The Great Judgment Hall of Wuzhen Palace never felt colder.
Outside, the smell of blood and smoke still clung to the wind.
Inside, incense burned slowly in tall bronze censers—this time, carefully inspected by Rouyuan herself.
No more poison. Only sandalwood, calm and clean.
Its pillars towered like silent witnesses.
Its jade floor reflected the kneeling figures—traitors lined in rows, heads bowed, trembling.
Prime Minister Zhao Jinming, Scholar Bureau Chief Liu Fanjian, Assistant Deputy Treasury Officer Han Zhengli, Bai Zhenhai, Bai Zhenglu—
And at the center, shackled with iron, was Prince Murong Yuntai.
Behind them knelt several lower officials, all implicated in treason and corruption.
Incense smoke curled upward… carrying the weight of judgment.
The hall fell to its knees as one.
"Long live His Majesty!"
The doors opened, and Emperor Murong Wenzhong entered—alive, standing, and burning with silent fury.
Rouyuan walked behind him, steady and unreadable, hidden beneath her physician's robes.
Beside the emperor walked the Crown Prince, arm bandaged but posture bold.
On the high dragon throne, the emperor sat upright.
The emperor face was still pale from the months of poisoning and the strain of the coup, but his gaze… was sharp again.
Like a sword sealed too long in its scabbard, finally drawn.
Prince Murong Yuntai's eyes widened.
He had expected a dying man carried on a stretcher.
Not… this.
"Impossible…" he whispered.
The Emperor sat, voice sharp as cold steel.
"Bring the traitors forward."
The Accusations
Prince Murong Yuntai was forced to kneel in the center.
His once-golden robes were torn, his long hair disheveled, his pride bleeding through every breath.
The emperor's gaze hardened.
The emperor's voice cut through the hall, "Prince Murong Yuntai."
Murong Yuntai lifted his head.
His once proud face was haggard and pale, but his eyes still held a flicker of arrogance.
"You conspired with foreign mercenaries," the emperor said slowly, each word measured.
"You stole from my treasury. You sent men to poison my tea. You raised your sword against your own father and your own brother. What do you have to say?"
Murong Yuntai laughed softly, the sound ugly in the quiet hall. "What do I have to say?"
He looked up at the gold dragons coiling on the ceiling, "I only did what any prince would do when the throne is weak. Father, you were sick. The court was rotting with corruption. I only moved first."
A ripple of anger swept through the officials.
Crown Prince Murong Yunqing's hand tightened at his side.
"Silence!" the Emperor thundered.
The echo rolled across the carved pillars.
Yuntai smiled, lips thin.
The Web of Treason
The emperor's gaze moved to the Prime Minister Zhao Jinming.
"Zhao Jinming."
The Prime Minister's once imposing figure now seemed withered.
His hair was disheveled, his beard unkempt.
He bowed until his forehead almost touched the floor, "Your Majesty… this subject… deserves death…"
"The Imperial Treasury was entrusted to you," the emperor said coldly.
"But instead of protecting the people's wealth, you turned it into your private purse."
Crown Prince Murong Yunqing stepped forward, holding a stack of documents.
"These are copies of the ledgers," he said, voice steady.
"Funds diverted from disaster relief. Rations intended for the Northern Frontier. Payments disguised as 'import taxes' sent through shell merchants—only to be used to arm Xihuai desert mercenaries."
Murong Yunxi then continued, his tone calm but sharp, "We also found forged documents bearing Minister Yan Bingyun's seal.
The ink composition and brush stroke did not match his hand.
Under interrogation, Han Zhengli admitted that Que Qiwu and Liu Fanjian ordered him to forge them—to shift blame onto an innocent man."
Yan Bingyun bowed deeply toward the emperor, "Your Majesty… this subject is ashamed for not detecting the forgeries earlier."
The emperor's expression softened slightly.
"Yan Bingyun, you brought the first treasury report to the Crown Prince at great risk to yourself. You did your duty. The shame is not yours."
Yan Binyun's eyes reddened. He bowed even lower.
Murong Yexuan's Survival Revealed
"Before judgment is passed," the emperor said, "there is one more matter to clarify."
