The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 477 Suddenly a strange wind rises; who says the prime minister doesn't appreciate flowers?

The New Year atmosphere inside the Imperial College was becoming more and more like a cat that had been thoroughly sunbathed, exuding a lazy and listless vibe.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the number of people who can still settle down and read is very small.

Everyone either went to eat hot pot with their arms around each other's shoulders or strolled around the yard to catch up.

Of course, there were also a few hardcore students hunched over their books in the corner, their eyes practically glued to the pages.

After all, the Emperor has left a crack in the door for the top students of the Imperial Academy in next year's imperial examination.

But when it comes to the provincial examination, things get a bit awkward. Over the years, the number of students from the Imperial Academy who passed the imperial examination was even rarer than encountering a teacher who never dozed off!

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen! Have you heard?"

Li Dawei, a student at the Imperial Academy, mysteriously approached his classmate and friend Chen Shunze, his eyes shining brightly.

"A new book called 'The Three-Phase Flower Appraisal Record' has recently been published in the capital!"

Chen Shunze was a complete bookworm, his mind preoccupied only with the upcoming provincial examination. He looked up blankly and asked, "Huh? What's this 'Flower Appreciation Record'?"

"Hey, Mr. Chen, stop pretending!" Li Dawei exclaimed dramatically.

"The news has spread throughout the entire Imperial College!"

"You're so boring, always so oblivious to what's going on around you!"

Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Li Dawei leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "The so-called Three Ministers are those three big shots: Tong Guowei, Mingzhu, and Suo'etu!"

"As for this 'Flower Appreciation Record'... hehe, it's the correspondence they exchanged back then when they agreed to 'appreciate the beauty of nature' together!"

"I heard that they just casually tossed these scraps of paper into the South Study."

"Recently, the Southern Study was leaking and under repair, and a young eunuch took advantage of the situation."

"That little eunuch is quite clever; he pawned it for silver right away..."

"Tsk tsk, I didn't know until I read these letters that the three prime ministers, though not young, are all quite the romantic and talented men!"

Chen Shunze was skeptical, but his curiosity was piqued.

"What does it say on it?"

"I only glanced at it a few times, but I remember there was a scene where Prime Minister Tong and Prime Minister Ming were having a heated debate about who was more beautiful, Xiao Hong from Shaanxi Lane or Ru Yue from Xiaoxiang Pavilion!"

Li Dawei spoke with great enthusiasm, "Tsk tsk, it's really well written, the writing style is simply amazing!"

"Let me recite it for you!"

"Prime Minister Tong said of Xiao Hong: 'Her face is like freshly solidified mutton fat, her lips like a peony with dew... Her smile is captivating...'"

Li Dawei recited over a hundred words with great emotion, prompting Chen Shunze to shake his head: "Brother Li, have you been fooled?"

"Prime Minister Tong is a gentleman, how could he write such things?"

Seeing Chen Shunze's suspicion, Li Dawei was not in a hurry. Instead, he said with a smile, "Brother, I also thought it was fake at first."

"After all, what are the statuses of the three prime ministers? Would they be able to write such unreliable things?"

At this point, Li Dawei shrugged and said, "However, many people who have seen the original works of Tong Xiang, Ming Xiang, and Suo Xiang all say that this handwriting is absolutely genuine!"

"Moreover, they were selling these letters one by one..."

"By the way, haven't you seen Prime Minister Tong's calligraphy before? I just happened to get my hands on a piece; you can take a look and judge it!"

As he spoke, Li Dawei took out a yellowed piece of paper and handed it over.

As soon as Chen Shunze took it over, he felt that the paper was quite old.

Even the ink stains on it exude a sense of vicissitude.

His heart skipped a beat; this texture... it seems like there's potential!

Looking down closely, it read: "Prime Minister, let's skip Xiaoxiang Pavilion tonight. I heard there's a new brothel called Yihong Courtyard that's quite nice and interesting. Let's go check it out..."

The contents of the paper struck Chen Shunze like a thunderbolt.

But the handwriting of Tong Guowei in his memory told him that this was written by Tong Guowei!

Looking at these things, Chen Shunze had mixed feelings.

Could it be that this Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court, who appears so dignified, is also so unrestrained in private?

Tong Xiang! You're my idol! You can't possibly do this to me!

Seeing his bewildered expression, Li Dawei smiled and said, "Isn't it unbelievable?"

"When I first saw these things, I also thought it was impossible, but then I thought about it and it made sense—the Prime Minister is a human being, not a bodhisattva enshrined in a temple!"

Chen Shunze shook his head in anguish and said, "Let's not discuss this matter too much."

"After all, it concerns the reputation of several prime ministers!"

……

Conversations like those between Chen Shunze and Li Dawei spread throughout the capital.

Moreover, the information about this began to spread from the lower levels to the upper levels.

As Nalan Rongruo's younger brother, Kui Xu always considered himself a scholar and gentleman.

He was a regular at all kinds of gatherings of scholars, as if not showing up and making an appearance would make one seem uncultured.

However, when he returned from the gathering this time, his face was ashen, as if he had just swallowed a dead fly, the green-headed kind at that.

"Where is the master?" Kui Xu asked the steward as soon as he entered the house. Seeing that his expression was not right, the steward carefully replied, "The master is reading in the study."

