Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 607: Support (Part 2)

Jiang Shaohua considered his thoughts carefully.

Wang Jin cried for a while, his emotions barely steadying. He turned to ask the Imperial Physician beside him: "Doctor Fei, is there any hope for my father?"

Among the more than twenty Imperial Physicians at the Imperial Hospital, Doctor Ji’s medical skills were the most exquisite and highly trusted. No one expected that Doctor Ji would be secretly corrupted by Jiang Yi, committing a deed that could lead to the extermination of nine generations of his family.

The remaining Imperial Physicians, one by one, were on edge, fearing that Doctor Ji might falsely accuse them while in prison, causing them to be implicated. Fortunately, the palace coup both began and ended swiftly, and the physicians were all fortunate to be safe and still of great use.

Doctor Fei was also an old Imperial Physician with excellent skills, good at treating external injuries, and was sent to treat Prime Minister Wang. Prime Minister Wang had been in a high fever and unconscious, and Doctor Fei did not dare close his eyes for a moment.

"Replying to Wang She Ren," Doctor Fei carefully chose his words: "The Prime Minister was shot through the left shoulder, lost a lot of blood, and was not treated in time. He still has a high fever and is unconscious. I applied the best wound medicine, combined with acupuncture, and every hour wiped the Prime Minister’s body with warm water. In theory, the Prime Minister should not be in danger of dying."

The implication was clear; it was highly probable that Prime Minister Wang’s life could be saved, but whether he would be left with any disability was uncertain.

This was already better than Wang Jin had expected.

Wang Jin wiped his eyes and bowed to thank Doctor Fei. Doctor Fei repeatedly bowed in return.

Jiang Shaohua listened to this and nodded slightly, saying to Doctor Fei, "Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Fei."

Doctor Fei was eager to bow deeply to the ground: "Commandery Princess, please don’t say that, I am overwhelmed with fear."

On the day Jiang Shaohua quelled the rebellion, he skewered the rebel Gao Shan with a spear, killed Jiang Yi, and also killed Wei Xiong, slaughtering people mercilessly and achieving enormous merits.

Anyone with eyes and some sense could see that the Commandery Princess was sure to be the future ruler. Doctor Fei dared not stand up straight in front of the Commandery Princess.

Jiang Shaohua said to Wang Jin, "The Prime Minister has not yet awakened, you should stay here with the Prime Minister, and any matters can wait until he wakes."

Wang Jin nodded in agreement, watching Jiang Shaohua leave.

The moment the door closed, Wang Jin’s eyes inexplicably heated, and tears flowed again.

He cried hard as if to cry out all the panic and turmoil of the past two days, and mourn for the friends who had died.

Emperor Taihe died in a conspiracy, Li Boyuan died at the hands of Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi died under Jiang Shaohua’s spear. Zheng Chen was still alive but would surely die if caught.

From all the childhood companions, only he was left.

His clothing was lightly tugged.

Wang Jin cried until he hiccupped, looked down, and his tears stopped immediately as he exclaimed with utter joy: "Father!"

Prime Minister Wang had actually woken up!

Prime Minister Wang opened his misty old eyes, fatigued and weak, yet staring intently at his son’s face, his lips moved, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible.

Wang Jin guessed what the Prime Minister wanted to ask just from the lip movements and immediately whispered: "The palace chaos has been pacified, Jiang Yi was killed by the Commandery Princess, unfortunately, Zheng Chen escaped."

Prime Minister Wang’s brow eased a little as Wang Jin continued: "The Heroic Guard Camp’s troops have arrived, the Imperial Army has also entered the Capital City, father need not worry, the situation is indeed stable."

Prime Minister Wang slowly exhaled a sigh of relief, thinking of something unknown, his brow began to wrinkle again, tremulously.

Wang Jin didn’t rush to speak, he glanced upward. The perceptive Doctor Fei immediately withdrew, as did two eunuchs.

Only Wang Jin and his father remained in the chamber.

Prime Minister Wang laboriously squeezed out a few words: "In the future, who will be the Prime Minister?"

Wang Jin leaned his ear closer to barely hear, feeling a bit sour in his heart.

Prime Minister Wang was originally supposed to hold on for another decade or so, planning to have Wang Jin naturally succeed him as Prime Minister after gaining seniority. Unfortunately, a sudden palace coup left Prime Minister Wang severely injured. Even if his life were barely saved, he could no longer handle political affairs as the Da Liang Chancellor.

This meant that the Prime Minister Faction would need to put forward another leader to secure a foothold in future court politics.

Holding power alone seemed unlikely now. With Jiang Shaohua’s forceful methods, she would surely suppress factional officials in the Prime Minister Faction.

The best result would be to evenly split power with the Empress Dowager Faction or the Princess Party.

"Father has just awoken from a serious injury, he should rest well and not worry about these matters," Wang Jin encouraged, "The Commandery Princess came to see father earlier, and in my view, her attitude was relatively gentle. The real damage from this palace chaos was to the Zheng Family, we really have nothing urgent."

Prime Minister Wang furrowed his brow, staring at Wang Jin.

Wang Jin instinctively looked away.

Prime Minister Wang was beside himself with anger, reaching out to grab Wang Jin’s hand with all his might: "You... you want to side with Jiang Shaohua? Over my dead body."

Seeing the veins throbbing on Prime Minister Wang’s forehead in anger, Wang Jin dared not speak honestly and quickly said, "That would never happen. A man of honor cannot submit to a woman. Rest assured, Father, I will not bow or relent."

At most, there was allegiance. Loyalty of a minister was a duty, not truly bowing or yielding.

Prime Minister Wang, suddenly awake, was too weak and became overly emotional, soon fainting again.

Wang Jin was frightened and hurried to call Doctor Fei back. Doctor Fei busied himself, applying needles and administering medicine without further word.

...

With the army entering the Capital City, the situation was settled, and Jiang Shaohua’s taut nerves finally relaxed, fatigue swept over her.

Grand Empress Dowager Zheng showed some conscience, instructing Jiang Shaohua to have a good rest.

Imperial Concubine Fan also softly said: "The Commandery Princess has worked hard, having not slept for two days, rest assured and take a break."

Again with that tone of the Empress Dowager about to ascend.

Grand Empress Dowager Zheng frowned slightly, casting a glance over.

Imperial Concubine Fan’s heart tightened, immediately closing her mouth.

Jiang Shaohua did not insist, she replied and opened her mouth. Cui Du immediately stood up, supporting Jiang Shaohua as they walked towards the chambers.

Song Yuan and his trusted aides followed closely.

Imperial Concubine Fan discreetly glanced at that tall and resolute silhouette, quickly lowering her eyes.

There were dozens of chambers in Zhaohai Palace, most of which were originally empty but had been occupied by injured officials in the past two days, with only two vacant. Cui Du opened the door to the innermost chamber.

Song Yuan and the others went to the adjoining chamber for a brief rest. They also hadn’t slept for two days and nights, and some were even injured, so now they were particularly exhausted as they relaxed.

Cui Du carefully helped Jiang Shaohua lie down on the bed: "Shao Hua, I will go fetch an Imperial Physician to check your pulse."

Today, Jiang Shaohua’s stomach had been uncomfortable several times, with a faint urge to vomit, unable to eat, and she was particularly fatigued. Now lying on the bed, her whole body felt weak, and her voice was filled with weariness: "No need to call the Imperial Physician."