The Untouchable Prince | A Norenmin FanFiction

一百八

One Hundred Eight
Updated: February 23, 2024

When a new emperor rises to the throne, people expect change. They expect a new set of laws, a new court of people, a new location of the capitol, a new lifestyle. They expect everything to turn out one-eighty from the previous ruler. They expect improvement or sometimes even disappointment. Whatever it is, the people, they expect a difference.

And, this new emperor. He gave them what they wanted.

Within the span of a week, the happiness of the people grew. Although the famine was still very much taking lives, things were starting to look different.

The day after his edict was announced, the refugees who had been refused entry were let into towns across the empire. They were given clothing and meals even if their stomachs were not filled. Rooms were being lent out by gracious families, inns were being paid for, and tents were being built for those who were unlucky. The sick were attended to by doctors, and those on the verge of death were brought back mercifully. The conditions in these now-refugee filled towns were certainly not good, but they were certainly better than before.

The places where famine struck were treated just as well with hungry children finally being able to stuff their faces without fighting each other for the smallest crumb of bread and without parents needing to sell their children for food.

In only a few days, the new emperor's edict became effective, whereas in the past, it could take up to a few years. The previous emperor had set the record to three weeks, but now, this new emperor outdid him. It... it was quite literally a miracle.

The Imperial Court changed as well. With seventy-three missing seats needing to be filled—another Imperial Exam would be held in a few months to replace these seats—it was rather empty inside, but even so, there were no unwanted passive-aggressive statements or comments to signal some kind of power struggle or corruption. It... it was rather stable. Those who remained followed the new emperor with their heads bowed, eyes lowered, yet chests forward. No, they didn't fear him, rather, they respected him, for only the Son of Heaven could make miracles happen.

Of the remaining two hundred or so ministers, those who responded to the emperor's request for a voluntary salary deduction, over one hundred of them gave up that thirty percent, contributing to the greater cause of helping the common.

Everything seemed well, with the people being fed and warm and the court losing its corruption. It didn't look like a single soul was suffering anymore, at least... that's what it seemed.

In the walls of the Inner Court... no- the Palace of Longlife Purity... nothing had changed besides a title. From Crown Prince to the Son of Heaven, Emperor Huang, that was all that changed in Renjun's life. Just... a title. He didn't move to the Palace of Eternal Peace, the emperor's residence, but rather he stayed in his own palace, leaving his mother to stay in her residence of nearly twenty years.

His sickness remained, taunting and haunting him for every one of his waking moments. It never left him, sticking to him like a shadow, lurking quietly and putting Renjun on edge. And, since his ascension, it seemed nothing had improved no matter what he tried to do, from forcing himself to sit in court for hours at a time or even forcing himself to step even a foot closer to his servants and guards. The upward slope he thought he had built since he returned, had plateaued.

Each court meeting, Renjun could only sit in for thirty minutes at most, when normally, they would last for at least two hours a day, before he had to excuse himself, leaving everything, once again, to his two crown prince fiancés. Each time he left, he could feel those painfully indifferent eyes as he walked out of the hall. His court disliked that their emperor left such important meetings so early, and Renjun knew that very well. He could sense it. The way a minister would freeze mid-sentence the moment Renjun got up to leave, the silence that followed when Renjun got up to leave once he was asked about a certain matter, the strict unwavering gazes that refused to look up at Renjun when he walked out.