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Cheng Hechuan didn't dare to move.

"I asked him to kneel down." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Your Majesty," Queen Ma picked up the ginseng soup and handed it over, "Drink the soup first. After drinking the soup, it's not too late to kneel down as punishment."

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of the ginseng soup, and the anger on his face softened slightly.

Queen Ma took the opportunity to speak.

"Your Majesty, I heard that Cheng Yushi did quite well in the "History of the Yuan Dynasty"?"

"That's true," Zhu Yuanzhang put down the bowl, "but apart from studying history, I still have time to meddle in other people's affairs."

"What are you minding?"

"Run to the East Palace and ask the prince to help him investigate a case of imperial criminals."

Queen Ma glanced at Cheng Hechuan and then turned to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, I don't understand government affairs, but I would like to ask if the person Cheng Yushi asked the prince to investigate is guilty?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing.

Queen Ma continued: "If that person is really guilty, Cheng Yushi is meddling in his own business and deserves to be punished. But if that person is wronged, Cheng Yushi is working for His Majesty to find out the truth for Your Majesty, so that His Majesty will not kill the wrong person."

"I remember that when His Majesty was in Yingtian Mansion, what he hated most were those officials who arrested and killed people without asking any questions. His Majesty once said, 'I, Zhu Chongba, conquer the world just to let the people live a peaceful life. If I can't even judge the case clearly, what's the difference between me and those dog officials of the Yuan Dynasty?'"

"Your Majesty, do you still remember this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

What Queen Ma said was his most proud sentence in his early years.

At that time, he had not yet become emperor, and was still fighting with Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng.

When he said this, he really meant it.

"Your Majesty," Queen Ma's voice became even lower, "I am not speaking for Cheng Yushi, I am thinking for Your Majesty. Your Majesty killed Hu Weiyong, and no one in the civil and military circles in the court dared to say no. I thought it was strange at that time, Hu Weiyong has been the prime minister for seven years, does he really have no friends? Is there really no one who can speak for him?"

"Later I figured it out. It's not that I didn't do it, it's that I didn't dare."

"The ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, regardless of whether they had anything to do with Hu Weiyong or not, were eager to cut ties with him. Some people even took the initiative to report others in order to show their loyalty. Isn't that what happened when Zhou Deqing reported on Chen Ning?"

Zhu Yuanzhang tapped his hand twice on the table.

"Cheng Hechuan," he finally spoke, his voice no longer so cold, "How is the prince's investigation of Chen Ning's case going?"

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