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

Chapter 165 Zhu Yunwen's Custody

If Zhu Yunwen were truly handed over to Empress Ma, it would mean that he would be out of her control.

One Zhu Xiong Ying is already troublesome enough; if another Zhu Yun Tong were to appear, the chances of Zhu Yun Wen ascending to the throne would be greatly reduced.

"Mother, the child is still young. If this has disturbed your rest, it would be extremely disrespectful. Please rest assured that such a thing will never happen again!"

Empress Ma frowned.

"What do you mean? I just found Renshou Palace too boring, so I found a grandson to keep me company. Yunwen is quite filial, much better than that mischievous Xiong Ying!"

"Why do I need to report to you about whatever I want to do?"

Lady Lü's expression changed.

"Mother, look at what you're saying. Since you've said so, I will obey. Yuntong, you must take good care of Mother, do you hear me?"

Zhu Yunwen was extremely excited to hear this. Compared to this place, he really did not want to return to the Eastern Palace.

Now that Zhu Biao is gone, and Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't go back often, the only people in the Eastern Palace besides him are Lady Lü and Zhu Yunwen, making it really boring.

After Lady Lü left, Empress Ma sighed.

"I thought this Lady Lü was a lady from a respectable family, but I never expected that she would also develop such ambition!"

Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I entrust Yunhuo to Your Majesty's care!"

Empress Ma was able to take care of Zhu Yunwen, which was naturally due to Zhu Xiong Ying's efforts.

At present, apart from Empress Ma, he really couldn't think of anyone else suitable to educate Zhu Yunwen.

Empress Ma's eyes showed some worry.

"That's not a big problem. What I want to ask you is, how should we deal with those noble families from Huaixi?"

"I already know about Tie Xuan's matter. These people did make mistakes, but they don't deserve to die. Besides, many of them are old brothers who followed your grandfather in conquering the world. Do you really intend to punish them?"

Zhu Xiong Ying kept her head down and didn't say anything.

His original plan was indeed to kill all of them.

These individuals, who also made contributions during the founding of the nation, have completely lost the mindset they had back then.

The dragon slayers have now become evil dragons. If they continue like this, it will be extremely detrimental to the Ming Dynasty.

"Grandmother, those people did indeed do good for the Ming Dynasty before, but they have also done wrong for the Ming Dynasty now. Good deeds are good deeds, and wrong deeds are wrong deeds. Good deeds and wrong deeds cannot be offset against each other!"

Empress Ma's eyes were filled with reluctance.

"You should think this through carefully. If you really do it, what will the world think? And what will you think of His Majesty? They will think that His Majesty is heartless and intolerant. When you ascend the throne, you will probably be affected in many ways. Have you considered these things?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"Grandson understands that there are indeed some costs to doing this, but it seems that we have no choice but to do it now. Otherwise, how can we face the people of Fengyang Prefecture who have been bullied or harmed?"

"But please rest assured, Your Majesty, your grandson will never kill innocent people indiscriminately. The wicked will not escape, and the innocent will never be implicated!"

"This is all I can do, grandson!"

Empress Ma's expression was complicated upon hearing this.

They are so alike; Zhu Xiong Ying's personality in this respect is practically a carbon copy of Zhu Yuan Zhang's.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang, mindful of past relationships, would never go to such extremes, but Zhu Xiong Ying would not have so many constraints.

Thinking of this, Empress Ma knew that Zhu Xiong Ying had her own ideas, and sighed helplessly. "Fine, since you've made your decision, I won't say anything more. Since your imperial grandfather has chosen you, then go ahead and do it!"

"Just make sure to take good care of their families, and don't let your imperial grandfather be branded as unjust!"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded after hearing this.

The next day, a group of nobles from Huaixi arrived at the main hall early for the court assembly. There weren't many people in the hall at that time, and among the crowd, they immediately spotted Tie Xuan standing alone to one side.

At this moment, Tie Xuan stood alone to the side, with no one around, as if he were being deliberately distanced by the court officials.

In this incident in Fengyang Prefecture, Tie Xuan has already offended all of these noble families from Huaixi.

Especially someone with Tie Xuan's upright and unyielding personality, he was a real headache. Even the civil officials who loved to gather their friends and acquaintances were now watching coldly from the sidelines.

Of course, another important reason is the mismatch in identity.

The officials in the court have all served for more than ten years to reach their current positions. What is Tie Xuan's status? How is he qualified to stand with them?

Among a group of officials dressed in crimson and purple robes, Tie Xuan's blue robe stood out somewhat.

"I am Lu Zhongheng, the Marquis of Ji'an," he said in a sarcastic tone.

"It's really interesting now. Back then, my court was full of talented people, with countless dukes, marquises, earls, princes, and ministers. But now it has degenerated, and even some Tom, Dick, and Harry who can't even wear purple robes dare to come to the court!"

"If outsiders found out, they'd probably laugh their heads off!"

The others burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Some of the younger officials in the crowd frowned. They had just entered the officialdom and greatly admired Tie Xuan's integrity, but they didn't want to cause trouble for themselves.

They couldn't be like Tie Xuan; this was destined to be a path of isolation for them, one they couldn't and didn't want to take.

Tie Xuan stood aside without saying a word. He knew the nature of these Huaixi nobles very well.

There's no need for further arguments now; he can only hope that Zhu Xiong Ying can truly stand up for the people, and then everything he's done will have been worthwhile.

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, stood to the side with a complicated expression. He had introduced Tie Xuan to Zhu Xiong Ying himself, and if anything went wrong, it would be very troublesome.

Not long after, Zhu Xiong Ying arrived at the court and saw that all the officials below were present. He sneered inwardly, thinking that these people had indeed guessed what was going to happen today.

The eunuch standing nearby cracked his whip three times.

Then he cleared his hoarse voice and shouted.

"The Crown Prince is in charge of the state. If there is anything to report, please speak; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"

At this moment, Tie Xuan straightened his clothes and was about to speak.

Suddenly, a courtier appeared and began to talk about other things.

Just as that person finished speaking, Tie Xuan was about to step forward again, but another person beat him to it.

Tie Xuan had no choice but to stand back down.

Currently, he holds the lowest official rank among these ministers in the court and is not qualified to sit or stand in this position. If it were not for the kindness of His Highness the Crown Prince, he would never have had this opportunity.

After several repetitions, Tie Xuan's face turned bright red, clearly indicating that these guys were doing it on purpose.

I want to tell this story, but these people won't let me.

Jik Cheol-hyun decided to go all the way.

(End of this chapter)