The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 751: A Single Move to Resolve Emperor Muwu’s Predicament

Chapter 751: A Single Move to Resolve Emperor Muwu’s Predicament

"Yes," Chu Yan answered, quickly entering the inner palace.

By the dragon bed, Nanli was taking Emperor Muwu’s pulse.

Chu Yan, feeling guilty for pushing Emperor Muwu to such a state, dared not approach. His eyes, however, were sharp enough to see from a distance the deathly pallor on Emperor Muwu’s face. In an instant, his tears welled up, unable to contain the anguish in his heart, and he quietly began to sob.

Prime Minister Lu’s eyes gleamed with a dark light before he stepped forward to ask, "The Ninth Princess, His Majesty was perfectly fine earlier. Why has he suddenly fallen ill? Could it be poison?"

Nanli, unsure how to explain, could only reply, "It’s the will of Heaven."

Elder Xu, hearing her words, trembled as he asked, "Then according to the Ninth Princess, is His Majesty’s illness... truly beyond cure?"

Nanli nodded with great difficulty.

The Chief Imperial Physician spoke up, "Third Prince, please come forward, His Majesty’s breath has weakened further."

At this rate, the emperor could pass at any moment.

Chu Yan hesitated. He feared that if he moved closer, the emperor’s already fragile state would deteriorate completely.

However, Prime Minister Lu quickly composed himself, exchanged a glance with the chief eunuch, and the two of them went to a hidden compartment, retrieving a royal edict.

Upon seeing this, everyone knelt in reverence.

Indeed, Emperor Muwu, ever wise, had prepared for this moment, knowing his body was failing and having made the necessary arrangements.

Old Prince Ji’s schemes and actions these past few days now seemed nothing more than the antics of a fool.

Prime Minister Lu was about to read the edict when Nanli, who had not been kneeling, moved forward. "Wait," she said, quickly scanning the contents.

Sure enough, Emperor Muwu’s edict praised her fifth brother, naming him as the Royal Heir, and stipulating that if anything were to happen to the emperor, Chu Yan would immediately ascend the throne, with Prime Minister Lu, Elder Xu, and other trusted ministers assisting him.

"The Ninth Princess..." Prime Minister Lu paused, "Do you have any objections?"

Nanli asked, "Was this edict drafted by you?"

"Yes," Prime Minister Lu confirmed.

Nanli’s eyes flickered briefly before she turned her head to glance at Emperor Muwu. She quickly formulated a plan. "You need to redraft the edict. It should state that His Majesty is abdicating to become the Honorary Emperor, and that the Third Prince should immediately ascend to the throne."

"Ah?" Prime Minister Lu was caught off guard.

Seeing that Emperor Muwu’s condition was rapidly worsening, Nanli urged, "Hurry."

If anyone else had spoken, Prime Minister Lu would have refused, but Nanli was different. Especially with Elder Xu and the other officials offering no objections, Nanli’s words carried weight.

The Chief Eunuch hurriedly prepared the revised edict, feeling certain that the Ninth Princess had a way to save the emperor.

In less than a teacup’s worth of time, Prime Minister Lu had redrafted the royal decree.

However, since this was against the original intent of the emperor, he hesitated as he held the Imperial Jade Seal.

"I’ll do it," Nanli said, snatching the seal from his hand and stamping it onto the edict.

Prime Minister Lu, still in a daze, was about to respond when Nanli pressed, "Hurry, read the edict!"

"Ah... yes," Prime Minister Lu, startled by her urgency, quickly read out the brief royal proclamation.

As Nanli looked at Chu Yan, she noticed his aura had grown slightly stronger. Even she felt that she could no longer look directly into her fifth brother’s eyes.

Prime Minister Lu, too, felt discomfort, bowing his head as he said, "Third Prince, please accept the edict."

Chu Yan, with his heart full of conflicting emotions, bowed deeply before rising and accepting the edict.

He had never expected that he would ascend to the throne this quickly. He had thought it would take the conquest of Qi Nation and the unification of the world before he could stand here. And yet, on this clear day, a thunderclap rang from the sky, shaking the entire capital, causing everyone to tremble.

Prime Minister Lu knelt down.

The nobles and relatives also knelt and exclaimed, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Though Nanli did not need to kneel, she still offered a bow in unison with the others.

At this moment, the skies above were filled with colorful clouds, and spirit birds, unknown in origin, soared above the palace, singing.

Both inside and outside the palace, everyone was stunned by this miraculous sight.

It was a divine omen from Heaven!

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Emperor Muwu, who had been on the verge of death, suddenly began to cough.

From weak coughs to stronger ones.

Everyone looked up in surprise.

The emperor, who had been near death, had now sat up by himself, clutching his chest as he coughed violently.

"Bring me... bring me some water," he said, his voice strained with discomfort.

"Your Majesty!" The chief eunuch, witnessing this, was overjoyed, tears streaming down as he hurried to pour water for the emperor.

After Emperor Muwu drank, he felt some relief in his throat and his body became more comfortable.

Seeing the others so emotional, his face showed confusion. "Why are you all like this? Do you not know? I haven’t passed away yet!"

The chief eunuch froze. "Your Majesty..."

Before he could say more, a mighty thunderclap boomed from the sky.

It seemed like a warning.

The chief eunuch shivered in fear.

Nanli, sensing the ominous atmosphere, remarked, "You’ll have to start calling him Honorary Emperor from now on, or there will be more thunder strikes."

"What?"

Not only the chief eunuch but also Prime Minister Lu and the others were perplexed.

Elder Huang narrowed his eyes and quickly said, "What kind of trick did the Ninth Princess use? Even if you want Third Prince to ascend the throne, you shouldn’t be playing games with the Honorary Emperor’s health!"

The unusual occurrences had everyone questioning the situation.

However, Elder Huang, feeling unsatisfied, directly reminded Emperor Muwu, "The Ninth Princess must have used some method, but even so, we can’t simply let this go!"

"Elder Huang, be cautious with your words! When the Honorary Emperor was unconscious, the Ninth Princess was not in the capital!" Prime Minister Lu rebuked sharply, though he was not foolish and continued to ask, "Ninth Princess, what exactly is happening here?"

Emperor Muwu, still unsure why after a nap, Chu Yan had returned and he had become the Honorary Emperor, was now filled with joy. His mouth couldn’t stop smiling.

However, he still had to get to the bottom of it, and so he asked, "A’Li, what’s going on?"

Nanli thought for a moment and then explained the battle at Yan Town and Chu Yan’s awakening.

Finally, she concluded, "Third Prince’s royal aura has awakened, so it affected the Honorary Emperor’s destiny. But I used a method of abdication to resolve the Honorary Emperor’s predicament."

At that moment, Chu Yang and the others arrived. Hearing this, Cinian burst out laughing, "So this is how it was solved. Ninth Princess, you are truly clever!"

He stepped forward, bowing in respect to Emperor Muwu and adding, "The Honorary Emperor’s imperial aura has indeed diminished significantly. There’s hardly any left now."

Chu Yang, realizing that his fifth brother had already ascended the throne, felt a wave of excitement in his heart.

"What is all this talk?" Elder Huang didn’t believe a word. He thought that they were all colluding to deceive Emperor Muwu. "The Ninth Princess, the Honorary Emperor is wise and mighty. How could he be so easily tricked? You want Chu Yan to become the emperor of Mu Nation—this is absurd!"