At this moment, the court was in complete chaos, clearly divided into two factions arguing over the Sang Hong case.

Standing in front of his ministers, King Qi glanced discreetly at Zhao Hao at the head of the table, but it was difficult to discern any emotion from his face.

King Qi sighed inwardly. His elder brother was truly unfathomable, and he had no way of knowing what his true attitude was.

He then scanned the civil and military officials in the court and noticed that many familiar faces were missing during this period.

The brothers Qin Zheng, the commander of the central army, and Qin Se, the protector of the central army, led their troops to fight against the demon army after the demons massacred the city on the border. The demon army also had the Flying Leopard King, one of the four great generals. The two sides were evenly matched and neither could return for a while.

Yu Nan, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, resigned because of a jealous dispute with Zu An in a brothel, and because his marriage to a princess had caused the royal family to lose face.

His father, Yu Xuanchong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was also implicated in this matter. Although he offered to resign, the emperor did not agree, but his prestige was greatly damaged.

Following the uproar caused by the Yu family in Yunzhong County, Yu Xuanchong was too ashamed to continue serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and this time the emperor approved his resignation.

These were the backbone of his faction. Now, only the Duke of Linhai, Pei Zheng, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, the Prince of Fufeng, and Zhao Zang, the General Who Guards the West, remain in the upper echelons. Compared to the great momentum of previous years, he has really declined a lot now.

However, his years of management are not without merit, and he has the support of many mid-level officials.

This time, he used the Sang Hong incident to launch a fierce counterattack and reverse the decline of his side over the past few months.

The statement "Sang Hong colluded with the demon race and should have his entire family executed!" was made by one of his censors.

Hmph, the emperor has repeatedly attacked my side with deadly force. How can I quell my hatred if I don't retaliate?

At this moment, Bi Ziang on the other side gave a wink, and one of his officials stepped forward to retort: ​​"That is not true. Lord Sang was part of the imperial envoy delegation and was attacked along the way. He was also a victim. How could it be that he colluded with the demon race?"

Sang Hong is part of the emperor's faction, so it doesn't really matter whether he gets into trouble or not. But Zu An is also involved this time. Zu An is a general in the Eastern Palace and a good servant of his sister. If he is also convicted, it could easily implicate the siblings.

"Judging by the days, the imperial envoy should have returned to the capital long ago. However, he took every opportunity to dawdle and delay along the way. It wasn't until the Emperor personally issued an imperial edict urging him to hurry back that he sped up his return. But the incident happened as soon as he arrived in Cancheng. What a coincidence!" said one of the people on Qi Wang's side.

"This doesn't prove anything. The delegation has reported various unexpected situations along the way, and each one is documented." The one who spoke this time was Liu Guang, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Liu Yao, the General of the Guards. They are the Empress's brothers, and as relatives of the Empress, they naturally stand on the Emperor's side. Otherwise, they would be another relative of the Empress after the Prince of Qi ascends the throne.

"Why did everyone else in the delegation die in that fire, but Sang Hong was the only one who went missing?" another official sneered.

"You yourself said that their whereabouts are unknown, so why insist that Lord Sang colluded with the demon race to murder the delegation?" This time, the one who spoke up was an official under Meng Yi, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat. The Meng family was also a key force supporting the emperor.

"Because evidence was found at the scene, including Sang Hong's personal belongings and letters used to communicate with the demon race." At this moment, Attendant Pei Zheng gave a look, and an official below him stepped forward to report.

"Such a thing has happened!" These words caused an uproar throughout the court, as many people had not even received any prior information.

At this moment, the Crown Princess Bi Linglong, who was in the side hall, frowned slightly. Because the Crown Prince was too dull-witted, it was inconvenient for him to appear on such a grand occasion. If he made a fool of himself, it would be like handing a knife to the hands of Prince Qi's faction.

Therefore, as a compromise, Bi Linglong was allowed to listen in from the side hall, with a beaded curtain blocking the view from the front.

At that moment, she subconsciously looked at the emperor. According to the intelligence she had received, the Embroidered-Robed Envoy arrived in Cancheng as soon as possible and sealed all the witnesses and physical evidence and brought them to the capital. Why would the Prince of Qi's side know about this?

A flash of anger crossed the emperor's eyes, clearly indicating that he was also displeased with the pervasive influence of the Prince of Qi.

Faced with the questioning looks of his ministers, the emperor calmly said, "I have already sent envoys in embroidered robes to investigate, and the case is still under investigation."

He neither admitted nor denied it, but everyone in the court was shrewd enough to immediately realize that there was indeed similar evidence.

This greatly boosted the morale of the officials in Qi Wang's faction. At this moment, Yi Chun, the Prefect of Jingzhao, spoke up: "I have already sent people to investigate the Sang family. I expect we will have results soon."

Upon hearing his words, officials from the Liu, Bi, Meng, and other families all felt a chill in their hearts. They were all seasoned shrewd individuals who knew that since he had sent people to search, they would most likely find the so-called evidence.

At this moment, another official from King Qi's faction pressed on, saying, "I have received intelligence that the reason Sang Hong has been delaying this journey is to wait for Zu An to return to the group. In fact, Zu An has not been in the delegation these days, but has gone to mingle with Queen Medusa in the demon race."

This was another bombshell, and the courtiers were immediately in an uproar.

It seems that King Qi is not satisfied with just dealing with Sang Hong; he also wants to target the generals of the Eastern Palace.

King Qi's face showed neither joy nor sorrow, but his heart was ice-cold. That kid Zu'an was too cunning. He said on the surface that he would join forces with him to deal with the emperor, but he always ruined my big plans.

If it were just an ordinary matter, we could just consider it the price he paid to gain the emperor's trust.

But he absolutely could not tolerate what happened in Yunzhong County. He had painstakingly planned for decades there, only to have it all destroyed because of him.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!