The early dynasty of the Ming Dynasty was relatively informal and was more of an occasion for monarchs and ministers to discuss government affairs, so they were generally located in the Wenhua Hall where government affairs were handled daily.
But now, since there is such a big case to be tried by the imperial court, and all the kings of the clan have to attend, it is not appropriate to be in the Wenhua Hall.
In order to show the formality and give the ministers and people below some time to prepare, they moved to the main hall of the imperial city, Fengtian Hall.
Half an hour later, the sun had risen high, and the official's loud and upright voice came from the Fengtian Hall.
"Your Majesty ascends to the throne!"
So, under the guidance of the etiquette officer, all the ministers prostrated themselves on the ground.
At the front is the prince's family, who are also wearing heavy court uniforms, and behind them are the civil and military ministers.
Everyone bowed to the ground and said respectfully.
"I bow before your majesty, long live my emperor!"
The emperor had already changed from the regular clothes of the early court. He was also dressed in court clothes, wearing a twelve-pointed crown on his head and holding a large gui in his hand. He was sitting upright on the throne with a solemn expression.
"Where is the Jin Yiwei?"
Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jin Yiwei who had disappeared for a long time, quickly came to the palace in a flying fish robe and said.
"I'm here!"
"Bring the accuser, King Guangtong, King Yangzong, and the defendant, King Zhennan, to the palace."
"According to the order."
Lu Zhong took two steps back and exited the hall. Not long after, he escorted the three brothers of Zhennan King to the hall with several guards in royal robes.
Although the three of them were imprisoned in the prison of Zongren Mansion, they were still county kings after all, and they all looked pretty good.
Even King Guangtong and King Yangzong were a little confused about being announced to the palace for no reason.
Zhu Qiyu pondered for a moment and then spoke.
"Today, Zhu Yinxi, the crown prince of Zhennan, is playing the Dengwen drum. In accordance with the system of Dengwen drum established by Emperor Taizu, I have invited the ministers of the clan to review the case."
In more than half an hour, Zhu Qiyu had ordered the Zongren Mansion to send all the detailed case files of the trial to the palace for the officials to understand the case.
Therefore, without saying much, he turned directly to Zhu Yinxi and spoke.
"Prince Zhennan, you just said that during the trial, Marquis Ningyang and others listened to one side of the story and did not give you and your son a chance to cross-examine and argue. You also said that you had found evidence to prove that your father was wronged. "
"Now, I am personally presiding over the case. In front of the clan officials, I will give you this opportunity. If you have evidence, you can present it. If you feel there are any doubts in the trial, you can also question it in court!"
Zhu Yinxi thanked him with his hands, and then steadily stepped forward, came to King Guangtong, and said: "Uncle Wang, you and I are one family, but now, since you slander my father like this, as a son of a man, my nephew can only Can be offended."
After saying that, Zhu Yinqi's face became serious, turned around and spoke to the ministers.
"Uncles, my lords, two uncles, King Guangtong and King Yangzong, testify that my father slandered Renmiao and framed the crown prince of the former Min King. There are two pieces of evidence. One is the so-called poem, and the other is It’s the so-called restaurant waiter’s confession.”
"But what I want to say today is that that so-called poem is simply perjury!"
One stone stirs up a thousand waves!
The ministers present started talking one after another, but the kings of the clan seemed to have expected this, and were obviously quite calm, as if they were watching a good show.
In contrast, King Guangtong and King Yangzong were very excited and said angrily.
"Young boy, you're talking nonsense. When your father did these nasty things, you weren't even weaned off your breasts yet. What do you know!"
Seeing his son being scolded, King Zhennan couldn't sit still and also stepped forward.
"Yinqi is just discussing matters. If you are dissatisfied with me and come to attack me, why should you scare Yinqi?"
This look of deep love between father and son made many clan members in the palace nod their heads.
Zhu Yinxi pushed away the fat father who was standing in front of him, and said with his face still calm.
"You two uncles, don't be excited. Since my nephew dares to say it, there is certainly evidence."
