There was silence in the hall. The ministers sitting at the bottom lowered their heads, wishing they could get away from this place of trouble as soon as possible.
The emperor glanced at Lu Yanluo impatiently and waved his hand: "What is there to judge? It is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let one go. Just drag him out and chop him off."
"This..." Upon hearing this, the ministers looked at each other in surprise.
Chu Chen, who had remained silent, was even more shocked, staring at the emperor on the throne.
Not long ago, King Ye, regardless of his own life, led his troops to fight and destroyed Dongchen, who had been eyeing the country covetously, for the Tianji Kingdom.
But now, the emperor seemed to have no regard for the Night King's contribution at all. When the Night King was already dead, he actually killed his wife. Such behavior was really chilling.
In contrast, Chu Zhen, who was kneeling on the ground, was secretly happy. He never thought that this plan would be so successful. Not only did the emperor not question Chu Xuan about his rebellion, but he easily executed Lu Yanluo.
As expected, there is no father and son in the royal family. Thinking of this, Chu Zhen cupped his hands and kowtowed even more respectfully: "Father, your majesty is wise!"
He was eager for Lu Yanluo to die quickly to avoid ruining his good fortune.
"Someone, come! Capture the traitor Chu Xuan's family member Lu Yanluo for me!"
Following Chu Zhen's order, a team of soldiers rushed into the hall.
Seeing this, Lu Yanluo became even calmer, her eyes cold and she was ready for battle.
She was not unprepared when she came to Purple Gold Mountain this time. All the secret guards of the Night Palace were lying in ambush around the hall, waiting for her order.
Chu Zhen turned sideways, a determined smile slowly appeared on his face, and he nodded slightly to Lu Yanluo.
Lu Yanluo's eyes were filled with hostility and anger, and she slowly raised her hand towards the air.
As long as she waves her hand, this place will become a battlefield in an instant.
Lu Yanluo didn't want to do this at first. The secret guard was just her last helpless choice. Before coming, she still had a glimmer of hope for this emperor.
She thought, Chu Xuan was his blood after all.
However, in reality, the emperor wished that the Night Palace would disappear completely in an instant.
Just before Lu Yanluo was about to signal the secret guards to take action, an arrow flew through the air from outside the door.
In an instant, the smug expression on Chu Zhen's face turned into horror, as the sharp arrow pierced his arm with great force.
Instantly, everyone in the hall was in chaos, shouting anxiously: "Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"
Amidst the panic among the crowd, Lu Yanluo's brows relaxed and she revealed a happy smile.
It's Chu Xuan! He's still alive!
Under the gaze of everyone, Chu Xuan walked in with his hands behind his back, step by step, with a menacing look.
Facing Chu Xuan who had come back from the dead, the people in the field had different expressions. Chu Chen suddenly felt relieved, while Chu Zhen's face turned ashen and he stared at Chu Xuan viciously.
The emperor also looked unhappy. He tried to remain calm, but his clenched hands in his sleeves revealed his anger.
Chu Xuan walked slowly to Lu Yanluo's side, gave her a soothing look, then protected her behind him and looked straight at the emperor on the throne.
"Your son pays respects to the Emperor."
The emperor stared at Chu Xuan, furious: "How dare you come back! Rebellious son, come, take this rebellious son down for me!"
"Wait." Chu Xuan rebuked lightly, saying, "Father, you only listened to Prince Ning's one-sided words and then judged me guilty. This is a bit biased. Since everyone is free now, why don't you sit down and listen to me?"
"What else do you have to say? Are you trying to say that you didn't rebel and that Prince Ning wrongly accused you?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Chu Xuan bowed and when he looked up again, there was an ambiguous smile on his face, and he turned his head to look at Chu Zhen.
"Ning Wang Chu Zhen, the son of Concubine Lin, has coveted the throne for a long time. In order to eliminate dissidents and ascend the throne as soon as possible, he first bribed Su Wang and asked him to secretly murder his son. However, Su Wang was kind-hearted and decisively rejected Chu Zhen. Chu Zhen then secretly kidnapped Han Jieyu to force Su Wang to submit."
Chu Chen's face was gloomy. He walked to Chu Xuan's side and looked at Chu Zhen with disgust.
"Prince Su had no choice but to agree reluctantly and promised Chu Zhen that he would kill me on the day of the winter hunt. Unfortunately, God did not spare me. After falling off the cliff, I not only did not die, but was rescued by someone. However, in the eyes of Prince Ning, Chu Xuan was already a dead man. He had no scruples. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the plan, he was so bold that he surrounded the Night Palace with soldiers to prevent the truth from reaching the ears of the gods. He deserves death!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Chu Zhen covered his wound and asked gloomily, "What evidence do you have to prove what you said? Don't make up stories!"
Chu Xuan sneered, and said sarcastically: "Then may I ask, Prince Ning, when you said in front of my father that I was plotting a rebellion, did you have any evidence?"
"Of course!" Chu Zhen became excited and raised his hand to point at Chu Chen, but then he stopped. Yes, all this was a play acted out by Chu Xuan and Chu Chen. It was all fake. How could Chu Chen testify for him!
Chu Zhen's temples were throbbing, veins popped out on his face, and his fists were clenched, looking as if he was being forced into a corner.
Seeing Chu Zhen like this, Chu Xuan chuckled and looked at the emperor again: "Father, Chu Zhen's actions are tantamount to treason. I have the confession written by the innocent Concubine Han, and Prince Su as evidence. Please punish Chu Zhen severely to serve as a warning to others."
Seeing Chu Xuan pressing forward step by step, the emperor's expression became increasingly ugly.
Since ancient times, the art of emperors has always been about checks and balances. Now that Chu Xuan has countless military exploits, he can be said to have great support in the court. If Chu Zhen were not there to restrain him, it is conceivable that the court will be Chu Xuan's world in the future, and even he, the emperor, will have to retreat.
The emperor was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Okay, let's end this matter here. You two are brothers, blood relatives, don't always fight to the death. Today's incident was indeed wrong for Prince Ning, so I will fine Prince Ning half a year's salary and let him reflect on his mistakes for a month."
Lu Yanluo was stunned when she heard this, and then a surge of anger rushed to her brain.
Even the courtiers present frowned and shook their heads in disapproval.
The emperor's favoritism was too obvious. Chu Zhen wrongly accused Ye Wang of treason, but the emperor didn't even ask any questions and wanted to kill Ye Wang's family to prevent future troubles. Then when it was Chu Zhen's turn, the emperor picked him up so heavily and put him down so lightly.
He just gave a light punishment of being ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, which was really too much of a cover-up.
Chu Xuan seemed to have expected this, and looked at the emperor with heavy eyes: "Father, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. Although you love your son dearly and can't bear to hurt Prince Ning, you are not only a father, but also an emperor. Prince Ning's treason is a serious crime. If you can't deal with it impartially, I'm afraid those soldiers in the army who followed you to the battlefield will be disheartened."