Ming Dynasty: Emperor Wanshou is cultivating immortality!

"Boom!"

Another muffled thunder sounded above the sky, but this time it was louder than the previous ones.

Wang Chengen looked at his master Zhu Youjian, who was scheming and planning every step of the way, and was shocked and even more worried.

Before this, the master's calculations and plans were just small-scale, but this time it was escalated to the cabinet and the princes' palaces!

Even his own palace was included in the plan. How could the cabinet elders and the palaces be easily dealt with? If they were not careful, they would bring disaster upon themselves and even be doomed to eternity.

Moreover, this move had probably already been noticed by various forces in the court, but no one could have guessed that the master's ultimate goal was his own palace.

"Alas." Thinking of this, Wang Chengen could only sigh in his heart and said secretly: "My master's life is too difficult."

"However, perhaps only success can completely dispel the demons in the master's heart."

"But no matter what, I, Wang Chengen, will follow my master till death, even if it means I have to go through fire and water and even if my soul is scattered."

……

In the capital city, in the Yan Mansion, in the ancestral courtyard.

"Dad, things in Nanjing seem to be restless recently." Yan Shifan put down the jade slip in his hand and looked at his father Yan Song who was practicing calligraphy.

When Yan Song heard Yan Shifan's words, he just raised his head slightly, glanced at his son, and without saying anything, he continued to lower his head and began to write silently.

"In Nanjing, there seems to be a rumor that the imperial court is creating a strange plague in the world of immortal cultivation..." Yan Shifan said in a low voice, "It seems that there is a high-level planning in this matter. Dad, who do you think is so bold?"

"You know, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the emperor is definitely behind this. How dare you do this? Is this a provocation to the emperor?"

In fact, by now, everyone in the six ministries and the cabinet already knows that the emperor reprimanded Lu Fang and imprisoned Li Shizhen and others because of this strange plague.

As for why Lu Fang and others were sent to prison, the reason was very simple. No one or group could handle this matter, so the emperor chose one person to take it over.

But now, someone has brought up this matter that cannot be made public.

In Yan Shifan's view, this was tantamount to a provocation to the emperor.

All we can say is that this man is too bold, so bold that he often likes to carry the whole world on his shoulders. Even the young cabinet minister Yan Shifan could not help but be convinced and give him a thumbs up!
"Shao Ting, who do you think is causing trouble in Nanjing City?" Yan Song asked in a gentle voice without raising his head.

Yan Shifan couldn't help but look at his son Yan Shaoting.

"Reporting to Grandpa, Father," Yan Shaoting was about to stand up, but Yan Song raised his hand to stop him, indicating that he should sit down and talk. Then he clasped his hands and said, "Grandson thinks that this matter may be caused by the royal family behind the scenes."

"Hmm." Yan Song hummed lightly, but did not raise his head. He continued to write silently. The large white paper was already full of flying dragons and phoenixes.

Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan, who was standing by, couldn't help but nodded slightly, expressing his approval of his son's guess.

After all, he didn't think that anyone except the royal family would be so bold as those in the cabinet or the six ministries.

The more one is at the pinnacle of power, the more one knows how terrifying and unfathomable the emperor is.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. The emperor's heart is unfathomable. When they work under the emperor, the only thing they can do is to be cautious and serve him with all their heart, walking on thin ice, and being loyal to the emperor and the Ming Dynasty.

Even his father Yan Song, who was previously the best at guessing the emperor's intentions, has been extremely well-behaved in recent years.

Leading the entire Yan family, he thought of nothing else but to seek benefits for the emperor. He always stood on the same front with the emperor's interests, instead of guessing the emperor's intentions to seek benefits for himself.

Among the current six ministries, the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, and all the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty, which one is not completely obedient to the emperor?

At this time, if anyone among them dared to do this, Yan Shifan would definitely not say a word. When they met, he would definitely bow deeply to him to show his respect!
After all, this courage to challenge the emperor at the risk of having all nine generations of his clan executed is worthy of admiration.

"My grandson thinks that my Yan family does not need to intervene in this matter. We just need to wait and see what happens."

"After all, whether it's the previous rumors or the current calm, it seems like something is brewing. We just need to wait for the truth to come out."

"When the time comes, we can follow some clues and find out everything clearly." Yan Shaoting paused for a moment, then continued, "No matter what, it has nothing to do with my family. We just need to watch from the sidelines."

"Well, Shaoting's words make sense!" After Yan Shaoting finished speaking, Yan Shifan was the first to express his opinion.

