Doubtful points?
A wicked, twisted smile curled at Jun Beiyue’s blood-smeared lips, his icy eyes boring straight into Emperor Tianhui, saying nothing at all.
Emperor Tianhui let him look, unable to fathom what he was planning, not daring to say much more. The entire hall fell silent once again, everyone watching Jun Beiyue with hearts pounding in fear, unable to guess what he might say next.
Whether it was the House of National Beauty incident or the Chen family murder case, the truth had already come to light—Jun Beiyue was the murderer, and under Da Zhou law, he ought indeed to face legal punishment.
And yet, Emperor Tianhui had just spoken as he did, clearly showing weakness before Jun Beiyue, clearly telling him: as long as you don’t raise an army in rebellion, as long as you don’t seize the throne, everything else can still be discussed—there’s still room to maneuver in this case!
Weren’t laws, after all, established by imperial authority?
Weren’t cases, after all, judged by people?
Wasn’t evidence, after all, something people could manipulate?
As long as Jun Beiyue was willing to compromise, everything could still be worked out!
Everyone waited. Without question, Jun Beiyue’s answer would decide everything—whether this upheaval would escalate into outright rebellion, or whether the whole matter could be smoothed over and reduced to something manageable.
A blade straight through the heart, and he still had this much strength left. Jun Beiyao sat slumped on the ground, Jun Beichen still hadn’t gotten back up—who else would dare challenge him now?
All power to decide rested entirely with this one man. In everyone’s eyes, he was the one in command.
But only the woman beside him knew—he was holding on through sheer willpower alone, nearly at his limit, even borrowing against strength he wouldn’t have until some future moment, just to keep standing.
Ziqing had gone completely still, tilting her head to look up at him, at his face like some divine being, so stern, at his deep eyes, so severe. Suddenly she felt a strange sense of distance—so far away it left her heart racing with unease.
If she hadn’t seen him with her own eyes, at this very moment she truly would have believed the hand resting on her shoulder belonged to a corpse—it was that cold!
Everyone assumed Jun Beiyue was hesitating, deliberating. Only Ziqing knew—he was catching his breath, resting.
What was he trying to do?
With one word, all of Da Zhou could be his—yet things had come to this point, and time was too short to worry about such things now!
The moment he could no longer hold on, the moment he collapsed, everything would change entirely!
Ziqing truly couldn’t help herself, wanting to speak up—but just then, Jun Beiyue said coldly, “There are no doubtful points! This prince is the murderer!”
With that, he turned abruptly, still holding Ziqing close, his cold gaze sweeping across the assembled ministers, nobles, and capital guards, demanding loudly, “Young master Chen took a bribe from Han Xi’er and sought to violate an innocent woman—did he deserve to die or not?”
For a moment, everyone froze, no one answering.
Jun Beiyue’s face turned even sterner, his voice growing louder still. “Young master Chen concealed the truth, framed Han Ziqing, and defiled her chastity and reputation—did he deserve to die or not?”
The hall fell into a terrifying silence, still no one recovering enough to respond.
Jun Beiyue asked again, “Right and wrong, guilt and innocence—there is an order of precedence. Young master Chen and Han Xi’er erred first, committed their crimes first. They insulted the woman this prince holds dear, wronged the woman this prince holds dear. This prince killed them—what is wrong with that? What kind of man calls himself a man if he cannot even protect the woman he loves? How could such a man protect a nation?”
Every word rang out sharp and forceful. Having finished his outburst, his sharp eyes turned coldly to Prime Minister Han, and he scolded him harshly, “Prime Minister, this prince, out of respect for your years of service and your talents, intended to let this matter pass quietly. Yet not only did you fail to know your place, you actively aided the wrongdoers, using this as a pretext to conspire with the Second Prince and Seventh Prince to frame this prince—do you understand your crime!”
The moment these words left his mouth, Prime Minister Han’s legs gave out completely beneath him, and he dropped to his knees with a thud!
