I Wasn't Hiding Him-I Was Stealing the Credit

Hanlin Academician Liu Sanwu was a supporter of Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yuanzhang had once asked him a question: "The Prince of Yan is valiant and martial, much like me. What do you think of naming him my heir?"

Liu Sanwu had outright rejected the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, and argued that an imperial grandson should be named instead.

The current Crown Princess was Lü Shi, and he had also argued that Zhu Yunwen should be chosen. Zhu Yuanzhang had then been about to formally invest Zhu Yunwen, but at the moment of investiture, Zhu Yuntong had emerged as an unforeseen variable, leading to the present situation.

Liu Sanwu also opposed Zhu Yuntong. In his eyes, Zhu Yunwen was the rightful legitimate son.

"Please speak, Lord Liu!"

Zhu Yuntong collected himself. Before they had even interrogated Lan Yu, they were questioning him first, as though trying to pile on the pressure and make things harder for him.

"Your Highness, the Third Imperial Grandson, you dared force your way into the Duke of Liang's Residence Mansion without an imperial decree?"

"The Duke of Liang is a reigning duke with illustrious military achievements. He represents Great Ming. Not just anyone may force their way into his residence and arrest him. He is also Your Highness's elder. For a junior to offend his elder is unfilial; to arrest a reigning duke without an imperial decree is to overstep your authority."

"Even if the Duke of Liang is guilty, Your Highness has no right to act first and report afterward."

"How does Your Highness explain this?"

Liu Sanwu posed the question, though it was not merely an attempt to make things difficult.

Everything Zhu Yuntong had done was fact, laid out before their eyes.

Zhu Yuntong himself had said he had no imperial decree.

And Zhu Yuanzhang had indeed never issued a decree ordering Lan Yu's arrest.

They could use this justification to strike at Zhu Yuntong.

Zhu Yuntong admitted, "I indeed had no imperial decree."

Those were precisely the words Liu Sanwu had been waiting for. He declared loudly, "The Third Imperial Grandson dared mobilize the Embroidered Guard to arrest a reigning duke without so much as an imperial decree! Even if the Duke of Liang truly committed an offense, the Third Imperial Grandson's conduct was grossly insubordinate and exceeded his authority! I beseech Your Majesty to punish His Highness, the Third Imperial Grandson!"

Having spoken, he bowed.

Seeing Liu Sanwu take the lead in attacking Zhu Yuntong, Huang Zicheng and the others shook their heads helplessly. They thought Liu Sanwu was far too impulsive and hasty.

After all, what Zhu Yuntong had done yesterday had left them plenty of openings. Liu Sanwu thought he had seized one, but he had overlooked the fact that this was a test Zhu Yuanzhang had set for Zhu Yuntong, who had been allowed to mobilize the Embroidered Guard.

That fact alone told Huang Zicheng and his two companions that they could not go after Zhu Yuntong directly. Lan Yu was the real target.

Liu Sanwu still falls short. He's so impatient that he can't see the heart of the matter! Huang Zicheng and the others all thought the same thing.

Anyone intelligent could see that this was a test.

Even the Huai-Western Generals could see that much. But the test was not merely whether the Third Imperial Grandson could keep Lan Yu under control; it was also whether he could save him. What worried the military officials was the civil officials' attack on Lan Yu, not their attack on Zhu Yuntong.

If Lan Yu could not be saved, they believed they might not have much longer to live either. Lan Yu alone held the lives of their entire faction in the balance.

Although Zhu Yuntong had torn away the veil of civility, killing them would be difficult.

But difficult to kill did not mean impossible to kill.

"I had no imperial decree, but I could mobilize the Embroidered Guard." With one sentence, Zhu Yuntong demolished Liu Sanwu's challenge.

The Embroidered Guard were the emperor's claws and fangs. What did the ability to mobilize them mean?

It meant His Majesty had authorized it.

Did an imperial decree matter?

Zhu Yuanzhang listened without speaking, merely casting a cool glance at Liu Sanwu. The latter abruptly realized his mistake. Zhu Yuntong could not be touched right now; he had confused the primary target with the secondary one.

Liu Sanwu lowered his head in trepidation. "Your subject misspoke."

Then he stepped aside.

He had wanted to put on a good performance before the Second Imperial Grandson and prove his ability, only to discover that his efforts had backfired.

