The Great Ming Demon Pill: Your Majesty, please address me as the Crown Prince!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yi, Zhang Mao, Li Heng, Zheng Yu, Zhu Zhanqi, Liu Zhong, and others were taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

Zhang Mao, in particular, was initially worried because he thought Zhu Zhanjun was really going to reprimand him. But the unexpected turn of events made him laugh so hard he could barely stand up straight.

Godfather Wu Zi!

The people inside the hall were laughing so hard they could hardly contain themselves.

Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji's lips twitched as well.

Wu Changjiang's face turned bright red, turning a deep purplish-red, and he was so angry that he almost fainted.

Zhu Yi nudged Zhu Zhanjun with his elbow.

"Your Highness, Wu Zi is so angry he's about to faint."

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and said.

"They don't even have that much magnanimity."

"Wu Zi is no good."

[Ding! You have obtained a Prismatic Treasure Chest!]

Wu Changjiang's eyes were bloodshot, his whole body was trembling violently, his finger trembled as he pointed at Zhu Zhanjun, his lips moved for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He felt a metallic taste rise to his throat, his vision blurred, and his ears rang. The suppressed laughter that filled the hall seemed to transform into countless sharp needles, piercing him completely.

Wu Changjiang suddenly turned to Zhu Di on the throne, knelt down heavily with a thud, and banged his head on the ground.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty is wise!"

"His Highness Prince Jiyang... he not only humiliated the people by feeding them pigs and dogs, but also publicly insulted an old minister before the emperor, showing no regard for court laws or the proper relationship between ruler and subject!"

"How is such behavior any different from that of street thugs? If this continues, the nation will cease to exist, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Di looked at Wu Changjiang kneeling on the ground, then glanced at Zhu Zhanjun, who had an innocent look on his face, and felt both amused and helpless.

He cleared his throat, straightened his face, and said in a deep voice, "Zhan Jun!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanjun immediately dropped his playful grin and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your grandson is here."

Zhu Di pointed at him with his finger, scolding him.

"What were those words you just said to Minister Wu?"

"How have I taught you in your daily life?"

"Have you forgotten to respect teachers and elders?"

"Minister Wu is the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, an official appointed by the court, and a learned scholar. How dare you mock and ridicule him like this?"

"Such frivolous talk is no different from that of commoners in the marketplace."

"This is utterly inappropriate!"

Zhu Zhanjun blinked and bowed his head, replying, "Grandpa, you've misunderstood me."

"I did not mean to insult Wu Daru."

"On the contrary, my grandson called him that out of respect for the great scholar Wu."

Zhu Di was completely bewildered; he almost laughed in anger.

This kid has the toughest mouth of all.

He couldn't help but say.

"respect?"

"How do I show respect?"

Zhu Zhanjun raised his head and said sincerely.

"Your Majesty, I called the great scholar Wu 'Master Wu' precisely because I thought of the respectful titles given to ancient sages."

"You see, in ancient times, weren't those virtuous and learned gentlemen all respectfully addressed as 'Master' by later generations?"

"For example, Confucius is called 'Kongzi,' Mencius is called 'Mencius,' and so are Laozi, Zhuangzi, Mozi... all of them."

"Master Wu is a man of great learning and high moral character. I believe that his scholarship and character are worthy of emulation by the sages of the past. Therefore, I address him as 'son' to express my deepest respect!"

He paused, then turned to Wu Changjiang, cupped his hands, and said, "Master Wu, I have no intention of joking; I truly admire your scholarship and integrity."

"If there is anything offensive, I hope Mr. Wu will forgive me."

Upon hearing this, the people inside the hall reacted with varying expressions.

Zhu Di's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, while Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui, and the others struggled to suppress their laughter.

Wu Changjiang was so choked by this "explanation" that he almost couldn't breathe, his face turning red and white in turns.

Zhu Zhanjun's words were as if he hadn't explained anything at all.

Everyone present could tell that Zhu Zhanjun calling him "Wu Zi" was the same as calling a rural dog Huang Zi or Hei Zi.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the "Zi" in Laozi and Confucius.

However, Wu Changjiang had no way to refute Zhu Zhanjun's statement.

That kid is too cunning.

Wu Changjiang's face turned black with suppressed anger.

He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhu Di.

"Your Majesty, please do not let my personal matters interfere with important business."

"Otherwise, I would feel ashamed."

He realized that if he continued to dwell on whether Zhu Zhanjun had insulted him or not, he wouldn't gain anything, so he might as well get to the point quickly.

He wanted to see how Zhu Zhanjun would try to argue his way out of this.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glanced at Wu Changjiang, then his gaze fell on Zhu Zhanjun.

He slowly began, "Zhanjun, I ask you, is it true or false that Wu Siye reported that you used bran and chaff as relief food to distribute to disaster victims at the soup kitchen in the west of the city?"

The hall fell silent instantly, and all eyes were focused on Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Gaoxu stared wide-eyed, feeling a little nervous.

Zhu Gaosui narrowed his eyes.

Zhu Gaochi's expression was calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Zhu Zhanji's lips curled into a slight smile.

Among the nobles, those close to the Prince of Han showed worry.

Most of the civil officials, however, remained expressionless.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Zhu Zhanjun spoke calmly and without hesitation.

"Yes, it's true, Your Majesty."

These words caused an uproar throughout the hall.

Although Wu Changjiang came to report, they did not believe that Wu Changjiang would dare to deceive the emperor.

