Chapter 1390: Backing a New Sovereign

"Listen to that. If you don't understand something, don't spout nonsense. When it comes to treating illness, he knows more than you do." Yuan Se turned and rebuked Consort Yuan. Then he looked back at the Ghost Doctor with a cheerful smile. "Hei Li, handle this as quickly as possible. Whatever you need, whatever assistance is required, contact Consort Yuan directly."

The Ghost Doctor bowed in obedience. "Yes!"

Yuan Se hauled his heavy body up from the reclining chair and smiled at the Ghost Doctor again. "I had you send the people of Medicine Valley away beforehand. You understand why, don't you?"

The Ghost Doctor said, "I understand. No one belonging to the other Sacred Venerables will learn of this."

"Good. I'll wait for your news. As quickly as possible!" Yuan Se patted the Ghost Doctor on the shoulder, then flashed away.

...

Night had fallen over the imperial palace of Qi.

Yuwen Yan, Sect Leader of Tianhuo Sect; Bei Xuan, Sect Leader of Xuanbing Sect; and San Qianli, Sect Leader of Daqiu Sect arrived together and headed straight for the Emperor's bedchamber.

Chief Eunuch Bu Xun had been pacing outside. When he looked up and saw the three arrive, he hurried over to greet them. "Greetings, Sect Leaders."

Yuwen Yan asked heavily, "How is His Majesty?"

Bu Xun forced a smile. "Only overwork. After a night's rest, His Majesty will be fine."

The three Sect Leaders exchanged looks.

This was already the third time the Qi Emperor, Hao Yuntu, had suddenly collapsed.

They could understand it.

There was an external enemy pressing upon the state, while within the court everyone was on edge and signs of disloyalty kept appearing. The present State of Qi was like an overloaded ship pitching and plunging amid raging waves, liable to sink at any moment. Beset by trouble within and without, Hao Yuntu was under enormous pressure and was already beginning to buckle beneath the burden.

When the three made to continue inside, Bu Xun instinctively stepped in their way.

"Hm?" Bei Xuan gave a questioning grunt heavy with authority.

Bu Xun hurriedly said, "His Majesty has already gone to rest. It would be inappropriate to disturb him."

San Qianli said coldly, "Move."

Bu Xun opened his mouth as though to argue, but in the end he obediently stepped aside.

The three Sect Leaders walked straight into the bedchamber, swept aside the beaded curtains, and entered the inner room. They came directly to Hao Yuntu's couch.

Half-conscious, Hao Yuntu vaguely heard footsteps. His nerves had been stretched taut for so long that his eyes opened at once. When he saw the three men, he hurriedly tried to push himself upright, though the effort was obviously difficult.

Bu Xun, who had followed them in, quickly helped prop him against the backrest.

"The three Sect Leaders have come." Hao Yuntu did his best to make every word clear and to appear relaxed, forcing a smile onto his face.

Yuwen Yan bent over, caught Hao Yuntu's wrist, and used his art to examine him.

Unable to avoid it, Hao Yuntu forced another smile. "There is nothing wrong with me. I'm only a little tired."

Once Yuwen Yan finished his examination, he stepped aside without speaking.

Bei Xuan then came forward and checked him as well.

Just as it became San Qianli's turn, a loud shout suddenly came from outside.

"Report! Urgent military intelligence!"

Hao Yuntu jolted.

Urgent military intelligence in the middle of the night?

He immediately called, "Bring it in!"

Yuwen Yan and the other two stepped aside temporarily. Bu Xun hurried out, then soon returned carrying a military report. He visibly hesitated over whether he should hand it over.

Hao Yuntu stretched out his hand. "Give it to me!"

Bu Xun had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he presented it.

Leaning against the couch, Hao Yuntu tore open the report with both hands and read it.

His eyes abruptly bulged.

"Traitor!"

His breathing became violently rapid. His hands trembled for several moments, then his eyes rolled back. His head slumped sideways, his arms went limp, and he fainted again.

"Your Majesty!" Bu Xun cried out.

San Qianli stepped forward, pulled Bu Xun aside, and personally examined Hao Yuntu. He quickly used his art to regulate the Emperor's breathing and qi.

