wu had a calm and obedient nature, much like her mother's demeanor. Little A-Wu was her father's most beloved treasure.

Xiao Jingxi walked in from outside and stood quietly to the side, watching his daughter write.

"Daddy, you're blocking the light," A-Wu looked up, blinking her soft, gentle eyes at her father.

Xiao Jingxi quickly moved aside and sat down on the other side of his daughter, leaning over to kiss her little cheek. "Sorry, Daddy didn't notice."

A-Wu smiled softly. "It's okay, but Daddy should pay attention next time."

Ren Yaoqi glanced behind Xiao Jingxi and frowned. "Where's A-Xuan? Didn't you take him out to play?"

Xiao Jingxi watched his daughter's careful strokes while holding his wife's hand, calmly replying, "I asked Silly Girl to play with him."

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi had a bad feeling. She glared at Xiao Jingxi and immediately stood up to walk outside.

A-Wu glanced at her mother, then at her father, and solemnly criticized, "Daddy, are you bullying brother again? Mom will be angry."

Xiao Jingxi smiled gently at his daughter. "Birds of a feather flock together, so I let A-Xuan play with Silly Girl. Isn't it better for Daddy to spend time with you and your mother?"

Little A-Wu looked at her father with sympathy. "Whether A-Wu thinks it's good or not doesn't matter. If Mom says it's not good, then Daddy, you're in trouble. Daddy, you should quickly hide in A-Wu's wardrobe."

Ren Yaoqi walked out of the room and saw from a distance her little son, A-Xuan, who had just turned two this year, rolling around in the grass with a large, fluffy white creature. They tumbled together from time to time, covered in grass and debris from head to toe.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi approach, A-Xuan drooled and grinned foolishly. "Mom... play..."

Silly Girl happily ran over, wagging her tail and fawning. "Awoo—"

Ren Yaoqi gritted her teeth. "Xiao Jingxi!"

Inside the room, Xiao Jingxi's ears twitched slightly. He calmly picked up his daughter and headed toward the side door. "A-Wu, Daddy will take you somewhere else to play."