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

She walked towards the West Garden on her own until she arrived outside the study.

"His Majesty."

"Come in."

Seeing Qin Banruo push open the door and enter, Zhu Houcong looked at her leisurely, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Did you just see Prince Yu?"

Qin Banruo's pupils trembled upon hearing this, and she abruptly looked up.

Are you spying on me?

Zhu Houcong chuckled softly. Ever since Qin Banruo left the palace, he had been secretly keeping an eye on her through Zhuque.

Qin Banruo is a woman of extraordinary intelligence. Although she appears to submit, there's no guarantee she won't plot something behind the scenes.

His goal was to thoroughly understand the organization of the Hua Clan by using each task Qin Banruo assigned at Hongxiuzhao.

Naturally, they then saw Prince Yu heading towards the Red Sleeve Pavilion.

He walked up to Qin Banruo and reached out to touch her cold cheek.

"I am the Son of Heaven; all land under Heaven belongs to the Emperor."

His thumb gently caressed her lips.

"Your every move is naturally under my control."

"However, you performed very well. It seems you have taken my words to heart. You deserve a reward!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Banruo suddenly felt dizzy.

Zhu Houcong had already picked her up horizontally and strode towards the depths of the heavy curtains.

Inside the side hall of the West Garden, the candlelight was dim. Xiaomeng sat cross-legged on a futon, her eyes slightly closed, surrounded by a faint Taoist aura.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from the direction of the hermitage.

Like silk threads, tender and lingering, carrying a captivating and enchanting meaning that makes one's heart flutter.

She frowned slightly, slowly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion flashing in them, and then listened intently.

The sound became clearer, like a low murmur or a gasp.

Xiaomeng's usually aloof and cold face suddenly flushed red, even the tips of her ears turned a rosy hue.

She abruptly closed her eyes and silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, but the sound lingered like a persistent, intractable infection.

"absurd…"

She whispered a rebuke, took a deep breath, and tried to regain her composure.

But the decadent music kept coming, making her increasingly uneasy.

He was unable to enter a meditative state all night.

The following day, in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, civil and military officials were already lined up and waiting.

Zhu Houcong slowly stepped onto the jade steps, his gaze sweeping over the officials in the hall, his expression solemn and dignified.

This was his first time attending court after the ten-day fasting period.

During these ten days, he stayed in the Western Garden, and all major political affairs were decided by the Cabinet and the Six Ministries.

"My beloved ministers."

"For the past ten days, I have devoted myself to religious rites and have not attended to state affairs."

"However, the affairs of the state proceeded as usual, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and their close cooperation with the Six Ministries of the Court."

"You have done a great job, and I am very pleased."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Ruzhen, Zhao Mengjing, and the other three immediately stepped forward and bowed to express their gratitude.

"We have merely done our duty; how dare we accept such praise from Your Majesty?"

Zhu Houcong nodded slightly and continued, "The imperial court consists of only a few palaces and a few government offices; meals still need to be prepared separately."

[Reasonably quote Emperor Jiajing, play Emperor Jiajing +1, reward: Medicine King's Golden Elixir]

"From now on, you will have to shoulder more responsibilities and share my burdens."

These compliments brought smiles to their faces.

However, after hearing Zhu Houcong's last words, Lou Zhijing had some vague suspicions in his heart.

Such a grand commendation of the cabinet indicates that something is bound to happen that the cabinet will have to take responsibility for.

Sure enough, Zhu Houcong changed the subject.

"While you, my beloved ministers, are diligently attending to state affairs, I have never dared to slacken my efforts."

His gaze was sharp as he slowly swept over every face in the hall.

"Over the past ten days, I have sat down with Master Xiaomeng, the head of the Taoist Tianzong sect, to discuss the Tao, and I have come to realize that every word of the five thousand words in the Tao Te Ching is a gem."

Lao Tzu said, "Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish," and also, "The sage has no fixed mind; he takes the mind of the people as his own."

"These profound principles are the very foundation of governing a country and ensuring its stability!"

"Therefore, my mind is made up!"

Zhu Houcong's voice echoed loudly in the hall.

"Effectually, the Taoist Heavenly Sect is hereby established as the state religion, and its leader, Master Xiaomeng, is hereby appointed as the National Preceptor, ranking above the Three Dukes!"

"The Imperial Advisor will assist me in understanding the Way of Heaven, educating the people, and upholding the state."

These words caused an uproar throughout the court!

For over a hundred years, the Great Liang Dynasty has always shared the world with its scholar-officials.

Now, a mere successor of the Taoist Tianzong sect, who spread some heretical teachings, has actually managed to bewitch the emperor into appointing him as the national teacher, placing him above the Three Dukes.

Minister of Rites Chen Yuanzhi was the first to step forward.

"Your Majesty! This is absolutely unacceptable."

“Since the founding of our dynasty by Emperor Taizu, there has never been such a precedent. This action is inconsistent with ancestral rules and etiquette.”

Then someone followed closely behind, their voice urgent.

"Your Majesty is wise. Although the Taoist Heavenly School has its own principles, it is ultimately not a doctrine native to our Great Liang."

