Chapter 17: How to Ask Your Heart.

“Father, can we wait until the Censorate returns before deciding?”

“No.”

Prince Rui coldly rejected him.
However, the moment he finished speaking, a report came from outside the hall—

“Report— Lord Li, Right Chief Censor of the Censorate, requests an audience!”

Finally!
Qian Junyou breathed a sigh of relief.
With this, he could roughly deduce from the evidence whether he had participated in the case or not.

The Eastern Pavilion Grand Academician glanced at Prince Rui.
Only after Prince Rui nodded did the Grand Academician agree:

“Summon— Right Chief Censor, enter the hall!”

A moment later, the Right Chief Censor who had led the search of Prince Rui’s mansion walked into the hall.
The Vice Chief Censor beside Bai Shuxi cupped his hands and retreated to the side, standing with the other ministers.

The Right Chief Censor was just about to report the results when the Eastern Pavilion Grand Academician raised a hand to stop him, then waved toward Prince Rui.

The Censor naturally understood.
He took small quick steps over to Prince Rui and quietly whispered the search results into his ear.

Qian Junyou’s face went blank again.
Was this really necessary?

“Father… this… what was the result?”

“First tell me—will you receive the sword, or confess your guilt?”

Prince Rui looked at his son with cold, emotionless eyes.

He had finally waited for the Censorate, yet his own father refused to tell him the result!?
Qian Junyou completely shut down.
This was too difficult, wasn’t it?

His mind began sorting through the chaotic thoughts, trying to analyze whether the original “Qian Junyou” was guilty.
If he confessed, what should he do?
What should he say?

“Stop dawdling! If you’re guilty, confess it yourself! Don’t act like a coward—!”

Prince Rui’s sudden furious roar startled everyone into a shiver.
The entire palace trembled from the sound.
Only the Three Dukes stood to the side, smiling without saying a word.

From Prince Rui’s enraged tone, Qian Junyou seemed to sense the result…
Could it be… that it really was him who did it?

For a moment he truly didn’t know what choice to make.
He was the one who was truly isolated and helpless!

Since transmigrating, he had already died a full eight times.
Who could he even tell about the bitterness in his heart?

“I will count to five.
If you refuse to receive the sword, it will be taken as a confession of guilt!”

Prince Rui’s stern, low, and powerful voice echoed throughout Taiqing Palace.

His father already knew the Censorate’s investigation results.
Why end the countdown with confession?
Wasn’t he simply forcing him to confess?
What exactly was the evidence?
Perhaps “he” really… was the culprit?

The Grand Tutor walked over with a kind smile, holding his sword.
He seemed to have no objection to Prince Rui’s decision.
The ministers chattered noisily on the side, but Qian Junyou could no longer hear what they were saying…

“Five!”

Sweat soaked through the back of Qian Junyou’s clothes.
Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Might as well… confess?
After confessing, he could get the Censorate’s search results.
Worst case, he could just restart!
But…

He clearly wasn’t guilty!
Why should he admit to a crime that wasn’t his?

“Four—!”

Thinking of Bai Shuxi’s disgusted gaze, he felt he really couldn’t swallow this anger.
Was he really going to fulfill that dead girl’s wishes like this?!

But if he received the sword?
If it truly had been done by the original “Qian Junyou,” his soul would scatter and he would become a living corpse, never able to reincarnate!
Was it really worth it?

No matter how he calculated, confessing was still the optimal choice!

Just confess.
Endure for a moment and the wind and waves will calm.
Take a step back and the sea and sky will open wide…
As long as he admitted the crime, figured out the Censorate’s evidence, and then restarted directly.
Yes! Confess!

“Three—!”

Yet Qian Junyou opened his mouth but could not utter the words of confession…
It wasn’t that he didn’t know how to say it.
It was a stubbornness rising from the depths of his soul…

But… was a moment of dignity really worth more than his life?

No… just stay silent!
If he remained silent until the end, wouldn’t that also count as confessing…?
That was probably what his father meant, right?

