[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet-":3,"chapter-i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Just Maxed Out, and You Want Me to Be a Puppet Emperor?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336493,4569,"Chapter 54: You","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>Li Chen, whom many ministers feared like a tiger, was seen by Zhao Wenyuan as easy to get along with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the late emperor was deeply suspicious and would find ways to monitor his ministers or use imperial tactics to make some of them suffer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just the late emperor—many emperors throughout history behaved this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Zhao Wenyuan had to be extremely cautious in everything he did, even avoiding excessive luxury when drinking tea, just to avoid giving anyone grounds to accuse him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also had to constantly guess the late emperor’s intentions behind every action to prepare his responses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this new emperor, Li Chen, you simply need to avoid provoking him—he’s too lazy to bother with you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He isn’t worried about ministers rebelling, because they dare not, and he isn’t afraid of them anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone doesn’t have to be so exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t this the perfect emperor?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Li Chen revealed his [Sage Realm] card, Zhao Wenyuan immediately revealed his [Loyal Minister] card, fearing Li Chen might kill the wrong person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just after seeing off Guo Zhenwei, someone else came to visit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your servant Pang Jin bows before the Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pang Jin bowed immediately upon approaching Zhao Wenyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What brings Lord Pang to my humble place?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Wenyuan spoke politely, yet remained seated, showing no intention to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his seniority and rank, few could warrant his standing to greet them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, this man was merely the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Pang Jin, whose rank was far below his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chancellor Zhao, thank you for recommending me during today’s morning court.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pang Jin’s primary purpose in coming was to thank Zhao Wenyuan for his promotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Wenyuan had already guessed this upon seeing him—he was the one who had mentioned Pang Jin to His Majesty in the first place; otherwise, how could you have gotten the Minister of Justice position?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You should be grateful to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, Pang Jin added, “Besides this, I have another matter to mention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Wenyuan said, “Speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone and demeanor imitated Li Chen’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen spoke directly—get to the point, no wasting time on idle chatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Wenyuan unconsciously imitated Li Chen, a sign of his admiration for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then Pang Jin delicately expressed that he was merely a crude man, skilled only in criminal investigations and brute strength, utterly clueless about court affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In essence, he meant: though I’m grateful for your recommendation, I do not form factions or seek personal gain—please forgive me, Chancellor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He phrased it very subtly, not wanting to offend Zhao Wenyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhao Wenyuan laughed: “Hah! Everyone says you’re blunt, but I see you’re quite clever—you’re right. You only need to be loyal to His Majesty; don’t overthink anything else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Chancellor, for your guidance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Pang Jin immediately took his leave, not daring to stay a second longer, fearing others might misunderstand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this news reached Li Chen’s ears, he might think too much—Pang Jin rarely interacted with Li Chen, so he acted with extreme caution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Zhao Wenyuan recommended Pang Jin precisely because Pang Jin had the cleanest record in the Ministry of Justice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pang Jin was born into a hunter’s family in the western region of the Tian Ce Dynasty; due to his exceptional talent, he was selected to study at the Imperial Combat Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his studies, he stood out among the prodigies and was specially recruited into the Ministry of Justice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After assuming office, he solved numerous major cases, earning the admiration of his superiors and rising steadily to the position of Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Justice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this background, he was clearly a capable man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Chancellor, he kept records of every official—from the capital’s petty clerks to provincial governors—in his mind; his photographic memory was merely his baseline ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without the diamond drill, how dare one take on porcelain work?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, inside the Imperial Study, sobs filled the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone unaware might think Li Chen had died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Speak up! Why are you crying? Can’t you tell me who’s dead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen stared at the six ministers, who had entered and immediately knelt down, wailing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They kept saying they were sorry to His Majesty, that they were heartless, and begged for his forgiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, they had been kneeling and crying for a long time, yet Li Chen still had no idea what they were talking about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, he ordered them to stop crying and pointed at one at random to explain clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That minister crawled forward a few steps and recounted how, the previous night, Feng Huai had forced them to sign a “loyalty oath” to pledge allegiance to the Second Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They repeatedly insisted they had no intention of betraying Li Chen—they were all coerced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One even added details: the room’s exterior was surrounded by Feng Huai’s executioners; they had no way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding Feng Huai’s death today, they felt it was just and righteous, and thanked Li Chen for rescuing them from dire straits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li Chen sneered: “I thought you came to confess to killing the Crown Prince and beg for mercy—this little matter is why you’re crying for so long?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These six ministers turned pale with fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your Majesty, you can’t joke like that—we dare not take it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That accusation can’t be casually pinned on us—if it were, it would be a crime punishable by extermination of nine clans!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men were veteran ministers under the late emperor; according to Pang Jin’s account, they had no reason whatsoever to harm the Crown Prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charge of attempted factional rebellion was neither trivial nor insignificant—it depended entirely on Li Chen’s judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though these six ministers were powerful figures outside the palace, feared by all,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>here in the Imperial Study, their lives rested on a single word from Li Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen had never taken the Second Prince seriously; he casually said: “Just act in a way worthy of your official robes from now on. No next time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the six ministers burst into tears again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was genuine, tearful gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had already prepared for imprisonment—yet they were unharmed, merely given a verbal warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the eyes of these veteran ministers, Li Chen glowed with divine radiance—he was clearly a sage ruler for the ages!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing these old men still crying, Li Chen growled: “You’d better leave before I change my mind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the six ministers scrambled to their feet, bowed in thanks, and hurried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of them, perhaps weakened by kneeling too long or crying too hard, stumbled, his legs unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others simply dragged him out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they left, Li Chen’s work for the day was nearly done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen knew the generals were eager about the northern campaign, but eagerness meant nothing—it depended entirely on his mood; he held absolute authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Finally, off duty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stretched, set down the last memorial, and rose to leave the Imperial Study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before entering his own palace, a graceful figure dashed out from within and flung herself into his arms, her supple body pressing tightly against him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen felt the warmth and softness in his arms, inhaled the faint fragrance, and all his bureaucratic fatigue vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1213,"2026-06-20T21:59:17.413Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bd3661c50a0603a1590af3b86ab33c0e5270c34ece9332ece3073f43d14c55ab","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-55","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-53",766,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--cover.jpg"]