Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 439 I’ll Wait for You to Come Back

Chapter 439: Chapter 439 I’ll Wait for You to Come Back

Just as Jun Yuyan and Murong Jiu had anticipated.

At first, the Imperial Court thought it could quell the uprising with martial force, but as time went on, more opportunists began to stir the waters, even remnants of the former dynasty emerged.

The Emperor carried an air of dignity in front of others, but when it came to state affairs, he was but a shrinking turtle. When the Xiongnu invaded, the Emperor had contemplated ceding land for peace.

Now, choosing to turn a deaf ear to the situation, he lay in bed, not even bothering to read petitions.

The court officials, having no alternative, turned to Prince Ling for help.

The Second Prince was disabled; The Third Prince was under the influence of Consort Jing, secluding himself and daring not to show his face. Countless common folk quietly went to the Third Prince’s Mansion to throw manure, creating an extremely vile influence.

And so, that left only the Eldest Prince, Prince Ling.

"This Prince would like to hear everyone’s opinions,"

Jun Yuyan humbly addressed the senior officials.

The methods proposed by the ministers were nothing more than military suppression, but the person dispatched must possess a deterrent force.

And Prince Ling, known as the War God, was that person with such a force.

"No way!"

The Second Prince in his wheelchair immediately voiced his objection.

"To suppress those rebels, there’s no need for my royal brother to take action. Besides, they are lawless, and what if my royal brother were to be harmed? How could we reconcile that?"

Of course, the Second Prince didn’t want Jun Yuyan to lead his troops to quash the rebellion.

With the south in such chaos, no one knew if Jun Yuyan might seize the opportunity to rise independently or gather forces.

The Second Prince was all too aware of his royal brother’s military prowess.

He feared it was an opportunity for Jun Yuyan to gain strength.

His concern was not unwarranted, but Jun Yuyan wasn’t a person to go to any lengths for imperial power. The malignancy of Great Yan was a legacy of the Emperor’s years in power, and any thought of succeeding the throne to vigorously carry out reforms was an impossible task.

Only through experiencing turmoil and having the Scholar Gentry Clans struggle to protect themselves could he reach into their midst.

The Second Prince’s words, in fact, also reflected the concerns of the Second Prince’s Faction and the Third Prince’s Faction.

Jun Yuyan wasn’t in a hurry, nor did he take a stance, for the time wasn’t right yet.

Soon, an even more panic-inducing event awaited them.

Indeed, just a couple days later, news suddenly spread of a gang of knight-errants emerging in Jiangnan.

This group wasn’t large, totaling only a dozen or twenty people, but each one of them possessed high-level martial arts skills, robbing the rich to aid the poor.

In the places they passed, corrupt officials met with grim deaths in their homes, and granaries and treasuries were opened up, leaving nothing behind as the poor plundered them.

When news reached the Capital City, word was that the gang of knight-errants had been upholding justice for over a fortnight, having beheaded over a hundred people, half of whom were officials while the other half consisted of unscrupulous merchants and harsh landlords like Zhou Bapi.

The accumulated wealth seized was said to be as high as tens of millions of taels.

All the civil and military officials were silent.

Their silence wasn’t due to the enormous amount of property; after all, some prefects could amass tens of millions in silver within a decade of service, not to mention in the rich lands of Jiangnan.

They were silent for fear the fire might spread to them.

Because it was said that the number of knight-errant groups was growing, and people across the country were emulating the trend, leading to corrupt officials dying tragically at home everywhere, and now everyone felt insecure.

Chaos reigned, growing ever worse.

Finally, after a brief silence, the ministers knelt down and begged Prince Ling to go and quell the unrest.

The Second Prince clenched his fists, his head lowered, his eyes filled with a dark light.

It was too late to turn back now.

After the discussion on state affairs was over, Jun Yuyan, accompanied by generals, the Prime Minister, and a few other senior ministers, went to seek an audience with the Emperor.

"Not seeing!"

The Emperor rested for several days, and with much difficulty, his body finally felt much lighter. He discovered that the Imperial Physician was right: only by disregarding every matter and not exhausting his thoughts could he live a long life.

During this time, he didn’t handle any state affairs; he left everything to the princes and ministers. With each party mutually checking the others and his trusted followers watching over them, he would only be bothered if someone tried to plot against the throne or usurp power; otherwise, they needn’t find him.

Nothing was more important than the health of his imperial body.

After all, what use was a kingdom if his body was unwell?

In truth, the incident with Consort Jing had caused him considerable psychological harm.

It was a grave embarrassment for an emperor to have a woman stolen by an actor, and now the entire nation knew about it. Future unofficial histories would no doubt heavily note it.

Now, due to this woman Consort Jing, an incident that sparked turmoil throughout Great Yan left the Emperor with a headache and a tightness in his chest at the mere mention of it; continuing to listen could very well end his life.

"Let them resolve it themselves; do not disturb Us further!"

Consort Yun was kneeling on the couch, gently pressing on acupoints on the Emperor’s head as he lay on her lap.

She spoke softly and gently, "Your Majesty, the ministers haven’t disturbed you these past days. Could it be that they are coming today because they’ve settled the matters and seek to report to you?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor’s expression improved significantly, but he still did not wish to see his court officials.

Thus, he pointed to Eunuch Li who stood by: "You go outside and listen to what it’s all about; if it’s not good news, there’s no need to report back to Us."

Eunuch Li respectfully left.

Consort Yun continued her massage while secretly cursing the emperor in her heart for being a foolish ruler.

"Your Majesty..."

Eunuch Li returned with a pale face. He knelt on the ground as soon as he entered, but dared not speak further.

That’s because the Emperor had previously commanded not to speak.

Seeing his expression, the Emperor sat up abruptly. "Could it be that someone truly wishes to plot against the throne and usurp power?"

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister says that recently, nearly a hundred officials of Great Yan have died!"

"What!"

Now, even if the Emperor didn’t want to hear it, he had to continue. He summoned his attendants, and Consort Yun quickly fed him a Heart-protection Pill to prevent him from becoming overly agitated.

The Prime Minister recounted the recent events in detail, finally saying that perhaps only Prince Ling could quell the rebellion.

Jun Yuyan knelt on the ground, requesting his imperial command to march south.

The Emperor’s breathing became rapid; thankfully, he had just taken the Heart-protection Pill, or he might have fainted from indignation.

He looked at his eldest son, and at this point, even he had to admit that among all his sons, only Jun Yuyan was the most outstanding.

Aside from sending Jun Yuyan, he couldn’t think of anyone else suitable for the task.

Only Jun Yuyan held the highest renown among the people.

He was silent for a long while, finally nodding. In a rare gesture, he stepped forward and patted Jun Yuyan on the shoulder:

"With the realm in turmoil, there are too few We can trust. Yuyan, you are Our most favored son. We are at ease entrusting this matter to you, but you must also be mindful of your own safety."

"This son will solemnly abide by the Emperor’s teachings."

Those unaware might truly believe it was a scene of fatherly love and filial piety.

If Murong Jiu were here, she would likely scoff at the charade.

When useful, he was the most favored son; when not, the Emperor would deliberately stir discord among his sons.

If the Emperor really had to choose his most beloved son at this time, it would probably still be the Third Prince, whom he had personally raised since childhood.

Having decided, Jun Yuyan immediately gathered his forces and led his troops southward that very day.

Murong Jiu saw him off at the city gate.

Even though she knew his mission would likely be successful, she couldn’t help but worry.

However, she didn’t show it, and only smiled as she said to him, "I am remembering more and more. By the time you return, I might have completely recovered my memory. You should come back soon."