Autumn Execution

Emperor Yongchang weakly leaned back against the headboard.

One incident after another had drained him, and the Blood Oath—which could not actually test blood relations—had dealt him an unprecedented shock.

Not wanting any more upheaval, he waved his hand and ordered, "Guards, drag this Traitor out and execute him."

Xiao Qianyì stumbled back, staring at the emperor in disbelief, panic rising in his heart—was he really going to die here?

He looked pleadingly at the Empress, who had always spoken to him gently and cared for him; surely she wouldn't watch him die?

The Empress bit her lip uneasily, then lowered her gaze to avoid his eyes.

The Second Prince, the palace attendants, the eunuchs—all those who had once bowed and smiled at him—now cast looks of contempt and schadenfreude.

No one could save him.

No, there was someone.

Xiao Qianyì dropped to his knees before the Empress Dowager with a thud: "Imperial Grand—no, Empress Dowager, I am truly innocent. I believed I was of the Royal Bloodline. You know this—if the palace hadn't sent for me, I wouldn't even have known what was happening. I was kept in the dark from start to finish!"

Why had his adoptive parents done these things without consulting him? Why hadn't they left more evidence proving he was the emperor's son?

"And during the Three Judicial Offices' trial, my adoptive mother did indeed swap a child out of the palace—there were many doubts in that case. Besides, even if the Blood Oath can't prove I'm related to His Majesty, it also can't prove I'm not!" Xiao Qianyì refused to die so easily, cleverly seizing on the loophole.

The Empress Dowager's eyelids trembled, a flicker of sympathy in her eyes. She turned to Emperor Yongchang: "Emperor, everything must be based on solid evidence. In my view, we should investigate carefully and thoroughly. What if this child was snatched by that couple from someone else? What if he too is a victim? Or what if there's a deeper conspiracy?" She sighed. "If we make another mistake, a dead life can never be brought back. Will you then issue an Edict of Self-Blame?"

One mistake after another—that was no different from a tyrant.

This time, blame could be shifted to incompetent officials, but next time? Lose virtue and lose hearts, and the throne would be unstable.

Xiao Qianyu sneered and spoke: "Imperial Grandmother's words, I dare not agree with. Heaven has already manifested to prove my innocence. If Imperial Grandmother still harbors doubts, is she questioning Heaven's clarity, or even defying the will of our ancestors?"

The Empress Dowager's face changed: "I meant no such thing."

Xiao Qianyu pressed on relentlessly: "Then what does Imperial Grandmother mean? Are you not shielding him? The product of a conspiracy, an 'Evil Spirit' warned of by Heaven—one should be eager to eliminate him, yet Imperial Grandmother repeatedly pleads for him. It makes me wonder if you've already been bewitched by him."

"How dare you! Preposterous!" The Empress Dowager trembled with rage, pointing at Xiao Qianyu. "You—how dare you speak to me like this?"

Where was his former filial piety and obedience? Now he was defying his elders.

Xiao Qianyu gave a mocking smile, unmoved by the Empress Dowager's fury.

After staging such a grand spectacle of Divine Protection, if he still had to grovel and be deferential to others, those thunderbolts would have been wasted.

And what about the Empress Dowager was worthy of his respect? Her blatant favoritism toward the protagonist? Or her disdain for his status as Crown Prince?

An Empress Dowager whose stance clearly sided with the protagonist—there was no need to flatter or respect her.

Emperor Yongchang's eyes also held suspicion. Matters involving an 'Evil Spirit' demanded caution: "Mother, must you insist on saving him? A mere commoner, who falsely claimed Royal Bloodline and enjoyed the Imperial Family's riches—even if innocent, am I not allowed to kill him?"

Killed was killed—why was the Empress Dowager so insistent on protecting him?

More importantly, Xiao Qianyì was an 'Evil Spirit.' Could he be more important than the emperor himself, the supreme sovereign? The Empress Dowager's repeated obstruction truly displeased Emperor Yongchang.

The Empress Dowager lowered her eyelids. She knew she could no longer forcefully protect Xiao Qianyì, or she would be suspected of being bewitched by the Evil Spirit, and Xiao Qianyì would die even faster.

With a sigh, the Empress Dowager's eyes showed sorrow: "It's just that I've grown fond of this child. These few months with him have been the only days of comfort and joy I've had. I cannot bear to see him die innocently."

Emperor Yongchang neither believed nor disbelieved, but said with restraint: "Then what does Mother truly want?"

If not necessary, Emperor Yongchang did not wish to anger his mother.

The Empress Dowager blinked: "For the sake of his devoted service to me, let him be temporarily imprisoned and allowed to live a few more months. Execute him in the autumn."

She closed her eyes as if unable to bear it.

Emperor Yongchang hesitated. Delaying the Autumn Execution by a few months was acceptable, but first he would summon the Guardian Temple's high monks to perform a purification ritual and ensure keeping him alive would not bring disaster.

Emperor Yongchang agreed and nodded: "Very well, then I will follow Mother's words. Let him live a few more months, and be executed in the autumn."

Xiao Qianyì was dazed, caught between joy and sorrow—joy that he wouldn't die immediately, sorrow that he had only a few months left to live before death came anyway.