Royal Palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Xu Qing, why are you here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xu Da standing in front of him and asked slowly, with a faint smile on his face.

"I have been in Peking for a long time, and I am not used to it when I return to the capital. In comparison, life in the military camp is more comfortable. I was too busy at home for a while, so I thought of going into the palace to talk to His Majesty without disturbing him.

Your Majesty, will you rest?"

Xu Da cupped his hands, smiled and said.

"How could it be? Usually you are not in the capital, far away in Beiping City, and I don't see you a few times a year. Now that my master is back in court, you can come to the palace to see me often if you have nothing to do."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, looking extremely happy.

As one of his old subordinates, he was naturally very happy to come to the palace to pay his respects when he thought nothing was wrong.

However, Xu Da smiled and did not continue to talk, as if he was hesitant to speak.

Seeing Xu Da's expression, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately had an idea.

"What's wrong? You're usually a happy person, but why do you look so arrogant today? Just say whatever you want. I want to hear what's bothering you? Isn't it because of some military situation in the north?"

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment and asked slowly.

"Your Majesty, everything is fine in the Northern Territory and there is no military situation. The worries in my heart have nothing to do with the Northern Territory."

When Xu Da heard this, he hurriedly replied.

"Oh? Then what is it that makes you so embarrassed? Tell me."

Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a smile.

"His Majesty."

"Was the case of Yushi Zhongcheng Tujie handled in a hurry?"

Xu Da paused and summoned up the courage to speak.

Hearing Xu Da's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly darkened.

"Xu Qing, are you questioning me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Xu Da and asked in a deep voice, with a lot of dissatisfaction revealed in his words.

"I don't dare, Your Majesty, please calm down."

Xu Da was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly knelt on the ground and said in fear.

"Huh, if you are here to intercede for Tu Jie, there is no need. Tu Jie is dead and the case is a foregone conclusion. Besides, he brought the blame on himself and will be punished for several crimes. There is nothing hasty about it."

"If Hu Xiangjin hadn't interceded, I would have ordered his entire family to be executed. Now that the Tu family has been preserved, he should be grateful to me for my generosity."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said.

When he talked about Tu Jie, he felt a little unhappy.

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Xu Da's expression also changed, as if he did not expect that Hu Weiyong would plead with Zhu Yuanzhang for Tujie's lineage.

"Your Majesty, Tu Jie's embezzlement of public money is indeed an unpardonable crime. However, as far as I know, Tu Jie went to Yanyu Tower to have an appointment with Hu Fei. If this is true, then Hu Fei is also guilty.

Visiting a brothel will lead to a series of subsequent events."

"This son has always been very domineering under the influence of Prime Minister Hu. If he is not punished, I am afraid that it will be difficult for everyone to stop talking. He cannot be allowed to indulge. In the final analysis, it is all the fault of Prime Minister Hu who is not strict in discipline. Your Majesty, please take a closer look."

Xu Da thought for a while and then said all the words in his heart truthfully.

"alright!"

"Xu Qing, I know why you have always disliked Hu Xiang. Isn't it because he rejected the marriage of your Xu and Hu families? It's been so long, why can't you let go?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a sullen face and some dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, what I just said was not because of what happened back then. I said it from the bottom of my heart. Besides, I am not a petty person. How could I keep thinking about what happened back then?"

Xu Da shook his head and said stubbornly.

"Well, there's no need to say it. I've already said that the Tujie case has been settled. Don't mention it again. As for Hu Xiang's son, as long as he doesn't do anything extraordinary, let him go. This capital city

Which of the children of this aristocratic family is law-abiding?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said in a deep voice, with a look of impatience on his face.

Xu Da raised his head and glanced, knowing that it would be useless to talk more, so he simply stopped talking.

"Okay, I still have things to deal with. Xu Qing, please leave first."

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment and issued an order to expel the guests.

"Wei Chen resigns."

Xu Da knew that it was fruitless, so he bowed and left slowly.

"This Xu Da, he still clings to such a small thing after so many years. It's really endless."

After Xu Da left, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Your Majesty should be happy. Since ancient times, civil and military ministers have been standing in a powerful position. With the Duke of Wei here, your Majesty will not have a lot of troubles."

Pang Yuhai on the side listened and said with a smile.

"Hmph, you know it again? Your tongue is too long, so be careful I punish you."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said pretending to be dissatisfied.

"You deserve to die, you shouldn't talk too much."

Upon hearing this, Pang Yuhai hurriedly knelt down and saluted.

"That's all, get up."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said.

He knew in his heart that although Pang Yuhai's words were bold, they did speak to his heart. In recent years, only Wei Guogong Xu Da could compete with Hu Weiyong in the court, otherwise the power of the prime minister might be even greater than it is now.

At this moment, a young eunuch slowly walked in.

"Your Majesty, Colonel Mao would like to see you."

After the little eunuch saluted, he said respectfully.

"Oh? Let him come in."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment in confusion and answered casually.

Soon, Colonel Mao walked into the hall and bowed respectfully.

"How about it? Have you found out what I asked you to check?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Colonel Mao and asked seriously.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I visited Yanyu Tower and did some research. When Tu Jie visited Yanyu Tower privately, he did not go to meet Hu Fei. It is indeed a coincidence."

Captain Mao cupped his hands and answered slowly.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"This guy seems to be a lot more honest these days. What is he doing?"

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to ask.

"Back to Your Majesty, Hu Fei recently bought a shop on Beijing North Street. It looked like he was going to open some kind of restaurant. However, I sent someone to check it out. The decoration inside looked nondescript. I don't know what was going on.

What a reputation."

"Oh, by the way, what kind of marketing is being discussed on the street recently? Publicity? A document is being circulated all over the street, and there is news about that store on it. It is said that it came from Hu Fei's store. No.

Know what it means."

As Colonel Mao said, he took out a neatly folded document from his arms and handed it over.

Pang Yuhai walked over, took the document, and handed it into Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the document in his hand and couldn't help but look confused.

"Hongbin Tower?"

The document begins with the three characters "Hong Bin Lou", followed by an introduction to some cuisines and instructions for entering the restaurant, as well as a diagram of the restaurant's internal structure.

"You can eat whatever you want for three taels of silver? You are indeed a dandy. If you keep doing this, won't this restaurant be going out of business as soon as it opens?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the introduction above and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

But then, Zhu Yuanzhang's originally wry smile showed a trace of surprise, and then a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he couldn't help but nodded.

At the bottom of the document, there are eight words, Hongwu Zhihong, Mingjiang for eternity.

Lieutenant Mao, who was kneeling below, saw the change in Zhu Yuanzhang's expression and couldn't help but reveal a trace of doubt. When he got this document, he just glanced at it and did not look at it carefully, so he did not see the emperor's intention.

eight characters.

...
To be continued...