Zhu Yunwen: Imperial Grandfather, Save Me

Hearing that Ye Sheng's son was to be brought in, Lan Yu and the others grew tense.

From their arrest yesterday until now, they had been held separately. None of them had seen Ye Sheng's son since being taken into custody, including Zhu Yuntong, and they had never coordinated their stories. A hole had just opened in their claim about competing for credit.

But there was nothing they could do. The words were already out, and they had had no choice but to say them.

Lan Yu felt uncertain, silently wondering how he could respond when the time came.

None of them dared look toward Zhu Yuntong. In today's interrogation, there was little he could actually do to help.

Zhu Yuntong had only been responsible for making the arrests. He knew very little about Lan Yu and the others' circumstances, so even if he wanted to help, he could not. Lan Yu would have to clear this first hurdle on his own. But a man who had risen to become the Duke of Liang was certainly no fool. He might be impulsive and somewhat rash, but he was definitely not brainless.

His performance just now had made that clear.

Whether he could save himself depended on Lan Yu alone. He had to get past this step first.

The others, meanwhile, were growing excited. Once Ye Sheng's son was brought in, a single question would reveal whether they had really been competing for credit. Those civil officials were already preparing to strike back at Lan Yu and crush these military officers.

Conflict between civil and military officials was perfectly normal.

Besides, behind this lay the struggle for the imperial succession.

Zhu Yunwen had truly followed Lü Shi's advice. He had not said a word today and would say nothing, merely watching the show and leaving everything to Huang Zicheng and the others.

As long as he kept quiet, any unexpected turn later would be their problem, not his.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's command, the Embroidered Guard immediately went to bring in Ye Sheng's son, Ye Yangde.

"Your Majesty!"

An official stepped forward and said, "What if Ye Sheng's son has coordinated his testimony with Lan Yu and the others?"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought that was a reasonable concern and asked, "Could they have coordinated their stories?"

Jiang Jue hurriedly said, "Since their arrest yesterday, Ye Yangde and the Duke of Liang's group have been held separately. They have not seen one another."

The words "held separately" were enough to explain everything.

They waited for the Embroidered Guard to bring him in.

Zhang Zhou and the others were now beside themselves with regret, knowing they were about to get Lan Yu killed.

Lan Yu could still maintain some outward composure, but inside, he was panicking badly.

"Ye Yangde has arrived."

After a while, someone called out from outside.

Then two members of the Embroidered Guard brought Ye Yangde in, wearing a cangue and shackles.

He immediately knelt and paid his respects to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Then he glanced at Lan Yu and the others, and his heart began to race.

"Ye Yangde!"

As the presiding interrogator, Zhan Hui spoke first, raising his voice. "Tell us in detail how Lan Yu saved you. Explain everything clearly, and perhaps you can spare yourself some suffering."

Ye Yangde glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang, then looked toward Lan Yu again. Gritting his teeth slightly, he said, "What do you mean, saved me? Lan Yu and the others never saved me. And that scoundrel Zhang Zhou-pah! He saved me? Hah..."

Lan Yu and the others froze at his words.

Zhu Yuntong was also pleasantly surprised, though he had to keep his expression unchanged. Could it really be such a coincidence?

Ye Yangde actually wanted to save Lan Yu too. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized he seemed to have said something wrong and changed his story. "That's right, Zhang Zhou saved me. He saved me on Lan Yu's behalf. They're all remnants of the conspiracy. I confess, and I testify against them. Your Majesty, hurry and kill them!"

He's not so stupid after all!

Zhu Yuntong thought they had cleared this hurdle.

It was not Lan Yu who had cleared it himself, but Ye Yangde who had taken the initiative to help him through.

Those two completely different accounts, delivered one after the other, left everyone bewildered.

"Your Majesty, this..."

Unable to decide what to do, Zhan Hui could only look toward Zhu Yuanzhang.

"First you say they saved you, then you say they didn't."

An emperor's authority radiated from Zhu Yuanzhang as he said coldly, "Did they save you or not?"

The pressure carried by those words made even Huang Zicheng and the others find it somewhat difficult to breathe.

Zhu Yuntong's eyes lit up. So this was the natural presence of an emperor, his commanding power laid bare.

Old Zhu's presence was simply too overwhelming. Unleashed in full, it made people tremble despite themselves.

"They saved... no... they didn't."

Ye Yangde lowered his head in panic, genuinely frightened. He added, "Zhang Zhou didn't save me. He... he wanted to keep it from the Duke of Liang and hand me over to the Embroidered Guard to claim the credit."

After saying this, he swallowed.

He was lying, and he was just as uncertain inside. But this was the only way he knew to save Lan Yu, so he decided to stake everything on it. He was going to die anyway.

And, by a clever coincidence, it matched Lan Yu and the others' explanation.

Because this was the only way to escape the charge, they had all thought along the same lines.

As long as they had not been saving him, they would not die.

Lan Yu and the others were surprised too.

"Jiang Jue."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Are you certain they had no opportunity to coordinate their stories?"

Jiang Jue said firmly, "Absolutely none!"

"Imperial Grandfather!"

Zhu Yuntong said, "It seems the Embroidered Guard's intelligence gathering was lacking."

Jiang Jue hurriedly said, "The fault is mine. Your Majesty, please punish me."

"Then can we let this matter go? The Duke of Liang wasn't saving him."

Zhu Yuntong asked.

"No!"

Huang Zicheng could not restrain himself from speaking. "If the Duke of Liang had done nothing wrong from the beginning, why did he go back with His Highness the Third Imperial Grandson? He should have explained his reasons and requested that the matter be reported to Your Majesty, rather than doing nothing and submitting to arrest."

"I concur!"

"I concur. It is certainly not that simple."

"I request a further investigation!"

Seeing Huang Zicheng raise this objection, the other ministers loudly echoed him.

When Zhu Yunwen saw them all helping Huang Zicheng, and thus helping him as well, he felt deeply gratified. The civil officials at court were indeed still steadfast in their support of him.

"That was because he is His Highness the Third Imperial Grandson."

"The late crown prince's second legitimate son, and the King of Kaiping's maternal grandson."

"Never mind arresting me. Even if he had handed me a sword yesterday and ordered me to kill myself on the spot, I would have slit my throat without hesitation."

"If the Third Imperial Grandson wants to arrest me, I will submit, no matter the reason."

"This is the trust I, Lan Yu, place in the Third Imperial Grandson, and my submission to him."

Lan Yu's voice was not loud, but his words were solemn.

Word by word, they rang throughout the hall.

He was making his present intentions clear.

He had declared his submission to Zhu Yuntong and made his stance known.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes as he listened.

"Whatever Yuntong asks you to do, you are willing to do it? Even if it is a capital crime and you will die immediately afterward, you are not afraid?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Lan Yu said.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Yuntong, give him an order. Let us see whether Lan Yu is truly that loyal."

Zhu Yuntong dispensed with any further courtesy and shouted, "Guards, free Lan Yu's hands and feet, and bring a sword!"

The Embroidered Guard immediately complied, and a sword was placed before Lan Yu.

"Kill Zhu Yunwen."

Zhu Yuntong said bluntly.

Everyone: "???"

Zhu Yunwen: "???"

What the hell does any of this have to do with me?

Before they could react, Lan Yu decisively picked up the sword and strode toward Zhu Yunwen.

Seeing that Lan Yu was serious even in Old Zhu's presence, Zhu Yunwen's legs instantly went weak. He wanted to flee but could not move, and could only scream, "Imperial Grandfather, save me..."