Consort Deng was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground. The officials on both sides below began to whisper among themselves, while Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, gritted his teeth and looked at Zhu Yunwen, saying:
"I won't allow it. She is my concubine. You cannot kill her."
Zhu Yunwen sneered and said:
"I'm not discussing this with you."
Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, knew that if Zhu Yunwen dared to say it, he would definitely do it.
If he insisted on killing his concubine, even if the matter reached Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, Zhu Yuanzhang would never blame Zhu Yunwen for the sake of one of his Prince Qin Zhu Shuang's concubines.
So Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin was really afraid. He had always doted on Consort Deng, even though she was only a concubine.
However, because Consort Deng had some connections—her father was also a duke—and because she was very beautiful, and the two had known each other for a long time, their relationship was quite good.
This is why Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin allowed Consort Deng to act tyrannically and recklessly here.
It can be said that, in Xi'an Prefecture, besides Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, the second most lawless person was Consort Deng.
Relying on the King of Qin's favor and his own background, he committed countless evil deeds in Xi'an Prefecture, and the number of maids and innocent people who died at her hands was countless.
Today, only a few people came to relay her message. But each of those petitions was enough to sentence Consort Deng to death.
It is unknown how many others did not come forward to file a complaint, and Zhu Yunwen could not take the life of Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang.
At least not openly.
However, within his authority, he still had the right to punish the King of Qin's concubines.
Seeing Zhu Yunwen's firm stance, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, was genuinely afraid that his favorite concubine would be killed, so he hurriedly said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Yunyi, I am still your second uncle. Consort Deng is your elder, can't you spare her life!"
Seeing that even Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, was so humble and pleading with Zhu Yunwen, Consort Deng immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
Clearly, even the King of Qin might not be able to protect her if this matter was handled poorly. Realizing this, Consort Deng no longer dared to be arrogant and looked pitifully at Zhu Yunwen, hoping that he would let her off the hook.
However, Zhu Yunwen remained completely unmoved, and simply looked at Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, and said:
"If only you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? If what Consort Deng did today reaches the Emperor's ears, she will surely face death. So there's no need to say more. No matter what, Consort Deng must be executed today, there is absolutely no room for maneuver."
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, immediately stood up and rebuked Zhu Yunwen:
"Zhu Yuntong, you scoundrel! If you dare to do anything to Consort Deng, I will not let this go. Zhu Yuntong, remember this: you haven't even sat on that throne yet, and everything is still uncertain. If you are reckless and offend me to death, then in the future, the tables may turn."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen revealed a hint of disdain and looked at Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, saying:
"Your threats are laughable, and I won't take them seriously at all. To put it bluntly, among all the princes, you may have the highest status, but you are also the most useless one. You're not qualified to scare me."
As the saying goes, "to kill someone is to destroy their spirit," and Zhu Yunwen's words were a blow that Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, found hard to bear.
After all, he was a vassal king, and the first Prince of Qin of the Ming Dynasty.
But in Zhu Yunwen's eyes, he was so despicable that he didn't even have the slightest respect for him.
How could he possibly bear that?
In this situation, he could only stare at Zhu Yunwen and say:
"Kid, remember what you said today. One day, you'll regret this."
Zhu Yunwen, however, curled his lip and said:
"You have no chance. By the way, I heard that before you came to the government office, you allowed your servants to abduct a woman on the street?"
Zhu Shuang, now seemingly having given up all hope, roared at Zhu Yunwen:
"So what? You can kill my concubine, but can you kill me? Let me tell you, forcibly taking women is just commonplace for me."
Murder and arson are nothing more than a flick of my finger to me. What haven't I done in Xi'an? If we're talking about the death penalty, I'm enough to die eight hundred times over. But can you kill me? Do you dare to kill me?
Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath and said:
"So, you admit you kidnapped a woman and brought her to your residence, right?"
Zhu Shuang sneered and said, "That's right, didn't you want to kill my concubine, Consort Deng?"
I can tell you definitively that the woman I forcibly took today will be made my concubine. Let's see if you can kill her all you want.”
Zhu Yunwen revealed a cold smile and said:
"Someone, go to the Prince of Qin's residence and bring back the woman who was abducted from the residence today."
Immediately, Imperial Guards emerged and headed towards the Prince of Qin's residence.
Soon, the Imperial Guard led Zhao Qingzhu to the main hall.
When Zhao Qingzhu saw Zhu Yuntong, the two exchanged a knowing smile, each understanding the other without saying a word.
Immediately afterward, Zhao Qingzhu stepped forward, and Zhu Yunwen, his face darkening, said to Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang:
"Was the woman you ordered your men to rob in the street today her?"
Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, glanced smugly at Zhao Qingzhu and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"It's her. She will be my next concubine. What can you do about it?"
Zhu Yunwen slowly stood up, then pointed at Zhu Shuang and said:
"How dare you! Do you even know who he is?"
Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, glanced at Zhao Qingzhu and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Just a woman, my future concubine, King Qin."
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