We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

Zhou Rui felt like the sky had fallen.

He suddenly stood up from the chair, but felt dizzy and his vision went black!

What's going on?!

He just thought the Crown Prince was about to change his ways, but then he started killing people again?

He slumped back into his chair, taking a long time to recover, and then slammed his hand on the table, asking Zhou Tianze a question.

"Is there a reason?"

"I ask you, did the Crown Prince have any reason for killing the official? Did he obtain any evidence of guilt?"

Zhou Tianze was secretly pleased, but on the surface he pretended to be confused.

"Huh? No?"

"The two Ministry of Works officials who came back to report said that they had just gone to the camp to inquire as usual, but the fake prince suddenly turned on them."

Zhou Rui felt a little dizzy again.

Killing palace maids, eunuchs, and guards—that's all there is to it. At most, you can give some compensation and appease them, and that'll be the end of it.

But this time, they killed a high-ranking official of the imperial court!

Even if he were the emperor, he couldn't cover up the truth!

The civil and military officials will definitely cause trouble; if the crown prince is not punished, the court will not have any peace.

At that time, forget about all the important affairs of the world and just argue in the Qiankun Palace every day.

Zhou Rui rubbed his head and waved to Zhou Tianze.

"Stop talking about a fake prince! What fake prince would do something like this? He wouldn't dare to be so arrogant if he weren't your brother!"

"I'll go and ask him right now what he's up to!"

When he said his last words, Zhou Rui was already gritting his teeth.

But it was all too late.

The old eunuch rushed in, his face filled with panic, and began to report.

"Your Majesty, the ministers of the six ministries, the heads of the three provinces, and all the officials of various ministries are waiting outside the palace."

The old eunuch wasn't in much better spirits than Zhou Rui.

He had just made up his mind to support the crown prince when the crown prince turned around and gave him such a big surprise.

He's also in a real bind right now.

Zhou Rui stared blankly at the doorway, immediately realizing that the Crown Prince was doomed.

It's not that the crown prince should pay with his life, but that his position is definitely in jeopardy, and the fiefdoms he prepared are useless.

No official would allow the crown prince to go to a good place to enjoy himself; the best outcome would be exile to the frontier.

Lingnan is too far, Ningguta is too cold, would Qianzhou be better?

Zhou Rui has already started choosing a place of exile for the Crown Prince!

The old eunuch looked up and gave a reminder.

"Your Majesty, should this old servant invite His Highness the Crown Prince to come and confront us?"

Zhou Rui then came to his senses and nodded repeatedly.

"Go, go quickly! Summon His Highness the Crown Prince. I want to ask him personally why he killed a court official!"

A short while later, Zhou Tiancheng and the heads of various departments entered the Imperial Study in unison.

Zhou Rui felt a headache coming on as soon as he saw Zhou Tiancheng.

How could you have caused such a huge disaster!

Killing ordinary people is one thing, but now they've started killing government officials?

He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and roared at Zhou Tiancheng.

"You unfilial son! Are you trying to drive me to my death?"

"Tell me, why did you kill Hou Tian? Who ordered you to do it?"

He hoped the crown prince would be smart enough to shift the blame to someone else, so that he could still salvage the situation and at least retain the throne.

But Zhou Tiancheng wanted more than just the title of king!

He had already figured out Zhou Tianze as a person.

The Third Prince will never give up until he kills me.

Being made a king does not guarantee safety. Even if Zheng Ye'er marries him, her safety will only be temporary.

If given the chance, he would definitely take down Zhou Tianze.

And this is the first step in clearing one's name of cruelty.

"Whether I can perform this role well or not will determine whether I can continue to be the crown prince."

Zhou Tiancheng had many thoughts in his mind, but his acting experience was much richer, and he quickly dispelled the miscellaneous thoughts and immersed himself in the life of the real prince.

The once cruel, rude, and capricious crown prince seemed like a completely different person in his mind.

Character redesign!

"I am now playing the role of a suspicious and ruthless crown prince who would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. It's not that I disrespect my father, but in my eyes, he is my father more than my emperor!"

Zhou Tiancheng took a deep breath and looked at Zhou Rui again, his eyes now sharp.

He slowly uttered the words that had been talked about with great interest in his previous life.

"I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"

"Father, I suspect Hou Tian harbors ill intentions towards me, so I'll strike first and kill him!"

"No one ordered me to do this; I did it all!"

After these words, all the officials, imperial princes and nobles present, as well as the current emperor Zhou Rui, stared at Zhou Tiancheng in astonishment.

Is this the Crown Prince?

Is this something the Crown Prince would say?

Their expressions varied; some looked wary, some were relieved, and others were bewildered, not knowing what had happened.

Qin Zhi'ang reacted the fastest, immediately understanding Zhou Tiancheng's purpose.

This is an attempt to whitewash his image and portray himself as a ruthless tyrant, hoping to secure his position as crown prince!

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately began to rebuke them angrily.

"Nonsense!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince has killed someone, yet he dares to be so arrogant?"

"According to Your Highness's intentions, wouldn't you be able to kill people at will, and simply fabricate a charge against them, making it all seem justifiable?"

"What utter barbarity and tyranny!"

Zhou Tiancheng reacted quickly, waving his hand immediately.

"Lord Qin, please be careful with your words. I have never killed anyone arbitrarily!"

"I killed Hou Tian because he deceived me first. I sensed his ill intentions and naturally would not let him go."

"Is my safety less important than the life of a mere official in the Ministry of Works?"

Both of them spoke very quickly, so quickly that everyone noticed something unusual about it.

Before they could figure out the mystery, Qin Zhi'ang had already knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Crown Prince, disregarding the seriousness of the matter, killed a court official and is now making unreasonable arguments. He should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for trial to seek justice for Hou Tian!"

As soon as he knelt, all the officials from the Third Prince's faction knelt down as well.

Zhou Tiancheng immediately switched to a different expression, looking at Zhou Rui pitifully, as if waiting for Zhou Rui to make a decision.

Zhou Rui's mind was in complete chaos, and he didn't have time to process what was going on. He looked at Qin Zhi'ang, then at Zhou Tiancheng, and after a long while, he finally uttered a single word.

"this……"

He didn't know what to do!

"Your Majesty! Are you still going to protect this cruel crown prince?"

"How many people has he killed? Doesn't anyone in the world have any complaints?"

"If the Crown Prince can kill officials and get away with it, it will only discourage all officials and scholars in the land, Your Majesty!"

Qin Zhi'ang became more and more agitated as he spoke, and he slammed his head heavily on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his expression filled with indescribable sincerity and tragic grandeur.

Zhou Rui was instantly smitten.

He was about to order the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case when Zhou Tiancheng, seeing that things were not going well, quickly spoke up as well.

"father."

One word.

Lore!

Zhou Rui froze on the spot, staring intently at Zhou Tiancheng, unable to make a decision for a long time.

With tears in his eyes, Zhou Tiancheng finally finished saying what he hadn't said before.

"Father, in your eyes, is your son just a cruel and unreasonable person?"

"If that's the case, your son is willing to accept punishment. Father, you don't need to lift a finger; your son will go see Mother right now!"