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

Chapter 220 Courtroom Confrontation: Guo Huan's Moment of Glory
Guo Huan hurriedly stepped out from among the court officials, knelt on the ground, and shouted.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I have been wronged! I have worked tirelessly for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, never being negligent in the slightest. I must have offended them, which is why they are willing to do anything to slander me!"

"Since I took office as Minister of Revenue, I have never made a mistake. This is something that all the ministers in the court can attest to. If you don't believe me, Your Highness, please ask the officials in the court!"

The civil and military officials in the court were extremely embarrassed when they heard this, as they clearly understood the threat.

They had been cooperating with Guo Huan for a long time, so naturally Guo Huan had a lot of evidence of their crimes. Once Guo Huan brought out this evidence and took them down with him, their fate was predictable.

That damned Guo Huan, he should just die, but he dragged me into all this trouble.

Despite knowing they might get into trouble, the officials in the court still stood up to speak for Guo Huan.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, it is indeed so. This matter is far too strange!"

"Lord Guo Huan's reputation in the scholarly circles is well-known, so he would never do such a corrupt and illegal thing. I think someone is deliberately framing him!"

"Your Highness, I suspect these people were instructed by someone else. The person behind them is truly a wolf in sheep's clothing. I hope Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Grandson will uphold justice for Lord Guo!"

……

In the imperial court, a group of ministers spoke out in support of Guo Huan, expressing their outrage at the injustice done to him.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao sneered inwardly upon seeing this.

How could he not know the truth of this matter? These officials in the court probably knew what was going on, but even so, they were still willing to speak up for Guo Huan. It was obvious that these people were inextricably linked to Guo Huan. If the officials in the court were like this, then how many provincial administration commissioners were there? Just thinking about this made Crown Prince Zhu Biao feel a chill down his spine. The Ming Dynasty had only just begun, and the officials were already so corrupt.

Zhu Xiong Ying was furious.

Although these civil and military officials in the court did not mention their names, it was clear that they were referring to themselves.

"What do you gentlemen think we should do?"

Just then, an official came out and said...

"There must be other hidden details in this matter. We hope that Your Highnesses can work with us to find out the truth!"

"It is obvious that Lord Guo Huan was framed because he knew that he had offended those who were good at plotting!"

At this moment, Guo Huan spoke.

"I do not know how much money those bandits have. If they do have a lot of money, it doesn't necessarily mean it belongs to me!"

"This humble official is upright and will naturally not accept such ill-gotten gains!"

"If these people can prove that the money came from my residence, then I have nothing to say. But if they cannot prove it, I beg Your Highness for an explanation!"

Since Guo Huan dared to transport these gold and silver treasures to these mountain strongholds, he was naturally not afraid of leaving any evidence. The gold and silver had all been recast, and it was impossible to tell that they were once official silver.

Moreover, they kept very complete accounts, making it virtually impossible to discern anything.

The officials below saw Guo Huan's confident demeanor and their eyes lit up; this was indeed a good opportunity.

It seems that Lord Guo Huan has indeed left no evidence. Perhaps we can pin the matter of these bandits on His Highness the Crown Prince, and then His Highness will have no way to explain himself.

"Your Highness, these bandits accuse Guo Huan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, of embezzlement and corruption, but their accusations are baseless and they have no evidence. We suspect that they are doing this to frame someone else. We beg Your Highness to do justice for Lord Guo!"

A group of officials stepped forward.

"Your Highness, please do justice for Lord Guo!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao felt a little flustered, and he kept clutching something in his hand—the military tally.

This device allows him to mobilize troops in the capital. If the situation turns unfavorable to Zhu Xiong Ying, he can immediately mobilize troops to control the situation.

Xiong Ying was ultimately too young; when it came to playing tricks, how could he possibly outmaneuver these old guys? Zhu Xiong Ying showed no sign of panic.

"Since you all want concrete evidence, then I will give you concrete evidence. However, the evidence is still on its way, so please wait here for a moment!"

The officials in the court were very puzzled. Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince really had some kind of evidence? They waited for a long time, but no one came to the court.

Everyone speculated whether this was a delaying tactic by the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince didn't have any evidence; he was just deliberately stalling for time.

Thinking about this, everyone had a thought in their minds: maybe it really is true.

At this moment, an official stepped forward and spoke.

"Your Highness, are we just going to wait like this? If the evidence never comes, we can't just stay here forever!"

Zhu Xiong Ying didn't say a word, which further convinced the ministers in the court of their suspicions.

Believing that Zhu Xiong Ying had no evidence, they all condemned him.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao was also a little nervous.

Could it be that Xiong Ying really has no other way? Just as he was about to make a move, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out outside.

Yu Huatian, the supervisor of the Western Depot, arrived at the imperial court.

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and said, "Here comes my evidence."

Upon seeing this, everyone became somewhat anxious, wondering what evidence Yu Huatian possessed. At this moment, an imperial censor directly rebuked him.

"The imperial court is where officials discuss state affairs; how can such a vile eunuch be here?"

"Why aren't you forking it out yet?"

Yu Huatian glared at the official, who was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and could only lower his head.

"Outrageous! The Western Depot is a department personally established by the Crown Prince and is authorized to monitor all officials!"

"We also have an imperial edict personally bestowed by His Highness the Crown Prince, so we can execute first and report later!"

"Does the Western Depot need your approval to do things?"

The officials in the court turned red with embarrassment upon hearing this, and for a moment, they were all speechless.

Everybody knows.

The intelligence agency under the control of the Crown Prince was the Western Depot.

But no one dared to say anything.

Zhu Yuanzhang had just established the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he opposed the Western Depot, wouldn't that mean he was also opposing the Embroidered Uniform Guard? At this moment, Yu Huatian brought out a box.

"Your Majesty, the documents in this box were unearthed from the ancestral hall in Guo Huan's hometown. They record evidence of Guo Huan's crimes in his dealings with court officials, including account books detailing Guo Huan's embezzlement and corruption!"

Guo Huan looked utterly incredulous.

Are these people crazy? How dare they disturb the ancestral hall?

The patriarchal clan system is paramount. I thought the ancestral hall was an absolutely safe place, but I was wrong.

These people are truly despicable.

(End of this chapter)