Chapter 596: The Imperial Court Erupts
The atmosphere within the Imperial Court was suffocatingly heavy.
Silence pressed down upon everyone like a mountain.
Rows upon rows of officials stood quietly beneath the towering golden pillars.
Not a single person dared speak carelessly.
Because today, something enormous has happened.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The sound of chains echoed throughout the hall.
Instantly, countless gazes turned toward the entrance.
The Second Prince was being escorted into the court under heavy restraint.
Several imperial guards surrounded him tightly from all directions.
His hands were bound behind his back with Qi-sealing chains.
However, despite his current appearance, the Second Prince’s eyes still burned with furious hatred.
Especially when his gaze landed upon the figure standing calmly near the center of the court, the First Prince.
At this moment, the First Prince wore dark imperial robes as he sat calmly upon his seat with his hands resting lightly on the armrests.
His expression remained calm and composed from beginning to end.
No arrogance.
No mockery.
Only cold dignity.
It was precisely this composed appearance that made the Second Prince’s anger burn even hotter.
The moment he was forced to kneel—
BOOM!
The Second Prince suddenly exploded with rage.
"You dare?!"
Terrifying pressure erupted from his body despite the restraints.
Several guards were instantly forced backward.
However, before the pressure could spread further—
HUM!
The sealing chains lit up brightly.
The Second Prince’s aura was immediately suppressed again.
His face darkened further.
Meanwhile, the entire court remained deathly silent.
Finally, Yu Zidi spoke.
"Do you know your crime?"
The voice was filled with authority, almost like he was already the Emperor.
The Second Prince stared at him coldly for several moments.
"Hahahaha!"
Then he suddenly laughed. The laughter was filled with ridicule and fury.
"My crime?"
He slowly raised his head.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"Isn’t this all just your ploy to seize the throne?"
His voice exploded throughout the court.
"What crime do you want me to admit to this time?!"
The sneer upon his face became increasingly cold.
The moment those words fell, the officials aligned with the Second Prince instantly erupted.
"This is absurd!"
"On what grounds is His Highness being restrained like this?!"
"You must provide a proper explanation!"
...
Several ministers stepped forward one after another angrily.
Their expressions were filled with indignation.
The moment the furious voices erupted across the court, a figure slowly stepped forward from the First Prince’s faction.
It was Minister Zhu!
An old man with sharp eyes and a cold expression.
Within the Imperial Court, his status was extremely high.
More importantly, everyone knew clearly that he was one of the First Prince’s most loyal supporters.
He was also the maternal uncle of the First Prince, so it made sense that he would support the prince who shared blood ties with him.
Minister Zhu slowly swept his gaze across the officials supporting the Second Prince and then the remaining officials.
"You ask for an explanation? Very well!"
His sleeves fluttered lightly as he raised a jade scroll into the air.
"The Second Prince’s crimes are numerous."
"But among them, the gravest crime of all is conspiring behind the assassination of the Eleventh Prince and the Thirteenth Princess!"
The entire court instantly exploded into chaos.
"What?!"
"The Second Prince?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Countless officials revealed shocked expressions.
Even many neutral ministers’ faces changed drastically.
After all, the deaths of the Eleventh Prince and Thirteenth Princess had shaken the entire Imperial Family recently.
Both had died mysteriously in the capital.
And despite massive investigations afterward, the true mastermind had never been found.
Yet now, Minister Zhu was directly accusing the Second Prince of being behind everything?!
The officials aligned with the Second Prince instantly erupted with fury.
"Ridiculous!"
"That is slander!"
"How dare you falsely accuse His Highness?!"
Several ministers stepped forward angrily.
One elderly official immediately cupped his fists toward the throne.
"Your Majesty! The Second Prince is still a member of the Imperial Family! To place Qi-sealing restraints upon him without clear evidence is simply humiliating the dignity of the royal bloodline!"
Another official stepped out furiously.
"That’s right! Even criminals deserve evidence before judgment! We request the court immediately release the Second Prince!"
Voices rose continuously throughout the court.
The faction supporting the Second Prince clearly had no intention of remaining silent.
Some officials even glared openly toward the First Prince’s faction.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Meanwhile, the officials aligned with the First Prince remained comparatively calm.
Many merely watched coldly from the side. As though they had already expected this reaction.
Apart from the two factions, there was also almost one-third who belonged to neither faction.
Previously, some had supported the Eleventh Prince while others supported the Thirteenth Princess, but with their deaths, they had become like ownerless dogs.
Of course, there were also others who immediately joined one of the two factions after the deaths of the two royals.
