Gong Zhiyuan was “escorted” all the way to Qingliang Palace by the Imperial Guards. The oppressive clatter of armor weighed on him until he could barely breathe, and along the way he had no opportunity whatsoever to sound anyone out for information.
His thoughts were in turmoil. He repeatedly turned things over in his mind, even wondering whether the emperor still felt some lingering compassion for Wen Zhuo and had changed his mind at the last moment.
But he had only just ordered the torture to begin. Even if the eunuch agents of the Directorate of Ceremonial had immediately gone to report it, there was no way an imperial edict could have arrived so quickly.
Where, exactly, had things gone wrong?
His doubts were instantly dispelled when he stepped into Qingliang Palace and looked up to see Shen Zheng standing beside the dragon throne.
Still caught up in the feverish excitement of the investigation, he instinctively assumed that Shen Zheng had pleaded with the emperor for mercy.
Was this not precisely the opportunity they had been waiting for?
A fanatical light suddenly blazed in Gong Zhiyuan’s eyes. He had no time to worry about his disheveled robes; he only wanted to seize the initiative before anyone else could.
He violently broke free of the Imperial Guards’ grip and fell to his knees with a loud thud. Facing Emperor Shunyuan, whose expression was impossible to read atop the dragon throne, he declared righteously and fervently, “Your Majesty! The case against Wen Zhuo has reached a critical point in its deliberation, yet His Highness the Fifth Prince has abandoned the crucial maritime transport operations and returned to the capital overnight, all for the sake of pleading on behalf of a traitor! I truly cannot understand it. Could it be that His Highness the Fifth Prince has long shared a private friendship with Wen Zhuo, and that their relationship is exceptionally close? Or perhaps the Fifth Prince’s glory today is all secretly due to Wen Zhuo’s efforts!”
He knew his words were aggressive, but they were the best way to strike at the emperor’s deepest fears.
Emperor Shunyuan had always regarded Wen Zhuo as a solitary loyalist and a trusted confidant. If he learned that Wen Zhuo had already secretly chosen a prince and was working to secure that prince the position of heir, he would certainly be consumed by fury and murderous intent.
Yet the expected imperial wrath never came.
Emperor Shunyuan did not even seem to consider Gong Zhiyuan’s accusation. He merely fixed him with a pair of cold, somber eyes. Those eyes, already clouded and dulled by age, now radiated a terrifying pressure.
Gong Zhiyuan’s heart gave a jolt.
Shen Zheng slowly turned around and gave him a cold, mocking smile. “So the Grand Secretary assumed that I returned to the capital to plead for Director Wen.”
Shen Zheng nodded lightly, offering what sounded almost like praise. “That is a truly ingenious scheme. Director Wen once spoke up for the Jun family and defended justice at the victory banquet, so I am grateful to him. When I traveled with him to Mianzhou to oversee disaster relief, we also worked together with perfect understanding, single-mindedly joining forces to aid the people. Had I been in the capital, I truly would have said a word on his behalf. In that case, Wen Zhuo would have become my private minister, and his connection to me would have been irrefutable proof that I was building a faction for personal gain. My promotion of maritime transport and my efforts to resolve the crisis in the Great Qian’s grain-transport system could likewise be painted as reckless eagerness for quick success and an attempt to secure the heirship. Grand Secretary, you truly have accounted for everything.”
Gong Zhiyuan’s entire body trembled. He had never imagined that Shen Zheng would expose their scheme so bluntly before the emperor.
His heart sank. Realizing that matters were by no means as simple as he had imagined, he hurriedly looked toward Emperor Shunyuan.
Just as he feared, after hearing Shen Zheng’s words, the emperor’s gaze grew even darker. The fury in his eyes seemed to have accumulated to its absolute limit.
“Have him come in,” Emperor Shunyuan suddenly said, his gaze passing directly over Gong Zhiyuan.
Gong Zhiyuan’s heart tightened, and a chill ran down his spine.
Whom was the emperor summoning?
A faint rustling suddenly came from the palace doors. He turned sharply and saw that hauntingly persistent face—Bu Zhangyi.
