The prison cart entered the capital, its wheels rumbling. The Hunter Demon Army's banner fluttered at its head. Qin Qiancheng, clad in rags, his hair matted, and his body covered in grime, wore shackles on his shoulders, his clavicles pierced by chains. He huddled in a corner of the cart, silent as a mute.
The citizens stopped to watch, some recognizing the prisoner.
"It's General Qin Qiancheng!"
Whispers spread through the crowd.
Qin Qiancheng suddenly stood, the chains clanking. He gripped the cart's wooden frame, trying to force his head through a gap between two planks. His face contorted, skin stretched taut against bone as if about to tear, yet he continued to squeeze, as if insensible to pain.
He looked at the gathered citizens, his voice booming, a mixture of release and sorrow: "Regent Ji Jinmo plots rebellion, framing loyal subjects on the battlefield, accusing me of treason. My years of loyalty have become a joke, hahahahaha..."
Damn it!
The Hunter Demon Army soldiers escorting Qin Qiancheng felt a chill down their spines, sensing disaster.
They had thought this fellow, with undeniable evidence against him, would remain silent after his capture. Who knew he'd held his tongue all the way to the capital just to unleash such a bombshell?
His intentions were truly damnable!
"Quickly, escort him to the palace!"
The more this was drawn out, the worse it would look. They had to get him to the imperial palace without delay.
The prison cart entered the palace. Qin Qiancheng was handed over to the imperial guards and taken to the celestial prison.
Darkness surrounded him, with only the faint glow of torch sconces along the outer corridor. The air was damp and cold, the blood seeping into the ground impregnating the entire prison with a constant, fetid stench.
The jailer removed Qin Qiancheng's shoulder shackles and shoved him into a cell. Qin Qiancheng stumbled in, the chains through his clavicles clanging again. Each tremor of the chains sent a jolt of pain from his chest wound throughout his body. He leaned against the cold wall, raising his foot to crush the insects and cockroaches hidden in the dry straw beneath.
*Clang.*
The cell lock was pulled. Hearing the movement behind him, Qin Qiancheng turned. He instinctively bent his knees to bow, but the chains at his front were abruptly yanked.
With a sharp cry of pain, Qin Qiancheng grunted.
Qin Qiancheng then saw that it was not the Emperor he expected, but unfamiliar faces he'd never seen in the palace.
"You..."
The person pulling the chains yanked him forward. Qin Qiancheng cried out in pain, his face pale, cold sweat beading on his temples. With his clavicles pierced, he was powerless to resist, pulled along step by agonizing step.
He was led out of the cell, and his vision darkened.
Someone blindfolded him with a black cloth.
Qin Qiancheng's heart trembled. The situation had spiraled beyond his expectations. He didn't know where he was going or what awaited him. The fear of the unknown gnawed at his nerves.
He didn't know how long he walked. When he was nearly at his breaking point, the person pulling his chains finally stopped. He heard a voice that made his eyes want to burst from their sockets.
The voice commanded, "Remove the black cloth from his head!"
Shisan ripped the cloth from Qin Qiancheng's head. Bright light flooded his eyes, and Qin Qiancheng instinctively shut them, only to force them open again the next moment.
His vision was bleached white, as if overwhelming light had consumed everything. After a moment, the scene slowly came into focus.
He saw Ji Jinmo seated on a chair, and beside Ji Jinmo, another upright and familiar figure.
"Your M-Majesty..."
The sight of Ji Hong shattered Qin Qiancheng's heart like a thousand-foot tidal wave.
Ji Hong wore a smile, seemingly pleased by Qin Qiancheng's reaction. He raised his teacup and said to Ji Jinmo, "Imperial Uncle, look at him. He's as astonished as if he's seen the end of the world!"
Ji Jinmo fiddled with his coral prayer beads, his knuckles bulging slightly, the skin around them pale. He didn't look at Ji Hong, but instead lifted his gaze, his cool eyes settling on Qin Qiancheng, who felt a chill run through his entire body.
"Qin Qiancheng!"
He called his name.
Qin Qiancheng's knees felt so weak he almost collapsed on the spot.
"You say I intend to rebel and frame loyal subjects?" Ji Jinmo's voice was neither loud nor soft. He tapped his prayer beads, producing a faint, even clicking sound. To Qin Qiancheng, these sounds were like the death knell struck by demons from hell.
Qin Qiancheng gritted his teeth, almost to the point of shattering them. He looked up abruptly, facing Ji Hong: "Your Majesty, has your constant confrontation with the Prince been nothing but a play for us?"
Qin Qiancheng recognized this as the Regent's study. The Emperor's presence here, so brazenly, was enough to explain many things.
He had followed Ji Jinmo for years, yet had never noticed, not the slightest hint.
The uncle and nephew had conspired together to set a grand scheme, deceiving the entire court, the people of Lin Yuan, and the nations of the world.
"Does my dear minister think my acting was good?"
Ji Hong did not deny it. He had wanted Qin Qiancheng to see how absurd his betrayal, his schemes, and all his plans had been.
"Then, Your Majesty, when you secretly recruited me, did you already anticipate my betrayal?"
Ji Hong hadn't expected Qin Qiancheng, even now, to try and sow discord between him and his Imperial Uncle. If his betrayal was unforeseen, then his secret recruitment would be digging at his uncle's roots.
"That is for you to say!"
Ji Hong took a sip of tea. The aroma bloomed, swirled around his taste buds, and then flowed down his throat. He exhaled in comfort.
Qin Qiancheng's attempt at provocation was like a spring breeze from the south blowing across a vast ocean, unable to stir any significant waves.
Since Ji Hong's ascension, the court officials had watched him step by step, from timid dependence to secret resistance, and finally to confronting Ji Jinmo on equal footing. The court officials had always believed that Ji Hong's rise to this point was due to their support, and that he needed them to oppose Ji Jinmo. But only now did Qin Qiancheng realize that the Emperor had never relied on the officials, but on Lin Yuan's Regent, Ji Jinmo!
He had learned much from Ji Jinmo, his methods and character almost identical to his uncle's.
Qin Qiancheng felt like laughing, laughing at himself, and at the officials who had been so thoroughly deceived by this uncle and nephew duo.
If they truly believed themselves indispensable and held the Emperor in contempt, their end would surely be eternal damnation.
He was, Nan Chao Yin was, everyone... was!