I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

If Yuwen Quan were a fool, he wouldn't have fallen for it.

If one were a clever person, such self-righteousness would only lead them into Zhu Houcong's trap.

Lu Shiyu stared intently at Yuwen Quan, his eyes blazing, his voice filled with deep disappointment.

"He forged examination papers by imitating my handwriting and framed me by imitating the King of Qi's handwriting."

"Your Highness has studied calligraphy with me for fifteen years; you should remember what I said."

"All art and literature must not be used for conspiracies. Once tainted, one loses all spirit and integrity, and the same applies to people!"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan felt so wronged that tears welled up in his eyes.

"I was afraid something would happen to the teacher and Xichao, so I kept a backup plan."

"If I want to know the exam questions, I'll have to bribe the old official."

Lu Shiyu continued, "What did Your Highness promise him?"

Yuwen Quan truthfully stated, "If Yan Donglou hadn't caused trouble, his nephew would have been able to know the exam questions and pass the exam first."

"If Yan Donglou causes trouble, I will allow him to become my subordinate in the Eastern Palace."

Upon hearing this, Lu Shiyu flew into a rage, his white beard trembling violently.

He suddenly grabbed the ruler from the table.

"Hands out!"

Yuwen Quan trembled, but dared not disobey.

He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward.

The ruler slammed down with a whoosh, the crisp "smack, smack" sound particularly jarring in the quiet duty room.

Each blow stung Yuwen Quan's palms, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

As the last stroke of the ruler landed, Lu Shiyu's voice was already somewhat hoarse.

"Is it proper for a crown prince to intimidate him with power and lure him with fame and fortune?"

"The virtue of the monarch is the cornerstone of the country. If the crown prince is of upright character, the country will be stable. If the crown prince's heart wavers, the fate of the country will be in jeopardy."

“A country is doomed if even its crown prince resorts to deception.”

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan immediately retorted with a wronged expression, "Teacher, I also want to be a pure and innocent child, and I also want to serve as the ceremonial vessel of this country with peace of mind."

"I also want to be like the people described in the books, where subjects act righteously towards their rulers, sons are filial and fathers are kind, and brothers are friendly and respectful, but it's just too difficult."

Lu Shiyu angrily said, "When a gentleman travels, he should not only be wary of the harm that petty people may cause him, but also be wary of the harm he may cause himself when he confronts them."

"Therefore, the Way is much more difficult to attain than the Technique."

"A treacherous and deceitful ruler can only attract treacherous and deceitful ministers."

"Your Highness will one day understand the principles I have spoken of. If you heed all the principles, you will find it difficult to move forward; if you do not heed the principles, you will face certain death."

"When you understand this balance one day, that will be the time when you can rule the world."

Lu Shiyu sighed deeply, his eyes filled with both heartache and worry.

"I can tell the difference in your handwriting when you forged the exam paper. Do you think Your Majesty, with your calligraphy skills, wouldn't be able to tell the difference?"

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan was stunned. His eyes widened and his face turned pale, clearly indicating that his words had struck a nerve.

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"Your Highness, I hope this will serve as a lesson for you, so that you will behave yourself in the future."

He paused, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Now that this matter is settled, I will ask Your Majesty for permission to retire and return to my hometown."

"From now on, Your Highness will have to walk this path alone."

"what?"

Yuwen Quan was struck dumb, ignoring the pain in his hand, and grabbed Lu Shiyu's sleeve.

"Teacher, why are you leaving so suddenly?"

"The student knows he was wrong and will never do such a thing again!"

Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed freely down his young face.

Lu Shiyu sighed and looked past Yuwen Quan toward the darkening sky outside the window.

He knew perfectly well that if he didn't leave, the Crown Prince would be unable to escape punishment.

Only he took full responsibility for the crime and protected the crown prince.

This painstaking effort cannot be expressed openly at this moment.

"Your Highness, it is getting late, please return!"

Chapter 120 Yuwen Quan Falls into the Trap, Lu Shiyu Resigns (Part 2)

In the Ministry of Justice prison, Yan Donglou paced back and forth in the cramped cell, his hands behind his back.

"Sir, you just said that His Majesty will summon me soon."

"How should I respond at that time?"

Zhu Houcong said calmly, "The eight characters are sufficient."

Yan Donglou hurriedly moved closer and heard him say, word by word, "The Prince of Qi was wronged and took the blame upon himself."

"Brilliant!" Yan Donglou clapped his hands and laughed.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from inside the passageway.

"Imperial edict has arrived!"

A eunuch dressed in a crimson official robe, holding a whisk, strode over, led by a jailer.

