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

Zhou Tiancheng is not good at planning.

The only way he could think of to strike first was to find Guli to slander the traitor.

Guli was a woman presented to the emperor by the Rong Kingdom, and her appearance in the Eastern Palace was already unusual.

If Zhou Tiancheng could frame the Third Prince for this, then the Emperor would naturally not care about abolishing his own position as Crown Prince.

However, Zhou Tiancheng's idea was a bit too simplistic.

He never expected that when he appeared at the door of the Imperial Study with Guli, the Third Prince Zhou Tianze would also arrive!

The two were stunned for a moment when they met.

Fortunately, Zhou Tiancheng reacted quickly and strode forward, wearing a smug and smug expression.

"Third brother, why do you not bow to me?"

Zhou Tianze's lips curled up slightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"Bowing? You dare to presume?"

With that, Zhou Tianze strode into the Imperial Study without even glancing at him.

Zhou Tiancheng was startled, with a vague sense of foreboding.

"Did I overlook something? Could it be that he already knows I'm not the crown prince?"

With his life at stake, Zhou Tiancheng was in a state of utter confusion.

He excels at acting and observation, but is not good at planning and strategizing or seeing through the other party's thoughts.

He deduced from Zhou Tianze's reaction that the other party possessed evidence of the true and false crown princes, but he had no clue what it was.

Just as he was lost in thought, a soft little hand took his hand.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhou Tiancheng turned around. Guli's pretty face was full of worry. She didn't say anything, but just gripped his hand even tighter.

This moment.

Zhou Tiancheng finally understood.

The only people who knew about the truth about the real and fake crown princes were him and Guli.

Zhou Tianze could only harbor suspicions about him.

Under these circumstances, it would be pointless for Zhou Tianze to send an inside agent to inquire about news from the Eastern Palace.

After all, Zhou Tianze was in the room when he went to apologize to Zhou Rui!

What happened at the Eastern Palace is obvious; it's nothing more than the death of a substitute, so there's no need to inquire about it!

"Therefore, the only flaw is the Crown Prince's corpse. Zhou Tianze didn't send the spy to investigate the Eastern Palace; the spy was after the corpse!"

"That's why Zhou Tianze is so certain I'm a fake crown prince!"

"So he came to the Imperial Study today to take my life!"

Zhou Tiancheng turned his head to look at the Imperial Study, a hint of despair flashing in his eyes, but also a hint of heroic spirit that was ready to die.

If he had to die, he would die; Zhou Tiancheng had never been afraid!

Zhou Tiancheng tightened his grip on the soft hand and asked a question.

"Guli, are you afraid of dying?"

"The Crown Prince is not afraid, and neither is Guli."

Guli looked up at him, and instead of being afraid, she even had a slight smile on her face.

It was this stunningly beautiful face that left Zhou Tiancheng speechless for a moment.

Once he came to his senses, he quickly looked away and strode towards the Imperial Study.

now.

He felt a little regretful.

"I underestimated the wisdom of the ancients; I should have cleaned the body up much earlier."

"After all, he is the successor carefully selected by the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty. How could he possibly miss such an obvious oversight?"

With that thought in mind, Zhou Tiancheng quickly pushed open the door.

There were more than just Zhou Rui and Zhou Tianze in the room; there were seven or eight people standing there at the moment!

The moment the door opened, everyone turned to look.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhou Tiancheng first smiled, then quickly relaxed.

Since death is inevitable, before you die, you might as well give your best performance.

Whoever comes today, he's the crown prince!

"Wow! It's quite lively here!"

As Zhou Tiancheng spoke, he barged in without even bowing. He found a seat and sat down casually, with one foot even on the stool!

Everyone who saw this quickly turned away, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

It's as if this is how a crown prince should be!

Zhou Tianze glanced at him coldly and immediately snorted.

"How dare you! How dare you be so disrespectful before my father!"

