Chang Lan’s matter is regrettable, but there is really no better way, so we can only wait silently.

It would be best if some miracles happened, but if something still happens, we can only accept it, because that is reality.

Not to mention Zhu Yunhuan, even Chang Sheng and Lan Yu were mentally prepared for these things. If they really happened, no matter how sad they were, they would be able to accept these things.

For Zhu Yunhuan, after visiting relatives, he still focused on state affairs. This was the most important thing, especially at this point in time.

Old Zhu did not attend the court, but that did not mean that no one would make the decisions on some important matters. Zhu Yunhuan would continue to preside over the morning court.

Although Chen Di was also in trouble, he still said, "Your Highness, we have been ordered to summon the great scholar to the palace to discuss the ceremonials. You can enter the palace tomorrow."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly and said, "I know about this matter. I will arrange for all officials and royal family members to listen to the lecture. I will also go to listen. Treating these great scholars well will benefit the country."

Even if he might not like some so-called great scholars in his heart, it was not difficult for Zhu Yunhuan to say one thing and do another. He still needed to put in a little superficial work.

Chen Di continued to report, "Your Highness, I think this ceremony is extraordinary. The Ministry of Rites has prepared the ceremonies and we can discuss it with the great scholars tomorrow."

Zhu Yunhuan had no objection, but then asked, "Is the Jiaofangsi ready?"

The Jiaofangsi is not just about the dirty things some people think. There are also many musicians, dancers, etc. there, and they are naturally needed during some grand ceremonies.

Chen Di immediately replied, "Your Highness, all the dances and music have been choreographed. When I checked them earlier, they were basically ready."

It sounded like there was nothing to worry about, so Zhu Yunhuan was naturally relieved. "That's good. Remember to go to Xiangfang and other places. The grand ceremony should show the majesty of the court. Things cannot be delayed."

The elephant house is home to elephants that were tributed from Annan or Yunnan. This is not a zoo for people to visit, but they are pulled out as ceremonial guards during grand ceremonies. These seemingly tall and mighty creatures are quite impressive.

Chen Di and others naturally understood that these matters did need to be taken seriously and must be done well, with no room for negotiation.

Especially for the Ministry of Rites now, something just happened in Hongcang, and some students from the Imperial College were involved. Everyone is now trembling with fear.

If there are more mistakes, some officials in the Ministry of Rites will be dead, and they will have no way to survive.

Chen Di and others naturally don't want to see such things happen, so they have been working extra hard in the past two days, and it can even be said that they are doing things with the intention of making up for their crimes.

There is nothing that can be done about it. After the Hongcang case and other cases broke out, everyone was terrified and no one knew whether they would be involved.

Even if he thought he had a clean hand and had controlled his family, it would be difficult for him to have a good ending if his officials were involved, or if he was considered incompetent by the emperor or the crown prince.

Officials with such thoughts and ideas are not just those from the Ministry of Rites. Officials from other government offices are also more or less nervous and sensitive.

At this time, you still have to do your job well. Once you reveal any flaws or get caught, the punishment will definitely be more severe. At these times, there is no room for making mistakes at all.

So once a major case occurs, some officials may lose sleep and eat, etc., but the efficiency of doing things may not be negatively affected. On the contrary, it will be more efficient.

In the final analysis, we just want to protect ourselves. In the final analysis, we just don't want to be implicated because of some trivial matters at this time. It is only right that everyone should be cautious.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Chen Di and continued to ask, "How is the situation at the Imperial College now?"

It wasn't just Chen Di's heart that was beating violently at this moment. The other officials felt the same way. As long as the Hongcang case wasn't settled, everyone would be worried.

Especially now there are many true and false news, which makes many people feel uneasy. But what is certain is that the Hongcang case is true, and there are indeed some scholars, officials, and merchants who are in collusion.

Whenever they think of this, many officials feel more pressured. They definitely have a lot of things to worry about. This cannot be a wrongful case; it is an ironclad case.

Now it’s just a matter of how big this case will be and how many people will be implicated. Many people will suffer because of it, and this is a consensus among everyone.

Chen Di naturally did not dare to hide anything and immediately replied, "Your Highness, I have sent people from other government offices to investigate the case and have already found some evidence!"

It is impossible to protect some so-called seeds of reading. Now everyone is in a difficult situation. Let alone protecting others, it is hard to say whether you can avoid being implicated.

Just like Chen Di, even though he is still the Minister of Rites, he was originally regarded by many as a rising star with a bright career.

But he himself has prepared himself mentally for being thrown into jail the next moment while he is still attending court meetings. Everything is really possible and no one knows what will happen next.

Hearing Chen Di's words, Zhu Yunxun snorted coldly, "So, after all, some scholars who have received favors from the court are greedy. These are the good students taught by the Imperial Academy!"

Although Zhu Yunhuan's words were sarcastic and seemed to be a slap in the face of the public, no official was willing to advise on this matter at the moment.

It's come to this point, so don't be stubborn. In some cases, the evidence is already solid, so don't even think about saving people who are impossible to save.

What's more, for some court officials, what some people in the Imperial College did was something they despised. Not every official just wanted to get promoted and make money, they also had noble pursuits.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Then we will go to the Yingtian Prefecture Yamen to try this case and let the people know how these students disregarded the grace of the court!"

After hearing Zhu Yunhuan's arrangements, some officials felt even more uncomfortable, because this would be a complete loss of dignity and would become a laughing stock in the world.

The Crown Prince didn't seem to care that if the common people knew about this, it would bring shame to the court. These officials knew even more clearly that once the case was tried publicly, the Imperial College and even some scholars would become completely ridiculed.

