Chapter 205: Settling on a Plan
The next morning, Meng E returned to the manor alone with definite news. The Weary Marquis’s wife had indeed been kept in the palace, along with Prince Donghai’s mother Consort Cui and the Champion Marquis’s young son, who was only two or three years old.
Unexpectedly, Han Ruzi’s mother, Maiden Wang, was not kept as a “hostage” but remained by the Empress Dowager’s side.
The fate seer whom Han Ruzi had met fishing by the river personally stepped forward to assure all three parties that regardless of the succession outcome, their relatives would be free to leave the palace. He carefully avoided words like “detention,” “hostage,” and “release,” but his meaning was clear: to implement this unprecedented method of selecting an emperor, all parties must follow the rules.
The fate seer clearly knew Meng E’s true identity and watched her closely. All night, she had no chance to leave the emperor to meet anyone.
Han Ruzi felt angry and regretful. After Meng E left, when only he and Yang Feng remained, he said, “Does the fate seer really think this will make everyone follow these so-called rules? If the losers truly want to resist, will they care how many hostages are in the palace?”
“The fate seer hasn’t revealed all his intentions yet, and he surely has more tricks up his sleeve. Speculation is useless – let’s focus on how to play this game.”
“This is a game.” Han Ruzi looked at the books piled on the desk. “Has anything like this ever been recorded in history?”
“Not in official records, certainly not in the Chu Dynasty.” Yang Feng stood up, quickly found a book from the shelf, and brought it to Han Ruzi. “If we look far enough back, we can find some precedents. In ancient times, when imperial succession changed from abdication to hereditary, ministerial support was crucial. There were many cases of old rulers being replaced by new ones, especially wise rulers who first needed to gain officials’ support before putting their plans into action.”
Han Ruzi picked up the book and flipped through a few pages without reading immediately. “The fate seer isn’t really trying to restore ancient practices, is he?”