The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 112 Lan Yu's Choice, Yunwen Attends Court

Lan Yu hadn't thought about these things, but Xu Da knew very well.

The worst thing for onlookers is to speak too frankly with someone they don't know well, so it's already quite remarkable that Xu Da was able to say something to this extent.

He felt that if this point wasn't explained clearly, Lan Yu would probably never know what was going on.

Lan Yu sighed softly, her face full of conflict.

Besides Xu Da, Marquis Chen Huan of Puding also said something similar, but unfortunately he didn't take it to heart.

These all imply that he had an excellent relationship with the old men who had fought alongside him for many years.

Many of their fathers had died fighting alongside him, so he learned to rise to power and adopted them as his godsons.

I never imagined that in such a short time, I would have so many adopted sons.

Lan Yu made up her mind to deal with this matter properly after returning home.

When Zhu Yunwen saw Xu Da arrive, he hurriedly stepped forward.

"Yunwen pays his respects to the Duke of Wei!"

Xu Da hurriedly dodged and turned to bow to Zhu Yunwen.

"Your subject Xu Da pays respects to His Highness the Imperial Grandson!"

After bowing, he returned to his original spot, closed his eyes, and continued standing as if nothing had happened.

Zhu Yunwen stood there, stunned, feeling extremely embarrassed.

Xu Da's identity was extremely important, and Lady Lü instructed him to do his best to win over this old minister no matter what. However, she did not expect Xu Da to be so disrespectful.

Zhu Yunwen cursed inwardly.

These brutes don't read the classics, and they really have no manners. If I were to sit in that position, I would definitely teach them a lesson.

"So it's Prince Yunwen! Long time no see!"

A voice came from behind, and everyone looked in that direction to find that the speaker was none other than Lü Ben, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

The relationship between the Lü family and Zhu Yunwen is very clear, so it's normal for Lü Ben to step in and smooth things over at this time.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen hurriedly replied.

"Grandpa, please don't do this. You are an elder, and it's really too much for your grandson to do!"

Lu Ben was extremely pleased to hear this.

"Your Highness is the grandson of the Emperor. In the court, he has no relatives, only subjects of the emperor. We should pay our respects to the grandson of the Emperor!"

Zhu Yunwen pulled Lü Ben aside and said.

"Lord Lü, please don't say that. In terms of age, Lord Lü is Yunwen's elder. In terms of achievements, all of you are the backbone of our Great Ming Dynasty and have devoted yourselves to assisting our Emperor. I am young and have made no contribution to the knowledge of the court. I am truly ashamed!"

"Today, all of you esteemed officials shall receive a bow from Yunwen!"

After speaking, Zhu Yunwen bowed to the assembled officials of the court.

The court officials were extremely pleased to see Zhu Yunwen like this.

This is the kind of wise and benevolent ruler that these scholars have been hoping for.

A group of civil officials surrounded Zhu Yunwen and showered him with flattery.

These were all members of the Jiangnan gentry, and they naturally knew the difference between Zhu Xiong Ying and Zhu Yun Wen's succession. Therefore, they all decided to support Zhu Yun Wen.

The unexpected smoothness left Zhu Yunwen somewhat bewildered. The last time he attended court, it hadn't gone so smoothly. He realized that listening to his mother was indeed the right thing to do.

Lan Yu, Fu Youde, and the others were extremely disdainful of Zhu Yunwen's attitude towards these civil officials. "Bah, hypocrite!"

Xu Da opened his eyes and looked at the two people.

"Yunwen is the emperor's grandson; he must not be disrespectful!"

"The Crown Prince has arrived!"

A voice rang out, and Zhu Xiong Ying appeared before the crowd.

At this moment, Zhu Xiong Ying noticed a particularly conspicuous figure among the ministers in the court: Zhu Yun Wen.

This made him extremely curious. Zhu Yunwen had been so badly beaten by him that he was almost traumatized, so why was he now appearing in the court again, standing among the civil officials?

At this moment, he looked at Lü Ben standing behind Zhu Yunwen and instantly understood what was going on.

It seems this is the work of that Lü family again.

Now that Li Shanchang has lost power, these civil officials have suffered greatly. However, their relationship with Hu Weiyong is not good, which has led them to plan to use Zhu Yunwen as soon as possible. It is quite a big scheme.

However, Zhu Xiong Ying did not take Lu Shi and the others seriously. As long as he was there, the crazy woman would never be able to become the official wife in her lifetime.

"My esteemed subjects, please rise!"

"If you have something to do, start the show, if nothing happens, leave the court!"

At this moment, Hu Weiyong stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, the case of the Empty Seal has now been concluded. Including the Qian family, a total of seventeen families were involved. The entire Qian Yongqin lineage, consisting of thirty-two people, was exterminated. The remaining families, totaling three hundred and twenty-six people, were exiled. In addition, two hundred and seventeen officials involved in this matter who were found to have committed minor offenses were all dismissed from their posts. We request Your Majesty to make the final decision!"

The court officials were somewhat surprised to hear this.

The punishment for Hu Weiyong was surprisingly simplistic. The Empty Seal Case involved far more people than just this few, yet it was so easily dismissed.

The civil officials immediately understood that Hu Weiyong was extending goodwill to them.

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the roster above with disdain.

This Hu Weiyong actually played such a trick on me. The people above me look like they hold high-ranking positions, but in reality, most of them are just nephews who don't actually know anything important.

Of those officials who were dismissed, most were those in charge of the seal of office; apart from them, few people from the Secretariat were punished.

Hu Weiyong also had his own ideas. This matter involved too many people, and he couldn't handle it, so he came up with this solution.

Both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Xiong Ying would definitely be dissatisfied with the above trial method.

They will certainly let their Embroidered Uniform Guard and Western Depot handle it.

Although this was disadvantageous for him, it was also a way to escape from this vortex.

Now that I am acting as the Right Chancellor of the Secretariat, if I can get some political achievements from other places, the position of Chancellor will be easily within my grasp.

By winning over those nobles from Huaixi and currying favor with these civil officials, this was the first step in seizing power.

As for whether or not Zhu Xiong Ying will punish him, that is irrelevant.

Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and the others looked at Hu Weiyong with schadenfreude. They couldn't stand this scheming guy at all. Now that he had handled this matter so carelessly, how could Zhu Xiong Ying let him off so easily, given his personality?

Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the roster above and nodded with a smile.

"It seems Lord Hu isn't taking this matter very seriously?"

Hu Weiyong knelt down with a thud.

"Your Majesty is wise. This matter is indeed difficult to investigate. With my abilities, this is the extent of my investigation. As for whether there are others involved, that is beyond my ability to do!"

The officials in the court were surprised. Was this really the Hu Weiyong they knew before?
(End of this chapter)