My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

A few days later, Zhu Biao privately summoned Li Xiyan.

"Li Qing, I'm sorry to have wronged you."

Zhu Biao looked at his haggard-looking minister and spoke gently.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent and unable to share your burdens!"

Li Xiyan prostrated himself on the ground to beg for forgiveness.

"It's not your fault." Zhu Biao helped him up. "The situation is what it is, and no one can reverse it. However, the Advisory Council has already been established, though it has no real power, its name still stands. I'm entrusting you with a task."

Li Xiyan's spirits lifted: "Please give your orders, Your Highness!"

"There is no need to discuss the charter again."

Zhu Biao said in a low voice.

"Under the guise of this gathering, secretly observe and contact those truly ingenious, restless, and highly skilled craftsmen in the two capitals and thirteen provinces who are unable to advance due to their social status. In particular... those skilled in firearms, machinery, water conservancy, and construction. Secretly record their names, hometowns, specialties, and circumstances, and report them to me in secret."

Li Xiyan's eyes lit up: "Your Highness intends to..."

Zhu Biao smiled but didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, Li Xiyan understood Zhu Biao's meaning and took a deep breath.

"Your subject understands."

"in addition,"

Zhu Biao pondered for a moment.

"From among the guards of the Eastern Palace, select ten young men who are absolutely loyal, from impeccable families, and quick-witted. They need not be exceptionally brave, but they must be meticulous and have some literacy."

"Find a pretext to have them take turns visiting the Imperial Workshop and the Ordnance Bureau to observe and learn, listen and observe more, and make friends with the experienced craftsmen there, but do not reveal any special intentions."

Li Xiyan bowed deeply: "Your Highness's foresight is truly admirable!"

Zhu Biao waved for him to leave.

Only when he was alone did he shed all pretenses and lean wearily against the back of his chair.

"Father, you often say that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Only now do I realize that it is difficult to control the heat and add the right ingredients."

Zhu Biao rubbed his temples, preparing to pick up a memorial to review.

A commotion broke out outside the hall.

Soon a palace attendant entered.

"Your Highness, Marquis Lan Yu of Yongchang requests an audience."

"Let him in."

Zhu Biao waved his hand and put down the memorial in his hand.

Not long after, a man walked in. He was tall and strong, and although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, he could not hide his fierceness from years of fighting. He was none other than his uncle, Lan Yu, who had been fighting in Yunnan but had somehow returned.

Lan Yu's face was ashen, his tiger-like eyes were wide open, and his beard and hair seemed to stand on end with anger.

He strode into the study, his gaze sweeping across Zhu Biao's slightly pale face and the scattered documents on the desk with lightning speed.

The next second, to Zhu Biao's astonishment, he suddenly knelt down on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute.

"Your subject, Lan Yu, pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

He paused, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes burning intensely.

"Your Highness, please reveal yourself—which treacherous and wicked villain is it that has instigated you to commit such an absurd act, jeopardizing the very foundation of the nation?! I will execute him immediately!"

"Uncle!" Zhu Biao exclaimed in surprise, standing up abruptly and going around the desk to help him up. "What do you mean by this? Please rise!"

Lan Yu knelt on the ground like a mountain, her voice even more agitated.

"Your Highness! I have heard about your recent actions! What 'Academy of Sciences'? What promotion of craftsmen?! There is much discussion in the court and among the people, all saying that Your Highness has been misled by heretical words, neglecting the orthodox learning of sages and focusing on strange and frivolous skills!"

"His Majesty has not yet returned from his northern tour, and His Highness is overseeing the country; countless eyes are watching!"

"If this matter reaches His Majesty's ears, or if those civil officials gossip about it, saying that His Highness... saying that His Highness is mentally unstable, what should we do?!"

His chest heaved violently, clearly indicating that he had just rushed in from outside, filled with anxiety.

"Your Highness! You are the Crown Prince, the future of the Ming Dynasty! You should devote yourself to learning the ways of governing the country, and befriend virtuous ministers and capable generals. How can you associate with those artisans who engage in lowly trades, and even set up government offices and academies for them?"

"This is absolutely not the act of a wise ruler! It must be some villain who, seeing Your Highness's benevolence, has spread slanderous words to ruin Your Highness's reputation and disrupt the Ming Dynasty! Your Highness, tell me, who is it?"

"Is it that Li Xiyan, or someone else? I will never allow such a villain to live in this world!"

Zhu Biao's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Looking at Lan Yu's appearance, he inexplicably thought of the ending he had seen in later generations.

Zhu Biao did not help him up, but walked back to his desk and slowly sat down.

He didn't say anything, but picked up the memorial he had been reading and started looking at it again.

Silence spread, and an invisible pressure began to replace the chilling aura brought by Lan Yu, gradually pushing back against them.

Lan Yu remained kneeling on one knee.

Suddenly, I felt that the floor tiles in this study were unusually cold and hard tonight.

The prince's silence made him more uneasy than any reprimand.

Finally, Zhu Biao spoke.

"Marquis of Yongchang,"

Zhu Biao put down the memorial, looked at Lan Yu, and his gaze was calm.

"You just said you wanted to kill the treacherous officials who bewitched me?"

Lan Yu's heart tightened, and she braced herself.

"Yes! I cannot stand idly by and allow anyone to mislead the Crown Prince!"

"it is good."

Zhu Biao nodded, his gaze falling on Lan Yu's face like a calm lake.

"Then let me ask you, when you speak of 'treacherous officials,' do you mean Li Xiyan, or... other ministers who agree with or carry out my will?"

"this……"

Lan Yu was speechless.

His original intention was to refer to someone in general, but when the Crown Prince asked this question, if he specifically pointed to Li Xiyan, it would be an open confrontation with the ministers of the Eastern Palace; if he referred to someone in general, it would appear reckless and unfounded.

"You also said that this matter shakes the foundation of the country and is by no means the work of a wise ruler."

Zhu Biao continued, his tone remaining steady.

"But since I took over the reins of government, I have been careful in my words and deeds. All the matters I have discussed, whether successful or not, have been done with the public interest in mind and after consulting with senior ministers."

"In your mouth, General Lan, it has become an act bordering on immorality? Marquis Yongchang, are you accusing me, the Crown Prince, of lacking virtue and not following the righteous path?"

Blue Jade's forehead instantly broke out in sweat.

"Your Highness would not dare! That is absolutely not what I meant! I am merely worried that Your Highness may be misled by treacherous people..."

"Who is the villain?"

Zhu Biao interrupted him, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Li Xiyan was appointed as an official in the Eastern Palace by the Emperor, and he has always been loyal and dutiful. You, without any evidence, simply because of differing political views, directly denounced him as a villain and even threatened to beat and kill him... Lan Yu, are you trying to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous for me, or are you trying to make decisions about personnel in the Eastern Palace for me, or even... interfere with my will?"