However, Zhu Zhanjun did not refute a word and directly admitted it, which surprised them quite a bit.

Zhu Di raised an eyebrow and said seriously.

"Zhanjun, are you serious?"

"Not a single word changed?"

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and said.

"Our Zhu family descendants are all loyal and devoted!"

"Not a single word changed!"

The hall was completely silent.

Everyone looked at each other.

No one expected Zhu Zhanjun to be so arrogant.

Even at this point, they still can't offer any excuses.

Wu Changjiang was taken aback at first, then overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, Zhu Zhanjun, the Prince of Jiyang, is a member of the imperial family and is supported by the people. In this year of famine and when the people are in dire straits, instead of showing compassion for their suffering and generously donating, he openly uses the bran and chaff that livestock eats as disaster relief food, giving it to the starving and freezing victims!"

"Such behavior not only despises the people's livelihood, but also tramples on human ethics and disgraces the imperial court!"

Wu Changjiang kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the ground with a resounding thud.

"Your subject, Wu Changjiang, Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, is honored to be an official in charge of Confucian studies and responsible for education. Seeing this act that goes against benevolence and morality and corrupts the moral order, I am deeply grieved and my heart is burning with resentment!"

"Your Majesty, I humbly request..."

"According to the law, Prince Zhu Zhanjun of Jiyang shall be punished!"

"Severely punish them to serve as a warning to others!"

"They were ordered to immediately cease their practice of humiliating the people with bran and chaff, open their granaries to replace the food with proper grain, and apologize to the disaster-stricken people!"

"A decree should be issued to inform the world, to set the record straight, to restore the court's reputation, and to rebuild the imperial family's benevolence!"

After Wu Changjiang finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Even the most oblivious person would notice this now.

This scholar Wu did not come to seek justice for the disaster victims, but to attack Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Gaoxu was furious and wanted to step forward to defend his son.

But this kind of thing is really unreasonable!

I have no idea what kind of fool Zhan Jun did.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Third brother! How...how could you do such a thing!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Zhu Zhanji, the eldest grandson of the emperor.

Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath and said with great sorrow:

"As grandsons of the emperor, we have been taught by our grandfather since childhood that we should be based on benevolence and virtue and have the well-being of all people in mind."

"Now that the Huai River is suffering from a severe drought, and the people are displaced and starving, it is the time for us to show the grace of the Emperor and comfort the people."

"Your act of opening a soup kitchen was a good deed, and when I heard about it, I was even pleased by your sense of responsibility..."

"But...but how can you use bran meant for feeding livestock to provide relief to disaster victims?!"

"What kind of coarse substance is bran?"

"They are subjects of my Great Ming Dynasty, not livestock!"

"Where does this leave them?"

"Where does this leave the royal family's reputation for benevolence?!"

Zhu Zhanji's expression was grave, and he spoke with a profound meaning.

"Third brother, tell me, what are you really thinking?"

"Is it to save that little bit of money and food?"

"Or...or did they never truly care about the suffering of the disaster victims?"

"Do you know that by distributing this bowl of bran, you are not only chilling the hearts of the disaster victims, but also eroding the trust that the people of the world have in the imperial court and the royal family!"

"This...this is utterly tarnishing the reputation and virtue that my Zhu family has built up over generations!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Zhanji turned to Zhu Di on the throne, lifted his robe, and knelt down.

"Grandfather! I know that my third brother Zhanjun is young. Perhaps he just misunderstood something or was misled by those around him, and his actions were inappropriate."

"Your grandson humbly begs Your Majesty to consider that my third brother is young and that he acted with the intention of saving lives, and perhaps... show leniency?"

"In my opinion, the most urgent task is to order my third brother to immediately stop distributing bran and replace it with proper rice, and to sincerely apologize to the disaster victims and make amends for the mistake."

"At the same time, he was punished by being confined to his room to reflect on his mistakes, to study the teachings of the sages, and to deeply examine his own errors."

"In this way, not only will the third brother realize his mistakes and correct them, but it will also demonstrate to the world that our royal family is committed to correcting its mistakes and loves its people like its own children."

After Zhu Zhanji finished speaking, there was a commotion in the hall.

Many civil officials nodded in agreement.

"The eldest grandson of the emperor is right."

"As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince, his reasoning is sound and convincing."

"This is the best way to handle it."

"Your Highness has a long-term vision; it is truly a blessing for our Great Ming."

"..."

The crowd was quite satisfied with Zhu Zhanji's reaction.

She was both thoughtful and knew how to plead for her younger brother who had made a mistake.

Zhang Lifang followed the rules and understood the principles of filial piety and brotherly love.

What a perfect imperial grandson!

Zhu Di narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyelids twitched violently.

Is Zhu Zhanji pleading for mercy?

Isn't this just nailing his son to the pillar of shame?

Zhu Gaochi remained silent.

At that moment, Zhu Zhanjun suddenly burst into laughter.

"I see."

"I thought Wu Changjiang had come to the west of the city to cause trouble for no reason."

"So it turns out my older brother cares about me too much."

Everyone looked at each other.

Zhu Zhanjun's words were practically an accusation that Zhu Zhanji and Wu Changjiang had a secret deal.

Zhu Zhanji's face darkened, and he rebuked him.

"Zhanjun, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhu Zhanjun snorted coldly.

"Go ahead and stir it up, just keep stirring!"

"The treacherous officials have already revealed themselves; Wu Changjiang is one, and so is Zhu Zhanji!"

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]