Heaven as Witness

Prince Gong, Minister Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, and Yu Miao, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, all knelt to receive the imperial decree.

The Imperial Guards Army and the common people alike dropped to their knees in a vast swath.

Only Xiao Qianyu remained quietly standing. His gaze swept over them, calm as still water, holding neither reverence nor fear.

Kang Zhi Dao, Minister of War, moved his lips, pretending he had seen nothing. Forcing himself to remain composed, he unfurled the imperial decree and began to read: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decreed: We have heard that the Traitor has not abandoned his designs upon the Heir Apparent. He colluded with a Sorcerer, fabricated the Thunder Omen, deluded the hearts of the people, deceived the world, and threw Our Court Order into chaos. How could We tolerate petty men using demonic words to beguile the masses and turn heaven and earth upside down? We hereby order the officials of the Three Judicial Offices to swiftly administer the proper punishment. In accordance with the law, execute him by beheading, uphold the National Law, and pacify the people. Respect this!"

Minister Kang wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He did not dare spare Xiao Qianyu even a glance as he hastily rolled up the decree and shoved it into Prince Gong's hands. "Prince Gong, you two lords, receive the decree."

Prince Gong looked up in disbelief. "Your Majesty, how could he...?"

Even Heaven had found the Crown Prince's wrongful suffering unbearable and sent a sign. Xiao Qianyu was of the imperial bloodline, blessed by the Divine Protection of the gods—yet His Majesty still believed he was false and insisted on executing him.

This, this was beyond Prince Gong's expectations.

Minister Wang Shangshu and Yu Miao were both delighted and terrified. Naturally, they were delighted that His Majesty had not overturned the Three Judicial Offices' verdict. Did that mean they were innocent?

What terrified them was whether Heaven would rage shortly and send down thunderbolts to strike them dead.

Could they truly execute Xiao Qianyu?

The commoners below could not help breaking into a low buzz, huddling together to discuss it.

"Did I hear that right? The old Emperor still wants to chop off the Crown Prince's head?"

"Yeah, but why?"

A scholar explained in a low voice, "The decree said that the so-called divine miracle was fake. It was fabricated by the False Crown Prince working with a Sorcerer."

"But we saw it with our own eyes just now! The Crown Prince truly has Divine Protection!"

"Shh. Didn't they say it was the Sorcerer's doing? His Majesty is the greatest official, the most powerful man beneath heaven. What he says should be true, right?"

"So we were fooled just now?" someone asked unwillingly.

Prince Gong and the others rose to their feet and read the decree again, confirming that its contents were correct.

Now they were in trouble. How were they supposed to lay hands on Xiao Qianyu?

Hold him down and cut off his head? Who would dare?

Prince Gong was truly afraid Xiao Qianyu would lose his temper and send a bolt of lightning his way. Unable to stop himself, he retreated several steps and hid behind his personal guards.

He looked at Xiao Qianyu with pity. "Crown Prince, tell the truth. Were you truly wronged, or did you really collude with a Sorcerer to fabricate a divine miracle?"

Xiao Qianyu laughed softly. His eyes held settled, icy disappointment. "How laughable. Since when did I know that divine miracles could be forged by human hands? Who in this world can borrow lightning? Let him step forward."

He took a step forward, and the surging force around him made everyone retreat in fear.

A cool breeze blew across the platform from nowhere. Amid the shifting winds and clouds, Xiao Qianyu raised his head to the sky, his expression filled with the desperate, grief-stricken resolve of a man staking everything on one throw. "His Majesty is the ruler of a nation; his words are gold and jade. He accuses me of colluding with a Sorcerer to fabricate a divine miracle, yet I dare not admit to this crime. Now, with Heaven above as witness—if every word I have spoken is true, then let snow fall. Let the snow fill this city and wash away the injustice upon me, restoring my innocence."

Whoosh, whoosh. The wind grew stronger, sweeping the fallen dead leaves from the ground up into the sky, where they spiraled and whirled.

Prince Gong could not help tugging at his collar as he suddenly felt a chill.

He was too shaken to speak. Squinting up at the sky, he wondered, would snow truly fall from the heavens?

The commoners stirred, whispering among themselves.

"What did the Crown Prince mean just now? Is Heaven going to make it snow?"

"Yes, the Crown Prince said he was innocent and asked Heaven to send snow as testimony for him."

A cry of astonishment rose from the crowd. "But it's June! It hasn't even rained. Can it really snow?"

The entire Execution Grounds gradually fell silent. At this moment, whether they were commoners as lowly as grass, Imperial Guards Army soldiers with long sabers at their waists, eunuchs who had delivered the decree, or officials, all unconsciously craned their necks upward like ducklings crying to be fed, lifting their heads with all their might to stare at the sky.

The cool wind billowed Xiao Qianyu's prison robes as though he might ride the wind away, like an immortal descended from the heavens.

Expressionless, he activated the Golden Finger, "June Snow," a skill from the magical world. It had originally been meant to create a romantic scene where the male lead and female lead embraced amid the snow, but the male lead had directly created an Ice Fortress instead, instantly drawing the female lead over.

Let it be said again: he hated protagonists. Male leads or female leads, it made no difference—he had a mental stress reaction to them. See one, kill one!

The Minister of War shifted his neck. Seeing everyone staring foolishly at the sky in perfect unison, he muttered, "It's a trick, isn't it?"

The moment the words left his mouth, his face felt a spot of chill.

He reached up to touch it, and his fingertips found it. His mouth fell open in horror. "No way... it's really snowing."

One flake, then another, and another. Countless white willow-catkin flakes drifted down from the sky, flying with the wind, dancing and spinning as they settled upon people's heads and faces, upon the mud-caked ground.

"Snow! Snow! It's really snowing!" Someone stretched out a hand in disbelief, watching pure, cool snowflakes land in his palm.