Chapter 19 — The Heir to the Throne with the Wicked Face

Wind and Waves Between Kim Loan Palace

Full moon day of December. Kim Loan Palace is resplendent with flags, flowers, and bells and drums ringing since early morning. The civil and military mandarins stood in two serious rows, wearing neat clothes. The Three Kingdoms Tây Lương delegation sat in a position of honor in the east of the palace, Ứng Bạt Nguyên's eyes were calm but contained an unfathomable determination.

Khương Bạt Nghi, wearing a dragon robe that did not completely fit his thin figure, stood in the middle of the hall, his face showing unconcealed tension. Uất Nguyệt Hàn sat on a high pedestal, her eyes never leaving her son, both proud and worried.

Khưu Bá Trạch, in a regent's uniform, stood next to the dragon pedestal, raising his resounding voice to read the decree of investiture. Each word rang out in the suffocatingly quiet space, like nails being hammered into a coffin that would forever bury the legitimate succession of the royal family.

"I now declare the establishment of Khương Bạt Nghi..."

"Wait."

The voice rang out from the east of the palace, decisively and clearly, interrupting the ceremony that was going smoothly. All eyes turned to Ứng Bạt Nguyên, who had just stood up from his seat, with the majestic appearance of an envoy representing all three western countries.

"Is there something you want to say, angel?" Khưu Bá Trạch turned back, trying to maintain composure even though an uneasy premonition arose in his heart.

"Before this great ceremony continues, the Three Kingdoms of Western Liang has something to present to the Great Xia court," Ứng Bạt Nguyên spoke, his voice echoed throughout the palace. "It's directly related to the deaths of the Immortal Emperor and Immortal Empress three years ago."

The entire Kim Loan Palace was shocked. Murmurs arose throughout the rows of mandarins. Khưu Bá Trạch's expression changed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

"What does the envoy mean by that? That case was clearly concluded three years ago."

"Concluded, or covered up?" Ứng Bạt Nguyên replied directly, without any hesitation. "I have a person, currently in this palace, who witnessed the entire incident that night with his own eyes."

He gestured with his hand. From behind a large row of columns, Ứng Diệu Trân stepped out, her body shaking but his steps still steady towards the middle of the palace.

"You..." Khưu Bá Trạch looked at her and recognized her immediately. His face turned pale.

Three years. For three years he believed that this maid had died somewhere on the border, or was buried with his own fear. Yet now, she stood there, in the middle of Kim Loan Palace, in the name of an assistant to the Tây Lương delegation that he could not touch.

The civil and martial arts officials were in an uproar. Some people covered their mouths and whispered, some people glanced at Khưu Bá Trạch inquiringly, some people lowered their heads and did not dare to show their emotions. The air in the temple was thick and heavy, as if there was about to be a storm.

"I used to be a maid serving the Queen Mother." Ứng Diệu Trân knelt down, her voice trembling but every word clear. "On the night of the incident, I heard Grand Deputy Khưu Bá Trạch discussing with Queen Mother Uất Nguyệt Hàn how to use assassins to break into the palace, murder the First Emperor and Immortal Queen, and blame the Ghost-Faced Witch."

"Insolent!" Uất Nguyệt Hàn stood up, her voice full of anger. "A maid ran away three years ago, how dare she slander the Queen Mother and the Great Minister Fu Chinh in the middle of the court?"

"The Queen Mother is right." Khưu Bá Trạch quickly regained his composure, his voice cold. "A mere statement from a fugitive is not enough to incriminate anyone. Envoy, I am afraid that Western Liang is interfering too deeply in Đại Hạ's internal affairs."

"If there was only empty testimony, I wouldn't dare bring it out in the middle of such a solemn court," Ứng Bạt Nguyên replied, his eyes cold. "But if there were other evidence, payment records, witnesses who directly participated in the night of the incident, would the Grand Deputy still dare to say it was slander?"

Khưu Bá Trạch was stunned. His eyes quickly scanned the palace, looking for any sign that this was just a scare. But his intuition told him that the situation was out of control.

"Enough!" Cận Bá Tuyên, standing in the row of military officials, shouted loudly, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "This is the ceremony to invest new soldiers, not the place to listen to baseless slander. Where are the soldiers? Please leave the delegation!"

A group of forbidden troops began to enter, surrounding the embassy area. Ứng Bạt Nguyên did not back down, stood up straight, his eyes staring straight at Cận Bá Tuyên.

