Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 464: Jun Yuyan Goes Missing at the Cliff Where He Died in His Previous Life
Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Jun Yuyan Goes Missing at the Cliff Where He Died in His Previous Life
This rain disaster had affected numerous areas, but the problem was not severe, so Murong Jiu had people go to provide disaster relief.
This year, more sweet potatoes and potatoes were planted outside the Capital City and the promotion of their cultivation was already underway, with the yield being dozens or even hundreds of times that of the previous year.
With the shocking per-acre yield of these crops last year, more people became aware of these foreign agricultural products without much promotion from the Imperial Court.
The enthusiasm of the farmers for planting these crops greatly increased.
Murong Jiu believed that even if natural disasters occurred in the future, there would not be cases of bodies of people who died of starvation on the roads, unless it was an extraordinarily rare disaster.
After returning to Kunning Palace from the Imperial Study Room, Chun Tao came up to her and said,
"Your Majesty, Consort Dowager Qi is causing a lot of trouble over there, and..."
"And what?"
"And she has started a hunger strike, saying that if she does not see the Emperor, she will not take even a drop of water!"
Murong Jiu frowned.
Consort Dowager Qi had been creating a scene for a few days now; she somehow found out that the Emperor was ill and Murong Jiu was acting on his behalf.
She suspected Murong Jiu of having ambitions, of harming the Emperor to take over as the Regent Queen herself.
Little did she know, Murong Jiu had hardly any ambitions at all; if it were not for Jun Yuyan’s absence, she would not have wanted to visit the Imperial Study Room to discuss court affairs.
She much preferred spending time with Zhijin and Zhiyu, planning agricultural activities, and writing medical books that the students could learn from—these were the things she found more interesting.
But Jun Yuyan had secretly left the palace for the sake of millions of common people, a responsibility she had to bear. Although this was the case, she managed it extremely well.
It was unexpected that Consort Dowager Qi would suspect her of harming Jun Yuyan.
Murong Jiu rubbed her temples and had Chun Tao relay a message.
"Tell Consort Dowager Qi that the Emperor has gone to Chenzhou City to capture a spy and will return to the Capital soon. If she wants to continue her hunger strike, let her be."
The Governor of Chenzhou had been captured, and the matters in Chenzhou had been resolved. This news would soon be announced to everyone, and there was no need to keep the Emperor’s whereabouts a secret anymore.
However, for the sake of Jun Yuyan’s safety, Murong Jiu did not plan to inform the officials just yet, but she could let Consort Dowager Qi know about her son’s situation.
Chun Tao made another trip to Consort Dowager Qi’s Palace.
Consort Dowager Qi remained skeptical but was finally willing to eat something.
She wanted Zhijin and Zhiyu to go and stay with her, which Murong Jiu denied.
Murong Jiu always remembered how Consort Dowager Qi had criticized the two children for starting to speak late and had forced the nursemaids to teach them to talk.
In fact, Zhijin and Zhiyu were not slow in speaking at all, and their learning abilities were very strong; at a young age, they could already recognize many people.
It was Consort Dowager Qi’s expectations that were too high; she wanted them to be prodigies from birth, wishing they could start calling people at half a year old and writing poems at two years old—how could that be possible?
Children grow normally bit by bit, they are not reincarnations of gods.
Now, Zhijin and Zhiyu were at an age where they loved to run and jump around, curious about everything, touching here, poking there, especially the elder brother Zhijin, who was livelier. If they were confined at Consort Dowager Qi’s Palace to learn etiquette, the two little ones would definitely not be happy.
However, Murong Jiu did allow Consort Dowager Qi to see her grandchildren; every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, she would have the children visit Consort Dowager Qi’s Palace.
Only this time, if she yielded to Consort Dowager Qi, she might feel that using a hunger strike to coerce others was an effective tactic, and she might use it again.
For a person like Consort Dowager Qi, she should not be indulged.
Consort Dowager Qi threw a big tantrum.
