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

As Lin Xuan finished speaking, the aftershocks on and off the stage continued, and the entire arena remained silent.

Seeing Prince Su beaten into such a sorry state, the Third Prince Qin Fu was filled with anxiety, jealousy, and anger. He immediately stepped forward and loudly rebuked him in front of everyone:

"Your Highness! You've gone too far!"

Prince Su is a senior member of the royal family, of high rank and authority. To publicly beat him like this is clearly settling a personal score!

Lin Xuan remained calm and unhurried, and asked in return:

"Settling a personal score? I have no enmity with the Prince, so what personal score could I possibly have to settle?"

In a moment of impulsiveness, Qin Fu blurted out:

"How can we not have a grudge! It's all because of Prince Su... who forced that commoner woman to her death..."

The moment he finished speaking, Qin Fu's face turned deathly pale!

He suddenly realized he had said the wrong thing and immediately shut his mouth. Although the powerful and influential people in the capital all knew that this matter was related to Prince Su Qian, no one had said it in public. In his moment of panic, he had accidentally revealed the matter.

The entire room fell silent again, everyone could hear clearly.

Lin Xuan's eyes turned slightly cold as he spoke calmly, his voice carrying clearly throughout the entire hall:

"Oh? I didn't know that was the case?"

"Since the Third Prince has brought this up himself, then I must request the Emperor to order a thorough investigation. As a member of the imperial family, if Prince Su truly abused his power to coerce and kill someone, what a heinous crime that would be?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Su froze in fright. Ignoring the swelling and pain on his face, he hurriedly tried to explain:

"Your Highness, stop talking nonsense!"

I have never forced anyone to their death!

"My relationship with the Crown Prince is amicable, and we have never had any conflicts. How could there be any personal grudge? Today, it was simply that my skills were inferior to his, not that the Crown Prince was settling a personal score!"

Prince Su was eager to clear his name, but in his heart he was already seething with hatred.

Today, he was the one who provoked Lin Xuan, but was publicly crushed and humiliated. In the end, not only could he not be held accountable, but he also had to publicly smooth things over for the Crown Prince, admitting that he was inferior in skill and had voluntarily lost the sparring match.

This frustration almost made his blood flow backward.

Duke Qin Lie, who was standing to the side, watched the whole thing unfold and shook his head inwardly.

He used to think that the Third Prince was calm, intelligent and capable of being cultivated, but why is it that now when he encounters the Crown Prince, he can't get through to him?

Qin Lie stepped forward, bowed, and spoke:

"Your Highness, even if it is just a martial arts sparring match, your actions are far too heavy-handed."

Prince Su is, after all, an elder. His Highness's punches and kicks were fierce and aimed directly at the face; his methods were too ruthless and unbecoming of a crown prince.

Lin Xuan raised his eyes, calm and composed, and retorted lightly:

"The Duke of Zhenguo is mistaken."

"Since we've come up on stage to compete, the winner will be the one who wins."

"Just now, my uncle insisted on challenging me to a fight. I tried to dissuade him beforehand, fearing that I might accidentally hurt an elder and be branded as unfilial. But my uncle insisted on not backing down, saying that fists and feet have no eyes and that I would not hold him accountable."

"Now that I've lost the match, you're going to say I played too ruthlessly?"

"Does this mean that in this martial arts competition, only Prince Su is allowed to injure me, and I am not allowed to retaliate?"

His words were forceful and his sentences were reasonable, leaving Duke Qin Lie speechless for a moment.

Qin Lie gritted his teeth inwardly, thinking to himself: The current Crown Prince is truly sharp-tongued and meticulous. No matter the situation, he can find a way to break the deadlock. He is no longer the absurd and dissolute heir apparent of the past.

On the high platform, Emperor Qian sat upright on his dragon throne, seeing through all the disputes, conversations, and thoughts below.

Looking at Lin Xuan on the arena, he finally understood everything.

Others might not understand, but he saw it all clearly.

This wasn't a martial arts contest at all; it was blatant revenge.

In retaliation for Prince Su's coercion of the imperial concubine selection and his subsequent death of Li Wanhe.

Emperor Qian was filled with confusion and indifference.

