Upon hearing the noise outside the hall, all the civil and military officials turned to look.
There stood Zhu Yuntong, dressed neatly, calmly stepping in.
He then walked directly to the Vice Minister of Rites who had spoken earlier, tilted his head slightly, and said to him with an extremely arrogant demeanor:
"So it was you who led the way in talking badly about me behind my back?"
The Vice Minister of Rites, unfazed, snorted and said:
"Zhu Yunwen, someone like you is not..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Yunwen frowned and suddenly shouted:
"shut up!"
These two words suddenly came out, startling the Vice Minister of Rites!
The Vice Minister of Rites looked grim as he gazed at Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen said, "You are the Vice Minister of Rites, in charge of matters of etiquette and law, yet you dare to be so disrespectful in this grand hall! As a subject, how dare you address the grandson of the Ming Emperor by his first name? Have you completely forgotten all your so-called etiquette and law?"
The Vice Minister of Rites glared, his beard trembling slightly, and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"You, how dare you speak like that? I am, after all, a high-ranking official in the court..."
Zhu Yunwen said, "You are a high-ranking official in the court, and I am a grandson of the Ming emperor. Here, I still address you as the Vice Minister of Rites, yet you call me by my given name. Is this the etiquette you speak of?"
The Vice Minister of Rites was rendered speechless by Zhu Yunwen's retort, and immediately changed his tune, saying:
"I did misspoke just now, but your disrespect for the Crown Princess and even your assault on her are far more egregious."
Zhu Yunwen sneered: "So, you mean I beat up the Crown Princess? I find that a bit puzzling. Did you all witness me verbally abusing or beating up the Crown Princess?"
The Vice Minister of Rites snorted and said, "These are the words of His Highness the Second Prince. How could they be false?"
"Then may I ask, is what His Highness the Second Prince said necessarily true?" Zhu Yunwen asked.
The civil officials defended Zhu Yunwen, so the Vice Minister of Rites naturally insisted that:
"Of course, His Highness the Second Prince would never lie."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said:
"Very well, but the Second Prince just said that he would find someone to teach me a lesson on the way to disaster relief. I ask you, what crime is it to plot against a prince?"
The Vice Minister of Rites trembled slightly, but at that moment, Huang Zicheng, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, stepped forward and said:
“Your Highness, we must distinguish between primary and secondary matters. You first insulted and beat the Second Prince’s birth mother, Lady Lü, which angered him so much that he sent someone to teach you a lesson. There was a reason for this, and it is understandable.”
Zhu Yuntong turned to look at Huang Zicheng and said:
"So there was a reason why he hired someone to kill me? Then I'd like to ask, was there also a reason why I beat and scolded Lady Lü?"
Huang Zicheng frowned and said:
"No matter the reason, it is wrong to hit or scold your elders."
Zhu Yunwen calmly retorted, "Then can I also say that no matter the reason, it is wrong to hire someone to assassinate the imperial grandson?"
Huang Zicheng was speechless. He never expected that Zhu Yunwen would speak so unpredictably, using their own words to retort with every sentence.
If you deny it, it means that what you said before was wrong.
If we admit it, wouldn't that give Zhu Yunwen a chance to exonerate himself?
Huang Zicheng couldn't explain it at the moment.
Just then, Qi Tai, the Minister of War, stepped forward and spoke calmly and steadily:
"Your Highness, I would like to ask you a question: You said that you beat and insulted Lady Lü, and that there was a reason for it. May I ask what that reason was?"
Zhu Yunwen spoke slowly and deliberately:
"First, the Lü family bullies my two younger sisters because they are now without parents, and they beat and scold them. What's wrong with me scolding them back?"
This happened the night I suddenly fell ill. But why did my second brother send men to kill me on the way to the disaster area to address relief efforts?
"Just because I cursed Lady Lü a couple of times that night, they want to kill me?"
The Vice Minister of Rites immediately spoke up, saying, "You clearly also hit Lady Lü."
Zhu Yunwen said, "The attack on Lady Lü happened yesterday, while Zhu Yunwen sent someone to assassinate me, which happened on the way to provide disaster relief."
"Don't get the order mixed up. Does my dear second brother have the ability to foresee the future, knowing that I would beat his mother yesterday, and therefore sent someone to kill me beforehand?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's expression turned extremely ugly.
He never expected that Zhu Yunwen would attend court today, so his previous distorted and contradictory statements were almost guaranteed to achieve a good effect in court.
But Zhu Yunwen also attended the morning court session and had a confrontation with everyone on the spot.
This immediately exposed the flaws in his lies and the confusion in the sequence of events.
The civil officials looked at each other in bewilderment, their hearts filled with panic.
If what Zhu Yunwen said is true, Zhu Yunwen first beat and scolded Lady Lü, and only later did he send people to harm Zhu Yunwen on the road.
They could easily say that Zhu Yunwen acted irrationally because he wanted to vent his anger for his mother.
That can still be argued!
But if what Zhu Yunwen said is true, that he only cursed Lady Lü a few times first, and then Zhu Yunwen had him killed on the road, and only later did the incident of Zhu Yunwen beating and cursing the lady occur.
That makes it almost undeniable.
The officials then turned their attention to Zhu Yunwen, hoping he would come out and refute Zhu Yunwen at this moment.
This would give these civil officials another chance to defend him.
However, Zhu Yunwen remained silent at this moment.
Zhu Yunwen's attendance at court disrupted his plans.
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