I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

"But you, you treat my grace as nothing more than mud beneath your feet!"

After saying this, Zhu Houcong slowly closed his eyes.

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the entire retreat.

After a long while, he opened his eyes again, and looked at Yan Que as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Since things have come to this, I no longer have any expectations of you. If you won't speak, then I will speak for you!"

"Mei Changsu, Mei Cangshu".

Zhu Houcong smiled and said, word by word.

"This Mei Changsu is none other than Lin Shu, the wretched child who miraculously survived at Meiling twelve years ago. Do you really think I don't know?"

boom!

These words struck Yan Que like a thunderbolt.

He suddenly looked up, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stared at Zhu Houcong with disbelief.

"how?"

"Are you surprised that I found out?"

Zhu Houcong paced back and forth with a cold laugh, the sound of his footsteps seeming to pound on Yan Que's heart.

"I knew from the very first day this traitor stepped into the capital."

"I know everything about your smuggling of gunpowder into the capital!"

"The private cannon workshops at the crossroads belong to the Imperial Horse Administration. How could I not know that your two ships were mixed in with them?"

"How laughable that you even dared to dream of blowing me up!"

He sighed, "If it weren't for that traitor Lin Shu ruining my plans and dissuading you, I would have caught you red-handed and torn you apart by five horses long ago."

Yan Que knelt on the ground, and after listening to Zhu Houcong's words, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

It turns out that everything he had painstakingly planned was already under the emperor's control.

The next second, Zhu Houcong suddenly leaned down, grabbed Yan Que by the collar, and his eyes flashed with a crazy light.

"But you want to blow me up, how can I tolerate that?"

"The story you just told was very interesting, but unfortunately, while the first half was correct, the second half was completely wrong."

Then he abruptly released Yan Que, turned around, and paced back and forth.

"Today, I will let you die knowing why!"

"It was I who sent men to find this batch of black fire, who followed the people carrying Suzhou embroidery and brocade out of the city and intercepted them in the valley."

Yan Que trembled violently, his face turning deathly pale.

"It was also I who ordered the Money Gang to bury gunpowder on Shenwu Street!"

"In the end, it was I who personally sent someone to inform your foolish son, instructing him to rush to Shenwu Street to deliver the message."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly spread his arms wide, making an explosive gesture, his Taoist robe fluttering like crane wings.

"Boom!"

Yan Que knelt on the ground, looking at Zhu Houcong in disbelief.

It turns out that all of this was a carefully orchestrated scheme by the devil in front of us.

In an instant, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he stood up abruptly, pointing directly at Zhu Houcong and cursing loudly.

"A tyrant! A despot! A despot!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong did not get angry but instead laughed, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Yan Que, you and Lin Xie should have died more than a decade ago."

"I only let you live until today because I was soft-hearted for a moment."

"I value talent, and seeing you all alone, I was thinking of giving you a chance to serve me well, so that your Yan family could be remembered in history. But you, like Lin Xie, are ungrateful."

Upon hearing this, Yan Que's true energy suddenly erupted, and he approached Zhu Houcong step by step.

"A tyrannical ruler!"

"Brother Lin Xie was loyal and devoted to the country, but you, for your own selfish desires, slaughtered all 70,000 Chiyan Army soldiers."

"Can you face the late emperor's teachings? Can you face the people of the world?"

Zhu Houcong completely ignored Yan Que's behavior, frowned and asked in return, "What right do you have to lecture me?"

"I am the emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, and the responsibility for the forty-nine prefectures of the Two Rivers region rests on my shoulders."

"It's not your place to talk about the common people."

Zhu Houcong suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Yan Que, his eyes flashing with a terrifying cold light.

"You all scheme and plot to overturn Lin Xie's case and exonerate Prince Qi, yet you dare to try and force me to admit my mistakes?"

"What wrong have I done?"

Zhu Houcong's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"A commander of the Chiyan Army, instead of serving his sovereign and father, spends all his time spouting 'Prince Qi, Prince Qi, Prince Qi!'"

Have you not heard that a loyal minister does not serve two masters?

"Tell me, is Prince Qi the emperor, or am I the emperor?"

"And you, Yan Que."

