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

Why do I always seem to be plagued by bad luck?

When he was Minister of Revenue, that troublemaker named Hai Rui caused quite a stir in the city.

Now that Cai Quan is the Minister of Justice, another one has emerged...

and many more! ! !

Zhao Mengjing was suddenly startled, her thoughts abruptly halted.

When did I ever serve as Minister of Revenue?

Who is Hai Rui?

Why does this name feel strangely familiar, as if it has appeared in some memory before?

But upon closer reflection, it all becomes a blur.

He tried to search his mind, but only felt a sense of confusion.

"Hai Rui... Hai Rui..."

He murmured to himself, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling a buzzing in his head.

"Could it be... that I remembered it wrong?"

He looked up at the sky; the auspicious hour of midnight was drawing ever closer.

Not long after, Zhao Mengjing's student emerged from Cai Quan's house, trembling all over.

He clutched Cai Quan's congratulatory letter in his hand, trembling all over, his expression blank.

Cai Quan just wrote the congratulatory message in front of him, so of course he knows what it says.

It is more of a remonstrance than a congratulatory message.

Moreover, the language used could be described as utterly rebellious.

Cai Quan's actions were suicidal, and the person who handled the matter will likely not fare well either.

Thinking of this, he choked up and his eyes suddenly reddened.

Living father!

You're all living fathers!

Who cares about my worthless life?

Seeing that the auspicious time had arrived, he dared not delay and hurriedly ran to the cabinet office to personally hand the congratulatory letter to Zhao Mengjing.

Zhao Mengjing accepted the congratulatory letter, looked at his student, and was immediately taken aback.

He was covered in cold sweat, his eyes and nose were unrecognizable.

I felt like I was scared out of my wits.

"Hmph! It's just a congratulatory letter, why are you so flustered?"

He immediately felt dissatisfied, snorted coldly, and rebuked.

Where has all that self-cultivation skill gone?

"Have you wasted your time studying the classics?"

His own students were so frightened by the congratulatory message that they lost their minds. Could there be a knife hidden inside?

If this gets out, won't people laugh at us?

Just as Zhao Mengjing's fingers were about to open the congratulatory letter, a sudden chill ran down her spine.

Then his movements suddenly stopped.

"Sir, what's inside..."

Upon seeing this, the student beside him hurriedly spoke up to remind him, his voice filled with urgency.

"shut up!"

Zhao Mengjing abruptly raised her hand to stop her student from saying what he was about to say.

His gaze was fixed on the congratulatory letter, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Just a moment ago, he felt that if he opened it, something terrifying would happen.

Years of experience navigating the ups and downs of officialdom have honed my intuition, which is sending out frantic warnings.

This seemingly ordinary congratulatory message could very well be a deadly thing.

Then, Zhao Mengjing quickly withdrew her fingers as if she had been burned.

He grabbed the congratulatory letter and rushed out.

The student was stunned by his sudden action and stood there dumbfounded.

When she came to her senses, Zhao Mengjing was already running towards the study.

At this moment, Zhu Houcong leaned against the soft couch, toying with congratulatory messages in his hands, a faint smile playing on his lips.

As expected of a scholar, his congratulatory letter was filled with ornate and flattering words.

The entire text is filled with praise for the emperor and father.

The key is that each one is original and written differently.

No wonder everyone loves to hear compliments.

Even though he knew they were being insincere, he still felt incredibly pleased by their flattery.

No wonder the Jiajing Emperor in the drama was furious.

It should have been an auspicious occasion for a housewarming party, and the officials were enjoying the flattery and sycophancy when suddenly Hai Rui appeared.

A single memorial on maintaining order and security thoroughly berated the emperor.

It's like being licked so sweetly, and then suddenly someone, lacking any sense of decency, grabs you and bites you hard.

Anyone in that situation would likely be furious.

The water clock outside the palace was ticking, and midnight was approaching.

Zhu Houcong suddenly sat up straight, his gaze fixed intently on the direction of the palace gate.

He wanted to see if there was a "Hai Rui" in the court of the Great Liang Dynasty who dared to speak frankly and offer advice.

If such a person truly exists, this housewarming ceremony will likely be far more spectacular than imagined.

Then he suddenly spoke, his voice filled with anticipation.

"Have all the congratulatory messages from the officials been collected?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhichun quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the congratulatory letter from Cai Quan, the Principal of the Ministry of Justice, has not yet arrived."

