Super-Fertile Darling: Forced to Marry the Heirless Tyrant

Chapter 265: Chapter 265: Tearing Off the Mask, the Crime of Regicide

Ji Qingwu desperately wanted to stay away from the strife here.

But she could not leave.

Ji Qingwu first glanced at the indistinct figure of the man lying lifelessly on the imperial-yellow Dragon Bed. Her gaze then returned to Yuan Heng, who stood beside Princess Hua Chang, his dark eyes wary of everyone around him.

A shadow slowly crept into her eyes. ’I have to protect Yuan Heng.’

The Empress Dowager asked gravely, "Eunuch Li, did the Emperor ever draft an edict appointing a crown prince?"

Li Yuzong replied, "This servant does not know."

The Empress Dowager nodded. "If even the man who serves His Majesty most closely is unaware, then there must not be one."

"As for appointing a successor, I believe we must first consult with the veteran ministers of the court."

The tear stains on Wei Liru’s face were still wet. "I would like to ask the Empress Dowager, what is there to discuss with the court? I think it is the Empress Dowager whose intentions are as plain as day for all to see."

The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the phoebe nanmu armrest, her nails scraping across the wood with a piercing sound.

She glared at Princess Consort Wei. "How dare you be so insolent before me!"

’If Prince Yong ended up on the throne, things would certainly not end well for Princess Consort Wei.’

Wei Liru glanced at Wei Ting, who stood silently beside her. ’Since my brother has an edict reinstating him and military power in his hands, what do I have to fear?’

Princess Consort Wei chose to drop all pretenses with the Empress Dowager.

She sneered. "The little prince’s succession should be a foregone conclusion, an indisputable fact. For the Empress Dowager to bring up her own son at a time like this... isn’t that a bit too self-serving?"

The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes. "I am merely concerned that the imperial grandson is still young. A four-year-old ascending the throne is farcical. I am only offering my thoughts for the sake of the court’s stability."

Zhao Minghong was content being an idle prince. Hearing the Empress Dowager’s words, he shot to his feet with a deep frown.

"I have no—"

"Ming Hong!" the Empress Dowager cut him off, displeased.

Wei Ting watched them argue without interjecting, his thoughts unreadable.

Suddenly, a soft yet commanding voice cut through the tension.

"All of you, leave."

The voice came from just behind the Empress Dowager.

It was not loud, but it carried clearly enough for everyone in the hall to hear.

The Empress Dowager turned, her expression hesitant, just in time to see the corner of a dark jade-green robe sweep past her.

All eyes in the room focused on Ji Qingwu once again.

Ji Qingwu strode to the center of the hall. "The patient needs rest. His heart has been wounded, an injury that requires absolute tranquility. Are you all competing to see who can shout the loudest? Do you mean to shatter His Majesty’s life force and commit regicide?"

At the word "regicide," the hall fell unnervingly silent. No one dared to utter another word.

Spoken from her position as a physician, her words were not without merit.

However, after the Imperial Hospital had declared that all remedies were futile, everyone had already braced themselves for the Emperor’s demise. They already saw the man on the Dragon Bed as someone good as dead.

The quick-witted among them had already begun plotting their own futures.

But the accusation of regicide was a label no one could bear.

Ji Qingwu’s gaze was chillingly impartial. She took no sides.

"Please, move to the side hall. Do not disturb His Majesty’s peace any longer."

Ji Qingwu called out to the old man standing aside, his face etched with worry.

"Eunuch Li."

Li Yuzong met her gaze and understood immediately. He stepped forward to lead them out.

"Empress Dowager, if you would please."

Princess Hua Chang was the last to rise from her seat. She walked to Ji Qingwu’s side.

She asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Qingwu, is there really no other way?"

Ji Qingwu parted her lips, her voice soft. "I’ve done all I can."

Princess Hua Chang lowered her head. "I understand."

After a moment of composure, she gripped her arm and asked again, "What about you? Qingwu, which side are you on?"

The Empress Dowager’s intentions were obvious. If she could push Prince Yong onto the throne, her own position would be ironclad, and she would be able to move through the palace with complete freedom.

Princess Consort Wei was one of Emperor Wu Su’s concubines, and a childless one at that. If Prince Yong became the new emperor, she would either be forced to join the late emperor in the Imperial Mausoleum or spend the rest of her days in a desolate monastery. Supporting the little prince was her only path to survival.

’Not one of them truly had Yuan Heng’s best interests at heart. They are all acting out of self-interest.’

Princess Hua Chang’s nail guards dug into her arm.

Ji Qingwu could feel the princess’s turmoil, but in truth, her own heart hadn’t been calm for a single moment.

Before she could speak, the corners of her eyes reddened, her earlier composure completely shattering.

Ji Qingwu’s voice was choked as she said, "Eldest Princess, I want to save him."

’I don’t want to take a side. No matter who becomes the new emperor, Beili will be plunged into an abyss of suffering.’

’Yuan Heng is too young; he would need a regent...’

’Prince Yong has no foundation, and his claim to the throne would be illegitimate...’

’The realm is on the brink of chaos.’

’The wartime chaos I already witnessed, the widespread devastation and suffering—it’s all about to happen again.’

’I just want to save him.’

’I don’t care who will be the next to sit on the Dragon Chair.’

’But the system I possess is a childbirth system. How laughable. It can help me bear him an heir, but it can’t save his life.’

’I want to protect Yuan Heng.’

’But in my current position, I have no standing to do so.’

’I can’t take him away, nor can I offer him any support.’ Ji Qingwu’s sense of powerlessness crested.

Princess Hua Chang placed a hand on her back. "We must remain calm in this situation."

’My mind is clear,’ Ji Qingwu thought. ’I know tears are useless.’

’That is why I haven’t shed a single tear since seeing his deathly pale face.’

There weren’t many people Ji Qingwu could trust now. She asked, "Eldest Princess, do you have anyone in the palace you can trust?"

Princess Hua Chang was also someone who stayed out of court affairs.

She disliked the palace’s sordid affairs. While that kept her life peaceful, it meant that now, when she needed people, she came up empty-handed.

Seeing the Eldest Princess’s expression, Ji Qingwu understood.

She said, "Eldest Princess, you should go to the side hall first. I will be here."

After Princess Hua Chang left, the crowd of ministers outside the door raised an even greater clamor.

’What now?’

Ji Qingwu walked to the red gate.

A soldier from the courier station brought an urgent message: Xijin had dispatched troops overnight to attack the Northern Border. Wei Chi Lianping had led his soldiers into battle and had temporarily suppressed them.

The Empress Dowager hurriedly invited the ministers into the side hall to discuss the matter.

Ji Qingwu stood at the main entrance, watching the high-ranking court officials file toward the side hall.

They were all sighing in despair, and a few of the older men were even weeping openly. But their tears and sighs did nothing to help her distinguish the loyal from the treacherous.

Ji Qingwu walked back into the bedchamber, lifted the gauze curtain, and sat by the bed.

His eyes were closed, and his features looked especially gentle, almost harmless.

His complexion was as it was before, unnervingly pale. If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, he would be indistinguishable from a corpse.

Ji Qingwu slowly reached out and took his hand.

’Emperor Wu Su was attacked. I can’t trust anyone around him anymore, not a single one. Even Li Yuzong, who serves at his side, seems suspicious.’

She laid two fingers on the inside of his wrist.

A pang of sorrow hit Ji Qingwu, so sharp it made her nose sting and her eyes burn.

’This pulse...’