How can you rule the world if I'm just a substitute for you?

Upon arriving at the East Palace, they heard Emperor Qian's roar:

"You unfilial son, today I will tear you apart alive!"

Emperor Qian stormed into the main hall, sword in hand, followed by civil and military officials, as well as his third son, Lin Fu.

When Emperor Qian saw Lin Xuan, he drew his sword to strike, but was stopped by several civil officials nearby.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Although the Crown Prince has committed a grave error, he will be dealt with according to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty. Your Majesty should not be branded as a son-killer!"

Lin Xuan was speechless upon hearing this. So these people weren't protecting him, but rather the emperor's reputation.

孽 孽!

Emperor Qian glared angrily at Lin Xuan: "You unfilial son, do you know your crime?"

Lin Xuan regretted it a little; he had acted too quickly and forgot to ask the Crown Prince what he had done wrong.

"Your Majesty, I am unaware of this. Please enlighten me."

"You unfilial son, see for yourself!" Emperor Qian said, throwing the secret letter at Lin Xuan's face.

Lin Xuan quickly picked up the secret letter. It was a letter from the Crown Prince to the Northern Di Princess, but the contents of the letter were the Crown Prince boasting to the Northern Di Princess about how high his status was in the Great Qian Dynasty, how much the Emperor valued him, and how his ascension to the throne was a sure thing...

"Father, is bragging a violation of the Great Qian Law?" Lin Xuan asked with a serious expression.

Emperor Qian roared, "Look behind you!"

"oh oh."

Lin Xuan continued to flip through the pages, but the following content revealed that the Crown Prince had leaked information to the Northern Di princess about the number, deployment, and location of the Great Qian army on the border between the two countries.

Lin Xuan was speechless. Was the Crown Prince driven by lust? Why was he writing these things to the Northern Di princess?

Leaking state secrets is a serious crime! No wonder the Crown Prince was in such a hurry to send him out to be punished.

Something's fishy here!

Lin Xuan put away the secret letter and said to Emperor Qian, "Father, the first part was written by me, but the second part was not. Someone is framing me."

Emperor Qian became even angrier upon hearing this. He pointed at Lin Xuan and roared, "Still dare to argue? Look at the handwriting, and look at the seal of your Eastern Palace at the end of the secret letter. You still say it wasn't written by you?"

"Guards, seize the Crown Prince and throw him into the imperial prison!"

Before he finished speaking, guards rushed into the hall to arrest Lin Xuan, and not a single one of the civil and military officials in the hall pleaded for Lin Xuan's life.

"Wait, let's see who dares to take me down today!" Lin Xuan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense authority. For a moment, the guards dared not make a move and all looked at Emperor Qian.

"Father, I am innocent. Please, Father, see the truth."

Emperor Qian looked at his son and saw that he was different. He was about to die, but he was not flustered at all. Usually, when he made a mistake, he would cry and shout, "Father, forgive me, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again." But why was he so calm today?

"Let's see how you try to explain yourself."

Lin Xuan smiled calmly and asked, "Then may I ask, Father, how did you obtain this secret letter?"

"Naturally, it was discovered by the soldiers at the border and sent to the capital by fast horse," Emperor Qian replied.

Lin Xuan had found a breakthrough when he heard Emperor Qian's answer.

"Your Majesty, I ask you, how long would it take for this secret letter to travel from the border to the destination and back at the fastest?"

Even at the fastest pace, traveling day and night, it would still take at least fifteen days.

Emperor Qian was already impatient. He sensed that Lin Xuan was deliberately stalling for time and was about to reprimand him when he saw Lin Xuan smiling and leisurely saying:

"But the second half of this secret letter was finalized by Father Emperor with the officials of the Ministry of War just seven days ago."

"Could it be that I, your son, have foreseen this?"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Emperor Qian was startled and hurriedly snatched the secret letter to check it repeatedly, his face turning pale and then flushed.

indeed!

Just as Lin Xuan had said.

All the secret deployments were new policies decided only seven days ago.

"I have wronged you this time."

Emperor Qian's voice was low and filled with remorse.

