Chapter 94

Li Hechun dared not think any further. He closed his eyes and quickly banished all those rebellious thoughts from his mind. Then, he silently led Xue Jin'an and the Third Princess to Qian Yuan Palace.

Looking at the magnificent and imposing palace, his steps suddenly became heavy and difficult. An inappropriate feeling of "fear of returning home" arose in his heart. Where no one could see, his wrinkled face was almost twisted into a bitter gourd.

What to do? How could he stop himself from overthinking? Given the lessons learned from the past, he simply couldn't reassure himself that the Seventh Prince would be able to coexist peacefully with His Majesty after entering the palace!

He could already foresee the conflict that was about to break out between them. He really didn't want to witness this battle between father and son, especially one in which His Majesty was bound to be at a disadvantage.

There's a saying that goes, "The more you know, the faster you die." His Majesty wants to groom the Seventh Prince and is very tolerant of him. Even if His Majesty is angered to the point of internal injury by the Seventh Prince, he might not necessarily do anything to him. But the servants who serve him are in a terrible situation.

Li Hechun swore that he really just wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life and didn't want to know anything about these palace secrets.

However, there's no use in trying to escape; what needs to be faced must be faced.

Li Hechun sighed with sorrow in his heart, led the two into the main hall, and then silently retreated to the side, minimizing his presence and pretending that he was just a pillar in the hall.

As the old saying goes, "One should strike with full force at the first attempt, but the momentum will wane at the second and be exhausted at the third." When the Third Princess beat the Ninth Prince, she risked everything, thinking that she would accept whatever punishment she might receive afterward.

However, her surging emotions gradually subsided along the way, and her courage slowly dissipated. When she stepped into the main hall, panic, unease and other emotions took over her mind. She unconsciously hunched her shoulders, lowered her head, and even her breathing became cautious.

The executioner's blade, called the "sentence," hung overhead. The third princess was terrified, but also hated her own powerlessness.

In comparison, Xue Jin'an was much more composed. He performed a standard etiquette as if it had been copied from a book without any flaws, but it was not quite appropriate for the occasion. His voice was calm as if nothing had happened, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

The Third Princess, who was originally going to kneel down, quickly straightened her slightly bent knees and hurriedly followed suit with a bow – after all, Xue Jin'an had already set a precedent, and if she were to skip over him and perform a full kneeling bow, it would be tantamount to making things difficult for him.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty..." The Third Princess's voice was a little tight. She was visibly nervous and forcibly controlled her gaze from glancing at Xue Jin'an. Her nervousness and worry reached their peak. However, at this moment, she was not nervous about the anger and punishment she was about to face, but more worried that Xue Jin'an's lack of respect would anger her father.

Yes, the Third Princess had already noticed that her Seventh Brother's attitude towards their father was nonchalant. It might not be apparent from his words, expressions, or any other outward behavior, but she sensed it from the subtle atmosphere.

Years of being oppressed and powerless to resist have given her a keen intuition for perceiving others' attitudes and emotions, to the point that she can almost tell at first glance whether someone is friendly or malicious.

This is also why the Third Princess was able to open up to Cui Zui and Xue Jin'an and talk about things she didn't want to discuss the moment she first met them. Although her initial appearance near Zhaoyang Palace was guided and instructed by her elder sister, the subsequent conversations were all led by herself and stemmed from her own will.

Most of the rumors circulating in the palace about the Seventh Prince were not good, and the Third Princess had heard a lot of them. However, she felt that her Seventh Brother was a good person and deserved all the best things in the world, just like her eldest sister and Consort Wen. She did not want them to be hurt, not even by a single rebuke.

The Third Princess overthought things, causing the same sentence to be interpreted in completely different ways, which further highlighted Xue Jin'an's calm and composed demeanor.

Even the furious emperor couldn't help but glance at Xue Jin'an, quite admiring his composure in the face of adversity.

Praise is one thing, but criticism is still necessary. Bao Ning is truly outrageous.

The Emperor and Li Hechun shared similar thoughts. He did not believe that Xue Jin'an was truly an innocent bystander in the matter concerning the Ninth Prince. He also believed that the Third Princess was instigated to attack the Ninth Prince. Otherwise, why would the child have endured so much humiliation for so long, choosing this particular moment to suddenly lash out and beat someone up instead of resisting earlier or later?

To be honest, he wouldn't usually interfere with the squabbles and fights between children. After all, in his opinion, if they can't even handle such small matters, then they have no value in being cared for or nurtured.

However, the struggles between the princes have recently become public and are happening too frequently. The third prince is still causing trouble for the eldest and second princes, and the censors bring it up every day. Even the best-tempered person would get annoyed. The matter concerning the seventh and ninth princes cannot be left unresolved.

The emperor's face was cold, and his voice was deep and heavy: "Do you know your mistake?"

Xue Jin'an answered honestly, "I don't know."

Emperor: "Even with Xiao Jiu so badly injured, you still show no remorse!"

