In the 107th year of the Shenglong era, the crown prince was kneeling, bound in an awkward position. His body, thin to the bone, exuded an unbearable stench. He didn't know how long he'd been locked up. It must have been a long time.
"Your Highness, please come out," said the guard.
Liu Zhen opened his eyes.
"How did I end up like this?" Liu Zhen thought as he struggled to stand.
He felt very uncomfortable. The guard helped him up. He had been kneeling for a long time. His legs were barely functioning.
"Why? Why is this happening to me? I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Someone help me, please."
Although Liu Zhen thought about it, he didn't dare say it out loud. It was embarrassing.The guards dragged him through the cold corridor. There were countless cells, and torches flickered as if what little fire remained was about to be extinguished. The guards helped him up the stairs, where all he could hear was the rattling of his own chains. Liu Zhen's scalp felt numb.As he stepped out into the courtyard, the daylight almost blinded him. He had to close his eyes, as the guards held his arms. A carriage was waiting for him. The carriage wasn't elegant at all; it looked more like a dog cage.
"Where are we going?" Although Liu Zhen spoke to the guard almost in a whisper, the guard heard him and replied, "Your Highness will be taken to the Golden Hall to be judged by the Emperor."
"Really?" he asked. There was a tinge of deep sadness in his voice. The guard didn't respond and led him to the dog cage.
In the Golden Hall of the Imperial Palace, a man sat atop a throne decorated with gold and scarlet cushions, his legs crossed and his hands motionless. His gaze regarded Liu Zhen with sternness and a hint of sadness.
A tall man with long white hair stood beside the emperor. His dagger-like gaze was cold and filled with contempt for Liu Zhen. This man named Xue Jian was the supreme censor of the imperial court. Few names were spoken with as much respect and care as his.
He wasn't a noble by blood, but he enjoyed great respect in the imperial court. His status and authority extended to every clan. His presence in this place couldn't be a good sign. Liu Zhen felt a cold sweat break out on his back at the sight.
The Emperor signaled the censor, indicating that they could begin.He nodded and began to speak in a firm voice.
- By decree of the Imperial Court, and in the name of His Majesty and the stability of the Empire, the following sentence is hereby pronounced against First Prince Liu Zhen, accused of crimes of high treason.Including corruption through illegal gold, unauthorized military mobilization, interference in clan affairs, complicity in the death of the fourth prince, and the indirect assassination of a high-ranking general, General Hao Yao.
As the censor listed all the alleged crimes he didn't commit, or at least couldn't remember committing, his head spun as he thought about his younger brother; it was obvious he loved his brother; how could he even lay a hand on him? It was truly ridiculous.
The defendant accepted 37 batches of gold, equivalent to approximately 740 jin (444 kilograms), secretly delivered by the Hanlong and Zhu clans, known for their opposition to the military council. The gold is suspected of being used to buy loyalties in the Liang River provinces and bribe public officials.
Under the command of the Crown Prince, 1,200 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the Front Guard were deployed to the borders without imperial permission. This maneuver coincided with the sudden withdrawal of the Qi clan, a former ally of the throne, which caused conflicts between the Fanyao tribes and the local administration.
During the conflict between the Zhao clan and the Jinyue clan, the prince interfered in the negotiations, causing the collapse of a truce treaty and the loss of three farming villages in the Xinyang region.
Killed in an ambush at Jinmeng Pass, intercepted letters are described which suggest that the prince knew of the convoy's movements before the attack that led to the death of the fourth prince Liu Ren, son of Imperial Consort Qiao, now an ally of the Zhao clan.
Commander of the Eastern Border Army, assassinated after a forged mobilization order was traced to a seal used by Crown Prince Liu Zhen.
The verdict of the imperial court was that Liu Zhen be stripped of his title of Crown Prince and that his execution would take place at dawn on the 19th day of the sixth month of the year 107, accused of the aforementioned crimes.
Liu Zhen's entire body trembled. When had he ever done something like this? He would never do something like this. He raised his head and, with tears in his eyes, said with great effort.
"Father..."
"I'm sure you're very capable, Liu Zhen. I'm impressed that you can kill your own brother."
"Father... I would never..."
"Shut up and kneel before me. You're scum worse than a beast. Your mother and her clan will be executed with you. get him out of my sight!"
The soldiers who were guarding Liu Zhen, seeing the fury in the emperor's eyes. They took Liu Zhen by the arms and took him to To the cage where they had taken him, causing him deep humiliation and sadness.
"I couldn't even apologize? I couldn't even explain myself? It was truly unfair. I don't have the strength to run away. I couldn't go on living either. My mother and the entire clan will suffer because of me. But what exactly did I do wrong?"
While he was thinking about this he hadn't realized that they had already arrived and when he saw that the prisoner didn't come down the guard became impatient and took him out by force and threw him into the cell where he had been kneeling for days very roughly causing Liu Zhen to hurt himself, he could no longer stop suffering with great effort he lay down curled up and fell asleep.
The day of the execution arrived.
The execution platform felt cold beneath his feet.
Although he hadn't even stopped breathing, he was already dead.
But his father had no intention of forgiving him, much less letting him go. Several soldiers approached and tightly bound his hands and feet with thick ropes.
Liu Zhen was confused.He didn't understand.
Not until he saw the soldiers' position. And then he struck him.
By the time he tried to resist, it was too late. All four of them pulled the ropes at once, severing his limbs, making blood splatter everywhere causing Liu Zhen to scream in pain
"AHHHHH!!! HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT'S PAINFUL PLEASE KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME I WANT TO DIE"
Such a horrible, terrifying scream so horriblythat it shook everyone present to their bones. It was an unforgettable sound. A scream filled with pure pain, fear, and disbelief. The emperor had ordered it this way.So that he would die in agony, slowly bleeding to death.
On a rooftop, a fox with half its fur gray and the other half black with jade green eyes looked at the scene with a complicated look full of sadness. This fox was known as a gray fox, although its fur was a different color. It was called that because of its large tail.
It was a highly sought-after spiritual animal in the world. But this fox unfortunately had no tail.It was as if its tail had been ripped off, but it was still alive. Although the gray fox's tail was its lifeblood, this little fox watched the massacre without blinking.
When Liu Zhen died, the fox turned around, couldn't stand it anymore and allowed itself to be thrown from the high roof, dying upon impact with the ground.
Hanlong (韓龍) — A northern merchant clan known for its ties to mercenary troops.
Zhu (朱) — A family of bureaucrats with a long history at court.
Zhao (趙) — An aristocratic clan allied with the Council of Elders.
Jinyue (金月) — A neutral clan affected by agrarian disputes.
Qi (齊) — A military family with power in the west.
Liu Ren (劉仁) — The fourth imperial prince, who died at Jingmen Pass.
Han Yao (韓堯) — A general in the east, killed under false orders.
This work is fiction and is set in a fictional imperial world. It contains sensitive themes that may be disturbing to some readers, including suicide, murder, domestic violence, military conflict, emotional manipulation, betrayal, and abuse of power.