On the anniversary of our mother’s death, my half-brother accused me of stealing from our family and driving his wife to her death. He even produced a blood-written statement and colluded with the prefect to have me thrown in prison. My father also took the stand, confirming that I was a disloyal, unfilial scoundrel. But they didn’t know that all the stolen valuables belonged to the emperor, who was staying in my home at that very moment. They brought me along to search the house, only for the emperor to order his guards to beat them. In the end, the prefect was thrown into prison. My half-brother paid for his actions, too. After I returned to the capital with the emperor, I married his younger sister and became a powerful official.