Once his breathing steadied, Hao Yuntu's eyes cracked open. Emotion immediately surged through him again. "Traitor... traitor..."

San Qianli pressed one finger against Hao Yuntu's neck and sent him back into unconsciousness.

Then he explained to Bu Xun, "Let him sleep peacefully for a while. If his mind remains agitated like this, his body simply won't endure it."

Bu Xun answered, "Yes."

San Qianli picked up the military report and rose to read it. Yuwen Yan and Bei Xuan came over from either side and read with him.

Bu Xun lowered the unconscious Hao Yuntu back onto the couch.

The military report said that Grand General Gu Yuanda had killed the army supervisor, changed banners, raised the flag of Jin, and rebelled.

The three hundred thousand troops originally responsible for guarding the interior of Qi were already advancing toward the capital.

"That damned dog! What were the cultivators our Three Great Sects sent with the army doing?" San Qianli cursed bitterly.

Bei Xuan said heavily, "Do you even need to ask? If Gu Yuanda dared rebel, then he must have had support from outside. With forces working together from within and without, the disciples of our three sects have probably already met with disaster."

Yuwen Yan said, "There is no point discussing that now. We need to decide how to respond."

The three men looked back one after another at Hao Yuntu lying unconscious on the couch, then left the bedchamber together.

Beneath the bright moon, they entered a pavilion.

Bei Xuan suddenly said, "Hao Yuntu is old. He's nearly seventy now. His health was still reasonably sound, but the pressure from inside and outside has become too much for his aging body to bear. This isn't something ordinary spirit medicines can solve. Now that he's down, someone still has to take the helm and coordinate the endless military and political affairs inside and outside the court. At a time when we are beset within and without, what do the two of you think we should do?"

Yuwen Yan asked, "What are you suggesting?"

Bei Xuan said, "I mean that we should replace him. Choose someone younger, someone whose body can withstand the strain of this crisis."

San Qianli said heavily, "Replace him at a time like this? I'm afraid that would make people's hearts even more unsettled and make trouble even more likely."

Bei Xuan said, "Then tell me what else we're supposed to do. In his present condition, if he simply collapses in open court, in front of all the civil and military officials, those wavering men may immediately make decisions against us. Jin's strategy of attacking people's hearts will only become more effective. We can't exactly send every disciple of our sects throughout Qi to serve as officials. Leaving aside whether they could even do the jobs, how many people would we have to scatter across all the great and small offices of Qi? The moment we disperse our strength like that, the Three Great Sects themselves will be crippled."

Yuwen Yan sighed. "We should never have hesitated and delayed the matter of establishing a Crown Prince until now."

Bei Xuan said, "Regret doesn't help us now. The question is who can shoulder the position."

The three fell silent.

After a while, San Qianli said, "Prince Ying, Hao Zhen. He isn't outstanding, but he is steady. That actually makes him suitable to sit at the center during chaos. Judging from the affairs he handled in the past, he has never caused any real trouble."

Yuwen Yan said, "Hao Zhen is a decent choice. But don't forget: we are at war. Military power matters above all!"

Bei Xuan asked, "What do you mean?"

Yuwen Yan said, "Facing this external enemy, the one man we are relying on to hold the situation together is Huyan Wuhen. Don't forget that he and His Majesty are in-laws. Huyan Wuhen's son is the Empress's son-in-law!"

Bei Xuan frowned. "You favor Prince Yu, Hao Hong?"

Yuwen Yan said, "If we choose Prince Ying Hao Zhen, will Hao Zhen be able to tolerate Hao Hong as a future threat? Could Huyan Wuhen possibly have no concerns? Would he not fear being purged later? Huyan Wuhen holds military power in his hands. If we choose someone from the side connected to his family, at least he won't need to fear for his own clan's lives, and so he won't be driven into rash action. But if we choose Prince Ying Hao Zhen, what Huyan Wuhen might do would be difficult to predict. Besides, after Prince Jin Hao Qi rebelled, Prince Yu Hao Hong now stands as the legitimate son of the main line. Quite a few court officials have already shown a certain inclination toward him. Choosing Hao Hong would therefore be proper and legitimate. At the very least, there should not be much opposition within the court. Add Huyan Wuhen's military support behind him, and he is even more capable of stabilizing people's hearts and winning the broadest possible support throughout Qi. Gentlemen, at a time like this, what we need above all is stability."

