Starting with his deathbed remonstrance to Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperors were brought to their knees.

Complaining that the fall of a nation is too slow? What kind of suicidal statement is that?

The civil and military officials were dumbfounded; it was the first time they had ever seen anyone dare to curse the emperor like that in the imperial court!

Even Wei Zheng wouldn't dare to be this arrogant, okay? You're even more awesome than Wei Zheng!

Wei Zheng was also startled and silently shrank back.

I can't persuade her, I really can't persuade her, this madman is cursing even more harshly than he is!

Li Shimin, the emperor, also became popular.

He slammed his fist on the table and roared angrily:

"Rebellion! Utter rebellion! Guards, drag this madman away and behead him as a warning to others!"

The execution is finally here; it seems we need to step up our efforts!

Li Qing made up his mind, and then burst into tears. The sudden crying startled the guards so much that they didn't dare to come forward.

His cries were louder than a pig being slaughtered, but his curses were even more arrogant:

"Your Majesty, I am heartbroken! I weep for the Tang Dynasty! I weep for the people of the land! I weep until I go blind for you, you tyrant!"

"I'm doing this for your own good? I'm doing it so that the Tang Dynasty won't fall! Look at all the officials in the court, they're all a bunch of cowards!"

The court sessions are filled with flattery and sycophancy, reporting only good news and concealing bad; the evening sessions are filled with extravagant displays of wealth and power! Who started this trend? It's none other than you, the emperor who spearheaded the massive palace renovations!

"That old scoundrel Cheng Yaojin was showing off his jade belt yesterday, following the trend of extravagance! If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. You yourself are so extravagant, what right do you have to demand that all officials be honest and upright?"

Li Qing wiped away his tears, approached the throne step by step, pointed at Li Shimin's nose and launched into a tirade, every word piercing to the heart:

"Yang Guang died because of extravagance, and you are even more extravagant than Yang Guang! You have fed all the vows you made when you ascended the throne to the dogs. You are a faithless and foolish ruler!"

And your good sons! They all follow your example, each one more despicable than the last!

The Crown Prince indulges in nightly revelry and extravagance, neglecting state affairs; the Prince of Wei, vying for the throne, has been renovating his palace, wishing he could replicate it, almost as if he were about to stage another Xuanwu Gate Incident!

By the way, speaking of Xuanwu Gate, I wonder if the blood there has dried yet...

"Enough!!"

Upon hearing the words "Xuanwu Gate," Li Shimin completely broke down; these were three words he did not want to hear.

Li Qing's statement that his son would also stage a coup at Xuanwu Gate further enraged Li Shimin!

Li Shimin's veins bulged, and he roared:

"Guards! Hang this mad, traitorous scoundrel who slanders the emperor and defames the prince!!"

Finally, he was hanged!

Li Qing was overjoyed and continued to shout loudly:

"Li Shimin! You can kill me, but you can't kill all the outspoken people in the world! Even as a ghost, I'll stay in the Taiji Hall and watch over you every day!"

"Let's see when your country falls! Let's see when you are overthrown by the people! Let's see what face you will have to meet your ancestors after you die!"

Several Imperial Guards, their faces dark, grabbed Li Qing by the back of his collar and dragged him outside.

Li Qing turned his head and waved to the entire court of civil and military officials:

"Fellow colleagues! I'm taking my leave first! A word of advice to Your Majesty: build fewer palaces and accumulate more virtue, otherwise, when you pass away, even Yang Guang will laugh at you! Hahahaha!"

The officials watched Li Qing being dragged away, sighed heavily, and looked completely bewildered.

This is weird!

This is really weird!

What illness has this censor contracted? Why is he so determined to die?

No one spoke in the Taiji Hall; the wind blowing through the hall seemed to carry a chilling, almost madness-like quality.

"That damn bastard!"

Li Shimin sat back on the throne, cursing and swearing. It took him a long time to calm down.