The Third Prince Lin Fu, who was standing to the side, changed his expression completely. His carefully laid deadly trap had been broken by this stand-in with just a few words.

A month ago, Lin Fu noticed something was wrong. The Crown Prince had been flogged thirty times, but two days later he was as lively and energetic as if nothing had happened.

So he secretly bribed people in the Eastern Palace and discovered that the Crown Prince had found a substitute to take the punishment in his place.

So he devised all of this, falsely accusing the Crown Prince of leaking border defense information to the Northern Barbarians. He then used this incident to expose the Crown Prince for raising a body double to take the punishment for him. In that case, his father would be furious, and the deposition of the Crown Prince would be a foregone conclusion.

Unexpectedly, this stand-in's intelligence far surpasses that of the Crown Prince by a hundredfold.

Lin Fu stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Father, this person is not the Crown Prince, but a stand-in he keeps in private."

One sentence ignited the entire audience once again.

All eyes of the civil and military officials in the hall turned to Lin Xuan, but none of them showed much surprise. Given the Crown Prince's erratic nature, it was quite possible that he would actually do something like keeping a substitute.

Emperor Qian's face instantly darkened: "Is what you're saying true?"

"Every word I have said is true!"

Lin Fu stepped forward, his tone absolutely certain: "Father, I have already planted spies in the Eastern Palace and have found out everything!"

In the past, when the Emperor punished the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince would always avoid it and find a substitute to take the punishment for him!

The person standing here now is not the real crown prince, but an imposter! The real crown prince must still be hiding in the Eastern Palace!

Emperor Qian immediately fixed his gaze on Lin Xuan.

They look exactly the same.

But his actions, speech, and mind today are completely different from the absurd playboy of the past.

His mind was filled with doubt.

At that moment, Lin Xuan flew into a rage, pointing his finger at Lin Fu and shouting:

"Lin Fu! How dare you! You actually plant spies in my Eastern Palace! What exactly are you trying to do?"

"And that leaked secret letter just now, wasn't that something you did secretly, deliberately framing me!"

Lin Fu completely ignored his rage, treating him as if he were invisible, and once again bowed to Emperor Qian:

"Father, I swear on my life that I have not uttered a single lie!"

If Father doesn't believe me, just search the Eastern Palace; the truth will be revealed immediately!

"search!"

Emperor Qian shouted coldly.

The Imperial Guards immediately dispersed and rushed into various parts of the Eastern Palace to search.

No one spoke in the main hall; everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

Most of the military officers were secretly delighted, knowing that once the matter of the body double was confirmed, the crown prince would surely be deposed.

When the time comes, it will be inevitable that the Third Prince Lin Fu will ascend to the throne.

Most of the civil officials also watched coldly, thinking that the officials deserved it.

Three years ago, in order to support the Crown Prince, His Majesty specially arranged for Shen Qingyi, the daughter of the Grand Tutor Shen Wenyuan, to marry into the Eastern Palace as the Crown Princess.

But the crown prince is utterly hopeless.

Some time ago, Grand Tutor Shen Wenyuan was framed and imprisoned. The Crown Prince, who was his son-in-law, not only did not help him, but also coldly said something.

"What does this have to do with me? I'd rather use this time to drink and have fun."

These words chilled the hearts of all the veteran officials.

After a while, the commander of the Imperial Guards hurried back to the palace and knelt on one knee:

"Your Majesty, we have searched the entire Eastern Palace, but have not found any trace of the true Crown Prince."

"impossible!"

Lin Fu's expression changed drastically, and he immediately stepped forward:

"Did you really search everything? Did you miss anything?"

The commander looked embarrassed and lowered his head to reply:

"Your Highness, we have searched all the side halls, wing rooms, and courtyards, but... we have not yet entered the Crown Prince's bedroom."

"Why didn't you search!" Lin Fu demanded sharply.

The commander looked troubled and said with a wry smile, "The Crown Princess has already retired for the night. We dare not enter her inner chambers and disturb her."

Upon hearing this, Lin Fu's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately reported:

"Father! The truth is in the imperial bedchamber!"

"The real Crown Prince must be hiding inside! I beg Your Majesty to issue an order to immediately search the Crown Prince's palace!"