I was to be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Empress Ma smashed Zhu Yuanzhang's jade seal.

"What did you just say? That our sons 'disrespected imperial authority' and 'acted disloyally'?"

Zhu Yuanzhang walked down from the high platform step by step, his momentum increasing with each step, until with another step, it was as if a mountain had collapsed!

He walked up to Lü Ben, looking down at him with a palpable contempt and murderous intent in his eyes.

"Let me tell you, even if they really rebel today, it's our son trying to seize our throne! What does it have to do with you, an outsider?!"

"Even if we kill them all today, it'll be us cleaning house! Who are you to be here, telling us how to be an emperor, how to be a father?!"

"You think we can't see through your little schemes?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly kicked Lü Ben hard in the chest!

"Pfft—" Lu Ben screamed as he was kicked backward and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Isn't it all about climbing over our son's corpse? Isn't it all about making your daughter, who's now a concubine, the Crown Princess? Isn't it all about making your grandson the Crown Prince?!"

"You're dreaming!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's roar reverberated throughout the entire area.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden and astonishing reversal.

No one expected that the emperor's anger would find an outlet in this way!

Lü Ben was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning.

he……

How did he know?

How could His Majesty know what he was thinking?

Zhu Yuanzhang gave him no chance to think. He pointed at Lü Ben, who was groaning in pain on the ground, and roared like thunder at the Jinyiwei guards who were already terrified.

"Someone come here!"

"Strip him of his official robes! Remove his official hat!"

"We'll show the whole world what happens when you frame a prince and sow discord within the imperial family!"

"Strip him of his official robes! Remove his official hat!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's roar, like the harshest judgment, echoed across the deathly silent Meridian Gate Square.

Several Imperial Guard captains snapped out of their daze and rushed forward, fiercely restraining Lü Ben, who was still vomiting blood.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, spare my life! I am innocent! I have always been loyal to you and have never harbored any disloyalty!"

Lu Ben was terrified and struggled and cried desperately.

He couldn't understand it, he really couldn't understand it!

He was clearly speaking in accordance with the emperor's wishes, so why did he end up like this?

Didn't the emperor just want to kill Zhu Muying?

I was just helping him to make the charges more convincing. Was that wrong?

He died unable to understand where he went wrong.

His mistake was that he was too presumptuous.

His mistake was that he underestimated a father's complex feelings for his son.

His biggest mistake was that, when Zhu Yuanzhang was already overwhelmed with problems regarding Zhu Biao, he jumped out to criticize his other sons.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, this was a veiled criticism that Zhu Biao, the crown prince, was incompetent and couldn't even manage his brothers!

Zhu Yuanzhang could beat his sons, scold them, and even kill them.

But not others!

In particular, when this person harbored the selfish desire to have his grandson ascend to the throne, it touched Zhu Yuanzhang's most sensitive sore spot!

"loyalty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Lü Ben, who was being dragged away, his face full of cold mockery. "Is your loyalty to me, or to your daughter, or to your unborn 'Crown Prince'?"

"Gag him! Drag him away!"

"yes!"

A captain immediately tore off a strip of cloth and stuffed it into Lü Ben's mouth.

Lu Ben's cries instantly turned into mournful wails.

He was roughly pinned to the ground by two captains, and in full view of everyone, his crimson official robe, which symbolized his status as a second-rank official, was forcibly torn off!

His official hat was also knocked to the ground and rolled to one side.

In the blink of an eye, a once-glorious Minister of Rites became a disheveled, unkempt prisoner.

This stark contrast, this extreme humiliation, sent a chill down the spines of all the officials watching.

Zhu Yuanzhang's roar froze the air in the entire Meridian Gate Square.

The Imperial Guards pounced on him like wolves and tigers, and in no time at all, they stripped Lü Ben, who was still groaning on the ground, down to his undergarments.

The crimson official robe that symbolized his status as a second-rank official was ruthlessly torn into pieces and thrown on the ground for people to trample on.

His official hat was kicked off and rolled into the dust.

Just an hour ago, the Minister of Rites was riding high, thinking he had seized a golden opportunity. Now, he was like a stray dog ​​whose spine had been broken, being dragged away and disappearing from everyone's sight.

This sudden and astonishing reversal left everyone dumbfounded.

No one expected that the emperor's wrath would ultimately strike Lü Ben, a seemingly unrelated person.

What is this?

Killing chickens to warn monkeys?

Or is it taking out one's anger on others?

Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and the other generals kneeling on the ground looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

Looking at the emperor on the high platform, whose face was ashen and whose chest was heaving violently, they were momentarily unable to fathom his thoughts.

Is the emperor going to kill him or not?

Zhu Muying, however, saw Lü Ben being dragged away, but her mind was perfectly clear.

He got it.

His father, the emperor, is trying to save face.

An emperor, in front of all his civil and military officials, was cornered by his son and ministers.

If he were to slink back his order like this, where would he, as emperor, put his face?

Where is the majesty of imperial power?

He must be enraged, he must kill!

"Father..."

"Shut up!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Zhu Biao, then at Zhu Shuang, Zhu Di, and others behind him, his voice still filled with barely suppressed anger.

"You lot, you've all gotten quite capable!!"

"Father..."

King Zhu Shuang of Qin wanted to argue a few more points.

"roll!"

In the blink of an eye, only Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Muying remained on the high platform.

Oh no, there was also an executioner who was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze fell back on Zhu Muying.

He looked at the clear bloodstain on his son's neck, at the scars all over his body, and at his calm, expressionless eyes, and his anger was hard to quell.

It is anger after one's authority has been challenged.

He really wanted to just walk away and leave this mess behind.

But he can't.

Below, dozens of generals and marshals were kneeling, and a dense crowd of civil and military officials stood in the square. Hundreds of thousands of eyes were watching.

He must put a period to this matter today.

A period that could preserve his imperial dignity while appeasing public anger.

Zhu Yuanzhang's mind was racing.

Should Zhu Muying be pardoned directly?

No!

That would be tantamount to admitting that you were wrong and that you were framing someone.

Continue detention?

Not to mention!

Didn't you see the looks in Xu Da's group's eyes below?

They all looked like they were about to eat people.

If Zhu Muying is locked up in the prison again today, they can bring over the soldiers from the Beiping camp tomorrow!

They can't kill him, and they can't let him go.

What should I do?

Zhu Yuanzhang paced back and forth on the makeshift platform with his hands behind his back.

How can we kill him without making Biao'er resent his father?!