At marquis manor....
Emperor sat by the bed where Qu Ling laid. His face looked pale with eyes dark with the shadow of impending death.
"Marquis Qu, His majesty has come to see you", one of his men whispered into his ears. Nobody knew if he could grasp the words as his lashes trembled slightly..knowing that marquis didn't have the energy to move a hair in his body, Zhen took his hands in his.
"Marquis Qu" he called softly.
Marquis Qu's eyes blinked several times as an indication of acknowledgement.
"Zhen will take care of your family, don't worry", he assured him.
A drop of tears flowed by the side of marquis Qu's cheeks as a sign of his gratefulness.
After letting out some comforting words, Zhu Zhen stood up to leave. As he took one step ahead, his arm was suddenly grabbed from behind.
Stunned, he turned around abruptly and was astonished to find out that the hands that grabbed him belonged to none other than the bed–ridden marquis.
That man's grip was so tight on his arms as if his life depended on it. The emperor didn't shake his hands away and stared leasurely at his trembling fingers.
Sighing, he sat by the marquis and politely took his hands away from his arms. He knew Qu Ling wanted to tell him something. Something really important.
"Marquis Qu, Zhen is listening" he muttered encouraging him to talk. Marquis Qu's mouth opened and closed several times trying to utter something but in vain. He wanted to talk to the emperor so bad but couldn't.
His death was knocking on the door and he wasn't able to perform his duty to protect the emperor. Helplessness engulfed his eyes as they swelled up with tears.
Zhu Zhen knew it was important to know what marquis wanted to say but he didn't feel it right to bother him in his last moments.
"Marquis Qu, rest for now. We will talk later", he uttered.
Qu Ling's forehead ceased in frown. He knew he wouldn't last till morning. So,taking a deep breath, he gave his best to utter a word.
Noticing the trembling of his lips, Zhu Zhen brought his ears closer.
"M..ma..marry"
was the last words that left marquis Qu's mouth as he breathed his last.
Song Jian looked at the emperor who was looking through the window with a blank expression. The burial ceremony had just ended then.
"Your highness must be pondering about marquis Qu's last words", he said eying the emperor.
The emperor glanced at him over his shoulder. A smile barely reaching his eyes appeared on his lips.
" There is nothing to ponder. Zhen figured it out already" he responded.
The General was surprised with his reply.
"Your highness, why did the marquis asked you to marry during his last breaths? It can not be just a trivial issue" he stated.
"It surely is not", the emperor muttered in between his breath, his jaw clenched as he looked at his general with cold eyes...
"Be alert. First prince is preparing for a war for the throne"
Song jian went frozen for a second.
Now it made sense. Rumors about the insecurities of the council members about the emperor not having an empress and heir was actually true.
There were also rumors that many members started supporting the first prince to reclaim the throne because of the current emperor's persistence of not taking an empress and his disinterest in having heirs.
So, the first prince grabbed this golden chance to win over the council members and prepare for a war to reclaim the throne.
"Oh. That's why the Marquis requested his highness to marry to win back the council's support" Song Jian mumbled realizing the impending threat.
Looking at the now blank emperor's face,he muttered nervously,
"Your highness, pardon this general for daring to advice you, but you should seriously think about starting a family"
Yeah,choosing an empress was a hard task for now, but having a heir is not a big deal when you have hundreds of concubines.
Starting a family?
A smirk formed on the emperor's lips as a certain foolish face flashed before his eyes.
His eyes staring at the horizon turned soft and affectionate as he let out his next words.
"Don't worry. Zhen has his plans for that"