Gong Zhiyuan was stunned. His aged eyes widened. Why had Bu Zhangyi come here? Could it be that the remnants of the Worthy Prince’s faction still refused to give up, and the Emperor intended to reinstate him?
Bu Zhangyi was dressed in a plain garment of coarse hemp. Though it had been kept reasonably clean, it could not conceal its shabbiness.
The hard labor at the saltworks had reduced him to a gaunt shadow of his former self. The hemp robe hung loosely from his frame, making him appear even frailer.
Yet his eyes still burned with fighting spirit. When he looked at Gong Zhiyuan, they held the same hostility he had shown his old political adversary in court.
He staggered forward, then crashed heavily onto both knees against the golden-brick floor. Prostrating himself, he said in a trembling voice, “Your subject, Bu Zhangyi, kowtows before Your Majesty! I know I have little time left. My guilt toward Your Majesty has kept me tossing and turning night after night, unable to sleep. Fortunately, His Fifth Highness journeyed all the way to Jinhai, giving me the opportunity to return to the capital with him, present my case before Your Majesty, and expose the chief traitors and villains within the court!”
“Bu Zhangyi! What nonsense are you spouting?” Gong Zhiyuan shouted harshly, glaring at him.
Bu Zhangyi ignored him and continued, prostrating himself as he spoke. “Every word I say is true! Back then, at Guanlin Terrace, Grand Secretary Gong pulled me aside. Several court officials witnessed what happened: Lord Hao of the Court of Transmission, Lord Fan, an Investigating Censor of the Thirteen Circuits, Lord Song, an editor of the Hanlin Academy, and… Lord Wen.”
At the mention of Guanlin Terrace, Gong Zhiyuan was struck as though by lightning. In an instant, he understood why Bu Zhangyi had come.
This meant that Shen Zheng’s return to the capital had never been to plead for Wen Zhuo—it was to uncover the truth behind the Spring Terrace Chess Assembly!
A chill shot straight to the crown of his head. The slack flesh of his face began to twitch uncontrollably, and all color drained from it in an instant.
“Your Majesty! Do not listen to Bu Zhangyi’s wild accusations! With death staring him in the face, he is merely trying to drag this old servant down with him!”
Emperor Shunyuan slowly spoke, his tone so calm that it sent a shiver through everyone who heard it. “It seems you know exactly what Bu Zhangyi has reported to Me.”
“This old servant… this old servant does not know!” Gong Zhiyuan stammered, attempting to argue his innocence, though his voice was already trembling.
“I have long known that you were the former Crown Prince’s tutor and harbored hopes of assisting him. But I never imagined that your malice toward the Fifth Prince would run so deep!” Emperor Shunyuan slammed his hand against the imperial desk. In his fury, he broke into several heavy coughs. “Not only did you intend to have him killed at the Spring Terrace Chess Assembly, you have now sought to use Wen Zhuo’s affair to drag him into the mire as well! Gong Zhiyuan, you are utterly despicable!”
With his hands clasped behind his back, Shen Zheng walked step by step to stand before Gong Zhiyuan. Looking down at him, he said, “After receiving Lord Bu’s denunciation, I thought of Xie Pingzheng, who died in another’s place, and understood how serious this matter was. I therefore brought my men back to the capital at once to report the truth to Father. Yet I never imagined that another trap had already been laid here in the capital, waiting for me to walk straight into it.”
He turned and bowed deeply to Emperor Shunyuan, undisguised grief on his face.
“Father! I lived in seclusion at Nanping for ten years. Now that I have finally returned to the capital, all I wished for was to serve at Your Majesty’s side, fulfill my filial duty, and contribute what little I could to Great Qian. Yet no matter how much I ponder it, I cannot understand why they would scheme against me, determined to see me dead. Was it because my efforts to promote maritime trade threatened their private interests? Or is my very existence an obstacle to their treacherous ambitions?”
“If everyone in Great Qian who serves the realm is to be hamstrung by such officials in the name of ‘justice,’ and if even the Grand Secretary of the current court casts aside his impartiality and pursues nothing but profit, brazenly framing others—then all the loyal and righteous men beneath Heaven will surely lose heart and withdraw. The illustrious reputation Your Majesty’s imperial father spent his entire life building will likewise be destroyed!”
