Chapter 1: The Crown Prince Loses Virtue

  I've found that my writing quality has been declining, this afternoon I had a heat stroke, headache and vomiting, whatever I eat I vomit, it's really hard to update, so I'll just post one chapter for now, I owe you all an apology, I'm truly sorry!

  Qin stood in a corner of the study, constantly shifting his sore feet, but didn't dare to find a place to sit. He stretched his neck to look outside, it was almost noon, and Yun Shangshu had not returned yet, guessing that the imperial court was still discussing flood relief, this continuous spring rain had been falling for four days, sometimes urgent, sometimes slow.

  Just as he was deep in thought, the door creaked open and Yun Tao, who was on duty outside, poked his head in: "Yun Shu, hurry! Master has returned with a face as dark as iron. Be careful how you respond." With that, he hastily ran off to kneel at the gate.

  Qin smiled at him and walked to the door of the study, knelt down, thinking to himself: Ah, yes, now his name is Yun Shu, the name after crossing over. Alas, his original life was completely gone, in order to survive, it's better to behave for now.

  Before long, the sound of footsteps echoed at the gate. Qin quietly raised her head to take a look, and a middle-aged man over five feet tall appeared in her line of sight, hurrying along with his brow furrowed, looking unwell, and with an air of uncertainty - it was none other than You Zhengyin.

  She hastily bowed her head, not daring to look at the young men behind him, and knocked her head: "Welcome back to the old master." Without hearing the call, Yuntai Xing rushed into the study like a gust of wind, and a young man's voice rang out: "Prepare tea."

  This voice is indeed familiar, even Qin Yi, who has just started his shift, can tell that it's Shi Qingrui, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who has just passed his 30th birthday and is said to be the youngest fourth-rank official since the opening of the court.

  The water had been ready on the stove in the back room for some time, but warming the teapot, adding tea leaves, and distributing cups still kept her busy for a while. When she finally returned to the study with the tray of tea, all she heard was the sound of porcelain shattering on the floor from inside the room. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened in there that would make this normally cheerful old man so furious. She quietly entered the room and served tea to everyone, then knelt down on the floor to pick up the scattered pieces.

  Only Xie Qingrui's voice came out: "Prime Minister, please calm down for a moment. I always feel that this matter is suspicious. The crown prince may not have great talent, but he wins in following the rules and being conservative. How could he make such a reckless move?"

  Another unfamiliar voice said: "The words of Lord Shaoye are indeed correct, and this official also feels that there must be some inside story to this matter."

  Yun Pei Xin raised his teacup, using the bowl cover to scoop up the tea cakes, and secretly suppressed his anger: "The crown prince is the country's reserve ruler, and should follow the heavenly mandate above and bring peace to the people below. Now he has done something so unprincely and unfilial, no matter what internal reasons there are, it is an unpardonable sin."

  Everyone should say: "The words of the Prime Minister are indeed correct."

  He tidied up the ground, Qin also stood at the corner of the house waiting for orders, thinking to himself, yesterday it was Yun Tao serving in the room, but just heard that the prince is greedy for the ink river project, how did it become so serious today without a king or father.

  Xie Qingrui fell into thought for a moment before speaking: "I, your humble servant, dare to ask a question. Is it true that the Crown Prince entered the Emperor's chambers with his sword last night?"

  Everyone's expression was the same, all of whom were officials who had entered the imperial court. They still had this much thought and all heard the implicit meaning in Xie Qingrui's words. If this matter was just a play staged by the emperor to depose the crown prince, then how to memorialize would be completely different considerations.

  "This is a certainty." Yun Pei-xin shook his head and said, apparently having his own source of information.

  The crowd fell silent again. No one was foolish enough to ask where the news came from, and everyone was thinking about how to word their petition.

  Someone suddenly spoke up to break the deadlock: "Prime Minister, I think..." The two words "I think" were drawn out with a long tone, but his eyes were glancing in the direction of Yun Tai-xin.

