Xiao Yinghao raised her eyebrows slightly at the scene before her and quickly played along, feigning surprise as she asked,
"Master Juehui of Garan Temple? I heard that years ago, when the Heir was afflicted with the Heart-Poison Mark, it was Master Juehui who used the Flower-Grasping Technique to suppress the poison."
"Not long ago, the Northern Garrison Prince even invited Master Juehui back, intending to verify whether the Heir was truly himself..."
She gave a cold laugh and glanced at the Mountain and River Diagram still billowing in the air.
"So, how did he end up inside the Mountain and River Diagram?"
At once, the crowd's reaction changed from surprise to uproar.
In a corner, Ding Xingfeng popped a peanut into his mouth, but his eyes were cold, utterly lacking the usual amusement he showed when watching others' misfortune.
Forty-five years ago, in this very Purple Extremity Hall, amid an almost identical gathering of courtiers, another bald monk had declared his demotion from Marquis of Yizhou to a ragged fisherman by the lakeside.
He lifted his gaze toward the layers of heavy curtains.
But those curtains were so thick that even a Martial Saint could not see through to the figure seated behind them, nor guess what that person might be thinking, now or then.
Master Juehui's sudden appearance had caught everyone at the banquet completely off guard; few could immediately make sense of what was happening.
After all, it had been Gu Yuye who had secretly invited Juehui in the first place, deliberately keeping the matter hidden to prevent Gu Fangchen from reacting in time.
Even now, only a handful of people in the hall knew of it.
Given Xiao Yinghao's vast intelligence network, discovering this was no great challenge. Though she didn't know all the details, it wasn't hard for her to infer the sequence of events from beginning to end.
Her words conveniently helped everyone else understand the situation as well.
The Eldest Princess turned her gaze calmly back to Gu Fangchen.
Since the misunderstanding regarding her husband had now been cleared, her next step was obvious, to help Gu Fangchen secure his position as Heir.
Gu Fangchen was Gu Yuye's enemy, and Gu Yuye was hers.
The enemy of her enemy might not necessarily be a friend, but when an opportunity arose to strike at her foe, she would never let it pass.
Moreover, Gu Fangchen's decisive action made her admire him all the more. She was now certain that his earlier debauched behavior had been nothing but an act, and her own previous judgment had indeed been wrong.
This man must have begun his plans the moment Gu Yuye invited Juehui, plotting ten steps ahead with unfathomable foresight.
Xiao Yinghao had expected Gu Fangchen to look somewhat pleased at this moment.
After all, this was his chance to deliver a crushing blow to Gu Yuandao and Gu Yuye, the moment for which he had schemed and endured for so many years.
No matter how composed he was, at his age, it would be hard to suppress every flicker of satisfaction.
Yet to her surprise, Gu Fangchen's expression barely changed. Instead, he stepped forward immediately and naturally supported Master Juehui, who was still weakened after being subjected to the flow of time within the Mountain and River Diagram.
Even though Gu Fangchen was only Sixth Grade, and Master Juehui was a Third Grade Divine Path cultivator, he did not hesitate.
Xiao Yinghao blinked, her beautiful eyes glimmering with thought.
For a brief instant, she felt something strange stir in her heart.
They all said Gu Yuandao was the very image of a gentleman, yet in this moment, it was Gu Fangchen who embodied that title far better.
The Yong'an Emperor, too, seemed intrigued. He tapped the armrest of his dragon throne and straightened slightly.
"Indeed," he said, "I am quite curious myself. What exactly happened here? Why would Master Juehui speak such words? For even a high monk of Garan Temple to feel chilled to the bone..."
"This Mountain and River Diagram is genuine, it indeed belongs to Gu Yuandao, and it indeed imprisoned Master Juehui."
"Could it be," his tone abruptly cooled, "that the Scholar I personally appointed as exemplar of all students was one thing before me and another behind my back, so blinded by personal grievance that he struck down a venerable monk?"
"The top scholar is the model for all the realm's students, and the academies are the model for all cultivators. Be it in court or in the immortal sects, such hypocrisy cannot be tolerated."
"How can I trust that one who harms a monk out of spite will ever serve the country or its people with sincerity?"
"If Gu Yuandao truly committed such foolishness, I will not show him mercy!"