Listening to Shen Zheng’s impassioned speech, Gong Zhiyuan was finally overwhelmed by panic. For a moment, he could think of no way to escape his predicament.
He hurriedly crawled forward on his knees, threw himself before the imperial desk, and cried out in grief, “Your Majesty! This old subject has been wronged! My loyalty to Your Majesty is known to Heaven and Earth—how could I possibly have framed anyone? Bu Zhangyi has slandered me with nothing but empty words! I would gladly die to prove my innocence!”
Just then, two eunuchs who served as Imperial Readers in the Directorate of Ceremonial entered the Cool Breeze Hall. Dressed in crimson, broad-sleeved python robes, they brushed the cold mist from their shoulders before kneeling and performing a formal kowtow to Emperor Shunyuan.
Emperor Shunyuan knitted his brows slightly and turned his gaze toward Liu Quan.
Liu Quan lowered his head respectfully, then leaned toward the emperor’s ear and reported in a soft voice, “This servant heard that various rumors have been circulating through the streets and alleys. Fearing that too many commoners might believe them and that public sentiment would be disturbed, this servant ordered the palace agents to investigate. They have been looking into the matter for two days now, and it seems they have found something.”
The emperor’s expression darkened slightly. This very matter had been troubling him in recent days. It was also the alleged “will of the people” reported by the Office of Transmission and Examination that had forced him to make his harsh decision against Wen Zhuo.
He immediately raised a hand toward the two Imperial Readers and asked sternly, “What is the state of public opinion among the people?”
One of them replied, “Your Majesty, the Directorate of Ceremonial dispatched a hundred palace agents to investigate the streets, teahouses, and wine shops throughout the capital. We discovered that the truth is nowhere near as serious as the Office of Transmission and Examination reported! In the teahouses and taverns, at the chess halls and pleasure quarters, scarcely anyone has even discussed the supposed injustice of Wen Zhuo’s sentence. Aside from a few isolated disturbances outside the Office of Transmission and Examination, there have been no unruly mobs or riots anywhere else. The people are living in perfect peace.
“This servant was astonished, so I casually detained several scholars for questioning. We discovered that some of them did not even know that Wen Zhuo was involved in a case, let alone anything about a joint petition on his behalf!”
Emperor Shunyuan had initially leaned forward to listen. Upon hearing this, he slowly straightened in his seat. His fingers clenched around the armrest of the imperial throne, and he let out two cold laughs.
“Good… Very good!”
The other Imperial Reader suddenly lifted two crudely made booklets of hemp paper in both hands. His tone abruptly changed.
“However, during our investigation, this servant discovered another matter of far greater urgency. It has now become the talk of the streets, with peddlers, laborers, scholars, and literati alike eagerly discussing it as an amusing tale. It has already begun to damage Your Majesty’s reputation!”
Emperor Shunyuan’s brows drew tightly together, and the beads of his imperial crown swayed overhead.
“Speak plainly!”
“These two booklets contain a full account of secret affairs within the palace. Their contents are bold and subversive, and the incidents described are shocking beyond belief…” The Imperial Reader paused, his eyes timidly flicking toward Liu Quan.
With everyone in the hall standing around them, the contents were too filthy and indecent to reveal openly. He was unsure whether he ought to report them before the entire assembly.
The emperor was already seething with anger and had no patience for hesitation. He thundered, “Why are you looking at him? I command you to speak!”
The eunuch hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground and knocked his head three times before trembling as he reported, “Your Majesty, please look. One of these documents actually slanders the late Consort Chen, claiming that she… that she was in fact a man, yet won Your Majesty’s favor, and that you have never been able to forget her all these years.”
At those words, Emperor Shunyuan’s eyelids flew open. He abruptly rose to his feet, the strings of beads before his crown clashing violently together like a jade urn shattering to pieces.
