kingnovel Chapter 459: The Changing Situation in the DPRK
Chapter 459: The Changing Situation in the DPRK
Murong Yanhui responded softly, standing at the window looking at the moonlight in the sky. He hadn't felt it before, but now, such a short separation made his heart tormented to this extent.
Seeing that he fell silent, Changkong knew that his master must be missing Miss Yu again. He sighed in his heart that love is the most hurtful word. The once free and easy Prince Yan is now willing to step into the cage of emotions. It is really sad.
After a moment of silence, Murong Yan asked, "Is there any news from Canghe?"
"There's been no news yet, but there's news that the Emperor has been ill since the day the prince left for the war, and he hasn't recovered yet. No one knows what the underlying illness is."
"Oh? If the emperor is ill, why didn't we know about it before?"
"I heard it was kept secret in the palace. The Empress Dowager was worried that the Emperor's serious illness would affect the morale of the army."
"Queen Mother..."
Murong Yanhui's expression changed. It looked as if her mother was about to take action while she was away from the palace. But she didn't know what she was planning. Did she think she could force Murong Shiling to abdicate on her own? Now she just had to hope she wasn't so foolish as to not stage a coup, as this would play into Tang Yi's hands.
"Changkong, I'll write a letter to the Queen Mother later and have our people deliver it to her as soon as possible. Canghe can't be in chaos right now. Everything should at least wait until I return!"
"Yes! I will arrange it right away."
"Besides that, is there anything else going on at court? How are the soldiers returning to the capital?"
"They haven't entered the capital yet, but the news says that the eldest prince has learned about the news in the capital and is secretly planning something."
"Murong Feng?" Murong Yan sneered. "He's quite impatient. Upon hearing that his brother is seriously ill, he quickly made preparations. I'm afraid he's thinking of using this opportunity to overthrow the Crown Prince."
"So are we going to do something?"
"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. Even if I wanted to take action, I'm afraid I can't stop the situation from changing. Now, I'm afraid I can only watch from the sidelines. The only thing that worries me is the Queen Mother. If the Queen Mother..."
Murong Yanhui suddenly fell silent. Even if the Queen Mother did something extremely treasonous, he would probably have to find a way to rescue her. After all, she was his biological mother. No matter how much their political views disagreed, he could not watch her head and body being torn apart.
I hope the Queen Mother is not too confused. If he wanted to be the emperor, why would he pretend to be crazy and wait until today? He could have replaced the previous emperor when Murong Shiling passed away and his throne was unstable. Why can't his mother see this clearly?
Murong Shiling's worries are not without reason. The situation in the Canghe Palace is indeed turbulent and unpredictable.
In the Imperial Dragon Palace, on the exquisitely carved bed, Murong Shiling was half leaning on a gold-threaded cork pillow with a pale face. His face had long lost its usual spirit and his eyes seemed a little distracted.
Murong Cheng frowned, anxiously waiting for the results of the imperial physician's consultation. Beside the bed, Concubine Yu's beautiful eyes were bloodshot, and the dark circles under her eyes showed that she had not slept well in recent days. She looked much more haggard. She held Murong Shiling's hand tightly, looking like a loving couple.
The Queen and Concubine Lin unexpectedly did not show up at the scene. I don’t know whether they felt there was no need to visit or did not want to come to visit.
Several imperial physicians huddled together, whispering to each other for a long time before one of them sat down at the table to write a prescription. Another stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the Emperor's condition is truly strange. His pulse comes and goes, yet we can't find the cause."
Murong Cheng hesitated for a moment, then had a bold idea in his mind, "Is it possible that my father is poisoned?"
"This... can't be it!" The imperial doctors were shocked upon hearing this and quickly denied it. "We can tell whether it's poisoned or not at a glance. How could we not detect it?"
"Your Highness, please be careful with your words. The crime of plotting to murder His Majesty will punish all nine generations of your family. Moreover, this matter is of great importance. Does Your Highness have any suspects?" Concubine Yu spoke from the side.
"I am sorry for being rude. I am also worried about you, Father, so I asked this question."
"We are naturally deeply moved by your highness's filial piety, but the emperor's current condition does not seem to be poisoning." Another imperial physician took over.
Murong Cheng remained silent. His father had always been in good health; how could he have fallen ill for no apparent reason? It didn't make sense. Most importantly, despite the victory over the Northern Kingdom, the young emperor's uncle had sent word that the Eastern Tang was still making moves, urging them to be on guard. And yet, his father was bedridden at this very moment. If it weren't for the unanimous opinion of the imperial physicians, he would have suspected this was all a conspiracy orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.
Murong Cheng rubbed his brows. Ever since Murong Shiling fell ill, all the affairs of the court were handed over to him. In order not to affect the situation inside and outside the court, the fact that the emperor was in a coma had never been publicized, and he, the prince, was naturally nominated by the court officials.
