The stolen magic is a bit magical

"Prepare the imperial carriage! Enter the Heavenly Prison!" As soon as His Majesty uttered these six words, a soft boom resounded, and eight dragon horses soared into the air behind the palace, pulling a celestial imperial chariot. The chariot landed outside the palace, and His Majesty, accompanied by the Prime Minister and the Left Grand Master, strode away. Beside the dragon horses, eight guards bowed simultaneously: "Please, Your Majesty, board the chariot!"

His Majesty, with a gloomy face, boarded the imperial carriage and stood at the highest point.

The prime minister and the left grandee also boarded the boat and stood below him.

Riding a dragon through the night sky, its radiant light dazzling, it swept across half the city and landed in the Heavenly Prison.

Upon seeing the imperial carriage in the sky, the warden of the imperial prison, Sun Chong, hurriedly went out to greet it and knelt down with a thud: "The warden of the imperial prison, Sun Chong, along with all officials of the imperial prison of the fourth rank and above, respectfully welcomes Your Majesty!"

tom!
All officials knelt down.

Swish!
All soldiers stood at attention with their guns drawn.

His Majesty descended from the dragon throne and stood before Sun Chong.

Sun Chong's excitement surged: "Your Majesty, I have investigated and found that the evidence of Song Lifu's prisoner swap is irrefutable. Would Your Majesty like to see it for yourself?"

His Majesty slowly raised his gaze and stared at the passage to the Heavenly Prison.

The audience was silent.

In the stillness of the night, footsteps sounded—the marching of the Imperial Guards.

Soon, a large entourage escorted the two men to His Majesty's presence.

Minister of Justice Song Lifu looked puzzled.

The seventh prince, Hong Yun, also looked puzzled.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty!" Song Lifu knelt at the foot of the steps.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!" The seventh prince, Hong Yun, also knelt down.

"Do you all know your crimes?" His Majesty's voice was deep, yet it carried boundless pressure.

Song Lifu said, "Your Majesty, I was returning home after a normal shift when I was arrested by the Imperial Guards without cause. I have no idea what crime I have committed and hope Your Majesty will enlighten me!"

The seventh prince, Hong Yun, said, "Father, I also do not know what crime I have committed, and I beg you to enlighten me."

"Explicitly? Very well! I will give you two an explicit explanation!" His Majesty slowly leaned forward: "You two have switched prisoners in the imperial prison! Your disregard for the law has been exposed!"

The next sentence was spoken slowly and deliberately!
Song Lifu suddenly looked up, his aged face filled with astonishment: "Your Majesty, I am innocent! As the Minister of Justice, how could I not know the law that serious criminals in the Imperial Prison cannot be spared due to personal feelings? How dare I exchange prisoners in the Imperial Prison?"

"You dare not?" The prime minister stepped forward: "With witnesses and physical evidence, do you still dare to argue?"

Song Lifu was furious: "Has the Prime Minister also learned to make false accusations? You claim that your subordinates changed prisoners, but which prisoners were they changed to? Where are the witnesses and evidence?"

"Lord Sun! Tell him!" The prime minister waved his hand, pointing directly at Sun Chong.

Sun Chong spoke up: "Your Majesty, I saw with my own eyes that Lord Song, under the pretext of inspecting the prison, dismissed his attendants and replaced Xue Long in the prison with his own guards. I sent people to follow him and saw with my own eyes Lord Song send the criminal Xue Long to the Dingbei Prince's Mansion. Guo Da, the deputy leader of the guards in the Dingbei Prince's Mansion, is currently guarding outside Xue Long's door."

"Nonsense!" Song Lifu roared. "Sun Chong, how dare you slander your superior and frame the prince! You deserve to die!"

"Insolence!" The Prime Minister stepped forward: "Song Lifu, you violated the law first, and you still dare to boss around Lord Sun, who is loyal to His Majesty and dutiful to his duties?"

"Your Excellency, as Prime Minister, you cannot distinguish right from wrong. It is a small matter to slander me, but it is a great matter to frame the Prince..."

"Shut up!" His Majesty uttered the two words, and the entire room fell silent.

Song Lifu slowly raised his head: "Your Majesty, Sun Chong falsely accused me of exchanging prisoners. The Prime Minister used his official position to pressure me, trying to force me to submit. I have no way to defend myself. I hope Your Majesty will see for yourself to set the record straight!"

