Chapter 49: Lifting a Rock Only to Drop It on One's Own Feet! Utterly Loyal and Utterly Filial! (Major Chapter)

Zhu Yuntong's expression paused slightly, and he said, "Mister Yang, please speak your mind."

Yang Shiqi, however, brought up another matter first. "I actually thought that when Your Highness obtained the treasured saber just now and held the imperial decree, you would have the Three Judicial Offices arrested on the spot."

Zhu Yuntong shook his head and replied, "Though I may be reckless, I still know when to be firm and when to yield."

"If I had truly arrested the three of them, it would simply have played right into the hands of the person pulling their strings behind the scenes."

"The chance of victory in tomorrow's court session would drop by several notches."

Yang Shiqi clapped his hands and praised, "For Your Highness to possess such composure at your age is truly admirable."

Changing the subject abruptly, he continued, "The mastermind behind the Three Judicial Offices is not difficult to find."

"Tomorrow, if Your Highness submits a memorial impeaching the Three Judicial Offices for trespassing into a Prince's Manor, the person behind them will naturally step forward of their own accord."

Zhu Yuntong nodded gently.

The Three Judicial Offices were no ordinary officials; they held positions of great power and influence in the imperial court, with deep-rooted foundations.

If the mastermind used them as pawns and then immediately turned their back on them, refusing to protect them or even inquire about their fate, they would offend not only the Three Judicial Offices but a vast faction of civil officials across the court.

Pull one hair and the whole body moves.

The person behind them would be forced to reveal themselves.

Furthermore, if the other party truly turned hostile, Yuan Tai and the others would hardly keep their secrets.

Yang Shiqi smiled again. "However, Your Highness must not forget that the Three Judicial Offices represent the highest judicial organ of the Great Ming."

"According to the laws, all major and important cases must be tried jointly by the Three Judicial Offices."

"By convention, the case of the Duke of Liang should be handed over to them for trial."

"Having offended the three of them tonight, does Your Highness not worry that they will meddle and deliberately sabotage the trial of the Duke of Liang?"

Zhu Yuntong said calmly, "If those three had not come tonight, I would indeed have been in a difficult position."

"After all, submitting the case to the Three Judicial Offices for a joint trial is prescribed by the laws of the Great Ming, and it is entirely justified."

"However, since they did come, matters become much simpler."

"Being in such impatient haste, I have ample reason to suspect they would frame others and fail to administer impartial justice."

"That being the case, the trial of the Duke of Liang cannot be entrusted to them."

Yang Shiqi was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and burst into loud laughter. "Brilliant! The mastermind behind the scenes must never have imagined that ordering the Three Judicial Offices to make such a move tonight would actually do Your Highness a massive favor."

"Had he exercised a little more patience, waiting until the case of the Duke of Liang was handed over to the Three Judicial Offices before secretly interfering, things would have been troublesome to handle."

"This is truly lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet! Hahaha!"

Zhu Yuntong laughed as well.

The saying goes, "Even a wise man thousand times thoughtful is bound to make one omission."

The opponent had calculated every angle, yet failed to foresee this outcome.

At the root of it all, they simply lacked patience.

The sudden arrest of Lan Yu had disrupted their footing, driving them to strike in eager haste rather than enduring further.

With Yang Shiqi's intellect and strategic mind, he naturally could see through to this layer.

Half of the praise he offered just now was likely sincere, while the other half was pure flattery.

Yet, this was entirely understandable.

As a subordinate, offering appropriate flattery to one's superior at the right moment was only proper.

To execute it so smoothly and seamlessly without leaving a trace demonstrated the profound depth of his skill!

After laughing for a moment, Yang Shiqi said, "Your Highness has temporarily gained the initiative, but this battle has only just begun; it is far too early to celebrate victory."

"The most urgent task for Your Highness right now is to draft a memorial of self-reproach, and to petition His Majesty to take back this saber."

This statement sounded plain enough, but as it fell upon Zhu Yuntong's ears, it was like a thunderclap shattering the heavens, wiping away the joy he had just acquired entirely.

"The night grows late, and it is chilly out here. Let us go inside and discuss this further."

Yang Shiqi led Zhu Yuntong back into the room, closed the door, and the two sat facing each other.

