Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 410: The Emperor Wants to Appoint a Successor

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: The Emperor Wants to Appoint a Successor

The Fourth Prince’s crazed expression was tinged with triumph.

"Eldest Imperial Brother, Imperial Sister-in-Law, you never expected this, did you? In the end, I outsmarted you. On the Yellow Spring Road, I won’t be alone!"

Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu watched him indifferently.

Murong Jiu said in a calm voice, "Do you truly believe you’ve outsmarted us?"

At these words, the Fourth Prince’s face instantly changed.

He stared at the two of them, then turned to look at the entrance. There was still a figure standing there, but as the figure slowly descended, he recognized that it was just a guard of Jun Yuyan’s!

Not the Emperor!

Eunuch Li had deceived him!

The Fourth Prince’s eyes were filled with rage, and through gritted teeth he said, "You actually managed to sway Eunuch Li, who was close to Father! How is this possible!"

"Why isn’t it possible?"

Jun Yuyan’s face was expressionless, "Laosi, we knew you wouldn’t take this lying down; that’s why you asked to meet Ah Jiu. Eunuch Li seemed to have vulnerabilities, and you would undoubtedly try to seize any opportunity through him. We preemptively foiled your plan—isn’t that to be expected?"

However, the Fourth Prince’s face grew even grimmer. Yes, he’d exploited human nature, taking advantage of Eunuch Li’s eunuch status and lack of wealth, but although he had long planned it in his heart, he only made contact with Eunuch Li at the last moment, without revealing the slightest hint before then!

He hadn’t expected that he had still underestimated his Eldest Imperial Brother.

In his previous life, the Eldest Imperial Brother had died early, so he’d never really taken him seriously. He believed that the Eldest Imperial Brother’s position today was all thanks to Murong Jiu’s extra lifetime’s memories.

Only at this moment did he realize that in his previous life, the Eldest Imperial Brother willingly sacrificed himself for love and was outsmarted because of it, whereas in this life, with Murong Jiu in harmony with him, unlike being harshly manipulated by the Second Imperial Eldest Brother in his past life, the Eldest Imperial Brother’s capabilities were likely just the tip of the iceberg.

"Hahaha!"

The Fourth Prince laughed until tears streamed down his face; he glared viciously at them, "Fine, I have been utterly defeated, but don’t you think you can rest easy! I curse you... you’ll never have peace..."

While cursing, he furiously hurled himself against the wall!

He wanted to commit suicide, to become a malevolent ghost, haunting Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu in their nightmares, disrupting their peace.

Perhaps he thought that if he could be reborn once, ghosts existed in this world, and even in death, he wanted to torment them for the rest of their lives.

Yet, as soon as he’d begun to curse them out, before he could finish, Jun Yuyan had already reached out to grab him and tied him up with ropes.

"Laosi, you were meant to die by poison as decreed by Father; don’t be defiant now."

The Fourth Prince nearly forgot that when his Eldest Imperial Brother was in his teens, his martial arts were already among the best, that was when he was the most dazzling, and whom he had always looked up to.

After being crippled for several years, he saw the Eldest Imperial Brother as no threat, like a tiger without teeth.

"The Fourth Prince, Three Quarters of Noon has arrived," Eunuch Li announced as he carried the poison, taking deliberate steps downward.

The Fourth Prince struggled fiercely.

Hatred, unwillingness, the desire not to die!

All sorts of emotions surged, and he was terrified.

Failing to commit suicide, he no longer had the courage to face death.

He feared that with his death, he would just become a pile of rotting flesh, a pile of bones, his consciousness fading away between heaven and earth, leaving no trace.

He even started to talk nonsense, "No! The Emperor will revoke the order any moment now, I am his biological son, he won’t really let me die! I’m willing to be exiled thousands of miles away! Father! Save your son!"

Murong Jiu found this infinitely mockable.

If there were true familial love, then an actual father wouldn’t want his son dead.

