Chapter 695: An Unexpected Turn!

"It was indeed this son."

No one could have imagined that at this moment, the one who stepped forward to confess would be Great Yan's Sixth Prince...

Ji Chengjue.

Today's grand court audience.

Today's Golden Hall.

Every minister and noble who came to court had known beforehand that it would not be peaceful.

Last night, after returning home from the palace banquet and sitting down to a late-night meal, more than a few men had sighed to their sons and nephews:

"Tomorrow is destined to be anything but peaceful."

Then... they had to sigh three more times.

Stare into the wavering candlelight.

And do their best to look as though they knew secrets too profound to speak aloud.

Even if they would play absolutely no role in today's grand court audience, they still had to create the impression that they themselves stood in the middle of the whirlpool, torn between impossible choices.

That way, at least, they could satisfy their own hearts about worrying for the state and the people.

But this was not merely "anything but peaceful."

This was twist after twist.

And every twist felt like bones snapping and tendons tearing, the crack of the break so clear you could almost hear it.

The officials of the Crown Prince's faction were stunned.

This... what kind of play was this?

The officials of the Sixth Master's faction had already lost control of their expressions.

At a moment like this, these grand lords could no longer maintain that courtly art of showing neither joy nor anger.

Their composure had completely shattered.

The Crown Prince's hand still gripped the railing of the raised platform inside the Golden Hall.

Beside him stood a sculpted golden dragon head, its eyes majestic as they stared down upon the ministers below.

At this moment, the Crown Prince's own eyes were nearly as wide as the dragon's.

Grand Director Ji Changwang raised his head and stared in disbelief at the Sixth Prince kneeling before him.

Marquis Zheng, after recovering from his shock, immediately began calculating inside his mind.

Much of his own energy had always been dragged toward military affairs.

So Marquis Zheng believed his political instincts were decent.

But when it came to political maneuvering and mastery of conspiracy, he had always felt Ji Old Sixth stood ahead of him.

If Ji Chengjue was doing this... there had to be a deeper reason.

The Crown Prince's expression and body language were already close to openly announcing collapse.

So the Grand Director's arrow had unquestionably been aimed at the Crown Prince.

The Emperor of Yan had made a motion to press that arrow down.

But the Grand Director had pushed back by retreating a step in order to advance.

And just as the arrow was finally about to fly...

Ji Chengjue suddenly stepped out.

Without hesitation... he took the arrow himself.

Brotherly affection?

Zheng Fan did not believe that after things had reached the point of entrusting wives and children to one another, Ji Chengjue would still have the leisure to perform some show of fraternal devotion.

Was he sacrificing himself to take the blame for the Crown Prince?

Was he deliberately showing that he could crush the Crown Prince with one effortless strike, then demonstrate how well he understood the larger situation by swallowing the humiliation himself?

Was he trying to show the Emperor of Yan that his son could both advance and retreat?

No.

No.

Impossible.

Marquis Zheng shook his head slightly inside.

It would not be that.

Could not be that.

This was the final battle.

As one of the imperial princes who had persisted all the way to the end of the succession struggle, if Ji Old Sixth wanted to withdraw, he could have withdrawn on the second floor of the roast-duck restaurant together with the Fourth Prince.

If he had done that, he might even have preserved some final bond of goodwill.

He could spend the rest of his life living carefully with his tail between his legs.

Perhaps become a peaceful, leisurely Prince.

Perhaps even allow his sons and grandsons to live comfortably afterward.

But he had not withdrawn at the roast-duck restaurant.

That meant there was no road back.

For him to jump out now and take the shot himself as some theatrical performance... there was no reason whatsoever.

At the most critical point of a succession struggle, he was dumping a bucket of shit over his own head.

If that was not insanity, what was?

He was not the First Prince.

Not the Fourth.

Not the Fifth.

Not the underage Little Seventh.

He was Sixth Master.

The man who had gritted his teeth and held on to the end.

The man who was even half a step ahead of the Crown Prince.

Softheartedness would not exist at a time like this.

Ji Old Sixth would not make such a mistake.

There was more.

Any retreat now, any so-called performance, any show of brotherly affection, any sentimental concern for empty appearances... would be a betrayal of every minister who had followed him.

Play things this way, and the entire faction would lose heart.

Once morale scattered... everything collapsed.

Marquis Zheng narrowed his eyes.

Because Ji Chengjue was kneeling prostrate with his face down, Zheng Fan could not see his expression.

So... was this something he had to do?

Was there a reason he absolutely had to do it?

Zheng Fan shifted his gaze from Ji Chengjue to the Grand Director.

Then to the Crown Prince.

Finally... like a dragonfly touching water... he swept one brief glance over the Emperor of Yan seated on the Dragon Throne.

At that moment... the Emperor's voice rang out:

"Chengjue. Say that again."

