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

The imperial edict was issued, and the entire officialdom of Nanjing was shaken.

[Write a poem to establish a cabinet, play the role of Jiajing +3, reward: Great Heavenly General Pill]

Zhu Houcong had just stepped into the Zhaoren Palace when he suddenly heard a soft "ding" in his mind, causing him to pause in his steps.

"Only one?"

Recently, he has been imitating the Jiajing Emperor by selecting officials through petitions and establishing a cabinet to decentralize power, causing a great uproar in the court.

After all that work, the system only gave me one "Great Heavenly General Pill"?

Is this reasonable?

He frowned as he looked at the small print in the annotation.

[Great Heavenly General Pill:]

It is made from the soul of a heavenly general from the Investiture of the Gods, and is not an elixir for internal use.

By dripping essence and blood onto the elixir, one can create a golden elixir puppet.

After the blood oath was performed, the puppet and the original body became one, and the puppet's strength reached the early stage of the Grandmaster realm.

"Hiss~"

After reading the annotations, Zhu Houcong couldn't help but gasp.

Did they just hit the jackpot?

According to the annotations of the Great Heavenly General Pill, isn't this just like the puppetry technique in fantasy novels?

Still at the Grandmaster level...

The surprise came so quickly that his whole body trembled involuntarily.

Chapter 29 The Case of the Corpse Hidden in the Orchid Garden

"Your Majesty, why don't you come in?"

At that moment, a seductive and alluring voice suddenly came from inside the hall.

Zhu Houcong then came to his senses and saw that Lady Yue was leaning against the carved door frame, wearing only a thin veil as light as a cicada's wing.

The candlelight inside the hall shone through the gauze dress, outlining her graceful curves and revealing glimpses of her skin.

"It's windy outside, Your Majesty, please don't catch a cold."

Zhu Houcong's Adam's apple bobbed, and the Great Heavenly General Pill that had been lingering in his mind was now completely forgotten.

He rushed forward in two quick steps and scooped the person up in his arms.

"ah!"

Yue gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

The light gauze slipped down, revealing large expanses of skin as smooth as cream.

"My beloved concubine is dressed so scantily."

Zhu Houcong lowered his head to smell the fragrance in her hair, his voice already hoarse.

"You're really going to catch a cold."

"Giggle cluck..."

Lady Yue chuckled foolishly, when Zhu Houcong kicked the palace door shut, shutting out the wind and snow.

Inside the snow-covered hut, Mei Changsu wrapped his fox fur coat tightly around himself and looked out at the falling snow.

Li Gang stood with his hands at his sides and recounted the affairs of the cabinet one by one.

"Lou Zhijing and He Jingzhong entered the cabinet at the same time?"

Mei Changsu frowned slightly, the firelight from the charcoal brazier casting flickering shadows on his pale face.

"Indeed, in addition to Lou Zhijing and He Jingzhong, two other censors, Zhao Mengjing and Hu Ruzhen, have also joined the cabinet."

"Who are these two people? Does the Jiangzuo Alliance have any information about them?"

“I checked, and Zhao Mengjing doesn’t seem to have anything special about her, but Hu Ruzhen is a descendant of a military strategist.”

"Continue the investigation; we must find out the truth about them."

"Yes, I've already given the order."

Mei Changsu nodded slightly and sighed, "It seems that our Emperor Liang has truly grown old."

Li Gang asked, puzzled, "Why does the Sect Master say that?"

"If it were Emperor Liang back then, how could he have allowed power to fall into the wrong hands?"

He coughed lightly twice, picked up the medicine bowl, and took a sip.

"This cabinet is ostensibly a place for writing petitions, but in reality, it performs the duties of a secretary."

"Now that Emperor Liang is old and his health is declining, his reliance on the cabinet will only deepen."

"We must place our own people in the cabinet."

Li Gang hesitated and said, "But His Highness Prince Jing has always despised these scheming and despicable people. I'm worried that he won't want to associate with them."

"Yes, Jingyan certainly looks down on these scheming and despicable people. He will dismiss them after he ascends the throne."

"Then let's..."

Mei Changsu laughed and said, "These kinds of things are perfect for strategists. Since we already know that Jingyan won't get involved, there's no need for him to know."

"That's why I, a cunning person who crawled out of hell, am needed to do these dirty jobs."

"Is the sect leader planning to make a move?"

Mei Changsu nodded and directly instructed, "Tomorrow, under the pretext of choosing a new residence, take Jingrui and Yujin to Lan Garden for a stroll."

"It's time to loosen the purse strings of the Crown Prince's palace."

