Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 497: Choosing the Wrong Side, Regret Comes too Late

Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Choosing the Wrong Side, Regret Comes too Late

As soon as Jun Yuyan left, Chun Tao and Hong Yi covered their mouths and giggled.

Murong Jiu glared at them with little deterrence.

"Laugh all you want. I can’t do anything about Hong Yi, but Chun Tao, you wait. Next time I see Senior Brother Cheng, I’ll drag Hong Yi along to laugh at the two of you."

"Your Majesty, you’re so bad. My husband and I aren’t nearly as clingy as you and Your Majesty," Hong Yi teased.

Murong Jiu’s cheeks turned slightly red, and her earlobes felt hot.

Indeed, Jun Yuyan seemed to be getting more and more clingy. It was only a separation for one or two Shichen to deal with Wang Yingluo, but it felt like an arduous parting every time.

Of course, for her, it was sweet.

She felt as if she were being nourished by love, feeling quite a bit younger, though she was not that old to begin with.

After personally lulling the two children to sleep, Murong Jiu returned to the main hall and was embraced by someone.

Surrounded by a familiar scent, she chuckled, "Your Majesty, how come you’re back so soon?"

"Wang Yingluo pretends to be understanding, now copying out scriptures with mother. I showed concern with a few words, and out of ’guilt,’ sent her a generous gift. She accepted it gladly without throwing a tantrum. I’ll have to spare her more time tomorrow."

One could hear the intense dislike for Wang Yingluo in Jun Yuyan’s voice.

Murong Jiu said softly, "It’s only for a couple of days. Once we’ve made the Consort Dowager an Empress Dowager, Your Majesty will leave the palace to personally train the Great Yan Army. Not being in the palace, she won’t have the chance to bother Your Majesty."

"Even so, pretending to dote on a woman I don’t like, even despise, is more distressing than facing a formidable enemy on the battlefield."

"Your Majesty, just bear with it a little longer. This time, I will find a way to test her abilities. As long as they don’t exacerbate your memory loss, you can deal with her as you wish."

Jun Yuyan was silent, before finally speaking, "Today, I accidentally overheard a conversation between two little eunuchs from the Imperial Kitchen. They regard Wang Yingluo as the future mistress of the harem. To curry favor, they specially spent silver to request the imperial cooks to make desserts to send to Wang Yingluo, all to get familiar with her face, hoping she would elevate them to be Chief Eunuchs once she rises to power."

If the eunuchs from the Imperial Kitchen could act this way, one could imagine the rest.

The longer Wang Yingluo appeared in the scene, the more people would believe in appearances, and neglect his Empress.

Jun Yuyan did not wish to see such a situation. He already felt guilty towards the Empress; if even a eunuch or palace maid could bully her, he would be failing miserably as a husband.

Murong Jiu understood his sentiments and smiled tenderly, "This is also a good opportunity to filter out those who are truly loyal. Actually, I think Wang Yingluo was right about one thing—the idea that all are equal. But the equality she talks about feels too phony."

Wang Yingluo couldn’t wait to have a host of servants to emphasize her noble status. Her talk of equality was nothing but empty words, meant to highlight her extraordinariness and win people’s genuine admiration.

"As for the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, if we simply see them as hired laborers, it’s fine. If they’re not suitable, we can settle with silver coin and let them leave. Those who stay without duplicity, remaining utterly loyal, can be given a higher salary. Both sides will be happy."

Jun Yuyan said, "Indeed, there was never much affection in such relationships to begin with. It’s normal to have a change of heart. Just like those two eunuchs from the Imperial Kitchen, aiming high with ambition is normal, yet they are mistaken in their approach."

"Yes, so they will come to regret their choices in the future. After all, the wages in the palace are quite a bit higher than outside. Why should Your Majesty get upset over their words and actions?"

Murong Jiu smiled cleverly, wrapping her arms around Jun Yuyan’s neck, and after speaking, she kissed his chin.

His beard grew fast—shaved in the morning, it would already show a hint of sharp stubble by afternoon. Different from the touch elsewhere, Murong Jiu quite liked kissing this spot.

However, for Jun Yuyan, it was a sweet torment. Luckily, it was already dark; he no longer had to endure as he did during the day, and he could do whatever he wanted.

In the midst of their passionate kissing, Jun Yuyan was thinking that his Empress could easily calm his mood, and he was more than happy to indulge her.

The next day, Jun Yuyan got up early, careful not to wake Murong Jiu, and first returned to Qianqing Palace to bathe and change his clothes before going to the morning court.

After the morning court had concluded, he retained a few trusted ministers for a talk, when before long, he saw Eunuch Li peeking in.

A chill touched his heart, but he didn’t show it on his face, instead waving to Eunuch Li, "Eunuch Li, weren’t you attending to Miss Wang? Why have you come here?"

Eunuch Li hurriedly bowed and walked in, completing the formalities quickly and then saying, "Your Majesty, Miss Wang was concerned about you managing multitudes of state affairs, which is too exhausting, and has personally prepared a nourishing soup for you."

"That kind of task should be left to the Imperial Kitchen. How could we let her do it personally, Eunuch Li? Where is she, she didn’t scald her hands, did she?"

"This..."

Eunuch Li appeared as if he found it difficult to speak.

Jun Yuyan stood up from the dragon throne with a grave tone, asking, "Is Ah Ying hurt? Where is she? Take me to her!"

Eunuch Li, seeing the Emperor care so much about Wang Yingluo, thought to himself that he indeed had chosen the right side. The Empress had called for him that morning, and he had refused her by saying he needed to attend to the injured Miss Wang.

He hurriedly led the way, talking about how early Wang Yingluo had risen, and the effort she put into making the nourishing soup.

"Your Majesty, we haven’t finished discussing state affairs yet, how can you leave halfway for a mere girl?"

General Fu suddenly spoke up, his tone cold and carrying anger.

Eunuch Li secretly glanced back and saw General Fu’s face so gloomy it looked almost like droplets of water would fall from it, his eyes seemingly ready to spew fire, suppressing his rage.

He sneered inwardly, thinking General Fu seemed almost unable to contain his impatience.

But in this world, the love of an Emperor is after all ethereal. The Empress used to be favored, but now it’s Miss Wang who is the apple of the Emperor’s eye, don’t you see how concerned and anxious he is?

The previous time the Empress was gravely ill, the Emperor didn’t even visit her once.

Who is important and who is not, anyone with eyes can tell.

Moreover, because he had been following Wang Yingluo closely, he was well aware of the beneficial deeds she had done for the nation and the people, which once disclosed to the public, would raise her reputation to an unprecedented level.

Even the Empress couldn’t compare to her.

At first, when the Emperor had assigned him to serve Wang Yingluo, he had been somewhat unwilling, believing that no one could shake the position of the Empress. If he became Wang Yingluo’s man, it would be like making an enemy of the Empress. But unexpectedly, Wang Yingluo had countless surprises up her sleeve, no wonder the Emperor was so infatuated with her.

Seeing the frustrated look on General Fu’s face, Eunuch Li felt delighted for Wang Yingluo.

The more General Fu lost his composure, the sooner his downfall would come.

The Fu Family was the backbone and confidence of the Empress, and without the Fu Family, the Empress’s position would certainly be unstable.

When the time comes, the position of the Empress seems likely to go to Wang Yingluo.

If he continued to serve for a few more years, accepting more godsons and amassing enough wealth, he could retire in peace.

Wang Yingluo was in the side hall, and Eunuch Li led the Emperor there in just a few steps.

As for General Fu’s words, the Emperor was set on Wang Yingluo and didn’t even acknowledge him.

"Brother Yan!"