But if the Crown Prince were to sit in that position, things might change. Perhaps at that time, the current Crown Prince would be looking for leverage to weaken the power of the princes and make an example of them, so he might be looking for dirt on certain individuals.

Zhu Xiong Ying could roughly guess what his uncles were thinking, but he didn't intend to say much, mainly because there was no need to discuss these matters. It was better to let things take their natural course; it was best for everyone to understand each other.

Leading the procession of civil and military officials to court was something Zhu Xiong Ying was used to. After the procession ended, Zhu Xiong Ying naturally walked towards the throne. At this moment, many princes probably felt a pang of envy. They could only stand among the civil and military officials, only stand in the court, and the throne was inherently superior to theirs.

As the young and valiant Zhu Xiong Ying walked to the throne and turned around, the princes felt even more envious.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang strode confidently and sat directly on the throne.

Upon seeing Zhu Xiong Ying nod, Shuang Quan immediately shouted, "Bye!"

"Sun Chen pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor."

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Emperor."

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "My beloved ministers, please rise."

Zhu Xiong Ying stepped forward and asked, "My beloved ministers, do you have anything to report?"

Yan Zhenzhi stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "Your subject, Yan Zhenzhi, Minister of Works, hereby impeaches Zhan Hui, the Left Censor-in-Chief and concurrently Minister of Personnel, for being old and senile. Zhan Hui should relinquish the position of Minister of Personnel to a more capable person."

In an instant, a commotion erupted in the court, with everyone discussing the matter.

Zhan Hui was the Minister of Personnel, the head of the Six Ministries, and also the Left Censor-in-Chief, the highest-ranking official in the Censorate. He had previously been granted the title of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, practically reaching the pinnacle of a civil official's career. Yet, even so, this man, theoretically the foremost civil official at the time, was impeached, which was truly alarming.

Many people thought of Wang Haiyang, Yang Xian, and Hu Weiyong before them. Once someone became the top civil official in the Ming Dynasty, they would basically be subjected to confiscation of their property and extermination of their entire family. They could not expect to leave the court unscathed, and their fate would inevitably be tragic.

It now seems highly likely that this will happen again, and many people are filled with worry. Is what's next going to be another bloodbath?

If such a thing were to happen, many people wouldn't be surprised; in fact, they might find it quite normal. Emperor Zhu himself disliked people holding important positions for too long and held even lower regard for the character of some civil officials. And these civil officials had already been purged time and again; this wasn't the first time, and it might not be the last.

In the past, the purpose might have been to reduce the power of the prime minister, to rectify official corruption, or perhaps simply to balance the court by dismantling the civil service. This time, however, it is very likely to ensure the smooth ascension of the crown prince's faction to power.

Yan Zhenzhi was a key figure in the Crown Prince's inner circle, promoted to the high position of Minister of Works by the Crown Prince himself. Many of the civil officials looked down on Yan Zhenzhi because he was not a civil official in the traditional sense; he entered officialdom as a grain official because of his wealthy family background.

Now that Yan Zhenzhi has become a pawn in impeaching Zhan Hui, a traditional scholar, it's hard not to think about what's going on.

The Duke of Wei, who had already changed his name to Xu Huizu, remained calm and continued to observe. Chang Mao originally wanted to step forward immediately, but Xu Huizu subtly stopped him. It was not suitable for nobles to step forward now; the waters were not yet muddy enough.

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes slightly, looking somewhat displeased. It was unclear whether he was angry at Yan Zhenzhi's impeachment or genuinely dissatisfied with certain officials; this seemingly ambiguous attitude was even more worrying.

This is probably what true undercurrents are like; this is probably what true storm is brewing.

Zhu Xiong Ying seemed indifferent, as if this matter had nothing to do with him. His attitude was probably to just watch quietly; continued observation was more important than anything else, and he had plenty of patience.