“Steward Wang,” the Emperor said slowly, “you claim that when you entered the room at the hour of Zi, there were already two people inside. Who were they?”
“My young master, Mu Xueshi… and Wu Cai.”
The moment Mu Xueshi heard his name mentioned, he straightened up instinctively and forced himself to focus again on the trial.
The Emperor lowered his eyes slightly and regarded Wu Cai with a complicated expression.
“Wu Cai,” he asked, “for what reason did you enter the Grand Tutor’s room that night?”
Wu Cai’s lips trembled.
His haggard face revealed no clear emotion. Struggling to make himself heard, he even dragged his battered body a little farther forward across the floor.
When Mu Xueshi saw the pitiful state of Wu Cai’s broken body, he suddenly understood.
So that was whom Li Qian had fetched medicine for that day.
And now he also understood why Li Qian had always hesitated, unable to speak plainly.
Mu Xueshi quickly lowered his head, no longer daring to look at Wu Cai again. Looking at him now was like staring directly at his own guilt.
“When the master returned,” Wu Cai said hoarsely, “he went straight to the madam’s chambers. When I later learned of it… I felt resentment and jealousy, so I went to find him.”
“By the time I arrived at the master’s room… the master had already been…”
He coughed violently.
Swallowing hard, Wu Cai’s body sagged as if boneless, barely supported by his hands.
The Emperor continued, “When you entered the room and saw the Grand Tutor’s body… what else did you see?”
“I also saw…” Wu Cai hesitated.
His gaze flicked toward the Third Prince’s dark expression, then shifted to the Emperor.
Finally he said, “I saw Mu Xueshi pouring burning oil over the master again and again. The master had already been burned to the point of near death.”
Mu Xueshi was shocked.
In a burst of agitation he leapt to his feet and shouted toward Wu Cai, “That’s nonsense!”
The Emperor’s face darkened immediately.
“Impudence!”
Yet Mu Xueshi stubbornly retorted, “That’s not what you told me before!”
Turning toward Wu Cai, his face filled with anger, he said, “I know I’ve wronged you—but that doesn’t mean you can take revenge on me like this!”
Wu Cai glanced at him and let out a cold laugh.
“How have you wronged me?”
Mu Xueshi faltered.
His stubborn gaze remained fixed on Wu Ca, yet he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.
Moments ago he had still been feeling guilty for Wu Cai—worried about him. And now, in the blink of an eye, Wu Cai had turned the blame back on him.
Suddenly Mu Xueshi felt a violent kick strike the back of his knees.
He was forced to kneel again.
“In the court chamber, reckless speech shall be punished. Each shall receive twenty slaps,” Eunuch Li announced in a strange sing-song voice.
Immediately two short servants stepped forward, one standing beside Mu Xueshi and the other beside Wu Cai.
Before Mu Xueshi could react, a heavy slap struck his left cheek.
A burning pain exploded across his face, leaving him momentarily dazed.
After the first slap, there was a pause before the next came.
During that brief moment Mu Xueshi caught sight of the Third Prince’s changing expression—from cold indifference to a shadowed fury.
Mu Xueshi suddenly laughed softly.
The next slap landed even harder.
And yet, strangely, Mu Xueshi felt a perverse sense of satisfaction.
Watching the once rosy cheeks turn bright red, the hatred in the Third Prince’s heart swelled to its limits.
If not for the need to maintain composure before the court, he might have rushed forward and torn those servants apart with his bare hands.
Slap after slap fell.
Mu Xueshi did not cry out even once.
He simply bit his lip and stared at the Third Prince.
It felt to the prince as though sharp blades were piercing his heart one by one, yet his face remained outwardly calm.
When Wu Cai finished receiving his punishment, he had no strength left at all.
He collapsed beside Mu Xueshi.
Mu Xueshi turned his head and instinctively helped him sit upright.
Wu Cai knocked his hand away with visible disgust.
Mu Xueshi saw the reaction but showed no expression on his swollen face.
