Thunder Descends Upon Him

The sky darkened. Moments ago, the sun had still been blazing overhead; now, dark clouds blanketed the heavens.

Panic swept through the area below the Execution Platform like a tide. Heads surged in the crowd, and a constant buzz of voices filled the air.

"What happened? What was that just now?"

"Heaven is enraged! It is divine punishment—divine punishment has descended!"

"Was that Heaven's wrath just now? Because the court is going to execute the False Crown Prince?"

"But why would Heaven be angered by the execution of the 'False Crown Prince'? Didn't he deceive the sovereign and defy those above? Shouldn't his entire clan be executed?"

No one understood. No one could comprehend it, and no one was willing to believe it.

The three imperial princes and high officials presiding over the execution panicked as well.

Prince Gong had already turned around. He had only heard the deafening blast and missed the sight of the lightning strike with his own eyes. Now, he grabbed Minister of Justice Wang Wenbin. "Minister Wang, what happened?"

The Master did not speak of strange powers or chaotic spirits. Wang Wenbin was well versed in the classics and histories, and he did not believe Heaven would send down punishment for the "False Crown Prince." But what had that lightning strike been just now?

A coincidence, or the will of Heaven?

Before the eyes of the entire populace, what were they supposed to do now? Replace the executioner and continue the sentence, or suspend the execution?

But the imperial edict had already been issued. Without His Majesty's permission, who would dare postpone the execution?

Wang Wenbin cast a startled, uncertain glance at Xiao Qianyu, who was completely unharmed. Suppressing the stormy waves in his heart, he quickly explained the situation to Prince Gong in a low voice and asked for his opinion. "Your Highness, how should we proceed?"

Old fox. He was shoving the problem onto Prince Gong.

Prince Gong narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard, and drew in a cold breath through his teeth. After a moment of thought, he said, "The heavens have given a warning. Could the matter of the true and false Crown Prince be a wrongful case?"

If that were truly possible, then as an Imperial Prince, he naturally did not wish to wrongly kill the real Crown Prince.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Yu Miao, did not agree. He sternly said, "The Three Judicial Offices held a joint trial, the evidence was conclusive, and His Majesty personally approved it with his vermilion brush. Xiao Qianyu is a Traitorous Official and Rebel. Does Your Highness suspect that we arbitrarily decided the case and deceived His Majesty? I dare guarantee that nothing of the sort happened."

If such a major case involving the heir to the throne had been wrongly judged, not only would the court be thrown into upheaval, but everyone involved in handling the case would meet no good end. They absolutely could not admit it.

Prince Gong tugged at his lips in a dry laugh. "Minister Yu worries too much. That is not my meaning."

He had no intention of offending a group of officials with real power. Besides, this case had been conclusively determined by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress. Overturning it would be like slapping the faces of the three great mountains at the very top.

"But how should this be handled now? Does Minister Yu have any ideas?" Prince Gong smoothly tossed the question to Yu Miao.

Yu Miao gritted his teeth and respectfully said, "I would not dare. But in this humble official's opinion, perhaps what happened just now was merely an accident. Why not replace the executioner and continue the sentence?"

Prince Gong and Minister Wang Shangshu exchanged a glance and nodded. "Then we shall follow Minister Yu's suggestion."

At once, people were sent to soothe the citizens watching the execution and order them to quiet down, while the executioner on the platform was hurriedly dragged away and replaced.

No matter how chaotic things became on and off the platform, Xiao Qianyu remained as steady as a mountain.

He was rifling through his spatial inventory, where the Golden Fingers he had gained from traveling through various worlds had been tossed. He selected one that would be useful now.

As a supporting character, the rewards he received were always one grade inferior, forever a notch below the protagonist's. Take the Golden Finger from earlier, for example: when the protagonist summoned lightning, he could split mountains and shift seas, attack over a vast area, and rival the descent of a god.

As for him, the lightning he summoned could at most bring rain, and its attack range was even more limited. Comparing goods made one throw them away; comparing people made one die of anger.

Still, it was enough to deal with the present situation.

The Imperial Guards quickly brought in a new executioner. He was a burly man no less imposing than the previous one. Holding an inherited Executioner's Blade, he stood behind Xiao Qianyu and solemnly raised it.

This time, Prince Gong stared fixedly at the Execution Platform, his lips moving. "Execute him."

The executioner gave a grunt and swung his great blade down with all the strength he could muster.

Rumble! The black clouds boiled, thunder roared deafeningly, and wind, clouds, and thunder churned with the force of ten thousand bolts.

Prince Gong watched helplessly as a thick bolt of lightning struck down from the sky and hit the Executioner's Blade. The blade was destroyed, and the man was injured.

The only one left completely unharmed was Xiao Qianyu.

The handsome young man in prison garb remained calm and composed, immovable as a mountain. His face showed neither sorrow nor joy, as though all this earth-shaking commotion was merely noise that could not stir him in the slightest.

Why was he so calm?

Why was he not surprised?

Could it be that he had long known he was "wrongly accused"?

"Divine punishment! This is divine punishment!" The executioner fell to the ground in panic, his face filled with terror.

To ancient people, lightning was a miracle of the gods. Now, Heaven was stopping the executioner from carrying out the sentence on the "False Crown Prince"—a warning to all under heaven.

Heaven was protecting the "False Crown Prince."

Yu Miao's expression changed, and fear and panic filled his eyes.

If Heaven was protecting the "False Crown Prince," did that not mean the "False Crown Prince" was favored by Heaven, a man destined by fate? Then would not those who had judged Xiao Qianyu, declared him the "False Crown Prince," and sentenced him to execution be acting against Heaven's will—people despised by Heaven?

Were they wrong?

No. Before Heaven could even punish them, the mere fact that they had muddled the case and wronged the Crown Prince would be enough for the court to confiscate their households and exterminate their clans, leaving them dead without a burial place.

"Minister Wang, we tried this case together. How could we dare wrong the 'Crown Prince'?" In his desperation, he directly called Xiao Qianyu by the title he had used in the past and urgently said, "My lord, what should be done now? Please make a decision!"