Chapter 43 Completely Defenceless

Wei Liao understood.

This was First Emperor Qin wanting to offer Li Si and the others a graceful way out, to make the situation a bit less unsightly.

He glanced at Li Si and, beneath the chancellor's pale complexion, caught a hint of panic.

Therefore.

Wei Liao stepped forward, gazing at the various styles of calligraphy written on the paper. The more he looked, the more extraordinary he found them.

So much so that for a moment, he actually forgot why he had stepped out in the first place.

"Grand Commandant..." Zhao Gao gave a timely and subtle reminder.

Only then did Wei Liao snap back to reality. Reluctantly withdrawing his gaze, he immediately cupped his hands, bowed toward First Emperor Qin, and said, "Your Majesty!"

"There is no need to pursue any blame in this matter!"

"Hmm?" First Emperor Qin furrowed his brows.

Wei Liao said with utmost earnestness, "Regardless of whether His Highness Fusu had any conspiracy with Lu Sheng and the others!"

"His Highness Fusu's proposals are all exceptionally beneficial!"

"Your Majesty, look at the calligraphy written here!"

"I dare ask, apart from Chancellor Li, who else among those present would dare claim they can rival His Highness Fusu?"

"And as for the method of celestial thunder, though this old minister has not studied it in detail, it must surely be a heaven-shaking invention."

"Furthermore, isn't the provincial system the finest administrative structure we have ever encountered since the implementation of the commandery-county system?"

"Why should we obsess over whether His Highness Fusu is guilty or not?"

"Shouldn't we instead focus on the proposals themselves and how to make our Great Qin even stronger?"

At this point, Wei Liao glanced at Fusu and continued, "Let me boldly assume His Highness Fusu is guilty."

"Yet no matter how guilty His Highness Fusu might be, his merits and demerits should now cancel each other out!"

Then.

Wei Liao looked toward the assembled ministers and asked, "What do you all think?"

Chunyu Yue immediately stepped forward and said, "Every time this old minister studies the provincial system, I experience a feeling of sudden and profound enlightenment."

"His Highness Fusu possesses extraordinary talent!"

Following that, various Confucian scholars close to Fusu also stepped forward, declaring, "His Highness is truly talented!"

Li Si forced himself to steady his trembling hands, casting a look of utter astonishment at Fusu.

He was wrong.

They were all wrong.

The reason Fusu demanded that Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng be brought before the court was never to prove his innocence or lack of connection to them.

Rather, the moment Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng appeared,

Fusu had already won.

Fusu cared not a whit whose side Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng would take, nor whether the two men would help him or harm him.

As long as these two men were found and confronted on the spot,

it was a foolproof strategy!

Li Si also caught sight of the calligraphy on the ground, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became. This was not something an ordinary person could possibly write.

It was as if the writer had personally witnessed the very evolution of these scripts, acquiring such deep comprehension before picking up the brush to write them effortlessly.

Could Fusu... be an immortal?!

At this thought, Li Si felt a chill run through his heart.

Then.

He immediately shook his head. Impossible, absolutely impossible!

How could an immortal be an imperial prince?

I am just overthinking things.

As more and more people stepped forward to support Wei Liao's proposal, Li Si knew he could no longer remain silent.

He flicked his sleeves, stepped out, and said, "Your Majesty, since this matter has nothing to do with His Highness Fusu!"

"Then it was a malicious accusation!"

"Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng ought to be executed immediately by being torn apart by chariots!"

At these words,

Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng abruptly lifted their heads. They looked at Li Si with expressions of sheer disbelief.

Lu Sheng immediately cried out, "Your Majesty, we are wronged!"

"We are truly wronged!"

Hou Sheng suddenly realized the truth and blurted out, "It was Li Si! Li Si told us to do this, he said doing so would spare our lives!"

"Silence!" First Emperor Qin roared in fury.

He glared at Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng, the murderous intent in his eyes growing even more intense. Why on earth had he ever chosen these two fools to search for elixirs of immortality for him?

Li Si remained entirely undaunted, looking at Hou Sheng as he asked, "Oh?"

"You claim it was I who instructed you to frame His Highness Fusu, but do you have any evidence?"

"Without evidence, framing a high-ranking court official is a crime punishable by an even heavier sentence!"

With a gloomy expression, Li Si spoke again, "I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Hou Sheng obediently shut his mouth.

He truly had no evidence!

Initially, Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng had no intention of framing Fusu. However, on their journey back, someone used esoteric alchemical arts to transmit a message to them,

telling them that only by doing this could they preserve their lives.

Yet who exactly had sent them the message remained completely unknown.

Therefore, the two men had put their heads together: since death awaited them either way upon return, they might as well take a gamble and begin forging and altering the characters on the stone inscriptions.

However.

They never expected that Fusu would deploy a single strategy that completely dismantled the trap they had so meticulously laid.

Leaving them not even the slightest room for rebuttal.

They knew nothing of how to forge celestial thunder, let alone anything about the provincial system!

Seeing Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng lower their heads, First Emperor Qin let out a cold snort and ordered, "From this day forth, let Lu Sheng, Hou Sheng, and all their disciples be buried alive together as a warning to others!"

"Your Majesty!!" Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng cried out in utter terror!

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the host for triggering the main quest: spare this group of alchemists and prevent First Emperor Qin from bearing millennia of infamy. Reward: a complete set of modern automatic rifle technology!"

"If you do not spare this group of alchemists, reward: a complete set of advanced crossbow manufacturing technology!"

"Wait!"

Hearing the system's voice, Fusu panicked as well.

He hurriedly called out, "Your Father!"

"Hmm?" First Emperor Qin looked over at Fusu, a trace of gratification in his eyes.

Fusu's performance over these past few days had truly caused First Emperor Qin to look at him in a new light.

Even.

Without Fusu himself realizing it, his stumbling and bumbling had somehow miraculously defused an internal crisis within the imperial court.

At this moment, Fusu's mind was filled entirely with the comprehensive technology for modern automatic rifles, making him drool with intense greed.

A special forces training manual coupled with modern automatic rifles—this felt like he was about to build an entire special forces rifle battalion!

Fusu's heart surged with violent excitement.

Without further hesitation, he spoke directly, "Father, these past few days your son has devoted his utmost body and soul to our Great Qin, agonizing over affairs of state and toiling day and night..."

"Your son has no regrets!"

Huh???

Listening to Fusu's incoherent and somewhat disjointed words, First Emperor Qin wore a face full of question marks.

The other ministers also wore looks of puzzlement.

Seeing that First Emperor Qin did not catch his drift, Fusu scratched his head and spoke again, "Father!"

"Your son asks for no reward, wishing only to give his all for our Great Qin, laboring tirelessly without complaint, remaining completely unswayed and unchilled even when falsely accused!"

Upon hearing this,

Wang Jian deep-gazed at Fusu and could not help but sigh in admiration.

He's learned it!

Is there really such a way to ask for a reward?

Wang Ben was completely frozen in place.

After all this beating around the bush, it all came down to this!

Meng Yi was also somewhat speechless, finding himself increasingly unable to fathom this His Highness Fusu.

First Emperor Qin was likewise amused by Fusu.

The anger on his face dissipated significantly. Looking at Fusu with an increasingly approving gaze, he asked, "Then what reward would you like Me to bestow upon you?"

Hearing this, Fusu knew he was on the right track!

Therefore.

He immediately said, "Father, the whole affair originated because of these alchemists, and everything should likewise conclude with these alchemists."

"Your son wants no other reward!"

"Your son dares to make a bold request: please bestow these alchemists upon your son. Your son still finds them immensely useful!"