He touched the corner of his mouth.
It was wet—streaked with blood.
“Wu Cai,” the Emperor said again, “you claim you personally witnessed Mu Xueshi harming the Grand Tutor. Do you have evidence?”
Wu Cai glanced at Mu Xueshi weakly.
“Of course.”
He requested that the evidence be brought forward.
When a bundle was unwrapped before the court, Mu Xueshi was instantly stunned.
Inside lay the very clothes he had worn on the day of the incident—clothes that had been kept in the Third Prince’s chambers.
How did they end up with Wu Cai?
Did the Third Prince conspire with Wu Cai to condemn him to death?
At that thought, even Mu Xueshi’s breath seemed filled with despair.
He stared blankly at the garments.
Only one thing was missing—the pair of shoes he had worn that day.
If those shoes were gone, then even if he had nine lives he would never be able to explain himself.
Nearby, the Grand Tutor’s wife had remained silent the entire time.
Her face was pale. Without the maid supporting her, she might already have fainted.
“Your Majesty, please look,” Wu Cai said, his trembling hand lifting the clothing. Pulling open the sleeve, he pointed to a section of fabric.
“The left sleeve was originally dark blue. But once water is poured on it, it immediately turns pale.”
“We all know that only Jiuyuan carbon powder changes color when exposed to water.”
“Under normal circumstances this substance is colorless and odorless. Once applied to the body, it causes instant unconsciousness. When it burns, it leaves no trace.”
“The most important point is this: in such a short time, only Jiuyuan carbon powder could burn a body so completely to ashes.”
The moment these words were spoken, the ministers present began murmuring among themselves.
Even the three other people kneeling nearby showed shock.
Wu Cai’s explanation matched the events of that night remarkably well. Many lingering doubts seemed suddenly resolved.
Unexpectedly, Mu Xueshi chuckled.
“Then why couldn’t it be that you only applied that carbon powder recently?” he asked lightly.
Wu Cai seemed to have anticipated this.
A sly smile appeared on his exhausted face.
“Who in this court doesn’t know the properties of Jiuyuan carbon powder?” he said confidently.
“After it burns, it leaves no trace at all. Only after more than a month does it react with water.”
“This method is often used for assassinations within the palace. If no one discovers it at the time, the matter is usually never investigated again.”
At the mention of assassinations, many officials shifted uneasily.
Indeed, Jiuyuan carbon powder was often used to dispose of bodies—especially servants abused by their masters, or victims of intrigue among palace consorts.
Everyone knew of it.
But it was never spoken aloud.
Wu Cai had exhausted himself speaking.
Mu Xueshi ignored his explanation entirely.
“So what proof do you have that the powder wasn’t placed there after my father died,” he continued calmly, “simply to frame me?”
Wu Cai snorted in disdain.
“Young Master Mu, have you lost your ears?” he mocked.
“Only burned Jiuyuan carbon powder reacts with water. The traces on your clothes came from the moment you committed the crime.”
“Then why couldn’t you have burned it first,” Mu Xueshi replied immediately, “and deliberately smeared it there afterward to frame me?”
Wu Cai was nearly gasping with anger.
“You’re twisting logic!”
“You’re the one without logic,” Mu Xueshi said coolly.
Mu Xueshi’s relentless questions left many officials bewildered.
Only the Third Prince seemed to understand the peculiar logic behind Mu Xueshi’s reasoning.
The Emperor’s expression grew complicated.
He had expected Mu Xueshi to be easily defeated—but the young man’s calm composure suggested otherwise.
In truth, Mu Xueshi himself was already confused by his own arguments.
He simply wore a relaxed expression because he had already lost hope.
Seeing those clothes earlier had crushed him completely.
The Emperor accepted a cup of tea from Eunuch Li and drank slowly, suppressing his irritation.
“Mu Xueshi,” he said at last, “you claim Wu Cai’s evidence contains flaws. Then show me—what evidence do you have to defend yourself?”
