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

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was struck dumb, and he was furious on the spot, his blood boiling!

His Censorate, and the group of officials he personally promoted, actually went on strike and jointly petitioned the emperor!

What a joke! How could something like this happen?!

Li Qing smiled inwardly; things were settled.

The time is right. Today, we can face our deaths in peace and wait for Zhu Yuanzhang to unleash his fury and kill us!

"Bring all the censors into the palace!"

Zhu Yuanzhang forcibly suppressed his raging anger, regaining his imperial composure. He turned to look at Li Qing below the steps, a half-smile on his face, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny:

"You have quite the ability to incite all the censors of the Censorate to join you in causing a disturbance at the palace and petitioning the emperor for justice?"

"Your Majesty, you overestimate me."

Li Qing replied calmly, his tone frank.

"If I really had that ability, I could have incited hundreds of censors. Why would I be here remonstrating to the death?"

Why not just have them surround Zhan Hui at the Censorate and kick him to death? Wouldn't that be easier?

I might be able to incite one or two, or even eight or ten, individuals, but for hundreds of censors in the entire Censorate to jointly petition for justice, there's only one reason...

"What Zhan Huiqian did was utterly despicable; even Heaven couldn't stand it, and people have long hated him!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression stiffened, and he snorted coldly, already understanding the situation.

Li Qing was right. If Zhan Hui hadn't been so harsh and driven everyone to desperation, there would have been no way for the censors of the entire province to jointly petition the emperor.

On the other hand, after leaving home, Zhan Hui intended to go straight to the Censorate to continue urging the censors to do their jobs.

But when he arrived at the Censorate and saw the empty, deserted courtyard, he was instantly stunned, his mind going completely blank.

Just then, the imperial eunuch rushed over and summoned him to the palace to meet the emperor immediately.

Zhan Hui rode in a carriage and sped all the way to the palace. As soon as he arrived at the palace gate, he saw a dark mass of censors walking into the palace in groups, making a great show of force and exuding an awe-inspiring presence.

This scene instantly filled Zhan Hui with a strong sense of unease, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

These ants who usually submit to me and endure my beatings and insults are now so audacious. Could they be plotting a rebellion and joining forces to overthrow me?

"These bastards!"

Zhan Hui's face was ashen. He strode forward, grabbed Zhang Tu who was lagging behind, and sternly reprimanded him:

"You have abandoned your posts and gathered in the palace; what kind of behavior is this! Is this a place for you?"

His original intention was to question everyone about why they had left the Censorate without permission, but his words took a different turn and violated the emperor's greatest taboo.

"Zhan Hui, how arrogant you are! You censor are ordered to enter the palace to seek justice, are you not worthy to step into the palace?"

Could it be that the Ming Dynasty palace has been renamed under the Zhan family? Could it be that the entire Ming Dynasty has become the private property of your Zhan family?

A chilling, mocking voice suddenly rang out, startling Zhan Hui so much that he broke out in a cold sweat and felt his soul leave his body.

He suddenly looked up and saw Crown Prince Zhu Biao standing under the palace gate, his face cold and gloomy, looking down at him with a chill in his eyes that could freeze a person.

As Zhan Hui gazed at the majestic Fengtian Hall and at Crown Prince Zhu Biao, who had once been so easily angered by his words, an overwhelming sense of fear instantly gripped his entire body.

Only then did he belatedly realize how treasonous and malicious his words were in the palace!

This is not the Censorate, not a place where he can do whatever he wants. This is the Imperial Palace, the Zhu family's domain!

"Your subject Zhan Hui greets Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

"Zhan Hui! You bastard, now that you're here, get your ass in here!"

Inside the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang's thunderous roar pierced through the hall's doors and echoed throughout the palace.

Zhan Hui trembled all over, daring not to delay any longer. He lowered his head and rushed into the Fengtian Hall, extremely frightened.

Zhu Biao looked at Zhang Tu and the other censors, who were frozen in place, at a loss for what to do, and slowly walked down the steps, speaking in a gentle tone:

"Upon hearing of Chen Tao's memorial, I immediately rushed over."

"Rest assured, everyone, if Zhan Hui truly acts recklessly, I will not let him off."

With tears welling in his eyes, Zhang Tu bowed deeply and kowtowed:

"On behalf of Imperial Censor Wang Tingfeng, I kowtow to express my gratitude for His Highness the Crown Prince's grace!"

Zhu Biao smiled gently and asked in a low voice:

"Was your action today premeditated, or a spur-of-the-moment decision?"

"We dare not conceal this from Your Highness. We all came of our own volition. We could no longer endure the tyranny and mistreatment of that treacherous villain Zhan Hui. We had no other choice but to petition the Emperor!"

Zhu Biao laughed loudly, his eyes filled with delight:

"Don't worry, you censors aren't the only ones who can't stand him!"

But he secretly thought to himself:

Before you take action, couldn't you at least send someone to let us know?

This sudden attack put me at a complete disadvantage, leaving me no time to prepare!

……

Inside the Fengtian Hall, as soon as Zhan Hui knelt down, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand and slammed the folded document detailing Li Qing's crimes hard into his face!

"You filthy wretch! Look what you've done?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and filled with murderous intent.

"Father, we should investigate him quickly. The censors have jointly submitted a memorial; this matter is of utmost importance."

Zhu Biao entered the hall, bowed, and then spoke.

"snort!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said nothing more.

not good!

When did Zhu Biao arrive?

Li Qing stared at Zhu Biao in surprise; this time, the difficulty of dying had increased again.

Zhu Biao smiled, secretly giving Li Qing a thumbs-up, then stepped forward, pulled up a chair, sat down, and gestured for him to sit.

"Zhan Hui, confess to all the despicable things you've done!"

Holding the folded document of charges, Zhan Hui quickly glanced through it, his face turning ashen. He hurriedly kowtowed, repeatedly crying out that he was innocent.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I have been falsely accused!"

"Injustice?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted angrily, his murderous intent overwhelming.

"The details in the memorial are crystal clear, with the exact timeline and the people involved. How dare you still try to deny it and cry foul? Do you think I'm a foolish emperor?"

Zhan Hui hurriedly defended himself, his tone urgent:

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please forgive me! My strict demands on my subordinates are all for the sake of the Censorate's efficient governance and the stability of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Screw your politics! Screw your stability!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. He grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it hard at Zhan Hui!

Zhu Yuanzhang, a military strategist throughout his life, possessed extraordinary martial prowess. This throw was incredibly powerful, striking Zhan Hui squarely on the forehead!

With a loud crash, the teacup shattered, and scalding tea mixed with blood flowed down Zhan Hui's forehead, staining half of his face red.

Zhan Hui let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground, but dared not move an inch. He could only let the blood flow and kneel on the ground, trembling.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's furious expression, Li Qing felt a sense of foreboding.

He feared that in his rage, Zhu would only kill Zhan Hui to vent his anger, and then promote him and give him important positions.

That won't do!

He traveled back in time to the Hongwu era not to become an official, but to offer his remonstrance to the death for rewards and to anger Zhu Yuanzhang!