Ji Chengjue raised his head.

His expression was calm.

"That young girl is this son's. This son has lost virtue. I beg Imperial Father to punish me!"

His voice was clear.

Resonant.

Every minister in the Golden Hall heard him distinctly.

And then...

Zheng Fan suddenly noticed something.

The Grand Director kneeling slightly farther back... had a complicated look in his eyes.

More than complicated.

There was even... fear.

At this moment, the Crown Prince knelt down as well.

His younger brother had confessed to an offense.

As elder brother, naturally he should defend him, kneel beside him, and plead for mercy.

Perfectly reasonable.

Yet to everyone watching, it looked even more like a man who had been straining with all his strength suddenly losing the breath that held him upright.

As though his whole body had simply collapsed from exhaustion.

The Emperor of Yan ignored the Crown Prince.

Nor did he rush to punish Ji Chengjue.

Instead... he looked toward the Grand Director kneeling behind them.

His own paternal uncle.

"Grand Director."

"This minister... is here."

"You said earlier that your evidence was detailed. We ask you now: does that evidence truly point to Chengjue?"

"This minister..."

Sweat began appearing on the Grand Director's face.

The position of clan head usually fell to the eldest generation.

In truth, the Grand Director was old... but only somewhat older than the Emperor of Yan.

An Emperor's sons being separated by a wide span of ages was hardly unusual.

Yet now... the Grand Director's face had begun turning pale.

At last... he gritted his teeth.

And answered:

"To reply to Your Majesty... no."

"Hiss..."

This time... quite a few people genuinely sucked in cold air.

After so many twists, another twist still managed to land hard enough that no one could control himself.

Goddamn it.

What in Heaven's name was happening here?

A man from the Sixth Master's faction had launched a thunderous strike against the Crown Prince.

Then... the leader of the Sixth Master's faction personally stepped forward and blocked the strike with his own body.

By normal logic... once the leader had accepted the blame himself... the man charging at the front should naturally have followed his leader's path.

Yet instead... this man refused?

Everyone here was an old hand at officialdom.

Even the hereditary nobles had absorbed enough of these things since childhood.

So everyone understood that this could not possibly be a simple issue of poor coordination.

No matter how badly people coordinated, anyone with half a brain would not produce a scene like this.

The cold sweat on the Grand Director's face grew heavier and heavier.

Chancellor Zhao Jiulang still stood where he was.

Motionless as a mountain.

Around him stood the Ministers of the various ministries, the Left and Right Vice Directors, the Director of the Secretariat, and the other true giants of court.

Some among them might privately lean toward one imperial prince or another.

But even that usually meant no more than agreeing with that prince's philosophy of governance.

At their level... when necessary... they might close one eye and open the other.

Or when the current flowed the right way, give it one subtle push without leaving traces.

But they did not personally descend into the arena.

It was beneath them.

When a hunter wanted someone bitten... why open his own mouth?

Release the dogs.

Once you became a giant... who did not keep a pack of dogs beneath him?

Of course... this did not mean the lofty expressions they now wore signified that they had "seen through everything."

In truth... they too were exchanging glances again and again.

Then shaking their heads slightly.

Clearly... they had no idea what was happening either.

Marquis Zheng, however... noticed one small detail.

When His Majesty questioned the Grand Director... he had first reminded him of one point:

Since the evidence is detailed.

That phrase... had originally been spoken by the Grand Director himself.

Then...

His Majesty repeated it before asking his question.

So... the Grand Director had no path to change his answer.

His arrow had been aimed at the Crown Prince from the beginning.

Then it had to remain aimed at the Crown Prince.

More than that... it was as if one clear line had been carved on the arrow shaft:

This arrow was specially forged to kill the Crown Prince!

Unless the Emperor of Yan personally scraped those words away and everyone agreed to play dumb... then they could simply find some other imperial prince to serve as the cheap father and beat him a few times.

But the Emperor's tone said something else.

He wanted to see the evidence.

He wanted to see... the evidence you investigated.

The evidence you prepared!

His complexion was excellent today.

And with his color restored... the Emperor's temper had returned too.

After so many twists and reversals, the Emperor of Yan had clearly become tired of this matter.

He had personally blocked off the Grand Director's road.

Forced him forward with no path to retreat.

"Then who is it?"

The Grand Director slammed his forehead heavily against the floor.

His voice nearly broke into sobs.

"Your Majesty... this minister does not dare say. Does not dare say it!"

Ji Chengjue remained kneeling there.

Motionless.

The Crown Prince had already risen again.

But his eyes were closed.

At that moment... the Emperor of Yan turned his gaze toward the first man in the first position of the left-hand column.

Sovereign and minister had supported one another for so many years that habit had nearly become instinct.

Zhao Jiulang did not even need to raise his head and catch His Majesty's eye.

He already knew.