Seeing the emperor’s fury, the eunuch dared not delay. He continued in a rush, “The other says… it says that Director Wen’s appearance resembles that of Consort Chen by nearly seven parts out of ten, and that His Majesty has trusted and favored him all these years solely because he bears such a resemblance to Consort Chen!”
Emperor Shunyuan’s eyes bulged as though they might split. His body swayed several times before he suddenly collapsed backward, landing heavily in his throne.
“Father!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Quick, summon the imperial physician!”
…
In an instant, Qingliang Hall descended into chaos. Shen Zheng rushed forward, pressing hard on Emperor Shunyuan’s philtrum with one hand while gently patting his back with the other to help him catch his breath. Liu Quan hurried over, took the two booklets from the eunuchs, and waved the two palace officials away.
Bu Zhangyi stood frozen, kneeling on the floor with his eyes wide and his face filled with disbelief.
What absurd nonsense was this? How could Consort Chen have been a man?
As for Gong Zhiyuan, it felt as though he had stepped off the edge of a bottomless cliff. A shrill ringing filled his ears.
At last, he realized something truly terrifying: Wen Zhuo’s imprisonment might have been part of a scheme from beginning to end!
And both the Gong family and the Xie family would be condemned to ruin because of it.
His vision darkened in waves, until he could no longer find the slightest trace of light. Weariness filled his heart, followed by a sudden, desolate emptiness.
He wanted to defend himself. He wanted to tell the emperor that the *Wanshan Fu* was indeed authentic, that Wen Zhuo truly did favor men, and that they had all fallen into Wen Zhuo’s trap. Those two booklets must have been Wen Zhuo’s handiwork. He had thrown himself into the scheme and staged a self-inflicted ordeal, using a bitter ploy to pin the charge of usurpation squarely upon the Gong and Xie families…
But would the emperor still believe him?
Probably not.
Wen Zhuo was still so young. How could he possibly have known that he resembled Consort Chen?
Only the few senior ministers who had taken part in selecting the top scholar back then knew of this matter—and Gong Zhiyuan was one of them.
Consort Chen had been dead for more than twenty years. Even he had seen no more than a portrait of her, while Liu Changbai had always kept silent about the details of the past. The booklet’s claim that Consort Chen had been a man was utter nonsense. It seemed far more likely that someone had deliberately fabricated it, solely to substantiate the accusations that Wen Zhuo favored men.
Yet now, everything had become entangled. From the sudden appearance of the *Wanshan Fu*, to the testimonies of multiple witnesses, to the forging of public opinion and the submission of petitions, and finally to the abrupt emergence of these two booklets—each matter seemed aimed at Wen Zhuo, determined to drive him to his death.
But there was one fatal flaw in this scheme: the other central figure was the emperor himself!
The emperor might tolerate a favored minister becoming embroiled in rumors of sexual impropriety with men, but he would never tolerate anyone recklessly defiling his good name, much less trampling the dignity of the imperial house beneath their feet!
Sure enough, after recovering his breath, Emperor Shunyuan stared fixedly at the domed ceiling of the hall. His fingers dug into the armrest of the throne as he muttered, “I understand now… This was never aimed at Wanshan. It was aimed at me!”
In an instant, he understood the crux of it. If Wen Zhuo were proven to favor men, combined with the rumors surrounding those two booklets, gossip that the Emperor loved male consorts and shared an improper relationship with his favored minister would spread wildly among the common people, never to be contained.
Wen Zhuo had frequented the entertainment quarters for years without ever taking comfort with any of the performers, and at twenty-five, he remained unmarried. All these peculiarities would become evidence that he had secretly been controlled by the Emperor and used as a substitute for Consort Chen.
What alarmed Emperor Shunyuan even more was that the accounts in the booklets largely coincided with the truth. Xingluo was indeed a man; Xingluo did indeed resemble Wen Zhuo. But he had never treated anyone as Xingluo’s replacement. He favored and trusted Wen Zhuo solely because the two of them shared a trace of blood kinship!
How could Wen Zhuo possibly have known of these old matters from so many years ago?
Now, it seemed that whether *Ode to the Evening Mountains* was genuine or false no longer mattered. Wen Zhuo was merely a pawn swept into this scheme. Someone, with truly malicious intent, had dared to reach for the Dragon Throne itself!
