“What does Your Majesty wish this subject to say?”

The strong liquor had intoxicated the air, drawing out from many people faces entirely unlike their usual selves.

Fu Xuanmiao abandoned his customary compliance, lifting his gaze to meet Shen Suzhan’s directly, and replied without deference or subservience.

“We wish to hear you speak of those things you believe We do not know.” Shen Suzhan fixed him with a fierce, predatory stare.

The venue fell utterly silent. Even officials who had drunk themselves into a stupor and collapsed in sleep were frantically shaken awake by those beside them, lest the sounds of snoring bring disaster upon the innocent. By this point, even the most oblivious person ought to have understood that the killing intent lurking in the shadows had quietly begun to surface.

Wang Jue’s right hand had rested upon his white beard for quite some time. He opened his eyes, which had been narrowed to slits for a good while, and two keen, piercing beams of light shot directly toward the person seated beside Shen Zhuxi.

“Fu Xuanmiao——” Wang Jue drew a heavy breath, his voice low and severe. “Above, you have acted in defiance of the natural order, forming factions for personal gain. Below, you have extorted the people with excessive taxes and levies, seizing power and authority for yourself. Even now, you still refuse to confess your crimes?!”

A prolonged silence. A sharp crack burst from within the fiercely burning flames, and the shadow cast by the firelight lurched suddenly.

Shen Suzhan sat high upon the vermilion dais, his cold and contemptuous gaze falling upon the person beside Shen Zhuxi.

In the deathly stillness where one could hear a pin drop, Shen Zhuxi, who had been staring straight ahead at the empty wine cup before her without turning aside, sensed movement beside her. A tall figure rose and slowly walked to the center of the venue.

The bonfire burned not far away, and its leaping flames draped themselves over Fu Xuanmiao’s refined and elegant features, writhing like a mass of cold, sinister serpents coiling together.

“This subject does not understand.” His calm voice rang out across the wide and silent venue. “Since entering officialdom, this subject has labored diligently for Your Majesty and for Great Yan, daring not to slacken for even a single day. After my father met with misfortune at the hands of treacherous men, this subject took the lead personally, enduring hardship and suffering with resolve, ever fearful of disgracing my father’s name. If Chancellor Wang wishes to bring charges, he must also provide specific grounds — otherwise, it not only wounds the camaraderie between fellow colleagues, but also chills the hearts of the hundreds of officials below.”

“Very well! You want grounds — then grounds I shall give you——”

Wang Jue rose to his feet, glaring at Fu Xuanmiao not far away with imposing authority, and in a single breath recited twenty-eight great crimes. Among them were offenses both grave and minor: the grave ones included Fu Xuanmiao delaying military action and arriving late to rescue the Emperor; lax governance of his troops, resulting in the tragic deaths of innocent civilians; while the minor ones included being one step slow in kneeling during court attendance, conduct unbecoming of one’s character, and even a decades-old affair from when Fu Ruzhi was still alive — allowing his subordinates to encroach upon government rice paddies in the dead of night.

These twenty-eight crimes, Wang Jue recited by heart, each word carrying the weight of something cast in stone.

“Fu Xuanmiao, you and your father have wielded power arbitrarily over these years, disregarding the dignity of the imperial family, repeatedly showing disrespect to the late Emperor and to His Majesty, committing sins too numerous to record in full — your duty as a subject has long been utterly forgotten! If your crimes are not punished, Heaven itself will not abide it! Now — what more have you to say?!”

“This subject and the various regional officials have corresponded frequently because it was necessary to form alliances and coordinate resistance against the false Liao.” Fu Xuanmiao replied unhurriedly, at a measured pace. “The so-called extortion and excessive taxation were also for the purpose of raising military funds to resist the false Liao — the matter of increased levies was at the time submitted for imperial approval and implemented only after receiving Your Majesty’s consent. From where does the charge of contempt for the imperial will arise? The Fu household numbers over four hundred members — this subject would not dare claim that every single one has never committed any wrongdoing, but so long as evidence is produced, the Fu family will absolutely not shield anyone. As for tardiness at morning court——”

Fu Xuanmiao lowered his gaze and said calmly:

“When one wishes to condemn a person, one need not want for charges.”

“I see you are determined not to yield until you face the consequences!” Wang Jue slammed a palm down on the table. The sword-bearing guards who had been standing at attention around the perimeter of the venue stepped forward in unison with a collective ringing of steel, drawing the blades at their waists.

“The Fu clan has controlled the court for years — today, the time has come to return governance to the Son of Heaven!” Wang Jue declared in a fury. “The two thousand-plus men you brought with you are now under the control of the Imperial Guards. If you persist in your obstinacy, do not blame this old man for showing no mercy!”

