SBCEJM -Chapter 36 The Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor’s Shocking Secret! He Wanted to Become Regent?!

This scandal involved the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor!

“Winter tribute”? “Charcoal tribute”?

And the person receiving all those “tributes” was actually the current Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor, Wang Xianzhi?

The hall fell into dead silence. Everyone felt a chill crawl up the back of their necks, their hair standing on end.

How had they never realized before that the seemingly frail Scholar Li could court death in such an earth-shattering way?!

Li Wenyuan was consumed with regret. That secret ledger he had treasured like a priceless heirloom had actually been stolen by that vicious woman, Madam Du!

That poisonous woman showed no regard for old affection—her first strike was meant to kill!

At this moment, Li Wenyuan finally understood: Wang Xianzhi was his only path to survival!

He had to blow the matter up bigger and muddy the waters completely!

Only by dragging down someone even more favored by the emperor than himself would he have even the slightest chance to live!

Clinging to this final lifeline, Li Wenyuan slammed his head hard against the golden floor tiles.

Bang!

The muffled sound was like a winter melon smashing apart on the ground.

“Your Majesty! This old minister is guilty! But… but this old minister was forced into it!”

Tears and snot streamed down his face as he cried out miserably.

“Your Majesty, please see clearly! Everyone in court knows that the current Crown Prince is kindhearted enough, but when it comes to governing the nation… he is somewhat mediocre!”

The moment those words came out, everyone from the Hanlin Academy lowered their heads even further.

Some had cold sweat soaking through their court robes. Others mentally cursed Li Wenyuan’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

He’d gone insane!

Criticizing the heir apparent—was he tired of living?!

But Li Wenyuan was like a gambler who had lost everything and gone red-eyed with desperation.

“Your Majesty is wise! For the sake of Great Xia’s future, you already decreed that Grand Tutor Wang Xianzhi should select talented princes from among all the imperial sons and personally educate them in preparation for choosing the future heir!”

“Grand Tutor Wang holds the merit of assisting a future dragon emperor—he will become the future emperor’s teacher! Which far-sighted official in court wouldn’t want to warm up this cold stove in advance and show him some ‘respect’?”

“This old minister… this old minister merely followed the tide and sought a future path for his descendants! Your Majesty, this is not this old minister’s crime alone!”

Though it sounded like a confession, his words effectively stripped the pants off the entire court.

The implication was obvious:

Giving gifts to Wang Xianzhi was an unspoken rule of officialdom—a dirty secret everyone tacitly understood!

Behind the dragon desk, Xiao Juechen’s expression darkened enough to drip water.

His fingers tapped against the table one strike after another. The heavy sounds echoed through the deathly silent hall, pounding against everyone’s hearts.

The matter of the “reserve heir” was something he naturally knew about. In fact, it had been jointly discussed between him and the empress.

The Crown Prince, Mingxuan…

He truly was unlike his father. He possessed abundant compassion but lacked decisiveness and ruthlessness. Born into the imperial family, mediocrity itself was the original sin.

For the sake of Great Xia, he and the empress had painfully accepted Wang Xianzhi’s proposal, allowing all the princes to study together and selecting the best among them.

All along, he had believed Wang Xianzhi to be a pillar of the nation—a purely loyal minister devoted entirely to the public good.

【Holy crap!】

Feng Zexuan’s eyes sparkled brightly.

【This old man Li is impressive! Even on the verge of death he’s trying for a one-for-one trade, and the person he’s swapping out is a heavyweight like the Grand Tutor!】

Curiosity exploded inside her.

【System, quick! Tell me the inside story behind this “reserve heir” thing!】

【And just how mediocre is the Crown Prince that his own parents teamed up to find him a backup?】

【This is basically the imperial version of “Go! Good Son!” talent competition!】

【Ding! Automatic melon-field navigation activated!】

Information instantly flooded her mind.

【The current Crown Prince, Xiao Mingxuan, had a mild temperament and no real opinions of his own. Both the emperor and empress believed he could not shoulder the burden of ruling. Wang Xianzhi had taken advantage of their worries and volunteered a proposal:

“Closed-door education, comprehensive evaluations, selecting the heir for the nation.”】

【The emperor agreed and handed all eligible princes over to Wang Xianzhi for instruction under the guise of fair competition.】

【In reality, it gave Wang Xianzhi the perfect opportunity to monopolize power and cultivate his own faction.】

【Damn, the empress really has vision! For the sake of the empire, she was even willing to put her own son’s crown prince position up for “open competition.” That’s true righteousness!】

【Too bad… this method ran into an old fox with ulterior motives!】

Hidden beneath his dragon robes, Xiao Juechen’s fists quietly tightened.

