The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 108 The Lü Clan Plans for Their Son Among the Aristocratic Families

Li Shanchang sneered twice.

"This fool! I was planning to promote him to the position after I stepped down in a couple of years, but I never expected him to be so impatient. Isn't he ruining his own future?"

Li Qi nodded, his face full of dissatisfaction.

“These past few days, quite a few people from the Jiangnan gentry have come to our residence. I heard that because of this blank seal case, many Jiangnan gentry have been implicated, and even many officials have been dismissed from their posts, most of them from our own Secretariat!”

"Right now, the entire Central Secretariat and our people are basically all in jail, and most of those people inside were planted by Hu Weiyong!"

Li Shanchang lay back in his chair as if he were not worried at all.

"Ignore him and don't get involved with him in any way. To destroy someone, you must first drive them mad. Now that he's reached this point, it seems his final fate is not far off!"

The Empty Seal Case not only offended the gentry of Jiangnan, but also scholars across the country.

In addition, there was this large-scale purge of officials in the Central Secretariat.

At this time, Hu Weiyong's reputation among court officials was not much better than Yang Xian's at that time.

You're not a fool, so you naturally see through Zhu Xiong Ying's arrangements clearly.

"Our grandson is truly remarkable. He's so handsome at such a young age. What will he be like when he grows up?"

"Our Emperor has a tiger-like personality and is extremely harsh on scholars. He originally intended to cultivate Crown Prince Zhu Biao and have him get closer to scholars, so that he could change the atmosphere of the next dynasty and improve the status of us scholars. Perhaps we could even return to the peak of the Song Dynasty when scholars ruled the country!"

"Who would have thought that Zhu Biao's character is still not apparent, but this young man Zhu Xiong Ying has already shown his potential. If this person were to ascend the throne, it would not be a blessing for all the scholars in the world!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat.

I don't know what's wrong with my old man. Ever since he lost face, he's become strange and erratic.

These are especially the things they can say and hear.

If others find out about this, going to that prefecture in South Korea would be a disaster for them.

Li Qi looked at his father with a face full of doubt.

"But Zhu Xiong Ying is now regent, and among all the imperial grandsons, he is the most capable. If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty is most likely to choose him!"

A hint of coldness flashed in Li Shanchang's eyes.

"The wolf cubs that have grown up are the truly terrifying ones; those that haven't grown up yet are weaker than sheep!"

"Don't worry, we're not the only ones in this world who don't want Zhu Xiong Ying to rise up. There will always be some people who can't sit still!"

"I'm waiting in this place, just waiting for them to take the bait!"

Two guests arrived at a mansion on West Street in Yingtian Prefecture. The two were none other than the Crown Prince's concubine, Lady Lü, and the Emperor's grandson, Zhu Yunwen.

This mansion was the residence of Lü Ben, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Upon seeing the arrival of the two members of the Lü family, the entire Lü family rushed over in a panic.

"We pay our respects to the Consort and the Imperial Grandson!"

"I'm very anxious," said Madam Lü.

"We're all family, no need for such formalities. Yunwen, hurry up and help your grandfather and two uncles up!"

Zhu Yunwen obediently stepped forward and helped the people in front of him up.

The members of the Lü family looked at Zhu Yunwen in front of them with great satisfaction.

In Jiangnan, the Lü family was merely a small clan, far inferior to the local Qian and Lu families.

If it weren't for Lü Ben sending his daughter to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace to become the Crown Prince's concubine.

If you threw someone of his rank into the entire Yingtian Prefecture, he probably wouldn't make a ripple. Because of the sudden death of Crown Princess Chang, the entire Eastern Palace is now temporarily under the control of Lady Lü.

This made Lady Lü somewhat preoccupied with which position to take.

Several people went inside the house.

Both Lü Ben and his two brothers surrounded Zhu Yunwen, showering him with endless praise.

"Yunwen, you've grown so tall in just a few days! You look so refined and scholarly, a true role model for us scholars. You're sure to win the Crown Prince's favor!"

"He's a million times better than the Crown Prince!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Ben's expression changed immediately, and he let out a cold snort.

"How dare you be rude! How can we presume to discuss matters of the royal family?"

Upon hearing this, the man realized he had said too much and could only lower his head, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction.

A hint of resentment flashed in Madam Lü's eyes as she looked at her father and spoke.

"Father, I heard that the current Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying has actually dismissed Prime Minister Li Shan Chang and even oversaw some kind of blank seal case, causing heavy losses to the gentry in Jiangnan!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Ben sighed.

"That's true. Although this matter didn't involve us, we are, after all, members of the Jiangnan gentry. The Jiangnan gentry share both prosperity and adversity!"

"I'm afraid our losses this time will be very heavy!"

Lady Lü was extremely unwilling to accept this.

It should be noted that the gentry of Jiangnan were extremely important to them.

If Zhu Yunwen were to vie for that position in the future, he would naturally need the support of the gentry of Jiangnan.

Thinking of this, Lady Lü immediately knelt on the ground.

"Father, brothers, please help Yunwen!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Ben's expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly helped Lü Shi up.

“Daughter, what are you doing? We are all family. Besides, Yunwen is a gentle and refined young man. Although he is young, he handles things with great composure and is truly a model of a wise and benevolent ruler. If we don’t support him, who else can we support?”

"But Zhu Xiong Ying's power is too great now, and he also has the support of the current emperor and the crown prince. It will not be an easy task to remove him from that position!"

"I think this matter needs further consideration!"

Lady Lü had no intention of waiting any longer.

After finally waiting for Chang's death, I originally planned to take this opportunity to send Zhu Xiong Ying away as well, so that he could go and keep his unfortunate mother company.

Who would have thought this guy was so clever, giving himself no chance at all.

So he tried to get Zhu Yunwen into the court, hoping to use this opportunity to make Zhu Yunwen familiar with the officials in the court.

Who would have thought that Zhu Xiong Ying would be so despicable, repeatedly humiliating Zhu Yun Wen in the imperial court and the Grand Hall?

This has caused Zhu Yunwen to tremble like a mouse before a cat whenever he sees Zhu Xiong Ying.

This infuriated him.

In either case, he absolutely would not allow Zhu Xiong Ying to continue living.

Otherwise, it would be a long time before Zhu Yunwen could reach that position.

"I beg my father to lend me a hand!"

(End of this chapter)