Mei Changsu lightly dusted off his sleeves and continued speaking.

"By the way, pass on a message to Prince Yu, telling him that I, Mei Changsu, am going to send him a great gift, and asking him to prepare himself to deal with Lou Zhijing."

Li Gang bowed and accepted the order, then turned and disappeared into the wind and snow.

Mei Changsu sat alone at his desk and threw the plaque with the words "Ministry of Revenue" written on it into the charcoal stove.

The next day.

Li Gang led Xiao Jingrui and Yan Yujin through several secluded alleys to an abandoned house.

"Brother Li, you're choosing a house for Brother Su, why did you have to drag the two of us along?"

Yan Yujin rubbed his sleepy eyes, the jade pendant at his waist jingling.

"My father is returning to the capital soon, and there's a ton of stuff waiting for me to take care of at home."

Xiao Jingrui's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

"Is Lord Yan returning?"

"you do not say!"

"The old man has been practicing Taoism away from home for years, but for some reason, he suddenly said he wanted to come back."

Yan Yujin's face was filled with joy, and then he looked up at the dilapidated gate of the house.

"Brother Li, why did you choose such a place? It looks so creepy, isn't it haunted?"

Li Gang rubbed his rough hands together and gave a simple, honest smile.

"I'm just a roughneck, how would I know these things? I only invited you two gentlemen, who are so knowledgeable and experienced, to help me take a look."

Xiao Jingrui stepped forward and pushed open the mottled door, a musty smell wafted out.

He raised his hand and waved away the dust.

"Since you're here, let's go in and take a look. His Majesty wants Brother Su to move out of the Marquis's residence as soon as possible, and he does indeed need to find a new house."

After saying that, he stepped into the thick snow, the crunching sound echoing through the garden.

The three walked and talked, with Yan Yujin enthusiastically recounting his experiences at Miaoyinfang the previous day.

Suddenly, his footing gave way, and the snow in front of him collapsed with a crash.

"Oh!"

Yan Yujin's body plunged halfway into the dark well opening in an instant, and he desperately clung to the well's edge with both hands.

A glint flashed in Li Gang's eyes, and he darted forward to grab his wrist.

However, in the struggle, he "accidentally" knocked off the jade pendant from the other person's waist.

"My jade pendant!"

Yan Yujin exclaimed in surprise, watching helplessly as the family heirloom jade pendant fell into the deep well, making a crisp echo against the well wall.

Without thinking, he immediately went down to pick it up.

But Xiao Jingrui stopped him, laughing, "I'll go down and pick it up. You guys just wait."

Before he finished speaking, he used his lightness skill to fly down.

The bottom of the well was damp and cold, and the light was dim. He groped his way to pick up the jade pendant, but suddenly stepped on a round object.

Looking down in the dim light filtering through the well, I saw...

"what!"

He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

All that could be seen was a ground littered with white bones, dozens of skeletons piled up in a bizarre manner.

Most horrifyingly, these skeletons were mostly slender and petite, clearly the remains of young girls.

"Jingrui? What's wrong?"

Yan Yujin's anxious shouts came from the wellhead.

Xiao Jingrui quickly flew up, his face solemn: "We have to go to the Jingzhao Yin's residence."

Inside the Prince Yu's residence, Xiao Jinghuan was toying with a gilded wine cup in his hand.

Qin Banruo was pouring wine for him, her slender fingers complementing the amber-colored liquor beautifully.

"Your Highness, Su Zhe has sent someone to request an audience."

Xiao Jinghuan and Qin Banruo exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

"Let him in."

Zhen Ping entered, dressed in a black outfit, his steps steady.

He clasped his hands in a respectful bow, his posture neither humble nor arrogant: "This humble subject greets Your Highness Prince Yu."

"No need for formalities."

"Why did Mr. Su send you here?"

"Mr. Su said he wanted to present His Highness with a very generous gift."

"Oh?"

Xiao Jinghuan paused in his wine cup, the wine swirling slightly.

"I wonder what generous gift could be so worthy of your special request for someone to make this trip?"

"Lou Zhijing, the Minister of Revenue under the Crown Prince, was the gift you presented to His Highness."

"what?"

Xiao Jinghuan slammed his wine cup on the table with a "bang," stood up abruptly, and glared at Zhen Ping with sharp eyes like knives.

"What does Mr. Su mean?"

Qin Banruo, standing to the side, was also shocked.

Zhen Ping's expression remained unchanged; he simply cupped his hands slightly and said, "Sir, you have said all you need to say. Your Highness, please prepare to deal with Lou Zhijing as soon as possible."