Royal Palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's solemn and silent expression, Han Jiang, who was kneeling on the ground, felt very nervous, but he had no way to defend himself.

At this moment, Hu Fei, who was standing aside, suddenly spoke.

"Father, I feel that Deputy Commander Han is not to blame for the death of Tokugawa Ichiro."

"Although Tokugawa Ichiro is a member of the Northern Yuan Dynasty Spring and Autumn Hall, he received ninja training in the Japanese Kingdom of Southern and Northern Dynasties, and he may have practiced some kind of evil martial arts."

"After he felt that he could not escape the death penalty, he may have secretly made up his mind to take the opportunity to escape from the prison. At that time, after Deputy Commander Han arrived with his people, he met Ichiro Tokugawa who had woken up from a coma, and that's when the accident happened.

"

"If my father wants to blame me for this, I can just blame my son. Everything is my son's negligence and has nothing to do with Deputy Commander Han."

Hu Fei bowed his hands to Zhu Yuanzhang and said loudly, like a superior who was willing to take the blame and protect his subordinates.

Listening to the touching words from Hu Fei's mouth, Han Jiang raised his head blankly, and was a little unresponsive for a moment.

He originally thought that Hu Fei would take the opportunity to add insult to injury, but unexpectedly he begged for love on his behalf.

"That's all, since everyone is dead, what's the use of holding on to who is responsible at this time?"

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment, waved his hand, and said slowly.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Han Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang no longer paid attention to Han Jiang and turned to look at Kuroda Yoshitaka who was kneeling next to Han Jiang.

"Tell me, tell me all the truth you know, otherwise I will make your life worse than death!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Kuroda Yoshitaka and spoke word by word with a cold voice.

Kuroda Yoshitaka did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly agreed, and immediately started talking non-stop, describing how he and Tokugawa Ichiro stole tributes, how they were ordered by Prince Huaiyu of the Northern Dynasty, including how Ichiro Tokugawa was secretly the North Yuan Shunqiu

Everyone in the hall also spoke out.

Listening to Kuroda Yoshitaka telling all the facts in detail, a sneer flashed across Hu Fei's lips inadvertently.

Kuroda Yoshitaka is destined to die, but there are many kinds of death. If he does not follow what Hu Fei told him in advance, he knows what will happen to him next.

After listening to Kuroda Yoshitaka's self-narration, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Hu Fei, whose expression had not changed.

"Are you sure Tokugawa Ichiro is a member of Hokumoto Chunqiu Hall? If you lie, you know what will happen!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Kuroda Yoshitaka, thought for a moment, and asked again.

"The foreign minister does not dare to lie. He is indeed from the Northern Yuan Dynasty. In addition to deliberately concealing the use of the sword with his left hand, there is another point. Prince Huaiyu's secret order did not mention the assassination of Jiu'an Hou.

There is only one explanation for this, there is someone else who made him do this!"

Kuroda Yoshitaka nodded and said decisively.

This answer completely confirmed all the facts discovered by Hu Fei!

When Hu Fei heard Kuroda Yoshitaka's last words, he couldn't help but sneered in his heart. He didn't know whether what Kuroda Yoshitaka said was true, but he knew that from this moment on, Zhu Yuanzhang would no longer doubt it.

After listening to all the confessions, Zhu Yuanzhang's face became more and more gloomy. The conspiracy of the Japanese Northern Dynasty and Bei Yuan's ambition made him extremely angry.

"According to my decree, the Japanese mission is harboring traitors from the Northern Dynasty and spies from the Northern Yuan Dynasty. They have evil intentions and violate the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. The crime is unforgivable! All members of the mission will be detained and executed immediately!"

"The remaining tributes were returned to the Southern Dynasty intact, and the whole story was told to the world!"

After Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment, he glanced coldly at Kuroda Yoshitaka who was kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice.

"According to the order!"

Pang Yuhai walked out quickly, bowed respectfully, and replied hurriedly.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's decree, Hu Fei couldn't help but be stunned for a moment and frowned slightly.

He originally thought that killing Kuroda Yoshitaka alone was enough, so he deliberately asked Kuroda Yoshitaka to tell the whole story to the other people in the mission, just to ensure that the remaining people would truthfully report to Nanchao after returning to Japan.

But I didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would kill everyone in the mission in a fit of rage!

Immediately afterwards, several palace guards quickly walked into the hall and pulled Kuroda Yoshitaka who was kneeling on the ground directly out.

