Chapter 104

As soon as he finished speaking, the palace was so quiet that the faint crackling of the candlelight could be heard.

Everyone present was astonished.

The emperor stared wide-eyed at the familiar yet unfamiliar crown prince before him, and asked in a trembling voice, "Is the crown prince delirious? Does he even know what he's saying?"

Wei Luo glanced at the lovely girl not far away, then looked away and insisted, "Your Majesty, I am very clear-headed. What I said at that time came from the bottom of my heart. Please have mercy on me."

"Shut up, Pity—"

The emperor rose angrily, shouting, "I simply cannot believe that you could say such a thing so brazenly! As the crown prince, you not only lack moral character but also shamelessly covet my wife. Where is your sense of propriety and shame?"

After saying that, he bent over and coughed violently.

The emperor is still ill.

Seeing this, Chen Zhen quickly stepped forward to help him up, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

The emperor's expression changed, and he flicked Chen Zhen aside with his sleeve, continuing to point at the crown prince and curse, "I think you did this on purpose, deliberately trying to anger me so you could ascend to the throne."

The emperor was clearly furious, even uttering such hurtful words. Wei Luo panicked and hurriedly shook his head in denial, "No, Your Majesty, it's not true."

The emperor snorted coldly, ignoring the crown prince, and instead glanced at the door, calling out, "You two at the door, get in here!"

Xu Xuan quickly put Shen Yao down, and the two went inside and knelt down. Shen Yao stood next to Wei Luo, and the two smiled at each other. Wei Luo quietly took her hand and held it warmly, refusing to let go.

Upon seeing this, Xu Xuan's face grew even more grim. He looked up and saw the emperor staring at him, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, although I have already resigned from my post, once a subject, always a subject. Today, I risk my life to impeach His Highness the Crown Prince for his cunning and ruthless exploitation, his lack of loyalty to the emperor, and his immoral and unjust conduct. I now question the Crown Prince's virtue and the integrity of the nation's foundation. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."

Xu Xuan finished speaking in one breath, folded his hands in front of him, and touched the ground with his head.

A heart full of sincerity.

The room was quiet.

The emperor said, "Your Highness, please explain yourself."

Wei Luo then kowtowed as well, raised his face and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I do not admit to any of the crimes fabricated by Chief Clerk Xu."

“First, Ms. Shen is divorced and is now free. Our feelings for each other are mutual, and this is not an attempt to seize her. Second, although I am fond of Ms. Shen, my feelings are expressed within the bounds of propriety. Furthermore, I am still observing mourning for my parents and have never crossed any lines. This is not an immoral act.”

"As for being neither a ruler nor a subject, since I entered the Eastern Palace, I have always put the ruler and father first in everything, been loyal to the subject, filial to the son, and righteous to the country. I believe that I have acted properly as a ruler and subject and that my actions have been appropriate. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise judgment."

Xu Xuan scoffed, "Your Highness is quite adept at making excuses for yourself. You say it was out of affection but within the bounds of propriety, yet you secretly kept my younger sister in the Eastern Palace and even tried to deceive His Majesty. Aren't your words and actions contradictory?"

"Isn't that because of you?"

Wei Luo suddenly became furious. "If Steward Xu could let go of everything, why would Miss Shen be living in fear and anxiety, to the point of coming to the Eastern Palace to avoid disaster?"

Xu Xuan retorted, "Nonsense! It was clearly Your Highness who first stole someone else's beloved? Not only do you not repent for coveting my wife, but you also openly—"

"Xu Xuan, who are you talking to?"

That's enough.

The emperor, having reached his limit, declared, "How can I allow the two of you to continue arguing in the main hall?"

He walked down, stopped in front of Wei Luo, looked down at the group and asked, "Your Highness, tell me, when did you begin an affair with Shen Yao?"

“Last November,” Xu Xuan answered first, “At that time, Shen Yao and I had not yet divorced.”

The emperor frowned and smacked his lips, "November, November."

Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and he rebuked, "Your Highness, answer me! Is what Xu Xuan said true or false?"

Wei Luo was about to reply when Shen Yao interrupted him again, saying, "It's true."

Wei Luo was surprised. Shen Yao smiled at him and looked at the emperor, saying, "What Xu Xuan said is true. However, Your Highness did not use trickery or force to seize it. We are indeed mutually in love."

“Chen Yao, you—” Xu Xuan glared angrily at Shen Yao.

The emperor observed their actions, silently uttered an "oh," leaned forward slightly, and asked Shen Yao, "You didn't divorce back then, right?"

Shen Yao looked directly at the emperor, her gaze firm, and said, "Yes."

With a desperate, mad gamble.

Wei Luo said anxiously, "A-Yao, you—"

"That's it." The Emperor nodded. "The matter is clear: Shen Yao seduced the Crown Prince and should be beaten to death."

A single sentence can decide life or death.

It was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.

Shen Yao's face turned as white as paper.

Wei Luo panicked and immediately crawled on his knees to the emperor, pleading with him, "Your Majesty, it's not like that, it has nothing to do with her."

"Is that the girl you seduced?"

"No, Your Majesty, matters of the heart cannot be explained in just a few words."

The emperor sneered, "It takes two to tango; adulterers and adulterous women are no exception. Crown Prince, you have disappointed me greatly."

Wei Luo was kicked away by the emperor and lay hunched over on the ground, trembling.

Shen Yao stepped forward, crying, and hugged him from behind; the two nestled together.

Shen Yao told him, "I am not afraid of death."

