Volume 1, Chapter 4: Poisoned by a Servant? Instigated by a Villain?

The Golden Throne Hall. The beating heart of power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Inside the hall, dragon-coiled golden pillars stood tall, reaching toward the vaulted ceiling. Light filtered through high windows, casting mottled shadows across the mirror-smooth golden brick floor, while the air hung heavy with a suffocating sense of solemnity and gravity.

Upon the imperial throne sat a middle-aged man draped in a black dragon robe. His face was gaunt, his eyes narrow and long, radiating an inherent authority that required no outward display of anger. Simply sitting there, he resembled a towering mountain, pressing down upon everyone in the hall until they struggled to breathe.

He was Li Chengye, the Emperor of Great Zhou.

Li Xuan, Xiao Yuan, and Xiao Ning-shuang knelt before the throne. Not far behind them stood several princes of extraordinary bearing.

Leading them was the First Prince, Li Yuan. With a burly physique and a thick, bristly beard, he cast a gloating look at Li Xuan, as if eyeing a lamb ready for the slaughter. Beside him, the Second Prince, Li Zhan, appeared refined and scholarly, lightly waving a folding fan. A faint, elusive smile played upon his lips, yet the chill hidden within that smile was sharper than any blade.

The atmosphere was deathly silent.

"Xiao Yuan." Li Chengye spoke from the throne. His voice was flat, betraying neither joy nor anger.

"Your subject is here," Xiao Yuan replied, bowing his head. His voice was steady, yet could not hide a tremor.

"Look up and tell Me what happened." Li Chengye’s tone remained level, but those familiar with him knew this was the calm before the storm.

Xiao Yuan took a deep breath, bowed once more, and spoke with forceful clarity: "Reporting to Your Majesty! The Crown Prince has offended my young daughter and humiliated my Xiao family! I implore Your Majesty to seek justice for the Xiao family and for the moral order of the world!"

He did not embellish the facts; he simply stated them. Yet, in the Golden Throne Hall, these simple facts were like a thunderclap.

"Oh?" Li Chengye’s gaze slowly shifted from Xiao Yuan to Li Xuan. His eyes were like an invisible, sharp sword, piercing through Li Xuan’s body as if to lay his very soul bare.

Li Xuan felt a mountain-like pressure rush toward him—a weight far more terrifying than the murderous aura of Xiao Yuan. This was the might of an emperor, an aura condensed from the power to dictate the lives and deaths of billions. Had it been the original owner of this body, he would likely have been paralyzed with fear, babbling incoherently.

But Li Xuan merely knelt in silence, meeting his father’s gaze without flinching or retreating. This composure sparked a flicker of imperceptible surprise in Li Chengye’s eyes.

"Li Xuan, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Before Li Xuan could speak, the First Prince, Li Yuan, stepped forward, unable to restrain himself. Bowing with righteous indignation, he said, "Father! I believe there is no need for further discussion! The Crown Prince has shown a lack of virtue, tarnished the royal reputation, and forcibly humiliated the daughter of a high-ranking official—this is a national scandal! If he is not severely punished, how can we satisfy the public? How can we uphold the laws of the land?"

The Second Prince, Li Zhan, also closed his folding fan and stepped forward. With a look of feigned heartache, he added, "Big brother is right. Father, General Xiao is a pillar of our Great Zhou, having served the country at the borders with great distinction. Now that his most beloved daughter has suffered such a great insult within the capital, if we cannot provide the General with a satisfactory explanation, I fear it will chill the hearts of soldiers across the empire!"

The two sang in harmony, every word designed to cut to the bone. On the surface, they were pleading for the Xiao family, but in reality, every sentence was a poisoned arrow aimed at Li Xuan, intended to drive him to his death.

Li Xuan sneered inwardly. These brothers were truly excellent actors. It was a waste of talent that they weren't performing on a stage.

Li Chengye listened expressionlessly, without interrupting. He merely tapped his fingers against the armrest of the dragon throne, producing a rhythmic "tap, tap, tap." Each sound seemed to land directly on the hearts of those present.

When his two sons finished, Li Chengye’s gaze returned to Li Xuan. "They have had their say. Now, it is your turn."

The eyes of the entire hall focused on Li Xuan. Xiao Yuan kept his head low, but his ears were pricked. He wanted to hear what tricks the Crown Prince could conjure up before the Emperor. Xiao Ning-shuang bit her lip so hard her nails nearly embedded themselves in her palms. She hoped Li Xuan would be torn to pieces, yet she felt a faint intuition that things might not be so simple.

Li Xuan slowly raised his head. There was no panic on his face; instead, there was a sense of calm.

"Father, I am guilty."

His immediate confession stunned everyone. Even Li Yuan and Li Zhan, who had prepared a bellyful of arguments to attack him, felt as if they had punched empty air, their expressions turning bewildered.

"Oh? Of what are you guilty?" For the first time, there was a ripple in Li Chengye’s tone.

Li Xuan spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "My guilt lies in failing to recognize the true nature of those around me and failing to govern my household strictly. This allowed servants to be instigated by treacherous villains, emboldened to the point of drugging both myself and Miss Ning-shuang. Their intent was to frame us and sow discord between the Royal House and the General’s family! This is my failure of oversight!"

What?!

The hall erupted in an uproar. Servants drugging them? Instigated by villains? The plot twist was so sudden it left everyone reeling.

Xiao Yuan jerked his head up, staring at Li Xuan in disbelief. Was this boy's face made of city walls? How could he fabricate such an outrageous lie right in front of the Emperor?

Xiao Ning-shuang was trembling with rage. She almost stood up to expose the shameless liar on the spot, but was held back by a sharp, warning look from her father.

The First Prince, Li Yuan, was the first to react. He immediately roared, "Absolute nonsense! Li Xuan, do not attempt to deceive the public and shirk your responsibility here! You dare to pin your own filthy deeds on your servants? This is utterly shameless!"

"Why is Big Brother so agitated?" Li Xuan turned his head, looking at him with a faint, enigmatic smile. "Could it be that the treacherous villain who instigated the servants has some connection to you, Big Brother?"

"You... you are slandering me!" Li Yuan’s face changed, his voice filled with frantic rage.

Li Xuan ignored him, turning back to the throne. His voice turned heavy with pain: "Father, this matter is full of suspicious points. Why did Miss Ning-shuang and I happen to appear at the same restaurant at the same time? And why did General Xiao’s troops manage to surround the restaurant the very moment we 'had an incident'?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over his brothers as he continued pointedly: "Behind all this, there is clearly a black hand meticulously orchestrating everything! Their goal is to manufacture a sensational scandal, forcing the Royal House and the Xiao family to become enemies and destroy each other. When that happens, certain people will be able to sit back and reap the rewards!"

Li Chengye’s fingers, which had been tapping the armrest, came to a halt. His eyes turned deep and sharp. As an emperor who had played with power his entire life, he understood the subtext of Li Xuan’s words immediately.

The succession struggle.

The familiar play was being staged once more. He did not care whether Li Xuan was truly being framed; what he cared about was that the "possibility" Li Xuan had proposed provided him with an excellent step down from the difficult situation before him.