Chapter 2: I Have Come to Rebel!

Every official in the court stared, dumbstruck.

He… wasn’t dead?

The minister nearest the pillar instinctively glanced at the spot where Li Che had struck it.

There was a clear dent in the pillar, flecked with blood.

After a blow like that… he was alive?

The physician who had examined Li Che collapsed in terror.

He could feel the emperor’s chilling gaze settle on him, as though he were already a dead man.

The Sixth Prince had come back to life. The physician and his entire extended family, however, were probably about to be executed.

Li Che gripped the decree, unable to contain his excitement.

He had meant to lie on the floor and play dead, but once he heard that Ninggu Commandery lay beyond Shanhai Pass, he simply could not help himself.

Beyond Shanhai Pass—the Three Northeastern Provinces. That land was a treasure trove!

More importantly, he knew it.

As a mineral exploration specialist, Li Che had committed the location of every mineral deposit in that region to memory.

The body’s original owner had possessed no foothold at court whatsoever. They had hounded him so relentlessly that he had smashed his own head against a pillar.

Stay in the capital, and Li Che would die sooner or later. Better to head for the Northeast and quietly build up his strength.

“Che’er, are you hurt?”

The emperor’s voice was almost casual.

Only then did Li Che rein in his excitement and look up at the sovereign at the head of the hall.

One glance left him momentarily dazed.

A founding emperor, all right. The sheer presence of the man was almost suffocating.

He looked about forty, with a resolute face and faintly drawn brows.

His eyes were deep and sharp. He needed no show of anger to command awe; a single glance made his unquestionable authority felt.

“I still feel a little dizzy, Father.” Li Che held his head.

“Go to the Imperial Medical Hall and have the physicians examine you. Then come to Yangxin Hall to see Me.” The emperor’s tone allowed no argument.

“As you command, Father.”

Li Che tucked the decree into his robes and turned toward the doors.

At the order, the physician prostrate on the floor took the opportunity to get up and support Li Che as he walked, hoping to slip out of trouble along with him.

Li Che had no intention of exposing him. Being an imperial physician was hardly easy, and technically the man had not even made a wrong diagnosis.

Then the emperor’s cold voice came from behind them.

“An incompetent physician who failed in his duty. What punishment does he deserve?”

The hands supporting Li Che jolted. There was a thump.

Li Che looked down. The physician had slid to his knees.

“Mercy, Your Majesty! Mercy!”

The emperor glanced at him.

“Behead him. Confiscate his property. Exile his entire household to Ninggu Commandery.”

What the hell?

We’re not even pretending anymore? Is this a demonstration of what Ninggu Commandery is actually for?

Watching two armored soldiers drag the limp physician away, Li Che thought he understood the emperor’s message.

This… was not over.

The emperor had spared him for the moment because he had just granted him a princely title in front of the entire court.

An emperor’s word was binding. However powerful he was, he could not reverse himself in public.

But the sorcery accusation remained unresolved. The real danger was still ahead!

Alarm replaced Li Che’s excitement, and he quickened his steps.

The ministers moved aside as if he carried the plague.

……

The physicians at the Imperial Medical Hall examined Li Che and released him only after confirming that he was not seriously unwell.

Following the original owner’s memories, he found his way to Yangxin Hall inside the imperial city.

Once the palace guards announced his arrival, Huang Jin soon emerged and gave him an expressionless look.

“Your Highness. His Majesty summons you.”

Li Che walked straight into the hall without so much as looking at the old eunuch bastard.

The old scoundrel was no innocent. He was one of the chief culprits behind the plot against the body’s original owner.

Yangxin Hall was where the Qing Emperor attended to affairs of state. Its furnishings were far from lavish; they were almost plain.

Extravagance had no place at the Qing Emperor’s court. On the contrary, he prized thrift so highly that even his ministers’ salaries had been pared to the bone.

The moment Li Che entered, he felt an intimidating gaze fasten on him.

Behind a desk in the center of the hall, the Qing Emperor studied his sixth son with eyes that seemed intent on stripping him bare.

“Your son pays his respects, Father.” Li Che stepped forward and bowed.

The Qing Emperor said nothing. He simply watched him.

Li Che calmly met his gaze.

Surprise stirred in the emperor. Li Che was no longer flinching from his eyes.

Suddenly, the son before him seemed unfamiliar—so unfamiliar that even he could not quite read him.

An indeterminate time passed. Li Che’s raised arms were beginning to ache when the emperor finally spoke, his voice cool.

“Li Che. Do you know what you have done wrong?”

“I do not, Father.” Li Che took the opportunity to lower his aching arms.

The emperor narrowed his eyes.

“Then do you know why I summoned you here?”

“I do not know that either.” Resolve flashed in Li Che’s eyes. “But I have come here to rebel!”

The Qing Emperor’s pupils contracted. For the first time, astonishment broke through his composed expression.

“What did you say?”

“I said…” Li Che clasped his hands in salute once more and repeated loudly, “I have come to rebel against Your Majesty!”