Dawn broke.

At the Great Gan, the Winter Solstice brought three days of holiday. Yet, early on the second day, officials from the Zhenmusi, Jingzhao Fu, Xingbu, and Dali Si found themselves restless.

Sheng Qingfeng personally led his subordinates to kick open the doors of Zhenyuan Houfu and dragged Huo Qi, who was anxiously awaiting news from the assassin, out of his room.

Huo Xingyuan rushed over to stop them. “Chief Sheng, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” Sheng Qingfeng was even more furious than him. “Your second son is about to die, and you’re still asking what’s going on!”

Huo Xingyuan’s face instantly changed. “That’s impossible!”

Sheng Qingfeng sneered, glancing at him. “I’ve already reported to His Majesty. There will be a joint trial by the three judicial departments; the Marquis can attend as an observer.” With that, he simply dragged Huo Qi away.

Huo Xingyuan was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend how Huo Qi dared, or why he would. The position of heir apparent was always his! He had no intention of replacing Huo Zhang. What was Huo Qi imagining, and what was he doing?

Huo Qi was a respectable Shilang, a significant official, a true “high-ranking minister,” and a backbone of the Great Gan dynasty. An official of such standing attempting fratricide was a shocking case that immediately reached the imperial ear. Gu Zhanting, still “recuperating,” was enraged and ordered a joint trial.

Huo Xingyuan rushed to the Zhenmusi. Sheng Qingfeng sat high in the main hall, below him a black-clad assassin, looking dejected, was being held. Huo Qi stood by the side, still somewhat dazed, as if not fully sober. In an adjacent room, Huo Zhang lay, attended by a group of alchemists and physicians.

Lu Xingzhou, however, was not by Huo Zhang’s side at the moment. He was squatting by the door of the adjacent room with Sheng Yuanyao and Pei Chuyun, eating melon seeds and listening to the trial.

Huo Xingyuan, for a moment, didn’t care about the interrogation. He quickly entered the side room and asked Lu Xingzhou, “What exactly happened?”

Lu Xingzhou stepped aside, accompanying him in, and said calmly, “Second Brother was attacked at Yihong Lou in the early hours. Our family happened to be out shopping and passed by, so we gave Second Brother some preliminary treatment. He’s not dead yet, but I don’t think he’ll make it through the night.”

Huo Xingyuan quickly went to Huo Zhang’s bedside, his hands trembling as he looked at his dying, unconscious son. “Who did this? Who did this!”

Lu Xingzhou remained silent.

After asking, Huo Xingyuan realized how foolish his question was; Huo Qi was already being tried in the main hall… He abruptly turned and stared at Lu Xingzhou. “You arrived so coincidentally; is it unrelated to you?”

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, “The Marquis’s first priority shouldn’t be to suspect me, but to thank me for temporarily saving Second Brother’s life, and allowing him to hear his last words.”

A physician beside them also reprimanded, “What is the Marquis saying? If it weren’t for Physician Lu’s timely treatment with the Jade Pond Holy Land’s Cleansing Water and proper hemostasis and bandaging, your son would already be dead!”

Huo Xingyuan pursed his lips, and after a long moment, whispered, “Apologies… Thank you.”

Under the treatment of a group of top physicians, Huo Zhang slowly regained consciousness, weakly calling out, “Father…”

Huo Xingyuan immediately took out a pill, dissolved it in water, and tried to feed it to Huo Zhang. But the water wouldn’t go down his throat.

Huo Xingyuan urgently said, “Cut him open! Force the medicine in! We can cure him!”

The physician next to him sighed. “Marquis, Young Master’s injuries cannot withstand any more disturbance. If his abdomen is cut open, I fear he will immediately die.”

Huo Zhang, his voice faint, said, “No need to bother… Father, I only have one thing to say…”

Huo Xingyuan quickly said, “Say it, Father is listening.”

“In my life… you were always biased… now that I’m dead… you must not be biased anymore…” After struggling to say this, as if fulfilling a wish, he fainted again.

Lu Xingzhou could tell that this time he wasn’t merely unconscious; without celestial magic beyond this world’s understanding, he would likely never wake up again. Speaking of which, Huo Er was quite something; his last words directly criticized favoritism, showing deep resentment. With these last words, Huo Xingyuan’s heart must have been deeply pained.

He took a deep breath and strode into the main hall. The first thing he heard was the black-clad assassin confessing, “Yes, Shilang Huo asked me to kill Huo Zhang.”

Huo Qi was shouting, “No! This is slander!”

Normally, Huo Xingyuan would probably intervene, at least to postpone the interrogation. But at this moment, an inexplicable rage rushed to his head. He stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap to Huo Qi’s face, spinning him 360 degrees. This showed that even the father was certain Huo Qi was the culprit…

Because Huo Qi had too many previous offenses. He killed Huo Shang back then, and though others didn’t know about Huo Lu’s incident later, how could Huo Xingyuan not be aware? In fact, there was more than just these two incidents; there was another. At that time, he hired Ye Wufeng to assassinate Lu Xingzhou. Since the actual person in charge was Huo Jin, the fifth brother, Huo Jin took the blame and is still in prison. But Huo Xingyuan knew very well that the instigator was still Huo Qi. Coupled with the assassin being caught on the spot, it was almost impossible to deny. Perhaps the interrogation would even bring up previous offenses; it was all over.

But after Huo Xingyuan delivered that slap, he knew that even if Huo Qi was guilty, his family had to protect him. So he said nothing more and immediately went to ask his own father, Huo Liancheng, to come out of seclusion and meet Gu Zhanting. Only Gu Zhanting’s word could save him.

But… “Now that I’m dead… you must not be biased anymore…” Huo Zhang’s last words still echoed in his ears, and Huo Xingyuan couldn’t describe what he felt.

