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

The prince and the palace maid committed adultery...

He recognized each of the three words individually, but he couldn't understand how they were combined into a sentence.

You should know that the palace maids were nominally all the emperor's women.

For a prince to have an affair with a palace maid is practically putting a green hat on the emperor.

In any dynasty, wouldn't this be considered treasonous?

But this old emperor was able to turn a blind eye to it.

The more Zhu Houcong thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

If this were in the Great Liang Dynasty, the lightest punishment would be imprisonment, and the heaviest would be being reduced to commoner status.

But the old emperor was different; instead of punishing him severely, he acted as if nothing had happened.

However, he showed a completely different face to Crown Prince Yuwen Quan.

He was imprisoned for five years simply for falsely reporting military intelligence in order to see his mother one last time.

The contrast between the two is simply outrageous.

No wonder the King of Qi dared to act so recklessly.

A hint of mockery flashed in Zhu Houcong's eyes.

With such a biased and unprincipled emperor backing them up, who wouldn't be arrogant and overconfident?

However, for Zhu Houcong, the more chaotic the Southern Chu royal family became, the more advantageous it was for him.

When fathers and sons grow apart, and brothers quarrel, isn't this a golden opportunity?

He secretly pondered, recalling the entire process of the crown prince being driven to a dead end in the drama of his previous life.

As long as they continue to secretly fuel the flames and replicate the process of killing the crown prince in the drama.

Wouldn't that force this father and son, who love and hate each other, to become enemies?

At that time, all he needs to do is lead Yuwen Xuan south to capture the dragon and exterminate the Yuwen clan, and he can reap the benefits.

Zhu Houcong then controlled the Azure Dragon and said, "Lord Yan, deposing and establishing an heir apparent is no child's play."

"To shake the crown prince's position, one must first clip his wings and cut off his claws before anything can be accomplished."

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou was startled and immediately rose from his seat, bowing deeply to the ground.

His voice carried a hint of urgency.

"Mr. Qinglong is a rare talent of our time. I humbly request your guidance. Donglou is eager to hear your insights."

Zhu Houcong, controlling the Azure Dragon, gave it a slight helping hand and said confidently, "Lord Yan, there's no need for such formalities."

"When I first met you, sir, I said that I would present Prince Qi with a 'white' hat, and now I will do my utmost to fulfill that promise."

Yan Donglou clearly understood the deeper meaning behind Zhu Houcong's words.

The character "白" is formed by removing the "王" radical from the character "皇".

"Right now, a golden opportunity has presented itself."

"Please speak, sir!"

"I've heard that Gu Xichao, the son of Marquis Wude and Earl of Xing'an, will also be taking the imperial examination this spring?"

"That's right. Although Gu Xichao comes from a military family, he intends to take the imperial examinations and has indeed registered for this year's spring examinations."

Qinglong nodded slightly, a shrewd smile playing on his lips.

"What would happen if we leaked the exam questions to him beforehand?"

Yan Donglou's pupils dilated upon hearing this.

"Sir, are you saying that we should use Gu Xichao to bring down Marquis Wude, Gu Siling?"

"No, no."

Azure Dragon gently shook his finger.

"Gu Siling commands 200,000 troops to guard Changzhou in the northern border. Even for the sake of border stability, His Majesty would never lay a finger on his son, Gu Xichao."

"So, sir, you mean..."

"The chief examiner for the imperial examinations has always been Lu Shiyu, the Minister of Personnel. All we need to do is steal the exam questions and frame Gu Xichao."

"This could implicate the Crown Prince, since Gu Xichao is the Crown Prince's cousin."

"And once the Crown Prince is involved, how can Lu Shiyu, as the Crown Prince's teacher and chief examiner, escape responsibility?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Donglou's eyes lit up, but then he looked troubled.

"But the location where the exam questions are stored must be known only to Lu Shiyu. How can we steal them?"

"Lord Yan is blinded by his own involvement!"

Qinglong chuckled and offered his analysis.

"The triennial spring imperial examination has once again attracted a large number of children of meritorious officials."

"How could His Majesty entrust Lu Shiyu, a member of the Crown Prince's faction, with such a responsibility alone?"

"The Crown Prince's power has already made His Majesty unable to eat or sleep in peace."

"If all the graduates of this imperial examination become disciples of Lu Shiyu, who is also the Crown Prince's disciple, then His Majesty will not be able to sleep well."

"so…"

Qinglong calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip of the clear tea.