Zhu Yunhuan did not think it was necessary to cover up some news, such as the Hongcang case this time. He also did not think that such a case would be embarrassing for the court if it was made public. It would be really embarrassing if one was unwilling to face and deal with it. As for whether this would embarrass some so-called scholars, etc., there was no need to care too much. Since some people were shameless, there was no need to save their face.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Mei Yin and asked, "Prince Consort of Ningguo, you were previously in charge of the Imperial College. Do you have any objections to presiding over this case this time?"

Mei Yin immediately stepped out of class and knelt down, feeling embarrassed and terrified. "Your Highness, I am responsible for the Imperial College Supervisory Committee, but I was unable to see through the case in time, which led to such a serious case. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

Zhu Yunhuan said expressionlessly, "Let's not talk about the punishment for now. Let's finish the case first, then talk about the punishment."

Zhu Yunhuan's words ignited a fire in the hearts of some officials. They seemed to feel that things were moving in a good direction. After all, the crown prince seemed to intend to give light punishments to some people.

But these chances of luck were really just chances. The next moment, Zhu Yunhuan made these people who had such a lucky mentality feel nervous again.

"You will not be punished for now, but if some officials and gentry are involved, no leniency will be shown." Zhu Yunhuan looked around at all the officials and said, "If anyone dares to shield them, they will be punished with the same crime!"

This can be said to have made many people even more frightened. Once the case is officially tried, there will definitely be a situation where more officials will be implicated.

Now we have only arrested some scholars, merchants, etc. This is just the beginning. When we find out the officials who are colluding with them, that will be the climax of the case.

For these officials, that is a truly dangerous period, because they are likely to be implicated in some matters, which is something no one can guarantee.

After all, judging from several major cases that the court had handled before, there were inevitably some cases of accusations. Some people would think of dragging others into the water after the incident, which is also a common situation.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about that and continued, "Prince Consort, when you try this case, you must report the case to me every day."

When Zhu Yunhuan said he would preside over the case, it was obviously not just a casual remark. He really cared about this matter and took it very seriously. Even if he could not preside over the trial personally, he had to supervise the whole process.

Zhu Yunxun then looked at Fu Youde and said, "Duke Ying, you are highly respected. You should attend the trial as an observer."

Many civil servants felt like they had eaten a fly, although there were some spectators in some major cases, most of them were members of the royal family or external relatives.

But looking at what the Crown Prince arranged, letting the Ningguo Prince Consort preside over the case, it is obvious that he is not confident about some civil servants.

But it was acceptable in front of him. After all, although Mei Yin was a noble and a relative of the emperor, he was a man of good literary talent and well-read. Many scholars were very close to this son-in-law.

But now, letting Fu Youde, the Duke of Ying, to sit in on the trial clearly shows that they do not trust the civil servants. The Duke of Ying has been somewhat idle in recent years, but it is an indisputable fact that he has an extraordinary status.

Whether the officials can accept these arrangements or not, Zhu Yunhuan does not think these are things that need to be taken seriously.

The bottom line is that these civil servants are not confident enough. Now that they have been caught, how can they have the confidence to argue with the Crown Prince in court? They can't even bring themselves to use their previous high-sounding excuses.

Saying those sanctimonious words at this time would become an absolute joke, bringing no benefit at all, and would only cause others to laugh at you.

Zhu Yunhuan finished the morning court session according to the procedure. He did deal with some things and followed up on some matters in a timely manner, which were all relatively important matters.

After returning to Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yunhuan summoned Jiang Lin directly, "In the case of Hongcang, have you found out that some officials are running around, or are they trying to commit fraud?"

Jiang Li quickly replied, "Your Highness, it has not been clarified yet. However, some officials are restraining their families and clans, and many officials have sent letters to their hometowns."

When one person succeeds, everyone around him will benefit. This is a common occurrence and seems very normal to everyone.

If a family has an official who can attend the court, then they are all great people in ordinary prefectures. If they are in a better situation, they are just rich and noble, but if they are of poor character, they may even bully the people in the village.

"We still need to continue investigating these matters. We have been too lenient with these officials in recent years." Zhu Yunhuan ordered, "Keep a close eye on them in prison. Don't force them to confess."

Zhu Yunhuan's words made Jiang Lin feel a little embarrassed. One of the Jinyiwei's best jobs was torture. As long as they wanted evidence, they could naturally get it. There was no doubt about that.

But it was obvious that the Crown Prince also knew some things about the Jinyiwei, so this could be considered as a small warning in advance to prevent these Jinyiwei from letting themselves go.

People like Jiang Lin had experienced the most glorious moment of the Jinyiwei. At that time, the imperial guards were everywhere and all the officials were terrified. For Jiang Lin and others, they were always thinking about solving some major cases to restore the glory of the Jinyiwei.

After all, it seems that they have been suppressed quite severely in recent years. Not to mention the nobles, even some civil officials do not have the same respect for the Jinyiwei as before.

It is true that Zhu Yunhu did not trust some civil servants, and he also did not trust some royal family members and nobles. He must have been on guard against the Jinyiwei and Beizhenfusi, who were the emperor's minions.

This is probably a common problem among those in power. It seems that being a little suspicious is a very common situation.

As soon as Jiang Li left, Zhu Zhong was called over. The task of this big spy chief was not only to monitor the officials and gather information, but also to restrain the Jinyiwei.

The situation seems to be pretty good. At this sensitive moment, no one dares to act recklessly. Everyone is restrained for fear of causing trouble that they cannot afford.

That's all. This is the situation that Zhu Yunhuan hopes to see. Don't cause trouble at this time and everyone should work hard to do their job well. This is the most important thing.

You don’t have to worry about anything else. Just get things done now, which is the top priority.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't afford to delay, and some other officials couldn't afford to delay either! (End of this chapter)