He wondered what would happen to all this. He had clearly sensed something was amiss in the palace these past few days, as if something major was about to happen. Every maid and guard he saw was a stranger, as if the entire palace had been completely reshuffled.
The imperial physician had already prepared a prescription and sent the medicine boy to fetch the medicine. The leading imperial physician, Liu, walked over to Murong Cheng and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much. His Majesty is blessed by heaven and will surely wake up."
Murong Cheng responded softly. At this moment, he really hoped that his father could wake up as soon as possible.
At this time in the Chaofeng Palace, Queen Li and Yu Zhengsha sat opposite each other, Yu Zhenzhen stood beside them, and the maids were waiting outside the palace.
Yu Zhengsha's face was calm and his emotions were unremarkable. However, Queen Li seemed to be somewhat pleased with herself. She took a sip of the fragrant tea, wiped her lips with a handkerchief, and then her gaze fell on Yu Zhengsha's face.
"Prime Minister, although my sister has passed away, I will never forget the sisterhood we shared over the years. Since we are family, it is natural for us to help each other when necessary. What do you think?"
Yu Zhengsha sneered in his heart when he heard this. If Queen Li had really cared about sisterhood over the years, his Yu family would not be in the status it is today. But it was also a good thing that she did not care about the old relationship, which gave him an opportunity to get rid of that traitorous woman when necessary.
Although he was vicious in his heart, Yu Zhengsha didn't show it on his face. Instead, he said humbly, "Your Majesty, I am too kind. I am weak and my health has deteriorated over the years. I am afraid that there are many things I am willing to do but cannot do."
Queen Li glanced at him and thought to herself that this old fox was really foolproof. Was he really going to force her to speak clearly?
"Prime Minister, please don't be so modest. Everyone knows your abilities. His Majesty has been ill for many days. Without your constant support, what great achievements could the young Crown Prince achieve? I am very clear about this."
Queen Li subtly complimented Yu Zhengsha a few times, and sure enough, Yu Zhengsha's expression looked a little better, but he did not let down his guard at all. Who knows if Queen Li's invitation today is a Hongmen Banquet?
"Your Majesty, you have gone too far. I am only doing what I should do."
"Okay, okay, Prime Minister, you don't have to be so modest. I summoned you today to see what you think of the current situation."
Yu Zhengsha stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Now that His Majesty is unconscious, the whole court is in a state of panic. However, there is a saying that goes, 'No destruction, no construction.' This opportunity is rare."
"The prime minister means..."
Yu Zhengsha glanced at Empress Li and said, "Is there no need for me to explain this clearly?"
Empress Li nodded repeatedly and then asked, "In that case, I wonder if the Prime Minister has any specific plans? Feng'er hasn't returned to the court yet, and the Crown Prince is currently in control. Planning major events is indeed difficult."
Yu Zhengsha sneered, "If it were easy, would you have found me?"
Empress Li smiled awkwardly, "Prime Minister, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. After all, we are relatives. If Feng'er really succeeds in his endeavors, you will become the emperor's father-in-law. This is a mutually beneficial thing. I don't need to explain it to you, right?"
"Hmph! Her Majesty, is it not unknown that this old man and Yu Qingli have severed their father-daughter relationship? How could this old man take advantage of him?"
"Then what should we do according to what the Prime Minister said?"
"That's easy. When the eldest prince came to the palace to propose marriage, I didn't agree. Zhenzhen is here today, and she's been thinking about it for a while. Instead of staying with a prince who has no future and doesn't care about her, it's better to find a good home for herself."
"Men are afraid of choosing the wrong profession, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. Marriage is a lifelong matter, so it's only natural to give it a lot of thought. But the problem now is that this marriage was personally chosen by His Majesty, and I'm afraid..."
"Your Majesty has long lost the ability to manage affairs, and besides, haven't you always been in charge of the affairs of the harem?"
Queen Li gritted her teeth and thought it was all good. She had heard that Prime Minister Yu liked this little daughter. If she could marry Murong Feng, it would be a great help. What's more, since Feng'er went to the battlefield, the unwelcome Yu Qingli also left the palace, saying that she was going to her hometown in Jiangnan to recuperate. She didn't know whether it was true or not. Anyway, she hadn't heard from Yu Qingli for a long time. As a girl in the palace, it was really outrageous for her to stay at her mother's home for many days.
The two of them reached an agreement and were naturally happy, but there was a mysterious look in Yu Zhenzhen's eyes, making it difficult to tell what she was thinking.
But within one day, the so-called imperial edict arrived at the Yu Mansion, appointing the second daughter of the Yu Mansion, Yu Zhenzhen, as the eldest prince's concubine and giving her the title of Zhen. They would be allowed to get married on the day the eldest prince returned to the court.