"However, before we present the evidence, my nephew has some doubts about this case. I need to question the two uncles and the witnesses brought by him."
With that said, Zhu Yinxi turned around and cupped his hands towards the emperor.
"Your Majesty, please summon the restaurant waiter to come to the palace."
Zhu Qiyu agreed without much hesitation. People were already waiting outside the palace, so within a moment, the old man who claimed to be a restaurant waiter was brought to the palace.
Although Jin Yiwei had already given him some mental training, this was the first time he had seen such a big battle.
As soon as he entered the palace, he knelt on the ground, bowed his head deeply, and his body was trembling.
After Zhu Yinzhen got the permission, he asked: "You claim to be a waiter in a restaurant in Wugang City. On the Lantern Festival in the second year of Xuande, you saw King Zhennan having a banquet in the restaurant. Is this possible?"
The old man didn't dare to raise his head and said "yes" tremblingly.
So, Zhu Yinzhen asked again: "You confessed in the hall before that you saw King Zhennan write a poem that day, and then Prince Min broke into the restaurant, and the two had a dispute and broke up unhappy. Is that true?"
The old man still didn't agree.
The ministers looked on with a trace of confusion in their eyes.
Up to this stage, the development of the case is no different from the process of the clan trial, and no new situations have emerged.
Could it be that the Prince of Zhennan just wanted to go through the process again, or that he wanted to prove that this witness was fake?
The former is meaningless, and the latter may be a bit difficult.
Even if Marquis Ningyang and others were partial to King Guangtong, they would never dare to cheat on such a major matter. After all, if such a thing is fake, it can be found out in the first trial.
The crime of framing the county king was something they could not bear.
But soon, they understood Zhu Yinxi's intention.
After asking two sentences, the old man's nervousness receded a little, and Zhu Yincheng continued to ask in a steady voice without any waves.
"In this case, can you see what was written on the poem written by King Zhennan? Or did you hear the people present reading it?"
The old man raised his head slightly and said with a timid voice.
"Replying to your noble lord, the younger one is illiterate and doesn't know what is written on it. At that time, as soon as King Zhennan finished writing, the eldest son of Min King came in with his people. The scene was chaotic. The younger one did not dare to come near. There was nothing. Heard.”
Zhu Yinzhen nodded and signaled the Jin Yiwei to take the old man down again. Fang turned around and said to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, from what this witness just said, we can know that he cannot confirm that the poems written by my father on the night of Yuan Dynasty in the second year of Xuande are the so-called poems in the hands of King Yangzong that slander Renmiao. "
"It is common for scholars to have banquets, sing poems and wine, so how can we conclude based on this that the poems my father wrote that night were slanderous poems about Ren Temple? This is too far-fetched."
On the other side, Ningyang Hou Chen Mao’s face darkened.
From the moment he heard the sound of the drum, he realized that this so-called Prince of Zhennan was definitely prepared.
Today, if he were really asked to reverse the case, he would not be able to escape the charge of framing the clan and being partial and unfair.
Therefore, after Zhu Yinxi finished speaking, he was the first to stand up and question, saying.
"Your Majesty's words are wrong. Although the person is illiterate, he cannot directly prove that the poem is a poem that slanders Renmiao. However, it can be proved that after King Zhennan wrote this poem, Zhu Hui, the prince of the former Min King, Yan then broke into the restaurant and took away King Zhennan and the poem at the same time."
King Guangtong also sneered and said.
"Yes, I remember clearly that after my eldest brother ordered someone to take him back to the palace, he was immediately imprisoned and no one was allowed to contact him."
"Then the eldest brother submitted a letter to the court, saying that he had slandered Renmiao, and claimed that he had tangible evidence. How can you erase the connection between the two with just one sentence?"
"this……"
Zhu Yinqi had a rare hesitation. He looked at his father and hesitated to speak.
At this moment, an old voice sounded in the palace.
"I am here to prove that Hui Xun was imprisoned at that time and had nothing to do with the so-called defamation of Ren Temple!"
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and saw that the speaker was none other than the old Min King who had just recovered from his illness...
