"It's all because of you!"
The moment Li Ju came close, the Crown Prince suddenly erupted! Catching everyone off guard, the enraged Chen Shuo used both hands to tightly grip Li Ju's throat, the immense force instantly making Li Ju feel an unprecedented sensation of suffocation.
"It's you! Go to hell!"
"Audacious! Pull them apart!"
This sudden change made Chen Junting's expression change drastically! In his great fury, the surrounding eunuchs rushed forward, only then barely managing to save Li Ju from the brink of death.
"Kneel!"
"Unfilial son!"
Chen Junting looked at the kneeling Crown Prince, rage filling his chest. Under his ashen face, the finger pointing at Chen Shuo trembled from extreme anger. Yet even so, the clarity in the depths of his eyes forced him to calm down, but looking at Crown Prince Chen Shuo's face...
"From today onwards! You are confined to the Eastern Palace! Without my decree for a year, you shall not take a single step out! Get out of my sight!"
Chen Shuo was forcefully "escorted" out by the guards, and his departing silhouette was reflected in the depths of Chen Junting's pupils.
At this time, Li Ju, having caught his breath, returned to Chen Junting's side. "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince he..."
"Shut up!"
At this angry reprimand, Li Ju immediately didn't dare to speak. Seeing this, Jialing quickly and gently comforted him. "Your Majesty, calm your anger~ calm your anger~"
...
"The resistance of his mind is so intense."
Divine Realm, Forest of Life.
At this very moment, everything happening in Chen Junting's state of mind was seen by the God of Lust and the others. But clearly, the current progress of the original sin's invasion did not satisfy them.
"This is much harder than Greed."
And from the very beginning, the first thirty-plus years of development in the state of mind hit a wall. No matter how the three major original sins of Lust, Sloth, and Pride invaded, Chen Junting's heart was as unshakeable as stone and iron, until he reached middle age before it finally affected him.
But who would have thought...
"ZZZ—, pop—"
Suddenly the God of Sloth's snot bubble popped, and he stated bluntly: "That Crown Prince is the resistance of his mind."
The God of Pride crossed his arms over his chest, "By your logic, if we just find a way to remove this 'Crown Prince', then our progress might be smoother. That's what you mean, right."
The God of Sloth nodded slightly, then fell silent.
"It seems it won't work relying just on you guys."
The God of Envy looked at the God of Lust at this moment, teasing, "Look, aside from this mind's resistance, your original sin laws can't even completely suppress the clarity of his mind's true incarnation. Maybe soon, he'll clear the stage."
"I don't need you to tell me that."
The God of Lust rolled her eyes, a flash of conflict passing through as she watched the changes in Chen Junting's state of mind. Then, she turned her head to look at their Lord, the God of Destruction, who had remained entirely silent and let them argue.
"My Lord, he will probably pass this stage."
"Mm."
The God of Destruction stared at Chen Junting's state of mind. Although he didn't say anything, he was actually very satisfied with him in his heart. It was nothing else but the resistance being too intense. This meant that the three major original sins of Lust, Sloth, and Pride were deeply restrained within his heart, and would basically not affect him.
In that case...
Thinking of this, the God of Destruction suddenly looked at the God of Wrath. This glance was also keenly noticed by the Goddess of Life.
"Destruction, you want Wrath to intervene in this trial too?"
As soon as the Goddess of Life said this, she immediately attracted the attention of the Seven Deadly Sin Gods. And hearing this, the God of Wrath said directly, "My Lord, do you need me to make a move and intervene in the trial?"
"Go, but you must find the right opportunity."
The God of Destruction didn't respond to the Goddess of Life immediately. Instead, he pointed at Chen Junting's state of mind and said to the God of Wrath, "Having watched for so long, what do you think, in a state of mind like his, would most arouse his fury and make him lose his reason?"
"Uh—" The God of Wrath was instantly speechless and choked up. There was nothing he could do; this truly stumped him.
But right at this moment, "It's power."
Perhaps having the most insight, or perhaps being the wisest, the God of Greed instantly gave the answer. "As an emperor, what they can tolerate the least is having their power seized."
"So?"
Seeing the God of Destruction neither confirm nor deny, the God of Wrath didn't ask his Lord, but instead sought guidance from the God of Greed who had spoken. "What do you say?"
Hearing this, the God of Greed couldn't help but inwardly curse "Brute."
"How would I know? Just say it! What are you thinking about!?" Seeing the God of Greed counter with a question instead, the God of Wrath's short temper flared up. Unable to hold back, he demanded loudly!
"It's rebellion! Make that Crown Prince rebel!"
Clearly, the God of Greed's idea was to let the God of Wrath intervene in Chen Junting's state of mind and turn the entire situation into the Crown Prince rebelling. This way, as long as Chen Junting's mind's true incarnation, under the guidance of the original sin of Wrath, killed the "Crown Prince" in a fit of rage, then the strongest resistance from his mind would no longer exist.
