◎”If the facts are true, let the historians record them, and issue an edict of self-reproach—”◎

The Emperor gripped his sword tightly, staring intently at the Imperial Grand Prince.

This time he saw it clearly—it was hatred.

The Imperial Grand Prince hated him.

He couldn’t believe it and hurriedly walked forward several steps, afraid he had seen wrong. But no matter how he looked, the Imperial Grand Prince’s gaze never flickered or avoided, steadily returning his stare.

The Emperor suddenly came back to his senses and hastily retreated a step, shouting loudly: “Protect me! Quickly, protect me!”

The Yulin Guards swiftly formed a protective circle around the Emperor. However, having just resisted Prince Qi’s forces, the Yulin Guards had lost several commanding officers and now had few remaining.

Yulin Guard Commander Wang Qi looked behind them and discovered the city gates were already closed. He immediately said in alarm: “Your Majesty, the Southern Administrative Office garrison troops were just defeated all the way here by the Grand Prince’s men—they’ve likely all been replaced by his people.”

The Emperor’s expression darkened with uncertainty as he loudly berated the Imperial Grand Prince: “Chi Tan, you wretch, what are you trying to do!”

The Imperial Grand Prince said nothing, only looking toward Prince Qi’s faction.

The rebellious general who had spoken earlier understood immediately.

His surname was Liu, given name Yi. He was from Yuzhou, and his speech carried a thick Yuzhou accent that added a rustic quality. He declared loudly: “Your Majesty, Prince Qi says that you betrayed your teacher and ancestors, murdering the former Grand Preceptor Zhe Wendao—he showed us evidence of you killing Grand Preceptor Zhe—I can present it to Your Majesty before all the officials.”

The Emperor flew into a rage. So angry he stopped cursing the Grand Prince, he turned around in agitated defeat toward Liu Yi: “Treacherous rebel, speaking complete nonsense! Someone, quickly kill him!”

But the Yulin Guards dared not move. They feared that if they acted, the Grand Prince’s men would strike, and then the Emperor would surely perish.

Wang Qi said with difficulty: “In the recent battle, our men suffered heavy casualties, while the Grand Prince’s men had few losses…”

Now the city gates were closed too. Even with all the officials coming to rescue them, they couldn’t break through from outside in the short term. Inside, the Imperial Grand Prince was in control.

He shook his head lightly: “Unless we deploy troops from Mingzhou to attack, otherwise it will be very difficult to break this stalemate.”

Not to mention whether they could even breach the palace—by the time the Mingzhou army reached Luoyang, his and the Emperor’s corpses would have passed their seventh-day memorial.

Wang Qi looked utterly dispirited: it could be said that once the Grand Prince closed his net, both the officials and the Emperor would struggle to survive.

Yet the Grand Prince’s intention didn’t seem to be killing the officials, but rather had the air of making them watch a performance.

And if the officials’ lives weren’t threatened… the outcome was obvious.

Wang Qi’s expression grew increasingly grim, knowing the overall situation was lost and the outcome likely predetermined.

He understood, and naturally the cleverer officials understood as well.

But more people remained in a daze, clearly unprepared for another battle and unclear about the current situation.

At this moment, Lan Shanjun stood before the Imperial Grand Prince with her blade.

The officers who had been following her charge all day hesitated, then also stepped forward to stand with her.

People cannot make major decisions in a short time, especially these soldiers and junior officers without a guiding force.

When they had to make an instant decision, following a familiar person was the simplest choice. Moreover, Lan Shanjun had been killing at the forefront all day and had saved many lives.

The killing intent had yet to fade from this imperial city, and the blood on her blade tip carried its own authority and appeal.

Yu Qingwu revealed a faint smile. For Shanjun’s first battle to have this effect—she would surely be formidable in the future.

She now possessed an air of turning the tide.

Lan Shanjun had originally turned to nod at the Imperial Grand Prince to indicate all was well, but happened to catch Yu Qingwu’s subtle smile.

She paused, then couldn’t help but relax her vigilance, her eyes softening for a moment as she nodded at him too.

Then she turned around, coldly regarding the distant Emperor and Prince Qi.

Prince Qi was laughing heartily.

He never expected the Imperial Grand Prince wouldn’t simply kill the Emperor, but instead stage this “special joint tribunal.”

The more he thought about it, the more amusing he found it. He simply acknowledged what Liu Yi had said: “Father Emperor, your son hasn’t deceived these people.”

