Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 466: I Will Die With Him Immediately

"Three days have passed since the incident, and regardless of the other party’s intentions, something should have happened by now. But the past few days have been utterly quiet, which means His Majesty must still be alive, otherwise, for the sake of an exchange, they would act sooner rather than later."

Everyone looked at the torn cloth on the thorn bush as Fu Heng analyzed thus.

Why act sooner rather than later? Because even if a body is well-preserved, it will gradually rot from the inside.

The importance of the body of an Emperor of a nation is known to all.

This could be considered good news then.

At least, Jun Yuyan was still alive.

It was just unknown who the other party was and what they wanted to do. freēwēbnovel.com

If they were Xiongnu people, they could not escape a large-scale search unless they were locals of Great Yan, unremarkable in appearance.

Murong Jiu ordered, "Continue to send people to search, leaving no stone cave or peasant house unchecked."

Jun Yuyan’s injuries must be severe. Zhou Li said he had been hit by an arrow, then fell off a cliff. Even if there was something to break his fall, he would be gravely injured.

It would not be easy to flee with such injuries; it was very likely they would find a place to stabilize Jun Yuyan’s condition.

Murong Jiu herself also joined Kai Xuan in the search.

However, three days passed with nothing to show for it.

Her absence for three days had already started to cause murmurs at the court.

Murong Jiu had no choice but to secretly return to the palace to stabilize the situation.

With the transition of power, there were too many matters Murong Jiu needed to deal with at court. She spent an entire afternoon approving documents, and this was after Lou Zixi had pre-screened them.

Consort Dowager Qi had started another hunger strike.

Murong Jiu had no inclination to deal with her.

The next day at the morning court, many officials began to inquire about His Majesty’s whereabouts.

After all, the commotion outside the palace to search for "escaped convicts" was too great to conceal from everyone, and many began to worry if the Emperor had encountered some mishap.

It had been half a month since the Emperor fell ill.

Adding to that, Murong Jiu had also been "sick" for three days. Such unusual occurrences had unnerved many officials.

"Truth be told, His Majesty was said to be resting due to illness, but actually, he had gone to Chenzhou City..."

With a composed face, Murong Jiu informed everyone about what Jun Yuyan had done in Chenzhou City, and when the people learned that His Majesty had saved a million citizens of Chenzhou City, they couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

No one had expected that the Governor of Chenzhou had colluded with the Xiongnu, planning to destroy the lake dam during a rainy night. With the rising rainwater, once the dam was destroyed, the entirety of Chenzhou City would be flooded, resulting in countless deaths and unthinkable consequences.

Subsequently, there would be a high chance of a plague outbreak, and since Chenzhou City was not far from the Capital City, the plague could potentially spread there...

Thinking of such consequences made everyone shiver with fear and they were deeply relieved after the fact.

"His Majesty also discovered several border officials suspected of colluding with enemy nations. He is now incognito investigating these officials and will return soon. During this time, I shall continue to oversee the state affairs behind the curtains," she declared.

This statement served to both warn and intimidate.

Regardless of whether some officials had colluded with the Xiongnu or other countries, from today onwards, they would need to carefully reconsider their positions.

With the Emperor conducting secret visits, local officials had better stay alert and serve the citizenry, lest they lose their official hats.

The following day, Murong Jiu publicly listed the evidence of the Chenzhou Governor’s collusion with external enemies, intending to flood Chenzhou City. He was sentenced to be paraded through the streets for three days, followed by execution at the Market Entrance.

This event greatly stirred up the fervor among the commoners to spurn corrupt officials, and it also diverted the attention of the court officials.

Three days later, the Governor of Chenzhou was beheaded at the Market Entrance, amidst the cheers and praises of numerous people hailing the wisdom and valor of the New Emperor and the Empress.

It was a good beginning, as if the dawn of a new era for the Great Yan Dynasty was about to unfold.

However, when alone, Murong Jiu always found herself crying unconsciously.

Every object in Kunning Palace seemed to carry the shared memories of her and Jun Yuyan.

She knew she could not fall, for if she did, the hard-earned realm she and Jun Yuyan had acquired could easily fall into others’ hands, and at that time, her two children would also face utter ruin.

But it was so hard for her.

Why did fate have to play such a joke on her?

Since that day she returned from Redcliffe Mountain, six whole days had already passed.

And Jun Yuyan seemed to have vanished into thin air, with no trace to be found.

She deceived the court officials, claiming that His Majesty was traveling incognito, but even she did not know whether Jun Yuyan was alive or dead, or when he would return.

She did not know how much longer she could hold on.

The palace maids below said she had grown more imperious; ever since Jun Yuyan disappeared, her face had lost all traces of a smile.

Some believed it was the influence of power, and even in Capital City, there were those who said that once the Emperor returned to the palace, she might not be willing to relinquish such incredible power.

But she also understood that everyone believed imperial authority was supreme, capable of governing everything, thinking she would get lost in power and harbor ambitions seemed quite normal.

Consort Dowager Qi thought so too, didn’t she?

Consort Dowager Qi believed that she had killed Jun Yuyan and starved herself for days, becoming emaciated. Murong Jiu had no other choice but to restrain the woman and forcibly feed her the medicinal meals.

Though Consort Dowager Qi was unreasonable and domineering, she at least had one redeeming feature; now, she truly cared for Jun Yuyan, her son, willing to starve to death for him.

Murong Jiu did not want to deceive her.

Yet when telling Consort Dowager Qi the truth, Consort Dowager Qi even more so believed she had secretly harmed Jun Yuyan, wishing to become Regent Dowager.

"Have I gone mad? My love for His Majesty is profound, and our two children cannot be without their father’s love. I do not know what misunderstandings Consort Dowager has about me, but if I harbor any ill intent towards His Majesty, may thunder strike me, and may I die a horrible death!"

Seeing the sternness in her eyes, Consort Dowager Qi opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She cried, wiping her tears, "Even if it wasn’t you who harmed him, it must be because of you that my son, as Emperor, scarcely assumed the throne for a few days before such terrible news came. How do you expect me to live with this!"

Murong Jiu’s gaze was icy, "His Majesty will not die; he will surely return to the palace. If one day the worst news does arrive, and once Zhijin comes of age and firmly assumes the throne, I will immediately follow in his burial."

Her tone was so earnest, Consort Dowager Qi knew she was not lying. The word "follow in his burial" spoken from her lips carried a decisive implication.

Suddenly, Consort Dowager Qi realized that Murong Jiu’s grief was no less than her own. She even could see that Murong Jiu’s eyes were swollen and red, with bloodshot visible and dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not had a good sleep for many days.

She turned her head away, no longer speaking.

Murong Jiu turned and walked a few steps, then turned back again, "I will send Zhijin and Zhiyu to keep you company. Take good care of your health, or else do not wait for His Majesty to return to the palace, and you might collapse from illness first."

"It’s you who will collapse from illness!"

Consort Dowager Qi muttered, but her eyes were not as fierce as before.

She understood that Murong Jiu wanted her grandchildren to accompany her, to divert her attention and prevent wild thoughts.

Considering this, Murong Jiu had to handle the state affairs daily and constantly monitor the whereabouts of Jun Yuyan. It was truly not easy for her fragile body to bear all this.