After pouring a cup of tea for Zhu Yuntong and himself respectively, Yang Shiqi began, "His Majesty bestowed the saber upon Your Highness to help you resolve tonight's crisis, and to affirm your initiative in arresting the Duke of Liang."

"Yet, had it been only for this, there would have been no need to grant Your Highness such immense authority."

"To issue commands to all officials, mobilize troops, and act on expediency—these are powers that many regional viceroys and governors do not necessarily possess when dispatched to the provinces."

"Only under special circumstances, when the imperial court dispatches an imperial commissioner, are such heavy powers conferred."

"Furthermore, such authority applies solely to the region the commissioner is assigned to inspect."

"Beyond that territory, the commissioner possesses no such authority."

"The various vassal princes guarding their domains have never been endowed with such vast powers either!"

"Yet Your Highness is currently within the city of Nanjing, and not an imperial commissioner dispatched to the localities."

"Bestowing such heavy authority upon Your Highness would be understandable if you were to be established as the heir apparent."

"However, the matter of Lan Yu has yet to be settled, and Your Highness still has to clear tomorrow's hurdle in the court. His Majesty likely has no such intention yet, nor was half a word of it mentioned in the imperial edict. Yet he has rewarded you with a precious saber and conferred heavy authority—what could this mean?"

Zhu Yuntong frowned slightly.

Yang Shiqi's analysis was indeed logical.

Could it be that the old emperor intended to play so many obscure mind games even with his own biological grandson?

"His Majesty is testing you!"

Yang Shiqi smiled. "If Your Highness were content merely to remain a peaceful prince, living out a secure, carefree, and leisurely life, His Majesty naturally would not need to do this."

"However, since Your Highness intends to step forward and contend for the position of heir apparent, it is entirely different."

"The affairs of the state outweigh mountains; how could they be treated as child's play?"

"Naturally, His Majesty must put Your Highness through repeated tests before he can safely entrust the realm to you."

"For Your Highness, this is also a good thing."

"At the very least, it shows that in His Majesty's heart, you are already a candidate for the succession being considered with utmost seriousness!"

Was it truly necessary to undergo so many tests?

And one hurdle after another, no less!

Did he really have to pass through eighty-one trials like a Buddhist pilgrim?

Zhu Yuntong inwardly complained.

Wasn't Zhu Yunwen established as the heir apparent quite smoothly in history?

It didn't seem to have required much effort at all!

Why had contending for the succession become so difficult when it came to his turn?

Upon second thought, however, historical records were never fully detailed.

From Zhu Biao's death in May to Zhu Yunwen's appointment as heir apparent in September, a span of over four months had elapsed.

During these four-plus months, how the old emperor tested Zhu Yunwen, and how Zhu Yunwen passed those tests, was entirely omitted from the historical texts.

The only recorded detail was that from the moment Zhu Biao fell ill, Zhu Yunwen attended to him with utmost care, never leaving his side day or night.

Attending to every detail personally, day and night without rest.

After Zhu Biao passed away, Zhu Yunwen grieved so deeply that he lost his appetite and grew increasingly emaciated day by day.

It was only after the old emperor personally consoled him that his condition gradually improved and recovered.

Zhu Yunwen had already seized the initiative, leaving a deep impression of "supreme filial piety" in the old emperor's heart.

The original owner of the body he now inhabited undoubtedly lagged far behind.

Not only that.

After Zhu Yunwen was established as the heir apparent, he entered the palace to study alongside the old emperor, remaining constantly by his side to receive education.

In reality, this was simply another form of test.

Only after Zhu Yunwen successfully passed all these did he inherit the grand throne.

Viewed in this light, Zhu Yunwen possessed at least two extraordinary abilities:

First, top-tier acting talent, with a consummate skill for pretense.

Second, exceptional patience, capable of long-term endurance.

At this thought, Zhu Yuntong could not help feeling somewhat restless.

When all was said and done, the struggle for the succession did not hinge purely on ability.

Perhaps ability was one aspect, but it was by no means everything, nor was it even the most important factor.

The ultimate determining factor remained the attitude of the old emperor.

Merely demonstrating capability could elevate one's status in the old emperor's eyes, but that alone was far from enough.

The old emperor's assessment of the heir apparent was multi-faceted, encompassing much more than mere capability.

