Chapter 168: Imperial Trial
Xu Da was not interested in caring about these right and wrongs.

The only thing that shocked him was that Lawrence Lu was not as good as a little Deng Qianqiu.

Because of this understanding, Xu Da kept looking at Deng Qianqiu, as if trying to see how much talent this guy had.

Deng Qianqiu was frightened by his gaze, but responded: "Yes, we will escort Lu Zhongheng into the palace. In addition... there is another person... Fei Ju... he has also been arrested..."

Xu Da: "..."

Xu Da was actually a little confused as to whether he should admire the young man in front of him.

Deng Qianqiu dared to take the two marquises of the Ming Dynasty just because they said so. His courage is really unimaginable.

So Xu Da did not comment, but glared at Zhu Di and said: "You also enter the palace. After entering the palace, you must report the truth."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhu Di said hurriedly.

Zhu Di still didn't understand Xu Da's thoughts, but Deng Qianqiu could.

At this time, allowing Zhu Di to enter the palace as well actually meant favoring Deng Qianqiu.

This matter is too big, and Deng Qianqiu cannot handle it alone. But if... the prince is involved, or even if Marquis Ji'an is involved in attacking and killing the prince, the nature of the matter may be different.

After all, everyone has their own version of the story. In a public case, you can say that Deng Qianqiu mobilized troops without authorization, or you can focus on the fact that Marquis Ji'an was so audacious that he attacked and killed the prince.

In essence, allowing Zhu Di to enter the palace to meet the emperor and fight this lawsuit was actually a kind of bias.

Deng Qianqiu naturally appreciated the kindness of others, so he said sincerely: "Thank you, Duke Wei."

Xu Da just nodded and didn't care.

Then he glanced at Lu Zhongheng who was tied up on the ground.

Lu Zhongheng was ashamed, but he also knew that this was a life-and-death situation. If he made a mistake, he would die without a burial place. So he cried out, "Duke Wei, do you still remember me?"

Of course they knew each other, but Xu Da's face was cold and he said, "Let's talk about this in front of the emperor."

Lu Zhongheng said: "Everyone says that Duke Wei only cares about his own fame and never cares about the feelings of us Huaixi brothers. Duke Wei never cares about us Huaixi brothers... Today I have really seen it. Learn from you, learn from you."

These words are full of irony.

Xu Da severed ties with them long ago and never hung out with them.

Otherwise, how could a person like Hu Weiyong have the chance to gain power and rise to prominence with the help of the meritorious officials in Huaixi?

Xu Da sneered, "What do you mean by interfering? After I retired from the army, I drank and had fun with you all night long? Did I give each other beautiful concubines? Or did I commit a crime and cover up for each other? Is this what you call interfering? Are we a family, brothers?"

Lu Zhongheng looked at Xu Da coldly and couldn't help but feel angry.

Xu Da met Lu Zhongheng's angry eyes with disdain, and said: "It seems that you have forgotten why people like you wanted to rebel against the Yuan Dynasty! You have also forgotten the lessons of the Tartars! It's only been a few years, what have you become? Don't you have any idea in your heart? Ha, you care about your feelings? Who are you?"

As he said this, he walked out of the gate quickly without looking back, stepped on his horse, and shouted, "Your Majesty has been waiting for a long time. There is no time to waste. Let's set off quickly."

……

The bells and drums of the Bell and Drum Tower rang.

Obviously, His Majesty has summoned you for something.

The ministers did not dare to delay and quickly gathered in Wuying Palace.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw the report, he seemed incredulous and full of doubts.

The officials were unaware of the situation. They only knew that this summons must be related to the case of Deng Qianqiu arbitrarily mobilizing troops. So when someone came, they were already whispering.

Obviously... corruption and abuse of power, coupled with the unauthorized mobilization of troops, are enough to get him killed ten times, or even a hundred times.

If Deng Qianqiu had not died today, the so-called laws and disciplines of the Ming Dynasty would have been completely destroyed.

The most shocked was Hu Weiyong.

To Hu Weiyong, this matter was too strange.

He had not yet received the news that Deng Qianqiu had died. Although he had been looking forward to the news of his death, he could not wait for it anyway.

This made him a little worried. Would something unexpected happen? Logically speaking, as long as he acted quickly enough, with this Lawrence Lu, he would definitely be able to kill Deng Qianqiu.

Could it be... because I wasn't careful enough, that kid Deng Qianqiu escaped?

Once this happens, it will be tricky. What should we do next...?
Hu Weiyong had already prepared several escape routes in his mind.

But... when Hu Weiyong thought of Deng Qianqiu's escape, he couldn't help but feel sorry.

He took a deep breath, still with a relaxed smile on his face.

When they arrived at Wuying Palace, all the ministers paid their respects.

Hu Weiyong subconsciously glanced at Wang Guangyang and Liu Ji. What he was afraid of was naturally not a small person like Deng Qianqiu.