"I know you still can't forget Lin Leyao, but have you ever considered the consequences of a marriage alliance between the Yan and Lin families, given their influence in the court?"

"Given time, I fear the Great Liang dynasty may no longer belong to the Xiao family. How can I not worry?"

After hearing this, Yan Que closed his eyes in pain, his voice becoming extremely hoarse.

"But we never even had such a thought!"

That's not important!

Zhu Houcong suddenly waved his sleeve.

"The important thing is that you have this ability, and that is your original sin!"

Then he slowly turned around, his back to Yan Que, his voice icy and chilling.

"I'm too lazy to waste any more words on you. Now you only have one path to take."

Chapter 97 Did this guy ruin his reputation in the first half of his life?

"Go to Southern Chu and get your job done."

"Otherwise, I can have Lin Shu's head rolled at any time."

Upon hearing this, Yan Que suddenly looked up and burst into laughter, his laughter filled with sorrow and sarcasm.

"Hahaha, you tyrant, do you think I would still believe you even a sliver of your trust after all this time?"

He abruptly stopped laughing, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Only now do I realize that you made me interrogate Xiao Shu so you could force me to kill him with my own hands!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong's lips curled into a mocking smile, and he leisurely crossed his arms.

"Fine, so what are you going to do about it?"

"Mei Changsu's life or death now rests entirely in your hands."

He looked down at Yan Que with disdain, then kicked the secret letter on the ground.

"Pick up the secret letter, and I might grant you a chance to be a dog."

Yan Que did not pick up the letter. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and walked step by step toward Zhu Houcong, his murderous aura surging around him.

"When we helped you ascend the throne, you vowed to be a wise ruler, but you went back on your word and persecuted loyal officials."

"Later, when you married Princess Linglong of the Hua tribe, you promised to be allies forever, but in the end, you wiped out the entire Hua tribe."

"When Le Yao entered the palace, you swore to treat her kindly forever, but in the end, you still forced Le Yao and Prince Qi to their deaths."

He stopped abruptly, his voice rising sharply.

"You really think I can't see through your tricks?"

"You think I don't know? You never intended for Xiao Shu to live!"

After Yan Que finished speaking, he amused Zhu Houcong.

No!

Did Emperor Liang completely ruin his reputation in the first half of his life?

Qin Banruo didn't believe him, and neither did Yan Que.

This level of credibility,

They practically have "liar" written all over their faces!

Suddenly, Yan Que's true energy erupted, and his robes fluttered without wind.

"You're saying there's only one road?"

"No, I have another way."

Before he finished speaking, his hands had already transformed into sharp claws, carrying fierce true energy as he aimed straight for Zhu Houcong's heart.

"As long as we kill you, you tyrant, everyone will be free!"

This move carried decades of resentment and hatred, and the air in the entire hall seemed to tremble.

As the claws crossed, they drew two streaks of energy in the air.

Each one carried the force of thunder.

Two dragons go out to sea!

The force of the energy shot straight towards Zhu Houcong's chest, causing the gold brick floor to crack inch by inch from the aftershocks.

Zhu Houcong's expression changed as he watched the trajectory of the two claws' attacks.

You, Yan Que, you groped my breasts, didn't you!

To cheat and to attack by surprise.

They're bullying an old man like me.

boom!

The remaining two claw strikes landed squarely on Zhu Houcong's chest, causing his Taoist robe to flutter loudly.

The next second, Yan Que felt a sharp pain in all ten fingers, as if his claw had struck a piece of ancient black iron.

The bones in all ten fingers were almost fractured.

"How...is this possible?"

Yan Que was shocked and stared intently at the faint golden light flowing around Zhu Houcong.

Although the light was not dazzling, it was like an insurmountable chasm, perfectly isolating his full-force attack.

His mind went blank for a moment, and even his breathing stopped.

Zhu Houcong looked down at the two claws on his chest and chuckled softly.

With your meager skills, you think you can break through my golden light?

"Catch the Dragon Claw Hand?"

"You can't do this either!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Que instantly snapped out of his daze, looked up in shock, and met Zhu Houcong's unfathomable eyes.

There wasn't a trace of panic in there.