It was time for him, Chancellor of Great Yan, to step forward.

Zhao Jiulang left the ranks.

"Your Majesty, this minister has something to say."

"Chancellor, speak freely."

"The bloodline of the imperial house concerns the very foundation of Great Yan's state and ancestral altars. There can be no negligence or error in such matters. The Grand Director holds precisely this office. Earlier, his words were firm and certain. Now he equivocates and refuses to speak clearly. He is making a game of the dignity and law of the imperial house. This minister asks that the Grand Director be punished for dereliction of duty. This minister asks that the Grand Director be punished for humiliating the imperial house. This minister asks that the Grand Director be punished for grave disrespect!"

The instant Zhao Jiulang finished... the Ministers of the various departments and the other great officials all stepped forward.

"This minister concurs!"

"This minister concurs!"

The Minister of Justice went even farther.

"Your Majesty, if the Grand Director stands inside the Golden Hall itself and still dares not speak plainly, does that not imply that inside this brilliant hall there is no place for him to tell the truth? That is contempt for the law of the state. Contempt for the Son of Heaven!"

One charge after another came crashing down.

No one was blind enough to say anything like "execute him" about the Emperor's own paternal uncle.

But looking at how coldly the current Son of Heaven treated the imperial clan... everyone understood.

With the Chancellor personally endorsing these charges, the Grand Director would lose more than his office.

His noble title might be stripped away too.

For a close member of the imperial clan... that could be harder to bear than death.

The Grand Director closed his eyes.

Then said:

"Your Majesty, what this minister discovered through investigation is that the young girl... was fathered by the Crown Prince!"

At last... the Grand Director said it.

He spoke aloud the answer that every clear-eyed person had already understood.

"Oh?"

The Emperor of Yan spoke.

"Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince knelt again.

He said nothing.

The Emperor did not question him.

Instead... he raised one hand and pointed toward Ji Chengjue kneeling below.

"Chengjue. Then what exactly is going on with you?"

"To reply to Imperial Father, the one who lost virtue truly was this son. It has nothing to do with the Crown Prince."

Ji Chengjue persisted.

"Heh-heh. This has become rather interesting. Interesting indeed. We spent some time recuperating in the Rear Garden. After returning, We discover that Our sons have truly become models of brotherly love. Even a crime of lost virtue is something brothers now fight to take upon themselves. You two... truly make Us... feel deeply comforted."

"Grand Director. We will ask you once more. The evidence you investigated points to whom, exactly?"

"Your Majesty, it is the Crown Prince. His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Chengjue. We will ask you once more as well. Who, exactly, lost virtue?"

"To reply to Imperial Father... this son."

The Emperor of Yan shook his head.

At last... his gaze fell upon the Crown Prince.

"Crown Prince. Who was it?"

"Imperial Father... this son..."

The Crown Prince lowered himself even farther.

"Good. Very good."

The Emperor reached out and slapped one hand against the Dragon Throne.

"You have made Our beloved ministers witness a farce."

The next instant...

Marquis Zheng immediately followed everyone else's movement.

Together, they bowed toward the Dragon Throne.

And answered in unison:

"This minister would not dare."

"This minister would not dare."

"But since matters have already reached this point, then We intend to see everything clearly. And We invite all Our beloved ministers... to see it clearly together with Us. Grand Director. We ask you. Where are the mother and daughter now?"

"To reply to Your Majesty, they are at the Court of the Imperial Clan."

"Wei Zhonghe."

"This slave is here!"

"Go bring them here. Bring the physical evidence as well. Let everyone... have a proper look."

"This slave obeys."

Wei Zhonghe immediately descended from the raised platform of the Golden Hall.

He passed the Crown Prince.

Passed Ji Chengjue.

Passed the Grand Director.

Then... under the eyes of the entire court... walked out of the Golden Hall.

"We will give the three of you one final opportunity."

The Emperor's gaze swept over the three men kneeling below.

"Once Wei Zhonghe brings them here... We will no longer preserve even the slightest face for any of you."

The Crown Prince.

The Sixth Prince.

The Grand Director.

All three remained kneeling.

Not one changed his statement.

"Good."

The Emperor of Yan slowly closed his eyes.

Then said:

"Then let Us see."

...

The Court of the Imperial Clan was a major yamen.

It managed a great many people.

The marriages, funerals, births, and household affairs of the Ji imperial clan all passed through it.

And yet... its actual yamen was not especially imposing.

Because this office was filled almost entirely with family matters.

Everyone saw one another constantly.

Everyone was related somehow.

And ever since the current Emperor of Yan ascended the throne and transferred the Court of the Imperial Clan's authority over clan stipends and grain allowances to the Imperial Household Department... the office no longer controlled money.

Once money was gone... poor relatives and rich relatives alike stopped caring very much about you.

Still... the framework of the yamen remained.