His gaze swept the hall.
"The fall at the sea cliff. The report of Prince Murong Yexuan's death. The disappearance of his body…"
He turned slightly.
"Marshal Prince Murong Yexuan. Step forward and tell the court—what happened back then??"
A murmur spread across the hall.
From the shadows behind the Crown Prince, Murong Yexuan stepped out.
He was dressed in formal court armor, but beneath the collar, faint scars peeked out at his neck. His movements were a touch slower than usual, but his presence… still sharp as a drawn bow.
Many officials gasped softly.
Some had not truly believed he was alive until this moment.
Yexuan clasped his fists and bowed.
"Your Majesty."
"Speak," the Emperor commanded. "Let all hear."
Murong Yexuan's eyes darkened as he remembered.
"After we completed the investigation at the border," he began, "I set out with Bai Yunchen and selected Snow Wolf cavalry to return with the list of traitors and the locations of Xihuai mercenary camps."
"On the third night of our journey, we were ambushed near the sea cliffs of Lingxi's outer pass."
His gaze shifted briefly toward Bai Yunchen, who stood with a rigid jaw. "They drove us toward the edge. Arrows came in volleys. One struck me here—"
He pressed his hand lightly to his left chest, where Rouyuan's stitches had once closed the wound.
"The armor deflected it enough that it did not pierce my heart, but the force knocked me backward. The cliff gave way beneath my feet. I fell into the sea."
The court listened in rapt silence.
"The waves were strong. Cold. I lost hold of my sword. The weight of the armor dragged me down. But I managed to cut away part of it… and grab onto shattered driftwood from a smashed boat. I don't know how long I drifted. I only remember the sky turning from black to grey… and then to white with dawn."
He exhaled softly.
"When I woke again, I had washed up on a rocky shore outside Wuzhen. The arrow fragment was still lodged in my chest. Every breath burned. I knew that if I stopped moving, I would die there."
He paused.
"In that moment… there was only one place I could think to go."
Slowly, he turned his head toward Rouyuan.
"To the Sacred Lotus Medicine Hall."
Rouyuan's fingers tightened at her sleeves.
Yexuan continued.
"I walked from the shore to the city. My vision blurred. I don't know how many times I fell. The streets were still quiet—only a few people saw me, and I told them only one thing: 'Medicine Hall.' Somehow… I reached the door."
His eyes softened.
"When I collapsed… it was inside her treatment room."
Many eyes shifted to Rouyuan.
Rouyuan lowered her gaze, remembering that morning—the blood, the soaked clothes, the arrow buried in his chest.
The Emperor nodded slowly.
"Then the Heaven truly shields the loyal," he said.
"To survive such fall, such wounds, and still walk back to the capital…"
Murong Yexuan bowed again, "This life belongs to Your Majesty and to Yunhuang," he said quietly. "If I had died, I only regret I would not be able to… keep certain promises."
He did not look at Rouyuan, but the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
The Emperor's Sword of Judgment
The emperor straightened onto the throne.
"Murong Yuntai," he said, his voice taking on the full weight of imperial authority.
"Prime Minister Zhao Jinming. Liu Fanjian. Han Zhengli. Bai Zhenhai. Bai Zhenglu. And the others who aided you."
"You thought this old body would crumble under poison, and this court would be blind to your greed. You stole grain from soldiers who bled for our borders. You starved the people while staging fake disasters to line your pockets. You invited foreign blades into our lands."
His words were like thunder.
"And when Heaven gave you a Crown Prince who refused corruption, who sought to purge rot from the court, you tried to label him a traitor and frame him for regicide."
No one dared breathe loudly.
The emperor raised one hand.
"Bring Consort Xulan."
The doors to the side hall opened.
Consort Xulan walked in, her once radiant beauty diminished.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, but she still tried to maintain calm dignity as she knelt.
"Xulan," the emperor said, eyes like ice.
"Did you, or did you not, order the preparation of the emperor's nighttime tea?"
Her lips trembled.
"This consort only wished to improve Your Majesty's sleep—"
"Miss Bai," the Emperor said, cutting her off without looking away from her, "state your findings."
