Chapter Ninety-One: Care in Every Particular

The moon hung high in the sky, casting its light upon the branches in the courtyard, where they stood like demons baring their claws.

After closing the window, Jun Yeli returned to the bedside and sat down again, gripping Hua Rong’s hand tightly, not daring to let even the slightest carelessness show.

Suddenly, Hua Rong’s lips parted faintly, and a soft murmur drifted out. “I’m thirsty...”

“What?” Jun Yeli leaned down, and only then heard the words again, this time a little clearer. “I want some water...”

“All right, all right, I’ll get you some right now!” He hurried to the table, poured a cup of water that was neither hot nor cold, and at last Hua Rong drank it in a dazed way, settling down somewhat.

That night, Hua Rong had thoroughly worn Jun Yeli out, her demands endless and varied, leaving him with almost no sleep at all.

It was not until the sun began to rise and a shaft of light pierced through the window that Jun Yeli quickly opened it wider, letting the sunlight spill in more fully.

At the very least, its warmth could drive away the cold.

Returning to his seat, he saw that Hua Rong’s complexion had improved a little. He laid a hand against her forehead and compared it with his own.

Only after confirming that the temperatures were nearly the same did he finally exhale in relief. “Good. At last the fever is gone. What a troublesome thing she is.”

But before that breath had fully left him, an urgent voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. “Your Majesty, the ministers have important matters to discuss. Please come to the imperial study at once!”

Hearing this, Jun Yeli was somewhat displeased. “If it’s important, can’t it wait? Can’t they see I’m busy right now?”

“But it concerns the situation at the frontier, as well as the people who have been displaced there...”

Put that way, he had no choice but to go.

After a conflicted glance at Hua Rong, Jun Yeli felt reluctant, but still stepped out, entrusting her care to two palace maids.

In the imperial study, the ministers sat in their places, and the atmosphere was especially grave.

Only when the doors were opened and Jun Yeli strode in with long steps did he take the chief seat and say directly, “If there’s something to say, say it quickly.”

One man stepped forward at once, bending low with clasped fists. “Your Majesty, the struggle at the frontier is now at our doorstep. Many commoners have been driven from their homes, resentment runs high, and now they are even openly attacking imperial officials. A few days ago, when Lord Liu went out into the streets, he was actually beaten by those unruly people. He is still bedridden with grave illness!”

At this, the matter did seem truly astonishing. Jun Yeli frowned slightly. “Why was there no word of this before?”

“This...” The man hesitated, and after some difficulty finally said unwillingly, “Because Lord Liu was beaten, he took his anger out on those commoners and beat one of them so badly that the man’s right leg was crippled. He did not want the matter to grow, but now it can no longer be concealed!”

As soon as those words fell, Jun Yeli’s expression changed. He shot the man a sharp look, displeased. “Utter nonsense. If there was a misunderstanding, could it not have been explained clearly? Why cripple someone?”

At his roar, the others all shuddered and dared not argue further, though one of them still carefully reminded him, “Your Majesty, the greatest issue now is still the fighting at the frontier.”

Wasn’t the unrest among the people caused precisely because that affair had left them homeless and wandering?

If the root of the problem could be solved, then this matter would naturally come to nothing.

At the mention of this, Jun Yeli stroked his chin and recalled the attempt on his life from before, though he had never spoken of it publicly.

After considering it for a moment, he issued his orders. “Send troops to the frontier for support. Try to end the war as quickly as possible, and above all aim for peace. At the same time, set up relief stations and do not let the people continue to suffer.”

The ministers bowed and assented, but before they could say anything else, Jun Yeli already seemed impatient. He rose abruptly and, without much thought, prepared to leave.

“Your Majesty, why are you in such a hurry? Has something else happened? Why not discuss it together?”

One of them, truly anxious for the state and the people, stepped forward at once, intending to share the burden for the emperor. But Jun Yeli brushed him off perfunctorily. “There’s no need for your concern. First stabilize the frontier situation, and then speak.”

After saying that, Jun Yeli’s figure swept away and vanished quickly from sight.

The others were left utterly baffled. Yet one man was quite sharp indeed. “I heard that Lady Rong fell into the water yesterday, and His Majesty kept watch over her all night. Could it be because of a woman?”

The suggestion was rather unbelievable. After all, the thing a sovereign fears most is being led astray by beauty and bringing ruin to his country.

Seeing the doubtful expressions on everyone’s faces, at this critical moment Minister Wang stepped forward. “Enough of your wild speculation. Hasn’t His Majesty already made a plan? Right now the people and the soldiers matter most. Why get hung up on anything else?”

The crowd was calmed by those words, though the deputy minister who had spoken with挑衅 earlier was a little unconvinced and shot him a cold glare. “Heh. Everyone knows the former emperor entrusted His Majesty to Minister Wang’s care. You had better not use your position for private ends!”

“So this is why a mere deputy minister like you, instead of attending to affairs of state, is busy meddling in the women’s quarters and courtly sentiment?”

The two of them argued without end, while the people beside them merely watched the show, each understanding the matter in their own hearts.

One was truly loyal to the sovereign and the nation, while the other was merely loyal to the Second Prince.

Just how many people in this court had already become the Second Prince’s men was, in truth, hard to say.

Meanwhile, the sun had risen to its zenith, and its fierce rays were somewhat blinding.

Hua Rong was forced to open her eyes, only to feel that the light pouring in was like a blaze of fire, scorching her eyes; it was truly hard to bear.

“Are you awake? How do you feel now? Shall I call the imperial physician to take a look?”

Before she had even fully opened her eyes, a string of greetings had already reached her ears. Hua Rong was slightly stunned. Her lashes fluttered, and at last a vague outline entered her sight.

Yet upon seeing that somewhat unfamiliar face, she was startled. “Why are you here?”

The person seated before her was none other than Jun Yuchen.

Not the one she had wanted to see. An invisible gloom deepened in her heart, and Hua Rong gritted her teeth, managing with difficulty to sit up straight.

Her hand hurt faintly. Lowering her head, she saw the marks from the scrape she had suffered when she fell yesterday.

In an instant, yesterday’s events between Hua Yue and Jun Yeli surfaced in her mind as well. “Right... the crown prince is surely busy drowning himself in a tender paradise right now. How could he have the time to care about me...”

To think that she had even dreamed just now that Jun Yeli had saved her, speaking to her with such tender concern. Yet upon waking, the battle was nothing more than a dream.