The news spread throughout Shengjing City in an instant, and then throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
The emperor issued an edict rebuking Zhu Zhi for being disobedient and unfilial, unfit to be the crown prince, deposing the crown prince, and establishing Zhu Zhi's eldest son, Zhu Zixuan, as the imperial grandson.
Zhang Zhongwei and Long Yingwei found no evidence that Crown Prince Zhu Zhi plotted to murder the emperor or assassinate him at the Lampstand.
However, when the emperor, who was both the monarch and the father, was attacked, the crown prince, who was the heir apparent, not only failed to protect his master, but also committed adultery with someone in the streets of Shengjing City and in a carriage, which greatly angered the emperor.
The imperial edict caused an uproar.
What surprised everyone was not that the emperor had deposed the crown prince, but that he had bypassed several adult princes and instead appointed a six-year-old child as the imperial grandson.
Moreover, this imperial grandson is physically weak, and it is unknown whether he will live to adulthood.
The original plan for Zhu Zhi to marry Ren Yong'an as the Crown Prince's concubine on the 20th day of the first lunar month was changed to having her carried to the First Prince's residence in a sedan chair through the back door, and the concubine was changed to a secondary consort.
The newly appointed Prefect of Jingzhao and Commander of the Five Cities Garrison were beheaded, and thousands of people in the two government offices were implicated.
When the emperor is enraged, millions will die and blood will flow for miles.
The spring imperial examination, originally scheduled for the ninth day of the second lunar month, was moved to the eighteenth day of the third lunar month and entrusted to the Fifth Prince Zhu Dan.
The news reached the ears of the Third Prince Zhu Chen, who was in Mu City providing disaster relief, within a few days.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chen, who was recovering from his injuries, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.
"master!"
With a startled cry, the servants beside Zhu Chen hurriedly helped him up. Bright red blood flowed from his mouth, staining his clothes.
"Quickly, go and fetch a doctor!" the servant shouted loudly.
Upon hearing the news, the Third Prince's staff gathered together, each expressing their indignation on behalf of the Third Prince.
"The Third Prince is kind and filial. Why should the Crown Prince be deposed and replaced by a mere child who hasn't even grown up yet?"
"That's right. The eldest grandson of the emperor was born weak and frail. Even now, he's still like a baby who hasn't been weaned. How can we make him the crown prince?"
"I heard that this imperial grandson is over six years old but still can't walk and needs to be fed by a wet nurse. How can this be allowed?"
"I think the Emperor deliberately wants to establish the Crown Prince so that the princes will fight each other for the throne, and he can reap the benefits!"
“That’s right, that’s right.” There was a commotion inside the side room.
When Zhu Chen woke up, his face was extremely gloomy, and his hands were clenched into fists.
The Chen Kingdom is extremely arrogant, daring to send assassins to kill the Emperor of the Great Zhou. This is intolerable. Therefore, Qi Shaocheng, the commander of the Northern Army, is appointed as the General of Zhenyuan and is to lead 200,000 Northern Army troops on an expedition against the Chen Kingdom.
The Northern Army had to set off the next day.
Something happened at Lianfulou, so Zhu Yu had to go there.
It wasn't a big deal, but a few thugs caused trouble. After eating, they didn't want to pay, so they took a dead cricket out of their pocket and put it in the soup, accusing Lianfulou's kitchen of being unclean, and trying to extort more money.
The noise scared away the customers in the building. No matter how the owner explained, it was no use. He could only watch helplessly as the diners left their empty plates and ran away.
If you're not going to pay, then don't eat! You eat it cleaner than you lick it clean, and after you finish eating, you wipe your mouth and run faster than a horse. What's going on?
As soon as Zhu Yu entered the building, he noticed that the tables and chairs inside had been overturned and the floor was covered with broken plates.
A thug had his legs draped over the back of the kneeling waiter, picking his teeth with an arrogant tilt of his head.
The others sat on the ground, clutching their stomachs and crying out in pain, shouting that the food at Lianfulou was unclean.
The moment the shopkeeper saw Zhu Yu enter, he felt as if he had found a pillar of support, bursting into tears and shouting that he was innocent, asking where there were crickets at this time of year.
Furthermore, what kind of people dine at Lianfulou? How could its kitchen be anything but clean?
"Boss, look, they clearly put the cricket in there after they ate it. Its antennae are still intact. Isn't this blatant extortion?"
Zhu Yu glanced at the shopkeeper and said, "Have someone make another bowl of this soup and bring it up. Consider it compensation for these young men."
"Ah?" The shopkeeper had no choice but to go to the kitchen, shaking his head and sighing. After all, she was just a young girl, and she could swallow her anger like this.
Once they get a taste of success the first time, they'll want to try again and again.
What use is Lianfulou now that it's been taken from the Third Prince? It still can't be held onto.
The thug with his legs draped over the waiter's back immediately lit up when he saw a beautiful woman enter. He looked at Zhu Yu and said, "Oh, is this restaurant yours, Miss?"
Zhu Yu nodded obediently, a hint of fear in his eyes. His clear eyes were misty, like a cute and charming little rabbit.
Qi Yu's eyes twitched at the sight; this little rabbit had fangs.
The hot soup was served quickly.
Zhu Yu asked, "Is this the kind of soup?"
The thug glanced at the soup, stared at Zhu Yu's face, and repeatedly said yes.
Zhu Yu then pinched the cricket between his thumb and forefinger, raised his delicate pinky finger, lifted it from the cold soup, and tossed it into the hot soup with a plop. He opened his large, misty eyes and asked, "Is that so?"
The thug stared wide-eyed at her slender hand, swallowing hard. "Yes, yes, yes."
Then, the pretty young girl with big, watery eyes in front of her gently said to the maid behind her, "Qiyu, then you should feed him this bowl of soup."
Qi Yu rolled up her sleeves and strode forward, saying, "Yes, Miss!"
He grabbed the man's chin and poured a bowl of scalding hot soup into the thug's mouth.
The thug was immediately burned and tried to scream and struggle, but who was Qi Yu? By holding his chin, she managed to keep him completely immobilized.
When the others saw their leader being bullied, their stomach pain disappeared, and they immediately tried to hit him.
Qi Yu raised his foot and kicked them both away.
The shopkeeper was stunned and took back his earlier grumbling.
After a large bowl of hot soup was poured down his throat, the hoodlum broke out in a mouthful of blisters. He didn't even dare to cry, afraid that his teeth would puncture the blisters.
Zhu Yu bent down to look at the person and asked in a soft, delicate voice, "Is this how you drink it?"
The thug was terrified and kicked his legs backward, shaking his head desperately.
"Oh~~" Zhu Yu dragged out the last syllable, then turned to the terrified shopkeeper and said, "He said that's not how you drink it, so I'll trouble you to have the kitchen make another bowl and bring it over."
The thug hurriedly crawled over on his knees, kowtowing to Zhu Yu, his mouth agape, stammering, "Yes...yes..."
"Are crickets part of our restaurant?"
The thug shook his head frantically again.
He then looked at the other people.
Those men immediately replied, "We put it in there, it wasn't yours."
Zhu Yu straightened up with satisfaction, glanced around at the damaged items, and looked at them with a deep, unsettling gaze.
The group was so frightened they stumbled and hurriedly got up to clean up.
Zhu Yu found it rather boring; these people were too easily frightened, and he hadn't had enough fun yet.
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