"It's just a minor squabble between siblings," Xue Jin'an calmly stated his opinion on minor injuries, adding, "If Father doesn't believe me, he can summon the imperial physician and ask him."

The emperor choked. Of course he knew Xiao Jiu's current physical condition, but after being refuted one after another, his expression gradually turned sour.

Li Hechun glanced at the emperor's expression, then at the seventh prince who showed no intention of stopping speaking. He quietly took another step back, trying to minimize his presence. He smiled bitterly to himself, wishing he were truly a block of wood, invisible and deaf.

Xue Jin'an had no idea that a storm was brewing. He simply recounted the whole story in a flat and straightforward tone, and finally gave a fair assessment: "He should have flirted with Jian first."

He spoke so frankly, as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with how he handled the situation.

The emperor frowned deeply, finding Xue Jin'an's last words extremely vulgar, and rebuked him, "Nonsense!"

"Father, it has nothing to do with Seventh Brother!" The Third Princess was really worried that the Seventh Prince would anger the Emperor and be punished, so she hurriedly interjected in a trembling voice, "Father, you know Seventh Brother. If Seventh Brother really wanted to harm Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother would not have survived. It's all my fault. I was the one who hurt him. Seventh Brother was just passing by. It has absolutely nothing to do with Seventh Brother. Please, Father, see the truth!"

The Third Princess's words made sense. When Xue Jin'an was teaching her, he wasn't actually aiming to kill the Ninth Prince; he was just concealing his intentions and taking all the blame upon himself.

Xue Jin'an opened his mouth as if to say something, but his clothes were tugged. He looked down and saw that the Third Princess was quietly pulling on his clothes to stop him from arguing with the Emperor again—cough, although she felt inexplicably pleased to hear it.

The Third Princess was very worried that Xue Jin'an would continue talking recklessly, and her heart was in her throat. Fortunately, Xue Jin'an was not such an arrogant person. Although she looked puzzled, she still obediently did not say anything more.

The Third Princess breathed a sigh of relief. Her gratitude to Xue Jin'an for protecting her gradually became nourishment for her courage, making her even more convinced that her actions were right.

Seventh Brother is so good, he shouldn't be let down. Let her bear all the storms alone, whether it's scolding or punishment. After all, she was the one who hit him, and she's used to it, isn't she?

The third princess pursed her lips, trying her best to control the trembling of her body, ignoring the fear in her heart, and constantly brainwashing herself to build up her mental strength.

If Xue Jin'an knew what she was thinking, he would definitely say directly: There's no need for that.

Although Xue Jin'an never thought he was causing trouble or doing anything wrong, every single thing he did was far more serious than beating the Ninth Prince. The Emperor's refusal to punish him was not out of kindness, but simply because there was profit to be made.

Xue Jin'an didn't care what the emperor was after and never analyzed it. In his eyes, the emperor was a useless person who would be deposed and replaced by him sooner or later, so why should he care about the thoughts of a useless person? Besides, there was Teacher Xiao X around. Given the emperor's current level of feudal superstition, if anything really happened, Teacher Xiao X would probably be the first to know.

—Well, it's not that the emperor would nag or anything to Teacher Xiao X, but if he really wanted to do something, he would definitely ask Teacher Xiao X to draw cards and tell fortunes.

Xue Jin'an had just gone through Teacher Xiao X's code a few days ago and found that this guy had copied all the data related to psychological and behavioral analysis in his database, and had also secretly granted the emperor all the permissions he could except for accessing or modifying media files (scanning the brain).

Then, by collecting data through these permissions and preparing to generate new features, this code, which was still being edited, was hidden, with a note added: This is a secret; please respect AI privacy.

Upon seeing this line, Xue Jin'an was speechless. He didn't quite understand what these young coders were thinking.

Teacher Xiao X was written by Xue Jin'an after all. He has the authority to view the other party's database and can open all its backdoors. If Xue Jin'an wants to scan its code, it is powerless to stop him.

However, thinking about the authoritarian patriarchs in some campus novels who break into doors, locks, and read diaries, Xue Jin'an ultimately decided not to investigate further.

In short, his rebellious eldest son would definitely record any unusual behavior of his cheap grandfather and report any problems immediately.

Unfortunately, Xue Jin'an couldn't hear the Third Princess's true feelings. He hadn't collected enough data on her, and the character model he had built in his mind wasn't mature enough. He thought she was planning to speak up against the Emperor herself, so he watched with amusement.

When the emperor heard the Third Princess's words, his expression softened slightly. Now that the stage had been set up and someone was finally performing, his mood calmed down a bit. At the same time, he remembered that Xue Jin'an was an invaluable general and the strongest asset for his future expansion. The subtle emotions in his heart dissipated considerably.

The emperor cleared his throat and said, "Baoning, where have you been learning all this? Don't use words carelessly."

