They Were All Fakes!

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Lister, along with Assistant Commander Li and his entourage, finally arrived in the Imperial City.

The Brocade Guard truly lived up to its reputation as the secret service agency of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty, passing through each city without any hindrance.

Local officials rushed to arrange transportation, eager to get rid of these plague-ridden people.

"Count Merrick, I must return to report first, so I will take my leave now."

"Regarding your diplomatic affairs, officials from the Court of State Ceremonial will be looking for you. If all goes well, you should be summoned within the next few days."

Seeing Assistant Commander Li clasp his hands in greeting, Lister, though unwilling, calmly nodded and watched him lead his team away.

During the past two weeks, he had been keeping a close eye on this Assistant Commander Li and had secretly tested him several times.

We couldn't find any unusual communication between the other party and anyone.

Even before entering the city yesterday, Lister took the opportunity of drinking with Li Tongzhi to secretly confirm that the visualization diagram in Assistant Commander Li's room, which was prepared for reporting back, was still the fake diagram.

Ultimately, things didn't go as he expected, and now everything needs to be reconsidered.

This was Lister's first time visiting the Imperial City of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty. The city was bustling with activity, with numerous markets and hamlets.

Along the way, Lister also saw many wooden mechanical dolls.

Compared to the Kingdom of Lucian, which combined alchemy with steam technology, the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty focused more on combining it with mechanical engineering, along with a small amount of firearms.

"May I ask if you are Count Merrick of the Kingdom of Lucian?"

A group of people dressed in fine clothes walked towards us; they must be officials from the Court of State Ceremonial.

"I am Qi Yuan, and I hold the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Court of State Ceremonial."

"Count Merrick, please follow me. We have arranged accommodations. I need to explain the court assembly ceremony to you in detail."

The Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, who is considered the second-in-command of the Court of State Ceremonial, was able to take the initiative to seek out Lister, probably because he had previously killed the Bloodmane Spirit Bear in Jiangxia Prefecture.

As envoys, the accommodations arranged by the Court of State Ceremonial were very close to the actual Imperial City, practically just across the street.

A luxuriously decorated three-courtyard house, it's truly a comfortable place to live.

Inside the main hall, Qi Vice Minister Qi explained a great deal about etiquette when attending court to Lister.

It was quite complicated, and by the time he finished speaking, it was already getting dark.

The day of attending court came much sooner than Lister had anticipated; on the very second day, he was already brought to court by Vice Minister Qi.

Finally, I got to see the emperor of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty, Yongping Emperor, Xiong Zhang.

He was over sixty years old, but looked relatively young, with a small mustache.

He wore a faint smile, but it didn't convey any sense of friendliness; on the contrary, it gave off the air of a spoiled brat's frivolousness.

His gaze held a deep shadow of gloom and coldness.

Even if he simply sat quietly on the dragon throne, the officials below dared not utter a sound, showing utmost reverence.

Lister gave Yongping Emperor a quick scan; he was a level 33 Class Holder, not weak, but posed no threat to him.

"Commander Qiu, have your three subordinates tell us about the loss of the Imperial Court Secret Treasure."

Having said that, Yongping Emperor began to squint, propping his head up with one hand on the dragon bed, looking utterly bored.

Two deputy commanders and one assistant commander from the Brocade Guard immediately stepped forward to report.

It was only then that Lister learned that there were actually three secret treasures lost by the court.

The Yellow Court Saber Art Visualization Method is only one aspect; there are also the Nine Heavens Sword Art and the Dark Iron Inner Armor.

At the same time, the three thieves, Marquis of Courage and Resolve, Count of Awe and Reach, Count of Eternal Prosperity, were already kneeling in the very center of the main hall.

Lister became increasingly puzzled. These three men were not nobles from the same state; how could they have conspired together to steal the Imperial Court Secret Treasure?

Just thinking about it makes it seem impossible; communication is out of the question, and taking action would be even more difficult.

The idea that three nobles from all corners of the country would abandon their fiefdoms and join forces to steal these three treasures is almost absurd.