Zhou Tiancheng turned his head away dismissively.

"Even if I am wrong, it is not your place, as my younger brother, to criticize me! Insubordination—does that not seem presumptuous of you?"

"But you're not my brother at all!"

As soon as Zhou Tianze uttered those words, everyone in the imperial study turned to look at him.

Apart from Emperor Zhou Rui and the third prince Zhou Tianze, the rest of these people were the current Grand Secretary, Minister of State Affairs, and Attendant-in-Ordinary.

It can be said that some of the most powerful people in the entire Great Qian Dynasty are here.

At this moment, they all looked puzzled.

Zhou Tianze put away his disdain and looked at Zhou Rui with a sincere expression.

"Father, I have come here today to tell you something."

"The Crown Prince's double is incredibly audacious! He killed his elder brother and took his place. The person standing before us now is not His Highness the Crown Prince at all; he is his double!"

These words brought a moment of silence to the entire imperial study.

Several veteran officials gasped, exchanging bewildered glances, none daring to utter a single word.

One of the old men looked at Zhou Tianze with displeasure.

"Third Prince, you're spouting nonsense! Aren't you going to apologize to His Majesty and the Crown Prince?"

Zhou Tiancheng turned his head and immediately understood.

This person is probably Zhou Tianze's maternal grandfather, the current Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary—Qin Zhi'ang!

On the surface, he was asking the Third Prince to admit his mistake, but in reality, he was giving the Third Prince a way out.

If the Third Prince can produce evidence, that would be fine; even if he can't, an apology would suffice.

But this is a serious matter that would defame the Crown Prince!

How can we just let it go like this?

Zhou Tiancheng immediately stood up.

"Forget about the apology, Third Brother, I only have one question for you."

"You've slandered me. If you can't produce evidence, what will you do?"

Provoked by the words, Zhou Tianze immediately reacted.

"Do with it as you please!"

"So, if I were to order you to go to your fiefdom and never return to the capital, would you agree?"

Zhou Tiancheng immediately spoke up and stated the price.

The Third Prince was usually pampered and spoiled, so how could he withstand this kind of stimulation?

He was about to agree immediately, but before he could even speak, Qin Zhiang suddenly coughed loudly.

The sudden cough interrupted the confrontation between the two, and Zhou Tianze's face turned pale, his expression becoming extremely ugly.

He realized what was happening!

This is a provocation tactic!

Zhou Rui raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zhou Tiancheng in surprise, then put down his brush and sat down to watch the two of them.

Qin Zhiang stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, if you have something to say, why don't you let the Third Prince speak first?"

Zhou Rui nodded slightly.

"Third brother, your maternal grandfather has spoken, so just say what you have to say."

Zhou Tianze breathed a sigh of relief and immediately took out a letter from his pocket.

"Father, this is what I found out with the help of my men."

"The day before yesterday, the Crown Prince abducted the Hu woman to the Eastern Palace, and then the Crown Prince's double died suddenly. Your subject has some suspicions and sent people to carefully examine the double's body."

"The corpse was fair and flawless, a characteristic of someone who had lived a life of luxury."

"However, the most important thing is that the substitute's corpse has a birthmark on the back of its neck, exactly the same as the prince's!"

"Your Majesty, I believe that the one who died back then was not a substitute at all, but my own elder brother, the current Crown Prince! And the one standing here now is not the Crown Prince at all; he is merely an imposter!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui's eyes turned cold, and he looked at Zhou Tiancheng as if he were looking at a corpse!

Qin Zhiang's lips curled up slightly, but it wasn't very noticeable. He turned to look at Zhou Tiancheng with a deep gaze.

Guli held Zhou Tiancheng's hand, her palms were sweaty!

Is it impossible to keep it a secret any longer?

Let's die together then.

Guli turned her head and secretly glanced at Zhou Tiancheng, her teeth clenched tightly, her head lowered as if she had resigned herself to her fate.