“Chancellor Wang, unable to persuade with reason, has resorted to naked blades? His Majesty has yet to utter a single word, yet Chancellor Wang alone governs all under Heaven, arresting court officials at will — in this scene before us, is it Chancellor Wang who controls the court, or the Fu clan?”

“Fu Xuanmiao, I know you have a glib tongue, but do not even think of using it to sow discord between me and His Majesty!”

Wang Jue’s expression grew increasingly agitated; Fu Xuanmiao remained as calm and composed as he had been from the very beginning.

Shen Zhuxi watched him, her unease deepening with every passing moment.

“Does His Majesty also feel this way?” Fu Xuanmiao suddenly turned his gaze toward Shen Suzhan seated upon the vermilion dais.

Shen Suzhan sat in a languid, slouching posture, his right hand placed on the table and shielding his chest, a flash of impatience visible between his deeply furrowed brows.

“What We think depends on what you do — We had placed great expectations in your Fu clan, yet — you have left Us deeply disappointed.”

After Shen Suzhan finished speaking, the lips buried beneath Wang Jue’s white beard twisted, revealing a smile of one who holds certain victory.

“His Majesty has already spoken. Fu Xuanmiao, you had best bow your head and confess your crimes. The list of charges you so desperately desire — once you have entered the prison of the Ministry of Justice, this old man will personally deliver it to you!” Wang Jue finished, then his expression changed abruptly, and he bellowed, “Seize him!”

After Wang Jue’s furious roar echoed through the silent encampment, what replaced it was a silence like death.

The bonfire had gone without fresh wood for a long time, and the fire had burned down to its final embers. Aside from the occasional crack and pop from the flames, the venue was so quiet it seemed as though one could hear the sound of each person’s blood flowing through their veins.

Those faint sounds of flowing blood from all directions converged into a vast and ice-cold underground river, submerging Shen Zhuxi beneath its surface.

She sat, her entire body ice-cold, watching the Imperial Guards who gripped their blades yet did not move.

“What are you doing?!” Wang Jue cried out furiously. “Why have you not seized him yet?!”

The Imperial Guards remained expressionless, not moving an inch, as though they simply could not hear Wang Jue’s voice.

Shen Suzhan, unable to contain himself, followed with his own furious shout: “Why have you not seized him! Do you no longer heed even Our commands?!”

The Imperial Guards still did not move.

Both Wang Jue’s and Shen Suzhan’s expressions changed drastically. Even the most slow-witted person ought to have understood by now — the situation had reversed. The turtle being caught in the jar was not the turtle they had initially assumed.

They had walked into a trap.

“After my father was summoned by imperial decree at the age of thirteen to serve as the late Emperor’s study companion, he remained by the late Emperor’s side without ever leaving.” Fu Xuanmiao slowly opened his mouth to speak:

“For my father, the bond between him and the late Emperor was not only that of ruler and subject, but also that of brothers. From a young age, my father taught me to be utterly loyal to Great Yan. I watched my father toil day and night for Great Yan until his hair turned white in the prime of his life — and so I studied diligently for ten years, for the sole purpose of sharing my father’s burdens. My father sacrificed in every matter and yielded at every turn for Great Yan, for the late Emperor, for His Majesty — a Chief Minister of the realm was murdered right before the Emperor’s eyes, and to this day the perpetrator remains at large! People say this subject ought to feel hatred and resentment — yet this subject has never harbored a single grievance in his heart, for this subject knows that my father would surely have understood and forgiven His Majesty.”

Fu Xuanmiao’s tranquil and serene voice merged with the cold, dark river flowing above Shen Zhuxi’s head.

It submerged every person in the venue beneath its surface.

A bone-piercing chill surged from the soles of Shen Zhuxi’s feet all the way to the crown of her head.

“My father devoted his entire life to Great Yan and the late Emperor — if he were to know that His Majesty today calls him a cancer attached to the bone——” Fu Xuanmiao looked directly at Shen Suzhan on the dais and said softly, “how heartbroken he would be.”

“Enough! What on earth have you done to Our Imperial Guards?!” Amid Shen Suzhan’s bluster, a flicker of fear seeped into his enraged countenance.

“Your Majesty may rest at ease — Your Majesty’s Imperial Guards remain ever at Your Majesty’s side, standing guard day and night for the sake of Your Majesty’s safety——” Fu Xuanmiao’s tone shifted sharply, and he said in a stern voice, “Imperial Guards, hear my command! Wang Jue has flattered those above him while bullying those below, distorted right and wrong, purged dissenters and formed cliques within the court, and spread slander and delusion among the people. Seize this man immediately — upon our return to Jianzhou, he is to be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for strict investigation, to restore Great Yan’s clear and bright skies!”

“You dare!” Wang Jue’s complexion turned ashen.

His words carried not a shred of intimidating force.