But this is the royal family, where the Fourth Prince conspired with the rebellious forces of Yundian, and the Great General of the Western Regions committed treason. The Emperor had no evidence, but he knew that this was all orchestrated by the Fourth Prince.

The Emperor still wanted to be the supreme ruler for a few more years; how could he ever tolerate a son, not favored by him, vying for his throne?

The Fourth Prince was doomed to a dead end.

Jun Yuyan took Murong Jiu’s hand and led her outside.

Behind them, Eunuch Li and the guards in the prison were forcibly feeding poisoned wine to the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince struggled fiercely.

When they were about to exit the Sky Prison, Murong Jiu looked back and saw the Fourth Prince had collapsed on the ground, bleeding from all orifices, his face full of unwillingness.

On the way back, in the carriage, Murong Jiu suddenly asked Jun Yuyan:

"Do you think these Buddha Beads can truly let every person who possesses them be reborn?"

Otherwise, why would the Fourth Prince also have been reborn after dying while wearing them?

Jun Yuyan gripped her icy hand tightly, fingers caressing the Buddhist bead bracelet on her wrist, and said gently:

"Ah Jiu, don’t overthink it. A string of Buddha Beads couldn’t possibly have such great power. Perhaps after we find Master Hui Jue, we will be able to unravel the mystery."

Murong Jiu nodded her head.

To be honest, she was a bit scared. Being reborn once was a blessing from the heavens, and in this life, she was already very content; she didn’t need to go through it again and again...

She just wanted to spend this life peacefully with Jun Yuyan and their two children.

Jun Yuyan said, "It has always been Laosi sending people to look for Master Hui Jue. Now that Laosi is dead and the threat is gone, it’s likely that Master Hui Jue will appear."

"Yes, who knows where Master Hui Jue has been during this time, without any news at all."

"Don’t worry. The master is a person of great wisdom; he will be fine."

...

The Fourth Prince was dead.

His death was disgraceful, and naturally, he couldn’t be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum; they hastily found a place for his burial.

The Second Prince and Third Prince both settled down.

The various ministers no longer dared to form cliques.

The Emperor’s tactic of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys was effective; after the Fourth Prince’s death, the Emperor’s authority became more formidable than ever.

Just as a man brightens up at a happy event, the Emperor lost a son he did not care for and showed not the slightest grief. Instead, he felt even more pleased with himself over the court affairs, which seemed to improve his appearance considerably.

In recent days, the number of favored concubines in the harem had also increased.

To say that the Royal Family is heartless would be an understatement in the case of the Emperor.

Consort Duan Pin had been in the palace for many years; now that she was gone, there was no trace left of her.

After giving birth, Consort Yun intentionally let her body gain weight. The Emperor always preferred slim beauties, so Consort Yun naturally had no chance of being favored. However, because she had a Young Prince, and the Emperor had a son in his old age—a different significance altogether—he was very fond of him, which meant that Consort Yun’s honor and favor were still there.

The other younger concubines were all eager to compete for the Emperor’s favor, hoping to emulate Consort Yun and secure a noble status by giving birth to a child.

But, even as energetic as the Emperor was, his body was after all declining, and no woman in the harem became pregnant again.

Yet these women still fought to the death over the slightest bit of favoritism.

The Imperial Palace was shrouded in intrigue and deceit. Aside from the occasional visit to ensure the Emperor’s well-being and to check on Consort Yun and the Young Prince, Murong Jiu hardly entered the palace anymore.

One day, however, someone from Consort Yun’s entourage came from the palace to the Prince Mansion with a message requesting Murong Jiu’s presence in the palace to attend to the Young Prince.

The Young Prince had a bit of diarrhea.

It must not be dysentery.

Murong Jiu, worried, took her medicine box and went. After arriving, she found it was a false alarm.

The Young Prince was in good health, but Consort Yun had important news to tell her.

"The Emperor intends to establish a successor!"