Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

Chapter 41 Prince Jing: What? Regent? I don't want to die yet!

Deep within Chang Le Palace, in a dimly lit room, two imperial physicians knelt outside the door, with Eunuch Hou standing guard, looking anxious.

Two middle-aged men stood outside the door with their eyes closed and focused, exuding a faint but powerful aura; they were clearly top-tier experts.

Upon seeing Li Yunrui and Prince Jing approach, Eunuch Hou immediately bowed: "Greetings, Your Highness the Eldest Princess and Your Highness Prince Jing. Your Highnesses, the Empress Dowager is waiting inside."

Li Yunrui and Prince Jing exchanged a glance, then pushed open the door and went inside.

As soon as they entered the room, they saw Emperor Qing lying on the bed.

At this moment, Emperor Qing's face was ashen, and he occasionally twitched slightly, as if he were experiencing some kind of intense pain.

His lips were also bloodless, and his breathing was so weak that his chest was barely rising and falling.

The Empress Dowager sat on the edge of the bed.

He was dressed in dark casual clothes, his hair was slightly messy, and the dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable in the dim light. He looked extremely tired.

Hong Sixiang stood with his hands at his sides beside the Empress Dowager, like a silent statue.

"Greetings, Empress Dowager." Li Yunrui and Prince Jing bowed in unison.

The Empress Dowager slowly raised her head, her voice hoarse with sorrow: "Get up, all of you." She was truly exhausted these past few days.

She gestured to Hong Sixiang: "Tell them about His Majesty's current situation."

Hong Sixiang bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

He turned to Li Yunrui and Prince Jing, his voice flat yet heavy:

"Your Highnesses, His Majesty's condition is due to a fatal flaw in his cultivation technique, which caused his internal energy to spiral out of control and his meridians to be torn apart. Now, with all his meridians damaged, he has fallen into a deep coma."

"Torn meridians?" Prince Jing's expression changed drastically. "Then, my brother... even the imperial physicians can't do anything about it?"

Li Yunrui stood to the side, her brows furrowed with feigned worry, but deep within her alluring eyes flashed a strange light that was extremely difficult to detect.

Hong Sixiang shook his head: "The imperial physicians were helpless. However..."

He turned and glanced at the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes briefly: "Just say it."

"Yes," Hong Sixiang continued, "His Majesty's current condition is extremely strange. Normally, there is no chance of survival with shattered meridians, but His Majesty is only unconscious and his life force is not yet gone. This old servant feels that there must be something fishy about this."

At this moment, Li Yunrui suddenly spoke softly, her voice gentle yet carrying a hint of sarcasm: "Is it... Ye Qingmei?"

She couldn't help but feel gloating at the outcome, but she never expected that the woman had such ulterior motives.

Upon hearing the name Ye Qingmei, the Empress Dowager's face instantly darkened.

Hong Sixiang nodded: "Your Highness is right. Ye Qingmei's cultivation technique for His Majesty contained hidden tricks, and His Majesty's meridians were damaged by practicing this technique."

Li Yunrui and Prince Jing both fell silent.

The path of cultivation was too profound for them; it was beyond their comprehension.

The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and looked at the two of them:

"The reason you were summoned to the palace so urgently is because His Majesty had given instructions beforehand."

"His Majesty said that if anything were to happen to him... the two of you would serve as regents and assist Chengqian."

After he finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Li Yunrui's pupils contracted slightly, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Let her rule as regent?

If it's about letting Prince Jing take charge of the government and her secretly cooperating, she can understand that.

It would allow her to stand proudly on the stage...

Is this correct?

Prince Jing's face paled, and he immediately probed, "Mother, my brother's condition is still unclear. Is it... perhaps inappropriate to appoint a regent now?"

He was genuinely scared.

Over the years, his other brothers have either died or become disabled.

He is able to live to this day as a carefree prince entirely because he is His Majesty's brother and is law-abiding enough.

Now they've suddenly made him regent...

