Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 452: As Long as One is Alive, There is Hope

Chapter 452: Chapter 452: As Long as One is Alive, There is Hope

Alas, the struggle of the Second Prince and the Third Prince was in vain.

The situation in the palace had been completely controlled by Jun Yuyan, and the Imperial Forest Guard obeyed his every command. With just one order, he could have both princes and other ministers harboring dissenting thoughts killed on the spot, cleaning up thoroughly.

However, such brutal methods were not suitable for a New Emperor, as they could lead to criticism.

As for what method to use, Murong Jiu was not sure. She and Noble Consort Yun were preparing the funeral rites. At the announcement ceremony, when the emperor’s death was declared, all the ministers would collectively support Prince Ling’s ascension to the throne.

The common people, upon hearing this news, were jubilant, as it was what they all hoped for.

Of course, no one laughed out loud. The Son of Heaven had died, and the entire country had to wear mourning attire and observe silence, as per the ancient customs left by the ancestors of Great Yan.

But privately, the people were all smiles.

In their eyes, the late emperor was like Ximen Qing, incompetent, cruel, and destined to be cursed in unofficial histories.

Prince Ling, however, had been a young War God, famous from his youth for fighting battles for the country, and shedding his blood for the national cause.

Add to that the schools, hospitals, and the Medical College launched by Prince Ling’s Mansion, all were beneficial to the state and the people, feats no other prince could match.

No other prince thought about how to benefit the common people, only Prince Ling and Princess Consort Ling truly had the interests of the people and the entire country at heart.

Them becoming the Emperor and Empress was what the people sincerely wished for.

On the day of the coronation ceremony, the sky was clear, as even the heavens seemed pleased.

Jun Yuyan wore a bright yellow Dragon Robe, with handsome features, tall and broad, exuding dignity all around.

The civil and military officials knelt down below the steps, lying prostrate on the ground, shouting "Long live, long live, long live forever!"

"All my beloved officials, rise."

Jun Yuyan declared loudly, "Today is not only the day of my ascension but also the grand ceremony of bestowing the Empress!"

He reached behind him, and Murong Jiu, already dressed as the Empress, slowly walked forward and placed her hand on Jun Yuyan’s.

Adorned in a magnificent Phoenix Robe, Murong Jiu’s already stunning beauty was accentuated even further, indescribably beautiful, majestic, and noble, like the most dazzling peony under the heavens.

Jun Yuyan had done it.

He once said that peony suited Murong Jiu the best, but only the Empress could wear peonies. Now, Murong Jiu had become the Empress, but she no longer needed to wear peonies, for she herself was the most extravagant peony.

The position of Empress naturally fell to Murong Jiu, and the ministers were not surprised.

After all, Prince Ling only ever had Murong Jiu as his principal wife, and their loving relationship never involved another woman, while Murong Jiu also bore him a son and a daughter. After the throne, it was naturally her who assumed the role.

...

"Murong Jiu became the Empress?"

In the Second Prince’s Mansion, Murong Man, confined in the small yard, looked incredulously at Bai Weiwei before her.

"Yes, you must be regretting now, right? You were the one initially engaged to Jun Yuyan, but you chose to collude with the Second Prince, looking down on him when he was deemed useless, letting Murong Jiu marry him instead. Now, she has become the Empress, and you, you’ve turned into nothing but a mess."

Bai Weiwei’s expression was mocking, her tone harsh, no longer pretending to be delicate as before.

The day the Emperor died, the Second Prince entered the palace and was immediately controlled, followed by soldiers storming into the Second Prince’s Mansion, arresting all the aides, claiming they were criminals of the Imperial Court. The entire Second Prince’s Mansion was under the control of these soldiers.

It was not until the New Emperor’s ascension that the Second Prince was released.

Yun Weiwei, having been terrified for many days, learned the final outcome and was no longer afraid, but filled with hatred. She resented how the Second Prince, once the strongest candidate for the Crown Prince, had now truly become a cripple.

The Emperor had already decreed that everything belonging to the Second Prince’s Mansion be sent to Southern Ridge, a fief in name only but in reality, no different from exile.

At that time in Southern Ridge, the local customs were still unenlightened. Previously, Jun Yuyan had gone to Southern Ridge to suppress bandits, killing many rebels. The locals worshipped Jun Yuyan as their life-saving deity. The Second Prince going there wouldn’t bode well for him at all.

Not to mention the thousands of miles of roads on the way, who knows what "accidents" might occur?

Would the New Emperor really tolerate the Imperial Brother, who once sought to rebel, recuperating in his fiefdom?

What awaited them was probably endless assassination attempts under a sunless sky!

How could Yun Weiwei not hate? All her years of forbearance were to rise to the status of Phoenix, so she rather be insignificant and harm her own body for the Second Prince, just to become his woman.

Yet she never expected to end up in such a state.

However, she felt that Murong Man must hate it even more. If Murong Man had been the one to marry Jun Yuyan, then she would be the woman wearing the Empress’s Phoenix Robe today.

She came here just to see Murong Man’s downfall.

And she indeed got her wish, seeing Murong Man’s incredulous expression, the craziness and regret in her eyes.

Murong Man’s belly was now highly protruding. She had become so thin that her cheeks were hollowed out, making her eyes frighteningly large, and she had developed bags under her eyes at a young age.

"Why wasn’t I the one to marry Jun Yuyan? Why!"

She said hatefully, her tone crazed.

"I am the one destined to be Empress! Murong Jiu, she took my place! I am the real Empress!"

Yun Weiwei stepped back a few steps, her lips curled in irony, and said, "Yes, you were destined to be Empress, but now you’re carrying a bastard. Once the child is born, your death is certain."

"I won’t die! You will die, not me!"

Murong Man glared fiercely at Yun Weiwei, her vicious demeanor as if she wanted to bite off chunks of flesh from her.

"It’s been so long, haven’t you figured it out yet? You consorted with the guard. The Second Prince hasn’t killed you because he can no longer have children, the child in your belly is his only ’seed’, and with a child, he sees a chance to rise again. That’s your only use. Would the Second Prince spare the life of an unfaithful and unclean woman?"

Murong Man, of course, was not stupid. She knew this rationale that even Yun Weiwei understood.

But what could she do? Should she just smash her head here, die along with the baby, denying the Second Prince any descendants?

She was too afraid of death to consider it.

"Ha, Yun Weiwei, you fear that once I give birth, and the Second Prince has no one else to rely on, he might spare my life, a threat to your position," she said.

Yun Weiwei sneered, "Position? What position? Exiled to Southern Ridge, playing the Princess Consort in name only, do you think I can still enjoy any blessings? I am just giving you a heads-up because we were once considered as sisters."

"As long as one is alive, who knows what might happen in the future? Who’s to say that very soon Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu won’t die an untimely death, and the Second Prince ascends the throne!"

Murong Man refused to give up, believing that as long as one is alive, there is hope, but once dead, all hope is lost.

Yun Weiwei intended to drive her to suicide, but she would never let Yun Weiwei have her way.

Yun Weiwei laughed again, relishing Murong Man’s self-deceiving state with an increasingly scornful expression on her face.

And Murong Man, belly protruding, looked challengingly at her.