Fortunately, he had not been punished.

"Duke of Liang, Lan Yu!"

Zhan Hui, who was presiding over the interrogation, could finally begin. "Do you acknowledge your guilt?"

At last, it's my turn...

Lan Yu exhaled.

He understood that whether he lived or died depended entirely on his performance today. He also had to submit completely to Zhu Yuntong.

But they had coordinated nothing yesterday. In truth, they had not dared. Had they colluded under the Embroidered Guard's eyes, they would never have passed Zhu Yuanzhang's scrutiny.

Their only choice was to improvise.

They would have to work together on the spot. Only if they did it well could he survive.

If they did it poorly, the name Hu Weiyong alone would be enough to strip him of everything. Zhu Yuanzhang would not even need to find another reason to kill him.

"What crime?"

After thinking for a moment, Lan Yu countered with a question.

"Harboring a remnant of Hu Weiyong's faction."

Zhan Hui was also a supporter of Zhu Yunwen. All of them were thinking that Lan Yu had to die today, leaving Zhu Yuntong with no one to rely on.

He dispensed with elaborate tricks and had no intention of starting with Zhu Yuntong. He opened with his strongest blow: Hu Weiyong alone was enough to send Lan Yu to his death.

"The Duke of Liang wasn't the one who hid him."

Zhang Zhou spoke first. "Your Majesty, I hid him. It had nothing to do with the Duke of Liang."

"Zhang Zhou is my adopted son. His hiding him means I hid him too."

Lan Yu did not shirk responsibility. He admitted it without hesitation.

At that moment, Zhu Yuntong very much wanted to help him, but he could not speak. Lan Yu had to defend himself. If Zhu Yuntong wanted to bring Lan Yu into his fold and make them submit with conviction, he could only intervene at the very end.

They had only just begun. The end had not yet come.

"Your Majesty!"

Seeing him admit it, Zhan Hui was overjoyed. He had not expected things to go so smoothly. "The Duke of Liang has confessed. I ask Your Majesty to pass judgment."

Lan Yu shook his head. "I admitted it, but that does not mean I colluded with a remnant of Hu Weiyong's faction."

"Duke of Liang!"

Censor Wang Du declared loudly, "Secretly harboring a remnant of Hu Weiyong's faction is collusion! At a time like this, you still mean to argue your way out? You and Ye Sheng are related by marriage, and your ties run deep. That is why you saved his son and secretly hid him in the military camp, isn't it?"

Lan Yu said, "I did hide him, but not to save him."

Zhan Hui raised his voice. "If you hid him, wasn't that saving him?"

Lan Yu said, "Hiding him does not necessarily mean saving him. I wanted to steal the credit. Zhang Zhou found him the day before yesterday. It was only when His Highness arrived yesterday that Zhang Zhou told me about it. He had intended to hide him, then have me present him to Your Majesty to earn merit. But before he could tell me, His Highness arrived to demand the man."

As he spoke, he declared with certainty, "Though Ye Sheng and I are related by marriage, I had absolutely no intention of secretly harboring him. My heart is devoted to Great Ming. I even considered putting righteousness before family ties, but alas... the Embroidered Guard moved too quickly!"

There was, in fact, nothing false about that account.

Before yesterday, Lan Yu truly had not known that Ye Sheng's son was in Zhang Zhou's hands.

Whether Zhang Zhou had secretly hidden Ye Sheng to steal credit, claim merit, or save a life could not be proven. There were no witnesses or physical evidence. Under those circumstances, all they had to do was insist that they had meant to steal the credit and simply had not had time to report it. That would be enough.

Hearing Lan Yu say this, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.

His icy gaze fell upon Lan Yu.

Sensing the old emperor looking at him, Lan Yu met his gaze without fear, then lowered his head in trepidation. His eyes grew resolute again. He would insist to the bitter end that this was how it had happened.

Whether Zhu Yuanzhang believed him or not, he had no other choice left.

Even if Zhu Yuntong had not come to arrest him yesterday, the Embroidered Guard would have come knocking sooner or later.

Zhu Yuntong nodded slightly. Regardless of whether they could convince Zhu Yuanzhang, there was no conclusive evidence right now to prove whether they had been saving the man or stealing the credit. This was probably the best approach.

"Bring in Ye Sheng's son."

Zhu Yuanzhang gave the order coolly.