After Entering The Abusive Novel, I Became The Empress - chapter 15

Inside the great hall, everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts. Some kept glancing toward the cliff’s edge, others craned their necks expectantly toward the stone stairway.

“Today we are not in court. There’s no need for ceremony,” the emperor said as he entered from a side door, striding directly toward Qin Yuqing. Eunuch Zhang moved to stand behind her, quietly replacing Chun Tao’s position.

“Your son greets Father Emperor. Long live the emperor, long live, long live.” Qin Yuqing bowed with clasped hands. “I was ambushed a few days ago and am still wounded. I cannot perform a full salute. I beg Father Emperor’s forgiveness.”

The emperor’s brows drew together; for a fleeting moment his eyes revealed both guilt and regret. Yet the feeling vanished as quickly as it came, leaving only a probing tone:
“Qing’er, tell me—who do you think arranged this assassination?”

Qin Yuqing’s thoughts spun swiftly. To answer honestly might cost her life. She could only tread carefully.

Her eyes reddened, tears pooling as she spoke in a trembling, wronged voice:
“Your son… Your son should not know.”

The emperor chuckled faintly at the odd answer. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gaze fixed on the vast view beyond the cliff.
“To know is to know. To not know is to not know. What do you mean by should not know?”

“Please, Father Emperor, do not be angry.” Qin Yuqing’s gaze swept over Lu Jingchuan and Qin Youqian before finally settling on Qin Junyi. “Your son does know who sent the killers.”

“Oh?” The emperor didn’t turn his head. Resting his palms on the railing, he said evenly, “Speak. I am listening.”

“It was the Park clan.” Qin Yuqing’s voice quivered, laced with the fear of a near-death escape. “He told me himself—someone paid dearly for my head.”

“The Parks?” The emperor waved a hand. Eunuch Zhang pushed Qin Yuqing’s chair closer. “I recall the matter of the Parks was handled by the Crown Prince.”

“Father, forgive me! It was my negligence that put Sixth Sister in danger.” Qin Youqian dropped to his knees, his voice tinged with hesitation. “But the Parks… impossible.”

Then, as if recalling something, he added: “If it truly was the Parks, then only Park Qinghe could be involved. He vanished in the mountains years ago. I have sent men searching all this time, but no trace of him was ever found.”

“Father Emperor,” Qin Junyi interjected, glancing meaningfully at his kneeling brother, “I recall the Crown Prince was quite close to Park Qinghe. In fact, I remember the Crown Prince, Park Qinghe, and young General Lu once swore brotherhood together.”

“Second Brother, what do you mean by that!” Qin Youqian snapped.

“I mean no offense. But since this touches upon Sixth Sister’s life, we cannot afford even a shred of partiality.” Qin Junyi, too, knelt, lips pressed tightly. “Your Majesty, this son volunteers to investigate, and will give Sixth Sister an explanation.”

The emperor studied him a long moment, then nodded. “It is rare that you show such devotion. Very well. I entrust this matter to you. I want to know how a supposedly dead Park clansman returned to stir up trouble.”

“Then I must thank Second Brother first,” Qin Yuqing lowered her gaze, her lashes concealing the flicker of satisfaction beneath.

Investigate? Of course investigate. I was only worried no one would dare to.

“We are one family. No need for thanks.”

Just then, Eunuch Zhang let out a surprised sound and pointed down toward the cliff base. “Your Majesty, there seem to be words down there.”

Qin Yuqing looked. The cliff below was blanketed in yellow blossoms, and atop them lay an enormous white cloth daubed with bold red characters.

“Lu Jingchuan.” The emperor frowned, his voice unreadable. “Go take a look.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Qin Yuqing watched in shock as Lu Jingchuan vaulted easily over the railing, descending the sheer cliff face with no rope, no safety measures, nothing.

Her eyes widened. She knew the people of this world practiced martial arts, but no one had told her they could practically fly!

Now that she thought of it, the hidden guards at the State Preceptor’s tower had also leapt in and out of windows carrying wine jars as though gravity didn’t exist.

If I start training now… am I already too late? she wondered.

Before long, Lu Jingchuan returned from the stone steps, a captive in tow and the white cloth bundled in his grip. He presented both before the emperor.

“The culprit has been caught.”

The man was frail, his pallor betraying chronic illness. He looked every bit the gentle scholar—hardly the sort one expected to dare such madness.

“Young General Lu’s skills grow sharper by the day.” The emperor shook his head regretfully at the ruined patches of flowers below. “A pity. Such an eyesore.”

“Your servant begs punishment.” Lu Jingchuan dropped to his knees. “It was my failure to protect the Sixth Princess. She was injured because of me.”

“I am no tyrant.” The emperor turned and personally helped him up. “I know you did your utmost. The imperial physician reported you sustained heavy internal injuries. Are they serious?”

“Thanks to Your Majesty’s concern, I am recovering.”

Eunuch Zhang wheeled Qin Yuqing closer again. She felt like the emperor’s shadow today, trailing wherever he went.

