"If you ever become emperor, you must remember that the human heart is the most difficult thing to grasp in this world."

Yan Ge'er seemed to understand but not quite.

Lu Xingjian didn't expect him to understand immediately.

He himself only truly understood human nature after experiencing the Liu Jin incident.

There are no permanent friends, nor permanent enemies.

In the days that followed, "ironclad evidence" regarding the Prince of Guishan's rebellion was presented to the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

Under the relentless investigation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, one irrefutable piece of evidence after another was continuously uncovered:

He possessed contraband armor and weapons, maintained close relationships with border generals through letters, some of which were copied so skillfully by skilled artisans, and even included unauthorized dragon-patterned artifacts found in the royal treasury…

The case files of the three judicial departments were piled up like mountains, and the fate of King Guishan was almost sealed.

In the imperial court, everyone was silent, and no one dared to speak up for the disgraced prince.

However, outside the imperial court, in the brothels, teahouses, taverns, and bustling streets, a completely different undercurrent was spreading wildly like wildfire.

Initially, it was just in a noisy corner of the Sihai Teahouse in Dongcheng.

A seemingly drunk and disheveled scholar slammed his fist on the table, rambling incoherently and spouting nonsense, spitting as he spoke:

"King Guishan is nothing, the truly ruthless one is his father!"

He lowered his voice, but it was loud enough for the people at the surrounding tables to hear clearly.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs! Yet some people are willing to throw their own sons' heads to the guillotine just to clear their names! Is their heart stained with ink?

The person at the table pretended to pull him aside and advised, "Brother, watch your words! You're drunk!"

The scholar, however, became even more enthusiastic, stiffening his neck and raising his voice even higher:

"I'm perfectly clear-headed! What are those Chief Clerk Lei and charlatan Li? Aren't they just dogs that listen to others' orders?"

"The master behind this is truly ruthless! His own son, he sold him off without batting an eye!"

"What is this called? This is called the Lu Prince's Sedan Chair. It's carried so high that even the head of one's own son is used as a stepping stone! Using the lives of one's own flesh and blood to pave a splendid road for oneself!"

"The Prince of Lu's sedan chair is carried so high that even his own son's head can be used as a stepping stone..."

This jingle, both startling and utterly blunt, was like a seed with deadly thorns, unintentionally scattered by the drunken scholar, and instantly took root amidst the astonishment, disdain, and excitement of the tea drinkers.

A few days later, under the overpass in the south of the city, several ragged beggar children chased and played, clapping their dirty hands and chanting in unison a new nursery rhyme they had learned from who-knows-where in their clear but shrill voices:

"The Prince of Lu's sedan chair is carried so high that even his own son's head can be used as a stepping stone!"

"One step sways, two steps stagger, stepping on my life to reach the Golden Palace!"

"He's heartless, shameless, and worse than a watchdog than his own father!"

The innocent voices of children singing such eerie and cruel lyrics create a bizarre and highly impactful contrast.

Passersby couldn't help but stare, filled with surprise and doubt, whispering among themselves.

The ballad seemed to have grown wings, and with the beggar's running and leaping, it flew throughout the streets and alleys of the capital and Yanzhou.

A few days later, even the most popular courtesan of the brothel, accompanied by the sounds of the pipa, sang softly and mournfully at banquets of high-ranking officials, her voice a mixture of sighs and sobs:

"Within the deep walls of noble families, blood and tears flow as family members turn against each other..."

"High platforms and grand mansions rise from the ground, but who sees the child's body buried beneath the steps?..."

"Don't say that the wealth and honor of the imperial family are good; they can't compare to the plight of a humble street vendor..."

The decadent music, every word of it, is piercing to the heart.

The dignitaries at the table held their wine glasses, their smiles stiff, their eyes darting around, exchanging unspoken, complex glances.

The scandal of the Prince of Lu's mansion has become a secret of the Great Liang Dynasty, and is the most popular and despicable topic of conversation.

From high-ranking officials to lowly servants, everyone knows that King Lu framed his own son in order to protect himself; he was vicious and worse than a beast!

The once bustling scene in front of the Prince Lu's Mansion is long gone, replaced by a desolate and deserted place.

Occasionally, when an official's sedan chair passed by in a hurry, the curtain would be lowered and the carriage would be moved away quickly, as if the vermilion gate was contaminated with some terrible plague.

Deep within the Prince Lu's mansion, the atmosphere was oppressively suffocating.

"Investigate! Find out for me who is spreading these vicious rumors behind the scenes!"

Like a cornered beast, King Lu paced wildly in his study, his eyes bloodshot and veins bulging on his forehead.

The steward and several trusted stewards knelt on the ground, trembling, their heads almost touching the cold floor tiles.

One of them reported nervously:

"Your Highness, please calm your anger! We have been investigating day and night, but the rumors are like ghosts, originating from all directions. They are being sung in teahouses, taverns, overpasses, and even brothels! There is simply no way to trace them! It's as if they appeared out of nowhere! Moreover..."

"And what?!" King Lu turned around abruptly, roaring like thunder, spitting all over the steward's face.

The butler trembled with fright, his voice trembling with tears: "And the rumors outside are so detailed, they're all pointing to..."

He dared not say anything more, and just kowtowed repeatedly.

"Pointing at me?! What a load of bull!"

King Lu was so angry that he trembled all over. He kicked over the rosewood flower stand next to him, and the enamel vase on it smashed to pieces with a crash.

What happened next was even more unacceptable to King Lu.

Instead of leaving, the court officials lingered at the Prince of Lu's residence, occasionally arresting a few people for interrogation.

The entire Lu Prince's mansion was filled with unease.

Even the other sons of the King of Lu all distanced themselves from him, vehemently denouncing his cruelty and ingratitude, and wishing they could sever their father-son relationship.

King Lu felt an overwhelming sense of despair.

It's over, it's all over.

His reputation, power, and even blood ties—everything he had painstakingly built up—had completely collapsed.

He suddenly covered his face, letting out a desperate, suppressed sob, like a wild beast on its deathbed.

King Guishan was eventually demoted to a commoner and imprisoned within the high walls of Fengyang.

King Guishan was unaware of his sentence.

The eunuch was ordered to escort him to Fengyang. When he asked what he was going there for, the eunuch lied and said he was going to pay homage to the ancestral tombs.

Upon arrival, they discovered it was a prison specifically for imprisoning members of the royal family.

King Guishan wept bitterly, repeatedly crying out that he was wronged, and then banged his head against the wall until he died.

When news of his death arrived, all the imperial families and nobles across the land became wary and felt a sense of impending doom.

The beginning set by the Prince of Lu was really bad.

Those princes, generals who protected the country, and generals who assisted the country all became much more cautious.

If one's father or elder brother is suspected of treason, one should submit a secret memorial to report it early on, so as to avoid being blamed for treason one day.

With the example of Prince Lu's defeat without a fight, many of the regional princes and nobles who harbored rebellious intentions have given up much of their ambition.