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

Chapter 218 A Trial by Three Judges: The Struggle Between Justice and Might
Everyone was very surprised when they saw that this person was none other than Liu Bowen, the Imperial Censor.

Relying on Zhu Xiong Ying's trust, Liu Bowen accomplished quite a lot during this period.

He impeached many officials in the imperial court.

Previously, Liu Bowen merely went through the motions, without seriously handling any matters.

However, Liu Bowen's mindset has changed.

With Zhu Xiong Ying backing him up, what wouldn't he do?
Apart from the Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying, the officials in the imperial court are most afraid of Liu Bowen.

When one of the military officers saw that Liu Bowen had also stepped forward, he was so angry that he cursed loudly.

"Liu Bowen, you coward, don't forget who supported you to this position—His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Do you intend to betray His Highness the Crown Prince?"

The person who said this was Lan Yu.

At this moment, Lan Yu's eyes looked like she wanted to devour someone.

But Liu Bowen pretended not to see it.

"Your Highness, no matter how important the matter in the world is, it cannot be more important than the principle of reason!"

"As the Vice Censor-in-Chief, it is my duty to uphold justice for the people. If Your Majesty removes these ministers without cause, I will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!"

"If Your Highness can produce evidence proving that the Vice Minister of Revenue and others have committed serious crimes, we will show no mercy and clarify Your Highness's situation to the people!"

Everyone was filled with admiration for Liu Bowen's attitude.

People say that Liu Bowen, a scholar from Zhejiang, is arrogant and conceited, and handles matters very smoothly, but has no integrity as a scholar.

Now it seems that the truth is quite the opposite.

If even a minister like Liu Bowen lacks integrity, then who else in the world possesses it? Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

This Liu Bowen is indeed extraordinary. It seems that this old fellow was certain that he had evidence of Guo Huan's wrongdoing, otherwise he would not have stood up so openly.

However, doing so did help him.

With Liu Bowen leading the way, all the other neutral officials stepped forward.

Guo Huan had not yet grasped the situation.

In his view, the group of people he had raised were loyal to him and would never betray him.

Moreover, all the grain inspectors are dead, and the granaries have been burned down, leaving no way to verify the facts.

Even if Zhu Xiong Ying wanted to find his own mistakes at this point, he wouldn't be able to.

Liu Bowen had always been at odds with him, but unexpectedly, he had helped him a great deal at this time.

Not bad.

Once this matter is over, I must pay him a visit and bring him into my fold.

Consider that Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han, once held immense power in the court, yet even such a figure could not subdue Liu Bowen, who readily submitted to his command.

People all over the world actually admire him greatly.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao said calmly.

"That's what I mean too. So, I will hold a joint trial in three courts, in front of all the people and officials. If the Crown Prince can find evidence to prove Guo Huan's guilt, then I will show absolutely no mercy!"

"But if the Crown Prince cannot find any evidence, I, as the Crown Prince of the Great Ming, will absolutely not bend the law for personal gain, and will certainly send him behind the high walls of Fengyang!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

I never imagined His Highness would be so ruthless, actually wanting to send His Highness the Crown Prince to the high walls of Fengyang. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he set up a high-walled ancestral hall in his hometown of Fengyang, where all the unworthy descendants of the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty would be imprisoned.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao is a man of his word; does that mean he's abandoning Zhu Xiong Ying?
The news quickly spread throughout Yingtian Prefecture.

The court officials were all shocked, and some were even curious about the outcome of the matter. King Zhu Shuang of Qin was extremely angry.

"These damned civil officials are truly hateful! How dare they speak of Xiong Ying like that? It is my right to choose which concubines I take as my wife. What right do they have to interfere?"

At this moment, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, felt somewhat guilty. If it weren't for his own affairs, he wouldn't have implicated Zhu Xiong Ying.

Thinking of this, he wanted to make a move, but at that moment, Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, and Prince Yan, Zhu Di, came to his door.

King Zhu Shuang of Qin's eyes lit up.

"Third and fourth brothers, you've come at the right time! I was just about to go rescue Xiong Ying. Come with me; that way, our chances of success will be much higher!"

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin was taken aback when he heard this.

"Second Brother, what nonsense are you talking about? With the men under our command, how could we possibly rescue Xiong Ying from among the layers of guards?"

"Besides, even if we save him, how will U.A. face the world!"

King Zhu Shuang of Qin was extremely anxious.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Xiong Ying has been kind to us. If we, his uncles, don't help him, who else in the world will help him?"

"Third brother, fourth brother, you're not going to abandon us, are you?"

Prince Zhu Di of Yan said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Second Brother, how could we possibly abandon Xiong Ying? But do you really think Xiong Ying will suffer a loss?"

King Zhu Shuang of Qin was taken aback.

"What do you mean by this? Didn't you say that the grain had already been burned and the grain inspector was dead?"

"In this situation, there's absolutely no way to verify anything. There's not a single clue left, so there's no way to investigate. Do you think we can let these people come back to life in another body?!"

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin and Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter.

Clearly, both of them had already guessed the outcome.

At this point, King Zhu Shuang of Qin was still completely confused.

"Third brother, fourth brother, what are you two laughing about? We're in deep trouble, how can you still be laughing!"

"Fine, if you're unwilling to rescue U.A., I'll go myself!"

After saying this, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, tried to run away, but was stopped by Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, and Prince Yan, Zhu Di.

"Second Brother, don't worry, maybe Xiong Ying really does have the ability to possess a body and be resurrected!"

“You know Xiong Ying’s methods. How could someone like Xiong Ying not have a backup plan? And have you noticed that there are huge amounts of grain in Shanxi and Henan, but now they’ve all been burned? Yet your elder brother, the Crown Prince, doesn’t seem worried at all. Is that even possible?”

King Zhu Shuang of Qin was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that his mind was not working properly.

That seems to be true. These grains are extremely important. If something goes wrong, the Crown Prince will definitely try his best to remedy the situation, rather than setting up such an absurd gamble.

Then, as if he had just realized something, he said with an incredulous look on his face.

"You mean this was all an act put on by Big Brother and Xiong Ying?"

Prince Zhu Di of Yan smiled and nodded.

"My third brother and I think so too. We're afraid the target this time is Guo Huan, the Vice Minister of Revenue. Something's not right with him. He's been way too eager for this!"

(End of this chapter)