“Your Majesty.” Yuwen Xi smiled. “If a person’s merit could always offset their crimes, then someone who has earned merit could kill without paying with their life, could commit crimes without going to prison — wouldn’t that be telling the world that once you’ve achieved merit, you can do as you please?”

The emperor frowned. “Imperial Brother thinks too extremely. I only wanted to lighten the punishment, not to say there should be none at all.”

“Forgive your subject brother for speaking bluntly, but when it comes to a consort fleeing the palace, in any other noble household, the entire clan would be executed.” Prince Xi said, “Now that the Chancellor is involved, how does Your Majesty intend to lighten the punishment?”

As if he had pinpointed that Hua Jinghua was the emperor’s soft spot, his tone grew increasingly brazen — betting that for Hua Jinghua’s sake, the emperor would have to endure it.

Hua Chun listened with growing anger but had no standing to speak.

The emperor was silent for a moment, then said, “What does Chancellor Hua have to say?”

“For Consort Hua’s transgression, this subject is willing to bear the guilt of implication.” Taking a deep breath, Hua Chun said, “Though I have merit, I do not ask Your Majesty to reduce my punishment on that account — I only ask that, in consideration of my years of loyal service, Your Majesty pardon the rest of the Hua family.”

Li Zhongtang cupped his hands. “This subject believes that even if the Chancellor’s merit exempts him from the death penalty, the rest of the Hua family has no such merit — how can they be pardoned?”

“Indeed, we beg Your Majesty to reconsider. The Chancellor may be pardoned, but if the rest of the Hua family’s implicated guilt is also forgiven, the law will lose its impartiality.”

The emperor frowned. “Are you saying that we should spare Chancellor Hua, and then behead the rest of the Hua family?”

Li Zhongtang nodded.

Hua Chun pressed her lips together, hesitating slightly, when she heard Prince Xi say, “This crime implicates nine generations of kin. Aside from the Hua family members in the capital, even relatives outside the capital within the nine generations should be punished as well.”

Her heart jolted, and Hua Chun looked up at him.

Yuwen Xi seemed to already know that she had sent someone important away — as if this line were deliberately spoken for her to hear.

She could not care less about the rest of the Hua family, but if even Madam Wan were to be implicated, there was no way she could simply stand by and do nothing!

“Your Majesty!” she said through gritted teeth. “This subject is willing to exchange all the merit earned in this lifetime for the safety of the entire Hua household. This subject is willing to bear the guilt on behalf of everyone!”

The emperor paused, frowning at her. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

For one person to bear all the guilt — wouldn’t that mean certain death! He was struggling to find a way to pull her out of this, and here she was throwing herself back in?

“Chancellor Hua speaks such words — do you not regret them?” Prince Xi chuckled lowly. “For you alone to bear it all — that’s not impossible, it’s just that you won’t have your life afterward.”

His tone lifted slightly on that last line, as if teasing, or as if gloating over her misfortune. Not a few in the court who still supported Hua Jinghua felt displeasure at hearing it.

Yet in the current court, ever since the corruption scandal, those who supported Chancellor Hua were already fewer in number than those who supported Li Zhongtang and his faction. If Grand Tutor Tang were still alive, he would certainly have already rushed forward to plead for Hua Chun — but unfortunately, that group of people were gone now, and those who remained dared not act rashly, since their official ranks were not high and their words carried little weight.

“If Your Majesty can agree to this, this subject would be endlessly grateful.” Hua Chun gritted her teeth and looked up at the emperor.

Yuwen Jie was nearly furious to death with her. He had thought that someone like her, who clung so dearly to life, would never make such a foolish decision — sacrificing herself to protect everyone else. If she were gone, what use would it be for the rest of the Hua household to remain? Yet he never expected that at this critical moment, she really would be this foolish!

If you die, will the Hua family have good days ahead? He asked her this with his eyes.

Hua Chun gently shook her head. She knew things would not go well, but if she alone survived while watching Madam Wan and the rest of the Hua family be executed together, that would be the most cruel outcome of all. The way to minimize the harm was for her to take the blame herself — and besides, that was exactly what Prince Xi wanted anyway.

As long as she died, he would stop making things difficult for the rest of the Hua family.

Besides, she had a modern soul, didn’t she? Perhaps dying here would send her back to her own world. Although this journey hadn’t felt like much of a thrill, and it seemed there were still many things left undone, perhaps that was simply a limit of her own ability — she could only help Hua Jinghua get this far.

She had escaped a death sentence over her true identity, only to fail to dodge the century’s biggest liability of a teammate, Hua Liuying. She could only exit the stage with resentment in her heart. Thinking about it now, Hua Liuying had likely also been played by Yuwen Xi — thinking he meant well by sending her off to freedom, never knowing that the extermination of nine generations of kin would follow right behind.

Yuwen Jie’s expression turned very ugly, and he said nothing for a long while.