"If we simply have the Prince of Qi propose to His Majesty that Lord Yan should co-manage the imperial examinations this year, wouldn't that create an opportunity?"

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

After Zhu Houcong finished explaining his plan, Yan Donglou immediately became so excited that his face turned bright red.

"Your words are more valuable than ten years of study. Please rest a while, sir, and I will make the arrangements immediately!"

After saying that, he hurriedly walked out.

Only after Yan Donglou's figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did Zhu Houcong slowly open his eyes in the West Garden Abode.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This Lord Yan, while verbally expressing gratitude, was still wary of him.

This is tantamount to placing Qinglong under house arrest in the mansion.

But it doesn't matter, as long as I help them completely bring down Lu Shiyu, the mainstay of the princeling faction.

King Qi and Yan Donglou would naturally treat him as an honored guest.

On the Liang side, Mei Changsu was used to bring down He Jingzhong, the Minister of Personnel.

Meanwhile, the Southern Chu regime orchestrated a scheme to bring down Lu Shiyu, the Minister of Personnel of Southern Chu.

As the imperial examinations approached, two countries simultaneously staged a remarkable spectacle.

Chapter 106 Qi Min Backstabs Prince Yu

In Jinling, Master Ji, the advisor of Prince Yu's mansion, gave He Jingzhong, the Minister of Personnel, an idea.

The first step is to get He Wenxin to confess to the murder.

After all, Gao Zhaoyin's promotion to the position of Prefect of the Capital is now a difficult situation for him to accept.

Although they have taken down He Wenxin, they are still slowly judging him based on the changing winds.

As long as He Jingzhong gives Gao Sheng face and secretly gives him some pointers.

Gao Sheng would naturally reciprocate by making the testimonies in the closed case file somewhat ambiguous.

After the case is closed, it will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice for review.

If the Ministry of Justice were to retry the case due to insufficient evidence, there would be room for maneuver.

After all, Qi Min, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was a man of Prince Yu, so whether He Wenxin was guilty or not was up to him to decide.

If the evidence is insufficient at that time, it can be supplemented gradually, and the testimony can be improved over time.

They can call black white, and the dead alive.

He Wenxin's crimes could naturally be downplayed and forgotten.

Celestial Dragons, huh!

There are many ways to shut someone up.

As for that Marquis Wenyuan, he was nothing but a pitiful wretch who held a title but had no real power in the court.

If it weren't for the fact that Wen Yuanbo had the privilege of being able to enter the palace to meet the emperor, He Jingzhong wouldn't even give him a second glance.

At that point, the case might turn into Qiu Ze banging his head against the jar in He Wenxin's hand.

He committed suicide.

Unfortunately, the Prince Yu's mansion's wishful thinking was going so well, but little did they know that Qi Min was no longer the same Qi Min they once knew.

After witnessing Cao Zhichun frame officials of the Ministry of Justice in front of the emperor, he finally understood.

In the Great Liang Dynasty, there was only one heaven: the emperor.

"You bastard!"

Qi Min had just seen off the people from Prince Yu's residence when she slammed her hand on the table.

"That old scoundrel He Jingzhong."

Qi Min paced back and forth in the study, gritting her teeth.

"His own son got into a murder case, and now he expects his father to clean up his mess?"

"I haven't even cleaned up my own mess yet!"

Those members of Prince Jing's faction now harbor ill intentions and are constantly watching the Ministry of Justice's every move.

He even has to check the wind direction before he farts.

Damn it, all you, He Jingzhong, is losing a son. What's the big deal about having a mother?

It's not like I gave birth to him.

His Highness Prince Yu is so biased...

Thinking of this, a ruthless glint flashed in Qi Min's eyes.

"Since you are so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless."

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

"Someone come here!"

He shouted towards the door.

"Prepare the sedan chair, my lord, I am going to the palace to meet the emperor."

As soon as Qi Min entered the palace, she knelt down before the emperor and revealed Prince Yu's secret order word for word.

Zhu Houcong was dumbfounded.

Good guy!

Qi Min is really going all out!

First, he alienated himself from the righteous path during the bombing incident, and now he openly betrays Prince Yu.

Is this a case of becoming a completely isolated and loyal subject?

Zhu Houcong looked up at Qi Min, who was kneeling on the ground, his tone so calm that it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

"Oh ho, has Qi Qing taken the wrong medicine today?"

"I've heard that you have a very close personal relationship with Prince Yu. In the past, you would always consult Prince Yu on matters large and small within the Ministry of Justice. Why are you thinking of me, the emperor, today?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Min was so frightened that she wet her diaper.