Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

The main hall of Zhao Zhong's residence.

On the table lay an unfinished game of Go. Most of the black pieces had been surrounded, while the white pieces continued to press forward. Zhao Zhong held a black piece, hovering it above the board, not moving it for a long time.

He is restless today.

He had been dismissed from his post these past few days, and while he claimed to be ill, he secretly replaced the gatekeepers, carriages, and treasury: what should be taken away was taken away, what should be hidden was hidden, and what should be sealed was sealed—he did not believe that the Crown Prince could really overthrow him.

Until the footsteps outside became chaotic.

"Father." It was his adopted son, Zhao Xuan, his voice tight. "People from the palace have arrived."

Zhao Zhong's heart skipped a beat, and he turned around: "Who?"

"It's...it's the Imperial Guards." Zhao Xuan's face turned pale. "The Imperial Guards have sealed off the street outside the mansion."

Zhao Zhong flicked his hand and the chess piece landed on the chessboard.

"The news coming from Zhangde Hall is that the Crown Prince is testifying in court. He confessed to everything, including the old road signs, the clerk in charge of signing the signs for the Imperial Merchants, the night curfew register, and the jailer in the county prison."

His first reaction wasn't anger, it was disbelief.

"The Night Curfew Register?"

"He even managed to get his hands on the Night Curfew Register?!"

He stood up abruptly, his face darkening inch by inch.

The second reaction was anger.

He grabbed the chess set and smashed it on the ground.

"Who gave you permission to leave the old documents in the mansion? Who allowed Feng Xu and Xu Feng to come so frequently?!"

Zhao Xuan knelt down: "Father, it was you who wanted to eliminate the Crown Prince that led them to come. To avoid suspicion, you even chose to do it late at night..."

The glimmer of hope in Zhao Zhong's eyes shattered completely.

Yes. He was the one who sent those two people. Time and time again, late at night, they came and went from his residence.

But he never thought of betraying the Han Dynasty; he only wanted to kill that damned crown prince!

Zhao Zhong suddenly sighed, then slowly walked back to the desk and sat down again.

He accepted his fate.

"Father!" Zhao Xuan cried out anxiously, "You must think of something! Go see His Majesty, go see Zhang Rang, go see—"

"Whom do you want to see?" Zhao Zhong interrupted him, his voice unusually calm. "Zhang Rang? He avoids me like the plague now. Your Majesty? Who do you think sent the Imperial Guards?"

Zhao Xuan opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Zhao Zhong looked down at the unfinished chessboard and suddenly chuckled.

"The black pieces are dead, and the white pieces have surrounded them," he murmured. "I've lost this game."

He raised his head and looked at his adopted son, who had been with him for more than ten years, and a complicated look suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Xuan'er, you should go."

Zhao Xuan was taken aback: "Father..."

"There's another way out the back gate. We can still make it if we leave now." Zhao Zhong pulled a token from his sleeve and placed it on the table. "Leave the city, head east. Change your name and never return to Luoyang in this lifetime."

Zhao Xuan looked at the token, then at Zhao Zhong, his knees buckled, and he kowtowed heavily.

"Father! Your son will go and beat the petition drum to plead for justice on your behalf—"

"Injustice?" Zhao Zhong suddenly laughed, his laughter echoing in the empty main hall. "I, Zhao Zhong, have been corrupt for twenty-three years, harming and killing countless people. What injustice have I suffered?"

His laughter stopped, and he stared at Zhao Xuan, his gaze turning cold.

"But I didn't intend to rebel."

"I have served His Majesty for twenty-three years, ever since he was still the Marquis of Jieting."

"Those people cursed him, harmed him, and wanted to kill him. I knelt beside him, I shielded him! That old fox Zhang Rang was probably still scavenging for food in some corner back then!"

His voice grew louder and louder until it was almost a shout.

"I was greedy, I admit it. I harmed people, I admit it too. But they say I wanted the heavens to ride on His Majesty's head—bullshit!"

After shouting that, he suddenly felt as if all his strength had been drained, and slumped down on the mat.

"Let's go." He waved his hand, his voice hoarse. "If we don't leave now, it will be too late."

Zhao Xuan knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and kowtowed three times. He got up, grabbed the token, and stumbled towards the back door.

Zhao Zhong sat alone in the empty main hall, looking at the unfinished chess game.

A moment later, the sound of armor clashing came from outside the door.

He didn't turn around.

-

Zhangde Hall.

When Zhao Zhong was brought into the hall, his clothes were neat, but there was sweat on his forehead, and he was still forcing a smile in his eyes.

Feng Xu and Xu Feng followed, their faces even paler than Zhao Zhong's. The moment they entered the hall, they instinctively glanced at Zhang Rang—

Zhang Rang kept his head down, as if he hadn't seen it.

Emperor Ling of Han sat on his throne, his face ashen.

He didn't ask about the crime first, but just slammed the stack of old papers on the table.

Do you recognize it?

Zhao Zhong kowtowed: "Your Majesty... I do not know where this thing came from."

"Very well." Emperor Ling of Han sneered, "What about the nighttime curfew register?"

The officers under the command of the Imperial Guard stepped forward, flipped through the register, and reported clearly: which night, what time, who checked the token at the side gate, how many people accompanied Feng Xu and Xu Feng, and what the marks on the carriages and horses were.

