Ye Yang's Eloquent Speech

Xue Beng fell to his knees with a heavy thud, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Father! Father, please grant this son justice!"

Emperor Xue Ye furrowed his brows. "Xue Beng, crying and wailing in the imperial court—what kind of decorum is this? What is the matter?"

Xue Beng jerked his head up, pointed at Ye Yang, and accused him with grief and indignation.

"It was him! It was the Crown Prince! Yesterday... yesterday he broke into my bedchamber and, without a word, used a thorny whip to... to beat me black and blue!"

"Father, look!" He made a move to pull back his outer robe to display his wounds, but was stopped by a wave of Xue Ye's hand.

A wave of hushed whispers rippled through the hall.

The Crown Prince whipped the Fourth Prince? This was absolutely scandalous! Countless gazes shot toward Ye Yang.

Emperor Xue Ye's eyes turned sharp as they landed on Ye Yang. "Qinghe, is this true?"

Ye Yang sneered inwardly, but his face remained a mask of sorrow and helplessness. He stepped forward, bowed to Xue Ye, and spoke in a clear, steady voice: "Reporting to Father, it is indeed true."

The moment these words left his lips, the hall erupted in even greater shock! The Crown Prince actually... admitted it?!

A flash of astonishment and wild joy crossed Xue Beng's eyes. He had not expected Xue Qinghe to confess so readily! Let's see how he gets out of this now!

Emperor Xue Ye's expression darkened completely. "Qinghe! As the Crown Prince and heir to the throne, you used private punishment on your own brother?! Do you realize how disgraceful this is? Give me an explanation!"

Ye Yang lifted his head. There was no panic on his face, only a profound sense of sorrow and helplessness as his voice rose sharply.

"Father! Ministers! I admit to whipping my younger brother; that is a fact! But I did not act out of malice, nor did I abandon my moral duty!"

He spun around, his gaze like lightning, sweeping over the kneeling Xue Beng. The look was so sharp that Xue Beng instinctively shrank back.

[Ding! Intimidated Xue Beng, Majesty +1]

"Father! Has anyone considered why I struck him?!" Ye Yang's voice echoed through the hall.

"It is because the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, though a prince of Heaven Dou, is arrogant and domineering. He bullies the weak, treats the Palace Regulations as nothing, and disregards the dignity of the Imperial House!"

He stepped forward, pointing at Xue Beng, and described what he had seen yesterday with a pained heart: "Yesterday, concerned for my younger brother, I went to his bedchamber to visit him."

"Only to find him raining blows upon a defenseless palace maid! All because she accidentally knocked over a water basin and soiled his new robe!"

"Father! A water basin, a robe! Is that worth a prince beating a servant who has served for years and hurling vile abuse at her?!"

"How is such behavior any different from a common street thug?! If this were to spread, how would the world view our Heaven Dou Imperial House? How would they view Father's teachings?!"

[Ding! Eloquent speech, Majesty +1, Charisma +1]

The ministers in the hall whispered among themselves, their gazes toward Xue Beng turning judgmental and scornful.

Xue Beng's bullying of servants was no secret among the nobility, but having it exposed by the Crown Prince in open court changed the nature of the matter entirely.

Xue Beng's face flushed red as he tried to retort: "I... I..."

"You what?!" Ye Yang interrupted him sternly, his presence overwhelming.

"You twist the truth and shift all the blame onto that innocent maid! Had I not seen it with my own eyes, would that maid not have become a sacrifice for your temper?! As a prince, you lack all sense of responsibility. This is your first crime!"

"What pains me even more!" Ye Yang turned to Emperor Xue Ye, his voice heavy with grief. "As the Crown Prince and his elder brother, how could I stand by and watch my younger brother behave this way?"

"If I were to overlook his actions simply because he is a prince, if the law does not apply to the nobility, then where is the authority of the Palace Regulations? Where is the dignity of the Imperial House?! In the future, will other princes and descendants follow suit, treating human life like blades of grass?!"

"Father! I whipped Xue Beng not to vent private anger!" Ye Yang's voice was resolute, carrying the weight of righteous sacrifice.

"It was to uphold the reputation of the Imperial House! To cleanse the palace! To make him remember this stinging pain so he might repent and understand the responsibilities of a prince! To understand the path of benevolence!"

He took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Emperor Xue Ye: "Father! I know that whipping my own brother was an extreme measure and lacked the appearance of mercy. I am willing to accept any punishment Father deems fit!"

"But I have a clear conscience! Everything I did was for my younger brother's future and for the eternal reputation of the Heaven Dou Imperial House! Heaven and Earth are my witnesses!"

[Ding! Eloquent speech, Majesty +1, Charisma +1, Acting +1]

With that final sentence, he looked at Xue Beng again with a complex expression—one that held both severity and the pained concern of an elder brother who wished for his sibling to succeed.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

Ye Yang's argument was righteous and occupied the moral high ground.

The anger on Emperor Xue Ye's face had long since vanished, replaced by a deep, complex emotion.

He looked at the "Xue Qinghe" who stood there, eloquent, pained, and resolute, then looked at Xue Beng, who was pale, disheveled, and clearly in the wrong. The scales in his heart had already tipped.

The ministers looked at the Crown Prince with newfound respect and approval.

The Crown Prince was willing to bear the stigma of being a "harsh brother" to discipline the wayward Fourth Prince and protect the dignity of the Imperial House—this was the true demeanor of a crown prince!

By comparison, the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, was truly a disappointment.

Xue Beng was completely stunned.

He had intended to report Xue Qinghe to the Emperor for punishment, but instead, he had become the target of everyone's scorn!

Seeing the disappointment in his father's eyes, hearing the faint, disdainful whispers of the ministers, and feeling the burning pain of the wounds on his back, a wave of immense humiliation and helplessness washed over him.

He opened his mouth, only to find he could not utter a single word in his defense.

Big brother's "good intentions"... good intentions... Xue Beng's heart was filled with nothing but endless venom and coldness. What a fine set of "good intentions"! Xue Qinghe, you are truly vicious!

[Ding! Xue Beng's resentment deepens, intimidation effect significant, Majesty +1]

Emperor Xue Ye remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly, his voice low and weary: "Qinghe... rise."

The gaze he turned toward Ye Yang held less reproach and more of a complex, inscrutable meaning.

"What you have done... though the methods were extreme, your intentions are understandable and your reasons excusable," Emperor Xue Ye said slowly.

"As the Crown Prince, to be able to consider the overall situation, rectify the inner palace, and instruct your brothers—I... am deeply gratified."

"Father Emperor!" Xue Beng cried out in despair.

"Silence!" Emperor Xue Ye snapped sharply, his eyes sweeping toward Xue Beng with fierce intensity. "You bullied palace servants, twisted the truth, and showed no sense of responsibility as a prince; that is the true lack of virtue! Qinghe striking you was well-deserved! It will teach you a lesson!"

"Effective immediately, the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, is confined to his quarters for one month! You are to copy the Etiquette Teachings and Palace Regulations one hundred times! Reflect properly on your faults! If there is any further misconduct, I shall punish you without leniency!"

Xue Beng looked as if he had been struck by lightning; he collapsed to the floor, his face ashen.

He had been thoroughly defeated, defeated so completely and so frustratingly.