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

The stretcher was placed on the ground, and the "mummy" on it moved.

A muffled whimpering sound came from under the white gauze. At first, it sounded like a cat meowing in cotton, but then the sound grew louder and more mournful, and finally turned into a wail.

"Father! Father is your subject!"

Lu Cheng struggled desperately on the stretcher, but his whole body was wrapped in bandages, and his arms and legs were stiff, so he couldn't move.

He could only shake his head to the sides, tears welling up in his eyes through the layers of gauze on his face, and snot dripped down, staining the gauze and leaving a dark patch.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I am dying..."

Lu Cangqiong frowned and stared at the white mass on the stretcher for several breaths before recognizing it as his second son.

"How did you end up like this?"

"They all belong to Lu Yuanqian!"

Lu Cheng's voice rose again, and he cried so hard he could barely breathe.

"He sexually assaulted my fiancée first. When I kindly went to confront him, he not only refused to admit his wrongdoing but also beat me to a pulp!"

"Father, look! My nose is broken, my arm is broken, and I've lost all my front teeth... He's trying to kill me!"

Lu Yuan stood to the side, tilting his head to examine Lu Cheng on the stretcher, a look of exaggerated surprise on his face.

"Oh, so it's the Second Prince?"

He took half a step back, cupped his hands in a gesture of apology, and spoke with a tone full of regret.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. You were wrapped up in bandages like a dumpling. All I could see were your eyes moving around, so I didn't recognize you at all. People who didn't know better would think someone dug you out of a coffin."

"Lu Yuan! Stop with your sarcastic remarks!"

Lu Cheng roared on the stretcher, which aggravated the wound on his severed arm. He gasped in pain, his face contorted in agony.

"Father! Did you see that? That's his true colors! He hit me and he's still gloating. Does he even have any respect for you, Father? Does he even have any respect for his elder brother?"

Lu Cangqiong's face darkened even more.

He turned and glared at Lu Yuan, his chest heaving a few times.

"Look what you've done to your second brother!"

"Well played," Lu Yuan muttered.

"What did you say?"

Lu Cangqiong's voice rose.

"Father, your son says he deserved it." Lu Yuan raised his head and looked straight at Lu Cangqiong. "He deserved it."

Lu Cangqiong's temples throbbed.

Lu Yuan took a step forward and pointed to Lu Cheng on the stretcher.

"Father, think about it. A grown man, his fiancée was betrayed, and instead of investigating who drugged her, he didn't stand up for her. Instead, he brought four armed guards to his brother's house to catch them in the act. What kind of behavior is that?"

Lu Cheng's body stiffened for a moment.

"He used his fiancée as a nest!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Cangqiong's brows furrowed even more deeply.

Lu Yuan continued to press: "Who is Su Yuling? She's the legitimate daughter of the Yongning Marquis's mansion, from a military family. A perfectly good girl married him, and instead of cherishing her, he set a trap to have her chastity violated."

"Father, if this gets out, what will the world think of our royal family? What will they say about the son you raised?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Lu Cheng struggled desperately on the stretcher, and the gauze was torn apart several times, revealing his bruised and swollen face underneath.

"I didn't drug you! You're making false accusations!"

"No drugs? Then who drugged Su Yuling? The tea was from the same pot. I'm fine, but she's not. It couldn't be that she poisoned herself, could it?"

"That was you who planted it!"

"I placed it?"

Lu Yuan scoffed, "Why would I drug my future sister-in-law? Am I crazy?"

"I have dozens of servants in my household; do I need to drug someone if I want to find a woman?"

Lu Cheng was speechless.

Just as he opened his mouth to retort...

Lu Yuan suddenly rushed to the stretcher and slapped Lu Cheng across the exposed side of his face.

Snapped!

The sound was clear and resonant, echoing throughout the hall.

Lu Cheng's head tilted to the side, and his newly repaired cheekbone cracked again, causing him to let out a pig-like scream of pain.

