Zhu Yunwen was really angry, firstly because Zhou Ji had gone too far, provoking Zhu Yunwen's bottom line and provoking his anger.

If it were just about him harassing a palace maid tonight, Zhu Yunwen might have only given him a few words of reprimand, and wouldn't have been too angry.

However, after hearing what the guard leader said, Zhu Yunwen realized that Zhou Ji's actions had reached a point where he had to be severely punished.

This guy clearly treated the palace as his own backyard, the palace maids as his own servants, and the palace guards and eunuchs as his own household servants.

They humiliated and beat him at will, harassed and raped him at will, and even towards Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the emperor and the true master of the palace, they were so shameless and so impolite.

This shows how arrogant and domineering Zhou Ji was in the palace.

If he dares to act this way in the palace, wouldn't he be even more outrageous towards ordinary people outside?

Putting everything else aside, just look at this guy; he actually took more than ten concubines, which is more than the number of women the current emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, had.

If such a lawless, arrogant, and conceited second-generation meritorious official is not severely punished, it will not only damage the imperial authority but also indirectly encourage this kind of trend.

You must know, this is the imperial palace.

Not long after Crown Prince Zhu Biao passed away, all entertainment activities in the entire palace, the entire court, and even the whole country were suspended, and the palace itself was still shrouded in a shadow of grief.

At this sensitive time, Zhou Ji is so brazen as to flirt with palace maids and seek pleasure in the palace. Isn't this going against the grain?

It seems that Zhu Yunwen had a vague recollection of Zhou Ji in historical memory.

He had read the History of Ming before and remembered that after the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhou Ji, the son of Marquis of Jiangxia Zhou Dexing, was indeed transferred to the palace by the emperor to serve as a guard.

It is true that Zhou Ji harassed palace maids and committed debauchery in the palace.

Zhu Yunwen vaguely remembered that Zhu Yuanzhang had severely punished this matter in history.

Not only was Zhou Ji executed, but his father was also brought to the palace. His father, angered by the fact that his son had been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, cursed Zhu Yuanzhang and was also executed on Zhu Yuanzhang's behalf.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen felt even more confident.

If Zhu Yuanzhang knew about this and still killed Zhou Ji, then he was even less afraid of causing any more deaths.

Zhou Ji was dragged to a spacious flat area and pressed down by two guards.

Then a guard took out a long stick and raised his hand to strike.

Zhou Ji, his face contorted with rage, struggled and roared as he struggled with all his might:

“Who dares to hit me? I am the son of Zhou Dexing, the Marquis of Jiangxia. I am a descendant of a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty. If you dare to hit me, I will make you pay the price.”

Zhu Yunwen frowned, stretched out his right hand, pointed at the head of the guards, and said:

"You, don't be afraid. Today, I, the grandson of the emperor, will stand up for you and back you up. Just let them beat you. I will take full responsibility for anything that happens."

The head guard was somewhat surprised by Zhu Yunwen's domineering manner. Although he had heard that Zhu Yunwen seemed different now, and that the emperor had even bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Wu and wanted to arrange for him to stay by his side.

But after all, it's all just hearsay.

Now that they have truly witnessed Zhu Yunwen's domineering presence, they are obviously still very shocked.

With Zhu Yunwen's words emboldening him, the head guard spoke up:

"beat!"

The guard raised his stick and struck Zhou Ji hard. The pain was excruciating, and the intense pain drove him mad. He couldn't help but roar, "Zhu Yuntong...you dare to hit me...you dare to hit me? You useless grandson of the emperor, where do you get the guts to hit me?"

"If Zhu Yunwen wanted to hit me today, I would accept it. But who do you think you are? Do you really think you have a chance to sit on the throne? Otherwise, why are you acting so arrogantly here?"

The anger in Zhu Yunwen's eyes grew even heavier.

His fists were clenched tightly, and he spoke very calmly:

"Beat him severely! Beat him to death!"

These words shocked everyone present.

It's important to understand that ordering someone to beat Zhou Ji and ordering someone to kill Zhou Ji are two completely different things.

As a grandson of the emperor, it was perfectly reasonable for him to order a beating for a subject who had acted improperly.

Even if this matter is blown out of proportion, no one will be able to find fault with it.

However, if the order were given to kill it outright, the meaning would likely be quite different.

At least theoretically, Zhu Yunwen did not have that much power.

Even if Zhou Ji was wrong, apart from the emperor or the crown prince, who could directly order his death, even the most serious crime would have to go through a joint trial by the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review before a final conviction could be made.

After all, Zhou Ji was indeed a son of a meritorious official, and his crime could not be dealt with so easily.

But this time was different; Zhu Yunwen actually gave a direct order to have him beaten to death.

This left the guard commander and the guards present somewhat at a loss.

Although they also felt that a scoundrel like Zhou Ji deserved to die a thousand deaths, they wouldn't dare to kill him easily unless ordered by His Majesty the Emperor or after a joint trial by the three judicial departments.

Seeing their hesitation, Zhu Yunwen knew they were somewhat afraid, so he calmly spoke:

"I'll say it again: I, the grandson of the emperor, will bear all the consequences. You are just following orders. Beat them."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!