All eyes turned to Long Zaitian in an instant. Even Wushuang Kuangye wore an expression of shock.
Long Zaitian’s sunken expression suddenly stiffened. He slammed his hand on the table and demanded, "When did I ever issue such an imperial decree? Why am I unaware of it?"
Lu Xueqing reacted immediately. She strode forward, pointed at Chu Xuan, and scolded, "Chu Xuan, I never imagined that not only would you forge an imperial decree, you would even dare to forge the Imperial Seal!"
She was right. Since Long Zaitian had not issued such a decree, and the document bore the royal seal, the only explanation was that Chu Xuan had forged the seal itself.
The gathered officials all gasped. Forging the Imperial Seal was tantamount to treason. Such an act was something even the Crown Prince could not escape, let alone the already declining Langya Prince’s Estate.
"Chu Xuan, you—you dare to forge the Imperial Seal! Are you trying to incite a rebellion?"
"Chu Xuan, your father was unfailingly loyal to the court and to His Majesty! I never expected him to raise such a rebellious son! Today, you must die! Every single person in the Langya Prince’s Estate must die!"
Faced with the angry accusations of the court, Chu Xuan remained unfazed, instead letting out a cold sneer.
It was that very sneer that allowed Lu Xueqing to seize another handle against him. She knelt on one knee before Long Zaitian and said, "Your Majesty, look at his attitude. He must have been planning this for a long time. It is a pity that he is such a brainless fool to have exposed himself right in front of Your Majesty and the entire court."
To plot a rebellion only to jump out and reveal it oneself—truly, he was an utter idiot.
"Guards!"
Long Zaitian could no longer watch. Treason committed right under his nose—to Long Zaitian, it was clear that Chu Xuan took him for a fool.
A squad of palace guards immediately rushed into the hall, spears in hand, surrounding Chu Xuan.
"Forging the Imperial Seal and attempting rebellion in public! Chu Xuan, I will not spare you today!"
The sneer on Chu Xuan’s face gradually widened. He scanned the gathered court and Long Zaitian on the throne, saying, "Thirty years ago, when the dynasty ascended, the Heavenly Tribulation descended. Your Majesty, surely you haven't forgotten such a major event?"
As soon as these words left Chu Xuan’s mouth, the officials—Long Zaitian included—twitched in surprise, their expressions turning ghastly.
Only Lu Xueqing remained oblivious, continuing, "Chu Xuan, no matter how you quibble, you cannot deny the fact that you are committing treason! Your Majesty..."
"Shut up!"
Long Zaitian’s sudden roar of fury startled Lu Xueqing. She assumed he was enraged by Chu Xuan’s treasonous act, but just as she was about to finish her sentence, her father, Lu Youwei, pulled her back.
"Xueqing, stop talking!"
"Father, why? He is openly committing treason! He must die today!"
Lu Youwei’s complexion was the worst of all. Because after hearing Chu Xuan’s words, he realized that both the decree and the seal were authentic—there was no forgery at all!
Lu Xueqing sensed a shift in the atmosphere, but she didn't understand what was happening. Chu Xuan was clearly committing treason, so why had the entire court fallen silent? Why had their faces turned so grim?
"Minister Zhu, His Majesty is busy with a thousand affairs; it is only natural he might forget events from thirty years ago. But you were all witnesses, and you are senior ministers of our Dayuan State. Surely you haven't forgotten our dynasty's ascension?"
Zhu Wen’s face twitched. As a high-ranking official, how could he forget such a momentous dynasty event? He dared not forget. But if he were to link this event to Chu Xuan’s actions today, he, the Minister of Revenue, would find himself in a very awkward position.
"What? Have you truly forgotten, or are you just afraid to speak?"
Chu Xuan strode up to Zhu Wen, looming over him with an aggressive posture.
Zhu Wen was drenched in cold sweat, muttering to himself. Finally, pressured by the weight of the dynasty’s history, he could only say, "Naturally, I dare not forget!"
"Since you dare not forget, tell this Prince: what happened thirty years ago? After all, I had not yet been born, and I am not entirely clear on the details."
Zhu Wen gritted his teeth and said, "Thirty years ago was the year our Dayuan Dynasty ascended to become a Five-Star Dynasty!"
Chu Xuan continued to ask, "And what happened during that ascension to a Five-Star Dynasty?"
"The Heavenly Tribulation descended, and we were cleansed by heavenly lightning!"
"And who was it that withstood the tribulation, dispersed the lightning, and allowed our Dayuan Dynasty to successfully ascend to a Five-Star Dynasty?"
"It was... the Prince of Langya, Chu Leiting!"
"Oh! So, it was my father who helped the dynasty ascend to five stars. After that, did Your Majesty grant a reward?"
At this question, Zhu Wen refused to speak, deliberately backing away to put distance between himself and Chu Xuan.
Chu Xuan scanned the gathered officials once more, raising his voice: "The Beiming Continent is full of dynasties, but they are divided into nine ranks, from one-star at the time of founding to the nine-star powers at the peak of the continent. Regardless of the dynasty, each ascension triggers a Heavenly Tribulation. It is a test for the dynasty, and a test for the monarch and his subjects. Once the test of the Heavenly Tribulation is passed, one receives a spiritual vein bestowed by the heavens. Only through this spiritual vein can a dynasty remain prosperous, its Martial Dao flourish, and its foundation be laid for the next level of advancement."
"Our Dayuan has existed for a thousand years, undergoing five trials by Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to a Five-Star Dynasty, and we possess five spiritual veins bestowed by the heavens."
"However, compared to the four spiritual veins obtained in the previous four ascensions, the one obtained thirty years ago during the fifth ascension was far more powerful. It is precisely because of this that our Dayuan State, the Dayuan Dynasty, has shown the potential to ascend to a Six-Star Dynasty in just thirty years."
After a pause, Chu Xuan continued, "And the one who created this potential was my father, Chu Leiting. It was because my father stood alone against the Heavenly Tribulation to assist the dynasty in its five-star ascension that His Majesty granted a blank imperial decree stamped with the Imperial Seal. Any direct descendant of the Langya Prince’s Estate could fill in the contents at will, and as long as it was not an attempt to usurp the throne, His Majesty would honor it."
Having said this, Chu Xuan looked at Zhu Wen, who had backed away five steps, and asked coldly, "Minister Zhu, I ask you again: with which eye did you see me forge an imperial decree and name myself the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya? And with which eye did you see me forge the Imperial Seal in a bid for treason?"
When Chu Xuan finished speaking, the entire court was speechless.
Lu Xueqing was utterly stunned. She never dreamed that the Langya Prince’s Estate possessed an imperial decree that could be filled in at will.
In that case, Chu Xuan had indeed not forged the decree, nor the seal. Everything had been permitted by His Majesty. Furthermore, everyone in this court, save for her, had known about it. They had simply forgotten until now.
Lu Xueqing was now in a very passive position.
"Of course, if Your Majesty feels that because my parents and nine brothers have all died on the battlefield, the Langya Prince’s Estate is no longer worthy of this blank decree, then my actions today are indeed a capital offense, and I am willing to accept my death!"