However, no ministers in the hall spoke up to refute the statement, and some of them even Lister uncontrollably, making the matter seem increasingly perplexing.

Lister did not believe that the officials of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty were only of this caliber. At this moment, he suppressed his doubts and continued to observe in silence.

"Have you found everything?"

"Your Majesty, all three treasures have been recovered without exception."

The Brocade Guard commander handed over a scroll and a secret manual, and also opened a box that had been prepared in front of him.

Inside was a pure black suit of armor, the very same Dark Iron Inner Armor.

"Hmm! Now that the item has been found, let's put it back in the inner vault."

Yongping Emperor glanced indifferently at the three treasures before him and waved his hand casually.

Chief Steward Xia had already given the order for the other eunuchs to move the things away.

As these three treasures were moved away from him, Lister's pupils suddenly contracted subconsciously, his heart filled with shock.

There was no other reason than that he had just used the system to scan the three treasures that had passed by, and the result...

"Congratulations, you have discovered 'Yellow Court Saber Art Visualization Method)', 'Nine Heavens Sword Art)', and 'Dark Iron Inner Armor)'."

That's right, all three treasures were fakes; none of them were genuine.

This caught Lister somewhat off guard. Could it be that the Great Chu's Imperial Court Secret Treasure had been lost long ago, and had always been a forged imitation?

Impossible! This idea was immediately dismissed by Lister.

If even Wu Yan could distinguish between genuine and counterfeit items, there's no reason why the court couldn't.

Recalling how Assistant Commander Li initially insisted on attributing the painting to the Marquis of Courage and Resolve, and how none of the court officials present today have uttered a word.

A bold guess emerged in Lister's mind.

Could it be that this whole thing was orchestrated by Yongping Emperor himself?

By using three counterfeit treasures to convict the three people in front of him, Assistant Commander Li must have known that the Yellow Court Saber Art Visualization Method was a forgery from the very beginning.

Therefore, none of the officials present pleaded for the three men, clearly indicating that most of them were aware of the situation.

However, there was one thing Lister couldn't figure out based on this conjecture.

As the emperor of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty, if he only wanted to deal with three noble families from the border regions, wouldn't he have just come directly? Was it really necessary to go through all this trouble?

Or was Yongping Emperor's true intention not with these three individuals, but with something else entirely?

"Your Majesty, there are many suspicious circumstances surrounding the Imperial Court Secret Treasures."

"The Marquis of Courage and Resolve and the other two are all border soldiers who have long fought against demonic beasts. Your Majesty, I implore you to punish them leniently!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out abruptly in the hall.

A young man dressed in bright yellow knelt down before the three men.

If he refers to himself as "your subject" and can still attend court, he must be the current crown prince of the Great Chu Imperial Dynasty.

Yongping Emperor merely glanced at the Crown Prince indifferently, without uttering a word, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

Hehe~!

After a long while, Yongping Emperor's cold laugh finally rang out.

"Truly my good son! So loyal and devoted!"

"I really thought you would stand idly by today and treat these three as expendable pawns!"

"Your Majesty~!"

"I implore you to be lenient with these three individuals."

The crown prince, prostrate on the throne, spoke with a trembling voice, yet he persisted in his plea.

Yongping Emperor was a man of unpredictable temper; one moment he was laughing, and the next his face had turned completely gloomy.

Looking at her son in front of her, there was not a trace of tenderness in her eyes.

"As the crown prince, you secretly collude with soldiers from the border states, and you still have the nerve to come and beg me?"

"What? How about I let you sit here today?"

"Your Majesty! Your son dares not!"

Seeing Yongping Emperor's furious expression, the Crown Prince prostrated himself even lower.

The court officials all lowered their heads in tacit agreement, none daring to utter a single word, for fear of getting involved in the Crown Prince's affairs.

"I gave you so much time before, why didn't you come to me to beg for mercy?"

"Now that we've already arrived at this grand hall, it's already too late!"

"Someone come here!"