After the two Imperial Seals were set side by side on the long table, no one in the bedchamber spoke for a long time.
One was real, the other fake, and their shapes were almost identical. If not for the tiny chip recorded years ago in an old rubbing from the Ancestral Temple, even repeated examination in hand would have made it difficult to tell them apart at once.
The two prisoners Lu Yuan had brought back knelt outside the hall, while the people from the Ancestral Temple recounted everything that had just happened. When they heard that the fake seal had already been placed on the sealing platform while the real Imperial Seal had remained hidden on the person delivering it, several elders from the Imperial Clan Court looked grim.
Had Lu Yuan not pursued them quickly enough, once the Ancestral Temple Inner Treasury truly sealed its doors, all they would have been left with was a fake seal. The object that truly represented Xue Ye's imperial authority would have vanished without a sound.
By then, the Succession Edict would not have been their only problem.
The Imperial Clan Chief, who oversaw the affairs of the imperial family, fell silent for a moment before raising a hand. "Bring them in."
The two prisoners were soon escorted into the hall. One had had his shoulder bone broken by the Ancestral Temple guards, and his face was pale. The other was the Winged Soul Emperor Lu Yuan had intercepted. He had long since withdrawn his martial soul, and his hands were shackled. After entering the hall, he kept his head lowered.
Qian Renxue did not rush to ask too much. She simply looked at the two of them. "Who sent you into the palace to take the seal?"
Neither answered.
"Who