But since he admitted it back then, why is he denying it now? Don't you think that's unreasonable? Besides, why would the King of Chechi Kingdom, along with his prince, personally come to the Ming Dynasty to risk their lives?

They were willing to risk their lives to explain that they weren't the ones who did it. That alone is enough to prove that they truly weren't responsible.

Otherwise, how would they have the courage and confidence to come?

Minister of Revenue Zhang Shan frowned and stepped forward to defend his subordinate, saying to Prince Zhu Gang of Jin:

"Then may I ask Your Highness Prince Jin, besides Chechi Kingdom, who else in this world has a reason to kill His Highness the Crown Prince? I suppose there are no people in our Great Ming who wish His Highness the Crown Prince to die?"

Unless, the death of the Crown Prince benefited someone... Since it wasn't Chechi Kingdom that killed him, then it must have been for the benefit of that person..."

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin's expression immediately changed. He paused for a moment, then coughed and said:

"His Highness the Crown Prince is like a god to our Great Ming Dynasty. He has made unparalleled contributions to the people and the country. The people of the Great Ming Dynasty are all grateful to him, and naturally no one wants him to die."

Zhang Shan snorted and said:

"That would be for the best, but His Highness Prince Jin also said that no one in our Great Ming would want the Crown Prince dead. So it must be someone from another country. His Highness the Crown Prince was killed on his way back from cooperating with the western countries."

Therefore, this matter must be related to the western countries, and most of the western countries reached a cooperation agreement with the Crown Prince during his trip.

Only Chechi Kingdom failed to reach a cooperation agreement with the Crown Prince, and instead, the conflict deepened. In fact, as far as I know, the prince of Chechi Kingdom repeatedly provoked the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty at a gathering of princes from various countries, only to be repeatedly humiliated by him.

Even in a contest with my Grandson of the Ming Dynasty, he was rendered somewhat mentally impaired by my Grandson's ruthless methods. If this isn't considered hatred, but merely a minor skirmish, then wouldn't it be rather laughable?

The prince of Chechi Kingdom never expected that the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty would bring up such a sensitive topic, which infuriated him greatly.

So he immediately spoke up:

"What did you say? You dare to humiliate this prince?"

Zhang Shan remained calm and said:

"See? I only mentioned this matter, and your prince is already so unable to contain his anger."

One can imagine the hatred and anger he would feel towards His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty.

So, given their capacity to do such a thing, it's not surprising that they wanted to kill His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty, is it?

The officials discussed it amongst themselves, because Zhang Shan's words did indeed make a lot of sense.

But ironically, what the King of Chechi and Prince Zhu Gang of Jin said earlier also made sense.

This inevitably raises a point of contention: if they really did it, would they really have the audacity to come to the Ming Dynasty and explain themselves?

But if they didn't do it, is there really anyone in the world who would have a reason to do this?

They are clearly the prime suspects.

While the court officials were discussing the matter, Zhu Yuanzhang squinted his eyes, remaining calm as if he had already seen through much of what was happening.

So he chose to remain silent.

The King of Chechi glared at Zhang Shan, the Minister of Revenue, and said:

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. In short, I swear here today that the death of your crown prince has absolutely nothing to do with my Chechi Kingdom. If your country cannot produce even the slightest evidence, then do not spout nonsense and tarnish the reputation of others."

Such baseless accusations not only damage someone's reputation but are also irresponsible towards both countries and their people. You must understand the serious consequences that would result from unjustly accusing us.

Who among you present can not bear such a responsibility? Therefore, I hope you will all think carefully and try to figure out who the real murderer is.

Don't act so blindly, harming innocent people and creating a war between two countries; it benefits no one.

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin immediately spoke up as well:

“That’s right. I think this matter is actually quite simple. Although Chechi Kingdom and His Highness the Crown Prince have conflicts, Chechi Kingdom would never dare to retaliate against His Highness the Crown Prince in this way. It’s probably being used by some people.”

This is what Nan Yu slowly began to say:

"Thousands of people in that village have said that they heard the conversation between His Highness the Crown Prince and the assassins who tried to kill him."

The dialogue reveals that the assassins were sent by the Kingdom of Chechi. How can this be explained?

"Aren't the firsthand observations and hearings of thousands of ordinary people sufficient as evidence?"

The King of Chechi Kingdom immediately replied:

"Couldn't it be that those assassins deliberately impersonated people from our Chechi Kingdom? As you all know, our Chechi Kingdom doesn't have a very good reputation in the west."

Therefore, it's not impossible that some other countries might want to use this incident to instigate the Ming Dynasty's intervention in the west and attack our Chechi Kingdom. They might even want to reap the benefits.

Upon hearing the King of Chechi's words, the scene fell silent once more, and Prince Zhu Gang of Jin nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, that’s the most reasonable approach. The King of Chechi Kingdom has no reason to take the risk of killing our grandson.”

However, there is some evidence that leads to this conclusion and points to this conclusion, which is very unreasonable.

The only plausible explanation is that someone else killed the crown prince, thus shifting the blame to the Kingdom of Chechi.

These words sparked an even more heated discussion among the officials.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang's brows gradually furrowed.

If he could see the situation clearly at the beginning, he is now really confused.

He was somewhat bewildered by the various arguments among the people in front of him.

Given that the evidence is not very conclusive, any of the possibilities are possible.

After such an exchange between the two parties, it seems that any explanation is possible.

While everyone in the court was at a loss regarding this matter, each had their own reasons and was at a loss for what to do.

At the palace gate, Zhu Yunwen, Zhao Qingzhu, and Zhang San and Li Si behind them were standing there.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yunwen slowly removed the disguise from his face, then rubbed his face and took out a Crown Prince's waist token from his body.

He then slowly walked towards the palace gate.