Anxiety seethed inside and outside the Court Deliberation Hall.
Jia Huan stood immovable, waiting for the Central Court to declare its position.
Only approval by the entire court, implemented down through every level, could make the offices of the provincial circuits, prefectural cities, commanderies, and counties act in concert. Those were the rules by which power operated.
"You invite the scorn of this age and infamy through the ages!" The two grand secretaries, Yang Taiyue and Gao Xi, trembled as they berated him.
Jia Huan turned a deaf ear. Before every watching eye, he walked straight up to the two legitimate imperial princes.
He studied them quietly, then simply laid everything bare:
"Your Highnesses, let us set aside affairs of state and speak only of the enmity between me, Jia Huan, and your family. It began with Jiang Qi, who has long since reaped the bitter fruit of his own deeds. Surely you two were clapping your hands in delight back then?"
"Why did you not use your standing as her legitimate sons to remonstrate with your mother then? Afraid she would neglect and resent you, costing you your chance at the succession, you remained indifferent to everything. You watched her unleash her viperous tactics, ruin the imperial family's reputation, and drive me into this desperate corner."
As he spoke, his voice suddenly rose:
"Do not offer me promises! What everyone under heaven knows has already been plainly recorded in history: I killed your birth mother with my own hands. Once you ascend the throne, what becomes of me?!"
The atmosphere instantly froze.
The First Prince and Third Prince lowered their heads, not daring to answer.
With this man standing beside them, the pressure of his presence-as though he could bear down mountains and suppress seas-nearly suffocated them. His terrifying