Chapter 182 If you don’t eat the toast, you will be punished by drinking wine

Hu Weiyong just felt cold all over.

His eyes became increasingly colder, and although he lowered his head, his murderous intent was evident.

Deng Qianqiu was desperate at this time and said, "Your Majesty, Hu Zhengxing is unforgivable. I have collected all his crimes. Such a person is rampant in the capital. Just because he is the son of the right prime minister, he dares to be so unscrupulous. I think..."

At this moment, Hu Weiyong shouted: "Deng Qianqiu... do you want to kill me?"

This sentence can no longer be said to be a threat, it is just a simple emotional release.

But Deng Qianqiu continued, "I think that the reason why Hu Zhengxing behaved like this is because Hu Gong was busy with official duties. In order to be loyal to Your Majesty, he had no way to discipline his son, so his son became increasingly arrogant and naughty. So my suggestion is that this matter concerns Hu Gong, so it must be handled carefully. Hu Zhengxing's crimes will be dealt with according to the law, but Hu Gong worked hard and shared the worries of Your Majesty, which is also known to the world. This matter is not Hu Gong's fault. We only need to arrest Hu Zhengxing and punish him according to the law, so that we can set an example! So that the unfilial sons of the officials in the capital will not dare to act recklessly in the capital again."

Hu Weiyong: “…”

His first sentence was, "You want to kill me, Hu Weiyong."

Later, Deng Qianqiu actually turned around and began to defend Hu Weiyong.

Deng Qianqiu obviously believed that this was not a crime that would harm his family, but that it should be dealt with impartially. If his son broke the law, he should be arrested, and it had nothing to do with the father.

This makes Deng Qianqiu seem like an open-minded person.

But at this time, Hu Weiyong knew Deng Qianqiu's cunning better than anyone else.

As a result, he is now unable to even defend himself, nor can he raise the banner that Deng Qianqiu wants to catch all of us Huaixi meritorious officials in one fell swoop.

After all, didn’t he just speak in your defense?

But is this really the case?
Hu Weiyong knew very well that this was not the case at all.

Once his son was caught, God knew what that bastard son knew, and Deng Qianqiu would pry something out of his mouth.

Even though he concealed many things from Hu Zhengxing, you have to know that Hu Zhengxing and Hu Weiyong are father and son.

Hu Weiyong knew that he had to be cautious in front of his son and didn't say anything easily, but what would outsiders think?
What would Hu Weiyong's followers think?
I'm afraid that at this time, everyone has become like a frightened bird, and is trying hard to recall what taboos had occurred between themselves and Hu Weiyong.

Once such suspicions begin to deepen, then it is inevitable that the monkeys will scatter when the tree falls. God knows whether anyone will...

Zhu Yuanzhang originally thought that Deng Qianqiu would try every means to put the blame on Hu Weiyong, but no one expected that Deng Qianqiu's advice was so fair.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Hu Weiyong deeply and said indifferently, "Mr. Hu."

"I...I am here." Hu Weiyong felt as if he was being stabbed in the back.

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly: "I am here to ask you, how much do you know about Hu Zhengxing?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Hu Weiyong fell to the ground with a click of his tongue. At this moment, he was actually a little panicked.

Yes, he knew very well that any correct move on his part would very likely lead him into an irretrievable situation.

Even if he said he was unaware, his son had already fallen into Deng Qianqiu's hands. Once anything was found out during the interrogation, he would be considered to have deceived the emperor.

But if one knows about it, wouldn't that be breaking the law knowingly?
After hesitating for a moment, Hu Weiyong finally said, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty knows."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "Then I ask you, what is the crime of protecting your own son?"

Hu Weiyong said: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Liu Ji and said, "Mr. Liu, you are the Chief Censor, you go ahead and speak."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers looked up at Liu Ji.

Liu Ji seemed to have expected it and was not surprised at all.

He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, relatives have been protecting each other. The Tang Code has a clear provision: if relatives protect each other's guilt, the crime will be reduced or the sentence will be reduced; if you accuse a relative who should protect each other, you will be punished. Of course, there are two types of crimes that do not apply to the principle of protecting each other: one is treason, high treason, and rebellion, and the other is crimes committed by certain relatives against each other."

After a pause, Liu Ji continued, "The Ming Dynasty inherited the system of the Tang and Song dynasties. There are similar laws in the Ming laws. If Mr. Hu protected and concealed this matter and did not report his son, it would not be considered a crime of harboring. The crime committed by Hu Zhengxing did not include treason and mutual infringement among relatives. Therefore, Mr. Hu is not guilty."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and looked angry, but he did not expect that Liu Ji would actually take out the law and protect Hu Weiyong like Deng Qianqiu did.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeves, and finally looked at Hu Weiyong coldly and said, "In this case, then I will follow the request of Liu Qing and Deng Qing. Deng Qianqiu, this Hu Zhengxing will be handed over to you, the Thousand Households of Chunhe Palace, to punish him."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Your Majesty has ordered that I will order people to arrest Hu Zhengxing."