Quite a few officials in the court stepped forward and said, “Chancellor Hua cares so much for his family — that is truly praiseworthy. Your Majesty might as well grant his wish.”

“Indeed, since the Chancellor is willing to bear it all alone, in consideration of his many past achievements, Your Majesty should permit it as well.”

At first hearing, one might think they were speaking up for her out of kindness — but looking closely at their faces, they all actually bore old grudges against her, kicking her while she was down.

She had once told Prince Xi that she had offended too many people, and that if she ever fell from grace, the outcome would surely be miserable — and now it seemed that prediction had come true. Being a loyal official was ten thousand times harder than being a treacherous one. The moment the emperor could no longer protect her, she would inevitably become a wall that everyone rushed to push over, with many waiting for the chance to kick her while she was down.

Just like now — the moment she said she was willing to die, these people hurried to speak up in her “favor”: yes, yes, let the Chancellor go to his death.

Hua Chun suddenly felt a wave of disheartenment.

Having served as Chancellor for so long, she believed she had done rather well — at the very least, she had saved the emperor a great deal of trouble, had never taken bribes, and had never formed cliques for personal gain. And yet, in this environment, she was still not accepted by the masses.

She didn’t even know anymore whether she had done right or wrong.

“Very well.” After a long silence, the emperor spoke. “Since the Chancellor pleads with me so, then I have no choice but to permit it. First, strip the Chancellor of his official cap and remand him to the Heavenly Prison.”

“Yes.” Eunuch Qin responded gravely, then summoned Huo Zichong from outside the hall to take Hua Jinghua away.

Hua Chun kowtowed to the emperor, gazing deeply at him once more, then rose and walked out with her chest raised and head held high.

The civil and military officials on both sides watched her go out of the corners of their eyes; no one dared step forward to say another word.

The emperor’s mood had sunk to its lowest point. He rose and said, “Court is dismissed.”

“Your Majesty.” Li Zhongtang hurried forward. “This subject and the others still have matters to report.”

“Submit them in a memorial!” The emperor walked away without looking back, his figure brimming with fury.

Prince Xi was smiling with great delight. He simply loved seeing the emperor thrown into disarray like this — it had been a long time since he’d witnessed such a sight. He hadn’t expected Hua Jinghua to truly weigh so heavily on the emperor’s heart; this counted as an unexpected bonus.

He Chang’an, without a word, followed after Hua Chun.

“Second Brother.” Seeing him, she still managed a smile. “Don’t rush to see me off — I’ll probably be locked in the Heavenly Prison for a few more days yet.”

“You…” He Chang’an was also somewhat angry. “You clearly could have lived.”

“I know.” Hua Chun nodded. “If it hadn’t implicated Mother, I would have shamelessly clung to life today and tried to wriggle out of the blame.”

But Prince Xi had made it plain he would not let Madam Wan go — that loud-voiced, sharp-tongued mother of hers. Although it was Hua Jinghua she had given birth to, not Hua Chun herself, after being here so long, she had come to feel that Madam Wan was the warmest person around, always worrying over her, making her dried little fish, even willingly listening to her as an elder would to someone younger.

If it were Hua Jinghua facing this today, she would surely have made the same decision — so in a way, Hua Chun felt she was honoring the original host.

No — actually, student Hua Chun hadn’t been especially noble or heroically resigned to a righteous death. Part of the reason she’d just made this decision was because—

Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t the female lead have some kind of protagonist halo? So bright, so shining — falling off a cliff wouldn’t kill her, falling into the sea wouldn’t kill her, making a grave mistake wouldn’t kill her either! This was, in a way, her gamble — to see whether she had one. If she did, she’d come out ahead. If she didn’t…

Well, then she’d just go home and eat some chips.

He Chang’an pressed his lips together, not knowing what to say, and could only accompany her as she walked out.

A prison cart was waiting at the palace gate. Hua Chun found it all rather novel, looking left and right. “Just like in the TV dramas. If I stick my head out, then stand inside, once we pass through the streets, will people throw eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at me?”

“You still have the mood to joke around?” He Chang’an’s lips had gone slightly pale; he shot her a reproachful look.

“Hey, it’s not execution time yet, Second Brother, relax a little.” Hua Chun laughed. “If you wait to be sad until you’re facing the worst outcome, you save yourself a lot of time being happy in the meantime.”

He Chang’an: “…”

Looking at her smiling face, he sighed, and could only watch as she got into the prison cart, then walked alongside it toward the street.

Hua Chun was a little excited — after all, scenes like this were common in TV dramas, but this was her first time experiencing it firsthand. When the prison cart passed the official road and entered the streets, seeing so many common people, she instinctively raised her hand to cover her face.

Yet the people who saw her all seemed stunned, standing dumbly on either side. Quite a few followed the cart to watch the spectacle, whispering, “Who is this? Looks like a high official.”

The crowd fell into silence, and then someone — no one knew who — shouted: “Chancellor Hua!”

The people erupted, crowding in front of the prison cart.

