The crowd gradually dispersed.
All the officials from the Office of the Heir Apparent, including the Junior Mentor, Junior Tutor, and Junior Guardian, walked toward Yun Chu.
“Crown Princess.” Lord Xiang’s voice was hoarse. “With the Crown Prince’s death, we…”
“No, the Crown Prince will not die.” Yun Chu raised her voice. “A few days ago he wrote me a letter saying he had already found the Dongling Kingdom’s weakness. He said he would take down the Dongling Kingdom within three months. His ambitions have not yet been realized—he absolutely will not die. I believe in him.”
Those officials exchanged glances.
They only thought the Crown Princess was speaking deliriously.
A person pierced by ten thousand arrows—even if not completely dead, having been thrown into the ocean, how could he possibly still be alive?
“Crown Princess, please accept our condolences.” Lord Nie spoke. “At tomorrow’s morning court, we will all memorialize to have the Emperor issue an edict for reinforcements. We must avenge the Crown Prince!”
Lord Lu spoke: “The Emperor is gravely ill. The nation cannot be without an heir apparent for a single day. Please accept this reality as soon as possible, Crown Princess.”
A smile appeared on Yun Chu’s face: “So you’re going to pledge allegiance to the new Crown Prince?”
Lord Lu replied: “I am the Junior Tutor personally appointed by the Emperor, the Crown Prince’s teacher. Whoever the Crown Prince is, I remain loyal to the Crown Prince.”
“If the Crown Prince were Chu Rui, would Lord Lu also pledge allegiance?” Yun Chu enunciated each word.
“Impossible!” Lord Nie flatly denied. “There’s still the Seventh Prince, Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince. Even if none of them work, the Eighth Prince can be recalled. No matter what, it couldn’t possibly be Chu Rui’s turn!”
Yun Chu laughed lightly: “With the poisonous insect not yet removed, the Emperor is Chu Rui’s puppet. Gradually, all these princes will be eliminated. In the end, only Chu Rui will remain as the legitimate person to inherit the throne. Would you also pledge allegiance to such an unprincipled sovereign?”
The expressions of several people all changed.
Yun Chu pinched the bridge of her nose: “After tomorrow’s morning court, everyone come to the Office of the Heir Apparent. We’ll discuss further.”
She turned and walked down the steps toward the Eastern Palace.
The full moon hung in the sky, cool moonlight falling on her body. She didn’t know how she walked back to the Eastern Palace.
Reaching the entrance, she stumbled.
Tingshuang quickly supported her: “Crown Princess…”
A thousand words, yet she didn’t know how to comfort her.
“I’m fine.”
Yun Chu waved her hand and walked into her room.
But before she had been there long, the door was knocked.
“Mother, open the door.” Chu Hongyu shouted through tears. “They all say Father is dead. Mother, tell me it’s not true!”
“Father won’t die—he definitely won’t die!” Chu Changsheng also cried together. “Father is very capable. No one can hurt Father. Those people must have made a mistake!”
Yun Chu pulled open the door, crouched down and embraced the children, her voice hoarse: “Yes, I also don’t believe your father died. He said he would definitely return alive, so he won’t break his word. Those people outside don’t understand your father, which is why they say such things. Brother Yu and Changsheng shouldn’t argue with them either, understand?”
“Mm mm!” Chu Hongyu nodded forcefully. “Don’t argue with fools—I won’t pay attention to them.”
Chu Changsheng hugged Yun Chu’s neck: “Mother, I want to sleep with you tonight.”
Ever since Yun Chu gave birth to Brother Jue, Chu Changsheng had been living in her own courtyard, adapting very well. Yun Chu knew her daughter had been frightened.
She squeezed out a smile on her face and said gently: “Alright, then you’ll sleep with Mother.”
Chu Hongyu wrinkled his little nose. Never mind—he was already a big boy. He wouldn’t clamor to sleep with Mother and Little Sister.
Yun Chu held Changsheng. The little girl quickly fell asleep.
She placed her daughter on the bed, then sat in the outer room and took out these past days’ letters.
Every day she would receive letters from Chu Yi—written by him three days prior, traveling three days on the road, then delivered to her hands.
In the letters, he would talk about the local customs along the way, discuss his upcoming plans, mention some amusing anecdotes from the army… As she read the words, it was as if she were there in person.
How could something suddenly go wrong?
Yun Chu’s tears fell in large drops.
At the doorway stood Tingshuang, Tingxue, Tingfeng, Luwei, and Qiutong—all five with worried faces.
“Sister Tingshuang, what should we do…” Luwei was at a loss. “We can’t just let the Crown Princess sit there withering away.”
“There’s no need to do anything.” Tingshuang said softly. “Give the Crown Princess one night. She’ll emerge from this because there are too many things that need the Crown Princess to handle, too many people who need the Crown Princess to protect.”
If not for the three children, the Crown Princess would probably personally go to the front lines to search for His Highness the Crown Prince’s body.
But the children were still so young. The Crown Princess absolutely couldn’t leave their side.
Staying in the capital, there were too many things to face.
The sky gradually brightened.
Yun Chu sat through the night.
When she heard movement from the inner chamber, she immediately twisted her stiff neck, carefully put away the letters, stood up and walked in: “Changsheng, you’re up.”
Chu Changsheng spoke softly: “Mother, I had a dream that our whole family traveled south again. This time Brother Jue was with us, making the journey even happier.”
Yun Chu pinched her nose: “Don’t worry. When your father returns, our whole family will find time to go south again to see those sights and eat that delicious food. Alright, the sun has already risen. Get dressed quickly and go to the Imperial Academy with your brother to study.”
No matter what happened, the sun rose as usual, and the Imperial Academy still had to be attended.
Officials also had to attend court as usual.
At last night’s heaven worship ceremony, the Emperor had spat two mouthfuls of black blood, causing many to worry immensely.
Entering the hall, they saw the Emperor sitting at the very top, his face actually faintly showing traces of black. Everyone’s hearts grew even more worried.
“Today, I will only discuss one matter.” The Emperor leaned crookedly on the dragon throne, his voice very small. “The Crown Prince is dead. A new Crown Prince must be established. What suggestions do you beloved ministers have?”
Lord Yin, the Yin family head, stepped forward: “Your Majesty said last night that one hundred thousand elite soldiers would be dispatched for reinforcement to avenge the Crown Prince. This matter requires Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict.”
Before troops were even dispatched for the eastern campaign, discussing the establishment of a new Crown Prince made the Yin family members deeply disheartened.
If the new Crown Prince was determined and the court and country supported the new heir apparent, who would still remember Yi’er’s blood debt…
Therefore, even though he was merely a fourth-rank official, Lord Yin stepped forward to state his position, also hoping more people would join him in memorializing.
However.
Before others could speak.
The Emperor picked up the inkstone from the desk and threw it down.
But his strength was too small. The inkstone fell to the side and didn’t strike Lord Yin’s head.
“Audacious!” The Emperor gasped for breath. “The revenge must be taken, and a Crown Prince must also be established—there’s no conflict. Once the Crown Prince is established, I will have the Crown Prince supervise the state and determine matters of the eastern campaign!”
Everyone in court fell silent.
There were only so many princes, plus imperial grandsons—all very young in age. If made Crown Prince, how could they supervise the state? Wasn’t this child’s play?
Unless…
Yun Ze looked toward Chu Rui.
The earliest establishment of the Prince Regent position was precisely because the young emperor was too small, which was why this position existed.
Chu Rui used the poisonous insect to have the Emperor enfeoff him as Prince Regent—could it have been for this very moment?