Mu Xueshi reached into his robe.
Unfortunately his clothes were loosely worn. As he fumbled for the small bottle inside, the collar slipped open, exposing a wide stretch of his chest before he finally pulled the bottle free.
Half his chest lay bare.
The edge of his robe barely concealed the pink tip of one nipple, the pale skin beneath almost luminous. His collarbones were delicate and elegant, his neck slender and graceful.
For a moment, the entire chamber fell silent.
Every gaze was drawn irresistibly toward Mu Xueshi’s chest.
Even the Emperor glanced sideways in surprise. Though he had taken countless concubines since ascending the throne, he had never seen skin so flawless.
People always said the Grand Tutor’s son was hideously ugly.
Yet looking at his body alone, he could only be described as stunning.
His face was handsome enough—but beside that body, it seemed almost inferior.
Some officials even imagined Mu Xueshi’s body paired with the Third Prince’s face.
The mere thought made their bodies heat uncomfortably.
The Emperor cleared his throat.
Only then did everyone snap back to their senses and focus on the small bottle in Mu Xueshi’s hand.
“This bottle,” Mu Xueshi said, “contains soil scraped from the shoes I wore that night.”
“These clothes and shoes were what I wore on the day of the incident. In the soil from the shoes there is pollen from Zhiluo flowers.”
“And everyone here knows Zhiluo flowers bloom on the eighth day of the third month—at the hour of Xu.”
“The coroner confirmed that my father’s body was burned at that exact hour.”
“One person cannot be in two places at once. Therefore the evidence Wu Cai presented must be fabricated.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an official apothecary stepped forward to examine the soil.
After careful inspection, he confirmed that it indeed contained Zhiluo flower pollen.
Cold sweat trickled down Wu Cai’s yellowed temples.
Many officials looked at Mu Xueshi in astonishment.
None had expected him to notice such a tiny detail.
Wu Cai forced out a laugh.
“And that proves you’re innocent?” he sneered.
“An entire hour passed. Who’s to say you didn’t go admire the flowers first and then return to commit the murder?”
“Or perhaps you burned the body before leaving.”
Mu Xueshi nearly burst out laughing.
This was the first time he had encountered someone even more foolish than himself.
Wu Cai had practically handed him the next argument.
“If I rode a horse to Taixin Garden—the only place nearby where Zhiluo flowers grow—it would take at least the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,” Mu Xueshi explained.
“But everyone in my manor knows that I cannot ride a horse.”
“If I walked, it would take nearly an hour. Therefore I would have needed to depart before the hour of Xu in order to see the flowers bloom.”
“Even if I only glanced at them briefly, by the time I returned it would already be past the hour of Xu.”
“And according to the coroner, the burning took place throughout that entire hour.”
“In other words—I wasn’t there.”
When Mu Xueshi finished speaking, the interrogation chamber fell completely silent.
Wu Cai had no rebuttal, though his face remained stubborn.
Most officials looked at Mu Xueshi with approval.
Only Mu Xueshi himself felt uneasy.
Inwardly he prayed the Emperor would not ask the one question he feared most.
After a long silence, the Emperor looked at him meaningfully.
“Your reasoning is quite thorough,” he said.
“But you have overlooked one point.”
“How do you prove that the soil in that bottle actually came from your shoes?”
“In other words—where are those shoes now?”
Mu Xueshi felt his mind explode.
He had known this question would come.
Still, he had secretly hoped the Emperor might overlook it.
His gaze slowly turned toward the Third Prince.
His heart filled with a complicated bitterness.
A few days ago, he would never have doubted that the Third Prince would help him.
But now…
As their eyes met, the plea rising in Mu Xueshi’s throat could not escape his lips.
He feared being rejected.
He feared even more that everything—every step of this trial—had been arranged by the Third Prince himself.
After all…
Why else would he hand those clothes to Wu Cai so easily?
And deliberately leave the shoes behind?
Futile Devices Scans 
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