Villain : I reincarnated as a Prince! Shouldn't I have a Harem?

Shang Long questioned the princess: "Princess Lianhua, please answer the court, did you find Ashen's question an attack on your honor? And if not, was your guard's action as per your wishes or did he act out of his own volition?"

This question was harmful to her either way.

If she were to reply with yes, then she'd have to justify how petty she was that she found a simple question of Ashen an attack on her honor. It'd also justify that she was weak and couldn't defend her honor herself.

If she were to reply with no, then that would mean that the old man acted out of his own volition and that Ashen was innocent and he was attacked without any fault.

Both options were going to her doom.

The first option would harm her reputation and also make her look like a fool who finds just anything an attack on her honor.

The second option would mean abandoning the old man to his fate. Atleast, if she went with the first option, she'd be blamed and the old man's punishment wouldn't be execution since he carried out his duty as her guard because the princess he served was a petty, weak, and fool princess.

Both were unacceptable to her.

The guard was an emperor realm expert and losing him would mean a huge loss to her faction. Also, he was influential and handled almost everything related to the princess, she could never lose him.

On the other hand, her reputation would take a huge hit and she'd become a joke among the masses.

Just what's happening? How did the situation end up this bad?

And since when did Ashen become this terrifying?

The last time I saw him, he was gloomy and underconfident.

I could never have imagined that he could speak this well.

Sigh, though it's regrettable, I can only choose to look like a fool.

I can't lose the first elder of the clan just because he tried to make Ashen kneel.

I can always disregard the rumors as false or try to cover this incident with something else afterwards, but, if the first elder gets executed, that would truly be a loss!

After some pondering, the princess gave her answer: "My lord, It is true that he acted as per my wishes. I simply wanted to discipline my younger brother who talked to me in a disrespectful tone, nothing more."

Shang Long found her answer reasonable as he shifted his focus back to Ashen to hear his response.

To be honest, this was a great answer that let her make the trial more favorable for the old man.

Even the old man couldn't help but reveal a smirk as he watched Ashen carefully to hear his response. He couldn't see a way for Ashen to make the trial go his way anymore. He was certain that he wouldn't be executed.

However, instead of pursuing the matter, Ashen raised his second finger with a smile: "This brings me to my second reason, His crime of attempting of trying to bring the grandson of the Dragon Emperor Shang Long, the great clan head of the Shang clan, to his knees and that too on the land of the Shang Clan and in the presence of the Dragon Emperor himself!"

He asked the judge: "Isn't that an attempt to harm the honor of the Shang Clan and the Dragon Emperor?"

As soon as he finished saying this, murmurs of discussion began to resound in the courtroom.

"He is right, trying to make the young lord of the Shang clan kneel is very different from making the royal prince kneel."

"And that too on the land of the Shang clan."

"Indeed, This can't go unpunished. If we let this go unpunished, what would our clan's reputation be?"

"Correct, if even the grandson of the clan head is disrespected like this in his own clan by outsiders, who would respect our clan's other members?"

"Now it doesn't matter if the princess wanted to discipline her younger brother or not. It is a fact that the grandson of the Shang Clan was disrespected by an outsider cultivator in the clan's capital"

Hearing this murmur, the clan head released a bit of his aura and instantly the courtroom turned silent.

A slight smile revealed on his face for a moment as he looked at Ashen before turning to the old man.

"Defendant, anything to say in your defence?"

The old man had a shocked expression on his face as if his soul had left his body.

Hearing the question, he was jolted awake as he said with a flustered voice: "I-I only carried out my duty as the princess's guard!"

"Doesn't matter!" Shang Long said before narrowing his eyes: "You dared to attack my grandson on the property of the Shang Clan. This is an indirect attack on the clan's dignity and my reputation. You will atleast lose an arm here!"

Hearing this, the old man turned to his only hope — The princess!

As soon as the princess tried to speak, Shang Long stopped her as he warned: "This isn't a matter of brother and sister anymore! If you tried to say that this was your order, then I won't have any other choice but to take this matter to the royal court. You should be aware of what would happen if I were to do that, right?"

The princess hesitantly sat back down after hearing Shang Long's warning.

"I'll now announce the defendant's punishment!" Shang Long announced before,

"Wait! My lord!" Ashen's voice reverberated in the courtroom.

"What is it Ashen?" Shang Long asked with a displeased expression and tone.

"I'd like to mention another crime that he has committed, however, if you were going to announce the punishment as execution then there is no need!"

"Hmm, Go Ahead!" Shang Long gave his permission since he was only going to cut both his hands as punishment.

Ashen displayed three fingers as he said: "His third crime, daring to challenge the Shang Clan! He mocked the Shang Clan as a clan that is afraid of his own clan! He said that the Shang Clan wouldn't 'Dare' to make an enemy out of his clan solely due to 'me', the young lord of the Shang Clan!"

"I ask the court, is the Shang clan afraid? I'd like to give a suggestion that'd make it clear that the Shang clan isn't afraid of the defendant's clan and no one from the outside can act out of line here!"

Ashen looked at Shang Long for his approval. "Go ahead, speak your mind."

"My lord, I suggest public execution of the defendant. This would be a display of power where an emperor realm expert would be executed for acting out of line in the clan! This would solidify the powerful image of the Shang Clan in everyone's mind!"
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)