Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 453 The Emperor and Empress Should Live in the Same Palace

Chapter 453: Chapter 453 The Emperor and Empress Should Live in the Same Palace

Yun Weiwei did not want Murong Man to die.

If she died, the next unfortunate person might be herself, as Murong Man was a very good target.

Yun Weiwei was actually very intelligent, but she had gambled on the wrong person, chosen the wrong ally.

But she could only choose the Second Prince because the Second Prince was her cousin.

The Second Prince was infertile, and what Murong Man carried was the Second Prince’s only "seed." How could it die? That was the Second Prince’s cornerstone for a comeback.

Now, many people already knew that the Second Prince could no longer produce heirs; it was unknown who had spread the word.

Yun Weiwei would also never be able to have her own children. Once she reached Souther Ridge, she would take Murong Man’s illegitimate child to raise.

Murong Man was right; as long as one lived, there was hope. Once dead, everything was gone,

With this little illegitimate child, even if the Second Prince died, he would still be considered of royal descent. If something happened to all the new Emperor’s lineage, the throne would eventually fall to the descendants of the Second Prince.

Of course, this possibility was extremely low, but who could be certain about the future?

After appreciating Murong Man’s twisted expression, Yun Weiwei stepped back. The Second Prince was about to set off for Souther Ridge, and she needed to quickly sell off the Second Prince’s Mansion’s shops and land at low prices, to use them for the journey and future settlement.

...

The Third Prince was the same, the new Emperor had ascended the throne, and all princes had to go to their fiefdoms.

However, the Former Emperor had once granted a fiefdom to the Third Prince when both he and Consort Jing were favored.

The Former Emperor had forgotten to take back the land, so the new Emperor let him go to his own fiefdom.

Regardless of the bitterness in his heart, the Third Prince could only swallow it down.

He had fewer supporters than the Second Prince. The affair with Consort Jing had led to his downfall and disgrace, and there were too many folk dramas about Consort Jing. Being her son, he was also despised by the common people.

His plan was to wait for these scandals to be forgotten and then ally with major court officials to try to reclaim the throne.

That position was originally intended for him by the Former Emperor.

If it hadn’t been for the sudden emergence of Mei Yuzong, he would have already ascended to that supreme throne.

However, the Third Prince’s plans were thwarted before they could even begin.

The court veterans one by one retired to their fields, vacating their positions.

They had no choice but to leave because the new Emperor held evidence of their corruption and factionalism; they had to either choose imprisonment or resign and leave the Capital City.

The new Emperor refrained from harsh measures because he had just ascended the throne and did not want to wage major conflicts.

But if they did not discern the situation, what awaited them would not be so simple.

A new official must act decisively, especially as a new Emperor.

...

Jun Yuyan had just ascended the throne, and was so busy he lacked even the time to sleep, only managing to sneak in short naps before rising again to deal with government affairs.

It was only when he truly took over the country that he realized how many problems the Former Emperor had left behind.

Even though he had executed many corrupt officials and uprooted numerous entrenched noble families recently, there were still many such families, deeply rooted and seemingly impregnable.

Take for example the academies founded in the Capital City. Many noble families privately declared they wouldn’t allow their descendants to recruit students from the free academies. Other places faced similar resistance, as these families wanted to keep the best students for themselves, and all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations were from these families.

Noble families monopolized resources, and in the long run, those from poor families had no chance of rising, the successful candidates in the imperial examinations were all from noble families, and official positions were monopolized as well.

In the Capital City, under the Son of Heaven’s nose, all the noble families dared to create obstacles secretly, let alone in other areas, where it was even harder to establish free academies.

This was just one of the minor issues.

The national treasury was depleted, and there were also problems with military defense at the borders. In short, he had a huge mess to clean up.

After taking a sip of tea, Jun Yuyan asked Eunuch Li, "What time is it? Has the Empress had her meal yet?"

"Your Majesty, it’s almost noon. You should have your meal too. I’m afraid Her Majesty the Empress hasn’t had her meal either, as there are too many affairs in the palace that need Her Majesty’s attention."

Eunuch Li had been by the side of the Former Emperor. When Jun Yuyan was at the Prince Mansion, he didn’t like being attended by eunuchs. Eunuch Li was good at serving and knew many things about the palace, making him quite useful, which was why Jun Yuyan kept him by his side.

"Have the meal set up in Kunning Palace. I will go find the Empress."

Murong Jiu’s residing palace as Empress was Kunning Palace, which previously had no favored consorts residing in it; the Former Empress lived in Weiyang Palace.

Neither of them were extravagant, so they did not redecorate but simply moved everything from the Prince Mansion.

Jun Yuyan resided in Yangxin Hall, where emperors of the past had stayed, but since his coronation, he had hardly been there, spending most of his time in the Imperial Study Room or returning to Kunning Palace.

Seeing the Emperor and Empress as one entity, he felt that in the future, a rule should be established where the Empress must live together with the Emperor.

However, these matters could be discussed later and were currently insignificant.

Upon arriving at Kunning Palace, he found it empty.

Chun Tao quickly came out and said, "Your Majesty, Hong Yi is accompanying Her Majesty to see Dowager Consort Yun off."

Dowager Consort Yun, formerly Noble Consort Yun.

As the mother of the Young Prince, her and her son’s arrangements had caused much uproar among the Imperial Court officials.

Some suggested keeping them in the palace until the child grew up, while others proposed conferring a title and sending them to their domain.

Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu had already discussed with Dowager Consort Yun to first send her and her son to their domain, then arrange an "accident" on the way so that the mother and son could escape secretly, and discreetly send them to Yundian.

Murong Jiu was busy with many things, but she didn’t forget to see Dowager Consort Yun off.

"Your Majesty, you might as well call me Yun Miao from now on. After today, there won’t be a Noble Consort Yun or Dowager Consort Yun in this world anymore. My son is called Yun Hao, meaning vast as the universe."

"Very well, Yun Miao, take care on your journey. I hope we can meet again."

Yun Miao smiled and lifted her head to look up at the sky within the Imperial Palace, feeling for the first time that this domain has grown larger. The feeling of leaving was truly delightful.

She was free now.

No one could control her fate anymore, not her parents, not her husband. They were all passing clouds.

As Murong Jiu watched Yun Miao holding her child getting into the carriage, what she didn’t tell her was that the tall, handsome guard who helped Yun Miao into the carriage was actually the biological father of her child.

That night was dark and without light, and after one night, Yun Miao successfully conceived. She didn’t know who the father of the child was, nor did she want to know.

So Murong Jiu didn’t tell her.

In fact, this guard was assigned to protect her secretly within the palace.

And he volunteered for the task.

Yun Miao also didn’t know that this guard had long been enchanted by her. When she was heartbroken and crying, holding the body of a drowned palace maid that had been retrieved from the lake, it moved the guard deeply.

She didn’t need to know.

Because the guard was willing to guard her silently, willing to escort her to the southwest.

Whether he could stay in the southwest, by Yun Miao and her son’s side, depended on whether Yun Miao would develop feelings for him along the way.

If Yun Miao didn’t like him, he would not reveal the secret voluntarily, would not cling or disturb; this was what he had personally promised Murong Jiu.

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