In this way, coupled with the four major original sins attacking together... within the state of mind, the ebb and flow of both sides' resistance and invasion would shift, and the difficulty of Chen Junting's second stage trial would be greatly increased.
"Is there still a need for this?" Seeing the God of Wrath intervene and make his move, the Goddess of Life couldn't help but ask the God of Destruction. In her view, since the three major original sins could no longer do anything to Chen Junting, they should just let this stage pass smoothly. Why was there a need to temporarily add Wrath?
"Of course there is."
The God of Destruction gave his view, "Actually, I no longer hold out hope for the trials of Envy and Gluttony. Because for this kid, these two original sins might be the lowest; even if we add Wrath in the third stage, it probably won't help."
"Since that's the case, it's better to increase the difficulty of the second stage. As for the remaining two original sins... just going through the motions will be enough."
To this, the Goddess of Life did not hold an opposing attitude. "Very well, I will follow your decision."
...
Autumn, Eighth Year of Yongjia, Eastern Palace of the Crown Prince.
At this moment, Crown Prince Chen Shuo had long been unconfined.
But he was now extremely anxious, "Why won't Imperial Father see me? He won't even let me through the door. All the household servants I sent to the Zichen Hall, the Maze Tower, the Mountain Villa, and the Qionglin Garden were all turned away. I simply can't figure out what he's thinking right now!?"
And what made him even more anxious was that his Imperial Father had not held court for a full two years. In the seventh year of Yongjia, at least some ministers could still see Chen Junting in person, but in the eighth year of Yongjia, since his un-confinement, the people of the outer court had not seen him at all.
If the current situation in the world hadn't deteriorated into such a mess, even seeing small-scale peasant uprisings, perhaps Crown Prince Chen Shuo wouldn't be in such a rush to seek an audience with his Imperial Father. But now... it couldn't go on!
"Your Highness, could it be that witch, and those treacherous ones like Li Ju! Have they hijacked the Emperor, intending to rebel?" At this moment, a subordinate official suddenly said to Chen Shuo.
However, what met him was Chen Shuo's inexplicable gaze. Clearly, he did not believe this situation.
However, "Crown Prince, this is an opportunity!" This time, another subordinate official of the Crown Prince said to Chen Shuo: "The current Emperor has been blinded by petty men, causing the world to fall into chaos. If we ignore this again, I'm afraid the empire's collapse will be right before our eyes!"
Hearing this, the Crown Prince did not angrily rebuke them. Because he already understood the implications of their words. Clearly, they were suggesting that he rebel under the banner of "purging the Emperor's side," to stop his Imperial Father from acting recklessly, thereby saving the country and the people.
But...
Seeing the Crown Prince show hesitation, the officials immediately said: "Crown Prince! You cannot hesitate!"
At this moment, Chen Shuo's eyes suddenly became resolute.
He drew his sword, "Everyone listen to my orders, follow me!"
"Purge the Emperor's side!"
Thus, on the night of this day, Crown Prince Chen Shuo directly raised his troops and attacked in the direction of the Zichen Hall. But clearly, though the dragon was old, its might remained. Even though the Crown Prince had supervised the country for many years and had no lack of factions in the court, even so, he was easily captured.
Not long after, an imperial decree came down. Except for the Crown Prince, all those who participated in this matter shall be executed along with their entire families!
...
The next day, the Zichen Hall was close at hand.
Under the "escort" of the imperial guards, the Crown Prince stepped in, came to the center of the great hall, and couldn't help but lose himself in thought when he saw Chen Junting. Afterward, the imperial guards brought the Crown Prince here and then retreated, leaving no one else in the entire Zichen Hall except for the father and son.
"Kneel!"
Veins bulged on Chen Junting's forehead as he shouted furiously. His entire being was like an old dragon, rage bursting from his eyes!
Chen Shuo didn't say a word, silently kneeling.
For a moment, the entire great hall became chillingly terrifying.
"Actually, what I am going to say, you know very well."
Suddenly, an unusually flat tone came from Chen Junting's mouth. At this moment, he sat upright on the dragon throne, motionless, seemingly accumulating his rage, like an active volcano ready to erupt at any moment. His gaze stared straight at Chen Shuo, incredibly icy.
"Today, I want to hear you say it. Aren't you the Crown Prince?"
Chen Shuo looked at his Imperial Father, kneeling on the ground motionless, suddenly spacing out again. Only when he came back to his senses did he slowly open his mouth, "I have been the Crown Prince for thirty years. In the position of the Crown Prince, does Imperial Father know what I have done?"
Seeing him ask in return, Chen Junting tilted his head slightly. Forcibly suppressing his anger, he said, "I know."