Lu Xingzhou watched Huo Xingyuan’s faltering steps, a hint of a smile on his face. This was just the beginning… The taste of a family’s ruin… it had only just begun.

The interrogation was almost without suspense. How could a young master like Huo Qi withstand the immense pressure of a joint trial by the three departments? Once his psychological defenses crumbled, he spilled all his previous offenses like beans from a bamboo tube.

For a time, public opinion in the capital was in an uproar. A dignified Shilang, committing fratricide, and not just once! Even Huo Lu’s death last time was by his hand! Huo Lu was already a living dead man; he didn’t even spare a living dead man, just to frame Lu Xingzhou? Further back, he entrapped Huo Jin, killed Huo Shang; his past crimes were too numerous to count.

Such crimes, according to normal judgment, would absolutely not escape an immediate execution. One wondered what result the hastily emerged Huo Liancheng would achieve by seeking Gu Zhanting. But whatever the result, the lightest punishment would be exile. The laws of the Great Gan were clear, and even the Emperor could not act recklessly.

Lu Xingzhou stepped into the Huo Residence amidst the gloomy atmosphere, having been invited to continue treating Huo Zhang. At a time when even immortal elixirs were ineffective, a cultivator like him, with the sacred healing arts of the Jade Pond Holy Land, was Huo Zhang’s last straw, especially since he had saved him initially.

Lu Xingzhou didn’t make any demands, entering the Huo Residence quite directly.

“Grand Tutor and Marquis should know, at this point, we are merely doing our utmost; the possibility of saving him is very low, almost nonexistent,” Lu Xingzhou said, sitting by Huo Zhang’s bed after performing some incantations, glancing at Huo Liancheng, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. Huo Liancheng’s hair was gray, but his eyes were sharp like electricity. It could roughly be judged that he might have truly broken through to the transcendent rank. This early emergence from seclusion due to disturbance didn’t seem to have too much impact on his breakthrough, which was a bit of a pity. However, his spirit was somewhat dispirited; clearly, such a disgraceful family matter was unbearable even for the Grand Tutor.

Huo Liancheng waved his hand. “Just do your best… we can still think of other ways.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly. He knew what methods they were thinking of, nothing more than turning their attention to people from the Ancient Realm, to see if there were more powerful immortal arts—and this matter could also lead to a judgment: if they didn’t seek Jiang Duxu, it meant they had someone else they could turn to. The whereabouts of Zhaoneng could be glimpsed from the Huo family’s reaction.

He didn’t say much more, simply stood up and walked out of Huo Zhang’s room. “Now, among the Huo family, only Huo Heng can be cultivated… you must keep a close eye on him, don’t let anything happen to him again.”

Huo Heng stood by the side, unable to hide the joy on his face. Among the Huo brothers, Huo Zhang was clearly not going to live; even if by some stroke of luck he was saved, he would likely be a cripple. Huo Qi might be executed, or at best exiled if he survived. Huo Lu and Huo Yu were dead, and Huo Jin also had the dark history of having been imprisoned. No matter how one looked at it, the position of heir apparent was about to fall to him.

Then Lu Xingzhou glanced at him and suddenly added, “Huo Qi cannot be saved, but Huo Jin still can be. If Huo Qi takes all the blame from back then, Huo Jin might even be exonerated. Should I mention this to my father-in-law?”

Huo Xingyuan was delighted. “Xingzhou is willing to mention it?”

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, “I am also willing to treat Second Brother.”

Huo Heng’s face instantly changed. It was one thing to get him out of prison, but what did ‘exonerate’ mean? Was he trying to get in his way? If he was exonerated, the so-called dark history of being imprisoned would no longer be a dark history; instead, he would be someone due compensation. Did that mean the heir apparent position, which he already had in his grasp, would become turbulent again?

“Lu Xingzhou, are you sick? Huo Jin isn’t wronged at all. Even if he was instigated by Huo Qi to hire assassins to kill you, he was indeed the one who handled it. Why are you repaying evil with good here?”

Lu Xingzhou squinted at his chameleon-like expression, a faint smile playing on his lips. “It’s just that Grand Tutor and Marquis should pay attention. This tradition of fraternal strife seems to be a cherished virtue of the Huo family. Don’t let another incident like this happen; that would truly be a laughingstock for all under heaven.”

Huo Liancheng and Huo Xingyuan also noticed Huo Heng’s unconcealed expression, and their faces changed simultaneously. Huo Xingyuan slapped him. “Go kneel in the ancestral hall. Don’t come out until you’ve thought it through!”

Huo Heng was beaten and sent to kneel in the ancestral hall without saying a word. This incident clearly showed the state of panic within the Huo family at this moment.

Lu Xingzhou left the Huo Residence with a chuckle, returning to the Lu Residence half a street away. If there was a tradition of fraternal strife, it probably started with Huo Liancheng… Wasn’t their massacre of Lu Xingzhou’s family also a case of brothers harming each other?

Back at the Lu Residence, several people were already waiting there. They were Lu Xingzhou’s subordinates from the Protocol Office, scholars from Prince Jin’s retinue whom Qi Zhizhi had helped recruit earlier. Lu Xingzhou gestured for them to sit and casually asked, “When you were with Prince Jin, who among you was familiar with the inner workings of the Dali Si prison?”

Someone bowed and smiled obsequiously. “I’m an expert in this… Sometimes, people who offended Prince Jin were thrown into prison and ‘died’ silently inside. I’ve handled such matters a few times; I know the prison well.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly. “Then do it again. Remember to ‘accidentally’ let slip a message to the people inside: ‘Third Master Huo hopes Fifth Master never gets out.'”