Kneeling on the floor, Gu Yuye turned his gaze toward his unconscious son, whose face was pale, blood oozing from his seven orifices, pitiful beyond words.
This time, his face was more than just grim, there was also a shadowy depth in his expression.
For Gu Fangchen's summoning of Juehui did not actually create much public pressure against him personally.
From beginning to end, all he had done was invite Juehui to verify whether Gu Fangchen had been possessed by another's soul, to Rectify the Origin and Return to the Source.
He had never revealed his true intentions.
It had been Gu Yuandao who accompanied Juehui to the Sword Pavilion.
It had been Gu Yuandao who, when Juehui discovered his purpose, turned against him and sealed him within the Mountain and River Diagram.
If anyone bore the guilt, it was Gu Yuandao alone, nothing to do with Gu Yuye.
Gu Yuye looked down at his own hands, realizing they had clenched into fists.
No one knew him better than he knew himself.
If he had truly loved his son, he would never have sent him to suffer the hardships of poverty, pretending it was for his own tempering.
Whenever his interests were at stake, he had never hesitated to sacrifice others to save himself.
In the end, it was simply that Gu Yuandao was not strong enough.
Master Juehui pressed his palms together and bowed respectfully toward the throne, then solemnly began recounting what had happened.
"Your Majesty, please observe with wisdom. That day, the Prince invited this humble monk to determine whether the Heir had been possessed, so as to Rectify the Origin and Return to the Source."
He extended his hand and produced the small box that had contained the heart's blood and the soul fragment.
All eyes turned to Gu Fangchen once more.
After all, his recent transformation had been astonishing, so astonishing that some still suspected he might indeed have been possessed.
No wonder the Northern Garrison Prince had gone to such lengths to summon Juehui. It had been for this very purpose, to confirm his identity.
Gu Fangchen's expression did not change. He never even glanced at the box, his composure unshaken, as if he feared nothing from this so-called verification.
But his hand holding Juehui's arm did not loosen for an instant.
He knew the monk's integrity was genuine, Juehui was a man with nothing to his name except the two items within that box.
Those two items, having been kept beneath a Buddha statue and bathed in its light for years, were practically spiritual treasures themselves.
If Gu Fangchen wished to steal them, he certainly could.
Yet moments later, his expression turned odd.
[You have maintained contact with Juehui for five minutes. Successfully stolen: "A String of Prayer Beads."]
That wasn't right...
Gu Fangchen froze inwardly.
These were just ordinary beads, not a magical treasure.
With the Golden Mother Pearl's effect active, he should never have drawn the lesser item first.
A thought flickered through his mind.
He decided to try again.
Fortunately, Gu Yuye's faction realized the danger and began to intervene, desperately trying to steer the conversation away and defend Gu Yuandao.
[You have maintained contact with Juehui for five minutes. Successfully stolen: "A Copy of the Diamond Sutra."]
By the time Juehui had finished recounting the incident amid the crowd's clamor, Gu Fangchen quietly exhaled.
His suspicion was confirmed.
The monk's box no longer contained the original heart's blood or the soul fragment.
Gu Yuye's allies had tried their best, but it was plain to all that Gu Yuandao's actions reeked of guilt.
Anyone with a shred of sense could see he hadn't been tricked or misunderstood.
After all, the representatives of the Seven Sects had testified that Gu Yuandao had secretly made a pact with them to use the grand formation.
If he had been truly innocent, why not explain himself? Why attack instead? And even after it was over, why never release Master Juehui?
Clearly, he had intended to use the Mountain and River Diagram to take Juehui's life.
And no one dared question the monk's testimony.
Leaving aside that he was a high monk of Garan Temple, a man who had devoted his entire life to the Dharma without a single blemish to his name, Buddhist monks, after all, were the masters of debate.
Gu Yuandao's reputation, no matter how bright, could not compare to that of a monk who had ten thousand people's merit bound to his karma, a living Buddha worshipped within the pagodas of the realm.
Moreover, Juehui had attained the power of Reading Minds, able to discern truth from falsehood, a holy man famed throughout the world.
He was no ordinary monk, not someone whom just anyone could call "Master."
Gu Fangchen's counterstroke had been flawless, a blow of magic against magic.
Now, despite all of Gu Yuye's faction's efforts, Gu Yuandao's reputation was beyond saving.
Worse still, the scandal had begun to implicate the Academy itself.