And now... inside a side room in the rear courtyard of the Court of the Imperial Clan...

A'Rou handed a piece of sweet pastry to the little girl in front of her.

The girl held the pastry in both hands.

Took a bite.

Then smiled.

"Mother. Sweet."

A'Rou reached out and gently stroked the girl's head.

Today she wore an old but very clean flowered padded jacket.

At a glance, she looked like a peasant woman.

But the refinement cultivated through half a lifetime inside princely residences and palaces... could not truly be hidden.

They had not been thrown into prison.

Nor would they have been.

Instead, they were confined to a side room under guard.

Three meals a day were specially prepared and delivered.

Outside the door stood numerous runners from the Court of the Imperial Clan.

A'Rou simply sat there watching the girl eat.

She remembered... when she herself had been very young... when people from Young Miss's household first brought her into the Min Clan... the first food placed into her hands had been peach-shortbread pastry.

She still remembered the sweetness that filled her mouth after that first bite.

In the blink of an eye... so many years had passed.

Then... a group of men dressed in Secret Intelligence Department uniforms marched directly into the rear courtyard.

The man at their head produced a badge and shouted toward the Court of the Imperial Clan's runners guarding the place:

"By order of Eunuch Wei, we have come to take the prisoners. Hand them over immediately!"

The runners saw that they were men of the Secret Intelligence Department.

They immediately stepped aside.

A'Rou heard the commotion outside.

She rose.

And pulled the little girl tightly into her arms.

The girl looked up.

With perfect innocence, she asked:

"Mother, are we going to see Father now?"

A'Rou did not answer.

She merely reached out and gently stroked the child's cheek.

Then... just as the men from the Secret Intelligence Department were about to open the door... an iron staff suddenly swept across.

A wave of force exploded outward!

The two agents in front were hurled directly to the ground.

At the doorway... a huge monk appeared.

He held an iron staff in both hands.

"Audacious!"

"Who dares act so brazenly? Identify yourself!"

The monk grinned.

"Second Retainer of Ning'an Escort Agency. Bald Monk Zhou Chang."

"Hahahahaha..."

At that moment... three more figures appeared on the roof above the side room.

One was a man in black robes.

One was a woman dressed in purple.

The third was a hunchbacked old man holding a wine gourd.

The black-robed man called out:

"Chief Retainer of Nanwang Trading Company. Black-Faced Ghost Liu Mingyang."

The woman in purple laughed.

"Third Retainer of Shanhai Guild. Wu Ying."

The old man took a drink from his wine gourd.

Then shouted downward:

"From Jin. Qin the Hunchback."

All four had once made famous names for themselves in the jianghu.

More terrifyingly... all four were Fourth Grade experts!

And in all Yanjing... there was only one person capable of summoning this many merchant-house retainers at once.

Years ago... during that person's grand wedding... the chief shopkeepers of the great merchant houses had personally traveled to Yanjing to pay respects to their young master.

Experts like these could not be bought merely with gold and silver.

What bound them... was old favor.

The leader of the Secret Intelligence Department men did not look frightened.

Every agent beside him drew his saber and took a guarded stance.

The leader shouted:

"This is the capital region! How dare you behave so lawlessly? Step aside at once, or the Secret Intelligence Department's net of law will show no mercy!"

Four Fourth Grade experts were certainly powerful.

But not powerful enough to make the Secret Intelligence Department tremble.

If they truly dared create chaos here... within moments, Secret Intelligence experts would arrive.

At the same time... the Imperial Guards would immediately surround the area.

"Hahaha! This old man may have had too much to drink, but I heard what you said clearly enough. You came by order of Eunuch Wei to take the prisoners? Fine. Where is Eunuch Wei's badge? His seal will do as well. The four of us are law-abiding citizens. If the procedure is correct, we'll certainly offer no obstruction at all."

"Impudent! What qualifications do you have to inspect it?"

"Aiya, then there's nothing to be done. Our employer gave explicit orders. Unless there is an imperial decree or Eunuch Wei's badge, these people cannot be handed over to unrelated outsiders. Otherwise, if the employer blames us later... he'll deduct our drinking money."

Inside the side room below...

A'Rou had been listening closely to every sound outside.

Anxiety immediately flashed inside her eyes.

Then... she lowered her head sharply and looked at the girl in her arms.

After that... she pulled a hairpin from her hair.

"Buzz!"

A cyan spiral of qi lashed directly across A'Rou's wrist.

The hairpin flew from her hand.

Then...

Eunuch Zhang flashed out from the inner chamber.

One hand caught A'Rou's wrist.

The other hand struck her face.

Smack!

Blood immediately appeared at one corner of A'Rou's mouth.

She stared at Eunuch Zhang before her in disbelief.

Eunuch Zhang only sneered.

And cursed:

"Bitch!"

[End of Chapter 695]