Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

"Are they trying to force the emperor to designate an heir?"

Pei Yuan slowly skimmed the tea foam.

"Exactly!"

A hint of apprehension flashed in Lu Zheng's eyes.

"Grand Secretary Li believes that His Majesty is now being misled by the prosperous maritime era you described, and is engaging in large-scale construction and overseas trade, which has deviated from the agricultural and conservative path established by our ancestors."

"When their remonstrances in court proved useless, these civil officials devised this vicious scheme to undermine the very foundation of the government."

Lu Zheng paused, swallowed, and continued:

"They plan to take advantage of the spring sacrificial ceremony next month to contact the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, as well as the upright officials of the country, and even ask the Empress Dowager to intervene."

"On the grounds that the state cannot be without a foundation and the country needs to establish a legitimate lineage, he remonstrated with the emperor to the death to establish the eldest son of the emperor as the crown prince and demanded that the emperor immediately begin teaching outside the palace."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan looked up and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The laughter echoed in the warm study, carrying a mocking air of someone who held all the scholars in the palm of his hand.

He was all too familiar with this kind of tactic!

Historically, if an emperor disobeyed orders, only cared about his own enjoyment, or recklessly waged war, it would be a disaster.

Those civil officials also used this tactic.

They invoked ancestral laws to force the emperor to appoint a crown prince.

Then, the Confucian scholars of the cabinet would serve as the crown prince's teachers.

In this way, even if the current emperor is a foolish ruler, they can still cultivate the next emperor into an obedient and benevolent ruler.

This is called trading time for space.

It is the strongest trump card of the civil service group in dealing with the powerful imperial authority.

"My lord, how can you still laugh?"

Lu Zheng was somewhat anxious.

"If they really succeed in this, Wang Hua will surely be recommended as the Crown Prince's tutor as a great Confucian scholar of our time. At that time, the entire Eastern Palace will become the territory of the Qingliu faction."

"Under the guise of instructing the Crown Prince, they constantly speak ill of you, sir, to him. If the Crown Prince harbors resentment towards you, what will become of us Imperial Guards when the new emperor ascends the throne? We'll be doomed!"

Pei Yuan suppressed his smile, placed the teacup on the table, and casually picked up a Xiangfei bamboo folding fan.

"Lu Zheng, your vision is still too shallow. Do you think the Emperor is made of clay? The Emperor is in his prime, holding mountains of gold that I have sent him. He is full of vigor and wants to make great achievements."

"At this point, these civil officials are forcing him to establish a crown prince, which is tantamount to cursing him to die early and to taking away his power."

"Is His Majesty truly at ease?"

Lu Zheng was taken aback, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it made perfect sense.

Throughout history, the emperor himself was often the one who most abhorred the crown prince forming factions.

"So... does Your Excellency mean we should ignore it and let the Emperor deal with them?"

"Ignore it? Wouldn't that be a waste of Grand Secretary Li's painstaking efforts?"

Pei Yuan stood up, walked to the desk, and looked at the calligraphy he had just written, his eyes gleaming with a cunning, fox-like light.

"This imperial court is like a grand game of chess. Now that they've made their moves, as the Right Vice-Commander-in-Chief, I naturally have to play along with them."

"They want to use the Crown Prince to pressure me, but I'll make them lift a stone only to smash their own feet."

Pei Yuan closed his folding fan and waved his sleeve.

"Prepare the horses. I need to go to the West Garden. Such a wonderful performance should be discussed with the Emperor beforehand, and the lines should be rehearsed."

Half an hour later, in the warm pavilion by the Taiye Pond in the West Garden.

Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianji, was wearing a bright yellow casual robe, leaning against the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), holding a rare item that had just been delivered from the Royal Trading Company.

A brass chiming clock, a tribute from the West.

The gears inside the clock made a soft ticking sound, and every hour on the hour, a lifelike little wooden bird would pop out and chirp a few times.

Zhu Jianji watched with great interest, just like a child who had received a new and exciting toy.

"Your humble servant Pei Yuan greets Your Majesty."

Pei Yuan strode into the warm pavilion and paid his respects with great ceremony.

"Minister Pei has arrived. Rise and be offered a seat."

Upon seeing that it was Pei Yuan, Zhu Jianji's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he pointed to the self-ringing clock and said.

"My dear minister, take a look. These ingenious crafts from overseas are quite exquisite. I've heard that these things can be exchanged for a lot of silver in Southeast Asia?"

Pei Yuan sat down on the brocade stool and, following the emperor's lead, flattered him:

"Your Majesty has a good eye. This self-ringing clock is a rare sight in our Ming Dynasty, but in the hands of those foreign red-haired barbarians overseas, it is just an ordinary object."

"If our Royal Trading Company sends out more ships, His Majesty can bestow such items upon whichever concubine he wishes in the future."

Zhu Jianji was overjoyed upon hearing this, put down the clock, and sighed.

"My dear minister understands my thoughts best. Those old scoundrels in the outer court, all they do all day is tell me to restrain myself and return to propriety, and then they complain about being poor."

"If it weren't for my beloved minister managing a substantial estate for me in Jiangnan, I would probably be no better off as emperor than a beggar."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan promptly adopted a worried expression and sighed softly.

"Why do you sigh, my dear minister?"

Zhu Jianji keenly sensed Pei Yuan's emotions.

Pei Yuan stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty sighs because you feel wronged. Your Majesty is eager to expand the territory and subdue the world, which is why you granted my permission to lift the maritime ban and establish trading bureaus."

"But some people just can't stand seeing His Majesty with so much money, or seeing the Ming Dynasty's navy swaggering around. When they can't stop him openly, they try to trip him up behind his back."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianji's brows furrowed instantly, and a hint of imperial ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

"Who? Who dares to trip me up behind my back?"

Pei Yuan lowered his voice and stepped forward.

He embellished and revealed the whole story of Li Xian and Wang Hua's secret plot at Baiyun Temple.

"...Your Majesty, they believe I am a treacherous minister who has misled Your Majesty. Since they cannot control Your Majesty, they are plotting to force you to appoint your eldest son as Crown Prince."

"Then, taking advantage of the opportunity to lecture outside the palace, those great Confucian scholars from Jiangnan will instruct the Crown Prince."

"Their noble intention was to rectify the foundation of the nation, but in reality, they wanted to control the next emperor from a young age in the hands of their upright civil officials."

"If the Crown Prince is misled by them and becomes disloyal to the Emperor, wouldn't the power of the Ming Dynasty fall into the hands of the Grand Secretariat again?"

"presumptuous!"

Zhu Jianji flew into a rage and slammed his hand on the low table on the heated kang.

The Western-style clock trembled three times from the shock.

He was an emperor who craved power.

The issue of choosing an heir was a thorn in his side.

Now, hearing that these civil officials were secretly conspiring to use the young prince to control him, he had crossed the line, which was an absolute taboo for him as emperor.

"I'm not even dead yet! And they're already rushing to curry favor with their new master?!"

Zhu Jianji was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he gritted his teeth.

"That old scoundrel Li Xian! I have tolerated him for his service as a minister of three reigns. Yet he dares to collude with foreign officials behind my back and plot against my family affairs!"

Zhu Jianji suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the warm pavilion.

"I hereby issue an edict banishing Wang Hua from the capital! Li Xian is dismissed from his post! Let's see who dares to mention the matter of establishing an heir before me now!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Pei Yuan, however, remained calm and composed, cupping his hands in a gesture of remonstrance to dissuade him.

"My dear minister, are you still going to plead for them?"

Zhu Jianji glared angrily at Pei Yuan.