His Majesty slowly raised his gaze: "Sun Chong!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

"Lead the way!"

"According to the order!"

His Majesty personally entered the Imperial Prison. Inside, guards on both sides knelt down. His Majesty walked through the long corridor with a gloomy face. Ahead was a cell with a sign outside that read "Heaven".

This is the Heavenly Prison, the highest level of the Heavenly Prison system.

It was specifically used to detain serious criminals convicted of treason.

Blood Dragon, as the commander of an army of 300,000, is also a master cultivator, so he is naturally of utmost importance.

His Majesty arrived at the prison cell, where the prisoners were huddled up in straw.

His Majesty gently raised his hand, and two imperial guards opened the prison cell.

They lifted the people off the ground.

Lift his head.

The man's face was so filthy that his features were completely obscured. The only thing that was visible was his beard, which was fake. It looked like Blood Dragon's signature full beard, but it was stained with blood and half of it had been torn off.

"Who are you? Tell me the truth!" Sun Chong shouted.

The man kept his eyes closed and remained silent.

"Confess immediately in front of His Majesty!" shouted the imperial guard.

The man's eyes suddenly opened.

The moment those eyes opened, they shone with a chilling light, and a unique aura from the battlefield emanated from them.

His Majesty was startled.

The prime minister was also startled.

This……

This is clearly a blood dragon!
Others might only remember Xuelong for his bushy beard, but the emperor himself was deeply impressed by his eyes. When he sent him to guard the northwest Zheyuntai, the emperor saw those eyes and felt he had great confidence in him. This was perhaps a unique way for an emperor to judge people: by observing their eyes.

At this moment, this imposter, who claimed to have been switched at prison, turns out to be the real deal?
"Blood Dragon!" Song Lifu exclaimed, "A treacherous person has reported to His Majesty that I transferred you from the Heavenly Prison. You might as well tell His Majesty the truth and whether this is slander!"

"Exchange prisoners?" Blood Dragon laughed loudly. "With Blood Dragon's crippled body, are you going to tarnish Lord Song's lifelong reputation?"

“It is a small matter to tarnish my lifelong reputation, but the villain’s ambition is not small. He also wants to put the Seventh Prince to death. Therefore, Blood Dragon, you need to prove that you are you!” Song Lifu said coldly.

"This sinner proves himself! That's easy!" Blood Dragon's body trembled, his clothes were torn to pieces, and his chest and back were covered in wounds.

"Your Majesty, the wound in my dantian is a mark left by an assassin when Your Majesty inspected the Jiangzuo military camp. Your Majesty personally touched the wound that day and praised my loyalty, saying I was a model for the army. You should remember this sword wound. I wonder if this sword wound can prove that I am who I am?" His Majesty's face turned ashen!

This is Blood Dragon proving his innocence.

Isn't this also the blood and tears of the Blood Dragon's accusation?
On the day His Majesty was on an inspection tour of Jiangzuo, he was suddenly attacked by assassins. The assassins were extremely cunning and set up a deceptive formation to isolate the imperial seal and the army's reinforcements. They used skilled assassins to lure away the experts around His Majesty and then launched a fatal attack on him.

It was only through Blood Dragon's selfless and desperate struggle that they were able to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

In that battle, General Blood Dragon's dantian was pierced by a sword, breaking his cultivation. It was His Majesty who personally arranged for the Heavenly Fragrance Regeneration Technique to rebuild his dantian.

Blood Dragon brought up the old matter again.

The meaning was completely distorted when it reached His Majesty's ears.

He could clearly feel the blood dragon's anger.

Those who risked their lives to save the emperor are now imprisoned in the imperial jail!

His Majesty slowly raised his gaze...

Everyone around was trembling with fear...

Prime Minister Chen Zhengdao's heart pounded wildly.

Doctor Zhou He frowned deeply.

what happened?

Sun Chong asserted with certainty that Song Lifu had been transferred to another prisoner, and that the cell now clearly belonged to Xue Long, so there was no question of a transfer.

If the Blood Dragon is still around, things are in big trouble!
Sun Chong knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed desperately: "Your Majesty, this man's beard is all fake. He... he must be an imposter! I beg Your Majesty not to be... deceived by him."

