Just as they were getting restless, the emperor walked in and sat down, and the eunuch Zhang handed him the account book he was holding.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing'an sneered. Sure enough, Zhou Jingzhi was about to make a move.

The ministers who recognized the account books were now so weak in the knees that they could hardly stand. They all looked at Zhou Mu'an with pleading eyes, but Zhou Mu'an seemed not to see them at all.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The ministers all knelt down.

The emperor swept his gaze coldly around the room. He had long disliked these officials who had been exploiting the people for years, but he had no choice but to remain inactive due to a lack of evidence.

After receiving the account book, the emperor looked at the shocking numbers and felt even more resentful, as if those numbers were not money, but the victims of a disaster who had died unjustly.

After a moment of silence, the emperor spoke softly, "Rise, all of you."

"I have summoned all of you ministers today for an important matter." With that, he opened the account book in his hand and began to read.

"Hu Cheng'an, Lin Ying, Yang Shuo, Zhao Qingshan..." As the names were read out, most of the ministers below were among them, especially those from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War.

"Do any of you have anything to confess?" The emperor's voice was authoritative, though he was not angry. He wanted these people to confess their crimes themselves.

Silence returned.

"He won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin," the emperor sneered. "Lord Lin, you must have embezzled a lot of silver during last year's Yellow River floods."

Lin Ying knelt down with a thud. During the Yellow River flood, Zhou Jing'an instructed him to cut the disaster relief funds in half. On the surface, the same amount was still allocated to the prefectures, but only the prefectures themselves knew how much actually reached them.

In addition, with layers of exploitation by local officials, very little actually reached the disaster victims.

But he had no way to explain his predicament. Most of the money went into Zhou Jing'an's pocket and eventually flowed to the Ministry of War. How much money could a mere Vice Minister of Revenue embezzle?

Lin Ying looked at Zhou Jing'an, knowing he had no way out, and only hoped that Zhou would treat his family well. He gritted his teeth and replied, "I know I deserve to die. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Take him away and send him to the Dali Temple," the emperor said in a deep voice.

"Do I have to call out the rest one by one and ask them? If they confess themselves, I might be able to show leniency."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, ministers began to kneel down and confess their crimes, and some upright officials became increasingly alarmed as they listened.

When the Minister of War mentioned that he had colluded with the Ministry of Revenue to embezzle wartime pay, Hu Zhengqing could no longer contain himself and burst into a tirade of profanities.

"You despicable scoundrel! Our soldiers are fighting on the frontier to defend our country against foreign enemies, and you embezzle military funds, causing our brave men to die in vain on the battlefield, without even a cotton-padded coat in the winter! You deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

Upon hearing this, the ministers' eyes reddened, especially the elders, who stood on no side and were wholeheartedly devoted to the country, only to learn at this moment that many disasters were man-made.

It turned out that it was done by these very officials, whom they had personally selected and who were well-versed in literature and poetry. Immediately, the officials were filled with resentment.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" The emperor's eyes flashed with anger.

He had known about these things for a long time, but hearing them again still made him lose control. The thought of those who had died unjustly filled him with a desire to tear these officials to pieces.

Seeing that no one spoke up, the emperor took a deep breath and said, "Take them all to the Dali Temple."

After saying that, he gave Zhou Jing'an a deep look: "Does Your Majesty have anything to say about this?"

Zhou Jing'an straightened his robes and stepped forward, saying solemnly, "Your Majesty, these officials are truly heartless and treacherous. It is thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom that they have been wiped out in one fell swoop, which is a blessing for all the people."

It seems like they are being very sincere.

Zhou Jing'an didn't care much about these officials; he had already figured out the key issue when the account books were stolen.

He had the ledger in his hands, and he could threaten these officials to do things for him, but his name, Zhou Jing'an, was not on the ledger, and his dealings with the officials were all done in private.

Even if Zhou Jingzhi noticed some clues, he couldn't punish him. It was just a pity for these pawns.

The emperor remained silent, looking at Zhou Jing'an as if he were looking at an ant. He could tell at a glance what his brother was thinking.

Just when the officials thought the matter was about to end and could finally catch their breath, the emperor slowly spoke again:

"I have also discovered some other things."

Zhou Jing'an was startled, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart.

The emperor sneered, "Those disgraced officials just now must have had many accomplices, don't you think so, Your Majesty?"

"Bring him here!" the emperor roared.

Before long, several ministers were brought in and made to kneel on the ground.

Zhou Jing'an's eyes widened upon seeing this. Many of these people were his men. Why would the emperor have them tied up so directly? He looked at Zhou Jingzhi in confusion.

"What is this, Your Majesty?" Zhou Jing'an asked.

"Just a few days ago, I discovered that these people had committed numerous evils, harmed the people, and embezzled public funds. The evidence has now been transferred to the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and they will be imprisoned soon," the emperor said with a gloomy expression.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing'an knew perfectly well that while dealing with the people on the ledgers today was true, there was something even more important waiting for him here.

His smile faltered. These people were people he had painstakingly cultivated and placed in the court, but they hadn't even been put to good use before Zhou Jingzhi eliminated them. His voice trembled slightly.

"Your Majesty is wise," Zhou Jingzhi said through gritted teeth.

With that, the matter was finally settled. The remaining officials all felt as if they had escaped a calamity and left with sighs of relief.

Only Zhou Jing'an stood motionless in the hall, his gaze fixed intently on the emperor.

Seeing this, the emperor chuckled and teased, "Is my elder brother really in a bad mood today?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jing'an's lips twitched slightly, and he clenched his fists tightly, but his face still showed that he didn't care much.

"Your Majesty is too kind. How could I be in a bad mood? Today's events are truly gratifying."

"Oh? I am very pleased that you think so, Your Majesty," Zhou Jingzhi said with a cold laugh.

At this moment, a young eunuch came over with a cup of tea. Just as he was about to hand it to the emperor, he tripped on the steps, and by sheer coincidence, the entire cup of tea spilled all over the emperor.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" The little eunuch hurriedly knelt down, trembling and not daring to speak.

"It's alright, I'll go change my clothes. You may leave now." Zhou Jingzhi stared at his wet robes, frowning slightly, seemingly somewhat disgusted.

"Your Majesty, please wait here for a moment. I have important matters to discuss with you."

After saying this, the emperor quickly walked out of the main hall. Although Zhou Jing'an was puzzled, he was still curious about what was going on, so he sat down on a chair next to him and waited quietly.