“Guards!”
Emperor Shunyuan’s cheeks were hollow, his expression twisted with fury, his eyes webbed with scarlet blood vessels. His voice was hoarse with rage.
Gong Zhiyuan shook like a leaf. Scrambling and crawling forward on his knees, his tongue stiff and his words incoherent, he cried, “Your Majesty! There is more to this matter! There must be another explanation!”
Emperor Shunyuan paid him no heed. His gaze swept across the hall, every word falling like a heavy hammer.
“Gong Zhiyuan framed the Fifth Prince and disrupted the order of the court. Seize him at once and throw him into the Imperial Prison. Order Xue Chongnian to interrogate him thoroughly; all those implicated shall be punished as well! Xie Langyang has plotted this for a long time. He forged *Ode to the Evening Mountains* to smear the good name of Wen Zhuo of the Hanlin Academy, and secretly spread rumors, fabricating public sentiment to damage My reputation! I appoint the Fifth Prince, Shen Zheng, to preside over this case. Bring it to a swift conclusion and publish the truth throughout the realm, so as to quell these rumors!”
It was as though every bone in Gong Zhiyuan’s body had been pulled out. He collapsed to the floor at once, his face ashen.
Shen Zheng dropped to one knee and said gravely, “This son obeys Your Majesty’s decree!”
At the command, the Imperial Guards surged forward. Iron-like hands clamped around Gong Zhiyuan and dragged him out of the hall.
Bu Zhangyi, too, was led away to be held under guard. The imperial physicians hurried in with their medicine chests and knelt before the throne to take Emperor Shunyuan’s pulse and examine him.
Shen Zheng withdrew to the doorway, his heart burning with anxiety. Emperor Shunyuan was now struggling for breath, and he could not leave without permission. Yet all he wanted was to conclude this case as soon as possible and go to the Dali Temple prison to bring Wen Zhuo home.
He had barely come to a stop when Liu Quan followed him out.
With both hands tucked into the sleeves of his embroidered court robe, Liu Quan inclined his head slightly. A faint smile rested on his face as he said evenly, “This servant has a word of advice for Your Highness. Though this matter is absurd, it is, in the end, a danger to both the court and the imperial family. His Majesty’s meaning is clear: this case can only be a false accusation. Only if both His Majesty and Director Wen are shown to be entirely innocent can those with ulterior motives be made to confess and face punishment, and the rumors circulating among the people collapse of their own accord.”
Shen Zheng looked deeply at Liu Quan. “I understand.”
“Your Highness is wise.” Liu Quan bowed and withdrew back inside.
By dusk, the sky had unexpectedly cleared. Sunset light spilled across the glazed turquoise roof tiles, lifting a gentle warmth high into the heavens. The oppressive gloom that had hung over them for days was swept away completely.
In the courtroom of the Dali Temple, with the presiding judge, Gong Zhiyuan, suddenly taken away, the entire hall fell deathly silent. No one dared move even a finger; they could only hold their breath and wait for word from the palace.
Yet no one could have imagined that the decree they received an hour later would strike the entire court like a thunderbolt—
“By imperial decree: Xie Langyang is suspected of framing Wen Zhuo, Academician-in-Chief of the Hanlin Academy, fabricating rumors, and forging public sentiment. Fifth Prince Shen Zheng is hereby appointed to preside over this case and shall investigate and decide it with all haste!”
Luo Mingpu stared blankly at the eunuch delivering the decree. He almost thought he had misheard, and stood rooted to the spot in his seat as assistant examiner.
Xie Langyang felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. His heartbeat abruptly stopped in that instant, and his limbs went numb.
“Where is the framing? Where is the framing!” He suddenly sprang to his feet, eyes bloodshot, and roared his questions at the eunuch. His trembling hands tried to seize the other man’s sleeve, but he could not summon even the slightest strength, and could only wave them helplessly through the air.
The eunuch merely looked at him expressionlessly, utterly unmoved by his hysterics.
