Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 451 The Emperor is Assassinated and Dies

Chapter 451: Chapter 451 The Emperor is Assassinated and Dies

After the palace banquet, officials who had harbored thoughts of letting their daughters enter the palace to vie for favor all rested those ambitions.

In the heart of the palace women, however, desperation had already taken root.

Many were of an age when they blossomed like flowers, yet their bloom was unappreciated, and they would soon wither and then die alone within these walls.

There used to be hope, but now there was none at all.

Despair was all that lay within their hearts.

No one had imagined that this palace banquet would be Emperor Yan Cheng’s last public appearance.

Neither Jun Yuyan nor Murong Jiu had foreseen that a palace banquet would hasten the Emperor’s demise.

The incident occurred at dawn the next day, shortly after the doors between the palaces were opened. Palace maids and eunuchs poured in, one team with washing utensils to attend to the Emperor’s washing and dressing, another with food boxes for the morning meal.

No one expected that a little palace maid would suddenly attack the Emperor, stabbing his chest ferociously with her hairpin over a dozen times. By the time people reacted to stop her, it was already too late. The Emperor was covered in blood, his eyes wide open. Before the Imperial Physician could arrive, he had passed away.

Jun Yuyan was the first to receive the news. Upon hearing it, he immediately took Murong Jiu into the Imperial Palace and arranged for guards to secure Prince Ling’s Mansion.

On the carriage, he quickly delegated many tasks for his subordinates to handle.

Murong Jiu was still in a state of shock. She had been waking up late recently, and was still in the midst of sleep when she heard the news. Suddenly, she heard her husband say that the Emperor had been assassinated and had succumbed.

The news left her momentarily unable to react.

"Who sent the assassin? Was it the Second Prince, or the Third Prince?"

After Jun Yuyan had arranged everything, Murong Jiu finally asked him.

The carriage moved swiftly, jostling them continuously, but in such a moment, that was no longer a concern.

"Neither," Jun Yuyan replied as he held her in his lap to lessen the jolting. "It was a Talented Lady surnamed Zhou, who entered the palace the year before last. She blended in among the palace maids and used a hairpin as the weapon."

Murong Jiu did not remember this Talented Lady Zhou.

There were too many women in the palace, and over the years the Emperor constantly filled the imperial harem. Each year, Imperial maidens entered the palace, and the Emperor usually forgot them after sleeping with them once, remembering them only if they were exceptionally beautiful.

Since Talented Lady Zhou was indeed a Talented Lady, she must have served in the Emperor’s bed a few times, and after being titled, the Emperor probably forgot about her, leaving her no chance to emerge again.

"Was it last night’s palace banquet, and the words the Emperor said, that provoked her?"

Murong Jiu mused thoughtfully.

"Yes, and there was another reason. Last year, the Emperor executed several officials who impeached him, and among them was Zhou’s father. Zhou’s father was an honest official, holding a minor post. He was pushed forward by those above as an example to warn others, and was ordered to be executed," he said.

Murong Jiu remembered the incident.

At the time, it was said that Consort Jing and the Emperor were like Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing of the age, causing great uproar and leading to official censure. The Emperor secretly ordered the execution of a few officials to set an example and silence such dissent in the court.

Because the Emperor’s orders were secret and the executions carried out swiftly, they had no opportunity to intervene.

In other words, Talented Lady Zhou had long harbored a grudge against the Emperor, and yesterday’s palace banquet had made her determined to act.

Talented Lady Zhou was a pitiable person.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the palace that they learned Talented Lady Zhou, upon seeing the Emperor dead, laughed loudly several times and then took her own life by crashing her head against a wall.

Her body had already been removed.

Murong Jiu secretly gave orders to treat the remains of Talented Lady Zhou with care.

Noble Consort Yun came holding the Young Prince as well, with eyes red and swollen from crying. Murong Jiu comforted her and asked her to rest in the adjacent hall.

Upon entering, Noble Consort Yun burst into laughter. She dared not laugh loudly, but her laughter was quite unrestrained.

"Finally, the day has come. My wait has not been in vain!"

It was only in front of Murong Jiu that Noble Consort Yun dared to reveal her true nature.

In fact, she was about the same age as Murong Jiu. Although she had been suppressed heavily in the palace, at heart, she was still young.

Murong Jiu took the Young Prince and held him for a while. When she had laughed enough, he handed the child back to her.

Murong Jiu said with a light chuckle, "What follows will be a battle without gunpowder. You need to be spirited and prepare for the final sprint."

"I understand. You and the Prince need not worry. I harbor no thoughts of becoming the Regent Dowager. I only want to leave the Imperial Palace with my son, to be far away from here, to never fall into the snare of power again."

"We of course know your character. If you were one to return kindness with enmity, we would not have helped you at the beginning. Have you decided where you want to go?"

Noble Consort Yun nodded, "I want to go to Yundian. I hear there’s no winter there, and I detest the cold. It should suit us perfectly."

"And what about your parents...?"

Noble Consort Yun shook her head, "As the saying goes, having a stepmother leads to having a stepfather. My own mother died early, and they brought in a stepmother when I was very young, who had a daughter three years my junior. Originally, I had arranged to marry, but the family needed someone to enter the palace, so they pushed me out here. If not for them, I wouldn’t be in this state today. In my eyes, they ceased to be my family a long time ago. Once the Prince ascends the throne, I hope he will deal with my father as soon as possible and make them live a life of hardship."

Because she had become a Noble Consort, her father also got a promotion from the Emperor, and they were living quite the grand life. In her eyes, her family was merely leeching off her.

She wished nothing more than for them to live in abject misery.

"Since you’ve said so, rest assured that once your father’s faults are found, the Prince will certainly not be lenient."

"Mhm, the luckiest thing for me is having met you, Princess Consort. It’s a pity that I may never be able to repay this immense kindness in my lifetime."

She felt a twinge of sourness in her nose, gratitude swelling in her heart. With this affair concluded, she might never see them again in her life.

Murong Jiu patted her shoulder and said, "You’ve already helped us a lot. There is no debt of gratitude. In the future, if there’s a chance, I too would like to visit Yundian."

"Then that’s a promise!"

"A promise it is!"

...

Murong Jiu was responsible for comforting the Concubines in the harem, while the rest was handled by Jun Yuyan.

Jun Yuyan entered the Imperial Palace and within half a Shichen had already summoned Great Yan’s core ministers as well as the Second and Third Princes to discuss the aftermath of the Emperor’s assassination.

The Emperor’s assassination was so sudden that it caught everyone off guard.

Especially for the Second and Third Princes, ambition was nearly visible in their eyes upon entering the Palace. At this moment, they were in agreement, suspecting that Talented Lady Zhou had been manipulated by someone, and they directed their accusations towards Jun Yuyan.

They wanted to bring Jun Yuyan down from his position.

Because they knew that Jun Yuyan could be the biggest winner.

The struggle for the throne began the moment the Emperor died.

A life-and-death conflict, where the loser would face certain death. No one wanted to lose.

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