Chapter 190: Hu Weiyong case resurfaces, Zhu Gang vows not to take concubines
Zhu Gang then followed Lu Feng to Kunning Palace.

At this time in Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was discussing something with several ministers.

Seeing Zhu Gang coming, he greeted him with a smile: "The third brother is here, come and sit down."

"I called you here today to discuss the war situation in U-Tsang, as well as some matters concerning the Hu Weiyong case and the Kongyin case."

"The case has been basically investigated, but the handling of the case still needs some consideration."

After Zhu Gang sat down, he listened carefully to Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

He understood that this concerned the stability of the country and the reputation of the royal family and must be handled with caution.

After some discussion, Zhu Gang put forward his suggestions to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"The Hu Weiyong case involves many officials. If all of them are severely punished, it may cause unrest in the officialdom."

"If you choose to let him off lightly, it won't have a deterrent effect."

"Therefore, I suggest that the principal offender be severely punished, and the other accomplices be punished according to the severity of their crimes."

“At the same time, we will strengthen supervision over the officialdom to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

"As for the empty seal case, we can use this opportunity to rectify the atmosphere in the court."

"Those officials who are corrupt and oppress the people will be investigated and punished one by one to demonstrate the justice of the court."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"Well, what the Third Brother said is absolutely right. Let's do this."

The ministers also expressed their agreement.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied. He patted Zhu Gang on the shoulder and praised him, "Third brother, thanks to your assistance, we were able to resolve these two major issues so smoothly."

Zhu Gang responded modestly: "I have only done my duty, and it is all thanks to your wise decision."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Okay, you all can leave. We still have some things to deal with."

After Zhu Gang and others bowed and took their leave, they left Kunning Palace.

However, before Zhu Gang could walk far, Crown Prince Zhu Biao quickly caught up with him.

"Just now I saw that you didn't have enough fun. It just so happens that my elder brother has stored some good wine in the main hall of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace."

"Let's have a drink together, brothers, and discuss how to welcome the soldiers back victoriously."

In fact, when Zhu Gang was attending the banquet in Kunning Palace, he had already discovered that the prince was always in a depressed state.

At first, he thought that this situation occurred because Zhu Yuanzhang forced his eldest brother to take a concubine.

After all, ever since the Lu family was exterminated, Chang Qingyun was the only empress left in the Prince's Eastern Palace.

As the future crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, if Zhu Biao did not have many descendants, it would be very easy to shake the foundation of the country.

However, even the most stable crown prince in history could not escape the words "political marriage".

But ever since the incident in which the Lu family attempted to murder the Crown Princess, Zhu Biao developed a strong aversion to the daughters of aristocratic families.

But when Zhu Yuanzhang thought of his obsession with offspring, Zhu Gang couldn't come up with any good ideas for a moment.

The two of them walked in silence along the way as they entered the main hall of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace one after another.

At this time, Crown Princess Chang Qingyun was teasing the child, and her eyes were almost entirely filled with the adorable little guy in her arms.

"The third brother is here. I have already prepared the food. I will have someone serve it to you right away."

As they were talking, Qing'er and Tao'er, who were in charge of helping Chang Qingyun take care of the East Palace, came up with some wine and food. Zhu Biao nodded and said, "These are the famous dishes of 'Remembering Jiangnan'. I have heard that fried pork tenderloin, fried fish fillet, fried kidney and fried prawns are your four favorite dishes."

"Brother specially asked the chef of the East Palace to go to 'Yi Jiangnan' to learn the skills for a while. I don't know if it suits your taste."

When Zhu Gang first saw the famous "Four Major Methods", his heart skipped a beat.

Although the fact that Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao had jointly opened "Yi Jiangnan" had already been known to Zhu Yuanzhang and others.

However, as the future crown prince of the Ming Empire, he was once associated with the customary entertainment industry of foot washing and massage.

I'm afraid that the rebuilt Inspectorate will have to start performing its duties at the court meeting tomorrow.

After all, Zhan Hui, who is in charge of the Inspectorate, is not only resolute and decisive, but also has very strong professional ethics.

Especially when a new official first takes office, it is impossible for him to miss any opportunity to show himself.

At this moment, Zhu Gang suddenly noticed Tao'er who was about to turn around and leave.

As a personal maid to Empress Ma, her temperament was no less than that of some ladies from ordinary families.

Zhu Gang's eyes lit up and he immediately thought of an idea to help Zhu Biao get rid of the political marriage.

But Chang Qingyun, as a bystander, exchanged a slightly worried look with Zhu Biao who was sitting next to him.

"Third brother, as far as I know, Xu Miaoyun is the apple of the eye of Duke Wei's family. You must not do anything to let her down!"

Zhu Gang knew that his elder brother had misunderstood him, but before he could open his mouth to explain, Tao'er knelt down and apologized first.

After all, it is well known that Xu Miaoyun and Xie Yuer have similar status in the Prince Jin's Mansion.

This was a promise made by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Gang had always carried it out very well.

The advantage is that on the one hand it can appease Xu Da, Duke of Wei, and on the other hand it can avoid conflicts in the harem.

However, in the eyes of those women who wanted to marry into the Prince of Jin's Mansion, facing two princesses of prominent status was obviously not good news.

If she had a choice, Tao'er would rather marry into an ordinary family than compete for favor in the backyard of Prince Jin's mansion.

"Yu'er and I have been childhood sweethearts, and Miaoyun fell in love with me at first sight."

"No matter who they are, I will never let them down in my life."

In order to avoid getting involved in unnecessary trouble, Zhu Gang still made some explanations.

Otherwise, given the temperament of Old Zhu and my eldest brother, they might give Tao'er to me in a few days.

Zhu Biao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. "My third brother's wife's mother, Mrs. Xie, is someone that even Duke Wei is afraid of."

"If you really take a concubine so soon, it will not only be the Prince Jin's Mansion that will suffer, but even Uncle Xu will be unlucky for a while!"

Previously, because Xu Da proposed that her daughter be Zhu Gang's concubine, Xie almost turned hostile on the spot.

If Zhu Yuanzhang had not made arrangements for Xu Miaoyun's offspring in advance, Xie would probably have already rushed to the palace to ask Empress Ma for an explanation.

Fortunately, Zhu Gang personally confirmed that the previous speculation of Zhu Biao and his wife was just a misunderstanding.

Otherwise, once the rumor spreads that Queen Ma's personal maid was favored by Prince Jin, there will probably be another wave of troubles.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

The two brothers finally got to the point, and Chang Qingyun quickly took all the other people who were responsible for serving away.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao put down the wine glass in his hand and said, "Third brother, I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

(End of this chapter)