Ceding the Heir Position, Simon Sun as Lead Surgeon

Early the next morning, Ninth Royal Uncle was already prepared to be reprimanded by the Emperor. But...

The Emperor was even more timid than Nolan had imagined. When he woke up in the morning and realized he’d spent the night clutching a corpse, he fainted on the spot from fright.

With the Emperor fallen ill, morning court was naturally suspended. Prince Rowan and Prince Jason were both fuming, but had nowhere to vent their anger—they had to rush into the palace to pay respects and gather news.

This sudden illness—what exactly happened to the Emperor? Would he die? How much longer could he hold on?

It wasn’t that they cared so much about the Emperor’s health; it was just that if the Emperor died right now, the Crown Prince would immediately inherit the throne. The Crown Prince hadn’t been deposed yet—even the Emperor couldn’t block his succession. If the Emperor died at this moment, all their schemes would have been for nothing.

Granted, the Crown Prince had a heart condition—it would be easy enough to outlast him. But if, at the last moment, he handed the throne to Ninth Royal Uncle or Felix Dongling, who would they complain to then?

The calculating looks on Rowan and Jason’s faces were almost laughable in Nolan’s eyes.

There is no real affection in the imperial clan—father and son are little more than strangers.

So you want to depose the Crown Prince, do you? Fine... This is the perfect chance to distract the Emperor.

Nolan had long told the Crown Prince to voluntarily request removal from the heir position, but with Nolan’s life and death uncertain, the Crown Prince hadn’t acted and the matter had stalled. Now...

“Let the Crown Prince stir up the waters in the Capital a bit more. Now that the Emperor is sick, by the time he recovers and sees the Crown Prince’s memorial, he’ll be too busy to worry about my business.”

The Crown Prince is the future Emperor—his deposition or appointment is a matter of utmost importance. Not just the Emperor, Rowan, and Jason, but every minister in court is watching closely.

With the Crown Prince himself requesting abdication, the court will be in an uproar for a long time.

After all, you can’t just depose without appointing a successor—removing a Crown Prince is easy, but choosing a new one is much harder.

With his mind made up, Nolan would not allow the Crown Prince to refuse—the matter had to be put on the agenda. Only when Eastlyn was thrown into chaos could he focus on heading to Northlyn with Serena to search for those who might be Phoenixfield Clan members.

Meanwhile, at the Southriver Villa, the Crown Prince was also agonizing over the same issue.

"Felix, do you think I should finally submit the memorial? In Jiangnan, I only provide my status—most affairs are handled by you, and I’ve gotten used to following your advice."

"Brother, I've told you before—you should have submitted it ages ago. You shouldn't cling to the position of Crown Prince." Felix Dongling replied while feeding his pet lion, taking a moment to answer the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince looked conflicted: "But I can’t bear to let it go. I put in so much effort to keep the title—how can I just hand it over to someone else?"

Felix Dongling picked up a chunk of bloody meat and said irritably, "Brother, you put in just as much effort curing your heart disease—if it flares up again, will you still be so unwilling to let go?"

The Crown Prince had no answer—compared to his life, the title of Crown Prince suddenly seemed meaningless.

"Without the status of Crown Prince, can we really hold Jiangnan?" After so long living in comfort there, he had no desire to return to the Capital.

Their control of Jiangnan depended on the Crown Prince’s status—and on the troops in Felix Dongling’s hands.

Power comes from the barrel of a gun—no matter the era, that rule holds true.

"Let the Emperor formally grant Jiangnan to the two of us as our joint hereditary fief." The six provinces of Jiangnan would be too much for just the Crown Prince, but split between the two of them, it was just right.

Besides, Felix didn’t have a fief of his own anyway.

The Crown Prince nodded weakly, as if making a momentous decision: "Fine, I’ll submit the memorial. But... with Ninth Royal Uncle’s fate uncertain, is this really the right time?"

Truthfully, the Crown Prince still wanted to stall—maybe he could delay until his father died and ascend the throne after all. He wasn’t about to die young now, anyway.

"Brother, I told you—you have to submit the memorial precisely because Ninth Royal Uncle is in trouble. Don’t forget, you have few allies left in the Capital. Without Ninth Royal Uncle holding the line for you, how long can you keep the heir’s seat? Better to yield voluntarily and earn a good reputation." After so long in Jiangnan, Felix Dongling had grown much more relaxed, far less cautious than in the Capital.

Years spent in the military had made Felix blunt and forthright—he spoke his mind. The Crown Prince had gotten used to it and, instead of being offended, actually considered his words seriously. In the end, he made up his mind and went to his room to write the abdication memorial.

The gist was that his health was poor and he was unfit to be heir. For the sake of Eastlyn’s stability, he earnestly asked the Emperor to appoint someone else. To recover, he needed to stay in Jiangnan long-term, so he requested the region be made a joint hereditary fief for him and Felix Dongling, and pledged not to return to the Capital without imperial summons.

This move would completely cut off any chance of ascending the throne.

After finishing, the Crown Prince read the memorial through one last time, his eyes dim. He wanted to burn it, again and again, but in the end he sealed it up and ordered it sent to the Capital at once.

Looking back, the Crown Prince was immensely proud—this was the one truly right decision he’d ever made. Because of it, Ninth Royal Uncle finally trusted him completely.

When Nolan’s fate was uncertain and everyone around him was betraying him, the Crown Prince still chose to stand by his side—a kind of courage not everyone possessed.

This act not only proved his loyalty but also got Nolan out of a tight spot. Afterwards, Nolan treated the Crown Prince well—he didn’t make him Emperor, but he did ensure him a lifetime of wealth and peace.

Nolan’s letter had just been sent out when the Crown Prince’s abdication memorial arrived at the palace. But because of the Emperor’s grave illness, it wasn’t read right away.

The Emperor’s illness was a major event—not only did Rowan and the others have to pause their campaign against Nolan, even Serena’s visit to the palace to greet Imperial Noble Consort Helena Hsieh had to be put on hold.

Serena could only send word into the palace, telling Helena Hsieh she’d returned to the Capital and that the young prince’s cleft lip could now be treated. It would be best to bring the child to Feng Manor for surgery.

Serena explained her reasons: her own hands were still injured from the recent accident and hadn’t healed yet, so the lead surgeon would be Simon Sun, son of Sun Zhengdao and her apprentice.

Serena reassured Helena Hsieh: Simon Sun’s skills were even better than hers. With him operating, the young prince’s condition would be no problem—and she would supervise throughout.

Nolan and Serena had both been injured and bedridden for a month, so it was understandable that Serena’s hands were still recovering.

When Imperial Noble Consort Helena Hsieh received the news, she hesitated. She knew Simon Sun’s reputation as the Little Divine Doctor was well deserved, but she only truly trusted Serena.

Helena Hsieh said she could wait—she’d wait until Serena’s hands healed.

But Serena disagreed: the young prince’s condition couldn’t wait any longer. He needed surgery while he was still young—if they delayed, the deformity would become much more obvious, and there was no telling when her hands would heal.

Helena Hsieh had no choice but to agree. She promised to do her best to get the Emperor’s permission for the prince to leave the palace for treatment. If not, Simon Sun and Serena would have to come into the palace instead.

Serena didn’t mind either way—she left everything up to Helena Hsieh.

She knew Helena Hsieh’s position was precarious—the Emperor no longer favored her, and she had little standing in the palace.

During the Emperor’s three-day illness, Serena and Helena Hsieh had already discussed the prince’s surgery in detail. As soon as the Emperor recovered, they would proceed...