"If we rashly introduce it and establish it as the state religion, it may shake the foundation of the nation and cause harm instead!"

In an instant, civil and military officials knelt down, and voices of remonstrance rose and fell.

Zhu Houcong's lips curled into a cold smile; he had long anticipated this reaction.

The rise of any new doctrine is like a sharp blade being drawn from its sheath, inevitably tearing down the barriers of the old system.

Now that the Taoist Tianzong sect has suddenly risen to the highest echelons of the court, how could it not offend those who have already benefited?

These high-sounding "words of advice," once stripped of their veneer of "for the country and the people," are nothing more than naked struggles for interests.

In the imperial court, voices of opposition rose and fell.

Lou Zhijing, the Minister of Revenue, squinted his shrewd triangular eyes.

How dare you treat your sovereign and father like this? It's utterly disrespectful and rebellious.

As the emperor's top henchman, I, your grandfather, cannot tolerate this.

"absurd!"

Lou Zhijing suddenly shouted, his voice booming like a bell, silencing the entire court.

With his round belly protruding, he righteously and sternly retorted: "Can establishing a state religion shake the foundation of the nation?"

"How dare you spout such alarmist rhetoric in the imperial court?"

He pointed at the dissenting officials, spitting as he spoke.

"In my opinion, someone is clearly using this opportunity to slander the imperial court; their intentions are despicable!"

"For the past ten days, Your Majesty has fasted and bathed, working tirelessly day and night to pray for blessings and ward off disasters for all people under heaven."

"The common people are all grateful for the Emperor's grace and praise him highly."

"How did it come to be described by some people as an act that undermines the foundation of the nation and ultimately harms others?"

"As long as we, the subjects, work diligently, our Great Liang Dynasty will naturally flourish."

Whether it's Taoism or Confucianism, aren't they both ultimately aimed at assisting wise rulers and bringing benefits to the people?

Upon hearing this, the courtiers were momentarily at a loss for words to refute it.

Only Chen Yuanzhi, the Minister of Rites, disregarded the emperor's wishes, was oblivious to the danger, and directly confronted Lou Zhijing.

"Minister Lou, you are mistaken!"

"No matter how eloquently you explain it, this matter still violates ancestral rules and is contrary to propriety!"

"Our Great Liang Dynasty was founded on propriety; how can the laws of our ancestors be altered?"

Prince Yu, Xiao Jinghuan, was overjoyed to see Chen Yuanzhi courting death.

This time we must get rid of this person, so that even the Crown Prince won't have a good New Year.

He subtly shifted his body and gave a wink to the ranks of imperial censors.

"Your humble servant, Tian Dezhi, Left Censor-in-Chief, has a memorial to present!"

The next second, a thin man in a blue official robe stepped forward quickly.

"What is it?"

"Your Majesty, I hereby submit a memorial impeaching Minister of Rites Chen Yuanzhi for three major crimes!"

Chapter 65 Where did all these parties come from?!

Tian Dezhi's voice suddenly rose as he detailed Chen Yuanzhi's three major crimes one by one.

"Firstly, every year at the end of the year, the imperial concubines would substitute for the empress in offering sacrifices to Heaven, overstepping their bounds. The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace would also disrespect the empress, failing in his filial duty. Yet the Ministry of Rites would turn a deaf ear and remain silent, not uttering a single word of remonstrance, which is suspected of forming a faction."

"Secondly, as the Minister of Rites, he has been aware for many years that the court's sacrificial rites were flawed, yet he has never corrected them. This constitutes dereliction of duty!"

"Thirdly, as the Minister of Rites, how dare he defy the Emperor and Father in the court today? Such an arrogant act is a grave crime of disrespect."

"Three grave crimes, each deserving of death. We implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and punish them severely!"

Upon hearing the three charges, Prince Yu's cronies stepped forward and requested Zhu Houcong to punish them.

Zhu Houcong looked down at Chen Yuanzhi from his high position, his voice unhurried yet piercingly incisive.

"Chen Yuanzhi, you have served two dynasties and headed the Ministry of Rites for decades, yet you still cannot convince your officials of the proper etiquette and regulations."

These words made Chen Yuanzhi's heart tighten, and he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

The imperial court is a cutthroat arena of fame and fortune where people devour each other without spitting out the bones.

The reason he dares to take the lead in opposing the establishment of Taoism as the state religion today is simply because he sees this as a golden opportunity to gain fame.

As the Minister of Rites, no one in the entire court was more qualified than him to interfere in matters of etiquette.

If he could use this opportunity to suppress the Taoist Tianzong doctrine, Chen Yuanzhi would surely gain a reputation for integrity.

It left a significant mark on the history of the Liang Dynasty.

But who could have imagined that Tian Dezhi, who also came from a scholar-official background, would stab him in the back at such a crucial moment?

These three charges now provide the emperor with the perfect excuse to make a fuss.

"This... Your Majesty..."

Chen Yuanzhi opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if something was blocking it.

He desperately wanted to shout it out.

It's not that this old minister is ignorant of etiquette; it's that someone wants to take this opportunity to kill me!

But when he looked up and met Zhu Houcong's murderous eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.