As for Wu Bangtai, he took away half of the staff of the Ministry of Justice, and Emperor Yongxing also sent some people to him.

A lot of information had already been uncovered last year, so there was no need to investigate those people further. We could just arrest and interrogate the people behind them.

Wu Bangtai interrogated the people higher up the chain, and some people wanted to pass the news to the capital.

Not to mention that it is impossible to deliver the message to the capital now, even if it is delivered it will be useless because there is not enough time.

Wu Bangtai would arrest anyone who was suspected.

Some officials heard the news and ran away with their families.

Wu Bangtai had no way to deal with the escaped people for the time being and could only hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for wanted list.

…

Early April.

Capital city.

Early morning.

From the end of the palace examination to now, Emperor Yongxing has not smiled for several days.

There is news from Wu Bangtai and Yan Xiongxin every day.

Among the 280 prefectures and more than 2,000 counties in Yongning State, nearly 800 officials have been found to have problems.

This does not include those who have already resigned and those who have not yet been investigated.

None of the officials in the capital have moved, and now Wu Bangtai and Yan Xiongxin are arresting people outside the capital.

Yongxing looked at the ministers below with an expressionless face, which made some officials below silent as if they were terrified.

Even some officials who are relatively upright and can be considered good officials feel a little guilty.

Emperor Yongxing had already received the report from Marquis Jing'an, and he did not believe that those people would not hide their cavalry.

But the existence of cavalry was just their guess. For now, they could only wait until the matter was over, and then conduct a careful investigation and verification to see if there were any cavalry.

Emperor Yongxing spoke in a cold voice, "I think some of you should have known about some of the things that happened outside the capital during this period. Don't any of you want to say something to me?"

His Highness's courtiers all hung their heads and said nothing.

"I will give you a chance. If you stand up, maybe I can give you a lighter sentence.

If you wait until things outside the capital are over, I'm afraid you won't have any chance anymore.

By that time, you will die, and I will not let anyone in your family go."

Emperor Yongxing's voice was not loud, but in some people's ears, every word was like a hammer hitting their hearts.

So much time has passed, and although the capital is still under martial law, news from outside the capital has still reached the capital.

Some people may not be afraid of death, but they are afraid of implicating their family.

Emperor Yongxing had made it clear that if he didn't confess something, not only would he die, but his wife, children, and parents would also die.

An official took a deep breath and was about to step out to apologize when a panicked noise was heard outside the hall.

"Prince Rong, what do you mean?"

"You led troops to break into the palace without permission. Are you planning a rebellion?"

Immediately afterwards, the sounds of swords clashing and fighting were heard outside the hall.

"ah……"

"Protecting the emperor..."

"Hurry up and protect the emperor..."

It soon became quiet outside, and then a middle-aged man in a python robe walked into the hall.

All the civil and military officials in the hall looked at Prince Rong who walked in in disbelief.

Prince Rong was the half-brother of Emperor Yongxing. Because his mother was not the empress, he did not inherit the throne.

Emperor Yongxing sat on the dragon throne. He was a little surprised, but not surprised.

There was no extra expression on his face, he just looked coldly at Prince Rong who walked in.

Qin Bingrong walked quickly to the center of the hall, stood in front of Prince Rong, and said, "Prince Rong, do you know what you are doing?"

Prince Rong had a gentle smile on his face and said, "Prime Minister Qin, you are the most effective and intelligent person in the world. Can't you see what I want to do?"

"Prime Minister Qin, please step aside. You are a talented person and I don't want to hurt you."

"If possible, I hope you can continue to serve the Yongning Kingdom in the future."

Qin Bingrong asked: "Prince Rong, do you know what the consequences of treason are?"

"rebellion?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Prince Rong laughed heartily. He pointed at Emperor Yongxing sitting on the dragon throne, then pointed at himself and said, "He can sit in that position, so why can't I sit there?"

"Besides, I have also followed my father to the battlefield. I have made contributions to the Yongning Kingdom."

"And him?"

"What did he do for Yongning Kingdom back then?"

"He just sits back and enjoys the benefits?"

"Isn't it because he is the legitimate son and was born to the Empress Dowager that he is qualified to inherit the throne?"

"In what ways am I not better than him in both literary and military skills?"

"This is because my father was partial to him and passed the throne to him..."

For a moment, the hall was silent and no one dared to speak.

Emperor Yongxing's voice sounded, and it was very calm.

"Brother, do you really want to sit in this position?"

Prince Rong asked back, "Don't you want to sit in this position, my brother?"

Emperor Yongxing asked: "Why didn't you fight for it back then?"

"Strive for it? What did I fight for it with back then?"

"Father has already paved the way for you."

"He was on guard against me, and I took away my military power before he could do anything..."

"He was worried that my mother's family would be unhappy, so when he died, he even asked my mother to be buried with him..."

"My grandfather died on the battlefield for my father, and my uncle made a small mistake, but you stripped him of his official position and sent him back to his hometown."

"You must have wanted to kill him back then, but you valued your reputation, so you didn't kill him, in order to preserve your reputation for being kind and righteous."

"I have been hiding this for many years, planning for many years, but I never thought you would find out."

"But it doesn't matter. As long as you die, I will be the only one to take this position."

Emperor Yongxing was not angry at all about what Prince Rong said. He suddenly asked, "Did you kill the queen?"

Prince Rong was stunned for a moment, then a big smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, I had it done by someone."

"Don't you like the legitimate son?"

"I want you to have no legitimate child..."

Prince Rong gradually became a little crazy, "You were very sad back then, right?"

"One body, two lives."

"My son was almost born, and he was gone."

"It's a pity that you haven't appointed another queen in these years, otherwise I would kill one if you appointed one."

"Speaking of which, your concubines are really useless. Not one of them gave birth to a child for you."

Prince Rong thought that Emperor Yongxing would be furious after hearing his words, but Emperor Yongxing's face remained calm.

He even smiled, "How do you know I don't have a son?"

Prince Rong was stunned. He stared at Emperor Yongxing and asked, "You have a son?"

Emperor Yongxing ignored Prince Rong and asked, "How many people did you bring today? It would be difficult to accomplish anything with fewer people."

"It's hard to accomplish?" Prince Rong laughed and said, "Your imperial guards are all guarding the city gates, how many people can you have in the palace?

And you are right in front of me, if I kill you, everything will be solved."