At Fu Xuanmiao’s single command, the Imperial Guards who had stood like stone statues a moment before came to life in an instant. The frail and aged Wang Jue was engulfed without ceremony, and whatever occurred in between was unclear, but moments later he had been thrown to the ground — his neatly groomed white beard now disheveled and tangled, and his brocade robe bearing several footprints.

“Fu Xuanmiao—— you are committing treason! You act in defiance of the natural order, and sooner or later retribution will find you! You — the number one gentleman under Heaven — will sooner or later be reduced to a handful of black ash! Despised by all people under Heaven! Even if you remove one old subject, there will be many more like this old subject who will step forward and give their lives to protect His Majesty! Your treacherous scheme—— will never succeed! Your Majesty! Summon your courage — we have not yet lost——”

Wang Jue’s mournful cries continued without cease. Fu Xuanmiao’s expression grew subtly darker, and one of the Imperial Guards, reading the situation, immediately struck Wang Jue unconscious with the flat of his blade.

A Chief Minister of the realm — dragged away just like that, in full view of everyone.

“Fu Xuanmiao…… is this how you treat Our Chief Minister?” In the silence that blanketed the entire venue, Shen Suzhan, his complexion dreadful, spoke through gritted teeth.

He stared at the man in the center of the venue with a pallid face, his grinding teeth seeming to wish he could devour Fu Xuanmiao alive.

“And what of it, being Chief Minister?” Fu Xuanmiao replied with effortless composure. “…… A Chief Minister may still be murdered by treacherous men while justice goes unserved — as with my father; a Chief Minister may also err and find himself imprisoned — as with Wang Jue. Wang Jue spread false words and bewitched His Majesty’s sage heart, causing His Majesty to be unable to distinguish the loyal from the treacherous. This subject’s duty is to help His Majesty purge what clouds his sight and dispel the fog of confusion.”

Fu Xuanmiao’s gaze swept one by one across the assembled crowd, rigid as stone statues with expressions of every shade, and his cold, clear voice carrying the force of ten thousand catties crashed toward them all like a surging tide.

“If any of you wish to speak in Wang Jue’s defense, you may open your mouths now.”

When the gentle breeze ceased its stirring, the venue was left with nothing but a silence like the grave.

The moon had largely retreated behind the clouds, leaving only the thin, cold moonlight seeping through the cracks, falling faintly and hollowly upon everyone. The table laden with fine food and delicacies had long since grown cold. The long banquet tables were filled with people, yet the tea had cooled, the wine had turned cold, and beneath the moonlight there was not a trace of life. The blood still coursing through their veins was cold too. Not one person stepped forward to stand before the Emperor on the vermilion dais, who was both furious and afraid.

The momentum had been lost. Not a single official opened their mouth to speak. They either bowed their heads or averted their eyes, and without any prior agreement, every one of them remained utterly silent, letting the heavy quietude flow through the air above the encampment.

Shen Zhuxi sat trembling in her chair, her tightly clenched fists driving her fingernails deep into her palms.

The pain in her palms was not even one ten-thousandth of what she felt at that moment.

Fu Xuanmiao’s sophistry was more familiar to her than to anyone else. He always had a way of twisting his despicable actions into something righteous.

If she continued to remain silent here, she would be no different from before. This overcast cloud above her head would cast its shadow over her forever.

The threads binding her — she would never be able to free herself from them until death. Whether he was present or not, they would burrow deep into her skin, cinch around her flesh and blood, and gnaw away at her will.

“Don’t be afraid — I’m not dead yet.”

Li Wu’s easy-going yet utterly resolute voice echoed in her ears.

“It doesn’t matter if the enemy thinks you’ve lost — what’s frightening is when you yourself believe you’ve lost.”

The words her mother consort had often said to her in childhood also echoed in this moment.

Shen Zhuxi fixed her unwavering gaze upon Fu Xuanmiao — the only person in the entire venue who stood perfectly upright — and felt courage gradually fill her entire being.

She absolutely would not repeat the same mistakes.

“Since none of you wish to offer a remonstrance, may His Majesty then proceed to the royal tent……”

“Since no one dares speak in Wang Jue’s defense——”

Fu Xuanmiao stopped. The Imperial Guards surging toward Shen Suzhan also stopped.

The gazes of everyone in the venue converged upon Shen Zhuxi, who had suddenly risen to her feet.

A morning breeze swept through the encampment. At the dying end of the extinguished bonfire, the last embers flickered in a final struggle, and the red robe and red skirt billowing around Shen Zhuxi were like a fresh blaze newly kindled in the center of the venue.

“I, for one, would very much like to hear your own defense.”

Shen Zhuxi clenched both fists tight, her courageous and resolute gaze meeting head-on the eyes of Fu Xuanmiao, who had turned to look back at her.

“Do you feel not even the slightest remorse for the hundreds of thousands of innocent subjects of Great Yan who died beneath the surging waves of the Shang River because of you?”