“How did Chancellor Hua end up like this?”

“Right, wasn’t our Chancellor Hua just credited with a great achievement? He left the Western Xia envoys speechless. Just the other day the storyteller at the teahouse was still praising him — how is he going to prison today?”

“What crime did he commit?”

Hua Chun was stunned, looking at these people. The heart that had just gone cold seemed to warm a little again.

The officials didn’t favor her, but the common people still held her in reverence. What she had done was worthy before the ruler above and worthy before the people below — that was enough. Who cared what the other officials thought, right?

Her heart eased, and Hua Chun smiled at the crowd blocking the way ahead.

A gasp rippled through the crowd, and then the prison cart could no longer move forward.

“Make way!” The imperial guards hurried to part the crowd with their scabbards, shouting angrily with furrowed brows: “Do not block the road!”

Common people were, by nature, timid — at this shout, many at the front scattered, but even more surged up from behind.

“Chancellor Hua is a good official! What right do you have to arrest him?”

“That’s right! What right! What crime did Chancellor Hua commit?”

“Chancellor Hua is a loyal official, a good official — we all know it!”

Everyone knew it!

Her throat tightened slightly, and Hua Chun gave a small laugh. This sense of accomplishment was no joke — no wonder so many people loved being heroes. Seeing so many strangers speak up in her defense was truly moving.

He Chang’an turned his head, looked at her, and said, “You truly are remarkable.”

This was sincere praise. No other official in the current court could match what Hua Jinghua had achieved — earning the emperor’s trust above and the people’s hearts below. It was only a pity that the officialdom was so treacherous that in the end, he had blocked others’ paths.

The crowd’s anger grew, and the imperial guards had no choice but to call in reinforcements before they managed to escort her into the Heavenly Prison.

Standing at the prison gate, He Chang’an said, “I’ve arranged people to protect you. As for everything else, I’ll go back and think of a way with His Majesty.”

“Alright.” Hua Chun nodded, looking at him. “If there’s really nothing to be done, it’s fine, don’t be too sad about it — this is something I brought upon myself, after all.”

How could he not be sad? He Chang’an’s fists clenched tight, and he gazed at her deeply.

If, in the end, he truly had no choice but to die, then he wouldn’t need to marry either — sparing others and sparing himself. Regret alone would be enough to accompany him for the rest of his life; what use would anyone else be to him?

Purple Dawn Hall.

In a fit of fury, the emperor smashed every rare antique in the rear hall to pieces. Eunuch Qin stood guard at the door, not daring to enter, listening to the commotion inside, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He Chang’an returned from the Heavenly Prison and bravely pushed open the door.

A paperweight came flying straight at his face; fortunately his reflexes were quick, and he narrowly dodged it.

“Your Majesty.”

Yuwen Jie’s eyes were both bloodshot, his dragon robe somewhat disheveled, leaning sideways against the throne — it was unclear who exactly he was angry at.

Closing the hall door behind him, He Chang’an walked over helplessly. “Jinghua has already entered the Heavenly Prison.”

“What else can I do?” Yuwen Jie said in a low voice. “She must have something wrong with her head, saying such things in court! Leaving not the slightest room to maneuver! If even adding together all the crimes of the entire Hua family wouldn’t warrant her a death sentence, how could the public be convinced otherwise?”

He Chang’an shook his head. “In the end, Jinghua cares deeply about family.”

“Didn’t I already have her send the important ones away!”

“Last night.” He Chang’an thought for a moment. “While sending Hua Zhengrong away, we were discovered — so someone likely got wind of it, which is why she said even those outside the capital should be punished as well. Your Majesty should also understand Jinghua’s position — he couldn’t bear to sacrifice his mother.”

“She couldn’t bear to sacrifice her mother — then what about me? Who will understand my position?” His knuckles turned white, the emperor’s eyes full of fury. “Knowing that Prince Xi was targeting her, she still stuck her own neck out for him to chop off! With her gone, won’t Yuwen Xi only grow more unchecked?”

“Please calm your anger, Your Majesty.” He Chang’an said. “The most urgent matter now is to quickly find a suitable candidate to fill the Chancellor’s vacancy, so that Prince Xi cannot exploit the opening.”

“I have no mood for that.” The emperor said wearily. “You go find someone. I want to rest.”

This reaction… was rather extreme. He Chang’an turned his head, glancing at the wreckage filling Purple Dawn Hall, somewhat taken aback.

It seemed the emperor cared for Jinghua even more than he had imagined. Although losing Chancellor Hua was indeed a heavy loss, it shouldn’t have unsettled him to this degree.

Leaving Purple Dawn Hall, He Chang’an walked along, deep in thought, trying to figure out the reason. Had something happened between the emperor and Hua Jinghua that he didn’t know about?

Just as he was pondering this, he bumped into someone.

“My lord.” The Fourth Young Lady of the Qu family curtsied politely toward him. “The Empress Dowager requests that you come to Huiming Hall.”