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nChapter 692: Chapter 692. Abdication

nTranslator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

nYun ‘er liked the grasslands and was unwilling to return to the capital no matter what. Not only Yun’ er but Zi Song was also unwilling to return. They all said they would wait until winter before returning to the capital.

nXiao Ying also begged her brother and sister-in-law,

n” Let them stay. Let them accompany me more. I wonder when we’ll meet again after this.”

nXiao Zeyu and Su Qing saw Xiao Ying’s sad expression and didn’t have the heart to refuse, so they agreed. Returning to the capital, they found that Ziqi managed the government well. He used his ideas to issue a few new policies that benefited the country and the people. The ministers in the court didn’t go against him just because Ziqi was young. They were very cooperative with him. In just a month, Ziqi had already become quite the emperor.

nXiao Zeyu was overjoyed to see his son able to stand alone. He would wait for Ziqi to become an adult at fourteen and let him inherit the throne. He would be a carefree Retired Emperor and accompany Qing ‘er to travel through the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains. He would find a place where the wind and rain were smooth and plant ten thousand mu of fertile land.

nHe had to start a family if he wanted his son to be the emperor. According to the old ancestor’s rule, the selection of talents was imminent.

nWhen they heard that the royal family was selecting a talent, all the ministers cried joyfully. They finally had a chance to become relatives of the royal family. They dressed their daughters up beautifully and invited famous painters to paint them. They had to enter the eyes of the Emperor and the Empress to get a chance to be selected.

nSoon, dozens of portraits appeared on the table of Yangxin Palace Hall. Xiao Zeyu and Su Qing had personally selected them. They had to be of clean background, virtuous, beautiful, and dignified. This was the selection of the Empress, not the usual selection of concubines. They had to be very careful. After screening them, they called Ziqi to Yangxin Palace Hall and asked him to look at the portraits to choose the girls he was satisfied with. He then chose an auspicious day for these girls to enter the palace to be selected.

nThis process was quite cumbersome. The selected girls had first to learn the rules of the palace and train well before they could officially be selected.

nSu Qing felt it was too troublesome and took too long, so she decided to simplify it and hold a zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, song, and dance competition. These girls could enter the palace, and anyone with talents could show them. Ziqi could see all the girls participating in the talent show, and if he liked them, she would be directly selected as the queen, and then she would train one person alone.

nXiao Zeyu also felt that this method was suitable. It could also close the gap between the royal family and the ministers. It was not as dull as the selection of the imperial concubines. Otherwise, twenty to thirty girls would enter the palace to be selected. Those who were not chosen as the Empress would have to stay in the palace as palace maids, delaying the age of marriage.

nSu Qing respected Ziqi and told him about her and Xiao Zeyu’s thoughts. Ziqi’s face was very red, and he lowered his head. No one knew what he was thinking. “Ziqi, don’t you like any of these?”

nSu Qing thought his son did not fancy the girl in the portrait. This was troublesome.

n“Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, your son already has someone he likes.” Ziqi mustered up her courage and looked at her parents. Su Qing facepalmed. Children in ancient times matured too early.

nIn modern times, fourteen was still a child, but in ancient times, fourteen already had a sweetheart.

n” Alright, since Ziqi already has someone he likes, tell me and your father. We’ll help you propose marriage.”

nSu Qmg nodded. This saved them a lot of trouble. They didn’t need to use marriage to consolidate the government. They could just let the child choose the girl he liked to marry!

n“Yes… It’s Zhang Shilin.”

nZiqi said his cousin’s name with a red face. Su Qing was silent, but Xiao Zeyu was very happy,

n“Shilin is capable of both literature and martial arts. She is a talented and chivalrous woman of her generation. She is intelligent and beautiful. She is indeed the best candidate for the Empress.”

n“They are close relatives. They can’t get married.” Su Qing glanced at him.

n“Why not? There are many such marriages.”

nXiao Zeyu looked at Su Qing strangely. In ancient times, many cousins got married. As the saying goes, the best marriage is to get even closer to each other.

nZiqi was very anxious when he heard his mother’s objection. His heart could no longer accommodate anyone else. There was only his cousin. If he were not allowed to marry his cousin, he would rather be alone until he grew old. However, he didn’t know why his mother objected. Didn’t she like Shilin a lot? Su Qing could tell that her son liked Shilin. She also liked this sensible and beautiful girl very much. She wasn’t as impulsive as Luan Hong. She had a gentle personality and was very well-mannered. She was well-educated and very likable.

nBut…

nSu Qing said helplessly,

n“It’s easy to give birth to deformed children.”

nMother, with a miracle doctor like you around, we shouldn’t have to worry about this, right?”

nFor his happiness, Ziqi couldn’t be bothered to be shy and bravely asked his mother.

n“She’s only twelve years old. How can you get married when she’s still a child?” Su Qing glared at his son.

n” You should ascend the throne first. When you’re 20 years old and mature and still in love with Shilin, Mother will fulfill your wish.”

nSeeing that his mother accepted her outright and gave him a chance to turn things around, although Ziqi felt a little regretful, he still knelt gratefully and thanked her,

n“Many thanks for Mother’s help.”

nThe following day, the court announced the news, saying that Ziqi already had a girl she liked and would get married at the age of 20. He would ascend the throne first and then start a family.

nThose officials looking forward to their daughter entering the palace to be the mother of the world were suddenly dumbfounded. Their hopes were mercilessly extinguished. They all guessed who the girl Ziqi liked was. If she was their daughter, she could wait until the end of time, let alone until she was twenty years old. As long as she could enter the palace, she could bring honor to her ancestors.

nTo find out if she was their daughter, the officials tried their best to bribe the eunuchs of Yangxin Palace Hall to find out which family’s daughter Ziqi liked. However, these eunuchs in the palace were tight-lipped. Did they not want to live?

nZiqi successfully ascended the throne on an auspicious day. The whole world celebrated and granted amnesty. All countries sent envoys to congratulate the new emperor on his ascension.

nThe people of the Great Tang and the surrounding countries were all curious as to why Xiao Zeyu, who was in his prime, would give the throne to his son.

nWhich emperor didn’t pass the power to his son after his death? What was this?

nXiao Zeyu held Su Qing’s hand and walked up the city wall. He pointed to the vast world and said to her,

n“Qmg ’ er, since you like to farm, your husband will accompany you to grow beautiful rivers and mountains.”

n“Alright.”

nSu Qing leaned her head on Xiao Zeyu’s shoulder and watched the sunset glow over half the sky. A smile appeared on her cold face. She could finally focus on farming.

nIt was time for the autumn harvest. The couple wore the clothes of ordinary people and went to the manor to collect the autumn harvest. The two of them competed to see who could work faster. They put down the heavy burden and put down the killing. They worked like this, sweating like rain. However, the two of them had never felt so relaxed.

nWinter had arrived, and Yun’er and Zi Song were not back. The couple decided to carry the rice and corn planted this year to Tartan so that Xiao Ying could also eat the food her sister-in-law grew.

nXiao Ying was pleased to see her brother and sister-in-law come to see her. She did not understand why her brother had passed the throne to her nephew so early, but when she saw her brother and sister-in-law dressed in cotton clothes and looking relaxed and happy, she suddenly felt that this was better.

nBig Brother, Sister-in-law, I want to discuss something with you..”

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