CH 132.2

Chapter 132.2 – Chaos and Turmoil

In the evening, the Emperor, who had been unconscious for one night and day, finally woke up.

Water and fire were merciless things. Although the Crown Prince protected him from the explosion on Chaoyang Tower, the subsequent fire still caused multiple burns on the Emperor’s body. The royal physician did his best to treat him, but the moment he woke up, the Emperor still felt intense pain.

It was exactly due to this intense pain that the Emperor, who had been unconscious for a long time, quickly regained his senses. He looked at the royal physician who rushed towards him and asked, “Where is the Crown Prince? Is the Crown Prince alright?”

The Emperor, who had been in a coma for a long time, had a hoarse and weak voice, clearly having lost his usual strength. But this question still made the royal physician’s scalp tighten. The royal physician lowered his head and did not dare to answer, and the Emperor was not stupid either. Seeing his reaction was enough to make him mostly understand what had happened. The light that just condensed in his eyes immediately dimmed, and muddy tears slid down from the corner of his eye and rolled under the pillow.

The crowd waiting outside the hall quickly received the news, and a group of people rushed in. King Wei ran at the very front to show his filial piety, and had just “Royal Father ” loudly when someone covered his mouth.

Obviously, the Emperor needed to rest at this moment, and he was also mourning the death of the Crown Prince.

In the end, it was Qi Yang who came forward. She had intended to hold the Emperor’s hand, but when she saw the bandage on it, she didn’t know how she could. She had no other choice than to sit in front of his sickbed and hold back her tears, saying, “Royal Father, you must get better soon.”

Hearing his daughter’s words, the Emperor sighed inside – he was poisoned before, and his body was not as good as before. When the took the Crown Prince to climb the tower and view the lanterns, he was already thinking of abdicating his throne. Now he had gone through so much, his body had endured traumas and his mind had gone through ups and downs. Even without the royal physician’s diagnosis, he could already feel that he was at the end of his journey, so how could he get better?

Thinking of the Crown Prince, the Emperor felt even more sorrowful, wishing that the former had not been so filial. It would’ve been better if he had not rushed in front of him when the gunpowder exploded back then. But now it was too late to say anything, and he could only endure his grief and ask, “How is the situation now?”

After the incident at Chaoyang Tower, Qi Yang and Lu Qipei were the first ones that dared to enter the palace, and she was the one who arranged many of the things afterwards. So Qi Yang reported those matters, and it was only at the end that she said in a trembling voice, “Royal Father, Royal Brother has died. Please take the time to mourn.”

In the end, he still had to hear that ending. Even though the Emperor was already ninety percent sure in his heart, he still couldn’t help but mourn when he heard it. His throat rolled twice, then he suddenly turned his head and spat out blood, immediately shocking everyone around.

The Royal Physician quickly rushed forward to diagnose his condition and apply acupuncture, and Qi Yang was pushed to the back. King Wei pulled her clothes and blamed her for making the Emperor vomit blood in anger.

Lu Qipei naturally stepped forward to stop him. It wasn’t convenient for King Wei to put his hands on Qi Yang, so when he saw her Prince Consort approaching, he naturally turned around and swung his fist towards Lu Qipei. Lu Qipei dodged it, and King Wei staggered. After that, he became even more irate and rushed forward relentlessly. In the end, some old kings from the royal family couldn’t watch it anymore and dragged King Wei away.

Even though the Emperor was seriously injured and weak, he had full view of the commotion happening in front of his sickbed.

The situation right now was actually very delicate. The Emperor was mourning the Crown Prince’s death, and seeing the farce in front of him naturally made him upset. At the same time, due to the Crown Prince’s death and his own serious injuries, the Emperor had to reconsider the succession issue – it was true that that country needed experienced elders to lead it, but he was having a second thought. Looking at King Wei’s stupid and annoying appearance, how could he trust such a person?

Right now, King Wei didn’t know that because of his moment of impulse and outburst of jealousy towards Qi Yang, the pie that could have fallen on his head would fly away.

The Emperor was mostly discouraged, and he closed his eyes and began thinking of his other sons. But even King Wei, the only one who remained, couldn’t enter his eyes. His other sons had committed faults and were demoted before, leaving a bad impression on his heart. Naturally, he looked down on them even more.

After thinking for a while, he realized that there was no successor. The Emperor’s emotion fluctuated so much that he almost spat out blood again.

The royal physician was so scared that his hand holding the needles trembled, but fortunately the Emperor also understood the current situation and knew that he couldn’t just die like this. So he barely suppressed the surging blood, and suddenly asked, “Where is Zhang Jian?”

Zhang Jian was dead. He blocked the sword for the Emperor last night, and died in front of him.

But Zhang Jian couldn’t compare with the Crown Prince. Since the Emperor had asked, someone answered him in a low voice, “Eunuch Zhang protected Your Highness last night, and unfortunately died. Her Highness Qi Yang has already arranged to give him a lavish burial.”

When the Emperor heard this, his grief reached rock bottom. Zhang Jian was an old hand that had followed him for decades. He knew the Emperor very well, and the Emperor also trusted him a lot. There were some things that the Crown Prince didn’t know but Zhang Jian knew, and there were some people that the Emperor couldn’t leave to the Crown Prince, but Zhang Jian could handle.

Now the Crown Prince was dead, and all the kings were unreliable. The Emperor inevitably thought of the Eldest Grandson after a lot of thinking.

The Eldest Grandson was still young, and he wouldn’t have his father’s guidance and support anymore. The Emperor himself would not last for much longer. He could entrust the important officials to assist the Eldest Grandson with national affairs and politics, and he wanted to entrust Zhang Jian to help him in the palace, but who knew that Zhang Jian was also gone!

The situation right now was a real mess, and the Emperor was out of energy and couldn’t pay attention to it anymore.

After a while, the royal physician finished applying acupuncture, and the Emperor felt the pressure on his chest finally dissipating. He opened his eyes again, and said with a voice that was slightly louder than before, “Qi Yang, tell the officials to enter the palace for me.”

Qi Yang was being pestered by King Wei and couldn’t bear it anymore. Hearing this, she immediately agreed and gave her father another look filled with concern, then she left to deliver the message.

King Wei stayed behind at the palace, understanding that the Emperor was gathering the officials right now to explain future affairs. He should’ve been excited, but he vaguely felt that something was wrong and inexplicably fell into a panic.

Author notes:

Lu Qipei: If you’re stupid, don’t come out and make a fool of yourself. Wouldn’t it have been nice to just pick up the pie?

King Wei: …