Beaten to Death with Rods

Steam rose and mist curled through the air.

Xiao Qianyu sat with his eyes closed in the bathtub. Fragrant medicinal herbs had been added to the water, soothing him from head to toe. His body grew warm, and his mind relaxed considerably.

Seeing sweat bead on his forehead, Qinxin carefully approached with a towel to wipe it away, only to suddenly meet Xiao Qianyu's open eyes.

Qinxin stammered, "Your Highness, this servant—this servant wanted to wipe away your sweat."

What kind of eyes were those? Cold and indifferent, chilling anyone who looked into them to the bone. They held not a trace of emotion.

So strange, so unfamiliar!

The Crown Prince's eyes had never been like this before. They had been bright and warm, his dark pupils seeming to sparkle with stars, making anyone who looked at them feel warm inside.

Naturally, Qinxin didn't suspect that Xiao Qianyu had been possessed or anything of the sort. He only felt heartbroken, thinking that His Highness the Crown Prince must have endured some horrifying upheaval and unknown hardships that had changed his temperament.

Xiao Qianyu lowered his eyelids, hiding the chill in his gaze.

He had thought that after receiving the plot concerning Shumo, he would soon recall the original body's memories. But he hadn't expected his mind to remain completely blank.

Shumo's storyline unfolded from his perspective. It wasn't that it couldn't help Xiao Qianyu, but it didn't describe how the original body had been switched at birth and replaced as the Empress's eldest legitimate son, who had planned it, or how they had pulled it off.

When the Empress of an entire empire gave birth, the palace maids and matrons at her side, along with the guards and eunuchs outside, should have kept the place sealed tight. How the eldest legitimate son could still have been so easily switched under layers of palace security was utterly inconceivable.

The original body's true identity and who his birth parents were remained a complete mystery to Xiao Qianyu.

He lifted some water and watched the droplets fall. Since the Three Judicial Offices had conducted a joint investigation and the evidence was conclusive, they must have thoroughly investigated the whole affair. It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to see the case files himself and get to the bottom of what had happened between the true and False Crown Princes.

By the usual logic of a story, anyone capable of replacing the protagonist and stealing his identity was bound to be a villain. Most likely, it was someone from the False Crown Prince's family.

Ordinary people wouldn't do something like that unless they stood to gain from it.

Now that the False Crown Prince had been caught, wouldn't their plot have been exposed?

They had committed such a heinous crime, one that warranted the execution of an entire clan. Surely they'd already been caught and beheaded, their whole household wiped out.

Hopefully not. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as they were against the protagonist, Xiao Qianyu wanted to bring them over to his side.

Besides, in most worlds, side characters did no more than switch the identities of a true and false heiress or young master. These people had gone all out and created a true and False Crown Prince.

Side characters with such ambition and vision were definitely worth meeting, if he got the chance.

Xiao Qianyu instructed, "Send someone to the Ministry of Justice. Tell them I want to see the case files from the Three Judicial Offices' investigation, and have them make a copy and send it over."

There was no need to agonize over it. He was now indisputably the Crown Prince, protected by the divine. If he wanted to know the details of the case, he could simply have someone bring them to him.

Qinxin was delighted to be of use and immediately agreed. "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away."

"Wait. If they refuse, ask whether they've caught the mastermind behind the attempt on my life at the Execution Grounds," Xiao Qianyu added.

"A-an assassination..." Qinxin began to cry again, his voice breaking as he sobbed, "Your Highness, Your Highness, you've suffered so much."

Xiao Qianyu didn't take it to heart. "Go take care of it."

"Yes." Qinxin carelessly wiped the tears from his face and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment..." Xiao Qianyu suddenly called out.

Qinxin stopped at once and looked at him eagerly. "Does Your Highness have any other orders?"

Xiao Qianyu paused, then said, "Pass a message to the Ministry of Justice. Father Emperor issued an order forbidding them to torture me or harm my body, yet someone defied that order. Tell them to arrest the person responsible. If they can't do it within three days, they shouldn't blame me for making trouble for them."

From the way Emperor Yongchang and the Empress had acted earlier, they clearly hadn't wanted anyone to torture or humiliate the original body. And yet someone had done it in secret. Unless that person was found and dealt with, Xiao Qianyu wouldn't be able to eat or sleep in peace.

They had tortured the original body and still expected to get away unscathed? What a ridiculous dream.

Qinxin sniffled and tried hard to hold back his tears, biting his lip so forcefully he nearly drew blood.

A subject would rather die than let his sovereign be dishonored. Someone had trampled on and humiliated the Crown Prince, and Qinxin hated that he hadn't been there to take the beating in his place.

Xiao Qianyu thought for a moment, then instructed, "Also tell Shumo to find someone to keep an eye on that treacherous False Imperial Prince. If anything unusual happens, report it immediately."

Would the protagonist really wait obediently for Autumn Execution? Xiao Qianyu had his doubts.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had no further orders, Qinxin finally slipped away on quiet feet to arrange everything.

He was just a little timid and rather simple-minded, but he had been the original body's personal eunuch. After careful training, he was still quite capable.

Before long, Qinxin returned to the bathing room and reported in a low voice, "Your Highness, this servant has already given the orders."

Xiao Qianyu nodded, then asked in an apparently casual tone, "By the way, what was that treacherous bastard's name again?"

Poor him—he still didn't know the protagonist's name.

Qinxin knew this. He cautiously glanced at Xiao Qianyu's expression. "I heard that the traitor's original surname was Chu. Later, His Majesty changed his name and entered him into the imperial clan register. He's called Xiao Qianyì—the 'yi' meaning resplendent."