San Qianli and Bei Xuan considered his words, then both nodded faintly.

Afterward, the three left together and went directly to Prince Yu Hao Hong.

As for the other imperial princes, in this critical moment their beautiful dreams vanished in an instant for one simple reason: none of them had a powerful supporter behind him who commanded the army.

At the entrance to the bedchamber, Bu Xun stood alone and watched the three Sect Leaders depart, his expression extraordinarily complicated.

No one understood Hao Yuntu's condition better than he did.

To create the appearance that his health was still good, after collapsing twice before beneath the unbearable pressure within and without, Hao Yuntu had even ordered the incidents suppressed and refused to let the Three Great Sects examine his body.

In ordinary times, Hao Yuntu even pretended to bed a different woman every few days to prove that his body was still perfectly vigorous.

But this time he had collapsed in a conspicuous place within the palace and finally alarmed the Sect Leaders of the Three Great Sects.

Judging from the haste with which those three had departed, Bu Xun had no idea what might happen next.

Coming back to himself, he beckoned over a man from the Office of Investigation and whispered, "Send people to watch the three Sect Leaders. Every development must be reported immediately..."

...

At Prince Yu's residence, the sudden joint arrival of all three Sect Leaders took Hao Hong by surprise. He hurried out to greet them.

The three did not waste words. They tossed the report about the rebellion in front of him and asked what he intended to do.

Gu Yuanda had rebelled?

Hao Hong was shocked when he read the report.

But he was even more surprised that the Three Great Sects' Sect Leaders had come together to ask him how to handle the matter.

Then he remembered the secret report from the palace saying that his imperial father's health had apparently suffered some problem today.

He immediately guessed something, and excitement stirred secretly in his heart.

None of it showed on his face.

After a little thought, he answered carefully and spoke about suppressing the rebellion point by point, in a way that sounded thoroughly organized. Experienced court officials might have seen through the shallowness of it, but it was more than enough to handle the three Sect Leaders.

The three gave no response after listening.

Yuwen Yan asked, "If troops are redeployed on this side, Huyan Wuhen at the front won't have any objections, will he?"

Hao Hong's expression immediately turned solemn and righteous. "How could the Supreme General object to suppressing a rebellion? Sect Leaders, please rest assured. The Supreme General and I are relatives, and we often communicate privately. If he has any concerns, this Prince will personally send word to reassure him. There will certainly be no problem!"

The three Sect Leaders exchanged looks.

There was nothing more to say.

They immediately ordered Hao Hong to summon the court officials to Prince Yu's residence that very night to discuss suppression of the rebellion. The three Sect Leaders themselves would remain on the scene and openly support Hao Hong.

...

Before dawn, Prince Ying Hao Zhen was still asleep indoors with Shao Liuer in his arms when a rapid pounding on the door abruptly woke them both.

Husband and wife raised their heads.

Hao Zhen called, "Who is it?"

Che Buchi's voice came from outside. "Your Highness, wake quickly. Urgent business!"

Hao Zhen glanced at the darkness beyond the window.

Being woken at this hour, he immediately realized something serious had happened.

He quickly rose, casually threw on an outer robe, and went outside.

The moment he stepped through the door, he saw Che Buchi of Daqiu Sect, Gao Jianhou of Tianhuo Sect, and Xie Longfei of Xuanbing Sect all present, each wearing an extremely grave expression.

The three had no mind for ceremony. They pulled Hao Zhen aside directly.

Che Buchi said in a low voice, "Your Highness, matters are extremely bad. The leadership of our Three Great Sects has already decided to support Prince Yu Hao Hong in ascending the throne!"

Hao Zhen's eyes gradually widened.

At that very moment, noise suddenly erupted outside the otherwise silent residence.

A cultivator guard flashed over and urgently reported, "Your Highness, a force has arrived outside and surrounded the residence!"

[End of Chapter 1390]