Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

...

The fourth prince, Shen Tai, walked with a slightly unsteady gait.

He lowered his head and strode quickly to the imperial desk, then knelt down, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingyuan did not tell him to rise, but instead threw the Gu Master's confession and the stack of letters in front of Shen Tai.

"You did all this? Are you planning a rebellion?"

Shen Tai's face turned pale instantly.

He grabbed the confession from the ground and quickly scanned a few lines, his fingers beginning to tremble. He then picked up the letter and looked at it; his whole body went limp.

"Father! Your Majesty, I know nothing about this! The handwriting on this letter is forged! I have never seen this Gu Master! I have never even heard of the asylum! I am innocent! Father, please see the truth!"

Emperor Jingyuan sneered and gestured with his chin toward his attendant, "Go and invite the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

Qiu Bojun, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was a Confucian and Taoist master of the fourth rank in the current court.

He was in his fifties and sported a neatly trimmed goatee.

Confucianism and Taoism emphasize "cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world." Qiu Bojun walked this path for thirty years, and his skill in "the power of words" was unmatched in the court.

After entering the hall, he bowed to the emperor, nodded to Mo Feichang, then walked up to Shen Tai, looked down at the trembling prince, and uttered a single word.

"Sincerity".

The word fell into the air without echoing, without golden light, and without any visible phenomenon.

But Shen Tai's body suddenly stopped shaking.

Confucianism and Taoism believe in the power of words, and they seal the heart with the word "sincerity." Under the shroud of this word, the person being questioned cannot speak falsely.

Emperor Jingyuan asked him whether he had built those shelters, whether he had ordered the arrest of those children, whether he had embezzled the tax money, and whether the Gu master was one of his people.

Shen Tai answered one by one—No, no, no, none of them.

His voice was steady and hollow, as if he were hypnotized but not completely hypnotized. Every word came from the heart, without the slightest falsehood.

Qiu Bojun bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, what the Fourth Prince just said is all true. I swear on my heart that his words are divine."

Emperor Jingyuan remained silent.

  

All the evidence points to Shen Tai—the letter is in Shen Tai's handwriting, the signature is Shen Tai's personal seal, the silver disbursement details list Shen Tai's name, Eunuch Gao is Shen Tai's henchman, and the Gu Master confessed that he had met the Fourth Prince.

However, Shen Tai denied everything under the influence of the power of words, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review vouched for him that he was not lying.

Mo Feichang stood to the side with his hands in his sleeves, remaining silent throughout.

His gaze fell on Shen Tai's face, and he suddenly spoke, "Sir, may I ask you a question?"

Qiu Bojun turned to look at him, cupped his hands in greeting,

"Please speak, Your Excellency..."

Is there any way to erase memories?

Qiu Bojun stroked his beard. "The Confucian and Taoist fifth-grade technique, 'Rectifying the Mind,' can temporarily seal a person's memories, for a maximum of three days."

"Gu cultivators also have some methods to devour memories, but memories erased by Gu cannot be restored—once they are devoured, they are gone, and even the person who cast the Gu cannot be found."

Mo looked at Emperor Jingyuan.

Emperor Jingyuan looked at him, and after a moment spoke.

"First, take Shen Tai to the Imperial Clan Court. Three days later, together with the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Investigation Department, we will conduct a second trial."

Mo Feichang glanced at Shen Tai, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, and bowed in agreement.

...

Xu Xian asked Zhang Hu to write a notice and post it in various parts of the city.

The words on the notice were written by Zhang Hu, who was lying on the table, one by one. He didn't know many characters, so he wrote slowly and checked each name several times.

Twenty-three children died in the dyehouse. Seventeen of them had names, and the remaining six were so deeply corrupted by the Gu worms that their faces were unrecognizable.

Seventeen names, seventeen notices, plastered all over the bulletin boards in the capital.

Xu Xian sat in the office waiting, while Yang Xu sat opposite him, his left arm in a sling around his neck, his right hand twirling an empty teacup, turning it round and round.

Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao leaned against the doorway, neither of them speaking, while the view outside the window was gloomy.

..

About two hours later, footsteps could be heard outside.

Two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, were led in by the Black Cavalry Guards. The man was dressed in a short brown outfit, and the woman had a blue cloth headscarf wrapped around her head and was holding a dirty cloth tiger in her hand.

Their eyes were full of anticipation, which made Xu Xian lower his head involuntarily.

"grown ups!"

The man pulled the woman to kneel down as soon as he entered the room.

"We saw the notice, come find my Xiaohu! He's eleven years old, and he has a red birthmark behind his left ear. The notice says the child has been found, is that right? Has Xiaohu been found?"

The woman hugged the cloth tiger, nodded vigorously, and grinned, tears already welling up in her eyes.

