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

Realizing his thoughts had drifted off, he coughed a few times to calm himself down.

"Cough cough..."

"The Eastern Depot need not interfere in this matter; they only need to keep an eye on it secretly."

"I want to see if He Jingzhong, the dignified Minister of Personnel, is truly willing to break the law and protect his good-for-nothing son!"

"The slaves obey the orders!"

As soon as Yan Song stepped out of the boudoir, Zhu Houcong eagerly pulled the young palace maid Qin Banruo into his arms.

"Ah~"

Qin Banruo gave a coquettish laugh.

The next second, the palace door was suddenly pushed open with a "bang".

"His Majesty!"

Xiaomeng, holding a whisk, walked into the hall with a solemn expression.

She heard that Zhu Houcong had spent the whole day in the palace of his newly acquired concubines, so she came to advise him, only to find herself witnessing this scene.

Zhu Houcong's hand was still on Qin Banruo's waist, and he stood there awkwardly frozen.

A flash of disdain crossed Xiaomeng's eyes. She flicked her whisk and said seriously, "If Your Majesty truly cares for the world, you should not continue to indulge in wine and women!"

Ok?

Zhu Houcong was taken aback when he heard this. Why did these words sound so familiar?

It seems like someone mentioned that just now?

Seeing that he remained silent, Xiaomeng stepped forward and continued to persuade him, "If this continues, I fear His Majesty's health will be harmed by wine and women."

After these words were spoken, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Zhu Houcong felt a surge of anger as he listened to Xiaomeng's blunt reprimand.

But the thought of not being able to beat them made him instantly back down.

A true man can be strong or weak, and admitting defeat is not shameful.

He grabbed the bronze mirror from the table, and the wrinkled old face of Emperor Liang immediately came into view.

Didn't see it!

He tossed the bronze mirror aside with disdain, then shoved Qin Banruo away.

We still have to give Xiaomeng face.

He immediately gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"I have been ruined by wine and women, and have become so haggard. From this day forward, I will abstain from alcohol!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaomeng and Qin Banruo rolled their eyes in unison.

You dog emperor, you didn't mention the word "lust" at all!

Just as Zhu Houcong was reflecting on his mistakes and determined to quit drinking, a completely different scene unfolded in Long'an, the capital of Southern Chu, thousands of miles away.

At this time, Zhu Houcong controlled the Azure Dragon and was staying at the residence of Yan, the Grand Secretary of Southern Chu.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps were heard from the corridor, followed by the door being pushed open abruptly.

Grand Secretary Yan Donglou stormed in, his face ashen.

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Xiaomeng barged directly into the study, and you, Yan Donglou, also barged directly into someone else's side room.

Not even saying hello, that's incredibly rude.

How could I, the dignified Jiajing Emperor, be so shameless?

Yan Donglou looked furious, which made Zhu Houcong laugh.

Good guy!

It's one thing that this old fellow looks nine-tenths like Yan Shifan.

Unexpectedly, they share the same fiery temper.

Zhu Houcong was quite startled when he first met Yan Donglou.

This guy looks just like the infamous sophist, the Ming Dynasty's mixing machine, the weightlifting champion, the junior Grand Secretary and professor of Han University!

Your name is still Yan Donglou, why don't you just call yourself Yan Shifan?

A Grand Secretary who looked remarkably like the young Grand Secretary immediately reminded Zhu Houcong of a TV series he had watched in his previous life.

Isn't this exactly what the powerful Grand Secretary in that drama looks like?

He clearly remembered that in the drama, the crown prince's uncle also commanded 200,000 iron cavalry, and his teacher was the Minister of Personnel, who was in charge of the promotion of all officials.

With this kind of starting setup, it's impossible to even have a fictional emperor.

It would be more than enough to directly change dynasties and bestow the title of retired emperor upon the emperor.

But this Crown Prince, in order to make his father love him one more time, cried from the first episode to the last.

In the end, he tragically committed suicide by cutting his wrists.

Now that you look closely, isn't this Crown Prince of Southern Chu just a spitting image of a TV drama?

Seeing the veins bulging on Yan Donglou's forehead, Zhu Houcong remained calm and composed.

He smoothed out a wrinkle on his sleeve, controlling the Azure Dragon, and said calmly.

"Judging from Lord Yan's appearance, could it be that his efforts have been in vain?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face showed utter shock.

How did you predict this outcome?

Clearly, the setback in the imperial court had thrown him into a state of disarray.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Houcong's mind stirred slightly.

Azure Dragon raised his hand and made a "please" gesture.

"Lord Yan, please calm down and sit down to talk."

After Yan Donglou reluctantly knelt down at the table, Zhu Houcong slowly began to speak.

"Lord Yan, do you still remember our conversation yesterday?"

