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

Cheng Qitian put down the teacup, and the bottom of the cup gently touched the table, making a dull sound, just like his mood at the moment.

He spoke slowly, his voice low, "Prime Minister Qi, you and I are both veterans of two dynasties. We must protect this country with all our heart and soul."

Qi Daokun sighed, pretending to be heartbroken, and even because of excitement, his saliva almost sprayed all over Cheng Qitian's face.

"Your Highness, but now this...this kingdom is about to be destroyed in the hands of this little emperor!"

"Oh?"

Cheng Qitian calmly wiped his face with a handkerchief, took a leisurely sip of tea, and then slowly spoke: "Prime Minister Qi, please be patient. This matter is indeed... unbelievable."

"Women interfering in politics has always been the source of chaos and trouble since ancient times. Doesn't Li Chengfeng understand this?"

"Your Highness, he doesn't just not understand! He's simply... incompetent and ruthless! Just think about it, what has he done since he ascended the throne?"

"They've empowered eunuchs, suppressed loyal officials, and now let women take power. This... this is simply absurd!"

Qi Daokun became more and more excited as he spoke, and his face turned red.

Cheng Qitian frowned slightly. Although he had some complaints about some of Li Chengfeng's actions, he still couldn't bring himself to say the word "incompetent and unjust".

After all, apart from these actions that seemed absurd to him, Li Chengfeng had not done anything that would truly harm the country and the people.

Seeing that Cheng Qitian didn't agree, Qi Daokun rolled his eyes and continued, "Your Highness, do you still remember how the late emperor treated the demon queen when he was alive?"

"That evil queen interfered with state affairs and wreaked havoc in the harem. The late emperor was furious and banished her to the cold palace, thus saving the country!"

"Now, the young emperor's actions are so similar. Could it be... could it be that he wants Daliang to repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty?"

When mentioning the Demon Queen, Cheng Qitian's face darkened.

Back then, he was a loyal minister who strongly advised the late emperor to execute the evil queen!

If he had not argued for his rights, Daliang would have been ravaged beyond recognition by the evil queen.

But...the harem is different from the ministers after all.

"The Prime Minister Qi is wrong."

Cheng Qitian said in a deep voice, "Although Song Yuwei is acting as the Prime Minister, she is not interfering in government affairs. The two cannot be compared."

"Your Majesty, please don't be fooled by him!"

Qi Daokun lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "The young emperor's move is not just to undermine me."

"Your Highness, think carefully. If he cultivates his own power, he will no longer even take you seriously!"

Cheng Qitian was shocked. Although he was stubborn, he was not stupid.

Qi Daokun's words woke him up.

Li Chengfeng is still young, yet he is so bold and reckless. If he is allowed to continue like this, the consequences will be unimaginable!

"besides,"

Seeing Cheng Qitian wavering, Qi Daokun struck while the iron was hot, "The young emperor also implemented... a reform of the imperial examination system."

"We strongly advocate for women to participate in the imperial examinations, and provide free education to those poor scholars!"

"Isn't this outrageous? Reading and writing are the exclusive domain of scholars and officials. Letting those peasants read too would be a disaster."

When Cheng Qitian heard this, he was immediately furious.

What he valued most was the ancestral system. Li Chengfeng's move had shaken the ruling system of Daqian that had existed for hundreds of years. In his opinion, it was simply treason!

"Outrageous! This is sheer nonsense! Li Chengfeng...he's trying to undermine moral principles!"

"Your Highness, the court is currently plagued by treacherous officials and vile individuals. How can we, as loyal and honest people, sit idly by and watch?"

"You are the late emperor's younger brother and a close official of the imperial family. You... you cannot watch Daqian fall into the hands of the young emperor!"

Cheng Qitian's face was gloomy and uncertain. He had been loyal and righteous all his life and had never thought of doing anything treasonous.

However, Li Chengfeng's actions have touched his bottom line.

Qi Daokun saw that the time was ripe and added the final fuel to the fire. "Your Majesty, I beg you to step forward for the sake of Daliang's country and its people!"

Cheng Qitian sighed and slowly closed his eyes.

The late emperor's dying instructions emerged in his mind: assist the new monarch and support the country.

He once thought that Emperor Jianwu was referring to Li Chenghao, but Li Chengfeng took advantage of the opportunity, so he originally calmed down and planned to wait and see.

"Li Chengfeng...you have greatly disappointed this king!"

Cheng Qitian suddenly opened his eyes. "Since you insist on doing what you want and are unworthy of being the Emperor, don't blame me...for enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven!"

"This old minister will bring ruin to that young emperor!"

Qi Daokun seemed to have come up with a brilliant idea and spoke impatiently, "Especially the matter of the women's imperial examination. We must exaggerate it and let those pedantic scholars make a fuss!"

The news spread rapidly throughout the streets and alleys of the capital like a plague.

In teahouses and taverns, people were talking about it and all kinds of rumors were spreading.

Some people say that Li Chengfeng was bewitched by a witch and was about to hand over the Liang Dynasty to others;

Some people also said that Li Chengfeng was incompetent and wanted women to ride on men's heads and act tyrannically.

Cheng Ruxue leaned against the carved window, listening to the noise coming from downstairs, with a hint of disdain on the corner of her mouth.

"This bunch of fools are so easily incited."

She took a sip of the wine in her glass and her eyes fell on the bustling crowd outside the window.

Cheng Ruxue didn't have much opinion on Li Chengfeng's new policy.

In her opinion, as long as it does not affect the business of Zuixianlou, it doesn’t matter who becomes the emperor.

Suddenly, a sad recitation sounded from downstairs: "Ten years of hard study, no one cares, once I fail the exam, everyone knows! Haha...ha..."

Following the sound, I saw a ragged scholar sitting on the street, holding a jar of wine, drunk, with a look of dejection and despair on his face.

Cheng Ruxue looked down upon this kind of down-and-out scholar the most. In her opinion, a man should be upright and upright, and even if he is down and out, he should still have an unyielding pride.

Just as he was about to look away, he heard the scholar chant again, "There should be a time for success in the imperial examinations, but why is heaven so unfair! I, Feng Rusi... a man of profound knowledge, yet... I was defeated by a bunch of... good-for-nothings!"

Although this last sentence was a drunken remark, it was powerful and carried a sense of unwillingness and resentment, which instantly caught Cheng Ruxue's attention.

She looked at the down-and-out scholar with great interest, thinking that he had a certain pride.

"Is there a time to pass the imperial examination? Oh, you're quite boastful."

Cheng Ruxue stood up and went downstairs, walked up to the scholar, and looked at him with her eyes lowered.

The scholar looked up with drunken eyes and was stunned when he saw Cheng Ruxue. It was indeed rare to see such a beautiful woman.

"Let me ask you, since you claim to be well-versed in the classics, why did you fail the exam?"

The scholar burped and mumbled, "My name is Feng Rusi... I was replaced in the provincial examination... Those... Those children from aristocratic families... took advantage of their power to bully others... Hahahaha..."

Cheng Ruxue's heart moved. Was he replaced in the provincial examination?

This is not uncommon in counties and towns where powerful families are rampant.