Not long after, a hearty voice rang out outside the government office, followed by Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, walking in with a loud laugh.

“My dear nephew, now that you’ve come to Xi’an, why don’t you visit my residence first? Your second uncle would like to give you a proper welcome.”

Zhu Yunwen raised his head slightly and looked up, only to see Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, striding in.

His demeanor and aura were quite regal, befitting someone who had been the King of Qin for so many years.

However, Zhu Yunwen, with a gloomy face, looked at Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, who had walked up, and said indifferently:

"In the courtroom, I am the Crown Prince, and you are a vassal king, so you are my subject. Let's not talk about kinship and blood ties. We must distinguish between the ruler and his subject."

Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, was slightly taken aback by Zhu Yunwen's attitude. He clearly did not know why Zhu Yunwen would treat him this way.

He was somewhat worried, wondering if Zhu Yunwen had found out about their secret contact.

If that's the case, then King Zhu Shuang of Qin is truly a little afraid.

After all, this matter cannot be made public yet. He wasn't afraid of Zhu Yunwen, but he was mainly worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would punish him.

However, since Zhu Yunwen had already said so much, Zhu Shuang could only suppress his smile, snort, and then slightly cup his hands and said:

"Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin greets His Highness the Crown Prince."

The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, whose status is similar to that of the Crown Prince. Both are second only to the emperor and are the future rulers.

Especially in this Ming Dynasty, now that there is no crown prince, the grandson of the crown prince is equivalent to the crown prince.

Therefore, even though Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin was a prince, he still had to treat Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the crown prince, with the respect due to a subject to a ruler.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunwen spoke calmly:

"King Qin, you are in charge of Xi'an Prefecture, yet countless people want to sue you. What do you have to say?"

King Zhu Shuang of Qin frowned, glanced at the dozen or so people kneeling on the ground around him, and then said with a grim expression:

"To sue me? These unruly commoners have some nerve."

As he spoke, he directly rebuked the victims:

"Get out of here before I lose my temper, or else..."

Seeing that Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin was threatening these people right in front of him, Zhu Lingtong could no longer tolerate it. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, pointed at Prince Zhu Shuang, and shouted angrily:

"How dare you! I am here, and you still dare to be so insolent?"

Seeing Zhu Yunwen's anger, Prince Qin Zhu Shuang showed no fear and looked at Zhu Yunwen, saying:

"Your Highness, are you here to uphold justice for these lowly people? Shouldn't you first understand the relationship between us? After all, I am your second uncle. How come you've become the Crown Prince and now you truly disown your own uncle?"

"Zhu Shuang, I remind you again, this is a public court, not a family dinner table. You cannot use kinship and blood ties as a pretext here. This is a place to handle serious matters, and you need to know your place."

Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Zhu Shuang's face darkened, and he gave a cold laugh, saying:

"Very well, I understand. Then, what exactly does His Highness the Crown Prince intend to do today?"

Zhu Yunwen spoke calmly:

“These people have filed a lawsuit against you, and the petitions are all here. Go and take a look, and see if you can plead guilty.”

King Zhu Shuang of Qin waved his hand and said:

"No need to look anymore. No matter what they accuse me of, I will plead guilty."

This surprised Zhu Yunwen, who asked in confusion:

"No matter what they accuse you of, you'll plead guilty?"

King Zhu Shuang of Qin nodded and said, "That's right. There's no need to even look at these things. I must have done them, but so what? I am the King of Qin. Who can do anything to me? Even if my father finds out, he will only reprimand me. Even if you are the Crown Prince, what can he do?"

Zhu Yunwen's face was somewhat unpleasant. It turned out that Zhu Shuang admitted to these crimes not because he was stupid, but because he was arrogant and did not take Zhu Yunwen seriously at all.

Or rather, they didn't respect the authority of the law and the people.

Zhu Yunwen snorted and said:

"So what? You really are arrogant. Since that's the case, then we'll have to deal with you today no matter what. Guards, take Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, down and give him twenty heavy lashes."

Upon hearing this, King Zhu Shuang of Qin burst into laughter and said:

"Boy, have you forgotten who I am? Even when your father knew about my misdeeds in Xi'an, he never reprimanded me and even pleaded for me on behalf of the Emperor. Now that your father is gone, you still want to punish me. What kind of logic is that?"

Zhu Yunwen stared at Zhu Shuang and said:

“My father is kind and benevolent. Out of consideration for our brotherly bond, he gave you a chance and was unwilling to punish you severely. But you are ungrateful, unrestrained, and lack reverence.”

Still stubbornly going its own way, acting recklessly and arrogantly in Xi'an Prefecture. This has betrayed my father's good intentions. If I do not severely punish you today on my father's behalf, I will have failed him in his past efforts to protect you.”

King Zhu Shuang of Qin laughed heartily and said:

"Hypocritical, so hypocritical! Who would believe what you're saying?"

Zhu Yunwen waved his hand: "Guards, give him twenty heavy strokes, without fail."

In the main hall, the clerks of the government office held fire and water sticks, but dared not move at all.

Attacking Qin King Zhu Shuang? What a joke, they wouldn't dare.

However, they dared not, but some others did.

Then several Imperial Guards stepped forward, snatched the fire-and-water sticks from the constables, and two more Imperial Guards grabbed Prince Zhu Shuang's arms and pressed him hard to the ground.

Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin's expression changed. He hadn't expected anyone to actually dare to attack him, so he turned to the Imperial Guards and reprimanded them:

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