Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 387: Respond to Every Change with Constancy

Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Respond to Every Change with Constancy

Actually, the words the Empress had spoken were already no secret within the palace.

It’s just that no one had ever dared to utter them openly.

Hearing the Empress speak out, everyone’s faces turned pale with fear, worrying that the Emperor, in his anger, would silence them all.

When the guard attempted to gag the Empress, she frantically bit off one of the guard’s fingers, and at last, the Empress was knocked unconscious and carried away.

Seeing the Empress with blood all over her mouth, many felt a chill in their hearts.

Although the Empress got what she deserved, if what she said was true—that everything was the Emperor’s scheme, simply to make room for Consort Jing—then no matter how much the others vied for favor, they would never surpass Consort Jing.

Maybe one day, if they were to block Consort Jing’s path, they would meet the same tragic fate as the Empress.

What was there left to look forward to in life?

In the entire scene, only Talented Lady Xu was most delighted, because she belonged to the Third Prince.

Beauty Lin’s face turned even paler.

The Second Prince had no hope of winning the position of heir, and with the Empress’s incident, he was certain to be implicated.

Perhaps she should switch sides sooner rather than later?

Everyone had different thoughts.

Murong Jiu watched all this expressionlessly, as if she were just an outsider.

The Emperor left in a fury of embarrassment, not even sparing Consort Yun a word of concern, likely impatient to place more charges on the Empress and dispose of her quickly.

People cast pitiful glances at Consort Yun.

What did it matter if she carried the Dragon Seed? In the Emperor’s eyes, there was only Consort Jing, no youthful beauty could compare to the position Consort Jing held in his heart.

Look, at the slightest issue, it was as if the Emperor had completely forgotten her.

This favor was likely to dissipate quickly.

The Third Prince becoming the Crown Prince was surely an event that was about to happen soon.

The undercurrents surging through the court were finally nearing their end.

The Princes struggled and fought, but in the end, they could not compete with the Emperor’s favoritism.

Consort Yun showed just enough sadness to make others believe she was wholeheartedly fond of the Emperor, to avoid appearing heartless and ruthless.

But once back in her palace, she touched her belly and lay down on the Noble Consort’s couch, extremely uncomfortable.

Murong Jiu chuckled, "Be careful lest others see you looking so relieved."

"No one dares to come in without permission, hmph, isn’t it a relief, though! Just thinking that I won’t have to see the Emperor’s face for a good few days makes me feel at ease all over."

Consort Yun whispered in a lowered voice, her disdain for the Emperor apparent.

Murong Jiu expressed her understanding.

Stripped of the aura of the Supreme Nine Dragons, the Emperor was nothing more than a decrepit old man.

If the Emperor had been diligent and loving towards his people, dignified and imposing, no matter how old, he would have been charismatic.

But instead, he was undignified with old age, capricious, fickle, and selfish. There was a time when Noble Consort Qi truly loved him, but now, there was not a single woman who harbored any love for him.

After checking her pulse and ensuring Consort Yun was well, Murong Jiu said:

"Your attitude is good, keep it up. Being in a good mood is beneficial to the baby’s healthy development."

Consort Yun sat up straight, grateful, "I really thank you, Princess Consort, and the Prince. Otherwise, I don’t know what kind of tormenting days I would have had in the palace. Now that Consort Jing has become the target of public criticism, there are likely others who are discontent."

"Yes, so you don’t need to do anything. Just take good care of yourself. The most important thing is the safe birth of the child."

Murong Jiu noticed that ever since Consort Yun became pregnant, she was no longer as indifferent and desireless as before. This was a good sign.

She didn’t want to see a beautiful flower like Consort Yun wither away in the palace.

The Emperor really acted swiftly and decisively.

After exposing the Empress’s attempt to harm Consort Yun and the unborn child, the Emperor also unearthed more of the Empress’s misdeeds.

In recent years, any issue related to the Dragon Heir had been linked to the Empress.

The miscarriage of Consort Yun’s previous pregnancy had been caused by the Empress’s scheming.

In the past years, other concubines who became pregnant also couldn’t carry to term.

Even the miscarriage of the twins borne by Noble Consort Qi was orchestrated by the Empress from behind the scenes.

Upon hearing this, Consort Qi couldn’t help sneering.

Initially, she was afraid the twins were an ill omen and out of fear of losing favor, she had chosen not to keep them—this had nothing to do with the Empress.

The Emperor must have hated the Empress to the extreme, to blame all the faults on her.

He wasn’t just sending the Empress to the Cold Palace; he wanted her life!

With these crimes laid bare, everyone deemed the Empress to be utterly vile and jealous, a national disgrace!

In his rage, the Emperor granted the Empress three zhang of white silk and a cup of poisoned wine, to uphold the state’s dignity.

The Second Prince went to the palace to plead for mercy on the day of the incident, but despite kneeling for two days, he could not save the Empress’s life.

Murong Jiu later learned that the Empress did not willingly drink the poison; she went mad, biting and crashing into people, and had been forced to drink the poisoned wine by the guards before being hanged from the beam.

In this way, an empress of the realm perished.

Murong Jiu didn’t pity the Empress, since she had indeed committed many evils, but she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sorrow because the Emperor was so heartless, not even granting the Empress a final shred of dignity.

After all, they had been husband and wife for decades at his side.

The Emperor’s cruelty and ruthlessness had been fully displayed.

The Second Prince escaped major consequences, probably because he was already crippled, his mother a criminal, with no chance of competing for succession, and without a supportive faction.

Therefore, the Emperor didn’t punish him.

However, after kneeling for two days and hearing the terrible news of his mother, the Second Prince fell ill from which he never recovered.

The Fifth Princess was even ordered by the Emperor to stay by the Empress’s side, not permitting her to leave the palace, so she watched her mother die a miserable death and subsequently became neurotic and dazed.

The Prince Consort had not expected such a drastic change in the palace and was afraid of being implicated. He dared not return to the Princess’s Mansion for a few days.

Only after the incident concluded did he dare to return.

To his surprise, the Fifth Princess seemed like a changed person, babbling nonsensically and becoming very timid, claiming there were ghosts in the Princess’s Mansion, among other things.

Seizing the opportunity, the Prince Consort gained the Fifth Princess’s trust, making her rely solely on him, while he secretly forged a connection with the Third Prince.

With the Second Prince completely ruined and without any prospects, water flows to the lowest level and people strive for higher ground, so it was only to be expected that he would look for another way out and not just hang himself on a bent tree trunk.

To this, Murong Jiu had only one comment: "Deserved."

In her past life, the Second Prince and Fifth Princess had done many evil deeds; now they were merely reaping what they had sown.

Including the Empress, who got her just deserts.

Thinking of the dream where she, along with the Prince and others, met a tragic end, she felt a sense of relief.

The Second Prince probably never imagined that he, originally the most likely to become the Crown Prince, would be destroyed step by step, ending up a crippled waste.

Now, it was time to see how the Fourth Prince would take the initiative to strike.

Once the Third Prince truly became the Crown Prince, many of those who supported the Fourth Prince would likely switch allegiance.

What she and Jun Yuyan needed to do was to respond to every change with constancy.

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