Chapter Sixty: Exposing the Crime

As dawn broke, the palace bell tolled nine times.

The golden bricks of the Taiji Hall reflected the rising sun, yet they could not illuminate the gloom between the officials' brows. Before the eunuch on duty had finished announcing his arrival, Ye Yuqing's father, Imperial Censor Ye, suddenly stepped forward, jade tablet in hand, his powerful voice shattering the silence of the hall: "Your subject has a memorial to present!"

The Empress lowered her eyes and gently stroked the gilded armrest: "Granted."

"Your Majesty, I hereby impeach Prince Li Chong of Ruyang for ten grave crimes!" Imperial Censor Ye's voice boomed like a bell. He unfurled a scroll over ten feet long, each word like a knife cleaving through the morning mist: "First, he privately forged weapons and armor, and amassed an army beyond the prescribed limits; second, he colluded with the military governor to spy on the palace; third, he embezzled military funds and withheld border provisions; fourth, he allowed his servants to seize tens of thousands of acres of farmland..." With each crime read, several civil officials stepped forward, presenting evidence to the emperor through eunuchs. Ye Yuqing, the last to step forward, presented the evidence that Mu Lian had just handed over at dawn: "I jointly impeach Prince Li Chong of Ruyang for disloyalty as a subject, inhumanity as a father, and plotting rebellion. His heart deserves to be punished!"

Instantly, all the civil and military officials were shocked and horrified. "Intentional treason"—this was a capital offense. It seemed a bloody storm was about to break out.

Amidst the uproar, just as the Prince of Ruyang's supporters were about to argue, the Empress slowly rose. Her golden dragon robe trailing behind her on the steps, she took out the blood-stained letter from the evidence and sniffed it lightly: "I can smell it. There's a rusty smell, and also a bloody smell." Suddenly, she threw the letter at Prince Ruyang's heir, Li Peixuan: "Your Highness, can you smell whose blood this is?"

Li Peixuan didn't utter a word, but immediately prostrated himself on the ground. This scene had been rehearsed countless times in his mind. Over the years, his beloved father had engaged in numerous schemes of forming cliques and eliminating dissidents, openly plotting to seize power. If it weren't for the Empress's diligent governance and great talent, he might have already been overthrown. Now that his good father's schemes had been exposed, and his illusions had vanished, let the storm rage on!

Outside the palace, Mu Lian's clear voice suddenly rang out: "Your Majesty, bring the witnesses into the palace..." The former chief secretary of the Prince of Ruyang's residence, the head of the accounting office, and even his personal guards filed in. Most startling was Zhang Songzhi, carrying the Prince's secret ledger—it had been a long time since this former third-place scholar had been seen, and everyone seemed to have forgotten his spirited and eloquent debates with the Confucian scholars. Now, it seemed that although he held no official position, he still enjoyed the Empress's deep trust.

“Your Majesty,” Mu Lian said solemnly, taking the sandalwood box containing the secret letters from Zhang Songzhi and kneeling to present it. His fingertips trembled slightly, and the silver mask on his face gleamed coldly in the morning light. Mu Lian exchanged a glance with Ye Yiqing, who was kneeling beside him, and said in a deep voice, “Ninety-seven secret letters from the past three years are all here. The handwriting of the Prince of Ruyang in correspondence with the traitor Liu Zhang and the Southern Frontier has been verified by the Three Judicial Offices without doubt; furthermore, the evidence of the Prince of Ruyang's abuse of power for personal gain, framing loyal officials, and harming the innocent is also here…”

When she looked up, Mu Lian's eyes were clear and cold as snow, yet upon closer inspection, they seemed to hold a hidden sorrow and indignation. Years ago, the Mu family suffered a calamity, and Mu Lian crawled out from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. For years, she had dreamed of this day. And now, finally, finally, finally, she could clear her father's name and vindicate the Mu family!

Nodding, the Empress traced the dark patterns on the sandalwood box with her fingertips, then suddenly chuckled: "Do you all know? Each of these letters has been treated with a special potion, which will reveal red marks when heated—" She tossed the sandalwood box into the charcoal brazier, and as the flames rose, blood-red dark patterns indeed appeared, which were the private seal totem of the Prince of Ruyang.

The evidence is irrefutable.

The thunderous rage in her eyes froze into ice, and the Empress commanded, "Order the Imperial Guards to immediately seal off the Ruyang Prince's residence, and bring all his associates to the Court of Judicial Review for trial..."