In his eyes, Deng Qianqiu was nothing more than a chess piece, and whether to win him over or destroy him was all up to him. And the ones who really made people fearful were precisely these two people.

He was wondering in his mind whether the Left Prime Minister and the Chief Censor would take this opportunity to attack him.

"Long live my emperor."

The ministers saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright on his high seat, looked around, and then said slowly: "I summoned you all here because of an imperial case, to set the record straight and to serve as a warning to others! Today, you will work with me to come to a conclusion."

All the ministers said: "As ordered."

Hu Weiyong stepped forward with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, may I ask about the Deng Qianqiu case? How is it going now?"

He focused on the case of Deng Qianqiu, which was itself a preconceived notion, meaning... the person who committed the greatest sin in this case was Deng Qianqiu.

Zhu Yuanzhang only glanced at him and said, "I just received a report that the Marquis of Ji'an led his family to fight to the death with Deng Qianqiu and others from the Chunhe Palace. Humph, this... isn't this just a desperate move?"

Hu Weiyong did not correct Zhu Yuanzhang's words, but continued to listen quietly, because at this moment, he urgently needed to know the result.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "But... Lu Zhongheng is really ridiculous. His family of 150 soldiers was defeated by a captain of 100 soldiers. Dozens of them were killed, and the rest either fled or were beheaded. On the contrary, those captains... except for a few injuries, were unharmed."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone falling on the calm surface of a lake.

The whole hall was in uproar.

You have to know that many of the ministers here were the ones who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world. Even though many of them did not go to the battlefield in person, they were responsible for governance and transportation logistics.

However, decades of war have given many people a deep understanding of military affairs.

In their opinion, the mere captain of Chunhe Palace was not worth mentioning. The Chunhe Palace Thousand Households Office was not an organization responsible for military affairs. It was called an armed force, but in fact it was only responsible for tax collection and criminal investigation.

But it was these few people who actually defeated Lu Zhongheng and his family generals...

Hu Weiyong was even more shocked. No matter how careful he was on the surface, he couldn't help but change color at this moment.

This is the result...

Could it be that...something went wrong?

His heart tightened. If...if Deng Qianqiu was not only alive, but also alive and well, then what about Lawrence Lu... Lawrence Lu...

So Hu Weiyong tried to calm himself down and continued to ask in a calm voice: "Your Majesty, may I ask if the Marquis of Ji'an..."

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say much, and said directly: "Lu Zhongheng has been captured and will be escorted to the palace soon. The right and wrong will soon be revealed."

Hu Weiyong could no longer control his expression, which suddenly changed. His eyes shrank slightly and he froze in place, his head buzzing.

He had never expected this result. He simply did not believe that things would end up like this.

"His Majesty."

An imperial censor noticed Hu Weiyong's misconduct and stepped forward quickly: "Your Majesty, this Marquis of Ji'an is a founding hero. Why is Deng Qianqiu being escorted? Moreover, Deng Qianqiu has won a great victory. Now it is all his one-sided words, but he has been corrupt and abused his power, and mobilized troops without authorization. These are all real. With such solid evidence, they are escorting our great Ming hero. This... is really outrageous!"

"If we treat people like Deng Qianqiu leniently and do not pursue his crimes, I am afraid that not only will the people of the world be in turmoil, but even the founding heroes of our Ming Dynasty will be worried. I beg Your Majesty to release Marquis Ji'an as soon as possible and escort Deng Qianqiu..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands and said, "It is useless to say anything about what is right and wrong now. We will make a final decision after the interrogation in front of the emperor."

The censor was obviously unwilling to give in, and continued: "Your Majesty, I think..."

Hu Weiyong finally came back to his senses at this time. He slowly came to his senses. The most important thing at the moment was to stay calm and not reveal any clues. So he smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. The right and wrong will be judged by the public. Please escort these criminals to the palace and make a decision."

Finally, an eunuch hurried into the palace to report: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not wait for the eunuch to report, and interrupted him and said, "Speak."

Immediately afterwards, Deng Qianqiu and several others came to meet the emperor.

And Lu Zhongheng was tied up, looking so miserable! The ministers looked at him sideways, and many of them showed grief for the loss of the rabbit.

But they still had doubts in their hearts. How could Deng Qianqiu...how could he defeat Lu Zhongheng?
"I greet Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor." Deng Qianqiu hurried to the audience and saluted.

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, "Deng Qianqiu, do you admit your guilt?"

This loud shout brought everyone back to reality.

Hu Weiyong had already begun to signal to the people around him with his eyes, and many people had understood.

Deng Qianqiu said loudly: "Your Majesty, I don't know if I am guilty. Please tell me clearly."

Deng Qianqiu, who had always been as timid as a mouse, now stood up straight.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little unfamiliar.

Although he was suspicious, Zhu Yuanzhang put on a serious expression and said, "Really? You mobilized troops without authorization. What's your intention?"

(End of this chapter)