Could Gu Yuandao alone have moved the Seven Sects to act in concert?
There had to be someone within the Academy backing him.
Juehui spoke solemnly, "Your Majesty, this monk's life is of no consequence, but without the Heir's intervention, countless innocents across the four southwestern provinces would have perished."
"I beseech Your Majesty to restore order within the court, and to investigate whether others were complicit in this matter."
Gu Fangchen released Juehui's arm and stepped forward, his voice firm and clear.
"If anyone still doubts, I have with me the confessions of the Seven Sects' envoys and the blueprints of the Dragon-Serpent Ascending Formation, evidence both human and material."
"This formation bears clear traces of Confucian methods, drawing on the power of mountains and rivers. It must have been created by a Confucian scholar."
"Gu Yuandao was a disciple of the Sage, how could he fall to such depths? I fear the Academy itself harbors traitors colluding with the Demonic Sect!"
His eyes narrowed as he swept his gaze across the room. None dared meet his eyes.
"Well?" he asked softly. "Am I wrong?"
No one answered.
The situation had already escalated beyond a family dispute; it was now a matter between the Confucian Academy and the Imperial Court.
This was not a burden anyone could afford to bear.
Still, their expressions grew uneasy. His words were polite enough, yet his meaning was plain.
He, Gu Fangchen, was not the one colluding with the Demonic Sect.
It was Gu Yuandao.
"I am sickened by such hypocrisy," Gu Fangchen declared, voice full of righteous indignation. "How could I treat such a two-faced, sanctimonious scoundrel with courtesy?"
He raised his voice, full of passion.
"On this entire journey, whenever I thought of the Sword Pavilion, of the innocent people of the four southwestern provinces, of the Seven Sects deceived by the Demonic Sect, my heart felt as though it were being cut by knives!"
He clenched his fist. "To let him die by his own devices, what was wrong with that? And yet the Northern Garrison Prince would accuse me? How absurd!"
He turned to Gu Yuye with a grin.
"Or is it that you and your son were in it together from the very start?"
Gu Yuye did not respond, his tone cold as he faced the throne.
"Your Majesty, justice must be impartial. Even if my son was misled by the Demonic Sect and committed grave mistakes, that does not prove Gu Fangchen's innocence."
"I ask Master Juehui to finish what I entrusted to him that day. I wish to see for myself, who this man truly is!"
He had completely abandoned Gu Yuandao's reputation. His only goal now was to prove that Gu Fangchen had been possessed or was connected to the Demonic Sect.
Gu Fangchen's expression remained calm as he looked at Juehui.
But what would the monk say, when the two key items were no longer in his possession?
He truly didn't understand why Juehui hadn't brought them.
Either someone had warned him beforehand not to, or he simply couldn't, because they had disappeared.
Juehui pressed his palms together and said calmly,
"There is no need to test further. This monk can attest that the Heir is indeed himself, not possessed by another."
He lifted the box in his hand without flinching.
"These heart's blood and soul fragments need not be merged with the body to verify the soul's authenticity. If there had been any change, I would have sensed it long ago in Garan Temple."
"After all, the Flower-Grasping seal I left upon the Heir remains intact, neither removed nor overwritten."
Gu Yuye's face darkened further.
Gu Fangchen, meanwhile, nearly twitched.
He hadn't expected Master Juehui to lie so brazenly.
So much for monks never speaking falsehoods!
Inwardly, he felt an odd mix of amusement and guilt, but outwardly he simply pressed his palms together.
"My thanks to Master Juehui for clearing my name."
Juehui shook his head slightly, sending him a discreet sound transmission.
"Your Highness," came the monk's voice in his mind, "it's of no great matter, but if possible, could you return the prayer beads and the sutra to me?"
Gu Fangchen: "..."
"Of course," he replied awkwardly. "I'll... return them."
Being so close to a conscious monk with so few belongings, it really had been impossible to steal unnoticed.
He exhaled softly. "Now, this should be enough to prove my innocence and condemn Gu Yuandao, yes?"
He turned toward Gu Yuye. "Do you have anything left to say? Best speak now. Later, you won't get another chance."
Gu Yuye clenched his fists and drew a deep breath, but before he could speak, a sudden shout rang through the hall.
"Look! Quickly, look at the Mountain and River Diagram!"