Rouyuan stepped forward, having already presented written diagnosis earlier but now instructed to speak.
She bowed.
"Your Majesty. After examining the tea leaves and incense used in Your Majesty's chamber, I found a combination of herbs that—taken together, in high doses, over time—would certainly weaken the heart and mind."
She listed them calmly, valerian, kava, over-concentrated chamomile, angelica root with ginger, and the nightshade resin incense burned daily.
"Taken occasionally, some of these are mild or even beneficial," she said.
"But prepared and increased this way, day by day, they become a slow venom. Enough to cloud judgment, weaken the body, and eventually… cause collapse."
Consort Xulan's face turned ashen.
The Emperor's jaw clenched.
"Xulan," he said. "You were trusted with the comfort of my nights… and you placed poison in my cup."
She pressed her forehead to the floor, voice shaking.
"This consort was deceived! I only followed prescriptions given by others—"
"Did you or did you not sign the prescription slips?" Crown Prince Murong Yunqing asked coldly.
Murong Yunxi held the written evidence out. The palace apothecary had confessed whose orders he followed—and whose hand had signed the tea formula requests.
Her silence was answer enough.
Sentences Passed
The emperor exhaled once.
"Then hear my decree."
A palace scribe knelt ready with brush and scroll.
"Consort Xulan," the emperor said, looking down at the woman who once shared his pillow, "is stripped of all titles. From this moment, she is no longer of the harem. She is to be demoted to commoner status and exiled from Yunhuang Empire's borders. She shall never again set foot in this land."
Consort Xulan's shoulders shook. But no one spoke for her.
Not even the Empress Dowager.
Speaking of whom—
"The Empress Dowager," the emperor said, his voice colder than before,
"Is confined to her inner palace. She is forbidden from intervening in court affairs, harem matters, or any political discussion. She shall no longer attend state celebrations or court banquets. Her complicity in protecting Murong Yuntai and shielding his crimes… is a stain on the royal house. For the sake of her years and her past service, her life will be spared. But she shall spend the remainder of her days in reflection."
A tense silence followed.
Even the slightest rustle of silk sounded loud.
"As for Prince Murong Yuntai—"
Everyone held their breath.
Crown Prince Murong Yunqing's fingers curled slightly. Yexuan's gaze hardened.
"You raised arms against your own father. You conspired with foreign enemies. By law, your crime warrants death and clan extermination."
Murong Yuntai's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"However," the Emperor continued, "you are of my blood. I cannot ignore that. For the sake of the ancestors, I will not stain the ancestral tablets with the execution of another imperial son."
He paused.
"Prince Murong Yuntai is stripped of all titles. From this day, he is no longer a prince. He will be confined within a sealed palace residence. He is forbidden any visitors, any letters, any involvement in government. He shall live the remainder of his days as a prisoner of his own greed—alive but buried."
Murong Yuntai's lips twisted.
"So, this is your mercy," he laughed hoarsely.
The emperor did not look at him again.
"For Murong Yingwei, I will send her to the desert kingdom of 'Saharim Empire' to marry their Emperor. A marriage proposal has already arrived, intended to strengthen regional diplomacy and secure the peace treaty currently under negotiation. I am well aware of her arrogance and imperious temper—therefore, I hope that through this marriage, Yingwei may learn humility and grow into a more virtuous woman."
"Lord Xie Wenzhao," the Emperor said next, "has already met his end on the battlefield. His remaining faction is to be eradicated."
"Any soldier proven loyal to him over the empire is to be executed for treason.
Those coerced or misled may be reassigned after investigation."
He turned to the civil officials.
"Prime Minister Zhao Jinming, Scholar Bureau Chief Liu Fanjian, Assistant Deputy Treasurer Han Zhengli, and all direct families involved in your treacheries…"
His eyes were like burning coals.
"You bled my people dry. You fed pirates and mercenaries with the coin of the state. You paid assassins with winter grain. For that, there can be only one punishment."
The hall seemed to freeze.
