The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Tang He put down his wine bowl and leaned forward: "Young man, listen carefully. What His Majesty wants is not the one piece of ironclad immunity from death that Hu Mei and his son have, but all the ironclad immunity from death that have been bestowed as rewards."

Li Jinglong: "???"

Seeing his blank expression, Tang He explained, "Don't understand? It means taking back all the iron certificates of immunity from death."

The amount of information was overwhelming; Li Jinglong felt like his brain was going to explode.

Tang He continued, "What you need to do is give His Majesty that legitimate reason, a reason that will leave all the nobles speechless and make them obediently hand over their iron certificates."

"No wonder His Majesty always says he can't get enough," Li Jinglong murmured.

"Once His Majesty has revoked all the imperial pardons," Tang He said gravely, "there will be no more scruples."

Li Jinglong felt a sudden chill.

Is Old Zhu about to start a killing spree?

"Uncle Tang," he spread his hands, "I'll retire and return to my hometown with you."

Tang He glanced at him sideways: "You junior, it's not your turn to die."

"Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger," Li Jinglong said with a bitter face.

"Watch your words!" Tang He said sternly. "Boy, next time His Majesty summons me to the palace for a barbecue, I'll definitely impeach you."

Li Jinglong: "..."

"Uncle Tang, please show me the way. What should I do? How can I help His Majesty?"

"How would I know?" Tang said, his eyes wide.

"We're all seasoned foxes, don't pretend," Li Jinglong said irritably. "Give this junior a way out."

Tang He sighed, "Young man, I can see His Majesty's intentions, but how you plan to achieve them, I truly have no idea. How could a fox like me compare to His Majesty?"

Also.

Who was Zhu Yuanzhang? He started with a bowl and ended up with a country.

In terms of cunning, methods, and the ability to manipulate people's hearts, all the foxes in the entire Ming Dynasty combined wouldn't be enough to defeat him with one hand.

That's a scheming old man.

Who can beat him?

"If I take back all the imperial pardons from the nobles, won't they hate me to death?" Li Jinglong realized this fatal problem.

Tang He shrugged: "Of course! Is that even a question? You took away someone's life-saving possession. Who else would they hate but you? By then, you'll have nowhere to stand in the capital. Even dogs will bark at you."

Li Jinglong's face fell: "Isn't this setting me up? Isn't my father His Majesty's nephew? I'm his grand-nephew! How can you betray your own child like this?"

Tang He laughed heartily: "Kid, you can't say that. His Majesty didn't force you."

"He didn't force me?"

Li Jinglong looked indignant. "His Majesty told me personally that if this case isn't handled well, I won't be allowed to inherit the title of Duke of Cao. I'm going to burn paper money for my father when I get back today, hoping that if he's still alive, he can appear in His Majesty's dream and say, 'Uncle, don't do this to my eldest son!'"

"Young man, His Majesty is testing you." Tang He smiled meaningfully.

"Please don't!"

Li Jinglong clasped his hands together and bowed to the sky. "Why would you give me an important position? I, Li Jinglong, am neither good at literature nor martial arts. Besides this handsome face, what other skills do I have? Please, just let me live a quiet life as a wealthy man."

"Besides, Uncle Tang, this title was earned by my father with his life. How many merits did my father make in the founding of the Ming Dynasty? My father has a stake in the Ming Dynasty, so why shouldn't His Majesty let me inherit the title?"

Tang He glared at him: "If you have the guts, say those words to His Majesty's face."

Li Jinglong immediately deflated: "I dare not."

Tang He was amused by his shamelessness and waved his hand, "Get lost. This old man wants to rest."

"No, Uncle Tang!" Li Jinglong grabbed him. "Give me some more pointers, give me some more advice."

"Get out! Get out! Get out!"

Tang He flung his hand away, saying, "I've said enough today."

Li Jinglong persisted, "Uncle Tang, you're my own uncle. When my father was alive, he treated you like an older brother. How can you bear to see your nephew jump into a fire pit?"

"Get lost! My surname is Tang, and your father's surname is Li. We're not even related, so don't try to get involved with me." Tang He turned and walked out of the pavilion. "Let me give you one more piece of advice: His Majesty asked you to take the blame, but you can find someone else to take the blame."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and swayed as he walked towards the back room. The old butler appeared out of nowhere, jogged after him, and took the old man's arm.

Li Jinglong stood still and blinked.

They're all ancient foxes, and I'm just a little white rabbit, what am I supposed to do?

……

Li Jinglong returned to the Duke of Cao's mansion at noon.

Inside the pavilion, Li Zengzhi was sitting on a stone bench with a maid standing in front of him. At that moment, one of her hands was being held by Li Zengzhi, and her face was flushed with embarrassment.

Li Zengzhi lowered his head, tracing patterns on her palm with one finger while muttering incantations.

"Hmm, this is the marriage line, and this is the wealth line. Tsk tsk, Xiao Tao, your marriage line is a bit shallow."

"Li Zengzhi!"

Li Jinglong roared angrily.

The two people in the pavilion shuddered simultaneously. Xiao Tao abruptly pulled her hand back, her face turning pale instantly, and she hurriedly retreated.

"Big brother, you're back?" Li Zengzhi greeted him with a smile.

Li Jinglong strode into the pavilion: "At such a young age, you're already learning bad habits. Where did you learn them from?"

Li Zengzhi clicked his tongue: "Brother, you scared her. I was reading her palm, and I saw something crucial."

"You call that palm reading? Your hand was almost touching his elbow. How shameless are you?" Li Jinglong was speechless.

Li Zengzhi chuckled: "Brother, what are you saying? I just learned it from you."

"You learned it from me?"

"Oh right, you forgot? Once, Father asked me to go to the brothel to call you back. When I went in, you were reading the palm of a courtesan. Your palm, well, it wasn't much more honest than mine."

Li Jinglong: "..."

Li Zengzhi poured a cup of tea solicitously: "Brother, did you get the answers you sought from Uncle Tang today?"

"The confusion has grown even stronger," Li Jinglong sighed. "It's going to turn into a disaster."

He recounted in detail what Tang had said.

After listening, Li Zengzhi suddenly realized: "So His Majesty wants to take back all the iron certificates of immunity from death."

"Yes, the immunity certificate affected his performance." Li Jinglong shrugged. "He has a lot of heads to chop off."

Li Zengzhi frowned: "What about our family's immunity from death certificates? Don't we have to hand them over too?"

"Of course," Li Jinglong nodded.

"You can't give it to me, brother!" Li Zengzhi said urgently. "That thing can save your life."

Li Jinglong said, "Let me tell you from experience, that thing is completely useless."

"Brother, you committed a capital crime?" Li Zengzhi was stunned. "When did that happen?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Li Jinglong waved his hand. "Quickly, help me think of a solution. Who should we push to take the blame?"

After saying that, he looked Li Zengzhi up and down.

Li Zengzhi felt a chill run down his spine: "Brother, I'm your own brother. We're siblings from the same mother, blood is thicker than water."

Li Jinglong rolled his eyes: "What are you thinking! With your attitude, you think you can handle this? Are you even qualified?"

Li Zengzhi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, brother, take your time thinking about it."