"Second Master, the Master will be resting soon. If you have something to say, you can talk about it tomorrow."

Kui Xu ignored him and walked straight to Mingzhu's study.

Mingzhu was reading a book, and the person serving her was none other than Mr. Liu Tao.

Seeing her son barge in without knocking, her brows furrowed instantly.

"So rash and unruly! What kind of behavior is this!" Mingzhu reprimanded him directly.

Although he was no longer the prime minister, his imposing presence remained, and he still spoke with great force when disciplining his son.

His son's recklessness made him very unhappy.

Unexpectedly, Kui Xu was not only unafraid, but also wore a mocking smile.

This further enraged Mingzhu.

This brat, now he dares to give your old man attitude? If I don't teach him a lesson, is he going to fly to the heavens tomorrow?

He stared coldly at his son: "What, now that you've risen to such a high position, even I, your father, can't control you anymore?"

"Should I go back and tell His Majesty how amazing my son is, that he doesn't even respect his father anymore!"

Kui Xu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, but his expression was quite subtle: "Father, please calm your anger. How dare your son be unfilial?"

"I have something urgent to report!"

As they were talking, Kui Xu took out a few sheets of paper and handed them to Mingzhu, saying, "Take a look at these first."

Mingzhu took the paper and glanced at it, noticing that it looked quite old.

Looking at the paper again, I realized that all the words looked very familiar.

This looks like something I wrote!
Upon closer inspection, it was clearly written: "Minister Suo, your departure from Tingyu Pavilion without saying goodbye last night was truly disappointing."

"I heard that Tingyu Pavilion has recently moved from Jiangnan..."

When Mingzhu saw this content, she felt a "buzz" in her head!
What's going on? When did I ever do something like this? I...

Even if I were to travel to Zhangtai, I would never be with that guy Suo'etu!

This is a complete frame-up! It's pure fabrication! If the Emperor saw this, where would I put my face?
Someone framed me!
His hands trembled with rage as he roared at Kui Xu, "This...this is a rumor! Nonsense! It's a heinous frame-up!"

"Where did you get these things?"

"You better explain yourself!"

Seeing the Prime Minister fly into a rage, Mr. Liu Tao, who was standing to the side, quietly walked over to Mingzhu's side. He glanced at the letter and was shocked!
He never imagined that the Prime Minister, whom he considered highly respected, would be so...exciting and unconventional in private.
Hey, it seems that no matter how high an official's rank is, he's still just a mortal, and ultimately can't escape the mundane realities of life.

Seeing his father's flushed face and exasperated expression, Kui Xu actually began to believe him a little more.

He knew this old man too well—the angrier he got, the more it showed that he had hit his weak spot.

“Father, this isn’t just yours, it’s also from Tong Xiang and Suo Xiang. Look at the writing on it, is it their handwriting?”

As Kui Xu spoke, he handed Mingzhu a few more sheets of paper.

Mingzhu picked up a piece of paper, on which was written: "My dear brother Mingzhu, last night I was really too drunk to hold my liquor, and that Xiao Taohong and you..."

Looking at the flowing handwriting, Mingzhu was speechless for a moment.

He could say with certainty that the words in front of him were indeed those of Suo'etu, but based on his understanding of Suo'etu, Suo'etu would never have written such a thing for him.

Returning Mingzhu to my brother? How disgusting!

Then he saw the words written by Tong Guowei, who wrote on the paper: "Minister Suo, Minister Ming, I was really too drunk last night, so when did you two brothers leave..."

Looking at the descriptions of the three drinking and admiring flowers, Mingzhu coldly said, "Someone is stirring up trouble!"

"What a magnificent sight to see three people admiring the flowers!"

As he spoke, Mingzhu picked up his piece of paper, intending to tear it up, but after examining it closely, he put it down again.

Upon hearing his father's words, Kui Xu asked in confusion, "Father, who made up these things?"

"What is his purpose?"

"Song'etu is dead. Is this directed at you, or at Tong Guowei?"

Mingzhu sighed and said, "This is neither aimed at me nor at Tong Guowei; it's just stirring up trouble."

"As for who it was, isn't it obvious? Who else could it be but the Crown Prince, who's been driven to distraction by a poem? It was the Crown Prince who did it!"

"After Kong Yujin died, the Kong family produced a poem that they claimed was written by the Crown Prince."

"The Crown Prince felt he couldn't prove his innocence, so he simply muddied the waters completely. If he can't clear his name, then nobody else can either! Do you understand?"

Kui Xu suddenly realized, and exclaimed in his heart: "Old ginger is spicier!"
"Father, the Crown Prince is acting so recklessly, daring to tarnish your reputation. It's utterly despicable!"

"I think we should go to His Majesty and demand justice!"

Looking at her indignant son, Mingzhu's face revealed a hint of sarcasm: "Kuixu, tell me, how can I prove that I didn't write these things?"

"Is it to prove the handwriting is fake, or to prove that I could never have written these things? And that I could never have colluded with that old bastard Suo'etu?"

"What the Crown Prince wants is for you to be unable to prove or explain yourself. If handwriting could be easily proven, would the Crown Prince have bothered with such a desperate measure?"

Kui Xu rubbed his hands, at a loss for what to do: "Well... we can't just sit here doing nothing, can we?"

　The second update for today is here! Please support me, everyone! Please recommend and vote!
(End of this chapter)