"Go and urge them again."

"This servant will go right away."

Cao Zhichun hurriedly bowed and retreated, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes as he turned around.

He quickly approached Lou Zhijing and the others.

The ministers, led by Lou Zhijing, were all kneeling on the ground, each wearing a straw headband.

Cao Zhichun said with dissatisfaction, "How did Zhao Mengjing do his job? Where is he?"

Lou Zhijing said in a low voice, "He has already gone to urge them personally."

"snort!"

Cao Zhichun snorted coldly and said in a sinister tone.

"If the congratulatory message doesn't arrive before the auspicious time, then you can expect a reward!"

Minister of Rites Tian Dezhi, unable to bear it any longer, said with displeasure, "Eunuch Cao, Minister Lou is, after all, a ministerial-level official. Your words are far too improper!"

Cao Zhichun turned around abruptly, his sinister gaze fixed on Tian Dezhi.

"I don't want to argue with you right now. If I really can't get off the train today, then it's not because of what I said."

Before he could finish speaking, a shout suddenly came from outside the door.

Zhao Mengjing was seen stumbling and running towards them, shouting as he ran.

"The congratulatory message has arrived! The congratulatory message has arrived!"

Chapter 124 You still call it a congratulatory message?

Zhao Mengjing stumbled into the palace gate, holding a congratulatory letter in her hand, and shouted breathlessly.

"Here it comes...here it comes! Cai Quan's congratulatory letter has arrived!"

Upon seeing this, Cao Zhichun's face immediately broke into a smile.

He rushed forward in two strides and snatched the congratulatory letter from Zhao Mengjing's hand.

Then, with a swift knee slide, his knee left two marks on the gold-brick floor.

He knelt directly in front of Zhu Houcong's soft couch.

"May the whole world rejoice, my lord."

Cao Zhichun shouted in a high-pitched voice, raising the congratulatory letter high above his head with both hands.

"Cai Quan's congratulatory letter has also been presented."

Zhu Houcong leaned lazily on the soft couch, ignoring Cao Zhichun's exaggerated performance.

He wore a grass wreath crookedly on his head, looking quite comical, but he didn't seem to care at all.

He simply stared sharply at He Biao in front of him.

Then, he slowly reached out and took the congratulatory letter. What came into view were the neat characters: "Memorial from Cai Quan, Principal of the Ministry of Justice."

That familiar taste!

But he still decided to watch it.

Even though Cai Quan was spewing nonsense, he still wanted to see just how dirty he really was!

Zhu Houcong's lips curled up slightly as he slowly unfolded the congratulatory letter.

As expected, it wasn't a congratulatory message, but a memorial to the throne:

Your servant has heard that wise rulers of old regarded the world as a public good and the people as their offspring.

Therefore, the pavilions and terraces were no larger than knee-width apart, the food was not heavy on flavors, and the clothes were not colorful.

Your Majesty now employs ten thousand men to carve intricate patterns on rooftops and exhausts the treasury to adorn the walls with pepper, causing farmers to weep in the fields and craftsmen to sigh in the marketplace.

Little did they know that the trees in the Jade Forest were all rooted in the people's blood and sweat?

The Book of Documents, in the section "The Song of the Five Sons," states: "The people are the foundation of the state; the people are the foundation of the state."

In my Great Liang, the work of shovels and spades continues, and the starving dead are still being buried, yet Your Majesty is single-mindedly pursuing Taoist mysteries and indulging in extravagant construction projects.

Extravagance and debauchery, what more could be added!

Your Majesty treats the imperial palace as your private chest and the entire nation as your personal treasury. How is this any different from draining the pond to catch fish or burning the forest to hunt?

……

Cai Quan's congratulatory letter was sharp and incisive, directly pointing to Zhu Houcong's extravagant and wicked deeds.

Building a Wanshou Palace can easily cost millions of taels of silver.

To satisfy his own selfish desires, he exploited the people of Jiangzuo to the bone, treating their hard-earned money as his private property and squandering it recklessly.

The text further criticizes him for being indifferent to the people's hardships and only knowing how to stay in his hermitage to cultivate metaphysics.

He also took the opportunity to criticize Xiaomeng, calling her a wicked sorceress who brought disaster to the country and bewitched the emperor.

His words were so sharp that he was practically pointing his finger at Zhu Houcong and cursing him.