"Is our Little Tiger still alive, sir? Where is he? We've been looking for him for two months, searching every government office in the capital, but they all said they had no leads. We came here today after seeing the notice!"

Xu stood up, wanting to say, "The child is dead...", but couldn't bring himself to speak.

He glanced at the cloth tiger in the woman's arms, then turned and walked towards the backyard.

"Come with me."

...

Seventeen small corpses lay in the backyard, arranged in two rows and covered with white sheets.

The rain started to fall, and the fine raindrops left dark watermarks on the white cloth.

As soon as the woman entered the backyard, she saw the tiny feet peeking out from under the white cloth.

She suddenly stopped, and the cloth tiger in her hand fell to the ground, rolled twice, and got covered in mud.

She bent down to pick up the cloth tigers and slowly walked over. A black-clad rider lifted the white cloth, allowing her to identify each one.

She shook her head at the first body...

The second body, she shook her head...

When the third body was unveiled, the black-clad figure lifted the white sheet. She froze, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching the cloth tiger tightly to her chest. She gagged twice, but didn't cry out...

His man walked over and squatted down, his hands and mouth trembling, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the white cloth.

He looked at his child's face, squatted down, and gently wiped the raindrops from the child's face with his rough thumb.

"Little Tiger... Daddy's here, Daddy's taking you home."

The rain is getting heavier.

More and more parents poured in from the alley entrance. Some came after seeing the notice, some came on their own after hearing from their neighbors, and some had reported the case to the police before and were notified by Yang Xu's people.

In less than an hour, seven or eight parents of children had gathered in the backyard.

With each new arrival, a heart-wrenching cry rang out. An old woman lay limp on her granddaughter's corpse, refusing to get up, and two black-clad guards tried to lift her but couldn't budge her.

A young man sat motionless in the rain, holding his son's small body, his eyes dry as he stared ahead like a stone statue.

Xu Xianzhu stood motionless in the corner of the courtyard, his eyes lowered.

The rain soaked him through, and the bandage on his right shoulder bled again.

He watched the parents kneeling in front of the white cloth, listening to the cries mixed with the sound of rain.

Zhang Hu, standing behind him, remained silent.

Zhao Bao's eyes gradually reddened, and he turned his head away to wipe his face hard with his sleeve.

...

A short while later, Mo Feichang walked in holding an oil-paper umbrella. He paused for a moment, then walked through the weeping parents without disturbing anyone.

He slightly stepped aside to let an old woman carrying a child's corpse stagger towards the alley entrance, then walked to Xu Xian's side, tilting the umbrella towards Xu Xian, "Come with me."

...

Inside the public housing, Mo Feichang folded his umbrella and leaned it against the door.

"Shen Tai has been taken to the Imperial Clan Court, and will be tried by the three judicial departments in three days."

Xu Xian looked up, remained silent for a few moments, and then spoke.

"My lord, does His Majesty intend to protect the Fourth Prince?"

Mo did not answer, but slowly circled the rim of the empty teacup.

Xu Xian understood—remaining noncommittal was tantamount to acquiescence, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Seven Black Cavalry Guards died, dozens of children were lost, and the tax evasion case, which had been investigated for more than half a month, eventually led to the Fourth Prince.

The emperor imprisoned the fourth prince in the Imperial Clan Court, saying he would conduct a further trial.

What does "retrial" mean?

If the investigation reveals it wasn't him, that's good. If it was him, what should we do?

It's nothing more than stripping him of his title and confining him to a residence, or even confinement is just what's publicly announced. The most likely scenario is that he'll be moved to another place to continue living a carefree life and being a superior person.

Regardless of the outcome, the fourth prince will not die.

This is what the powerful and wealthy are like.

Xu Xian was furious, but dared not show it. He could only pour tea for Mo Feichang while asking, "Sir, are the Gu Master and the shop owner really going to be let go?"

"nature."

Mo nodded vigorously, "I always keep my word. They will have their limbs reattached this afternoon and will leave the capital tomorrow morning after receiving their travel documents."

Idiot!

Xu Xian's face darkened, he said "Oh," stood up, and turned to leave.

"but..."

Mo Feichang picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I only agreed to let them go, not to protect their safety. If the righteous people in the capital find out that they have harmed so many children and take action in a fit of righteous indignation, and they unfortunately die on their way out of the capital, that has nothing to do with me."

Xu Xian paused, turned around and bowed, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Mo chuckled lightly, "You weren't secretly cursing me in your heart just now, were you?"

Xu Xian raised an eyebrow, quite surprised. "Why do you think that way, sir? My admiration for you is like a never-ending river—"

"Hmm." Mo picked up the teacup, thoroughly enjoying it.