Feng Xu collapsed, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty! This servant only... only went to visit Lord Zhao, who is seriously ill—"

Emperor Ling of Han slammed his hand on the table: "Seriously ill? So ill that he has to be carried into the palace in a coffin?!"

Xu Feng's lips trembled as he tried to protest his innocence, but only a breathy sound escaped his throat.

Zhao Zhong raised his head and looked at the person on the throne.

For over twenty years, he has watched from the sidelines, from the Marquis of Jieting to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty," he began, his voice hoarse, "I have served you for twenty-three years—even if I have embezzled, I would never dare to collude with the rebels."

Emperor Ling of Han stared at him.

In those eyes, the old feelings of twenty-three years were still there, but they were gradually burned away by anger.

"Zhao Zhong," he said slowly, "you've shielded me from insults and done dirty work for me, and I accept it all."

His voice suddenly rose:

"But you dare to bring foreign invaders into Luoyang—you dare to put a knife to the throat of my crown prince—"

"You want me to have no heir, you want me to lose my kingdom!"

Zhao Zhong's face finally broke down completely; his lips opened and closed, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Emperor Ling of Han raised his hand and pointed, his fingertip trembling, but the decree was firm:

"Zhao Zhong, Feng Xu, and Xu Feng—be thrown into the Tingwei prison!"

"Confiscate their property and arrest their associates!"

"Execute their entire family!"

Feng Xu collapsed on the spot, Xu Feng let out a howl, but Zhao Zhong seemed to have been drained of all his energy, frozen in place—

He finally understood that past relationships were not a shield.

Old feelings are a noose.

The three were taken away.

Emperor Ling of Han closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

Liu Bian stood to the side, watching him. On that increasingly aged face, weariness and complex emotions were mixed together.

He recalled his father's words—"I know he's greedy, and I allow him to be greedy. But if he bullies you, I won't tolerate it."

Twenty-three years. One person followed another for twenty-three years.

This bond cannot be erased by a mere charge of treason.

But he couldn't be soft-hearted.

Because an even bigger storm is waiting ahead.

He took a deep breath and slowly began to speak:

"Father, I have one more thing to ask."

Emperor Ling of Han opened his eyes, looked at him, his gaze filled with weariness and helplessness: "Speak."

"The Way of Peace".

Liu Bian's voice calmed down, and he said, word by word:

"Although the traitor within the court has been brought to justice, the Taiping Dao still exists."

"Zhang Jiao has gathered hundreds of thousands of followers across eight provinces, who could rise up in rebellion at any moment. If we don't act preemptively before they do, and wait until they gain momentum..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was already very clear.

Emperor Ling of Han remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "What do you want me to do?"

"Please, Father Emperor, issue an edict."

Liu Bian raised his head to meet his gaze, "Order all prefectures and counties to thoroughly investigate the Taiping Dao, arrest its leaders, disperse its followers, and cut off its food and weapons."

"At the same time, troops were conscripted and stationed in key locations around Luoyang in preparation for any eventuality."

Emperor Ling of Han looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Aren't you afraid of making a big fuss?"

"Your subject is afraid," Liu Bian said frankly. "But your subject is even more afraid that by the time things escalate, it will be too late for us to be afraid."

"Bian'er, do you know why I love you?"

Liu Bian was taken aback: "Your subject... does not know."

"Because you're like me when I was young. Daring to speak, daring to act, daring to gamble."

Emperor Ling of Han paused, his voice lowering:

"But I also fear that you will end up like me when I was young—getting hurt and bleeding before you realize that some things cannot be rushed."

Liu Bian was silent for a moment, then kowtowed:

"Your Majesty's teachings are well remembered. But may I dare to ask Your Majesty a question—"

He raised his head, his gaze intense:

"When Father was young, he suffered many injuries, but did he ever regret it?"

Emperor Ling of Han's back stiffened slightly.

He looked at Liu Bian, at his eleven-year-old son, and at the calmness and sharpness in his eyes that didn't belong to his age, and suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it carried a complex sense of relief.

"Okay," he said. "Okay."

He walked back to his desk, picked up his vermilion pen, and spread out a blank imperial edict.

"Zhang Rang—"

Zhang Rang hurriedly stepped forward: "This old servant is here."

"Draft an imperial edict."

"Order all prefectures and counties to strictly investigate the Taiping Dao. Anyone found gathering crowds to preach or privately possessing weapons shall be arrested immediately. Leaders and above shall be escorted to Luoyang."

"Order the Commander of the Imperial Guards to reinforce the twelve gates of Luoyang and strictly check those entering and leaving."

He paused, as if remembering something:

"I remember that He Jin was quite capable of leading troops."

Liu Bian's heart skipped a beat.

Emperor Ling of Han continued:

"He appointed He Jin, the Governor of Henan, as Grand General, and ordered him to mobilize troops and station them in Henan, Yingchuan, and Chenliu, ready to be deployed at any time."

Zhang Rang wrote and agreed at the same time.

As Liu Bian knelt in the hall, listening to the imperial edicts, the weight that had been hanging over his heart for so long finally lifted.

But he knew this was just the beginning.

The sword of the Way of Peace is about to be drawn.

He had to make the Han dynasty's rule more secure before he drew his sword.