The loyal minister he had trusted had actually been plotting behind his back…

Suppressing the rage surging inside him, the force of his fingers tapping the dragon desk grew heavier.

Just as Feng Zexuan was still marveling over the revelation, an announcement came from outside the hall.

“Grand Tutor Wang Xianzhi has arrived—”

An elderly man entered wearing crimson official robes and a ceremonial crown.

He had three elegant strands of beard and a refined, scholarly face.

His steps were calm and unhurried, his gaze straight ahead. His entire body radiated dignified elegance and righteous scholarly bearing, as though a sage had descended into the mortal world.

The moment he entered, he performed a flawless grand salute.

“This old minister Wang Xianzhi greets Your Majesty.”

His voice was loud and powerful.

Xiao Juechen lifted his eyes and stared at him coldly.

“Rise, Minister Wang.”

“Li Wenyuan accuses you of using the selection of the imperial heir as an opportunity to accept bribes and build factions for personal gain. What do you have to say?”

Hearing this, Wang Xianzhi showed not the slightest panic. Instead, he stroked his beard with a faint smile, as though listening to an absurd joke.

“Your Majesty, this is utter nonsense.”

Turning around, he looked down disdainfully at the collapsed Li Wenyuan, his eyes full of sorrow and contempt.

“Scholar Li lacks moral character. Now that his crimes have been exposed, he bites at his colleagues like a mad dog, attempting to muddy clear waters in hopes of escaping punishment! This old minister is ashamed to associate with such petty conduct!”

Every word rang with righteousness and conviction.

If Feng Zexuan hadn’t possessed the system, she almost would have believed him.

【Damn, this acting, these lines… his disguise is absolutely flawless!】

【System, stop standing around! Strip him clean! I want to see what exactly this old fox is hiding!】

【Ding! Ultimate mega-melon decompressing… Warning! Melon overload ahead, host please remain steady!】

【First layer of the melon: Wealth accumulation! Wang Xianzhi used his position teaching the princes to amass enormous wealth, far exceeding the amounts recorded in Li Wenyuan’s ledger. All the money was used to raise private troops and bribe court officials!】

【Second layer of the melon: Manipulation! His true goal was to select the prince easiest to control and place him on the throne! What he wanted wasn’t a wise ruler, but a puppet who would obey him completely!】

【Third layer of the melon core: Rebellion! He indoctrinated the princes with ideas of “joint rule between ruler and ministers,” weakening imperial authority while glorifying ministerial power. He had already woven an enormous web throughout the court!】

【His ultimate goal was that once the new emperor ascended the throne, he would imitate the powerful ministers of former dynasties—controlling the emperor to command the feudal lords, becoming Great Xia’s “Regent Prince!”】

【HOLY SHIT!!!】

【This old bastard’s ambition isn’t just becoming regent—he wants to become the real emperor behind the throne!】

Regent?

Puppet emperor?

Xiao Juechen became so furious he laughed instead, his laughter saturated with icy killing intent.

His clenched fists crackled from excessive force.

He had entrusted his sons to this man, yet this man dared covet his empire?

He wanted to turn Xiao family sons into his puppets?!

This was more than deceiving the emperor!

He was digging up the ancestral graves of the Xiao family itself!

“Guards!”

Xiao Juechen’s voice was cold enough to freeze bones.

“Throw Li Wenyuan, Wen Jingming, and… Wang Xianzhi into the imperial prison!”

The composed smile on Wang Xianzhi’s face finally shattered inch by inch.

He looked at Xiao Juechen in shock and confusion, utterly unable to understand why the emperor’s attitude had changed so drastically!

When the words “imperial prison” struck his ears, he nearly fainted on the spot.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please investigate clearly! This old minister has been wronged!”

Wang Xianzhi completely panicked now, no longer possessing even a trace of his sage-like demeanor. His voice turned shrill and piercing.

“It was Li Wenyuan! He slandered me and framed a loyal minister, Your Majesty!”

Xiao Juechen did not even spare him a glance, as though he were nothing more than an eyesore stain.

“Transmit my decree. The Imperial Guard is to immediately seal Wang Xianzhi’s residence! Everyone in the estate is to be imprisoned!”

“All correspondence and account books are to be inspected page by page!”

“I want to see exactly how many people are his accomplices!”

“I want to see just how much treason is hidden in his bones!”

“And issue another decree—all princes are to return immediately to their respective palaces! Without my verbal permission, none of them are allowed to step outside the palace gates even half a step!”