Martial Cultivator

There was no doubt that when His Highness the Crown Prince announced the chosen candidate to the officials in the imperial court, the entire court erupted in an instant.

Countless officials immediately knelt, urging His Highness to retract the order. Some even threatened to commit suicide by bashing their heads in the great hall if he refused. Others, though not so extreme, still cautiously advised His Highness to reconsider and think it through carefully.

But unexpectedly, the Crown Prince’s attitude was resolute. Casting aside his usual gentle demeanor, he became exceptionally forceful, declaring that the matter had already been decided. If the assembled ministers insisted on their own views, then they might as well find someone else to sit on that throne.

The moment these words were spoken, all the officials in the hall dropped to their knees, loudly proclaiming their guilt.

They had not expected the Crown Prince to push things this far. If this matter truly led to his abdication, then regardless of what reputation the Crown Prince might leave in the historical records, none of the officials present in court would come out of it with a good name.

For subjects to coerce their ruler had never once led to a good reputation.

Just as both sides were locked in a stalemate, another person entered from outside the hall, it was Zhou Gouqi, the current acting dean of the academy.

This scholar, who now held considerable prestige among the literati, stood in the court with his hands on his hips and angrily berated the assembled officials. Many of them did not dare to argue back against this Confucian sage. Even those who opened their mouths found it futile. In his earlier years, Zhou Gouqi had already been known in Tianqing County as someone not to be trifled with, how could these scholars, who spent their days with the classics, compare to him?

Thus, in this war of words, Zhou Gouqi achieved a complete victory, ultimately settling the matter through a rather peculiar method.