framing and betrayal

"I think I know where you are. I'm coming to find you... wait for me... okay?"

Late at night, Xu Zixie looked at the flickering candlelight in the room, his eyes filled with an unreadable expression, and then he turned and went to the palace.

Inside the main hall, the ministers were all on edge, not daring to utter a sound. The Crown Prince's guards even accused him of treason. The Emperor's face was extremely gloomy, thunder rumbled in the sky, and a torrential downpour began.

After a long silence, the emperor finally spoke slowly: "You say the crown prince wants to get rid of me, his father, so he can take the throne for himself. But he is already the ruler of the country. Once I abdicate, this position will be his. He can't even wait. What reason does he have to do something so detrimental to himself?"

Xu Zixie wasn't surprised by the emperor's question. He replied calmly, "I know Your Majesty doesn't trust a mere guard like myself, but I have letters from His Highness regarding his dealings with foreign powers. Please, Your Majesty, take a look." Xu Zixie handed the letters to a eunuch beside the emperor, who then passed them to the emperor. The emperor was furious after reading them. Aside from Xu Zixie, no one was surprised by the emperor's reaction. The other officials trembled in the corner, fearing the emperor's wrath.

The emperor instructed the eunuch standing nearby to summon the crown prince to the main hall. The eunuch readily agreed and went to summon the crown prince.

The eunuch braved the rain to arrive at the Crown Prince's residence and said to the servant at the gate, "His Majesty has summoned me to invite your Crown Prince to the main hall. He has something to ask you."

Inside the main hall, the emperor sat on the dragon throne, looked at some trembling ministers, waved his hand, and signaled them to leave. The ministers breathed a sigh of relief and left the hall.

Lu Chaowen, a third-rank military officer, approached Cao Wenzhong, a first-rank civil official, and asked, "If the Crown Prince really did that, what do you think His Majesty will do?" Cao Wenzhong glanced at him and said, "What His Majesty does is none of our business. We should just do our jobs." Lu Chaowen nodded and said, "That's true. His Majesty is becoming increasingly suspicious and distrustful. Even if the Crown Prince didn't do it, a seed of doubt will likely be planted in His Majesty's heart. Besides, the Crown Prince is currently riding high on his success; I'm afraid he might lose his position." Cao Wenzhong looked at the incessantly chattering man before him, smiled helplessly, and said nothing more.

Inside the main hall, Shen Muchen bowed and greeted the emperor. The emperor remained with his back to him, and from Shen Muchen's perspective, he couldn't see the emperor's expression. However, the atmosphere in the hall was somewhat heavy. He didn't know what had happened, but he guessed that it was mostly related to him and was definitely not a good thing. After a while, the emperor turned around and said to Shen Muchen, "Do you know why I summoned you here?" Shen Muchen replied, "Your Majesty, I don't know, but Your Majesty summoned me here because there is something to discuss."

The emperor glanced at Shen Mucheng. "You've become increasingly eloquent. Come, sit down and play a game with me." The emperor finished speaking slowly and said, "Just now, your servants came to this hall and to all the civil and military officials to accuse you of colluding with foreign factions to plot against me. I want to hear your explanation."

Shen Muchen put down the chess piece and answered the emperor with neither humility nor arrogance: "Father, I have never had any disloyal thoughts. To put it bluntly, I am already the Crown Prince. Why would I go to such lengths to do such a thing? I beg Father to see the truth."

The emperor tapped his fingers on the table and said to Shen Muchen, "What you said makes sense. I'll show you something."

The Emperor showed Shen Mucheng the letter Xu Zixie had given him in the main hall. After reading it, Shen Mucheng was secretly surprised. "I have never written such a letter, nor do I have any outside faction. Please believe what I say, Father. Who gave this letter to you?" The Emperor glanced at Shen Mucheng. "Come out!" Xu Zixie slowly walked out from the inner hall.

Shen Muchen looked at the person in front of him, and was immediately surprised and confused. Why was he here? Could it be that he was the one who framed me? Shen Muchen was filled with mixed feelings. Xu Zixie was also feeling bad, but said, "I'm sorry, Your Highness."

"Mu Cheng, do you know him? He said he's your personal bodyguard, is that true?" the emperor said slowly as he played chess.

Shen Muchen replied, "Yes, he is my personal bodyguard and the person I trust most. His name is Xu Zixie." The emperor did not reply and continued playing chess. "It seems that the student has surpassed the master. He is indeed my good son."

The emperor's expression remained unchanged, but his tone was much more relaxed. Shen Muchen couldn't fathom the emperor's mood at this moment. He could only say dryly, "It was I who made a fool of myself. Compared to Father, I still need to work harder."

"You just said his name was Xu Zixie." Shen Muchen nodded to the emperor. "Xu Zixie, what you said in the main hall and this letter, are they real?" Xu Zixie thought to himself: I've already taken this step, there's no turning back. "Yes, what I said and that letter are all true, there is absolutely no deception."

Shen Muchen was stunned, unable to believe what he was hearing. He felt a chill run through him; he had trusted him so much, yet he had been dealt such a blow. His trust in this man was a joke. He didn't know whether to feel anger or sorrow.

“He trusts you completely. Aren’t you afraid of hurting him by doing this? If you want to make amends later, you won’t have a chance.” Lu Chaowen said to Xu Zixie with a solemn expression. “As long as I can save his life, I will bear any cost. Moreover, I believe that if Lord Lu were to face something like what happened to Lord Cao, he would probably make the same choice.”

Looking at the twinkling stars in the night sky, Lu Chaowen recalled Xu Zixie's resolute gaze and his departing figure that day. He had to admit that Xu Zixie was right about one thing: if that person had also encountered such a thing, he would probably have chosen to protect him in the same way.

The emperor looked at Shen Muchen with an ambiguous expression. Whether it was true or false, this game seemed to have been won, but in reality, it was a complete loss. Even if he survived, there was no longer any trust between them. Thinking of this, the emperor looked at Xu Zixie with a mocking smile. Xu Zixie knew what the emperor was thinking, but he ignored him.