Wei Luo wiped away her tears and smiled, "Don't cry, I'm here. I'll never let you die, unless I die!"

His eyes suddenly turned cold. He pushed Shen Yao aside, stepped forward, and kowtowed to the emperor again, his voice louder than ever before.

"Your Majesty, no, Father, please allow me to address you this way just once. In the common world, if children find someone they love, they will gladly inform their parents to arrange a marriage. I know that the imperial family is not like that of ordinary people; we bear the weight of the people's fate on our shoulders, and every word and action must set an example, allowing no room for error. But—"

"But today, could we just consider it as father and son, and not as ruler and subject? Could you simply be a loving father, not a king of the world, and grant your son one wish? Just once, just once is enough."

Finally, he broke down in tears, pressed his head to the ground, and refused to get up for a long time.

After a long silence, the emperor sighed, "Why go to such lengths for a woman? Beauty can be a curse and ruin a country; this woman must die."

"Then Your Majesty may kill me first."

Wei Luo raised his face, revealing a large red patch on his forehead, which looked shocking due to his fair skin.

The emperor roared, "Do you think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Wei Luo gave a self-deprecating laugh, choking back tears as he said, "Of course Your Majesty dares. If Your Majesty kills me, you can rightfully make my third brother the heir apparent. Now that I have committed a grave error, Your Majesty has ample reason to depose the heir apparent and kill your son. I have no way to refute this—"

“But Shen Yao is innocent. Just now Your Majesty asked me who was first between the two of us. I now tell Your Majesty that I fell in love with Shen Yao first and then pursued her. As for Shen Yao, I am her sovereign. She dared not refuse me, nor dared to report me, so she yielded to me. All the faults are mine alone. I beg Your Majesty to be fair in rewarding and punishing, to execute the guilty minister and to pardon the innocent.”

After a moment, the emperor nodded. "Since the Crown Prince is determined to confess, what more can I say? Let him be flogged!"

The air suddenly fell silent, suffocating like death.

The emperor's casual remark about "being flogged in court" not only struck at the crown prince's dignity, but also ruthlessly tore away the mask of past father-son affection.

Wei Luo looked up at the emperor and gradually began to smile, then laughed loudly and wildly.

He said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."

Chen Zhen pleaded in vain, and finally brought over a long bench and sticks. Several eunuchs pressed Wei Luo down on the bench, waiting for the emperor to give orders.

Shen Yao struggled to get to Wei Luo's side, but Xu Xuan held her tightly. In desperation, she slapped him and shouted angrily, "Let go of me!"

Xu Xuan didn't dodge and took the slap squarely, but he still held on tightly to her as if she were the only light in his life, saying, "Doesn't he say he loves you? Then let this stick test the depth of our Crown Prince's affection for you."

Shen Yao broke down in tears, kneeling down and pleading with the emperor, "Your Majesty, His Highness is the Crown Prince, and also your eldest son. His body and hair are gifts from his parents. Doesn't it hurt you to see His Highness injured?"

"Under the rod, there are no fathers and sons, only rulers and subjects." The emperor looked at Wei Luo and asked sharply, "Does the Crown Prince know his mistake?"

"I do not know where I went wrong."

Still stubborn.

The emperor, exasperated, exclaimed, "Very well, very well! He is indeed a romantic. I never imagined I would have such a loving son."

He then shouted, "Punishment! Why don't you pull down his pants? Pull down his pants for me and beat his buttocks hard!"

The eunuchs were dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered glances and daring not to make a move.

The emperor urged again, "What are you standing there for?"

As the eunuch stepped forward, Wei Luo immediately struggled and shouted, "I am the Crown Prince! Who dares to lay a hand on me?"

The emperor was furious. "You arrogant brat! Strip him naked! If you can't strip him naked, you'll all be flogged!"

The eunuchs dared not disobey. Two men stood in front, pressing down on their necks with sticks, while two others grabbed their legs from behind. One eunuch carefully and with trembling hands began to pull down their trousers.

Wei Luo fought back fiercely, turning his head and tearfully accusing the emperor, "I am the crown prince, the heir apparent. Your Majesty, you cannot treat me like this. It's not fair, it's not fair."

The emperor strode up to him, looking down at him arrogantly, and asked, "It's all court beatings, where is the unfairness?"

"I am the Crown Prince, I have a sense of honor!"

The emperor suddenly burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the inner palace, sarcastically saying, "Shame on you? The Crown Prince speaks well of you. Shame? You know you care about shame? When you forcibly took my wife, why weren't you thinking about shame then? Now you're asking for it—"

"Beat them! Beat them hard!"

At the emperor's command, the eunuch forcefully ripped off the last layer of cloth, instantly shattering the monarch's dignity. The naked shame and humiliation swept over him like a whirlwind.

Wei Luo gritted his teeth, crying and roaring, casting the most resentful glances at the emperor, "You killed me! Why didn't you kill me? If you had the guts, kill me! Ah—"

As he spoke, the cold sticks descended from the sky, striking the warm flesh one blow at a time. The clash of ice and heat, the struggle between hardness and softness, weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Wei Luo clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and tried his best to remain silent, but he still underestimated the physical pain and spiritual torment he had endured for decades. The pain was so intense that he could hardly resist it.

Despite trying to hold back, I couldn't help but cry out.

At this moment, he hated himself, hated his weakness and powerlessness, hated his sovereign and father, and hated his sovereign and father's cruelty and ruthlessness.

He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Why? Why is Your Majesty treating me like this? I refuse to accept this!"