"Are you planning to use force against an allied country's embassy right in the middle of court proceedings?" He said, his voice cold as ice. "If blood is shed today, the Three Kingdoms of Western Liang will consider this a declaration of war from Great Xia."

Cận Bá Tuyên paused. The group of soldiers stopped, not daring to advance further, but still maintained an encircling position, their hands never leaving their sword hilts.

The atmosphere in Kim Loan Palace was as tense as a string about to break. All eyes looked at each other in panic, not knowing what was going to happen next. Khương Bạt Nghi, still standing in the middle of the palace in a dragon robe that had not yet been worn, his face was pale, his legs were shaking, as if he did not expect his coronation ceremony to turn into a political melee.

At that moment, the large door of Kim Loan Palace opened.

A figure walked in wearing a black cloak, his face hidden behind the familiar evil mask that the whole capital had heard about for years. He was followed by Vũ Lâm Trung Lang, General Vệ Khinh, a few dozen people wearing Night Shadow Pavilion colors, and a middle-aged man whose face was marked by time, whose steps were shaky but whose eyes were full of determination.

"Ghost Faced Witch!" A cry of panic rang out from the ranks of officials.

Cận Bá Tuyên pulled out his sword and his face changed color. "You are so immoral! You dare to barge into Kim Loan Palace in the middle of the investiture ceremony!"

"I didn't come here to cause rebellion." The voice rang out from behind the mask, cold but sharp, echoing throughout the hall. "I have come to reclaim the justice that has been buried for the past three years."

"Get him!" Cận Bá Tuyên shouted loudly, brandished his sword and rushed forward.

Trường Phong immediately blocked the way, his long sword pulled out in just a blink of an eye. The sound of steel colliding was deafening. The two of them fought right in the middle of the palace, their steps were rapid, each move carried murderous intent.

"Vệ Khinh, you also betrayed me?" Cận Bá Tuyên shouted, both surprised and angry.

"I was never your person," Trường Phong replied, his sword slashing horizontally and forcing the opponent to retreat. "I am the son of Chinh Tây General Lieutenant Thành Kiệt, whom Khưu Bá Trạch personally framed and sentenced to death four years ago."

Screams of surprise echoed throughout the palace. Nghê Bá Ninh, standing in the line of veteran generals, his eyes widened, then suddenly stepped out of the line, standing between Trường Phong and the rest of the banned soldiers who were about to rush in to assist Cận Bá Tuyên.

"Backward!" He shouted loudly at his subordinates. "The matter of right and wrong is not clear, no one is allowed to act without your Majesty's actual order!"

That unexpected intervention caused the army to pause, not knowing whose orders they should listen to. Khưu Bá Trạch stood on a high pedestal, feeling for the first time in three years in power that his power was shaking right before his eyes.

Khưu Bá Trạch looked at that figure, his hands clenched until they turned white. The worst premonition that he had feared for so many years was finally appearing before his eyes, right in the middle of Kim Loan Palace, on the day that should have been his most glorious moment.

"Who are you?" He gritted his voice, even though in his heart he had vaguely guessed the answer, an answer that for the past three years he had always tried to deny, dismissing it as a baseless obsession every time it suddenly appeared on rare sleepless nights.

Uất Nguyệt Hàn tightened her grip on the armrest of her chair, her voice trembling with a vague fear that she herself could not explain. "Khưu Bá Trạch, arrest him now! Don't let him say another word!"

"It's late, Queen Mother." The figure in black clothes replied, his cold voice echoed throughout the palace. "Three years ago, you took away my parents' chance to say their last words. Today, it's your turn to hear everything I have to say."

The captain of the old army, standing behind the Night Shadow Pavilion's formation, suddenly knelt on the cold stone floor, trembling but speaking loudly. "I... I am the one who led the group of assassins into the palace that night, under the direct orders of Grand Viceroy Khưu Bá Trạch! I confess my guilt and testify before the entire court!"

That confession was like a hammer blow straight to Khưu Bá Trạch. His face was pale. For the first time since entering the officialdom, he clearly felt the ground beneath his feet was collapsing.

The figure in the black shirt was silent for a moment, then slowly raised his hand to the mask that had been attached to him for three long years.

"You're going to know now." The entire Kim Loan Palace held its breath and waited, hundreds of eyes focused on a single point, no one dared to make a sound in that fateful moment.