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that Prince Yao’s concealment of this matter all along must have had its own hidden reasons. But this furious tirade, even as it served to clear his own name and restore his own image, wasn’t entirely without merit either!
Most crucially, Jun Beiyue’s words carried undeniable weight—once he spoke, who would dare doubt him?
Even more crucially, Jun Beiyue’s words had, quite deliberately, offered Emperor Tianhui a graceful way down from this predicament!
“Yes!”
Suddenly, Emperor Tianhui shouted, his voice rousing with sudden fervor. “Well said, well said! Prime Minister, you shielded your own daughter, committed such an enormous crime, causing this entire monumental misunderstanding—what punishment do you deserve!”
“Mercy, Your Majesty, mercy, Prince Yao! This old servant failed to properly raise his daughter, this old servant deserves ten thousand deaths for his crime. I beg Your Majesty and Prince Yao to show mercy, to spare this old servant’s life!”
Prime Minister Han had no words to defend himself, and could only beg for mercy. He understood perfectly well that Emperor Tianhui had already resolved to sacrifice him, to quell this entire affair.
Prince Yao was innocent, the princess consort was innocent, everyone would be at peace, and there would be no rebellion!
Emperor Tianhui was about to speak when Jun Beiyue, casting a cold glance over the entire assembly, demanded loudly, insisting on absolute clarity, “Is this prince guilty of any crime? Is the princess consort guilty of any crime?”
“No!” Emperor Tianhui spoke up at the exact same moment, terrified Jun Beiyue might change his mind, and immediately the entire hall echoed almost in unison, “No! The prince is innocent, the princess consort is innocent!”
It was at this very moment that Yingzi and Physician Gu finally arrived. The instant they saw the wound at Jun Beiyue’s chest, still bleeding steadily, they were nearly struck faint with shock!
Their master truly didn’t care about his own life at all!
Physician Gu was about to rush forward, but Yingzi stopped him, a complicated look flickering in his eyes, and shouted loudly instead, “Prince Yao is innocent! Prince Yao is a true man, a real husband!”
Public opinion needed guidance, and the hearts of the people needed guidance too. At once, everyone in the hall began shouting along with Yingzi.
Jun Beiyue looked toward Yingzi, a flicker of gratification crossing his eyes.
No wonder he was the very assistant he himself had personally raised up—Yingzi understood exactly what he intended!
He couldn’t hold on much longer. Before he collapsed, he had to be declared innocent—especially Han Ziqing had to be declared innocent.
The moment he fell, everything would change. All it would take was the smallest excuse for the wolves and tigers surrounding them to viciously turn on them, to swallow Han Ziqing whole, to swallow up every last bit of his military power!
Even if Yingzi and General Ouyang managed to hold things together through sheer determination, the hearts of the people would gradually drift away, and within a year or two, the result would be the same—the tree would fall, and the monkeys would scatter.
What Jun Beiyao and Jun Beichen had just been testing was precisely whether he would live or die.
If this group determined he was certain to die, then this support of the people’s hearts would never be his to reclaim!
Only if this group came to believe he wouldn’t die could he claw his way this far—establishing his innocence, concealing the case for the sake of the realm and its people, preserving Prime Minister Han’s righteous image.
He had long since exhausted his strength. He had held on through sheer will up to this very moment, so that he could finally secure her complete safety, keep his troops from scattering, and preserve the loyalty of the people’s hearts!
As long as the people’s hearts remained loyal, as long as the spirit of Da Zhou’s god of war endured, as long as Da Zhou’s pillar still stood, Prince Yao’s mansion would not fall, and Da Zhou would not descend into chaos!
As long as all of this held, she, his princess consort, would also be safe and secure!
Finally, Jun Beiyue slowly turned his head to look at Ziqing. It had been so long—ever since her blade had struck him down, he hadn’t looked at her once, until now.
Ziqing froze, her lips pressed tightly together yet still unable to stop trembling. A terrible premonition surged up in her heart. Though a thousand words crowded her throat, she found herself desperately wanting to ask just one thing, “Jun Beiyue, do you know…”