  Listening to it, it was the same strange voice as just now. Qin Yi slightly raised his eyelids and cast a glance over there. He saw that the person was over twenty years old, with a white face and no beard, his temples were cut like a knife, and a pair of slender, upward-slanting phoenix eyes revealed cleverness. He wore light green official robes, black leather boots on his feet, and looked unfamiliar, only to see that he was a seventh-grade civil official.

  Yun Pei Xin knew what was on his mind and said, "It's alright, just say it."

  The man slightly bowed and said, "In my humble opinion, regardless of whether this matter is true or not, and regardless of what the current emperor thinks, the crown prince is after all the one appointed by the current emperor, the eldest son of the empress. This first point must still be protected." He saw Yun Pinyin call him by his courtesy name, and understood that since they were all people from the same household, he was being referred to as "younger uncle", so he spoke directly about his own thoughts.

  "En, Heng's words are reasonable. The crown prince is indeed the son of heaven, no matter from which angle, this first fold must still protect the crown prince." Yun Pei-xin listened to his words, raised her hand to smooth her hair, and although there was no smile on her face, she couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

  Xie Qingrui took the opportunity to say: "Murong Canzhi is indeed extraordinary, a true hero emerging in his youth, making us feel ashamed." The crowd responded in agreement. Yun Dexin, however, showed no signs of smiling and only said lightly: "He's just relying on his ancestors' influence, otherwise he wouldn't be able to fill this position that many people covet at such a young age. You all know my temperament, usually instructing him, don't just flatter him, lest you ruin his future."

  Xie Qingrui called out to the man as Murong Canzhi, and Qin only then realized that this man was the nephew of Yun Tianxin's wife, the current eighth-grade Canzhi of the Ministry of Officials, Murong Zhitang.

  After the major event was settled, Yun Pei-xin did not relax his expression, but instead said in a low voice: "Yesterday, in the palace, the fourth prince took advantage of the Right Chancellor's absence to attack the Crown Prince. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to it, firstly because I didn't believe the Crown Prince would be so greedy as to embezzle the river project funds, and secondly because the Empress was still in her position, with imperial favor not waning, plus the support of the Ding King and the Right Chancellor. Even if things went badly, the worst that could happen was a reprimand and filling up the silver shortfall. But I didn't expect things to take such a drastic turn for the worse. First, the water report came at an inopportune time, enraging the Emperor, and then the Crown Prince lost his mind and ran outside the imperial quarters, causing a huge commotion. This time, he was thrown into the Heavenly Prison. Alas, I fear that even with all the Crown Prince's connections, it will be difficult for him to keep his position."

  "It's true, this case of corruption should have been investigated by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue together. But this time, His Majesty has bypassed the Ministry of Revenue and entrusted it to the Ministry of Personnel instead. And what's more, the person in charge is from the Imperial Clan Court. There must be a deeper meaning behind this." Xie Qingrui stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully, trying to guess the Emperor's intention.

  "The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is the father of the Crown Prince's consort, and it's natural to avoid suspicion. However, using the Temple of Imperial Rituals instead of the Ministry of Punishments seems to have a subtle implication. Cloud Tianxin narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply, wondering if the Emperor had really made up his mind to depose the Crown Prince this time. The rivalry between the Third and Fifth Princes has been going on for some time, and deposing the Crown Prince now would not be beneficial to the country or the people. It seems that the Crown Prince still needs to be protected."

  Yan Jing Shi - Shun Kang Juan

  In the 46th year of Shun Kang, on April 23rd, the Imperial Censor reported that Crown Prince Hui was embezzling funds from the river works project. The Emperor was enraged and ordered Hui to be confined in the Eastern Palace, and instructed the Ministry of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation.

  It was a rainy night. Hui stood outside the emperor's palace, holding his sword and pointing it at the sky, shouting: "The Yan family has been in power for over 300 years since its founding, how can there be a crown prince who has not ascended to the throne for 30 years?"

  Di was enraged and sent his guards to capture him. Hui killed several people with his strength, but ultimately could not resist, fell to the ground and was captured, imprisoned in the heavenly prison.