Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 360: The Second Prince Seeks an Alliance with Prince Ling’s Mansion

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: The Second Prince Seeks an Alliance with Prince Ling’s Mansion

Murong Jiu felt fulfilled and happy every day.

But that night, she was beset by nightmares once again.

In the dream, boundless blood stained the earth a glaring red.

Familiar faces flitted before her eyes, each marked with ghastly traces of blood.

Struggling to wake, she found her hand was being tightly grasped—it took her a while to recognize that the person was Jun Yuyan.

"You’re back? How... how did I sleep so long?"

She turned to see sunlight streaming in, too bright to her eyes, indicating it was well past morning.

"Chun Tao and Hong Yi said you had nightmares the whole night and couldn’t be awakened; what unpleasant things did you dream of this time?"

Jun Yuyan looked at her anxiously, his gaze sweeping over the string of beads on her wrist.

She had clearly reclaimed the bracelet from the Fourth Prince; how could she have fallen into a nightmare again?

Murong Jiu listlessly shook her head, "It was just a dream, nothing serious. Are you finished with your business?"

"I’ve finished. Ah Jiu, eat something first, or you won’t have any strength."

Yet she shook her head, playfully pleading, "Let me lie down for a little longer, I’m not hungry."

It was rare for her to act so spoilt, but Jun Yuyan was preoccupied with heavy thoughts.

"My husband, come stay with me. When you’re by my side, I don’t have nightmares," she said.

Jun Yuyan knew this to be true; he was delighted to be special to Ah Jiu, yet he fretted she might fall into an unrecoverable nightmare like before.

He stayed with Murong Jiu, and soon she fell back to sleep peacefully without any nightmares.

He called for Hong Yi to send a message.

In his heart, he decided that even if there were urgent matters at night, he must return to accompany her, so she wouldn’t sleep alone.

By the time Murong Jiu awoke, a shichen had passed. She felt much lighter and more spirited after her rest.

"Ah Jiu, take off the bracelet and let me have a look at it," he said.

After washing up, Jun Yuyan joined Murong Jiu for a meal as the maids were setting the dishes.

Murong Jiu took off the bracelet and handed it to him.

When she took it from the Fourth Prince, she had felt repulsed for a long time and had Chun Tao wash it over and over and fumigated it with incense for a whole day before wearing it again.

"Is there a problem with the Buddha Beads?" she asked curiously.

Jun Yuyan replied, "I suspect the Fourth Prince created an identical bracelet to your Soul-Settling Bead."

"Is this one fake?" Murong Jiu asked incredulously, not expecting the Fourth Prince to have such sinister intentions that he even replicated her bracelet!

"Master Hui Jue said this string of beads is unique. Since you started wearing it, it truly had a good effect on you, as you didn’t have nightmares anymore. The Fourth Prince might have come to know of this and thus had a fake made."

As he spoke, he called Yang Chuan, who was waiting outside, to come in.

"Have you found Master Hui Jue?" he asked.

Yang Chuan bowed his head and said, "I’m incompetent; I haven’t found Master Hui Jue’s whereabouts."

"Could it be the doing of the Fourth Prince?" exclaimed Murong Jiu.

She knew that Master Hui Jue had once saved her life, and now she couldn’t believe that Master Hui Jue had disappeared.

Jun Yuyan’s brows furrowed deeply, and he waved his hand for Yang Chuan to leave and continue the search for Master Hui Jue.

He said to Murong Jiu, "Before returning to the capital, I had Yang Chuan and others look for Master Hui Jue. Unexpectedly, he was no longer in the temple, and no one knew of his whereabouts—whether the Fourth Prince took him away or he left for somewhere else on his own. To this day, there has been no news. It seems that your string of beads must also be fake, a mix of counterfeit and genuine. If you hadn’t fallen into a nightmare last night, we wouldn’t have discovered it."

"Then it’s very likely that he has hidden the real beads, not wanting me to obtain them. How devious. However..."

Murong Jiu’s tone shifted, "I’m not afraid of his petty schemes. With my husband by my side, I won’t have nightmares."

Something soft seemed to strike the bottom of Jun Yuyan’s heart, and warmth flowed out. He said with a gentle smile:

"From now on, your husband will not let you sleep alone."

Though he said so, Jun Yuyan was determined to find the real beads. He would not allow any risk factors to affect Ah Jiu.

After their meal, it was getting dark.

The couple went to play with their son and daughter, and, not needing a nursemaid, they put the children to sleep themselves and placed them on small beds.

Looking at their chubby little faces and tender little hands and feet, Murong Jiu’s maternal love overflowed. However, in her mind flashed the memory of the gaunt little faces smeared with blood from her dream. It seemed to overlap with the scene before her, and her smile slowly stiffened on her face.

"Ah Jiu?"

Jun Yuyan, noticing her strange expression, called out softly.

Murong Jiu snapped back to reality, shook her head, and let the nursemaid come in to watch the children as she walked out with Jun Yuyan.

"I was just reminded of a dream I had before. In the dream, Zhijin and Zhiyu...," she couldn’t continue, unable to describe the horror that had befallen the tiny bodies of her son and daughter.

"Prince and Princess! The Second Prince and his Concubine, Murong Man, have come to visit unexpectedly!"

Steward Lin ran over to report.

Murong Jiu said in surprise, "Why would they come?"

She had just been harboring intense hatred for the two in her heart.

Jun Yuyan, however, was not surprised and said to her, "Laosi covertly attacked his two capable aides yesterday. It’s likely they are seeking help."

"Which two aides? Are you talking about Fang and Yu?"

Those two aides were indeed somewhat capable.

"Exactly them, one died from poisoning and the other was killed on the way home."

"Did the Second Prince do something to the Fourth Prince?"

After all, the Fourth Prince had been somewhat preoccupied lately.

Jun Yuyan nodded, "Indeed, Ah Jiu is smart. The Second Prince has damaged the Fourth Prince’s interests significantly, so Laosi gave him a harsh lesson."

Murong Jiu understood. This harsh lesson let the Second Prince know the true capabilities of the Fourth Prince. He was seeking out allies to collectively target the Fourth Prince.

He and the Third Prince were nearly at a point of irreconcilable conflict. His leg had been amputated by Divine Doctor Miao because of the Third Prince, leaving him crippled, so it was impossible to form an alliance with the Third Prince. That left only Prince Ling’s Mansion.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Murong Jiu sneered, "He really has the gall, daring to bring Murong Man to see me."

"If Ah Jiu doesn’t want to meet them, then have them turned away," said Jun Yuyan.

A sly light flashed in Murong Jiu’s eyes, "Meet them? Why not? Let’s keep them waiting first!"

Jun Yuyan liked seeing her in such lively spirits. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "Alright, let’s keep them waiting. While we’re at it, I’ll tell you about the Second Prince and Murong Man. Murong Man had fallen out of favor long ago and has only recently regained it. The Second Prince is very fond of her now and believes that among all women, only Murong Man truly cares for him."

"Is that not the case?"

Murong Jiu had long forgotten the plight of Murong Man in the Second Prince’s Mansion after her rebirth and so was somewhat surprised.

"Of course not. She hates him to death."

"Why?"