Ji Xiang knew he had said enough. The Wanli Emperor also told Ji Xiang to stop talking for the moment, and turned to Zhu Changluo:

"I've been feeling like something was off, and now I understand. You've never been to the West Sixth Palaces, so how did you know I was in this position?"

Zhu Changluo didn't say a word, standing with his hands clasped. He knew he couldn't hide it anymore.

The Wanli Emperor stared at his son. "Are you involved in this? Of course, making baseless accusations without evidence... If that got out, I'd be bombarded by those old fogies in the Grand Secretariat."

"Back then, someone spread rumors about the Eldest Son, saying you kept maidservants for lewd acts during the day. Later, it was proven false. Back then, I was almost drowned in the saliva of those officials!"

Zhu Changluo remained silent.

The Wanli Emperor looked at Zhu Changluo and asked, "The Fire Lord, she's also a woman, and quite beautiful. You seem to have a relationship with her? I remember, when the Fire Lord was fighting Ji Xiang, she said that the Wanli reign was over, and she wanted to regain her eighteen-year-old appearance and usher in a new era."

"You're fifteen this year. The mourning period for the emperor in the Ming Dynasty is three years. The Fire Lord doesn't know about the emperor's mourning period, because she seems to be from outside the city, not a native of Shuntian. And in her calculations, three years from now, you will be exactly eighteen."

"Was that maidservant who appeared in your palace the Fire Lord?"

"Do you... want to kill me?"

The Wanli Emperor's question made Zhu Changluo raise his head. The hatred in his eyes was no longer concealed. He looked at the Wanli Emperor, then at Consort Zheng, and cursed:

"The Ming Emperor values beauty over the state, a sign of a foolish ruler. He favors female beauty and wants to depose the rightful heir. Consort Zheng is a hen crowing at dawn. Why not kill them?"

Zhu Changluo pointed at Consort Zheng, his pretense completely gone. His entire demeanor changed in an instant!

The fifteen-year-old boy transformed from a timid prince into someone filled with murderous intent and resentment!

Consort Zheng's face turned pale with shock, and she took a step back, but immediately became fierce again:

"Changge! How dare you be so rude to me!"

Zhu Changluo's eyes were bloodshot as he raised his head and sneered, "I wish I could kill you, eat your flesh and drink your blood. The foolish emperor and you have been oppressing my mother and me for eleven years. My mother lives in seclusion in Jingyang Palace, suffering from a long illness with no one to care for her. You constantly want to get rid of me quickly, and your son wants to replace me. How can I be polite to you!"

"Knowing that you look down on me, thinking that I come from humble origins, you have always wanted to kick me aside. If I don't kill you, I'm afraid I'll be killed by you someday."

Having completely torn off his mask, he had no more reservations.

The Wanli Emperor's face was extremely dark. "You've read your books well! You even know about a hen crowing at dawn! I could read at five, but I wasn't as knowledgeable as you!"

"Changge, you really don't deserve to be the Crown Prince, which is why I've never wanted to make you one, because you are a stain on me!"

The Wanli Emperor thought of his reckless youth, when he had forced himself on a palace maid, and Zhu Changluo was born. It was Empress Dowager Li who asked him to make that palace maid a consort. The Wanli Emperor didn't really like that palace maid, thinking she came from humble origins.

The Wanli Emperor said to Zhu Changluo, "Your mother was just a palace maid, and you are just a palace maid's child... You talk about deposing the rightful heir, ridiculous. I haven't even made you the Crown Prince, so how can there be deposing the rightful heir? Can you shoulder the burden of the Great Ming!"

Zhu Changluo's angry curse shocked the Forbidden City!

"Your mother was also just a palace maid serving Emperor Longqing! If you can sit on the throne, why can't I!"

The Wanli Emperor felt like he had been struck on the head! Although the young man in his eyes was soaked in rainwater, covered in dirt, and in a sorry state, the murderous intent and hatred in his eyes were like the sea, carrying the intense emotions that had been suppressed to the extreme for eleven years, and now erupted, causing the Wanli Emperor to briefly fall into a daze, almost losing his strength!