"What?" Hu Weiyong was heartbroken. He did not appreciate Deng Qianqiu and Liu Ji's defense of him at all. In his opinion, these two people were the ones with ulterior motives. He only now realized that these two were ruthless people.

But now when Hu Weiyong heard Deng Qianqiu say that they should arrest Hu Zhengxing right away, he was a little confused for a moment.

The reason why he lost his composure just now was because he thought Deng Qianqiu had already captured Hu Zhengxing. On the one hand, he was concerned about his son's safety, but on the other hand, he thought that his son... had fallen into the hands of the Chunhe Palace Qianhu Suo, had already begun to be sentenced, and had even confessed something, which made him extremely confused.

but……

Does this mean he hasn't been caught yet?

Hu Weiyong subconsciously said, "My son... is he still in the palace?" So Deng Qianqiu looked at Hu Weiyong with a smile and said, "Mr. Hu, the Thousand Households of Chunhe Palace only follow the emperor's orders. How dare we disregard the law and arrest people at will? We abide by the rules. How could Mr. Hu think that the Thousand Households would act so rashly?"

Hu Weiyong: “…”

What this means is that we in the Qianhu Suo are different from you slutty girls. We are not like you who don't follow the rules.

The ministers: "..."

Hu Weiyong: “…”

Liu Ji looked at Deng Qianqiu meaningfully, and suddenly felt that this boy was becoming more and more interesting to him.

Of course, Liu Ji soon had his own troubles again, because he found that Wang Guangyang was looking at him, Liu Ji, with complicated eyes at this time.

Obviously, Wang Guangyang was quite dissatisfied with the fact that he had just used the law to exonerate Hu Weiyong.

But Liu Ji wanted to laugh in his heart. He thought that Lord Wang was too anxious. He loved reading and believed in books. He was really not worthy of such a high position as the Left Prime Minister.

You must know... at this time, to exonerate Hu Weiyong is the only way to put Hu Weiyong in an irretrievable situation.

Of course, Liu Ji couldn't explain this and couldn't tell anyone about it.

But... Liu Ji vaguely realized that there seemed to be two other people in the hall who understood this deeper meaning.

One of them must be His Majesty who is firmly in the high position! What kind of person is His Majesty? Liu Ji had seen His Majesty's rage just now, but now His Majesty has suddenly become peaceful. Obviously, there is a deeper intention.

And another person...

What surprised Liu Ji was that if there was another person, it might be the young man in the hall. This boy was even more unfathomable than he had imagined!

At this time, Deng Qianqiu said, "Your Majesty, the situation is urgent. I... hope to go and arrange for the arrest immediately."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

"According to the order."

Deng Qianqiu didn't hesitate any longer and left in a hurry.

…………

Niu Shisan had already started making arrangements.

After that, someone knocked on the Hu family's house.

The Hu family's doorman opened the door impatiently, and Niu Shisan took the lead, pressing the hilt of the knife at his waist, and rushed into the Hu family's mansion.

Without waiting for the doorman to exclaim, Niu Shisan shouted, "No one is allowed to move. Kneel down. We are here to arrest people. Anyone who dares to act rashly will be killed immediately."

The Hu family had always only had humble visitors, so where had they seen such a scene? For a moment, they didn't know how to respond.

Afterwards, officers rushed in like a stream of water. Soon after, screams of various female members of the Hu family's backyard were heard.

This was the Hu family, a place with a constant stream of traffic and people on ordinary days, but now, it seemed as if the sky had fallen.

Not long after, a young man in his thirties was unceremoniously dragged out. He shouted, "Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is? You are so bold..."

Niu Shisan gave him a crisp slap without even looking away, and said, "Shut your stinky mouth."

The man suddenly became intimidated and dared not say a word.

Then they took the people away, and just when the Hu family was still in shock, the captains retreated like a tide.

…………

Qianhu Suoli.

Hu Zhengxing was brought back and then invited into a public housing unit trembling with fear.

Deng Qianqiu was handsome and smiling. He personally brought a cup of tea. He didn't look scary at all, and even seemed a little friendly.

"Mr. Hu, you are not frightened, are you?" Deng Qianqiu said with a smile, "Mr. Hu is my senior. I have always admired him. I invited Mr. Hu here today because I have something to ask. Come, drink some tea to moisten your throat first. Let's not rush and talk slowly."

Hu Zhengxing, who had just looked frightened, regained his confidence when he saw Deng Qianqiu being so humble, and shouted, "Since you know my father, how dare you treat me like this? When I go back and tell my father, I..."

But in an instant, Deng Qianqiu's face suddenly changed, and then he poured the teacup in his hand, and the scalding hot tea directly onto Hu Zhengxing's face.

Hu Zhengxing immediately covered his face and wailed.

Deng Qianqiu said angrily with a cold face: "What do you think this place is? It's your turn to make a scene here? If you don't accept my toast, you will be punished. It seems that you don't take me seriously!"

(End of this chapter)