Still, a large one-third remained without supporting either prince, and in this court, the final decision would largely be affected by those people.
And since this concerned the prince and princess they once supported, if the mastermind behind their deaths was indeed the Second Prince, they would obviously take the First Prince’s side.
Of course, that was only if the First Prince could produce enough evidence to prove that the Second Prince was behind their deaths.
Minister Zhu’s expression remained indifferent as he glanced toward the furious officials.
"Clear evidence?"
He spoke calmly.
"Since all of you demand evidence, then naturally, we shall provide it."
He waved his sleeve lightly.
"Bring them in!"
The great doors of the Imperial Court opened once more.
Soon, several figures were dragged into the hall under heavy guard.
The moment everyone saw them, countless expressions changed drastically.
Because these people were not strangers.
They were all trusted subordinates of the Second Prince.
Some were even his personal guards and loyal retainers who had followed him for many years.
However, their current appearances were miserable.
Their robes were stained with blood.
Their faces were pale.
Bruises covered their bodies.
Some even limped while walking, clearly suffering from fractured bones and severe torture.
The entire court instantly became restless.
The Second Prince’s eyes widened furiously the moment he saw them.
"YOU DARE?!"
Terrifying killing intent exploded from his body once more.
The Qi-sealing chains rattled violently.
Several nearby guards’ expressions changed instantly.
The Second Prince stared directly toward the First Prince.
His eyes were filled with rage.
"Yu Zidi!"
His voice thundered throughout the court.
"How dare you lay hands on my people?!"
The veins on his forehead bulged visibly.
"If anything happens to them, I swear I will never let you off!"
The atmosphere instantly became even heavier.
Yet facing the furious Second Prince, the First Prince merely smiled faintly.
Seeing his younger brother’s furious appearance, Yu Zidi slowly walked forward.
"Brother..."
His voice carried slight disappointment.
"Although we are all competing for the throne..."
He sighed softly.
"Isn’t assassinating your own younger brother and sister a little too heartless?"
Yu Zidi’s gaze landed upon the restrained Second Prince.
"The Eleventh Brother and Thirteenth Sister both died tragically."
His expression became increasingly solemn.
"How could they rest in peace if their murderer remains unpunished?"
Yu Zidi slowly shook his head.
"To be honest, I truly never expected the mastermind behind everything to actually be you."
Those words sounded sincere and disappointed. As though he genuinely felt grief toward his own brother’s actions.
But hearing this, the Second Prince nearly exploded from anger.
"Bullshit!"
His furious roar shook the entire court.
"You shameless hypocrite! You framed me and still dare pretend to act righteous here?!"
His eyes were practically bloodshot now.
The more Yu Zidi acted calm and sorrowful, the more disgusted and enraged the Second Prince became.
Because he knew clearly that everything was fake.
Every word.
Every expression.
Every piece of so-called evidence.
All fabricated by the First Prince.
Yet the most terrifying part was that Yu Zidi acted so naturally that even many neutral officials had begun wavering.
Meanwhile, Minister Zhu spoke coldly once more.
"These individuals have already confessed."
He pointed toward the kneeling retainers.
"They admitted personally that they carried out the assassination under the Second Prince’s orders."
The expressions of many officials changed drastically.
The Second Prince instantly became furious, but more than that, disbelief was written all over his face.
Not to mention, he truly had not ordered the assassination of his siblings.
Even if he had, he did not believe these men would ever betray him so easily.
One of the battered retainers suddenly trembled.
Then, under everyone’s gaze, he slowly raised his head weakly.
Blood stained the corner of his lips.
This was one of the Second Prince’s closest confidants.
His voice trembled slightly.
"Y-Your Highness..."
The Second Prince’s pupils contracted.
The man lowered his head painfully.
"We... failed you... I didn’t think they would find out!"
The entire court instantly exploded into chaos again. Many neutral officials’ faces changed completely.
Those words were as good as admitting to the crime that the First Prince accused the Secon Prince of.
"No..."
The Second Prince’s face twisted.
"You—!"
But before he could continue, Minister Zhu suddenly raised another jade slip.
"Not only confessions. We also discovered secret communications between these individuals and external assassins."
"And the payment records used for the assassination were traced directly to the Second Prince’s private treasury."
One piece of evidence after another was thrown out continuously.
Each one seemed airtight.
Each one left almost no room for rebuttal.
The atmosphere within the Imperial Court quietly shifted.
And seeing this scene, the Second Prince finally understood clearly.
This was not a sudden accusation.
This was a trap prepared long ago.
A trap so thorough that Yu Zidi had already blocked nearly every possible path of escape for him.