But at this time, Kuroda Yoshitaka, who knew that he was about to die, did not say a word of begging, his face was ashen, and he allowed several personal guards to drag him out of the hall.

Perhaps from the moment he entered the palace, he already knew his fate and just wanted to die.

As Kuroda Yoshitaka was dragged out, only Zhu Yuanzhang, Hu Fei, and Han Jiang were left in the hall.

"Hu Fei did a great job in solving the case. Not only did he recover the tribute, he also discovered the enemy's plot. He was promoted to the Duke of An. From now on, the Jin Yiwei will be granted imperial power and the right to kill first and report later!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, looked up at Hu Fei, and said loudly.

"Thank you, Father!"

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Hu Fei was stunned for a moment and hurriedly bowed to salute.

"As for you, although the case has been closed, you accidentally killed an important witness. Your merits and demerits are equal to each other, and there is no reward or punishment!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at Han Jiang, who was kneeling motionless on the ground, and said slowly, with a trace of disappointment once again showing between his brows.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Han Jiang hurriedly handed over his hands to thank him, but he had mixed feelings in his heart.

Immediately, the two said goodbye to Zhu Yuanzhang and slowly exited the hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched the two people leaving and frowned slightly.

In fact, in the end, it no longer mattered what the truth behind the whole incident was, because Zhu Yuanzhang had already determined that Tokugawa Ichiro was the Beiyuan spy, and hoped that he was the Beiyuan spy.

Can Yuan has been entrenched in the northern border for a long time, and is eyeing him. It is indeed time to take action, and the appearance of Tokugawa Ichiro is the best opportunity.

Outside the Yangxin Hall.

"Thank you very much, Commander, for speaking out just now. I am deeply grateful for my humble duty."

"Congratulations to your lord for being promoted to the rank of duke, on par with the Duke of South Korea and the Duke of Wei."

Han Jiang bowed respectfully to Hu Fei and said with gratitude.

"I'm serious. As colleagues, we should take care of each other. Besides, this matter has nothing to do with you."

Hu Fei waved his hand and said with a smile.

"I still have something to do in my humble position, so I won't disturb you, sir. Just go ahead."

Han Jiang forced out a forced smile, cupped his hands, and without waiting for Hu Fei to say anything else, he slowly took a few steps back, turned around and left quickly.

Hu Fei watched Han Jiang turn around and leave with an unwilling look on his face, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth again.

He was relieved that this matter could be ended smoothly, and he did not expect that he would be promoted to Duke An Guo overnight, which was a great honor for anyone.

But he couldn't be happy, because the higher his status, the more attention he would receive, which made him even more difficult to walk on.

Accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger. After experiencing this incident, he finally understood the meaning of Hu Weiyong's words when he warned him at that time.

Especially the imperial charter, "Behead first and then report." To him, this was more like a shackle. Although the status of Jin Yiwei in the court would be more important from now on, it would also be accompanied by more unpredictable dangers.

It seems that it is time for Hu Weiyong to formally abdicate. Otherwise, not only will Zhu Yuanzhang never trust him, but even Prince Zhu Biao may start to be afraid of him.

...

North Street.

Yanyu Tower.

After leaving the palace, Hu Fei did not return to the guardhouse or the princess's mansion, but went directly to Yanyu Tower.

Although he had not slept all night, he did not feel tired at all, and there was always a trace of solemnity between his eyebrows that had not dissipated for a long time.

Fortune and misfortune depended on each other. Every time he stood higher, he had to be more careful.

"What? You don't seem happy."

While Hu Fei was frowning and thinking, a voice rang out. Xiao An, who was wearing a black robe, walked in through the window and appeared in the box.

"Not only are there people who doubt you and test you all the time, but there are also people who want to kill you and harm you all the time. If it were you, would you be happy?"

Hu Fei raised his head and drank a glass of wine and said calmly.

"This road is inherently difficult to take. Now that you have chosen it, there is no chance of turning back."

"When you are high up, everyone respects you, but when you fall from a high place one day, not only will no one sympathize with you, but they will all point their fingers at you."

"This is the temple. It is far more sinister than the rivers and lakes."

Xiao An hesitated for a moment and said thoughtfully.

After hearing Xiao An's words, Hu Fei was stunned for a moment, looked up at Xiao An, and showed a helpless smile...


Chapter completed!