The two reached a cooperation agreement in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.

Although eradicating powerful clans seems like an impossible task, it is not insurmountable.

Having learned from her previous experience of defeating the Shen family, Jian Yang knew that the concubines in the harem were the key to crushing these families.

So that very night, at her behest, a massive purge of the imperial harem began!

Previously, fearing that news of Jian Fei's assassination attempt would cause panic in the harem, the emperor suppressed the news.

Only a very small number of people know the inside story.

When the Imperial Guards later went to search for the assassin, they also used the pretext of finding the thief.

However, since these concubines all came from extremely powerful families, they were unwilling to cooperate, and the Imperial Guards were helpless.

Tonight, after Jian Yang embellished the news and released it, it indeed caused a great uproar in the harem.

Fearing they would be the next to be assassinated, the concubines immediately agreed to the Imperial Guards' thorough search operation.

Of course, the assassin was never found in the end.

However, this was all within Jian Yang's expectations.

After all, many days had passed since Jian Fei was assassinated, and the assassins certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to wait for them to come and capture her.

But her real intention wasn't to arrest anyone!

The next day, after secretly seeing Jian Fei off, Jian Yang arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

When the emperor saw her arrive with such confidence, he knew she had made a great achievement.

"Your Majesty, what results have been achieved?"

Jian Yang nodded and took a locked wooden box from Lian Xia's hand.

And he opened it in front of the emperor.

Inside was a box full of letters.

The emperor picked up a few letters at random and found that the handwriting and signatures were not all the same.

Fearing he wouldn't understand, Jian Yang explained, "This is a letter from Consort Xiu, recording the Emperor's daily meals and activities. It was originally to be sent out of the palace today. This is the notebook of Consort An's father, Lord An. This is from Consort Liu, and this is..."

In short, these letters, which appear to be family letters from the concubines, are actually mostly records of surveillance on the emperor.

Or perhaps the officials allowed their daughters to use their status as imperial concubines to influence the court by whispering in the emperor's ear.

Each and every one of these incidents is enough to send these people to jail for life!

Logically speaking, these private letters should not have been exposed to the world so easily.

If Jian Yang hadn't used the search for assassins as a pretext to catch the concubines off guard, she and the emperor would never have seen these exciting scenes.

Seeing the emperor's face gradually turn ashen, Jian Yang smiled and said, "I have Yu Weiyan interrogating some palace servants. I expect the results will be available in the next few days. I will take my leave now."

After saying that, she immediately turned around and left.

Just kidding, anyone who knew they were living under constant surveillance would have a mental breakdown.

Moreover, this was a high and mighty emperor!

To avoid being caught in the crossfire, Jian Yang ran as fast as she could.

Sure enough, shortly after she left, the emperor flew into a rage.

That very night, many officials were arrested and imprisoned.

Because the perpetrators were caught red-handed, this purge of the imperial court did not last long before it came to an end.

But for the officials involved, this was nothing short of a catastrophe.

At best, they will be dismissed from their posts and investigated; at worst, their property will be confiscated and they will be executed.

The concubines who were implicated were mostly sent to the Cold Palace to keep Consort Wan company.

When someone falls from power, it means someone else is taking over.

The emperor also took this opportunity to replace the vacant official positions with his own people.

Although this purge did not shake the position of the remaining three major families and the Prince of Dingbian.

However, the officials who were brought down were mostly their people, which indirectly weakened their power.

The political situation at court has thus changed!

Two days later, the palace servants who had been severely tortured began to confess.

However, all that came out were lawsuits related to palace intrigue and power struggles for favor.

Jian Yang didn't find it interesting, but she still handled it officially and punished the relevant concubines.

Knowing that the emperor's biggest concern was still the Prince of Dingbian and the remaining three major families, Jian Yang continued to dig deeper, and finally, she obtained some secrets about Consort Yu!

"Are you sure this record is all true?" Jian Yang asked the eunuch in front of her, waving the booklet in her hand.

This eunuch was named Xiao Luzi, and he was Zhang Gonggong's godson. He was very clever.

Xiao Luzi nodded, "Your Majesty, these records are absolutely true. It's just that Consort Yu's secrecy measures are too good, and this is all the information I could find."

"You've done very well," Jian Yang praised.

With this record in hand, we might be able to use Consort Yu as a breakthrough point to curb the arrogance of the Prince of Dingbian!

This record is nothing more than a time log.

The record shows the exact times when Consort Yu would sneak out of Yufu Palace late at night every few days, but Xiao Luzi couldn't find out where she ended up.

Although Xiao Luzi didn't know where Consort Yu had gone after sneaking out of her bedchamber in the middle of the night, Jian Yang could guess the general idea by looking at the time points and making a little calculation.

It's actually quite easy to guess. On the day that the Second Prince Zhou Jing'an came to the palace to pay his respects, Consort Yu would usually sneak out that night.

This is such a coincidence!

In fact, she had realized long ago that the two of them had cheated on the emperor, but she was just short of evidence.

Now that the records and witnesses are all there, let's see how Consort Yu can deny it!

Jian Yang revealed a confident smile, "Prepare the carriage for Jade Hibiscus Palace!"

At this moment, Consort Yu was reprimanding the palace servants.

Because the young eunuch who guarded the gate of her palace had disappeared.

"The palace is only so big. I want to see this person alive or dead. Go find them now!"

The palace servants were so frightened that they scattered in all directions.

Only the personal maid Jingyue cautiously said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Empress has been reorganizing the harem these days. Could it be that she has arrested him?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Yu's face paled.

It wasn't that she was being considerate of the servants; rather, this little eunuch was responsible for guarding the gate and knew exactly when she entered and left the palace.

Although she was confident that no one would find out where she had gone, she couldn't guarantee that the Empress wouldn't use her late-night departure from the palace as a pretext.

Who knew, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

A palace maid rushed in to announce, "Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived!"

Yufei immediately had a bad feeling.

"Quickly, find a way to inform my grandfather, and be quick!"

The palace maid agreed and ran out quickly.

A moment later, Jian Yang arrived at Yu Fu Palace with her menacing entourage.

Consort Yu maintained her usual arrogant and domineering demeanor, not even bothering to lift her eyelids.

"Oh, I wonder what brings Her Majesty the Empress to my Jade Hibiscus Palace?"

Jian Yang was too lazy to argue with her and simply placed the record book in front of her.

"I just want to ask Consort Yu, who did you go to see so late at night?"

Consort Yu's heart sank.

Just what I feared most came to pass.

But she maintained an extremely calm demeanor, saying, "What are you saying, Your Majesty? Does leaving the palace necessarily mean you have to see someone? I just couldn't sleep, and I wanted to go for a walk in the middle of the night, but I can't even do that?"