Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

"search!"

With a series of clanging sounds, the already sparsely decorated house fell into disarray.

In a corner unknown to Zhuang Sheng himself, the soldiers discovered a hidden door, inside which were hidden weapons and a dragon robe.

Chu Tiansheng smiled smugly, standing in front of Zhuang Sheng with his fat face.

Zhuangzi laughed too. It was a clumsy attempt to frame someone, but it was indeed very effective.

"Lord Zhuang, please."

Zhuang Sheng showed no remorse or anger, and simply handed over his hands, allowing the soldiers to put shackles on him.

He had thought he would be arrested and imprisoned much sooner, so he was lucky to have survived until now.

It was quite unexpected that Jun Cheng'an, as emperor, could fight against the people in the court for so long.

Unfortunately, he was too weak, lacked confidence, and had a limited perspective, unable to see the undercurrents hidden beneath the vast ocean of Qi'an City.

Amidst the astonished or knowing gazes of countless Hanlin Academy students, Zhuang Sheng was escorted to the imperial prison by a group of soldiers.

……

Tianqi Palace.

"Your Majesty, a dragon robe and weapons were found in Master Zhuang's house, and he is currently being escorted to the imperial prison."

In front of a jade chessboard, Jun Cheng'an snorted coldly.

"They've finally made their move. I thought these old fogies were quite patient."

"Your Majesty, should we intervene and interfere with the outcome of the trial in the Imperial Prison?"

Jun Cheng'an held a black piece in one hand and a white piece in the other, playing a game against himself.

Seeing the old eunuch bowing and asking questions, he tossed a chess piece into the air and caught it as it fell.

"Let them interrogate. The prison is full of people from the Wenchang Hall. Even if they interfere, it will only give them another handle to use against them."

In the past two months, these old fogies who spout patriotic rhetoric have done quite a few things to harm my people. This time, I mustn't give them another chance to make a move.

The old eunuch bent his back slightly, and he stood respectfully to the side, waiting for Jun Cheng'an to finish his story.

"Zhuangzi is a man of great talent. He is devoted to the world. Such a person is the best to make use of."

Even if he sees the truth in the future, he will still work for me and the Great Qi for the sake of his ideals and beliefs.

He was still useful; it would be a great pity for him to die now.

The chess piece was held above Jun Cheng'an's head, and following his gaze, it was facing a map of the Great Qi Dynasty.

With a "whoosh," the white piece was thrown directly towards the location on the map, landing perfectly in the territory where Qishan was located.

"If I remember correctly, our Qishan Dao Grand Commander once ordered the pursuit and killing of Zhuang Sheng. Although he later gave up, many people know about what happened at the time."

"Your Majesty, several officials in the court are aware of this matter. When Zhuang Sheng left Qishan Road, he attempted to assassinate the divine physician who had treated Princess Yongning years ago. That divine physician had a very close relationship with Lord Mu Anmu."

Jun Cheng'an narrowed his eyes, his voice carrying a hint of ruthlessness.

"Exile him to Qishan, and let that Grand Commander execute Zhuang Sheng by slow slicing. Also, send his entire clan to Qishan to reclaim wasteland. Do you think that would be enough to convince the officials in the court?"

"Your Majesty is wise! This move may not succeed, but it is worth a try."

Jun Cheng'an laughed out loud, slapped the table, and scattered the chess pieces on the board.

"Excellent! Have the Vice Minister of Revenue raise this matter at tomorrow's morning court session."

"This servant will send someone to do it immediately."

"No, this is a very important matter. You should go yourself."

……

Zhuang Sheng was somewhat surprised when he heard the verdict against him.

He thought he was going to die, but unexpectedly, he had a slight chance of surviving.

But Zhuang Sheng did not feel happy; he only felt very tired.

He's already tired of living, so why give him any hope of survival?

He did not suffer too much humiliation in the imperial prison. He answered whatever people asked him and confessed to whatever crime they asked him.

It was rare to encounter someone so cooperative, so the interrogators didn't have the heart to torture him to death.

So much so that apart from wearing some shackles, Zhuang Sheng did not suffer any other inhumane treatment.

Everything happened too fast, so fast that it didn't follow the normal procedure at all.

He was imprisoned in the imperial prison yesterday morning, and the imperial edict was delivered this afternoon. Tomorrow he will be put into a prison cart, travel through half of Qi'an City, and parade through the streets as a rebel before finally being sent to Qishan Road.

The contents of the imperial edict are not difficult to understand.

Rebellion is an unforgivable crime, punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. However, considering Zhuang Sheng's active promotion of reform, his entire family is spared the death penalty and exiled to a nearby area. Zhuang Sheng himself is guilty of heinous crimes and is sentenced to death by a thousand cuts, to be carried out in Qishan Road.

When he received the imperial edict, Zhuang Sheng was numb; he didn't even know who his nine generations of relatives were.

After all, in Zhuang Sheng's mind, his only relative was his uncle, and because of what happened back then, his uncle never married and passed away ten years ago.

Those who are related to him are probably only some people from Qishan Road.

He taught there and had many students. Among those who are still alive, the one he was closest to was Mu Ling'er.

However, the teacher-student relationship is not within the nine clans.

Even if they were, would the imperial court have the audacity to arrest people in Qishan Road?

Zhuang Sheng felt that the officials in the court were capable of shouting slogans, but if they were asked to go on their own, they would all probably have to feign illness and stay at home.

After all, Mu An doesn't care about the identity of the person he's killing.

It's just unclear who will ultimately be implicated by him.

In Zhuang Sheng's mind, this was nothing more than a dirty power struggle, but if there really was a group of relatives who were implicated by him, he didn't know what he could do.

After all, he himself might not even make it to Qishan Road alive, and there were far too many people who wanted him dead.

Even Aoki died on the road due to an "accident," so how could he, as the teacher, possibly survive?

The eighth day of the sixth month of the first year of the Tianshun era.

The prison cart departed from the imperial prison, passed through the official roads of Qi'an City's third and fourth rings, and slowly drove out of the city.

This was torture, because Qi'an City was so large that it shouldn't even be called a city.

Even if it's just the third to seventh ring roads where crowds gather, it would take a day and a night to travel there at the speed of a prison van.

More importantly, he will pass through the area where the people of Qi'an City gather.

Even Zhuangzi couldn't be sure if he could withstand the humiliation he was about to face.

Within the Fourth Ring Road, Zhuang Sheng was not tormented.

The residents here are all high-ranking officials and nobles, so they naturally know the dramatic and complex nature of this treason case.

They only wanted Zhuangzi's life and disdained to humiliate him in the most primitive way.

But when we got to the Fifth Ring Road, things started to change.

Rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves gradually began to appear.

Being the mastermind of a rebellion is probably the most serious crime in the world.

This is far more serious than petty theft or even ordinary murder.

When the first rotten vegetable leaf was thrown at Zhuang Sheng, imitations followed one after another.

Life is too tiring, too mundane and boring. It's rare to have a chance to vent, so many people take the opportunity to release their emotions.

The streets of the Fifth Ring Road are neat and orderly. Most of the people here have some spare money and don't know Zhuang Sheng.

They were just ordinary people, unaware of the power struggles within the imperial court.

He's just a death row inmate who intended to rebel; as long as he's not killed, nobody cares.