Villains at Work

Storm clouds churned.

What happened at the execution grounds swept through the capital like snowflakes in a gale, quickly reaching the eyes of all sorts of people who had been watching the False Crown Prince's fate with keen interest.

Was the matter of the real and false Crown Prince merely a private affair of the imperial family? It was not.

When Xiao Qianyu's impersonation of the Crown Prince had been made public, the court had already undergone a colossal upheaval capable of turning heaven and earth upside down.

Once the truth had come to light, it was not only Xiao Qianyu who had faced the tragic fate of being beheaded before the public. Those officials, friends, and subordinates who had followed him, those who had gathered around him because of his identity, had long since been slaughtered until heads rolled and blood flowed like a river.

After the real-and-false Crown Prince case came to light, how many people in the capital had been implicated, their homes confiscated and their clans exterminated? How many had been thrown into prison in chains and stripped of their lives? How many had fled the capital with their entire families in disgrace?

Xiao Qianyu had been Crown Prince for a full seventeen years!

Emperor Yongchang had once cherished the Crown Prince deeply. He had furnished him with a full staff of officials, the finest teachers, the best talents, and the most formidable guards—all bestowed upon his most beloved son.

They had naturally stood at the Crown Prince's side, forming a force of their own.

When Xiao Qianyu became the False Crown Prince, these people naturally lost the trust of others, and their power was swiftly carved up by rival factions.

Other than those who had been dragged down into the abyss by the real-and-false Crown Prince case, few wished to hear that it had been a wrongful conviction and that Xiao Qianyu had been innocent.

A considerable number of them would not be able to rest easy unless they were certain Xiao Qianyu's head had fallen and he had no possibility of surviving.

But who could have expected thunderbolts to descend from the heavens, with the heavens themselves sending a miracle to protect Xiao Qianyu?

Could it be that he truly was the next Son of Heaven, blessed by Heaven's mandate and protected by immense fortune?

The Six Ministers, apart from the Minister of Justice, hurried into the palace. In addition, there were high-ranking officials of the Censorate, the Office of the Censor-General, and others of the third rank and above.

Qianqing Hall.

The Emperor sat upright at the head of the hall. Below him stood the court officials in clusters, every one of them grave-faced.

Emperor Yongchang's dragon eyes swept over the officials below, his face livid. "You all know what happened at the execution grounds. The Three Judicial Offices jointly tried the case and reviewed it again and again, yet it was still a wrongful case. Where is the Dali Temple Vice Minister? Where is the Censorate censor? Where is the Vice Minister of Justice? What muddleheaded case did you handle? What damned nonsense did you investigate? What use are you to Me?"

Faced with the Emperor's towering fury, the officials he had named had already turned deathly pale. They stepped forward, lowered their heads, and knelt.

"Your servants are guilty."

Emperor Yongchang cursed, "You are guilty—guilty of incompetence, of damaging the court's reputation and making the whole realm look on. Let Me tell you this: if this was a wrongful case, if the Crown Prince was truly wronged, then all of you can go die for Me."

With a thud, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Punishments slammed his head heavily against the floor. "Spare my life, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Yongchang looked at him as though he were already dead. "So Minister Cai admits that he neglected his duty and wronged the Crown Prince of this dynasty?"

Minister Cai jolted so violently he nearly wet himself. If he admitted it, his entire household would be confiscated and his whole clan exterminated.

"Your servant has been wronged, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" To save his life, Minister Cai sobbed as he defended himself. "The case of the real and false Crown Prince was of utmost importance. The Three Judicial Offices held a joint trial; the witnesses and material evidence were all complete. This humble official and the other lords rose before dawn and slept after dark, never daring to slacken, fearing even the slightest omission. We absolutely did not wrong the Crown Prince!"

He truly felt wronged. This was such a momentous matter—unless the officials of the Three Judicial Offices had unanimously found the evidence conclusive, who would dare falsely accuse the Crown Prince of this dynasty of being an impostor?

The other officials of the Three Judicial Offices also knocked their heads to the floor and cried out their innocence. "Your Majesty, we guarantee that we did not neglect our duties. We have solid evidence, the case files may be examined. We beg Your Majesty to discern every hair and split every strand."

Emperor Yongchang restrained some of his anger, his tone cold and sinister. "Oh? Then how do you explain the thunderbolts descending from heaven to prove the Crown Prince's innocence?"

At that moment, Duke Chengen, Chu Ming, stepped forward. He was the Empress Dowager's elder brother and the Emperor's maternal uncle—the foremost figure among the imperial relatives and a court minister whose every move carried great weight.

Chu Ming said, "Your Majesty, perhaps it was not Heaven's will, but a trick orchestrated behind the scenes by those with ulterior motives. Their aim is to deceive Your Majesty, sow suspicion between ruler and ministers, and attempt to pass off a false Crown Prince as the imperial bloodline, throwing the Court Order into chaos and overturning the realm. Your Majesty must not fall for their trap and let villains have their way!"

Emperor Yongchang hesitated, his gaze sweeping across the gathered officials. "Oh? Is that so?"

The Minister of War stepped forward, his expression solemn. "Your servant concurs. Duke Chengen speaks wisely. Talk of Heaven's will is ultimately vague and elusive, whereas the Three Judicial Offices' investigation was orderly and clear, with evidence available for examination. Even if one person might wrong the Crown Prince, could the entire court, high and low, all have wronged him?

Truth is truth, falsehood is falsehood. Right and wrong, crooked and straight, will receive their fair judgment. Your servant also believes that traitors are causing mischief behind the scenes, attempting to replace one thing with another like a plum tree taking the place of a peach tree, overthrow the imperial house, and seize the realm. We beg Your Majesty to distinguish clearly."

As he spoke, he lifted his official robe and knelt.

"May Your Majesty distinguish clearly!" The remaining officials all knelt as one.

Things had reached this point. Those who should have been killed had been killed, and those who should not have been killed had also been killed; those who should have been driven away had been driven away, and those who should not have been driven away had gone as well. The court had only just settled down with great difficulty. No one wanted to see fresh upheaval arise.

Even those harboring misgivings knew they had to yield to the prevailing tide. The court could not withstand another round of turmoil. Would they really surrender the positions they had already seized to someone else?