Buried Truth

Looking at his son's face, the emperor knew that the guard was framing him. He knew the evidence was unreliable, but he was helpless. Looking at the fabricated evidence, the emperor was very unhappy. He had been tricked by a mere guard and had his carefully laid plan ruined. The emperor's face was very unpleasant.

In the end, the emperor simply waved his hand, and the eunuch bowed and came forward. The emperor told the eunuch to go and prepare the pen and ink for writing the imperial edict. After the eunuch finished everything, he stood quietly to the side, waiting for the emperor to finish writing so that the edict could be read aloud at the morning court the next day.

Meanwhile, Shen Muchen was imprisoned in jail, and Xu Zixie stood before him. Shen Muchen mocked, "You are truly loyal, treating your master this way, completely disregarding my trust in you! I have never treated you poorly, yet I have only received your betrayal! What is your purpose? Is it to make me fall from this high position into the mud, never to rise again? Is that your reason for pledging loyalty to me? Ha! How laughable! I have been deceived by you for so long. You have acted so well; it is truly an injustice to you."

"Yes, you guessed right. I want to turn you, the high and mighty Crown Prince, into something that everyone curses. Or perhaps it would be quite a different kind of fun to have you forever dependent on me and become a little toy for my amusement." Xu Zixie looked at Shen Muchen with a mocking expression.

"You really disgust me..." After saying that, Shen Muchen turned his head away in disgust and ignored him. As Xu Zixie left, he leaned close to Shen Muchen's ear and said, "One day, I will turn you into a little toy for my amusement~" Without looking at his beloved little toy's expression, he left the cell with a happy expression.

The next day, Shen Muchen was brought into the main hall. The civil and military officials whispered amongst themselves. The emperor, bored, gazed at the officials below and his beloved sons. Then, the eunuch, holding the imperial edict drafted the previous night, read it aloud before the assembled officials:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Crown Prince has formed a faction and plotted a rebellion. The evidence is conclusive. However, considering the blood ties between us, I have decided to strip him of his title and all his rights, demote him to a commoner, and exile him to the army. Without my decree, he is not to set foot in Yu City!"

"Your Highness, please accept the decree." Shen Mucheng knelt on the spot, "Your subject accepts the decree..."

The emperor granted him a day to take another look at Yu City. He stood on the city wall, gazing at the distant sunset and feeling the evening breeze blowing in his face, feeling extremely comfortable.

Even the most beautiful scenery must come to an end. As Shen Muchen prepared to leave, she encountered an uninvited guest.

His eyes gleamed with smugness. "I just learned from Father that you will never be allowed to bear the royal surname again! That means you've been banished from the royal court by Father. How pitiful! I thought it was already pitiful that you couldn't return to the capital, but I never expected Father to be so heartless. Do you know who instigated this? Of course, it was the person you trusted most. He even produced evidence that you weren't Father's child, and Father actually believed it. You've really found a good accomplice! Hahahaha!" Shen Xu said smugly to Shen Muchen.

"So what? If you ever get the position of Crown Prince, that's something to be happy about. What does my little scandal matter?" Shen Muchen said with a laugh and then left. "What else do you have to be so arrogant about? Your father doesn't want you anymore. This place will never be where you set foot again, hahahahaha!" Shen Muchen looked at a madman and turned away, full of disdain.

Shen Muchen gazed at every brick, tile, blade of grass, and tree in the imperial city, thinking that he would finally no longer be trapped within these scheming palace walls, devoid of human warmth. The soldiers escorting him had arrived and were speaking harshly to him, but he paid no heed. Shen Muchen walked to the city gate, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "I wonder when I will be able to return." Without a trace of regret, he turned and left.

On the city wall, a young man with an extraordinary demeanor gazed in the direction where Shen Muchen had left. A fleeting look of disappointment crossed his eyes, unnoticed by anyone... He always leaves, and I can't do anything to help him. I can only wish him a safe return.

When the boy could no longer see, he vanished from the city wall. No one knew he had ever been there, nor did anyone know of his love...

This time, I will live only for myself. I died in the palace before, without the intrigue and power struggles. My father made me give up wealth, power, and even the royal surname. This time, I can choose my own life, and no one else can interfere.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Do you still think you're that high and mighty crown prince? What difference is there between you and those lowly people now... If you keep slacking off, watch out for my whip, it doesn't have eyes..." His hands and feet were shackled, and the heavy shackles had chafed his skin raw, but Shen Muchen didn't utter a sound. Although he was a prince, he was now like a dog that had fallen into the mud, living worse than them, and naturally looked down on them. Only one person firmly believed that His Highness had not rebelled. He was also someone Shen Muchen had helped before. Ignoring everyone's objections, he removed the heavy shackles from Shen Muchen, just to make him feel better. He would even apply medicine to Shen Muchen during rest. The others traveling with him had long been disgusted by this. After Shen Muchen was taken to the border, they could no longer suppress their evil intentions. In the end, that person never returned to his capital, Yudu. Their excuse was that he was weak and died of illness on the way back to Yudu. Who cared about the truth...?