Chapter 246: Transfer Of Power In Southern Mu (1/2)

The other officials laughed. “That's right. The fourth prince seems like a good candidate. He's polite and friendly to others. While the second prince and the third prince were at each other's throat, he stayed loyally at the emperor's side, attending to his needs as he recovered. Never has the young prince done anything untoward. Besides, no one knows exactly what happened during the second prince's coup. Whatever we say does nothing but to challenge the authority.”

Another man who believed that Qi Yun had been pulling the strings spoke up, “The rule of thumb is to ask who's the one who benefits. Think about it. The fourth prince must be the one behind everything. He just managed to hide from us until now. It's chilling to think of the possibility, doesn't it?”

The room fell silent. No one could come to an agreement, but the points brought up were worthy of consideration. As the man had said, Qi Yun was the one who ended up benefiting. He seemed to have done nothing, and yet he became the biggest winner. That shouldn't happen to a young man obsessed with arts and literature. Perhaps he truly was the shrewdest of all the princes.

The officials broke into sweat. A trace of doubt snuck into their hearts. They feared that they might suffer the same fate as Qi Chen if they got on Qi Yun's bad side.

The officials had agreed to stay put until the emperor decided on the crown prince. They'd see where the currents go. The one thing they mustn't do was to offend Qi Yun. Even those who had been friendly with Qi Yun started dreading him.

Nan Xun and Jun Huang could feel the atmosphere in the imperial city growing tense. There must be something they were missing, but they couldn't figure out what it was. Jun Huang had the House of Heavenly Fiends keep an eye on where the courtiers went after the morning meetings.

An uninvited guest came to Nan Xun's doorstep. Jun Huang shot to her feet when Nan Jihan showed up with Nan Xun, her brows knitted tightly.

Nan Xun explained hurriedly, “He came to me on the street claiming to have urgent business to discuss with us. I reckon it's better to have the conversation here than in public, so I took him here.”

Nan Jihan knew why Jun Huang was this displeased by his presence. He'd done unforgivable things. It'd be odd if she'd forgotten. He couldn't stand the tense atmosphere. He took a step forward and cupped his hands. “This gentleman has crossed a line back then. I hope you may forgive me.”

She considered him without a word. He was dressed plainly, followed by only two guards. It seemed that he'd come on his own accord rather being invited here.

“What did Your Highness visit us so suddenly for?” Jun Huang sat down and looked away, showing him no respect. Her voice was cold enough to cut.

Nan Jihan looked at her, his thoughts a tangled mess. It'd been a few days since he came to Northern Qi. He'd heard rumors about Jun Huang and Nan Xun. He didn't want to believe the rumors, but now he saw for himself that the two of them were living together. It pained him.

After a long stretch of silence, he said, “I came uninvited because I'm in dire need of you and Prince Nan's help.”

Jun Huang and Nan Xun exchanged a look. Nan Xun asked, “What is it?”

Nan Jihan looked at the servants in the room hesitantly. Nan Xun got the message and dismissed them. “Your Highness may be honest with us. It doesn't matter even if the servants hear you. They're loyal to me.”

Nan Jihan waved a hand in the air. “Your Highness has misunderstood. That's not what I'm worried about. It's just difficult to say what I need your help for.”

Jun Huang rolled her eyes. His indecisiveness stoked the fire in her heart. She said harshly, “Your Highness may be frank. No need to beat around the bush. Or perhaps you never intend to be honest with us? If so, we won't ask you anything.”

Nan Jihan paused. He threw his reservation out of the window and admitted, “I'd like to ask Prince Nan to lend me some troops to help me become the emperor.”

Jun Huang and Nan Xun were shocked. That wasn't what they expected, and the decision couldn't be made lightly. Nan Jihan knew that as well. He didn't ask for an answer and simply told them where he'd be staying. Once Nan Xun made up his mind, they'd talk.

Nan Xun and Jun Huang were still reeling from what they heard after Nan Jihan's departure. The world was indeed in an unstable state. Nan Xun looked up at her and asked, “What do you think?”

“This can have serious repercussions,” she said calmly. “Northern Qi's far from stable now. The emperor's extremely sensitive after what Qi Chen did. We can't be sure that the emperor won't get suspicious of us if we do something. Besides, Nan Jihan went over the emperor and came straight to us. We have to think carefully before we act to avoid backlash.”

Nan Xun nodded in agreement. Nan Jihan had come personally, however, and they were allies. Bluntly turning him down wouldn't be appropriate. They couldn't say yes, but they couldn't say no either. It was a difficult decision to make.