"Yes." The golden-armored guards, who had been waiting for a long time, swarmed in, filling the hall with a roar. The Empress looked down at Li Peixuan, who was still kneeling on the ground, softened her voice, and sighed, "He is still your father. His glory is your glory, and his loss is your loss. Do not harbor resentment. I will wait for you to return..."

Lowering his body even further, Li Peixuan pressed his forehead tightly against the cold imperial bricks and replied in a muffled voice, "Your subject dares not, Your subject obeys the decree." So what if he was stripped of his title at this moment? As long as he was still qualified to participate in the martial arts examination, he would definitely be able to return to the court with dignity!

Three days later.

Dust billowed along the post road as Prince Ruyang galloped into the capital, only to find the streets eerily quiet. Alarmed, he spurred his horse towards his palace. The heavy vermilion gates were tightly shut, each bearing an imperial edict sealed with a seal. Prince Ruyang was shocked and roared, whipping the guards at the gate: "Who dares to threaten my royal estate?"

The long whip tip was intercepted by a black iron token that flew diagonally – Mu Lian, dressed in black and wearing a silver mask, slowly emerged from the shadows. Behind him, a dark mass of crossbowmen lifted their cloaks, revealing the insignia of the former subordinates of the Prince of Ruyang.

"Does Your Highness know?" Under the dazzling midday sun, Mu Lian chuckled, "The assassins you raise would rather be His Majesty's pawns." She flicked her finger, and countless crossbow bolts pointed at their former master: "Because His Majesty allows them to live openly in the sunlight, rather than forever be your hidden blades."

"Good, good, good, what a brilliant scheme to sow discord!" Li Chong stared at the dense mass of arrows and crossbow bolts, his eyes blazing with fury. "You think you'll have a good end after betraying your former master? In the end, you'll just be the hunted dogs, killed when the rabbits are caught..."

"Your Highness, be careful with your words..." Mu Lian interrupted the Prince of Ruyang's wild rant in a cold voice, took a few steps forward, and said with sharp eyes, "Your Highness, do not forget that you are a prisoner now. Do not lose your composure again!"

"Hmph," Prince Ruyang remained unmoved, glancing at Mu Lian before snarling, "How dare you, a mere head of the Judicial Office, challenge me? I wish to petition His Majesty, and the Li clan should also be present at court..."

"Heh..." Mu Lian scoffed, taking a few steps closer and abruptly lifting the silver mask from her face with her slender fingertips: "Does Your Highness still remember this face?"

"You? You, you are..." The Prince of Ruyang's hand trembled violently, and he almost fell off his horse in astonishment. How could he not recognize that face that had haunted his mind for so many years?

“That’s right.” After putting on his mask, Mu Lian said calmly, “How Your Highness treated the entire Mu family back then is how Your Highness should treat them now. Don’t worry, I will definitely not give Your Highness a chance to petition for a retrial…” As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the soldiers of the Judicial Office who were already prepared stepped forward and restrained the attendants behind Prince Ruyang.

"Your Highness, please." Mu Lian bowed and gestured for him to enter. That figure, that posture—wasn't it just like Madam Mu from back then?

With a long sigh, the Prince of Ruyang looked around. He was outnumbered and outmatched, and he was no match for the man before him. He had no choice but to surrender. Moreover, the sudden sight of his old friend's daughter, with her almost identical face, stirred a thousand waves of emotion within him. How could he possibly fight back?

As dusk fell, the imperial city bells rang.

Inside the bedchamber, the Empress gently stroked the man's fingers, which were stung by the medicinal solution, and asked in a gentle voice, "Was the powder that appeared in the charcoal brazier that day truly prepared by the Court of Judicial Review?" Zhang Songzhi's eyelashes trembled slightly. "Your Majesty is wise, the powder was indeed prepared by your subject..."

“I know,” the Empress interrupted him, placing a hand warmer on his frozen fingertips, “Without your guidance behind the scenes at the Court of Judicial Review, many medicines might not have been prepared so quickly. Furthermore—” the Empress glanced at the faint ink stains on Zhang Songzhi’s sleeve, “You are skilled at imitating handwriting throughout the land, so those secret letters, are they real or not…”

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Songzhi gripped the Empress's fingertips tightly, his heart warming.

The candlelight crackled and burst into starlight, illuminating the unspoken smiles between the two. How could the brilliant scholar who had once been the third-ranked scholar be content to remain merely a male concubine in the harem? Therefore, as long as he was genuinely concerned for the affairs of the court, the Empress did not care about his actions, whether overt or covert.

As night deepened, the Empress leaned against Zhang Songzhi's chest, murmuring softly, "It's time to thoroughly purge the parasites from this empire." A sudden downpour outside the window washed away the undried bloodstains on the palace bricks…