Accusation, Depose the Crown Prince or Prince Adrian of Luo

Fortunately, this tense standoff did not last long. A rustle of movement swept through the hall as the ministers rose to their feet, and Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan was no longer singled out. Only then did the Emperor finally meet Nolan’s gaze, quietly withdrawing his hidden hostility.

The Chief Eunuch suppressed his fear, discreetly squeezed his palm, and called out in a loud voice, “If you have a petition, present it. If not, court is dismissed.”

No sooner had the words fallen than Censor Wen stepped forward. If the Chief Eunuch remembered correctly, Censor Wen was part of the Crown Prince’s faction. For him to be the first to step out—did it mean the Crown Prince was about to strike back?

“Your servant has a petition.” Just as the Chief Eunuch suspected, the Crown Prince was indeed launching his counterattack. But unlike his usual gentle restraint, this time the Crown Prince’s retaliation was a raging storm—merciless and absolute.

Led by Censor Wen, six or seven censors stepped forward in succession, jointly impeaching Adrian Dongling, Prince Adrian of Luo, for flouting the laws of the realm, ignoring hierarchy, disrespecting the Crown Prince, and being disloyal and unfilial.

They further accused the Bloodcloak Guard, under Prince Adrian’s indulgence, of disregarding all discipline—killing, robbing, burning, looting, acting with brutal arrogance, and openly scorning the Crown Prince’s authority, betraying both loyalty and justice.

Their words were sharp and uncompromising. At the same time, they produced a thick stack of evidence, proving that Prince Adrian had consorted with ministers, shown contempt for the Crown Prince, harbored ulterior motives, and formally requested the Emperor to depose Prince Adrian for the stability of Eastlyn.

Not every minister knew exactly what had happened at Feng Manor, but it was common knowledge that the Bloodcloak Guard had smashed the estate, and that the Crown Prince, in a fit of fury, had slaughtered over a hundred Bloodcloaks.

The Crown Prince’s faction showed no mercy in impeaching Adrian Dongling, while Prince Adrian’s own supporters refused to back down, stepping forward to confront the Crown Prince’s camp head-on.

Prince Adrian’s faction accused the Crown Prince of suffering from hidden illness and being unfit for great responsibility—weak, incompetent, lacking the dignity of an heir, scorning imperial will, obstructing governance, ignorant of statecraft, arrogant and erratic, and utterly devoid of the bearing of a proper Crown Prince.

Likewise, Prince Adrian’s faction produced their own prepared evidence, proving their claims were true: the Crown Prince was indeed unfit for great responsibility. They earnestly petitioned the Emperor, for the sake of Eastlyn’s hundred-year foundation, to depose the Crown Prince and appoint a new heir.

On the court floor, the two camps clashed back and forth, neither willing to yield. Seeing the Emperor remain silent, other factions jumped in to fan the flames, determined to make the conflict burn even hotter. The ideal outcome, in their eyes, would be for both the Crown Prince and Prince Adrian to be deposed together.

Civil officials argued by flinging classics and moral doctrine at each other, never straying far from the teachings of the sages. Their reasoning came in endless chains, while the martial officials yawned—wanting to help, but not knowing where to start.

Even the martial officials had their own preferred princes. If this dispute grew any larger, it could overturn the entire balance of Eastlyn. So, even if they didn’t understand the arguments, the martial officials forced themselves to stay alert and listen closely to both sides.

Aside from a small centrist group and the pro-emperor faction, nearly every civil official in the hall was drawn into the chaos. The Emperor’s thoughts were unreadable; the fiercer the ministers quarreled, the less he seemed inclined to intervene.

The shouting dragged on from dawn all the way to midday. The Emperor remained unmoved, focusing instead on reviewing the evidence submitted by the ministers. The more he read, the more shocked he became.

Only now did he realize how much his sons had done outside his knowledge. Still, most of it fell within the limits he could tolerate—and with someone as unconventional as Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan around, the Emperor’s tolerance had grown ever broader.

The evidence was real, but with just this, persuading the Emperor to depose the Crown Prince or Prince Adrian was absolutely impossible. Neither could be lightly touched.

