Lan Yu walked toward Li Liangping.
Seeing that Lan Yu was free again, Li Liangping hurriedly said, "Duke of Liang, we..."
Smack...
Before he could finish, Lan Yu slapped him across the face and said coldly, "What gives you the right to shout in front of the Third Imperial Grandson? Get over there."
"I..."
Li Liangping opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but Lan Yu kicked him to the ground.
Then Lan Yu lifted Li Liangping with one hand and dragged him over to the Embroidered Guard. He raised his hands again, submitting to arrest without further resistance and fully obeying Zhu Yuntong's orders.
"Feng Sheng."
Zhu Yuntong continued, "Take the rest back to the barracks and keep them under guard pending punishment."
"Yes!"
Feng Sheng had not expected the Third Imperial Grandson to give him orders as well.
Still, he accepted the order instinctively.
As Huai River West people, they were destined to stand on Zhu Yuntong's side. The more willing they were to obey his orders, the better their chances of survival. Feng Sheng understood that very well.
As long as they let Zhu Yuntong bring them into line, just as Zhu Biao once had, they would most likely survive.
"Let's head back!"
Zhu Yuntong spoke again.
Lan Yu and his three adopted sons were all taken away.
The adopted son whose mouth Zhu Yuntong had beaten bloody at the outset was named Tang Da. Feng Sheng placed all the remaining men under his control.
"Your Highness, where are we heading back to?"
Only then did Jiang Jue feel a little relieved. He had been afraid that a real fight would break out.
Jiang Jue was not afraid of the guards at the Duke of Liang's Residence Mansion, since the Embroidered Guard outnumbered them. But if fighting had broken out with the soldiers Li Liangping had brought, the Embroidered Guard would certainly have suffered heavy casualties.
Then the whole affair would have become so serious that it might have slipped beyond His Majesty's control. He did not know what His Majesty intended, but he knew this had to be a task His Majesty had assigned.
Without His Majesty's arrangements, Zhu Yuntong would never have dared to do so much.
"Back to your Embroidered Guard headquarters."
Zhu Yuntong considered it. He would not take them to the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, or the prisons of Yingtian Prefecture. He had arrested Lan Yu, so he had to keep him in his own hands. The Embroidered Guard headquarters was the best choice.
From what had just happened, Zhu Yuntong could tell that someone else was certainly watching his every move from the sidelines. He could not afford carelessness in this matter.
"Back to the Military Investigations Office!"
Jiang Jue gave the order.
With that, they all left.
Zhu Yuntong had wanted to arrest Lan Yu, and Lan Yu had submitted. Aside from a minor clash, nothing else had gone wrong.
On the surface, the affair seemed about to settle down. Next would come Lan Yu's interrogation and the question of his guilt, but Feng Sheng knew there would certainly be more struggles ahead.
It would not end so easily.
"Head back!"
"Chang Sheng, listen to me. Don't do anything once you get back. Stay home quietly, unless you want Lan Yu to die."
"We just need to wait for the outcome."
After giving those warnings, Feng Sheng took charge of the men Li Liangping had brought and led them back to the barracks to be held under guard.
"It'll be all right."
Fu Youde patted Chang Sheng on the shoulder and said, "Trust His Highness the Third Imperial Grandson."
Then they left as well.
Though Chang Sheng was worried and tense, things had reached this point, and he could only leave the matter alone for now. There was nothing he could do anyway, so he had to go home and wait for the outcome.
They returned to the Military Investigations Office, the headquarters of the Embroidered Guard.
"Your Highness."
Jiang Jue said, "Ye Sheng's son has been brought back."
Zhu Yuntong nodded. "Lock them up together. Tomorrow I'll take them to see Imperial Grandfather. We'll know then whether they're guilty."
"Yes!"
Jiang Jue bowed.
Having spoken, he stepped aside, but inwardly he reflected that the Third Imperial Grandson possessed His Majesty's decisiveness without Zhu Yunwen's weakness.
His Majesty's intentions seemed quite clear.
As long as Zhu Yuntong handled this affair well, that position was as good as secured.
Jiang Jue thought he needed to choose his side as soon as possible. Every new emperor brought a new set of ministers, and when Zhu Yuntong became emperor, he still wanted to remain comfortably in his post as commander of the Embroidered Guard.
"Keep the prisoners here for now."
Zhu Yuntong said, "Unless I come myself or Imperial Grandfather issues an edict, don't let anyone see Lan Yu, no matter who they are. And certainly don't let anyone take him away."
Jiang Jue nodded. "Understood!"
Seeing that Jiang Jue was a clever man as well, Zhu Yuntong returned to the palace. After being on edge for so long, he needed to relax properly once he got back.
Inside Great Ben Hall.
Though Zhu Yunwen had stayed up late the night before, surprisingly, he had not felt sleepy all afternoon.
Mainly, he was waiting for their opportunity, waiting to see what happened to Zhu Yuntong. After a long wait, Qi Tai finally hurried back.
The three of them perked up immediately when they saw Qi Tai return.
"Good news."
Qi Tai caught his breath before saying, "The Third Imperial Grandson didn't fight Lan Yu, but he has taken him away. The charge is that Lan Yu's adopted son secretly harbored the son of Ye Sheng, a remnant of Hu Weiyong's faction."
"What?"
They all cried out at once, then were overwhelmed with delight, which finally turned to wild jubilation.
Anything connected to Hu Weiyong meant certain death, no matter what the matter was or who was involved.
Whether Lan Yu had hidden Ye Sheng's son or Zhang Zhou had done it, as long as the boy had been hidden, Lan Yu and all his men had to die.
"Good! This is excellent!"
Huang Zicheng said excitedly, "With this, Lan Yu is certain to die. Even Chang Sheng and the others might be dragged down with him. Then the Third Imperial Grandson will have no one left behind him to rely on-and the one who killed them will be the Third Imperial Grandson himself."
At last, Zhu Yunwen saw hope for himself.
These past few days, Zhu Yuntong had pinned him to the ground and ground him into the dirt. Now he could finally strike back. If they played their cards well, anything seemed possible.
"Is this really connected to Hu Weiyong?"
Fang Xiaoru asked.
Qi Tai said with certainty, "It definitely is. Jiang Jue of the Embroidered Guard was there too. If the Third Imperial Grandson dared to do this, he must have received intelligence from the Embroidered Guard."
Fang Xiaoru nodded in relief. "Then Lan Yu is doomed."
Without Lan Yu's support, how could Zhu Yuntong compete with Zhu Yunwen?
"Still, we should lend a hand and make sure the charges against Lan Yu stick."
Zhu Yunwen suggested, "Could we submit memorials impeaching him together?"
Huang Zicheng said, "I'll contact the civil officials at court shortly, especially the censors of the Censorate. They all have some evidence against Lan Yu, more or less. If we impeach him together and tie him to Hu Weiyong as well, his death will be certain."
Zhu Yunwen let out a small sigh of relief. His nerves, taut for days, finally relaxed. "Thank you, all three of you!"
He felt only one thing: It's secure!
The position of Imperial Grandson was as steady as Mount Tai. It would certainly be his, and Zhu Yuntong could not snatch it away.
Meanwhile, inside the Prince of Yan's Residence.
"The son of Ye Sheng, the Marquis of Ningjing?"
Zhu Di had also received the news. He sighed. "When it comes to anyone connected with Hu Weiyong, Father has always preferred killing the wrong person to letting anyone escape. Master, do you think Lan Yu will die this time?"
There was bad blood between him and Lan Yu.
He very much wanted to see Lan Yu implicated and killed by his father.
Yao Guangxiao said, "I don't know!"
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