Liu Yueqing's eyes were bloodshot, making him look as ferocious as a wounded wild beast.

"Karma! I deserve it! I deserve it!"

Liu Yanzong said, "Speak up. As long as you speak, the court will grant you an additional title, and your brothers and relatives will all be taken care of."

"I said!" Liu Yueqing roared fiercely, "It was Shangguan Qi who gave me the order. He knew that the court would definitely investigate now and blame Shangguan Hongru. After dragging his brother down, he could take control of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce!"

Liu Yanzong and He Liming exchanged a glance, while the registrar next to them was taking notes.

"Is there anyone else?"

"I don't know anything else. I received an order from Shangguan Qi. He promised me that after I succeeded, he would make me the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. After that, the court would entrust the Chamber of Commerce with important responsibilities, and we would surely rise to prominence. The court also set a precedent for bestowing titles on merchants. He also promised that we would all be granted titles in the future!"

That makes sense. Profit and fame can drive people crazy, especially in a place like Tokyo, a place full of deceit and treachery.

A dying man's words are good. Liu Yueqing was about to die, and his whole family had been wiped out. What did he have to hide?

But who exactly was responsible for wiping out Liu Yueqing's entire family?

This is clearly going against the imperial court and against the Holy Emperor!

Moreover, this was in the capital city of Tokyo, right under the emperor's nose!

Liu Yanzong and He Liming turned around and went to the prison where Shangguan Qi was being held, but...

Shangguan Qi is dead!

Liu Yanzong frowned, and He Liming was even more stunned.

The fact that someone was killed inside the Censorate suggests there might be a traitor within the Imperial City Guard!

If there were a traitor among the Emperor's personal guards of the Imperial City Guard, it would be a very terrible thing!

He Liming roared, "Who killed Shangguan Qi? How did you interrogate him? Didn't I say I wanted him alive?!"

The Imperial Guard hurriedly knelt on one knee: "Reporting to Lord He, I went to the restroom and handed the child over to Wu Yi. When I returned, Lord He was dead! Please forgive me!"

He Liming took a deep breath and said coldly, "Shangguan Qi is too crucial. If he dies at your hands, I won't let you off the hook!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard turned pale. He Liming roared, "Men! Seize him and interrogate him properly!"

"Sir, spare me! I made a mistake! Sir, spare me..."

He Liming's heart was bleeding; this Imperial Guard was one of his trusted confidants.

But Shangguan Qi died at his hands. He said it was Wu Yi who did it, but who knows how much of it is true and how much is false?

It's better to kill ten thousand innocent people than to let one guilty person escape.

He Liming then ordered that they immediately go to find Wu Yi.

The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier. Liu Yanzong frowned. The complexity of the matter had exceeded his expectations. He was pondering how to report this matter to the emperor.

He was still wondering who was behind this and what their motives were.

How to stop the imperial court from issuing paper money?

Impossible. Trying to stop the issuance of paper money by instigating a chamber of commerce is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Clearly, the intention was to anger the emperor and cause turmoil in the court.

After the last purge, the political situation had basically stabilized, and the former officials of the retired emperor had been largely purged from the central government.

The newly established imperial power structure further consolidated the emperor's power.

Whether it was the Northern Expedition to expel the Jin invaders, the recovery of Yan and Yun, the overthrow of the Kong family, the sweeping of the Central Plains, or the pacification of the South, the emperor's prestige rose wave after wave.

The situation in the Song Dynasty court has basically stabilized, but some people are unwilling to accept this stability!

Liu Yanzong couldn't sleep.

He Liming couldn't sleep even more, so he personally led a group of people to Shangguan Qi's residence.

They discovered that Shangguan Qi's entire family of eighty had been killed, leaving not even the chickens and ducks in the kitchen or the dogs in the yard!

They left no clues whatsoever; they did it very cleanly!

In the latter half of the night, Liu Yanzong entered the palace with a heavy heart.

He reported everything truthfully to the emperor, expecting the emperor to be furious, but the emperor remained calm.

"Continue the investigation. I want a result."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will certainly give you a satisfactory explanation!"

Liu Yanzong reluctantly accepted the emperor's words, which had two layers of meaning.

First, you, Liu Yanzong, must find the real culprit for me. Second, you must arrange a scapegoat as soon as possible to quell the impact of this matter for me.

After Liu Yanzong left, Zhao Huan frowned and fell into deep thought.

It seems that the Imperial City Guard alone is not enough to control the situation.

At this moment, Xie Dahai and He Liming came to see him.

Xie Dahai and He Liming knelt on the ground.

"We beg Your Majesty to punish us!"

As the commander-in-chief of the Imperial City Guard, Xie Dahai naturally had to bear the blame for the traitor within the Imperial City Guard.

"You two are fined three months' salary and each receives twenty strokes of the rod!"

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Then Zhao Huan said, "Wang Kui'an, it's cold. Send some good wine over to warm the men."

"yes!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Dahai and He Liming felt a warmth in their hearts. Although they had been penalized with a deduction from their salaries and were to be beaten twenty times, at least the emperor still cared about them and trusted them.

Xie Dahai and He Liming went out to receive their punishment, and Zhao Huan then had Wang Kuian deliver medicine to them. The two were even more moved to tears.

The Imperial City Bureau was divided into the Investigation Bureau and the Ice Well Bureau, but these two departments did not form a real check and balance.

If the Imperial City Guard is the only line of command, it is impossible to truly control the situation; the emperor's personal guards also need to be monitored.

However, the Imperial City Guards could not be described as being monitored, but rather as being restrained, to prevent the Imperial City Guards from expanding uncontrollably, resulting in bloated personnel and a decline in their quality.

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