But her attention snagged on his words. Lu Jingchuan suffered internal injuries? When? Was it during the third ambush—when I lured away Park Qinghe? Were there other assassins as well?

“Bring him forward.” The emperor seated himself in the central chair and sipped his tea. “Young General Lu, this man looks familiar. Question him. We cannot let such things sour our mood.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Lu Jingchuan’s cold face betrayed nothing. He spread the white cloth on the floor with a single tug.

“Written in human bl00d,” he reported.

Qin Yuqing leaned forward, intrigued. The cloth bore eight scarlet characters:

Corruption in the examinations, the people’s broken faith.

This was new. Nowhere in the novel had this scene appeared.

“What is this supposed to mean?” The emperor’s eyes darkened, unreadable. “Corruption in the examinations, the people’s broken faith. Hm. Well written.”

“Bah!” the prisoner spat at him, his fury unrestrained. “Don’t feign righteousness here. Your hypocrisy disgusts me!”

Guards rushed forward, but the emperor stayed them with a gesture. “Lu Jingchuan. Investigate.”

Watching the exchange, Qin Yuqing felt a strange foreboding. Somehow, she suspected this matter would circle back to her.

She studied Lu Jingchuan’s expression. From beginning to end, his face never shifted—cold, calm, detached.

Too calm.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Lu Jingchuan retrieved a leather dossier and laid it flat. “Chen Yijun. New top scholar of three years past. Am I mistaken?”

Qin Yuqing blinked in surprise. So this was the very man mentioned in the letter—the one whose On the Green Mountains essay had struck with such sharpness against the court’s corruption that the emperor himself had favored him.

“Top scholar? Do I deserve such a title?” Chen Yijun laughed through his tears, which fell onto the patched sleeve of his robe. “Top scholar. What a cruel joke.”

“According to a joint investigation by the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Judicial Review, Chen Yijun plagiarized and cheated in the examinations. His qualifications were revoked. He is barred for life from the imperial exams.” Lu Jingchuan’s voice was flat, factual.

“Plagiarized? Cheated?” Chen Yijun’s laughter grew hollow. “You give me too much credit. How could a nameless boy with no backing possibly cheat?”

Qin Yuqing frowned. She had met people like him before—in her modern workplace. Brilliant newcomers whose ideas were stolen by useless higher-ups. Their eyes, their pain, were the same as his now.

The rumors, the letter, his bearing—all told her the truth was far from simple.

“Do you still bear a grudge over that? What, you seek to overturn the verdict here today?” Lu Jingchuan asked coldly.

Chen Yijun raised his head, voice breaking yet resolute:
“I, Chen Yijun, accuse the Fourth Prince, Qin Yuncheng, of corruption in the examinations!”

Qin Yuqing froze. Qin Yuncheng? In the original novel, he was a minor figure—born of a lowly concubine, bullied in childhood, and later granted a princely title only to live idly, wandering mountains and rivers, never meddling in politics.

“Me?” Qin Yuncheng stepped out in a pale-blue robe, folding fan in hand and wine pot at his hip. “Do I even know you?”

“It’s him!” Chen Yijun pointed, trembling with rage. “It was you! Corruption! Cheating! I’ll never let you go!”

“Your Majesty,” Qin Yuncheng bowed calmly, though confusion lingered in his eyes. “It is true I served as examiner three years ago, but my duty was only to manage logistics within the hall. I had no contact with the scripts themselves.”

He went on, explaining patiently: “Each paper was anonymized, re-recorded by sub-examiners, preliminarily marked, and only then reviewed by the chief examiners to decide the final results. Matters beyond the exam hall never reached me as examiner.”

Qin Yuqing studied him closely. His expression was genuine. Unlike the polished poise of Second Brother, he radiated a natural warmth that put others at ease.

“Chen Yijun, you are a man of the Park clan from Ling County.” Lu Jingchuan flipped open another dossier, producing four records. “The night the Parks were executed in the capital, you slipped out and into the mountains. Explain.”

Chen Yijun faltered, panic flickering before his composure returned. “I am not of the Parks’ bl00d. I was purchased as a child and fostered by the capital branch of the Parks. But because I was weak, they sent me to Ling County to grow up. Thus, I was recorded as belonging to the Ling branch.”

“Even so, what of your surname?” Lu Jingchuan pressed, opening another file.

“I was but a foster son. I was never entered into the clan register, never permitted to bear the Park name.” He paused, then continued: “I went to the capital that night to beg the family head to recognize me as kin.”

“Yet records show you were seen in Wenshan days ago, even as the Sixth Princess was attacked. How do you explain that?” Lu Jingchuan produced two final ledgers, handing one to Eunuch Zhang for the emperor, tossing the other at Chen Yijun’s feet.

Qin Yuqing’s brows furrowed. If she hadn’t understood before, now she did.

Lu Jingchuan was ruthless in his loyalty. To shield Park Qinghe, he had found another scapegoat.

It wasn’t entirely a bad thing—such men rarely betrayed their allies.

But it still stung. They were supposed to be partners, yet he concealed changes in the plan from her.

That meant she would have to reconsider.

Was this partnership truly stable?

Was it worth continuing?