Chapter 16: Prince Rui.

By the Heavenly Pool, beneath the pavilion.

“Place.”

“Fly.”

A eunuch stepped forward beside them, head lowered, and reported:

“Your Majesty, the Bai family’s false witness has been exposed.”

The two people under the pavilion paid no attention and continued playing chess.

“Hahaha, this low hanging move is also a ghost hand.”

“Your Majesty, you have already won!”

The person in black gauze and white robe cupped his hands and spoke.
This person was none other than the Grand Tutor.

One person, two souls.
One soul watched the court trial between the Bai family and Prince Rui’s mansion in Taiqing Palace, while the other played chess with the Emperor by the Heavenly Pool.

“No, no, no… there are too many places for劫 (ko).
This game of chess has long since become impossible to determine a winner.
Not winning is losing.
It is I who lost!”

“Winning a game of chess does not necessarily mean winning within the board.”

The Emperor placed the chess piece in his hand back into the chess box, waved his hand, and said:

“Another game!”

………………

………………

Inside Taiqing Palace, the Second Prince slowly walked up to the Ministry of Works official.

“Are you certain… it is me?”

The official nodded tremblingly and glanced once more at Bai Shuxi’s uncle.

The Second Prince straightened his back and let out a relieved burst of laughter.
The crowd also began to laugh along.

“Hahaha, the Bai family hired a false witness and actually found someone who doesn’t even know what the Young Prince looks like.
How ridiculous!”

Bai Shuxi stood there completely dazed.
She anxiously turned to her uncle.

“Uncle, this… what exactly is going on?”

Bai Shuxi suddenly felt her brain buzzing.
Could the witness be fake?
This was an imperial petition!
It could destroy the entire Bai family!

Qian Junyou breathed a sigh of relief.
He had won this gamble.

Previously, Qian Junyou had been in a completely disadvantageous position.
The ministers wanted to help but couldn’t find a way to speak, and they couldn’t properly curry favor with Prince Rui’s mansion either.

Now that a target had suddenly appeared, everyone rushed forward like mad dogs unleashed from their leashes.

The ministers turned toward the Bai family.
One after another, they hurled insults, shaming the Bai family from top to bottom.
Someone started it, and soon private scandals of the Bai family were dragged out…

Then, all kinds of rumors about the Bai family popped up one after another, true and false mixed together.
The more they spoke, the more excited they became, and the more outrageous the stories grew.
All sorts of unbearable, filthy gossip spread throughout the hall—

Some said Bai Shuxi was the product of her mother’s affair with a servant.
Her father was a bastard child.
Some even claimed Bai Shuxi had an affair with her own uncle…

Many of the remarks were disgustingly vile, clearly contradictory and self-defeating.
Some were obviously made up on the spot.

The people present were all literati who had studied hard for ten years and read the Four Books and Five Classics.
Their skill at fabricating stories was top-notch.

Even if the logic didn’t hold together, so what?
As long as they added embellishments and made the plot vivid enough to attract attention, even the worst rumors could spread like wildfire!

With many mouths speaking, three people could make a tiger.
These rumors would certainly not stop inside this hall.
It wouldn’t take long before they spread throughout the capital.

“You’re all talking nonsense!”

Bai Shuxi was so anxious she was about to cry, yet she still clenched her fists and argued with the crowd.

“Whether it’s nonsense… doesn’t Miss Bai already know in her heart?
What ‘number one talented lady of the capital’?
Those articles of yours were actually written by Young Master Zhang for you.
We’ve long heard about your private rendezvous with him!
This old man simply didn’t want to expose you!”

“Building Foundation eighth layer at eighteen?
And coincidentally the number one beauty of the capital as well?
How could there be such a coincidence?
I’m afraid she must have been ‘helped’ by quite a few fallen men, right?”

Had the plot suddenly dropped in intelligence?
But reality was exactly this absurd…

Under the restraints of social etiquette and morality, many people usually would not commit evil.
But in a specific environment and under specific conditions, once someone took the lead and the crowd silently permitted it, the evil hidden in people’s hearts would expand without limit…

Qian Junyou watched the scene, his heart filled with mixed feelings…
Indeed, he had wanted to teach the Bai family a lesson, but seeing this ridiculous spectacle, he instead felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Because he had once had a junior schoolmate who had experienced cyberbullying and vicious rumors.
She had also been eighteen at the time.

Qian Junyou let out a deep sigh and looked at the young girl before him.

An eighteen-year-old girl who considered herself noble and pure, daring to glare coldly at the number one powerful family in the capital.
Yet in the previous loop, for the sake of her father, she had not hesitated to go to the brothel and beg him for help.

This time she had submitted an imperial petition and was now engaged in a verbal battle against a hall full of ministers.
She had once been the first talented lady, surrounded by admirers like stars around the moon…
Now she had to face these disgusting rumors.

He might punish her, but not in this manner.
Feeling drained, Qian Junyou could no longer stand it and said:

“Enough… all of you, shut up!”

Although his voice was soft, the crowd gradually quieted down.

“Today, all you lords came here to assist in hearing the case, not to denounce the Bai family on my behalf.
I don’t know where these rumors came from or how you learned them, but how many of them are fabricated—you all know clearly in your hearts.
Once you leave Taiqing Palace, do not let me hear these stories again anywhere else… it’s really meaningless.”

The hall fell into silence.
No one said things like “the Young Prince is truly magnanimous.”