"I've merely built a palace; could that possibly lead to the downfall of a nation?"

Li Shimin looked at the assembled officials below, as if muttering to himself.

None of the civil and military officials dared to speak; they had all witnessed Li Qing's fate.

"Alright, let's put this matter on hold for now."

Li Shimin waved his hand, realizing that after Li Qing's outburst, he had lost all interest in repairing the palace.

Meanwhile, Li Qing, who was about to be hanged, also heard the system notification:

【Ding! 】

[The deathbed remonstrance has been completed, 8500 RMB has been earned, and the player is about to return to the modern era...]

"In the end, is hanging the only punishment...?"

In the rented room, Li Qing opened his eyes, stretched, shook his head, and tried to clear his head.

Just as he expected, provoking Li Shimin was quite troublesome.

Moreover, not to mention, the criminal law of the Tang Dynasty was much more lenient than that of the Ming Dynasty. During the Zhenguan era, there was only 29 people sentenced to death in one year!

His blatant disrespect in court would have resulted in his death in various ways if he had been in front of Emperor Zhu.

Despite saying so much to Li Shimin, in the end he was only hanged, and his entire family was spared.

"I remember there was also a system of collective punishment, but the scope was very limited."

Li Qing scratched his head; he had learned all this from Wang Xin.

In short, it's quite difficult to get rewards from Li Shimin.

"This is tricky. You should check some historical data."

Over the next five days, Li Qing traveled around while collecting historical materials.

Not limited to the Tang and Ming dynasties, if the system were to send him to other dynasties, he would be somewhat prepared.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The system flashed white light and transported Li Qing to the past.

"Huh? This familiar courtyard... have I returned to the Hongwu era?"

Looking at the very familiar courtyard, Li Qing realized that he had returned to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty.

"Old Zhu! I've missed you so much! Today I'm going to continue my desperate plea to you!"

Li Qing laughed heartily, pushed open the door, and walked outside.

He had just stepped outside when he saw his neighbor Zhang Tu about to leave as well.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, long time no see!"

Li Qing greeted an acquaintance with a smile. His identity this time was still that of an imperial censor named Chen Tao.

"Ah, it's Brother Chen! Good morning!"

Zhang Tu yawned and waved weakly at Li Qing.

"Old Zhang, what's wrong? You look so listless."

Li Qing pointed to the dark circles under the other person's eyes and asked.

"Don't even mention it, Brother Chen. You've just become an imperial censor and don't know yet, but we've been working through the night for two days straight."

As Zhang Tu spoke, he yawned wearily again.

"But isn't it the Lantern Festival now? Why do we still have to work?"

Li Qing was taken aback. According to the information given by the system, it was the Lantern Festival.

While searching for information online, he discovered that officials in the Ming Dynasty were allowed a ten-day holiday during the Lantern Festival. Could it be that he had misremembered?

"Although it is the Lantern Festival, Lord Zhan has ordered all censors to continue working, to coordinate the security of the capital during the Lantern Festival, and to strictly investigate the movements of all officials."

Zhang Tu sighed, his tone tinged with complaint.

Lord Zhan?

Could he be referring to Zhan Hui?

That Left Censor-in-Chief and concurrently Minister of Personnel?

Li Qing recalled the information he had seen in the documents: Zhan Hui was now the superior of all the censors and a notorious cruel official.

"Why is he making all the censors work overtime? He won't even let them celebrate the Lantern Festival."

Li Qing frowned and asked.

Zhang Tu looked around to make sure no one was nearby before whispering:

"Have you forgotten? Our current Left Censor-in-Chief is in charge of the Censorate and only thinks about pleasing His Majesty."

His Majesty is a diligent person himself, so he naturally favors officials who are equally diligent. Not long ago, he publicly asked everyone to be conscientious in their duties.

Zhan Hui wasn't about to let this opportunity to show his loyalty slip by, which is why he forced us to work through the night.