"His Majesty has decreed that Yan Donglou be summoned to the palace for an audience immediately!"

Yan Donglou straightened his clothes and glanced at Zhu Houcong, who was disguised as a prison guard.

Then, led by a palace attendant, they went to the palace.

On the other side, Crown Prince Yuwen Quan had just returned to the Eastern Palace and had not yet changed out of his court robes when a purple-clad eunuch hurriedly came to greet him.

The eunuch bowed and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you urgently. Please come to the palace for an audience immediately."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing through his mind.

Why did the Emperor suddenly summon me?

But he dared not delay, and immediately straightened his clothes and followed the eunuch to the sedan chair that had been prepared.

The palanquin passed through numerous palace gates and stopped in front of the jade steps outside the Imperial Study.

Just as Yuwen Quan was about to climb the steps, he suddenly saw the palace gate open, and a familiar figure walked out proudly.

That man had a sinister face; who else could it be but Yan Donglou?

When Yan Donglou saw Yuwen Quan, a meaningful, cold smile appeared on his lips.

He neither bowed nor spoke, but simply gave the crown prince a mocking look from head to toe before turning away.

Upon seeing this, Yuwen Quan felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

He stared intently at Yan Donglou's departing figure, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

Shouldn't Yan Donglou be imprisoned?

How did he end up in front of the Emperor?

Could the situation have changed?

"Your Highness?"

The eunuch's soft call brought him back to reality.

"His Majesty is still waiting."

Yuwen Quan forced himself to remain calm, straightened his clothes, but found that his fingers were trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the hall.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully wish you good health."

After that sentence, the hall became eerily quiet.

After a long silence, Emperor Yuwen Jian of Southern Chu slowly raised his head and said calmly, "Crown Prince, come here, come here."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan's heart tightened, but he dared not hesitate.

He stood up and stepped forward, but his gaze suddenly froze after only a few steps.

On the emperor's desk, two examination papers were placed side by side.

One was the original examination paper stolen from the examination hall, and the other was a forged paper that he had personally copied.

"Does the Crown Prince have something to say to me?" Yuwen Jian asked calmly with a faint smile.

This is a father giving his son a final chance, and also a monarch giving his crown prince room to be honest.

But Yuwen Quan failed to capture him.

"Your Majesty...no."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Jian closed his eyes briefly, then took a deep breath, his chest heaving noticeably, as if he were about to expel all the disappointment in his heart.

When he opened his eyes again, the gentle smile had faded, leaving only the majesty of an emperor.

"Then... I have something to say to the Crown Prince."

Yuwen Jian gently raised his hand, and two eunuchs immediately stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, and slowly unfolded a silk examination hall seating chart.

The yellowed drawings were densely marked with examination room numbers, the ink writing neat and clear.

"Look."

Yuwen Jian lightly tapped the blueprint with his fingertip.

"The black lines indicate the original seating arrangement, while the red lines represent the actual seating arrangement during the exam."

Yuwen Quan stared intently at the examination room, then his pupils contracted. The area marked in red showed that, starting from examination room number 30 in the "Heaven" section, all the subsequent examination seats had been moved one position to the right.

In other words, the candidate who was originally sitting in examination room number 30 was now sitting in room number 31.

Yuwen Jian said unhurriedly, "During the interrogation at the Ministry of Justice today, the so-called secret letter from Prince Qi to the old official stated that the completed exam questions should be placed in examination rooms number 50 and 60."

"But if we calculate based on the actual seating arrangement, the secret letter should have stated that the exam questions were placed in seats 51 and 61 of the 'Heaven' section, so that Gu Xichao and the others could receive them accurately."

"If the questions were placed in advance as described in the letter, then the candidates ahead of Gu Xichao should have received them."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan's robes were completely soaked with cold sweat.

He then realized that Yan Donglou, who was in charge of exam room scheduling, had secretly tampered with the exam without his knowledge.

It was this fatal oversight that exposed the flaws in the carefully planned scheme.

Then Yuwen Jian's voice suddenly turned cold: "Yet Gu Xichao and the other two still managed to get the prepared exam questions. Your Highness, why is that?"

The last sentence was like a thunderclap, exploding in Yuwen Quan's ears.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Since you refuse to speak, then I will speak for you."

Yuwen Jian's voice suddenly rose in pitch, echoing in the empty hall.

"Because this secret letter was a forgery; it was you who framed King Qi."

"do you know?"

"Just now, Yan Donglou recanted his confession, saying that he couldn't bear to see Prince Qi wronged, so he took the blame himself."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Quan finally understood why Yan Donglou was able to leave the palace so calmly.

He had planned all of this in advance.