The Empress Dowager said in a deep voice, "This is His Majesty's will, and it is also my will. I summoned you here today simply to prepare you mentally."

"Yunrui understands."

"Your subject understands."

Both of them bowed in response.

"Alright," the Empress Dowager waved her hand, leaning wearily back in her chair. "Prince Jing will stay in the palace tonight. Matters concerning His Majesty must not be divulged for the time being. Also, regarding Ye Qingmei... Yunrui, you go and handle it."

"Yes."

The two left the room.

Prince Jing was led by palace servants to another hall for accommodation, while Li Yunrui went straight back to Guangxin Palace.

After the two left, Hong Sixiang asked, somewhat puzzled, "Empress Dowager, why tell them now? What if they harbor rebellious intentions...?"

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor, who was frowning on the bed, and said softly, "Telling them now is both to let them prepare and to test them."

"Testing?" Hong Sixiang didn't understand.

The Empress Dowager continued slowly, "If the Emperor doesn't survive, even if they harbor rebellious intentions, there's nothing they can do. But if the Emperor survives..."

The Empress Dowager didn't finish her sentence, but Hong Sixiang understood...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The main hall of Guangxin Palace.

The candlelight cast a play of light and shadow on Li Yunrui's face, and the curves of her figure beneath her dark palace dress were faintly visible in the interplay of light and shadow.

She slowly recounted what had happened in Chang Le Palace, her voice still gentle, yet carrying a subtle, barely suppressed tremor.

"Your Highness, you're to act as regent?!" Wu Feng and Chunmei exclaimed simultaneously.

Li Yunrui's lips slowly curved into a beautiful smile: "That's right, this is what the Empress Dowager said herself. If anything happens to His Majesty, then I and Prince Jing will jointly rule as regents."

She leaned forward slightly, her robes opening a little as she spoke: "I saw His Majesty today, and his condition... is very bad."

At this moment, Li Yunrui seemed to have completely cast aside those twisted emotions.

She now only hopes that Emperor Qing will breathe his last.

Wu Feng reacted quickly.

His meridians were shattered, yet he was still alive... This was clearly a sign of breaking through to the Grandmaster level after cultivating domineering true qi!

Thinking of this, his eyes turned cold, and a ruthless glint flashed across his face.

Li Yunrui took in his expression and became increasingly satisfied.

This little man even dares to have thoughts of killing his own ruler.

That's incredibly bold! She... really likes it.

"It won't work," she said, her voice soft enough to drip water. "Not to mention Hong Sixiang, there are at least three ninth-rank experts in Chang Le Palace now. Even though I have never cultivated, I can sense that they are not ordinary ninth-rank experts."

"Your Highness, is there really no chance at all?" Wu Feng persisted.

Li Yunrui shook her head slightly, a few strands of hair brushing against her cheek: "No. Chang Le Palace has already been surrounded by assassins mobilized by that old woman, there is absolutely no possibility for outsiders to sneak in."

"What a pity." Wu Feng sighed regretfully. If he could kill Emperor Qing now, his life would be much better in the future.

Chunmei, who was standing to the side, was terrified.

From the moment they heard that His Highness might become regent, to Wu Feng's plot to assassinate His Majesty, and the fact that His Highness seemed to share this intention...

This is all too exciting.

Li Yunrui leaned back on the soft couch, her slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest, her eyes hazy yet excited:

"However... if His Majesty were to truly die like this, it wouldn't be so bad."

Wu Feng stepped forward, naturally squatted down at her feet, and gently massaged her legs. He looked up at her and asked, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Li Yunrui stretched out her foot, and her toes, encased in plain white stockings, gently touched his chin:

"wait."

"Wait until His Majesty breathes his last, or... wait until the Empress Dowager summons him again."

A stunningly beautiful yet chilling smile bloomed on her face:

"The Empress Dowager ordered me to handle Ye Qingmei's matter. That old hag, she's testing me..."