Xie Langyang seemed to have lost his mind. He staggered across the courtroom and bellowed at everyone present, “Where is the framing? Everything I said is the truth! How can it be called framing!”
The women from the Court of Music were frightened by his appearance and retreated again and again. Liao Zongqing, too, was thrown into a panic. His lips trembled as he repeated over and over, “Then… that rhapsody was…”
Xie Langyang suddenly lunged forward and seized Liao Zongqing by the sleeve, clutching him as though he were the last straw keeping him alive. His cries seemed to come straight from his bleeding heart.
“You know it’s real! The *Rhapsody of the Late Mountains* is real! Come with me to see His Majesty! Tell him—that was Wen Zhuo’s own handwriting! It’s real!”
Liao Zongqing was already elderly and could not withstand such violent tugging and fright. A few faint whimpers forced their way from his throat. His vision went black, and his body went limp as he slid to the floor.
“Why! Why! Why in the world!”
His anguished roar echoed through the courtroom, striking the cold walls before rebounding and crashing viciously back into Xie Langyang’s own face.
Tears and snot streamed down his face, his voice breaking apart. “I’m telling the truth! I’ve done everything I could! Why did I lose? Why did I lose!”
Deep down, he was unwilling to admit that he seemed to have fallen into Wen Zhuo’s trap yet again. From beginning to end, he had been playing right into the other man’s calculations.
Wen Zhuo had only just broken free of his nightmare. His dark hair was still disheveled across his cheek, and traces of blood remained damp on his fingertips. Yet when he saw Xie Langyang’s frenzied collapse, the corners of his lips unexpectedly curved upward in a smile.
At first, it was merely a low chuckle he could not suppress. Before long, however, it became unfettered, delighted laughter.
The laughter was clear and carefree, and the eyes that had only just escaped fear and pain now shone with startling brilliance.
Such a wild, unrestrained bearing should have seemed strange, yet instead he resembled a divine being fallen from the moon into the mortal world—stained with the warmth of human life, and thereby possessing a vivid charm that was almost human, or even demonic.
He raised a hand and lifted the shackles around his wrist. The abraded skin continued to seep tiny beads of blood, but he seemed entirely unaware of it. Step by step, he walked toward Xie Langyang.
When he came close, he curved his luminous eyes with interest and bent down toward Xie Langyang, speaking softly, “I told you long ago—you’re no match for me. Every scheme you can think of is already part of mine. If you had stayed put, you might have lived a little longer. But no, you had to play clever and throw an egg at a rock.”
His voice was as light as snow drifting through the air. “What is it? You’ve racked your brains and still can’t figure out when you fell into my trap—or how you ended up in this state, can you? Everything you said was true. You had nearly driven me into a corner. So how did His Majesty suddenly stop believing you and order your arrest instead?”
“Did you really think that, knowing you had the Wanshan Fu in your hands, and knowing you were a hypocritical, pedantic, sanctimonious beast, I would make no preparations?” Wen Zhuo’s gaze held not the slightest trace of pity, only scorn. “The suffering of these more than twenty days in the freezing prison was indeed difficult to endure. But whenever I thought of bringing ruin upon the Xie family and making sure you died without a grave, I found I could bear it.”
Xie Langyang’s entire body trembled violently. As he stared at Wen Zhuo before him, not a trace of his former love remained in his heart—only a fear that had seeped into his very bones.
With such a face and such a cunning mind, to have returned to life after death… How could such a thing be achieved by a human? Only a demon—only a monster!
“I want to see His Majesty… I want to see His Majesty!” As Wen Zhuo advanced toward him step by step, the face that had always been dignified twisted grotesquely. Xie Langyang staggered backward, and in his panic, his foot caught on a crack between the paving stones. He fell heavily to the ground.
Wen Zhuo raised a hand and brushed aside the strands of black hair clinging to his eyes. The blood on his fingertips accidentally streaked the corner of his eye, spreading into an eerie red.
He slowly crouched down, as though Yama himself had descended upon the world, and said without mercy, “His Majesty will never listen to you again. Do you remember the night of New Year’s Eve? The oath I, Wen Zhuo, swore will surely become a prophecy fulfilled!”