Hearing this, Chen Shuo continued to press, "Then does Imperial Father know the things I did in the first twenty-two years? Or these eight years of Yongjia?"
Chen Junting slightly closed his eyes, "The first twenty-two years."
Chen Shuo raised his voice, shouting without sparing any face, "Then what about the latter eight years, these eight years since Yongjia? Does Imperial Father still know what I have done? If you know, then does Imperial Father know of the first and second years of Yongjia? Or the third to sixth years? Or perhaps the period from the sixth to the eighth year? Imperial Father, do you know!?"
The Crown Prince's harsh questioning made Chen Junting lower his head and look around. In the depths of his eyes, dark blue, dark green, dark red, and especially the most striking dark orange—the four colors constantly intertwined, constantly oppressing the sliver of clarity flickering in the depths of his eyes.
"Father!"
Suddenly, Crown Prince Chen Shuo gave a loud shout!
"Father, do you know! In the first and second years of Yongjia, you spent massive funds to build the Mountain Villa and the Qionglin Garden. From the third year of Yongjia to the sixth year, you wanted to build the Maze Tower on a grand scale, favored the witch, reused treacherous ministers, sold official positions, and rarely handled court affairs for three years; the court and the public were discussing it, the common people were in an uproar, and it was already a scene of chaos. After the sixth year of Yongjia, you haven't held court for a long time, and it was I who handled the court affairs. Father! Do you know that this world has already—"
"Shut up!"
At the very moment Chen Shuo spoke his last word, Chen Junting almost simultaneously roared out. Now, the depths of his eyes were completely occupied by dark orange, and his chest full of anger erupted completely at this moment!
"I am asking you!"
"Why did you rebel!?"
"Heh—"
Hearing this, the Crown Prince suddenly laughed. He slowly stood up; Chen Junting just watched him, not choosing to stop him.
"I was just getting to why I rebelled."
The Crown Prince stared fixedly at Chen Junting, his tone heavy.
"Rebelling is to save the country, to save the people, and therefore it must offend the source. Father, I am the Crown Prince, I am the future heir of the Great Qian Dynasty, and I must be responsible for the common people of the world! I know that tomorrow my head will be separated from my body. But Father, I have one thing to say to you: you cannot continue to be so willful! The foundation of our ancestors cannot be destroyed in your hands!"
"Your Majesty!"
Having said that, Chen Shuo turned and walked toward the outside.
"Unfilial son! Stop right there!"
Immediately after, a fierce wind suddenly struck!
Crown Prince Chen Shuo detected it and suddenly spun around. But he saw that Chen Junting had already arrived behind him, raising his horsewhip and bringing it down. And at this moment, Chen Junting hadn't expected Chen Shuo to suddenly turn around, and couldn't retract his hand in time.
Just like that, Thwack— a fierce whip lashed across Chen Shuo's face.
A bloody mark instantly appeared!
Seeing this scene, Chen Junting was terrified in his heart, even suppressing the anger aroused by the original sin, but his expression didn't change at all. However, his left hand behind his back was trembling incessantly, and his right hand also tightly gripped the horsewhip.
It was just that his eyes remained icy, seeming unmoved.
A scorching, severe pain struck him; Chen Shuo reached out and touched his face, feeling a warm sensation, and his hand was already dripping with blood.
Chen Shuo looked up with an icy stare, and said through gritted teeth:
"Your Majesty using a horsewhip to lash me, is that family law or national law? If it is family law, then is Your Majesty punishing me on behalf of my mother?"
"You still dare to mention your mother?"
"How could I not dare!?"
Chen Shuo raised his eyes and couldn't help but sneer: "I still remember how my mother exhorted me before she passed away on how to be a good Crown Prince, how to be a good future heir. She told me to learn from my father. So, Your Majesty, if you are punishing me on behalf of my mother, then you no longer have the qualifications!"
"If it is national law, then you definitely shouldn't use private torture!"
He turned around once again, ignoring Chen Junting who had a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, and only said in an icy tone: "Your Majesty, I will stay in the Eastern Palace, and together with my wife and children, await the arrival of national law!"
Hearing this, Chen Junting focused his gaze and shouted:
"Shuo'er, don't force me!"
However, this time, there was no response ever again.
A long time later, he was the only one left in the great hall. It wasn't until the arrival of his personal eunuch, who supported the staggering emperor back onto the dragon throne, "I will prove that I am not wrong! And I will not be wrong!"
At this moment, the clarity in the depths of his eyes welled up, occupying a place within the fiery light of anger. "Someone, draft a decree."
"Depose Chen Shuo from his position as Crown Prince, confine him to the hidden palace forever! No one is allowed to visit! All food rations are to be reduced to the bare minimum, just enough to keep him alive!"
I will not be wrong,
and I am not wrong.
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