As State Chancellor, Jiang Rumo was the final buffer between the Son of Heaven and his officials.
The Son of Heaven's word was law; once he spoke, there was no room to turn back.
But Liu Yingqi offered Jiang Rumo no further explanation. He simply kept asking the Son of Heaven to render judgment, confronting Tian Xili with drawn blades and seeking nothing but life or death.
Jiang Rumo could say no more.
At that moment, Tian Xili remained silent.
No accusation, no rebuttal, no plea—nothing at all. His silence was that of a man accepting his fate.
It was the clever choice.
Liu Yingqi had staked his life to demand another's, a deadly move, of course. But there was also an element of coercing the Son of Heaven with his own death. Liu Yingqi had nothing left to lose and cared about nothing else; he wanted Tian Xili to die with him.
Tian Xili, on the other hand, had to show a different face.
Compared to Liu Yingqi, he was indeed afraid. He had fine clothes and fine lodgings, great power in his hands—he had almost everything. How could he not fear death?
So he let his fear show all the more clearly.
Only those who knew fear could be more obedient and submissive.
Through his own "obedience," he made Liu Yingqi's "defiance" stand out all the more.
So beneath the Son of Heaven's might, he stayed silent, giving wordless expression to the plea, "I humbly beg Your Majesty to judge with clear eyes."
He knelt there all the same, awaiting the imperial judgment.
He was the one truly willing to accept any punishment, even death!
His earlier rash attack had indeed been a mistake. He had underestimated Liu Yingqi—his intelligence, and his courage.
Now his opponent had seized