The prime minister stepped forward: "That's right. Something unusual must be going on. Tell me, why are you wearing a fake beard? Are you trying to trick His Majesty?"

"Has Your Excellency the Prime Minister ever read the Book of Rites?" Blood Dragon said, "Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. Since my parents are imprisoned because of me, should I pluck my beard to show that I am suffering with them?"

The prime minister took a deep breath: "Then why did you re-attach each hair one by one? If it wasn't out of malicious intent to mislead, then why?"

"For the sake of the court's reputation! That's all!"

The dignity of the imperial court!

Blood Dragon plucked his beard because he was powerless to help his parents who had been arrested and imprisoned, and this was the only way he could share their suffering.

However, if his act of plucking his beard were discovered by the people of the capital, it would surely cause a stir, making the world resonate with his tragic act and question the wisdom of the imperial court.

Therefore, he re-adhere the broken beard to save face for the court.

If the former is filial piety, then the latter is loyalty.

A farcical tale of cutting off and sticking hair to the beard actually reflects Blood Dragon's dual loyalty to his parents.

The prime minister was speechless.

Zhou He's back was soaked with sweat.

Sun Chong trembled all over. He had a vague feeling that he... he seemed to have fallen into a trap!
He had preconceived notions and was convinced that Song Lifu's entry into the prison today was part of a grand plan to swap prisoners. Every detail about Song Lifu seemed to be part of the prisoner swap. As soon as he left, Sun Chong began his inspection. With just a wisp of his beard, he was completely convinced. After all, he wasn't that familiar with Xue Long. Xue Long was silent, didn't even open his eyes, and his face was a mess. With his beard lifted, he looked completely different from his usual self. Yet, it was him!

He was absolutely certain that this was a counter-espionage plot devised by Xue Long and Song Lifu. However, now that His Majesty had made such a scene in front of him, what... what would he do?
"Frame your superior, frame the prince! These are unforgivable crimes!" His Majesty said in a deep voice, "Guards!"

"exist!"

"This villain should be beaten to death on the spot!"

"Your Majesty..." Sun Chong cried out...

boom!
A wooden staff came down and struck Sun Chong hard on the head.

Sun Chong's entire head was smashed to pieces.

Even his upper body turned into mincemeat.

tom!
The prime minister and the left grandee knelt down at the same time.

The splattered brain matter got onto their faces, but they didn't dare wipe it off.

The prime minister's voice trembled: "Your Majesty, this old minister failed in his duty and listened to the traitor Sun's report with bias. He was alarmed and worried about Your Majesty in the dead of night. He deserves to die. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

"This old minister, with failing eyesight, was misled by the words of a treacherous person, disturbing Your Majesty. My crime is heinous, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me!" Zhou He also said.

His Majesty slowly raised his gaze and stared at Song Lifu: "Minister Song!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

"Don't take today's events to heart! After all, the Prime Minister and the Left Grand Physician were only deceived by treacherous people, and it was their duty to testify against you."

"Your humble servant dares not!" Song Lifu replied.

His Majesty nodded and strode out of the imperial prison.

"Your Majesty, let's go!"

The dragon horse soared through the sky and returned to the palace.

The Prime Minister, the Left Grand Master, Song Lifu, and the Seventh Prince were released from the imperial prison at the same time.

It is now close to the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

The prime minister smiled and walked toward Song Lifu: "Lord Song, today's events are all a misunderstanding, please don't take it to heart."

"How dare I! How dare I!" Song Lifu said, "As the chief minister, how could the prime minister not report to the emperor immediately upon receiving such an urgent report about such a serious incident? Not only do I not hold a grudge against you two, but I also deeply admire your diligence in serving the country."

"Lord Song, farewell!"

"Farewell, gentlemen!" Song Lifu bowed as he saw them off.

The two officials boarded their official sedan chairs and returned to their respective residences.

The Seventh Prince turned his gaze from the distance to Song Lifu: "This is rather awkward. You went on duty a little early. I imagine you won't be able to sleep if you go back to your residence to rest. Why don't you come and sit at my residence?"

"Very well!" The two sedan chairs were boarded, and they traveled directly to the Prince of Dingbei's residence. (End of Chapter)