I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

"Release the Celestial Master!"

Two imperial guards rushed forward and grabbed Lu Cheng's arms, one on each side.

Qin Xuanzhen stepped back and straightened his disheveled Taoist robe.

Lu Cheng is still struggling.

"Father, this old Taoist priest is spouting nonsense!"

"He colluded with Lu Yuan to deliberately frame me!"

Lu Cangqiong raised his hand, signaling the Imperial Guards to hold the man down.

"Master, what evidence do you have that the second brother is a demon?"

Qin Xuanzhen turned the Zhenlong wooden plaque over.

The scorch marks on the back are irregular, but there is a gap in the middle.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

"This mark originates from the Dui position and ends at the Kan position, representing that evil spirits are born in the height of summer, and the life palace belongs to metal."

"The Second Prince was born in the seventh month of the Xinmao year, which perfectly matches this auspicious sign."

An official from the Imperial Clan Court opened the Imperial Genealogy.

"His Highness was indeed born on the ninth day of the seventh month."

Qin Xuanzhen then took out a bronze astrolabe from his sleeve.

"When I entered Chengtian Gate today, the astrolabe was pointing due north."

"After the Second Prince passed by this humble Taoist priest, the compass needle turned southwest."

"The southwest belongs to Kun, and Kun represents the maternal clan."

"This means that evil spirits entered the palace by borrowing the fortune of the maternal clan and fed on the dragon energy of the princes."

Lu Cheng's face grew increasingly dark.

"Nonsense!"

"Can a broken wooden sign and a broken plate really determine whether I am a demon?"

Qin Xuanzhen did not argue with him.

He handed the astrolabe to the Director of the Imperial Observatory.

"The supervisor can inspect."

"There are no tricks in the astrolabe, nor have I tampered with it."

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau Chief took the astrolabe and opened the bottom to examine it.

"Your Majesty, there are indeed no hidden clasps or magnets inside the dish."

Qin Xuanzhen continued, "There is a third piece of evidence."

"Last night, when the guest star invaded the imperial throne, a bluish aura turned red on the west side of the palace."

"The Second Prince's residence is located in the southwest of the imperial city."

"This morning, I examined the scent left by the Zhenlong Wood again, and it is completely consistent with the scent on the Second Prince's court robes."

Lu Cheng shook off the Imperial Guards and threw a punch at Qin Xuanzhen.

"I will beat you to death, you evil Taoist!"

Before the fist could land, Lu Yuan had already cut in.

He kicked Lu Cheng in the stomach, sending him flying several steps.

Lu Cheng slammed his back against a pillar and slid to the ground, clutching his stomach.

Lu Yuan turned around and helped Qin Xuanzhen up.

"Is the Celestial Master alright?"

Qin Xuanzhen shook his head.

"This humble Taoist is unharmed."

There was a misunderstanding just now.

Lu Yuan picked up the fallen whisk for him and handed it back with both hands.

"I thought you were being manipulated by someone to label me a sorcerer."

"I never expected the Celestial Master to be so impartial and selfless, willing to offend the Second Prince to tell the truth."

"I apologize to you."

Qin Xuanzhen took the whisk.

"Your Highness, there's no need for that."

"Your Highness is blessed with great fortune and protected by auspicious purple energy; your future achievements are limitless."

"I am merely stating the truth."

Upon hearing this, the officials' expressions changed once again.

Qin Xuanzhen enjoyed extremely high prestige among the people.

His public praise of Lu Yuan's great fortune was tantamount to an open admission that the crown prince was protected by the Mandate of Heaven.

Regardless of whether the rumors of demons are true or false, Qin Xuanzhen has already sided with Lu Yuan.

Lu Cheng got up from the ground and rushed to the foot of the imperial steps.

"Father, I am innocent!"

"Your son grew up in the palace; don't you know whether I am a demon or not?"

"The Celestial Master must have been bribed by Lu Yuan!"

"All of this was planned in advance by them!"

Lu Cangqiong looked at Qin Xuanzhen.

Have you ever seen the Crown Prince before?