"Heh." He raised his head to glance at the father and son and grandfather and grandson and uttered a kind chuckle, then continued to write with his head down.

Upon seeing this, Yan Shifan gave his son a look, and then the father and son stepped forward, one began to grind ink for his father, while the other spread out paper on the side, and they were all having fun for a while.

……

Prince Yu’s Mansion, in the hall.

"Taiyue, regarding the issue of 'abolishing the innate cultivation system', I think you are being too reckless." Prince Yu sat on the sofa with a stern face, looking seriously at Zhang Juzheng who was sitting below him.

Sitting opposite Zhang Juzheng were the Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, Prince Rongchang Zhu Changluo and his son Zhu Youxiao.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I have anticipated this." Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard, looking calm.

"What on earth are you planning?" Prince Yu frowned and asked when he saw Zhang Juzheng like this.

He naturally knew that the Zhang Juzheng before him was no longer the Zhang he was familiar with before, a man who could only follow behind Xu Jie and others and whose strategy and scheming were still immature.

The Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Taiyue in front of us have already grown into cabinet ministers who can be compared with Xu Jie and Yan Song.

What he lacked was only a position as a deputy prime minister or even the capital.

At least this time he openly proposed to "abolish the innate cultivation system". No one in the entire cabinet, the six ministries, and the officialdom could see through his true intentions. As for the impact of this matter on the two royal palaces, how would he deal with it?
The struggles in the court, no matter how they change, remain essentially the same, and they are all for the sake of profit. However, Zhang Juzheng did not see any benefit in this trip.

In fact, this move was a complete stupid one!
For a moment, Prince Yu looked at Zhang Juzheng and felt that a layer of mystery was floating over the person in front of him.

It is hard to guess and hard to see through.

"What I seek is not for the moment, but for eternity, eternal life, and immortality." Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath and sighed softly.

The Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, who was sitting opposite Zhang Juzheng, had a flickering look in his eyes, as if he had thought of something. However, he did not say it out loud on the spot. Instead, he glanced at his sullen father and spoke.

"Father, there seem to be some rumors in Nanjing recently." Zhu Yijun spread out his hands and a projection shot out from the storage ring on his fingertips. Everyone's eyes couldn't help but look at him.

What Zhu Yijun projected were some rumors on the spiritual web about a strange plague in the world of immortal cultivation.

"The main reason why I asked Lord Zhang to come to the palace today is because of this matter," Zhu Yijun said, looking at Zhang Juzheng who looked calm, and then he said:

"The strange plague targets the life of the monks. We all know this."

"But the monks of the Ming Dynasty didn't know about it before." "But now there are these rumors, so the monks have to extend their speculation, not to mention that someone is guiding them in secret."

"In addition, Elder Zhang, at this critical moment, you openly proposed to abolish the life cultivation system."

"This will inevitably make the monks of the Ming Dynasty think too much." After saying this, Zhu Yijun looked at Prince Yu who was frowning and said, "It is obvious that someone is deliberately targeting Elder Zhang."

"What do you think?" Prince Yu looked at his son Zhu Yijun.

Over the past hundred years, Zhu Yijun had already proved to Prince Yu that he was fully capable of taking charge of the entire palace.

Lead the entire palace onto a more glorious path.

Therefore, nowadays, whenever there is any major decision in the palace, Prince Yu will discuss it with Zhu Yijun.

"The first thing that can be confirmed is that the other party must be from the royal family, not the cabinet or the Imperial Household Department."

Upon hearing Zhu Yijun's judgment that the other party came from the royal family, Prince Yu thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Indeed, except for those within the royal family, no one in the cabinet or the Imperial Household Department had the courage to do so.

After all, all the top leaders of the Ming Dynasty now know that the release of the strange plague in the world of immortal cultivation was entirely the work of their father.

At this time, unless they are stupid or have gone astray in their practice, they will secretly resort to means against their father.

But if this matter came from the royal family, or from his younger brothers, then everything would make sense.

So what if my father is angry?
Could it be possible to kill all nine clans of the royal family?
Zhu Yijun made a judgment in a gloomy tone, and said: "Secondly, the other party has roughly two goals."

As he spoke, Zhu Yijun first looked at Zhang Juzheng, who remained silent and calm, and said, "Targeting Lord Zhang."

"Through this incident, we will force the imperial court to make a statement and abandon the proposal to 'abolish the immortal cultivation system'!"

"The second one," Zhu Yijun paused for a moment and said in an inexplicable tone:
"The other party wants to use the strange plague and the abolition of the life cultivation system to target Prince An's Mansion."

"Even targeting my Prince Yu's Mansion!"