That night, after coaxing Zhijin and Zhiyu to sleep, Murong Jiu felt restless and asked Chun Tao, "Sometimes I wonder, am I being too harsh on Consort Dowager Qi? I actually want to ease the relationship between us, but she’s so capricious, even if I were to make concessions first, she probably wouldn’t care."
Chun Tao had no troubles with mother-in-law relationships, but she could understand; she said,
"Your Majesty, you have done nothing wrong; it has always been Consort Dowager Qi who provokes you and criticizes you. If you were to give in now, she would only intensify her behavior in the future."
Jun Yuyan also meant this.
He knew his mother better than anyone else, and to prevent Murong Jiu from being wronged, the best method was to have no interactions between them.
Regrettably, Consort Dowager Qi was unwilling to live leisurely in the Traveling Palace, insisting on staying in the royal palace.
To put it harshly, it was mutual torment.
Consort Dowager Qi aspired to become the Empress Dowager. It wasn’t that Jun Yuyan refused her ambition, but rather, he wanted to temper her disposition to prevent her from meddling in various affairs once she became the Empress Dowager of the nation.
Unfortunately, Consort Dowager Qi was unaware of the substantial rift between her and her own son.
"Enough, let’s not think about her anymore. Chun Tao, you have accompanied me for several days. Tomorrow, you may leave the palace to visit your husband."
"I cannot, I must wait for the Emperor to return to the palace before I go. Hong Yi has left the palace, and without a close confidant by your side, I do not feel at ease."
Murong Jiu laughed softly. There were still plenty of trustworthy maids around her, all meticulously selected by Jun Yuyan during their time at the Prince Mansion, each exceedingly loyal and observant, though indeed not as close as Chun Tao and Hong Yi.
"His Majesty should be returning these next few days."
She spoke with a gentle smile on her face.
The letter was received the day before yesterday. Jun Yuyan must have started his journey before she received it. Accounting for time, even with some delays, he should be back within the next couple of days.
However, Murong Jiu waited and waited, and suddenly five days had passed.
There was still no news of Jun Yuyan’s return to the Capital City.
Murong Jiu began to feel an inexplicable panic inside her.
Even Consort Dowager Qi, who had been quiet for a few days, started making trouble again, questioning why her son had not yet returned to the palace and suggesting that Murong Jiu had harmed him.
"Her Majesty the Empress, guard Zhou Li requests an audience!"
The voice of the imperial guard Chang Chonghai came from outside.
"Let Zhou Li in immediately!"
Murong Jiu immediately stood up, and at the sight of Zhou Li, her brow furrowed deeply.
"Zhou Li, what has happened? Why are you injured? Where is His Majesty?"
Zhou Li knelt in shame, sobbing, "Your Majesty, we were secretly returning to the Capital City when we were attacked on the road at night. Yang Shan was gravely injured, and His Majesty was hit by a hidden arrow during the scuffle and fell off a cliff! We have searched high and low for two whole days but have not found His Majesty!"
"What did you say?"
Murong Jiu felt a chilling coldness envelop her body as if her strength was drained in an instant. freēwēbnovel.com
She forced herself to calm down and asked sternly, "Where did His Majesty disappear?"
"It was, it was Redcliffe Mountain! His Majesty wanted to return to the palace early, so we took a shortcut, not expecting... not expecting... "
Redcliffe Mountain...
It was Redcliffe Mountain again!
Murong Jiu felt a chill rising from the depths of her heart.
In her previous life, Jun Yuyan had died at the base of Redcliffe Mountain!
How could it be Redcliffe Mountain again!
Could this really be fate?
Her face turned deathly pale, but her eyes remained eerily calm, "Who sent the assassins? Have they been investigated clearly? Has anyone been silenced?"
"Everyone involved has been silenced. They were Xiongnu people, likely in collusion with the Governor of Chenzhou, who knew of His Majesty’s itinerary and had placed Dead Soldiers on both essential paths."