It's entirely the tone of an elder speaking to a younger person; it carries more of a teaching connotation than a reprimand, and reveals an indescribable closeness.

He didn't comment on Xue Jin'an's account, but glanced at the Third Princess. He felt displeased seeing her trembling and uneasy appearance with her head down. He pondered the child's background and name: a child of Bohai royal blood... Yun... it seems to be called Nianyun?

The emperor disliked the third princess even more when he thought of the words "Bohai royal family". After all, although the Bohai Kingdom had long been destroyed and the Bohai King had become the Marquis of Dinghai of Daqi, to him it was still foreign blood.

Since ancient times, royal families have always prided themselves on their noble bloodline and placed great importance on "pure blood." Unless there is truly no one else available, children born to concubines from other ethnic groups are almost never allowed to inherit the throne.

Blood ties were a hurdle that was difficult for people in ancient times to overcome. Even if the maternal relatives knew that their own princes were not suitable to be emperors, they would still do their utmost to promote them to the throne, such as the third prince.

The Third Prince's tyranny is well-known. No emperor can claim to have a lot of benevolence, but he must be able to control his temper. The saying "when the emperor is angry, a million will die" is not an exaggeration.

However, if the Third Prince hadn't lost his leg, the Qian family would never have switched allegiance. Even now that the Third Prince's leg is beyond saving, they won't give up easily and will still try to leverage political resources for him. It's just that this time the Qian family is fighting alone, and no one else will be willing to invest in this doomed business.

The entry of Consort Yu into the palace was a political event, an investment by the King of Bohai after he was demoted to Marquis of Dinghai. He wanted to establish a closer connection with the Great Qi Dynasty to ensure the interests of the royal family. Rather than sharing tangible benefits with the other party, the emperor was more willing to pay for such intangible benefits. He did not have much affection for Consort Yu, and naturally he would not have much affection for the children she bore. This can be seen from the fact that Consort Yu died in childbirth before being posthumously granted the title of Consort, and that the adoptive mother of the Third Princess was Consort Wen.

Of course, even if the Third Princess was not of Bohai blood, the Emperor might not necessarily have felt much affection for her.

The emperor remembered that among the few princesses he had shown fatherly affection to, only the eldest princess Xue Muyun and the second princess Xue Xianyun had done so, the latter of whom had died young.

He wouldn't care too much about the backgrounds of the other three, four, and five people.

The emperor's voice became even more condescending and indifferent: "Nianyun, tell me what really happened."

The Third Princess composed herself, knelt down, and replied. She was grateful to Xue Jin'an and did not want him to be blamed or punished because of her. When recounting the events, she naturally downplayed Xue Jin'an's presence and took all the blame for the attack on the Ninth Prince upon herself.

The emperor exchanged a few more words with her, his expression softening slightly. However, he indicated that the matter needed to be addressed, so he punished the Third Princess by making her kneel outside until the Ninth Prince woke up and forgave him.

In fact, if it were just a matter of waking up, the punishment wouldn't be too severe. But the addition of the word "forgiveness" makes it clear that the emperor is essentially pushing the Third Princess out to let the Ninth Prince vent his anger, thus silencing the court officials.

Xue Jin'an knew without a doubt that, in order to demonstrate his efforts in the struggle between the princes and princesses, the emperor would make sure that the matter of the Third Princess being forced to kneel was carried out in a very real way, leaving no room for anyone to use it against him.

Xue Jin'an frowned and grabbed the Third Princess's hand, wanting to say something, but the princess shook her head.

The Third Princess had anticipated this, or rather, she never expected to receive preferential treatment. She numbly and optimistically thought: at least the Seventh Brother won't be punished, right?

...Seventh brother, will you think I'm too weak? Will you think it's not worth speaking up for me? Will you pity my misfortune and be angry at my lack of resistance? Will you...

Many possibilities flashed through the Third Princess's mind in an instant, but she didn't ask them aloud. She just opened her mouth and silently said: "Don't speak up for me anymore. This ending is better for us all, Seventh Brother."

She forced a smile, broke free of the hands that were holding her, and hurriedly turned to walk away.

In the chilly early spring, the wind blowing by is cold. The jade ground, after the baptism of winter, looks like an unmelted layer of ice, gleaming with a cold and piercing light. It must be cold, without a doubt.

Just as her knees were about to hit the ground, she was pulled up by a strong force.

She looked up suddenly and saw Xue Jin'an's expressionless face.

“Crime and sentencing are like a scale; when one side of the scale tilts, that’s unfair,” Xue Jin’an told her. “The law must be fair and just.”

Neither the Third Princess nor Li Hechun, who had chased after them to call for help, understood what he meant.

Xue Jin'an patiently explained, "If the sentencing result cannot be changed, the crime should be adjusted to a corresponding degree."

"So...so?" The Third Princess seemed to vaguely understand something and asked in disbelief.

Xue Jin'an: "Go and kill the Ninth Prince."

Li Hechun: "???"

Third Princess: "!!!"