Zhu Changluo's angry curse silenced the Wanli Emperor and made Consort Zheng's face turn complicated and interesting. Empress Wang, however, trembled with anger and stepped forward to slap Zhu Changluo, scolding him:

"Changge! The Empress Dowager has taken care of your mother over the years, how can you insult her like this!"

Zhu Changluo was slapped and sighed, "The Empress and the Empress Dowager have taken care of my mother for many years, and I am grateful. I only hate my own incompetence for not being able to replace the foolish emperor. After today, there will be no more Zhu Changluo in the world."

He pointed at Consort Zheng again, still cursing incessantly:

"A hen crowing at dawn, the Great Ming will surely be destroyed by a woman's hand!"

Consort Zheng was also provoked and retorted, "I am a woman crowing at dawn, and that Fire Lord was also a woman. You colluded with her in secret, your relationship is unclear, and you even want to kill your father. Isn't that also a hen crowing at dawn!"

"You say your father was bewitched by me. At least I'm still human. Your lover isn't even human! A Ming Dynasty prince, actually colluding with evil gods!"

Zhu Changluo glared at her with bloodshot eyes, and Consort Zheng was immediately frightened again. Although she didn't mince words, her hands were shaking.

Even Empress Wang showed a look of disappointment towards Zhu Changluo. "Changge, I never thought you would become like this, bewitched by evil gods."

"What bewitchment?"

Zhu Changluo chuckled, "My plan failed today because Wanli's mandate from Heaven has not yet ended! Heaven wants me to fail this time, I have no choice but to perish!"

He pointed at Ji Xiang. "If it weren't for you, everything would have succeeded today! Mount Wudang, the newly appointed priest two months ago. I thought you were someone without ability... You hid yourself so well."

"So... you really killed the Fire Lord?"

Ji Xiang said coldly, "That's right, I killed her. I used the Great Divine Power Talisman to shatter her to death, her blood and flesh splattered all over the street. I used the Heavenly Law's punishment of dividing the body to destroy her!"

Zhu Changluo looked at the blood and minced meat on the ground, already rotting in the wind and rain. In his memory, he had only met the Fire Lord a few times, but she was the one who had made the biggest changes in him in the past two years.

Now it was all over, and he laughed miserably, "I didn't expect that even she was no match for you... Could it be that Zhenwu is really protecting Wanli, that Emperor Chengzu is sheltering him, and not me!"

"The Great Ming could have had an eternal reign!"

Ji Xiang shook his head and retorted:

"If the Great Ming wants a long and lasting reign, it's not just about changing an emperor."

"Using gods to rule a country is actually the most incompetent act. You think too simply of the people's hearts. The Fire Lord is the same, thinking that a patchwork of doctrines can really save the world?"

"The emperor's ability is in civil administration and military achievements, in enriching the people, so that the country can also be enriched. Now the people have nothing, gods and ghosts cause chaos, and there are wars everywhere. Even if you replace the emperor with ten people, it won't be of any use."

"The fall of a large tree is not due to wind and rain, not due to axe blows and lightning strikes, but due to the rotting of the roots, not the death of the tree itself! As long as the roots are still there, still alive, and possess boundless vitality, then the old tree can also sprout, and dead wood can be reborn."

Ji Xiang understood the gods the most. The gods of the world are all ancestral tablets, developed from the sacrifices of humans. Gods are powerful but also rely on the people. When the people perish, the power of the gods will also weaken.

In Dafuli, Ji Xiang had seen many divine tablets. No one worshiped them anymore. They waited in silence, because the people who remembered them had already passed away, and they had lost their vitality, as if they were dead.

Gods are not wishing machines.

"Your Highness... let me give you one more sentence today."

Zhu Changluo looked at Ji Xiang, who gave him one last piece of advice:

"The *Book of the Later Han* says: 'The work of heaven and earth cannot be done hastily, and difficult tasks should be accumulated over days.' To delusionally change the world overnight and become a wise and sagely ruler is a pipe dream."