"After all, your proposal, Lord Zhang, is against the will of the world."

"The most important thing is that this trip has given us a handle." From the tone of his voice, Zhu Yijun seemed to be reprimanding Zhang Juzheng. Prince Yu coughed lightly and said, "It was intentional. Elder Zhang did not expect that the other party had already made preparations in secret."

"Besides, Lord Zhang's proposal was also for the future of Ming Dynasty. Lord Zhang cannot be blamed for this matter."

Although he knew that the father and son were acting for him, one playing the good guy and the other playing the bad guy, Zhang Juzheng still politely bowed to Prince Yu to show his gratitude.

"I wonder if the prince has any way to deal with it?" Zhang Juzheng's attitude at this time can be said to be very humble.

After glancing at Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Yijun calmed down and then bowed to Zhang Juzheng, indicating that his words were indeed a bit harsh. Then he spoke:

"The other party's true purpose has not yet been revealed, but it will be revealed soon."

"Then we will know who is behind this and what his real purpose is. Everything will be clear."

"The rumors in Nanjing City are just a trigger. The current calm and the increasingly intense rumors on the spiritual network are just the calm before the storm."

"The Internet Monitoring Department under the Cabinet has not intervened in this matter. It is obvious that others share the same view as us and plan to wait and see what happens and wait for the person behind the scenes to take action."

"Yeah." After hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Zhang Juzheng nodded to indicate that he shared the same judgment.

……

Time keeps passing.

And on the spiritual network, the rumors that the imperial court has released a natal plague in the immortal world—well, for the people, of course, it’s not the immortal world, but in a certain star world outside the domain—can be said to be getting more and more intense.

Even in real life, people in major restaurants and teahouses, and even peddlers and hawkers, are talking about this after dinner.

Of course, these remarks were all discussed in conjunction with Zhang Juzheng's proposal to "abolish the practice of cultivating immortals through one's own destiny."

It is obvious that the person behind the scenes wants to connect the two things and trigger public opinion.

Surprisingly, the imperial court did not suppress these increasingly intense remarks, and all forces were just watching and waiting for the development of the situation.

However, Zhu Youjian, who was hiding in the dark, had already anticipated this.

He knew that all parties wanted to know who was behind this and what his purpose was, so no one would interfere in this matter, and this was what he wanted.

He is just taking risks by putting himself in the game!
He was even prepared to find out that the whole thing was manipulated by Prince Yu's Mansion. In this case, the next step would be for Prince Yu's Mansion to conduct its own self-examination.

But he no longer cared, because his goal had been achieved. At that time, Prince Yu's Mansion had to completely cut ties with Prince An's Mansion.

Of course, there is also an element of gambling involved here.

He was betting that the Wa government would not take action against him based on the established facts.

In fact, he knew clearly in his heart that many forces in Prince Yu's Mansion tended to fight for the Prince's Mansion instead of supporting Ava and helping Prince An to fight for the throne!
After all, all the forces in Prince Yu's Mansion know that a new emperor appoints new ministers.

Maybe in the future, if Prince An takes the throne, there won't be any major changes in Prince Yu's Mansion, but this may not be the case for them, the ministers.

After all, they are loyal to Prince Yu's Mansion. Even if they express their allegiance in the future, will the new emperor and his princes be able to accommodate them in the future?
The most important thing is that according to the agreement between Prince An and Prince Yu, the position of the Crown Prince is in Prince Yu's Mansion, but not in the new emperor's lineage.

Although the agreement states that Prince Yu's Mansion will eventually hand over the throne of the Crown Prince, the situation is different now. In the future, how can the new emperor's family not be suspicious of them? Who dares to bet?
Among those who were uneasy and even dissatisfied with Prince Yu's choice to support Prince An's Mansion instead of competing for the throne, there was Zhu Youjian, who had the confidence to "beat God by half" in this matter.

He had been planning all of this over the years, and therefore had tried to win over various forces to work for him.

"It's almost time, Hai Rui. You can't sit still for too long. Everyone in the world is forcing you. Can you still sit still?"

A month later, Zhu Youjian stared at the still gloomy sky, silently waiting for Hai Rui to set off for Yuxi Palace.

Everyone, watching the increasingly intense comments, had a vague premonition that the person behind the scenes was about to take action.

However, no one knows how the person behind the scenes will act and what his ultimate goal is.
Is it to force the imperial court to make a statement and give up abolishing the life cultivation system? Or is it targeting Prince An's Mansion and Prince Yu's Mansion?

Soon, soon!

"..." (End of this chapter)