“Two—!”

Qian Junyou turned his gaze toward Bai Shuxi.
In her complicated eyes, he recalled all the grievances he had endured this loop!

Her contemptuous gaze, her arrogant tone, the crimes she had forced onto him!

Why should he fulfill her wishes again and shoulder a heinous, unforgivable crime?
Just because he was the villain?
What kind of world was this?!

Those eight hundred plus people were not killed by him!
Even if Qian Junyou’s soul scattered and he could never reincarnate, he was unwilling to bear this groundless accusation for even one second!

But… he had finally made it this far.
This was the ninth loop!
He had already died eight times!

Still… better to confess!
Just close his eyes and accept it by default.
In the next loop, he could rise above others!

“One! You… are confessing?”

Prince Rui sighed, a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

“No! This son… will receive the sword—!”

The ministers sucked in a cold breath on the side.
But the most intense reaction came from the Second Prince.
He rushed over, grabbed Qian Junyou’s shoulders, and shouted like a madman:

“Have you gone crazy? Do you want to die?!”

The Second Prince’s expression was completely twisted.
His emotions were more intense than anyone else’s in the hall, as if the Emperor had just passed away.

“What the Second Prince says is right.
The risk of the Heart-Questioning Sword is truly too great!
Young Prince, you…”

A nearby minister wanted to follow the Second Prince’s words and persuade Qian Junyou, but then realized it was wrong.
He couldn’t very well advise the Young Prince to confess, could he?

The crowd began urging Prince Rui again.

“Prince Rui, the Young Prince is willing to receive the sword.
This proves he must have a clear conscience.
You can’t really use the Heart-Questioning Sword on him, right?”

“Yes! The Censorate people have returned too!
Why not review the case once more?”

But Prince Rui ignored everyone else and said coldly:

“Duke Wei, grant the sword!”

“No! Don’t touch him!”

The Second Prince roared as he blocked Qian Junyou, eyes wide with fury, veins bulging on his forehead!

Then he turned his gaze toward Bai Shuxi, releasing a strong killing intent!

Suddenly a sword intent shot toward the Second Prince’s neck.
The Second Prince twitched and collapsed unconscious.
The one who released the sword intent was the Grand Guardian standing to the side.

“The Second Prince is tired.
Help him down to rest.”

The Grand Tutor smiled from the side.
Qian Junyou looked at the unconscious Second Prince and shivered.
Was his relationship with him really that close?!
No way, right?

“Please calm your mind and focus, Young Prince.
This old man will be rude!”

After the Grand Tutor spoke, he brought two fingers together in front of his chest.
The treasured swords at the waists of the nine Brocade Guards nearby suddenly flew out of their sheaths.

“Borrowing the swords for a moment.
I will have Prince Rui compensate you with new ones later!”

The nine swords spun in the air.
Sword light shot into Qian Junyou’s chest.
A burst of white light flooded his vision.

When he came back to his senses, he found himself bound by iron chains on a cliff.
Dark clouds filled the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared.
Within the black clouds, he seemed to see that black dragon again.
It glanced at him, then quickly submerged back into the sea of clouds, as if it had found its target…

In the distance stretched an endless sea.
Various never-before-seen birds flew in the sky—strange and grotesque, impossible to describe.

“This… is the Heart-Questioning Sword?”

Qian Junyou looked at the scene before him in confusion…
Accompanying his question, a strand of consciousness implanted itself into his mind:

‘This is not an illusion, nor is it a mental realm.
It is a world heading toward its end.’

The cold air carried a trace of sorrow.
The biting wind accompanied loneliness…
Waves of sighs came from afar.
The line where sea met sky reflected the glow of dusk.

“Here… is the end of despair and suffering, the shadow left by time… Go back!
If you linger too long, you won’t be able to return…”

An aged voice rang out from the sky, followed by the sound of swords clashing, then the sound of shattering.

“Then I…”

‘The Heart-Questioning Sword questions your own heart, not others… Do you believe you are guilty?’