It was as if people who had gone mad with rage suddenly woke up.
Everyone recalled the words they had just spoken and felt deeply ashamed.

Bai Shuxi had never expected that in this Taiqing Palace where almost everyone harbored malice toward her, the one who would stand up and speak for her would actually be him.

Was he really the culprit?
This perverted man full of dirty tricks who had nearly harmed Mengyao and stalked her every day…

No matter who stood up to help her, anyone would have been fine—except him!

Was the witness fake?
Had her uncle deceived her?
But then how should Qian Junyou’s previous suspicious actions be explained?

Bai Shuxi felt it was somewhat unacceptable.
She even wanted to hide away.

Prince Rui looked at his son with a somewhat complicated gaze, then turned to look at Bai Shuxi and her uncle.

“Do the two of you have any explanation for this?”

“In reply to Your Highness, this person only met the Young Prince half a month ago.
He may have already forgotten His Highness’s appearance.”

Bai Zhongxiang cupped his hands and responded.
Although the explanation was far-fetched and barely patched things up, this witness had already lost all credibility.

Prince Rui shook his head, unwilling to pursue the matter further.
Instead, he glanced at Qian Junyou and the Grand Tutor below the platform.

“This matter damages the imperial family’s face.
It must be investigated thoroughly.
I request Duke Wei to grant my worthless son a strike of the Heart-Questioning Sword!”

Prince Rui spoke with stern severity.
The title “Duke Wei” referred precisely to the Grand Tutor!

The moment these words were spoken, exclamations erupted throughout the hall.
The crowd fell into chaos.
Bai Shuxi also panicked.
She had never expected Prince Rui to act so recklessly!

The only ones who showed smiles were the Three Dukes and Bai Shuxi’s uncle.
However, the meaning behind their smiles differed—one side was calm and indifferent, while the other carried a smile of certain victory.

The Heart-Questioning Sword, as its name suggested, interrogated the recipient’s heart, primordial spirit, and consciousness.
It caused no harm to those with a clear conscience, but for those with guilt, it would shatter their mind and turn them into living corpses.

Although Qian Junyou was a transmigrator, his primordial spirit and consciousness were using this body.
If it really had been the original owner who committed the deed, the outcome was impossible to predict.

The human heart was complex.
Many matters were not simply black and white.
Thus, this technique had caused countless tragedies.
Tens of thousands of years ago, it had been listed as a forbidden art by the Immortal Venerables.

This move was not difficult to learn, but because it had been designated a forbidden technique, in the entire hall only the Grand Tutor, Duke Wei, who was at the Void Refining stage, could perform it.

And in the past thousand years, no one had dared to use this technique—even when facing demonic cultivators, demon races, or those who deceived the emperor and rebelled against the state.

“Your Highness! This… how can this be allowed? Please do not act impulsively!”

“There is really no need! Why not wait for the Censorate to return first?”

Compared to the previous Prince Rui, Qian Junyou’s father held far greater status and power than his grandfather.

It was said that twenty-five years ago, Prince Rui’s status, authority, and influence had already reached their peak.
However, the court had been filled with mixed elements.
Many officials formed factions and engaged in severe partisan struggles.

During one morning court session at that time, Prince Rui had presented a golden-horned white deer to the Emperor and said:

“How does Your Majesty find this golden-horned white ‘horse’?”

“Has Imperial Brother gone糊涂 (confused)? This is clearly a deer.
What do all my beloved ministers think?”

The court officials spoke one after another.
Some said it was a deer, others said it was a horse.

The story of calling a deer a horse also existed in Qian Anhao’s original world’s history, though the background and outcome were different.

Later, Prince Rui personally dealt with the ministers who had agreed with him—that is, those who had called it a “horse”—killing those who needed to be killed and punishing those who needed punishment.
After that, the court became much cleaner.

Only then did the ministers suddenly realize that it had all been a play performed by the Emperor and Prince Rui.
Everyone now knew whom they should pledge loyalty to and also understood the relationship between Prince Rui and the current Emperor.

“Junyou, either you receive the sword, or… confess your guilt!”

Prince Rui looked at his son with cold eyes and spoke indifferently with simple words.

“What will happen if I receive it?”

In response to Qian Junyou’s question, the Second Prince briefly explained from the side.

“Shatter the mind? Turn into a living corpse? Will I not die?”

“You won’t die.
Even if you are killed, your soul will scatter on the spot and you will never be able to reincarnate.”

Wasn’t he the only son?
How could he be so ruthless?
Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs!
This definitely wasn’t his real father, right?

Moreover, the most critical issue right now was that the Censorate’s evidence had not yet arrived.
He still did not know whether the arson case had truly been committed by “himself.”

If he received this sword and it really had been him who did it, and he couldn’t die to restart, then he would truly be finished…

After weighing everything, the current optimal solution was to directly confess.
After confessing, even if he was sentenced to death, it would not be carried out immediately.
He could use the time to gather intelligence and learn what evidence the Censorate had found.

Although he did not know if there would be another life, he could at least maximize the value of this current one.

Even so, Qian Junyou still felt unwilling.
Clearly it wasn’t his fault…

He had already been firmly accused by Bai Shuxi of killing eight hundred people just to pursue her and force her to submit.
If he confessed now, he would truly become an utter scumbag…

Thinking of Bai Shuxi’s cold mockery and ridicule toward him, Qian Junyou felt that only by receiving this sword could he prove—

His innocence!