"Ah... Father! He hit me! He hit me again!"

Lu Yuan withdrew his hand, took two steps back, and remained expressionless.

"I accidentally dropped it."

Lu Cangqiong stood up abruptly.

The hem of the dragon robe was knocked over by the chair, and the teacup rolled off the imperial desk and shattered on the ground.

Lu Cangqiong didn't care at all; he pointed at Lu Yuan, his fingers trembling.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! In the Qian Yuan Palace, right in front of me, you dare to beat your elder brother! Do you even respect me as your father?"

Lu Cangqiong emerged from behind the imperial desk and paced back and forth in the hall, his steps hurried and heavy.

Zhou Fu hurriedly followed, reaching out to stop him.

"Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince is young and impetuous, please calm down..."

"Why are you angry?"

Lu Cangqiong flung Zhou Fu's hand away and turned to shout at the palace gate.

"Guards! Drag Lu Yuan away and give him thirty lashes!"

The sound of boots echoed outside the hall, and two imperial guards quickly entered, approaching Lu Yuan from the left and right.

Lu Cheng revealed a smug look on his face as he sat on the stretcher.

"Father is wise."

His voice still trembled with sobs, but his eyes were clearly filled with schadenfreude.

"Ninth brother, don't blame Father. Look at the mess you've made."

"To beat your elder brother in front of the Emperor in the Qian Yuan Hall, if this gets out, the Censorate will send memorials to block your gates."

"Thirty strokes of the cane is considered lenient."

He lay on the stretcher, struggling to turn his head to look at Lu Yuan.

"You'd better apologize to your second brother as soon as possible. After you've finished receiving your punishment, your second brother will put in a good word for you with Father, so that you won't..."

The Imperial Guards had already moved to either side of Lu Yuan, each holding one of his shoulders tightly.

Lu Yuan felt the pressure on his shoulder and quickly made a mental calculation.

Thirty strokes of the cane.

This body has been pampered for ten years. Don't be fooled by how fierce it was during the fight; it was all fueled by adrenaline.

If he were to receive thirty lashes, it would be questionable whether he would be able to get out of bed for the next two weeks.

What's worse is that once someone is punished, their image in Lu Cangqiong's mind will be completely solidified.

Having committed a crime, once the job is done, no one will believe anything you say afterward.

I can't stand it.

Absolutely cannot touch it.

"Father, wait!"

Lu Yuan suddenly raised his voice, full of vigor, which startled the Imperial Guards soldiers who were about to step forward to restrain him.

Lu Cangqiong paused, turned around and glared at him.

"What else do you have to say for yourself?"

"My son wants to report this in secret."

Lu Yuan tried to pull his shoulder away, but couldn't, so he gave up and stood up straight.

"This matter is confidential and cannot be discussed in front of others."

Lu Cangqiong narrowed his eyes.

Lu Cheng grew anxious on the stretcher.

"Father, don't listen to him! He's just making excuses! He's spouting nonsense, not a word of it is true! What secret report could he possibly have? He just wants to get away with it!"

Lu Yuan didn't even look at him, only staring at Lu Cangqiong.

"Father, what I'm about to say concerns the fate of the Great Yong Dynasty. If what I'm saying is false, or just nonsense, then you can have me flogged thirty times before you kill me."

"But what if...it's true?"

Lu Cangqiong's gaze changed.

He's been emperor for over twenty years, what kind of trouble hasn't he seen?

For a lazy, good-for-nothing prince to describe something as "a matter of vital importance to the nation," either he's bragging, or...

The second son must have done something he shouldn't have behind his back.

Lu Cangqiong's face darkened. He glanced at the two Imperial Guards behind Lu Yuan, then at Lu Cheng on the stretcher.

"All of you, step back."

The two armored soldiers released their grip and retreated to either side of the palace gate.

Lu Cheng was so anxious that he straightened his back on the stretcher, which made all his wounds ache.

"Father..."

"You get out too!"