"Zhao Jinming, Liu Fanjian, Han Zhengli, and your immediate households—are sentenced to death for treason. The sentencing will be carried out publicly three days from now."
Cries and pleas burst forth from some of them, but the guards pressed them down.
The Emperor did not flinch.
"As for the Bai main branch," the Emperor continued, gaze shifting to Bai Zhenhai and Bai Zhenglu,
"You attempted to use Bai Rouyuan as a tool, then tried to destroy her reputation and life. You secretly lent aid to Murong Yuntai's faction so that, if he succeeded, your house would prosper. Your crimes warrant death."
Bai Zhenhai's lips trembled.
He looked not at the Emperor, but toward Marquis Bai Longyuan, who stood in the loyalist ranks.
Marquis Bai Longyuan's face was heavy with complicated emotions.
Before the Emperor could speak further, Bai Longyuan stepped forward and knelt.
"Your Majesty," he said, voice low but steady, "this subject begs for leniency."
The Emperor's brows drew together.
"Marquis Bai," he said. "You would plead for men who harmed your children?"
Marquis Bai Longyuan bowed until his forehead touched the tiles.
"In my heart, I have already severed all ties with them. I will never forgive what they did to Rouyuan and my other child."
"But the Bai family has already split."
"I, and my children, stand fully with Your Majesty and with the Crown Prince. If the main branch is put to death, the name 'Bai' will be remembered only as traitors."
"I beg that, for the sake of the Bai soldiers who died loyally at the frontier, Your Majesty spare their lives… and instead exile them."
The hall held its breath.
Bai Yunchen and Bai Yanyu lowered their heads.
Rouyuan's eyes softened with pain—but she said nothing.
The Emperor was silent for a long moment.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Very well."
He looked at Bai Zhenhai and Bai Zhenglu, his gaze like a cold knife.
"Bai Zhenhai, Bai Zhenglu, and your families are stripped of all rank and status. You are to be exiled from Yunhuang's heartland, sent beyond our borders. All your properties, lands, shops, and titles within the empire are confiscated and transferred to the state. You are never to return."
Bai Zhenhai's shoulders slumped.
Bai Zhenglu burst into tears.
"If not for Marquis Bai Longyuan's plea," the Emperor added, "your fate would have been the sword. Be grateful your lives are spared at all."
THE CONFESSION BEFORE THE ARREST
Before the Embroidered Uniform Guards took Bai Zhenhai away, he collapsed to his knees before Bai Longyuan.
Tears streamed down his face as he bowed deeply, his forehead pressed to the cold floor.
He thanked Bai Longyuan for the compassion he had shown their family over the years.
And then, with a trembling voice, he apologized—apologized for everything that had happened, everything he had allowed to fester.
He confessed the bitterness he had hidden for so long. How jealous he is of Bai Longyuan's success, of his brother's beautiful wife, of Wen Rouying's noble heritage and jealousy of the accomplishments of Longyuan's children.
He had allowed envy to rot his heart until he could no longer tell right from wrong.
At last, he revealed the truth he had buried for years.
Wen Rouying's death…was tied directly to his own wife, Sun Ronggi.
It was Ronggi who had poisoned Rouying—slipping her toxic herbs under the guise of postpartum recovery after Rouyuan's birth, slowly murdering her day by day.
Ronggi had been consumed by jealousy—of Rouying's beauty, her wealth, her gentle brightness.
The poisoning continued for a full year. And Bai Zhenhai knew.
He knew, yet he did nothing.
Blinded by his resentment toward Bai Longyuan, he closed his eyes to a crime that should never have been forgiven.
Bai Longyuan stared down at him, fury burning beneath his calm expression. His voice, when he finally spoke, was cold as steel:
"As elder brother, you were meant to protect our family—yet you let envy and jealousy rule you. You are unworthy of the patriarch's seat."
Zhenhai sobbed harder, clutching Longyuan's robe, begging for forgiveness, for one last mercy.
But Bai Longyuan simply watched him—watched the man who had once been his brother crumble—then turned away without another word, leaving Zhenhai's cries echoing through the hall.
Moments later, the guards dragged Bai Zhenhai out, his wails fading into the distance.