Chapter 27: A Dead End

Fusu’s expression changed instantly. Having finished reading, he abandoned all pretense of composure, knelt down immediately, and cried out, "Father, your son is wronged! I have never done any of these things!"

"Hmph!" Emperor Qin Shi Huang snorted coldly. "The evidence is irrefutable. Are you still going to say you didn't do it?"

At this moment, the assembled civil and military officials understood everything. Fusu had orchestrated a grand scheme! Chunyu Yue was also bewildered, standing frozen in place. Li Si and Zhao Gao exchanged a silent glance, both exhaling in relief—it seemed the matter was settled. With this devastating blow, Fusu would surely be crushed to pieces!

Hu Hai was not originally permitted to attend court, being too young, but he had come of his own accord today. The other princes were also present. Hu Hai was inwardly ecstatic; having just watched Fusu bask in the limelight, he had been filled with jealousy. Now, seeing Fusu fall into a trap with no way to clear his name, he found it immensely gratifying!

*To destroy someone, one must first let them become arrogant.*

Indeed! Fusu, the higher you fly, the harder you will fall!

Princes Gao and Jianglü were also silently stunned; today’s grand court session was an eye-opener for both of them. As Fusu knelt on the ground, the crowd began to whisper.

"No wonder Prince Fusu interceded for those two swindlers; it was all part of a premeditated plan!"
"Who could say otherwise?"
"That 'Heavenly Thunder' must have been crafted long ago, just to be brought out at a critical moment to paralyze us all!"
"What deep calculations!"
"Indeed!"
"And those prophecies, and passing off poison as elixir... it turns out those charlatans simply couldn't find the real elixir and used it as an excuse!"
"Prince Fusu is truly calculating!"

Li Si stood up in a fury: "Your Majesty, this 'Provincial System' is clearly a deliberate forgery designed to imitate the Commandery-County system and deceive you! Many parts of it were formulated by these rebellious ministers for their own benefit. No wonder I found this Provincial system so familiar the more I looked at it! It is plagiarism—a conspiracy!"

Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s expression grew even darker. Seeing this, Meng Yi knew he could no longer remain on the sidelines. He stepped forward immediately: "Your Majesty, there is something suspicious about this matter! It requires careful investigation before the truth can be determined."

Wang Jian also stepped forward, steeling himself: "Your Majesty, if, as the secret letter claims, this is all a scheme by Prince Fusu and the alchemists, then why would Prince Fusu commit such an absurd act and have himself imprisoned? Furthermore, if this were the case, shouldn't these alchemists have taken the initiative, rather than being so passive, only beginning their 'counterattack' after being thrown into prison? I ask you, what schemer would place himself in such grave danger, facing execution at any moment? There is a great deal of suspicion here!"

"The Marquis of Wucheng is mistaken!" Wu Gong stepped out, shouting, "It is merely a tactic of 'releasing in order to capture'! Only in this way could the layout appear authentic. This is Prince Fusu’s transparent stratagem!"

"Bullshit!" Wang Jian cursed directly. "Is this how your 'transparent stratagems' work—so thrilling that if one is slightly careless, they end up dead? Would you do such a thing? And another thing, do these alchemists even have the capability to develop 'Heavenly Thunder'? Do they have the brains to reform the Commandery-County system and invent the Provincial system? If they were that capable, why bother with a scheme? They could just be honest and tell the truth. Do you think His Majesty cannot distinguish between good and bad? Does Prince Fusu not understand the crux of it? What scheme, what conspiracy—in my view, this is nothing but malicious smearing and framing!"

After speaking, Wang Jian glared fiercely at Wang Ben. Wang Ben had hoped to pretend he didn't see it, but remembering that his daughter was to marry Fusu, he also stepped out: "Your Majesty, the two men, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who were captured some time ago, were intercepted and taken away while in custody. My subordinates have already arranged for a pursuit; I intended to report this to you only after they were caught. Now that I see this, I fear there is a hidden agenda! Someone is deliberately targeting Prince Fusu!"

"Intercepted?" Emperor Qin Shi Huang narrowed his eyes, a thought occurring to him.

Chunyu Yue also realized what was happening and hurried to clarify: "Your Majesty, this is slander! I had no prior knowledge of the existence of a Provincial system; otherwise, I would not have actively spoken in favor of the Feudal System at the banquet a few days ago! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"

Immediately, several Confucian scholars stood up in agreement. However, Li Si stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the evidence is irrefutable. According to the laws of the Great Qin, this must be severely punished!"

"Indeed, for Prince Fusu to have such schemes—if only he had used them for the right path, alas! It is a pity, a great pity!"
"Correct!"
"I never expected Prince Fusu to be such a person!"

In an instant, more than half of the civil officials in the court stepped forward, saying: "We beg Your Majesty to punish Prince Fusu severely!"

Wang Jian and Meng Yi exchanged looks, both seeing the anxiety in the other's eyes. What was to be done? Now, the civil officials were attacking in unison...

There was no longer any footing for Fusu in the court. Fusu scanned these people, silently memorizing their faces. If he had the chance another day, he would deal with them one by one.

At this moment, Emperor Qin Shi Huang looked at Fusu and roared: "Rebellious son, do you have anything else to say?"

Feeling the Emperor's icy gaze, Fusu smiled bitterly: "Father, your son is wronged!"

"Hmph! Is that all you can do—cry 'wronged'? Are all the civil officials in the court targeting you? What else do you have to argue?"

Fusu lowered his head: "Father, your son is not arguing, but since this matter is based on a secret letter left by Lu Sheng and his companion, I wish to confront them in court! I want to see if they truly know the specific method for creating 'Heavenly Thunder' and if they understand the core essence of the Provincial system! Only then can I prove my innocence."

"Your Highness, that is another clever scheme of yours!" Zhou Qingchen said with a face full of mockery. "Now that the two of them have fled into the deep mountains and forests, and despite all the men sent to capture them, they have not been found. How can they be brought to confront you in court? This is merely an excuse to stall!"

"Correct!"
"This is evasion!"
"The evidence is irrefutable, yet you still want to argue!"
"Dare to do it but not dare to admit it—you truly lack the character of a prince!"
"He must be severely punished!"

...

Emperor Qin Shi Huang watched as Fusu was once again condemned by the officials, his expression growing even more somber. With Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng missing, there was no one left to verify the truth. Fusu had no way to prove his innocence.

A dead end! This was a complete dead end!

After all, Fusu had always been close to the Confucian scholars; it was not entirely without basis that he could have done something like this. Unable to prove his innocence, Fusu would inevitably face severe punishment. According to the laws of the Great Qin, such an offense would not be treated lightly. Illicit relations with Consort Li, deceiving the Emperor, and orchestrating a deceptive scheme—even for a prince, the punishment would range from being demoted to a commoner to being executed on the spot!