In the eyes of the emperor, a commoner woman was as worthless as grass in life and as insignificant as dust in death. Once she died, she was gone and not worth mentioning, let alone affecting the court or the crown prince's mind.

He never imagined that the death of a mere commoner woman could cause the Crown Prince to harbor resentment and hatred towards a member of the imperial family.

I finally understand.

These days, Lin Xuan probably harbors some resentment towards him as well.

That night, Lin Xuan knelt down and begged with 300,000 taels of silver to have Li Wanhe removed from the talent show list.

It turns out that from that moment on, a rift had already formed between the father and son, and between the ruler and his subject.

Emperor Qian felt a mix of emotions, still unable to understand.

He couldn't understand Lin Mo, let alone Lin Xuan.

For a woman of humble origins and with no background,

A prince of the royal family ruined his future and sank into a sea of ​​hatred;

A crown prince, harboring resentment and accumulating power, openly defies the imperial clan and holds a grudge against the imperial authority.

How utterly worthless, how utterly absurd.

In Emperor Qianlong's grand scheme of ruling the country, human lives were pawns, and personal relationships were his Achilles' heel.

On the high platform, Emperor Qian remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly.

"It's just a martial arts sparring match."

"In a contest on the ring, fists and feet have no eyes, swords and blades are merciless, victory and defeat are common, and bumps and bruises are inevitable. Prince Su's skills are inferior to others, so there is no need for further words."

Emperor Qian's single sentence sealed the fate of the emperor.

He directly refuted the Third Prince's accusations and denied the Duke of Zhenguo's statement, protecting Lin Xuan in front of everyone.

Upon hearing this, all the officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family fell silent, and no one dared to utter another word.

Duke Qin Lie frowned slightly and could only bow and step aside, no longer arguing.

The Third Prince Qin Fu's face turned pale and then red. All his scheming had failed, and he was extremely frustrated but dared not utter a sound.

On the stage, Prince Su, looking disheveled and bruised, felt a sinking feeling in his heart and fell completely speechless.

He thought he had lost face and that His Majesty would surely reprimand the Crown Prince for his recklessness and insubordination.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Qian publicly favored Lin Xuan, casually dismissing the public humiliation as an accidental incident during a friendly sparring match.

The hunting ground fell silent instantly, without a single word of doubt.

Lin Xuan, standing on the arena, understood what he was hearing.

He thought that Emperor Qian would definitely reprimand him for beating the prince in public today, and that it would not be so easy to let it go.

But today, Emperor Qian chose to show favoritism and protect the innocent.

There is only one reason.

That night, he coldly rejected his plea for 300,000 taels of silver, crushing his last pleas.

This moment's favoritism, this moment's indulgence, this moment's rescue.

It's neither fair nor generous.

It's compensation!

Since emperors are high above and unwilling to admit their mistakes, they can only use this subtle way to silently compensate themselves.

He didn't want to admit that his indifference that day was too heartless and had chilled his heart.

Therefore, he could only use this martial arts competition to vent his anger and humiliate Prince Su, in order to make up for his cold-blooded and resolute behavior that day.

The so-called father-son affection, the so-called emperor's power struggle.

It was never about affection or loyalty, it was all about calculation.

They refuse to admit their mistakes, instead using the favoritism of power to make up for all their shortcomings.

A faint hint of mockery flashed across Lin Xuan's eyes, but it disappeared in an instant, and he once again returned to his indifferent and calm demeanor.

He bowed slightly to the high platform: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your understanding."

After Emperor Qian made his decision, no one in the room dared to utter a single word.

The Third Prince Qin Fu's face turned pale and then red, his carefully laid plans had failed, and deep resentment lurked in his eyes.

He intended to use Prince Su to humiliate the Crown Prince and undermine the Crown Prince's reputation during today's martial arts demonstration.

In the end, I witnessed it with my own eyes.

Shen Hu crushed him, Lin Mo shattered the dignity of the eldest son of the Prince Su's mansion, and in the end, even the dignified Prince Su was defeated and beaten black and blue by Lin Xuan in public.

The person he most wanted to trample on is now standing high on the stage.

The momentum he most wanted to build was shattered completely.