He said ominously: “Since childhood, you studied together with Duan Boyan under Zhe Wendao, once calling him your second father—what, has it only been a few decades and you don’t remember at all? Then let your son help you recall.”

The Emperor understood his current predicament. He ignored Prince Qi, who was clearly trying to create infighting, and looked directly at the Imperial Grand Prince: “Chi Tan, do you want to rebel?”

Only now did the Imperial Grand Prince speak. He didn’t answer that question, but instead asked: “Imperial Grandfather, what General Liu said—is it true? Did you really kill Grand Preceptor Zhe?”

But before the Emperor could answer, the Imperial Grand Prince looked toward the officials: “Everyone, what General Liu said—does anyone know about this?”

No one responded.

Yang Kui was already laughing.

His thoughts aligned with Prince Qi’s—he never expected to witness such a spectacle before dying.

He laughed heartily: “Of course it’s true. Our Emperor felt Grand Preceptor Zhe was too controlling and interfered with his embezzling silver, so he simply killed him.”

He sneered: “Are any members of the Zhe family present? The old Emperor feared your revenge back then, so he eradicated the roots by demoting all the Zhe family back to Yunzhou. Your Zhe family has suffered many deaths and injuries over these years—haven’t you noticed anything suspicious?”

There actually were several Zhe family members present. They’d had a difficult time over the years. They had planned to marry into the Song Duke’s family, but after the Song family fell, they arranged marriages with others in Luoyang, hoping to return from Yunzhou to Luoyang.

Yang Kui continued: “Even if you return, as long as His Majesty lives, the Zhe surname will never receive important appointments. His Majesty feels very guilty and fears you’ll seek revenge on him—”

The Zhe family members looked at each other, all uncertain what to do.

They didn’t care how Grand Preceptor Zhe died, but at this moment, declaring allegiance correctly could affect the entire family.

Seeing this, Yang Kui mocked the Imperial Grand Prince: “Look, even now they don’t dare align with you.”

The Imperial Grand Prince didn’t bother with someone about to die. But the Emperor was so angry he stabbed his sword into the ground: “Shut up, shut up! All of you shut up!”

The Imperial Grand Prince glanced at the Emperor, then calmly looked away and continued asking: “About the events back then, does anyone remember?”

Still no one answered. But no one dared to raise their heads anymore either.

They all knew what the Imperial Grand Prince wanted to do.

Especially those who knew the truth from back then.

Seeing he couldn’t command anyone, the Emperor simply raised his blade himself and went toward the Imperial Grand Prince, saying sternly: “What, are you all going to rebel? Eh?”

Along the way, no one dared to directly oppose him.

But to reach the Imperial Grand Prince, he had to pass by Lan Shanjun.

Lan Shanjun stood unmoved. The Emperor stopped, narrowed his eyes: “It’s you—you’re Duan Boyan’s child—I knew it, anyone he raised would harbor treacherous intentions.”

“I truly regret it. That day I should not have been soft-hearted and let you live. I should have killed you! I should have killed Duan Boyan back then!”

The three words “Duan Boyan” finally raised the officials’ heads in alarm.

They all looked this way, whether they knew the truth or not, all became uncertain with surprise.

Yet Lan Shanjun smiled: “I did indeed study under General Duan Boyan.”

She met the officials’ gazes and declared loudly: “Therefore—I also heard him speak of the truth from back then.”

The Emperor’s face darkened, but Lan Shanjun had already begun speaking.

She proclaimed in a ringing voice: “In the tenth year of Yuanshao, Your Majesty wanted to build the Xia Garden but had no silver. Though the national treasury was abundant, when you wanted to divert three hundred thousand taels to build the garden, Grand Preceptor Zhe refused, so you harbored resentment. In the spring of Yuanshao’s tenth year, you dispatched Duan Boyan to suppress bandits in the southwest, then poisoned Grand Preceptor Zhe.”

“In the eleventh year of Yuanshao, you began amassing wealth. The Personnel Ministry added official positions, allowing people below to buy offices with silver. The Justice Ministry released death row inmates and arbitrarily arrested people, making common folk pay blood money to buy their lives.”

“Even the Works Ministry went to the Jiangnan region to procure Taihu stones, profiting millions of taels.”

“This was already enough for Your Majesty to build countless gardens and enjoy pleasures daily—yet you still refused to stop. You personally had the then War Minister create a hundred thousand phantom soldiers to embezzle military pay.”

The younger officials were already stirring upon hearing this, especially Gong Lin, who even incredulously exclaimed loudly: “This—this is simply preposterous.”