Yang Shiqi picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Handling Lan Yu, and managing the entanglements between the military nobility and Your Highness, is merely the first step in your bid for the position of heir apparent."

"Even this step is not yet complete; only by winning the political struggle in tomorrow's court session can this battle be truly won."

"Yang Jing, Yuan Tai, and Zhou Zhiqing dared to come to the Prince's Manor demanding people today partly because they had a mastermind backing them and lending them support."

"On the other hand, it was also because they had long seen through the fact that this was His Majesty's test for Your Highness, and they themselves were part of that test."

"It was just that they ultimately miscalculated His Majesty's true intent, and thus ended up humiliated."

"His Majesty indeed wishes to test Your Highness, but the real test does not lie here."

"Today, he bestowed upon Your Highness a treasured saber, helping you repel the Three Judicial Offices."

"Yet granting Your Highness such excessive power will inevitably provoke a fierce backlash from the court officials tomorrow."

"And that is precisely what His Majesty wishes to see."

"Otherwise, he would not have done this; simply drinking down the Three Judicial Offices would have sufficed, with no need to grant Your Highness supreme authority."

"His Majesty's bestowal of great power upon Your Highness is intended to provoke a chorus of opposition from the ministers."

"How to command Lan Yu, how to manage the merit-proud military nobility, and how to quell the dissatisfaction of the civil officials—"

"Only by successfully passing both of these challenges can one become the heir of the Great Ming and inherit the supreme throne in the future."

Zhu Yuntong recalled that while Zhu Biao was alive, he truly enjoyed the support of both civil and military officials.

Once Zhu Biao died, those former supporters split into two factions.

The military nobility supported Zhu Yuntong, while the civil officials supported Zhu Yunwen.

Yang Shiqi continued, "I know Your Highness holds deep dissatisfaction toward those civil officials, and they generally harbor profound hostility toward Your Highness as well."

"However, matters of the imperial court cannot be guided purely by personal preferences."

"Especially right now, at the critical juncture of Your Highness's contest for the succession."

Zhu Yuntong smiled and nodded. "I understand what must be done, and I will not let personal likes and dislikes interfere."

"As long as someone can be won over, I will do everything in my power to win them over."

"Politics, after all, is about making as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible."

Yang Shiqi was slightly taken aback.

Mulling over Zhu Yuntong's words repeatedly, he found the statement concise yet piercing straight to the essence of the matter, prompting him to smile: "For Your Highness to possess such insight at this tender age—it seems my worries were redundant."

Zhu Yuntong did not reply, lifting his teacup to drink.

Yang Shiqi added, "Beyond that, there is one more matter of paramount importance: 'filial piety'!"

Zhu Yuntong set down his teacup and said, "I ask Mister to enlighten me!"

Though he knew that Zhu Yunwen had secured his initial advantage precisely through the virtue of "filial piety," he had no clear idea how he himself might turn the tables.

To imitate Zhu Yunwen now would undoubtedly be far too late, resembling an awkward attempt to copy a classic like a blind dog imitating a cat, which would likely backfire completely.

"To arrest Lan Yu without an imperial decree is recklessness!"

"Yet if this action is done out of concern for His Majesty, it becomes filial piety!"

"This concept of filial piety is something Your Highness must carry through from beginning to end."

"For Your Highness to step forward and contend for the position of heir apparent to prevent the realm of the Great Ming from being entrusted to the wrong hands—that is filial piety!"

"For Your Highness to arrest Lan Yu so as to prevent His Majesty from being caught in a dilemma—that is also filial piety!"

"Yet since this action was carried out without a decree and has stirred up a nationwide tempest, submitting a memorial of self-reproach at this moment—that is true filial piety."

"When an elder bestows a gift, one dares not decline. To decline is discourtesy, but to accept it requires proving oneself worthy!"

"Yet when His Majesty rewards Your Highness with a treasured saber and grants immense power without specifying a clear official post, it is an expression of His Majesty's affection, but it runs counter to legal principles and will inevitably provoke controversy in court."

"To protect His Majesty's sacred reputation and spare him from a difficult dilemma, petitioning him to rescind his decree is likewise the filial duty expected of a descendant."

"Only thus will Your Highness's actions be shown to stem entirely from public duty, upright and open, completely devoid of selfish motives."

"Your Highness will thus be seen as both utterly loyal and profoundly filial!"