His consciousness fell into darkness, then slowly floated up again…

When he opened his eyes once more, he had returned to Taiqing Palace.
The nine treasured swords lay shattered on the ground.
The ministers stared at him with shocked and strange expressions.
The Grand Tutor in front of him covered his bleeding arm.

“Duke Wei, thank you for your trouble.
I am truly sorry!”

Prince Rui stepped forward to support the injured Grand Tutor.
Everyone stood frozen in silence.
Qian Junyou was supported by people beside him and seemed unharmed.

“It’s nothing!
The Young Prince has indeed withstood the Heart-Questioning Sword.
This is sufficient proof that he did not participate in planning this case!”

“So… it’s over?”

Qian Junyou could hardly believe it.
It felt like he had walked through the gates of hell.
His chest felt empty, as if his soul had been lost…

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
You are not Prince Rui’s heir! You’re not—!”

Bai Shuxi’s uncle suddenly roared in panic.
Imperial guards rushed forward and forced him to his knees.

Prince Rui gave the Right Chief Censor a look.
The Right Chief Censor stepped forward, cupped his hands toward the Eastern Pavilion Grand Academician, and said:

“In reply to Grand Chancellor, the Censorate did not find any related items in Prince Rui’s mansion!”

Nothing!
Qian Junyou breathed a sigh of relief.
Either the original novel had misled him, or the “physical evidence” in the original plot had been planted later in Prince Rui’s mansion as deliberate false evidence!

The human witness was fake, no physical evidence was found, and he had even withstood the Heart-Questioning Sword.
The Eastern Pavilion Grand Academician announced the verdict.

Bai Shuxi, face full of shock and doubt, asked unwillingly:

“Then why did he choose the exact south for the location?
Why did he go tamper with the scene?
Why did he know about the fire in advance?”

The crowd buzzed noisily.
The Grand Academician turned and left.
No one paid her any attention.

Bai Shuxi collapsed to her knees in despair, clutching her own hair.
It felt like she had experienced a dream—a nightmare that would never end…
What awaited the Bai family was the implication of the three clans!

Because of Qian Junyou’s earlier words, the ministers had some sense and did not dare mock the Bai family further.
They only flattered Prince Rui’s mansion from the side.

“Ah—! Ah—!”

At that moment, Bai Zhongxiang began roaring like a madman.
He broke free from the guards.
His body twisted in grotesque shapes.
His eyeballs rolled in different directions.

Suddenly one of his arms vanished into thin air, blood spraying out.
Before anyone could react, the left half of his body suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a huge tooth mark.

After that, his body vanished bite by bite like an apple being eaten, until the entire person disappeared without a trace, leaving only a pool of blood on the ground.

Mentally and physically exhausted, Qian Junyou let out a cold laugh and glanced at the Three Dukes beside the imperial seat.

His mind felt hazy.
After the matter ended, he didn’t even remember how he left Taiqing Palace or how he got into the carriage.
It was as if he had drunk fake wine—everything was blurry until he arrived home.

“Father, if I had really been guilty, what would have happened after receiving the sword?”

The moment he returned to the mansion, Qian Junyou asked his old man unsteadily in the main hall.

“If you were guilty, why would you have received the sword?”

“Then if… I mean hypothetically, even I myself didn’t know whether I…”

“Then receiving it or not would be the same.”

Prince Rui answered without hesitation, as if he had long anticipated Qian Junyou would ask this.

“Then if I had confessed…”

“Nothing would have happened.”

After saying this, Prince Rui prepared to go out to handle affairs—there was still a pile of work in the afternoon—but he turned back and added one more sentence:

“Rest well!”

He really was his real father!
Could he be any harsher?!
Qian Junyou almost despaired at his old man…

The moment he returned to his room and lay down for just a few minutes, a servant entered and said:

“Young Master…”

“Miss Bai has come again?”

Qian Junyou had basically already guessed it.

“Bai…? Ah! Yes…”