Father Gong and Princess Anning somehow had already come to stand beside him, not stopping him.

At this moment, Xu Youqing stepped forward to continue: “Your Majesty, about this matter, I know of it.”

The Emperor flew into a rage: “You’ve been following the Grand Prince, harboring rebellious intentions all along. What are you to dare slander me!”

Lan Shanjun continued: “In the eighteenth year of Yuanshao, when the Shuzhou rebels revolted, Duan Boyan was originally suppressing bandits in the southwest, so he led troops to quell them. But in that battle, the Personnel Ministry dispatched incompetent officials, the Finance Ministry withheld provisions, and the War Ministry supplied phantom soldiers—that battle back then, does anyone still remember?”

The officials stirred again.

The eighteenth year of Yuanshao wasn’t so distant. Some of them knew about it and had witnessed the tragic state with their own eyes.

And those who didn’t know—the young officials and those with some backbone—could no longer suppress their voices.

Lan Shanjun spoke very quickly, giving the Emperor no time to react, continuing: “In the twenty-ninth year of Yuanshao, Your Majesty had Ni Tao falsify records to conceal fifty thousand in embezzled pay, to appear innocent. You had the then Duke Zhenguo Lan Huaiyin lead troops to war, and following Prince Qi’s suggestion, captured tens of thousands of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people from Shuzhou, Yuzhou, and other places to pad the battlefield numbers. To cover your crimes, anyone who resisted would have their entire village massacred—”

She looked at the Emperor: “Your Majesty, do you still remember these things? Do you still remember doing these things?”

She sneered: “In the thirty-first year of Yuanshao, fearing the former Crown Prince and Duan Boyan would expose your sins, you poisoned your own son and banished the general who had served nation and people his entire life.”

“In the thirty-second year of Yuanshao, the once corrupt Six Ministries and Cabinet were temporarily stable because Duan Boyan had executed a group of them. The Shuzhou that once troubled you endlessly had been suppressed, the embezzled pay filled in, with Duke Zhenguo’s household taking the blame.”

“Believing all under heaven was at peace in a prosperous age, yet feeling especially aggrieved yourself, in the thirty-third year of Yuanshao you allowed Prince Qi’s subordinates—Marquis Boyuan, Lin Qi, Wang Deyi, and others—to embezzle military silver from horse sales at the Imperial Stud, harshly forcing commoners to raise horses, causing people unbearable suffering—”

She reached this point and looked at the officials again: “These things, do you all remember?”

Her expression became solemn: “Director Ni Tao wrote me a letter.”

“He said—you all know.”

“At first, I didn’t understand its meaning. Later I came to understand—with the court in such absurdity until now, you all couldn’t possibly not know.”

Her gaze swept across this group of increasingly restless people one by one: “After I learned of it, I was willing to accuse Prince Qi first, but because the crime lay with Your Majesty, I dared not speak out.”

“But at this moment, because Prince Qi has rebelled and General Liu Yi seeks truth, I am also willing to stand forth and speak what I know.”

“—I speak what I know, but I don’t know if you officials dare speak what you know.”

Below, chaos truly erupted with continuous buzzing sounds.

The Emperor was already trembling with rage, the tip of his sword quivering as he pointed at her.

Lan Shanjun then said: “What this subject’s daughter has stated, every single matter has evidence. Is Your Majesty willing to accept the presentation?”

The Emperor’s vision went black with anger.

Before he could collapse, Lan Shanjun said: “Your Majesty, the evidence is conclusive, you cannot escape responsibility. This subject’s daughter requests that you write an edict of self-reproach to announce to all under heaven, to give the dead their due innocence.”

Gong Lin, filled with righteous indignation, declared loudly: “If what General Liu and Lady Yu have said is true, it is truly absurd. Your Majesty, when the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is judged the same as commoners. You truly should write an edict of self-reproach to announce to all under heaven!”

Following his outcry, Xu Youqing and others stepped forward one by one, and then others, seeing the situation favoring the Grand Prince, spoke out one after another.

“If the facts are true, let the historians record them, and issue an edict of self-reproach—”

The Emperor couldn’t catch his breath, constantly stabbing his sword into the ground: “You, all of you, I will kill you all! Kill you all!”

Wang Qi closed his eyes.

It was over.

Now, they had truly stood in opposition to all the officials.

An emperor who wanted to kill them versus a Grand Prince who pleaded for the people and preserved their lives—no need to think much to know whom to choose.