Lan Yu was about to die

Hearing that he was not to burn incense anymore, Liu Liu had no choice but to stop.

After receiving that small measure of dignity from Zhu Yuntong, he had begun to stop reporting certain things to Dongqing. He felt Zhu Yuntong was quite good to him, far better than Zhu Yunwen, and concealed whatever he could.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was dinner.

As Zhu Yuntong was thinking about what he could do tomorrow, Liu Liu came in to announce that Xu Xingzu had arrived again.

Only then did he glance at the sky. It was already evening.

"Send him in!"

Zhu Yuntong spoke.

Xu Xingzu had come to bring Zhu Yuntong dinner again. Since that day, he had gone out of his way to please Zhu Yuntong. The moment he entered, he said with a broad smile, "Your Highness, Third Imperial Grandson, old Xu is here to apologize again. I've already had a portion sent to Her Highness Consort Hui. I paid for everything I prepared for Your Highness out of my own pocket."

He set a large pot of soup on the table and continued, "I'm only a cook. I have nothing to offer except a little skill in the kitchen to make amends to Your Highness. Please forgive me for what happened before."

He did seem sincere.

He also seemed to be trying to take sides.

"Old Xu."

Zhu Yuntong was not about to turn down dinner. He added, "Imperial Grandfather told you not to take sides. You should be more careful."

His attitude toward cooks was the same as old Zhu's.

It was best not to offend them lightly. Otherwise, who knew what extra ingredients they might slip into your food?

A cook like Xu Xingzu was also convenient to have at hand.

Zhu Yuntong could give him a few timely reminders. Perhaps this man would prove useful later.

"I'm not taking sides, not taking sides!"

Xu Xingzu hurriedly said, "If I take anyone's side, it's His Majesty's. I truly only came to apologize."

"I've already forgotten what happened before."

Zhu Yuntong smiled.

"Good, good! I'm glad you've forgotten!"

Xu Xingzu finally felt reassured. He knelt and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, Third Imperial Grandson, for your magnanimity. I... I don't know how else to thank Your Highness. If there's anything you'd like to eat, just tell me."

Apart from making food, there really was nothing else he could do.

"All right, all right!"

Zhu Yuntong dismissed him.

His thoughts had been interrupted briefly, but they soon returned to tomorrow's business.

Actually, matters such as Lan Yu's arrogance and his adopted sons were all easy enough to resolve.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already punished him for his overbearing conduct and for growing arrogant over his achievements.

Even for sleeping with a Northern Yuan prince's consort and allowing his troops to destroy a pass, Zhu Yuanzhang had already punished him. To a certain extent, those matters could be left in the past.

Those adopted sons were indeed a problem, but not an unmanageable one.

The only real difficulty lay in the remnants of Hu Weiyong's faction.

Zhu Yuntong had not coordinated with Lan Yu earlier about how to resolve this matter, because the moment they did, the Embroidered Guard would surely report it to Zhu Yuanzhang. He would have to see how Lan Yu responded, then step forward to help him and win his allegiance in the process.

After thinking through so much, Zhu Yuntong came back to his senses and realized he was truly hungry.

As before, he set aside a portion of the meal and gave it to Liu Liu.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Moved, Liu Liu knelt and kowtowed, then added, "This servant can just eat the leftovers. Your Highness needn't set aside a separate portion for me. Also... there is something this servant would like to tell Your Highness."

"What is it?"

Zhu Yuntong asked.

"Dongqing, who serves the Crown Princess, came by earlier and asked this servant about Your Highness's current situation." Liu Liu did not dare conceal anything and revealed some of the inside details as well.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuntong thought for a moment.

He could now be certain that he had successfully turned Liu Liu.

So turning a eunuch really was that simple.

He only needed to treat him a little better, grant him some dignity, and let him feel his sincerity. That was enough to win him over.

"You can tell Dongqing that I'm feeling a little anxious and nervous right now."

Zhu Yuntong decided to give Zhu Yunwen a little hope.

Then he would see just how disappointed Zhu Yunwen would be tomorrow.

"This servant understands."

Liu Liu nodded repeatedly, then withdrew.

The news soon passed through Dongqing to Lü Shi and Zhu Yunwen.

"Really?"

Zhu Yunwen asked.

Dongqing nodded. "That's what Liu Liu said."

Lü Shi said with relief, "Liu Liu is one of ours. He wouldn't dare betray us!"

She remained very confident, believing she could keep a eunuch firmly under her control and that nothing in the Eastern Palace could escape her grasp.

"Tomorrow, Lan Yu will die."

Zhu Yunwen said, "My three teachers have also said they'll help me. Together, we'll make the charges against Lan Yu stick. We might even be able to uproot those people from Huai-Western altogether!"

As he spoke, he grew excited.

It was as though he could already see Zhu Yuntong's despair tomorrow.

This was a test. They all knew Zhu Yuntong had no choice but to accept it. If he refused, he would have no chance.

"Tomorrow, let them do the talking."

Lü Shi still kept her guard up. "You mustn't speak carelessly. If anything unexpected happens, it will be those civil officials' problem. But if you open your mouth, it becomes your problem."

It was better to be cautious about this sort of thing.

After the battering she had taken over the past two days, Lü Shi had no choice but to tread carefully.

Zhu Yunwen was still in a state of excitement and nodded repeatedly to show he understood.

Time passed quickly, and the next morning arrived.

After getting up, Zhu Yuntong was about to go and see Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yuanzhang sent someone to tell him not to come over yet and to wait for further instructions.

"Imperial Grandfather doesn't intend to conduct the hearing at court."

Zhu Yuntong understood old Zhu's intention, so he remained in the Eastern Palace and waited.

He waited until almost noon before someone finally came to tell him he could go to the offices of the Court of Judicial Review. This would be a joint hearing by the three judicial authorities: the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate.

Left Censor-in-Chief Zhan Hui would preside over the questioning. Zhu Yuanzhang would merely observe.

As the man who had personally arrested Lan Yu, and the person being tested, Zhu Yuntong had to be present.

When he arrived at the offices of the Court of Judicial Review, he saw that Lan Yu and all three of his adopted sons were already there.

Chang Sheng, Fu Youde, and the other military officers were all present.

The court's civil and military officials had also all arrived.

Zhu Yunwen was staring excitedly into the hall, looking forward to having Lan Yu killed, wiping out all the Huai-Western Generals, and building momentum for his own bid for the succession.

Seeing Zhu Yuntong arrive, they all turned to look at him.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Just then, the eunuch Jixiang's voice rang out in the hall.

They all knelt to welcome Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Rise!"

Zhu Yuanzhang strode in and took a seat to one side. "All right. Begin."

He wasted no words, wanting to settle this matter as soon as possible.

He was very eager to see whether Lan Yu would die today.

And how Zhu Yuntong would manage to save him.

This, too, was a test of ability.

Zhu Yuanzhang added, "If any of you have something to say, speak freely. But don't all clamor at once. Begin!"

At his announcement, the atmosphere immediately became solemn.

"His Majesty has said that we may raise anything we wish to say. In that case, before the questioning begins, this subject would like to ask the Third Imperial Grandson a question."

Hanlin Academician Liu Sanwu truly did not stand on ceremony with Zhu Yuanzhang. He was the first to step forward and raise a question.