Smack—the Emperor finished reading the last page, closed the booklet, and handed it to the Chief Eunuch beside him. The officials, though still arguing, kept a close eye on the Emperor’s every move. As soon as he finished, a sharp-eyed minister knelt forward and shouted, “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is unfit for great responsibility. We implore Your Majesty to depose the Crown Prince and appoint a new heir!”

The Crown Prince’s faction refused to accept this. As if on cue, a dozen ministers knelt at once and shouted, “Your Majesty, Prince Adrian is a wolf-hearted schemer with treacherous intentions. We implore Your Majesty to depose Prince Adrian and confine him!”

The Crown Prince’s supporters were even more ruthless—just short of openly accusing Prince Adrian of treason.

Despite all this uproar and chaos, the Emperor showed no anger. Once he motioned for the ministers to quiet down, his gaze landed squarely on Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan.

“Ninth Brother, what do you think?” With this, the Emperor was pushing Ninth Royal Uncle into the eye of the storm.

Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan appeared indifferent, but he had been watching the situation closely all along. He knew full well that the Emperor would not move against either the Crown Prince or Prince Adrian—not today, at least.

As for himself? He had no desire to meddle in such tedious business. Nolan didn’t move a muscle as he replied, “Your Majesty, yesterday the Bloodcloak Guard destroyed the Ninth Prince’s Princess Consort’s formal regalia. In the interest of fairness, as your subject and brother, I have nothing more to say.”

Though he claimed to say nothing, he was in fact smearing Adrian Dongling. Nolan made it clear that he was deeply dissatisfied with Adrian; if the Emperor asked him to speak, he certainly wouldn’t say anything good about Adrian.

Wait—a development like this? The Ninth Prince’s Princess Consort’s formal regalia was destroyed?

The Crown Prince’s faction’s eyes lit up, instantly scheming how to exploit this and make it a major issue. Perhaps this could become the final straw that would crush Prince Adrian.

The officials impeaching Adrian Dongling quickly organized their words and launched a new wave of accusations, their tone dripping with contempt. With Nolan’s statement added, the situation turned completely against Adrian; even if the Emperor didn’t depose him, he would become all but politically dead.

Adrian’s faction’s officials kept wiping sweat, their voices growing weaker. Although the Emperor was displeased with Adrian, seeing this scene, he seized the chance to speak and clear Adrian of the crime of destroying the Ninth Prince’s Princess Consort’s regalia: “Prince Adrian has only just taken over the Bloodcloak Guard. It’s inevitable that some ill-intentioned elements remain. The Bloodcloak Guards who destroyed the Princess Consort’s regalia have already been executed on the Crown Prince’s order. Ninth Brother, are you still dissatisfied?”

The Crown Prince was supported by Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan, while Adrian Dongling was the Emperor’s most favored son. If Adrian were deposed and the Crown Prince remained untouched, wouldn’t that be a slap in the Emperor’s face? Whether he liked it or not, the Emperor had to protect Adrian.

Nolan understood the Emperor’s intentions perfectly. With calm composure, he said, “Your Majesty, I would not dare. Prince Adrian has his own duties to attend to, and must also oversee the Bloodcloak Guard. With so much on his plate, oversights are inevitable.”

On the surface, Nolan’s words seemed to clear Adrian Dongling of guilt, but in truth, he was criticizing Adrian as unfit for major responsibility and incapable of serving as Commander of the Bloodcloak Guard.

Deposing Prince Adrian outright was no simple matter, but forcing Adrian to hand over control of the Bloodcloak Guard was not so difficult. Without imperial favor and the Bloodcloak Guard, Prince Adrian was nothing but a toothless tiger—no longer a threat.

Prince Adrian only managed the Bloodcloak Guard temporarily; he never truly held the Commander’s post. Now that the internal chaos had been quelled, it was time to formally appoint a new Commander.

Honestly, Prince Adrian was petty and vindictive. Just because Serena Feng once embarrassed him, he ordered the Bloodcloak Guard to smash up Feng Manor. If the Guard remained in his hands, none of the officials could expect to survive.

In these times, which official was truly clean? If the Bloodcloak Guard targeted you, even if you didn’t die, you’d be skinned alive.

With that, even the other factions and the pro-emperor party quickly echoed the sentiment, urging the Emperor to appoint someone else to take charge of the Bloodcloak Guard…