Chapter 8

"Your Majesty, it is already the hour of Yin."

"Nonsense! Why did you not wake me?!"

"Your Majesty, you have not closed your eyes for a day and a night; seeing you sleep so soundly, we simply could not bear to wake you..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's throat moved, but in the end, he only helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose and said,

"Enough. Summon the officials; prepare for the council."

Once the eunuchs rose and departed,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, gazing at the portrait of Empress Ma behind him, and sighed mournfully,

"Sister, if you were here, you probably wouldn't have woken me either."

"It would be wonderful if you could help me devise a plan right now."

"This time, I won't count it as the harem interfering in politics..."

After gazing at Empress Ma's portrait and silently grieving for a moment,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang came to his senses; attended by maids and eunuchs, he finished washing and dressing, then alone boarded the dragon palanquin prepared long ago.

At this moment, Su Qiao had not yet fully come to his senses.

Yesterday, in a daze, he had been named the top scholar.

Today, early in the morning, he was dragged into the palace for court without even getting enough sleep.

Let alone being spirited.

Only Ru Taisu, upon seeing Su Qiao, eagerly rushed over.

Su Qiao was stunned by this.

Before Su Qiao could react, Ru Taisu laughed loudly,

"I am the chief examiner of this year's metropolitan examination; by calculation, I am also your sponsoring teacher. Come, let your teacher instruct you in the rules of this court. During the audience, you shall stand behind this old man."

"Whatever needs to be done, whatever is happening, this old man will whisper it to you."

Before Su Qiao could react,

the old man Ru Taisu dragged Su Qiao along and strode boldly toward the interior of Tianmen Gate.

The newly passed jinshi passing by witnessed this scene.

Their eyes turned red with envy.

Damn it.

He is your student.

Are we not your students as well?

We are all newly passed jinshi; why is the gap so huge?!

9, the Prince of Yan will inevitably rebel; the Imperial Grandson cannot defeat him!

Amidst the officials' cries of "Long live Your Majesty,"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang began the morning court of a new day.

During the morning court,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang quietly observed the assembly of officials before him.

Not only the hundred officials,

but also the newly passed jinshi selected just yesterday in the palace examination.

This was the first court assembly for these new jinshi; for those in the third tier, this would likely be the only time in their lives they would ever see Old Zhu.

Thus, the number of people present at today's court appeared somewhat larger.

Once the officials completed their rites,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, his face displaying utter exhaustion, finally spoke slowly.

"Since the death of Crown Prince Yiwen last year, I have made up my mind to establish Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen as the Imperial Grandson and designate him as the heir apparent."

"Yet Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen is young, while the various feudal princes are powerful; therefore, I choose to believe... I choose to believe that my sons are good children."

"But when the Imperial Grandson eventually ascends the throne, if treacherous individuals incite the feudal princes, what do you gentlemen think the court should do in response?"

As soon as these words were spoken,

Ru Taisu, standing beside Su Qiao, whispered,

"This matter concerns the foundation of the state; if you have no fixed strategy in your heart, then do not make a sound. The officials of the Eastern Palace will step forward to discuss it."

"Of course, you may say a few words, but remember: the Imperial Grandson is the heir apparent!"

"..."

Standing within the crowd, Ru Taisu talked incessantly to Su Qiao, explaining the political landscape of the court.

All the surrounding newly passed jinshi pricked up their ears, fearing they might miss a single word.

Only Su Qiao appeared absent-minded.

Meanwhile, among the officials, Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai instantly lit up with realization.

Ever since the two of them entered the Eastern Palace to tutor Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen,

their official careers and fates had been inextricably bound to Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen.

How could they fail to perceive that the feudal princes, possessing troops and weighing themselves heavily, would inevitably become a great disaster in the future!

As die-hard supporters of Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, the two had long been determined to persuade Old Zhu to reduce the power of the feudal princes.

Since Old Zhu was the one who distributed the military authority, it was most appropriate for Old Zhu to reclaim that military authority.

However, shortly after the death of Crown Prince Yiwen, Zhu Biao, the Prince of Qin, Zhu Shuang, was also poisoned to death by a woman in the palace; having lost two legitimate sons in two years, Old Zhu was fundamentally unwilling to trouble his remaining sons any further.

Today, Old Zhu himself had raised this issue.

Isn't this a perfect opportunity handed right to us?!

"Look, Huang Huang Zicheng and the others are about to make their move; listen to what they say first, then you speak... Hey, what are you doing, kid? They haven't spoken yet! Hey!"

Ru Taisu reached out to grab Su Qiao, but clearly failed to hold him back.

Huang Huang Zicheng, standing in place, cleared his throat and was just about to step forward.

Then a familiar yet strange voice sounded from behind, forcibly stopping Huang Huang Zicheng in his tracks.

"Your subject, Su Qiao, respectfully submits: the feudal kings amassing military power for their own gain will inevitably become a grave threat in the future!"

At these words, the entire court erupted in an uproar, and everyone stood frozen in shock.

Even Huang Huang Zicheng could not help but click his tongue in surprise.

This kid has guts!

Although he looks rather stubborn and awkward.

But when it comes to speaking out, this kid truly dares to say anything!

Even Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen, standing beside Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, looked at Su Qiao with eyes that carried a hint of approval.

He thought to himself: Yes, that is exactly how it should be said! Bring out the same spirit you showed during yesterday's palace examination!

Ru Taisu, who had just been pulling on Su Qiao's sleeve while standing beside him, could not help but straighten his chest with pride.

Look at that; this is my student!

A remonstrating official!

In the future, he will stand shoulder to shoulder with Wei Zheng, courtesy name Xuancheng!

Ru Taisu looked at Su Qiao and whispered softly,

"Good, now the Crown Prince has already taken note of you; you can roughly step back now."

"In a moment, His Majesty will likely ask you a couple of questions; just give a few casual responses, and that will suffice."

What is this called? Nanny-style teaching!

This is exactly nanny-style teaching!

Isn't this equivalent to a newcomer just entering the workplace, only to have a senior complete all the work for them every day, explaining word by word why the work is done that way?

How can this be called a mentoring teacher!

This is clearly a benefactor destined by fate!

As expected.

The moment Ru Taisu finished speaking,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang frowned deeply, stared intently at Su Qiao, and asked,

"Then, according to your opinion, what should be done?"