"What do you mean by that?" A hint of confusion flashed in Yan Donglou's eyes.

"Although I do not know what methods His Highness Prince Qi used to frame Crown Prince Yuwen Quan, whatever the methods, in the end it can only be a minor punishment for the Crown Prince."

"Given the Crown Prince's reputation for virtue, everyone in the court and among the people, including His Majesty, is well aware of this."

"He would never do such a despicable thing."

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou seemed to be deep in thought.

Zhu Houcong continued unhurriedly, "As long as His Highness Prince Qi acts carefully and leaves no room for error, His Majesty will naturally be happy to use this opportunity to suppress the Crown Prince."

"but…"

He changed the subject.

"Yesterday, Lord Yan said he wanted to take this opportunity to depose the Crown Prince, which means he is doomed to defeat."

Why?

Yan Donglou suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment.

Zhu Houcong chuckled lightly: "Lord Yan might want to consider this carefully: what is the Crown Prince's influence in the army, and what is his influence within the Six Ministries?"

"With the Crown Prince's power, how could Lord Yan and His Highness Prince Qi possibly compare?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Donglou's expression changed drastically.

Zhu Houcong didn't care and said bluntly, "Therefore, if Your Excellency is impatient for quick success and attempts to depose the heir apparent, you will immediately incur the backlash of the court officials."

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He then slowly loosened his clenched fist and let out a long sigh.

"I see!"

Only then did he realize where he had failed.

He finally understood why the person in front of him yesterday, upon hearing that he was going to overthrow Yuwen Quan, had asserted that he would surely suffer a crushing defeat today.

And today, during the morning court session, a prophecy was fulfilled.

Seeing this, Zhu Houcong took a sip of tea and asked curiously, "Lord Yan, we've been chatting for so long, I'm very curious, what methods did His Highness Prince Qi use? Could you tell me about them?"

Seeing this, Yan Donglou made no attempt to hide it, since the matter had already been exposed during the morning court session.

"Is such that…"

Chapter 105 Presenting King Qi with a White Hat

After Yan Donglou recounted the events of the past few days, Zhu Houcong suddenly realized what had happened.

Five years ago, when the Empress of Southern Chu passed away, a shocking secret occurred.

At that time, Crown Prince Yuwen Quan was deliberately prevented by the emperor from seeing his birth mother one last time outside the palace for some unknown reason.

In desperation, the Crown Prince conspired with his cousin, Earl of Xing'an Gu Xichao, to falsely report an urgent military situation at the border and trick the palace into opening the gates.

While this action fulfilled the prince's filial piety, it also cost him dearly.

The coming-of-age ceremony, which was supposed to take place five years ago, was therefore postponed for a full five years.

It wasn't until a few days ago, when Lu Shiyu, the Minister of Personnel, led all the officials in kneeling and remonstrating, that the Emperor of Southern Chu finally agreed to perform the coming-of-age ceremony for the Crown Prince.

To put it nicely, it was called kneeling in remonstrance; in reality, it was a coup d'état.

Emperor Yuwen Jian issued three oral edicts in succession, ordering these ministers to withdraw immediately.

But these people ignored it and remained kneeling outside the hall, motionless.

If it were Zhu Houcong, he would have opened the gate and released Cao Zhichun long ago.

The saying goes, "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

If a subject disobeys, he must be dealt with with a heavy stick.

But the emperor of Southern Chu ultimately lacked the courage to act on it.

However, a dramatic scene then unfolded.

When Crown Prince Yuwen Quan appeared outside the palace, these officials who had previously disobeyed even imperial edicts were finally silenced.

After being reprimanded by the Crown Prince, he obediently withdrew.

Such a stark contrast explains why Yuwen Jian was so wary of his own son.

With such high merit that it threatens the emperor's authority, which emperor could remain calm?

Meanwhile, King Qi was also an oddball. In order to continue to obstruct this belated coming-of-age ceremony, he secretly colluded with a young palace maid who frequently committed adultery.

They meticulously crafted a fake document to accuse the Crown Prince of an act of disloyalty and filial impiety five years prior.

He planned to throw it out in public at the coming-of-age ceremony, so as to embarrass the Crown Prince and the Emperor.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was one step ahead, turning the palace maid against him and nearly sending Prince Qi to the Imperial Clan Court.

Today in the imperial court, Yan Donglou saw the Crown Prince suffer a setback and even thought that the advantage was in his hands.

Driven by short-sighted ambition, he made a motion in court to request the removal of the crown prince.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong couldn't help but chuckle.

Such reckless behavior is indeed very much like the style of the young Grand Secretary.

After hearing the whole story, Zhu Houcong felt there were countless flaws, leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

The most outrageous point is the favoritism shown by the old emperor of Southern Chu towards Prince Yuwen Tang of Qi.