"Never seen it before."

"Have you ever received any money from the Crown Prince's residence?"

"This is the first time I have spoken with the Crown Prince."

Lu Cangqiong then looked at Lu Cheng.

"You keep saying they colluded."

"When did you conspire?"

Lu Cheng opened his mouth.

"It could have been last night, or it could have been a few days ago..."

"The Celestial Master has been staying at a Taoist temple outside the city for the past few days."

Lu Cangqiong interrupted him.

"The Crown Prince was assassinated last night, but he is in his residence this morning."

How did he manage to leave the city to see the Celestial Master?

Lu Cheng quickly changed his tune.

"He can send someone else!"

"Who was sent?"

"Your subject... Your subject does not know."

Lu Cangqiong threw the secret report in front of him.

"The Crown Prince had no dealings with the Celestial Master."

"On the contrary, your maternal clan has known the Celestial Master for many years."

"The Shen family has also sent several boxes of things to the Taoist temple in the past few days."

"If the Celestial Master was truly bribed, why didn't he help you, but instead accused you of being a demon?"

Lu Cheng picked up the secret report.

Upon seeing the dates and gift list recorded above, he was completely speechless.

This matter is indeed inexplicable.

The Celestial Master clearly owes the Shen family a debt of gratitude for saving his life.

The mother has also taken out the old jade pendant and asked the Taoist master to deal with Lu Yuan.

But why did Qin Xuanzhen suddenly turn against him when he arrived at the court?

Upon seeing Lu Cangqiong's attitude, Wei Zhengyuan immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty, the invasion of evil spirits into the nation's destiny is no small matter."

"If the Second Prince is truly possessed by a demon, he should be dealt with immediately!"

Several censors who had been standing next to Lu Cheng also stood up.

"We second that proposal!"

"It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't."

"The investiture of the Crown Prince is about to begin; we cannot allow evil spirits to disrupt this grand ceremony at the Imperial Ancestral Temple!"

Lu Cheng turned around and looked at them.

"You were just speaking up for me!"

Wei Zhengyuan lowered his head.

"We are loyal only to Your Majesty and the Great Yong Dynasty!"

Lu Cheng was so angry his nose almost crooked!

"fart!"

"When you accepted my money, why didn't you talk about being loyal to the country?"

Wei Zhengyuan's expression changed, and he quickly bent down.

"Your Highness, please don't slander us!"

"As censors, our duty is to impeach corrupt officials."

"How could I possibly accept your money and betray His Majesty's boundless grace?"

The other censors also stepped forward, each trying to absolve themselves of responsibility.

"Your Majesty, I have never accepted any money from the Second Prince. I implore you to investigate!"

"That's right, after the Second Prince was possessed by an evil spirit, he started talking nonsense. What he says can't be true!"

"Your Majesty, please deal with this matter seriously, otherwise we will have no choice but to kill ourselves to prove our innocence!"

Looking at this group of censors whose expressions changed faster than flipping through a book, Lu Yuan felt a little nauseous.

Just now, in an effort to prevent him from becoming the crown prince, these people were following Lu Cheng, waving flags and shouting.

Now that they've discovered Lu Cheng is about to fall, they've turned into loyal ministers who slay demons and monsters.

But at this moment, he couldn't exonerate Lu Cheng either.

"Father."

Lu Yuan walked to the steps.

"Since the Celestial Master says that Second Brother is possessed by a demon, it should indeed be dealt with seriously."

Lu Cheng stared intently at him, gritting his teeth as he said, "Lu Yuan, you've finally shown your true colors!"

"You just want to use the Celestial Master to get rid of me!"

Lu Yuan spread his hands, revealing an innocent expression, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not the one who said you were a demon."

"If you have the guts, take it out on the Celestial Master, don't take it out on me."

Lu Cangqiong didn't want to listen to the two arguing anymore.

He looked at Qin Xuanzhen.

"Celestial Master".

"According to your logic, how should the second son be dealt with to prevent the loss of good fortune?"

"Should we kill him, imprison him, or exile him?"