The emperor faked his death? Never mind, I will ascend the throne directly!

"Your Majesty is busy with many affairs, and I dare not delay."

Song Zelin sighed with relief and put the white piece in his hand back into the chess box.

Li Chengfeng smiled, waved Song Zelin away, and said to Zhang Yuan, "Mr. Zhang, how much do you know about the situation in Xijing?"

The latter calmed down and realized that the main topic had arrived.

He pondered for a moment, organizing his words, and then replied, "Your Majesty, I know a thing or two about the situation in Xijing." Liu Zhenshan, the King of Pingxi, commands a large army in Xijing and acts like a local emperor.

Li Chengfeng nodded and asked, "Who exactly is Liu Zhenshan?"

"Liu Zhenshan is a man of great cunning and ambition. He appears to be subservient to the court, but in reality he is secretly cultivating power and plotting nefarious activities. I believe that he must be guarded against."

Li Chengfeng secretly confirmed it.

At this moment, the door of the secret room was pushed open, and a man in black walked in. He was a burly man with a black mask on his face, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The man in black knelt on one knee and said respectfully.

"Get up." Li Chengfeng said calmly, "What's the news?"

The man in black stood up, pulled out a letter from his pocket, and handed it to Li Chengfeng: "Your Majesty, this is a secret report from Xijing."

Li Chengfeng took the letter but didn't rush to open it. Instead, he casually played with the teacup in his hand, a playful smile in his eyes. This smile made Zhang Yuan even more uneasy. He felt that the emperor seemed to have anticipated everything.

The man in black reported: "Pingxi King Liu Zhenshan has decided to rebel!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengfeng was not at all surprised. Instead, he burst into laughter, his laughter full of sarcasm and disdain.

"I knew this old man couldn't hold it back anymore! Three days... He really can't wait!"

Zhang Yuan was shocked. As expected, the emperor had already seen through everything.

He couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, did you know that Liu Zhenshan would rebel?"

Li Chengfeng gently put down the teacup in his hand, his eyes as sharp as a knife.

"How could I not know? Liu Zhenshan, this old fox, appears to be subservient to the court, but secretly he has been cultivating his power. I have already sent people to keep an eye on him.

"This imperial examination is just a cover. I want him to think there's an opportunity so he can reveal his true colors!"

Zhang Yuan suddenly realized it and admired Li Chengfeng's strategy even more.

"Your Majesty is wise! How should we respond?"

"Respond? Why respond? I've already laid a net, waiting for him to fall into it!"

Li Chengfeng turned to look at the man in black, "Send a message to He Sheng, tell the troops ambushed near Xijing to take action immediately! We must wipe out Liu Zhenshan's rebels!"

The time goes back to three days ago.

Song Zelin's spy in the palace, a eunuch named Xiao Liuzi, discovered that some palace maids and eunuchs were behaving strangely in the palace.

After observing for several consecutive days, it was found that there were always a few people sneaking in and out of a palace at fixed times.

These eunuchs seemed ordinary, but Xiao Liuzi discovered that they had one thing in common - they had all served in the Prince's Mansion.

Crown Prince Li Chenghao had been deposed long ago and fled after his defeat that day. Logically, there shouldn't be so many of his old subordinates active in the palace.

Xiao Liuzi's heart was filled with alarm at that time, and he immediately reported the matter to Song Zelin.

Song Zelin did not dare to neglect it and immediately went to the palace to meet Li Chengfeng and report Xiao Liuzi's discovery truthfully.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Crown Prince Li Chenghao may have rebellious intentions!"

Li Chengfeng didn't show any surprise after hearing this. Instead, he smiled meaningfully. "Oh? What makes you think so, Lord Song?"

"Your Majesty, these eunuchs used to serve in the Crown Prince's residence, but now they frequently come and go from the palace, their whereabouts are mysterious, and I am worried..."

Song Zelin hesitated to speak.

Li Chengfeng waved his hand, interrupting him. "Don't worry, my dear Lord Song. I know what's going on. Follow this thread and find out what secrets lie behind this."

Then Li Chengfeng called He Sheng and asked him to mobilize an army near Xijing to lurk secretly.

Time returns to the present.

"This old fox is very cunning. I want him to be completely unable to recover and die without a burial place!"

Zhang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, are you worried...that someone in the court will plead for Liu Zhenshan?"

"Heh... so I've already prepared in advance."

The eunuch Xiao Lizi understood and piled the account books that Zhang Chong had sent from Xijing in front of them.

"These are all evidence of Liu Zhenshan's corruption and abuse of power over the years. Investigate them for me! Investigate them one by one! I want to silence all the officials completely!"

Song Zelin and Zhang Yuan looked at the piles of account books and their faces turned pale instantly.

These are accounts spanning decades, and the densely packed numbers make one dizzy. They need to be checked one by one, and if one makes a mistake in the calculation, they have to be overturned and recalculated. The workload... By the time the calculation is finished, it's too late!

"Your Majesty... this... this workload is really too heavy. I'm afraid..." Song Zelin wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.

Zhang Yuan also echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, even if we calculate day and night, it will probably take several months. By then..."

He didn't dare to say anything more, but his meaning was already very clear: a few months would be enough time for Liu Zhenshan's followers to move around, and by then even if the emperor wanted to kill him, it would be difficult.

李承风早已料到他们有此一问，他立刻提笔在纸上写下了一串符号：1x1=1，1x2=2……9x9=81。

"Your Majesty, this is..."

Song Zelin and Zhang Yuan were completely confused and didn't understand what was going on.

"This is the multiplication table!"

Li Chengfeng pointed at the symbols on the paper and explained, "Using this, you can calculate quickly and get twice the result with half the effort!"

The two of them looked at this concise and clear formula, and after listening to Li Chengfeng's explanation, they suddenly understood, their eyes filled with surprise. "Brilliant! Your Majesty is truly a god!"

Song Zelin was excited, but also a little puzzled. He asked, "Your Majesty, this... this formula, was it created by you... Your Majesty?"

There was a hint of disbelief in his tone. This formula was so exquisite, it was simply a stroke of genius.

Li Chengfeng certainly knew that there was no multiplication table in this world. He had been reciting this thing since elementary school.

In this fictional world, his "invention" was like a bomb, blowing up the brains of Song Zelin and Zhang Yuan.

"Exactly."

Li Chengfeng smiled slightly and uttered two words calmly.

Song Zelin's heart was once again in turmoil. He secretly glanced at Zhang Yuan beside him and found that the other party also had an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"With this multiplication formula, I give you two days to list all the problematic accounts." Li Chengfeng's voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable majesty.

"I...I obey your order!"

After the two left, the smile on Li Chengfeng's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a hint of coldness.

He walked to the window and looked at the towering palace in the distance. "Liu Zhenshan, your time of death has come."