"What secret?" Emperor Jianchang couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

The other courtiers also pricked up their ears.

When it comes to eating melons, no one is immune.

Li Hugua took a deep breath and said, "I heard this Lord Li Rui in the courtyard trying to persuade Second Master Tao to pin the blame for Second Master Tao's keeping of male concubines, corruption, and bribery on General Tao."

Emperor Jianchang stood up from the dragon throne in anger.

“Why would they do that?”

Li Hugua was afraid that his next words would anger the emperor, so he said cautiously, "I heard from Li Rui that the General's Mansion had offended the nobleman behind him, so they wanted to teach General Tao a lesson.

He also said that everything had been arranged and only needed Mr. Tao's approval. I was afraid they would find out, so I wanted to leave the yard, but I saw a dark figure on the roof, leaving the yard before me.

The last sentence made Emperor Jianchang look solemn.

As soon as Li Hugua finished speaking, Li Rui and Tao Jingyu firmly denied it.

"Your Majesty, this man is slandering us. Please arrest him immediately."

When Censor Lin heard this, his face turned red with anger.

He found this witness based on the letter of accusation. These two people slandered him and framed them in front of His Majesty?

Moreover, the witness witnessed with his own eyes the entire process of the two of them colluding with each other and planning to frame General Tao.

Xiao Lichen didn't want to waste any more time on this. He looked at the deputy commander of the Xiaoyu Guard with a cold expression, "Li Rui, where did you find him?"

"We met Li Rui in a prostitute's bed while arresting a suspect at Tingya House."

After hearing this, all the ministers shook their heads and despised Li Rui's behavior.

"The laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty strictly forbid officials from visiting brothels. Li Rui knowingly and willfully violated the law. He must be dismissed and investigated, and severely punished."

"He framed someone else for keeping a male concubine, only to be caught by Xiao Yuwei from the bed of a prostitute. How ironic."

Seeing that everyone was blaming Li Rui, Tao Jingyu quickly made a choice.

"Your Majesty, Li Rui, as my brother's good friend, is ungrateful. For his own selfish reasons, he actually tried to sow discord between us brothers, framing my brother and then pinning the blame on me. Your Majesty, please punish him."

Li Rui could not tolerate Tao Jingyu turning against him so easily and putting all the blame on him.

You've already entered the game, and you want to abandon him and get out of it quickly. That's wishful thinking.

"Your Majesty, Tao Jingyu was jealous of everything his elder brother, General Tao, had, and he orchestrated all this. This has nothing to do with me. Your Majesty, I beg you to punish Tao Jingyu."

The two people began to accuse each other in public.

"Your Majesty, Li Rui is throwing dirty water on me. I know that he has been secretly corrupt and accepting bribes, buying and selling official positions, so he wants to take this opportunity to get rid of me."

Tao Jingyu exposed the other party's crimes with red eyes and aggrieved look.

"You idiot! I really want to hammer you to death. Who was it that came to me and asked me for help in getting him a position in the government office in the capital? And who kept complaining to me that my brother was an ungrateful person and that I wouldn't help him get an important position?"

"She has no ability or skills, and she spends her days calculating her brother's status and wealth. Since she has no money to enjoy herself, she uses her eldest brother's name to embezzle and accept bribes, and uses the money she earns to support her concubines and male favorites."

Li Rui was furious and exposed Tao Jingyu's past, which angered Tao Jingyu who lost his mind.

A fat figure suddenly jumped up, ran to Li Rui who was lying on the ground, rode on him, clenched his fists, and beat Li Rui, making him scream.

Tao Zhihong didn't feel happy at all when he saw them fighting each other.

For some reason, the person he arranged did not show up, and instead a man named Li Hugua came to testify.

Who is the driving force behind this?

Tao Zhihong's eyes fell on Xiao Lichen, who was in charge of all this.

This Prince Yong is no simple person.

Ever since the Prince of Yong appeared, the ministers who had previously criticized him no longer impeached him.

The unfavorable situations for him were resolved one by one after the Prince of Yong stepped forward.

What exactly does the Prince of Yong want to do? To win him over?

Tao Zhihong's mind was full of questions, which could not be answered for the time being.

"Your Majesty, this is the evidence that Xiao Yuwei collected a few days ago. Please take a look."

The deputy commander of Xiaoyuwei presented the written document to Emperor Jianchang.

After reading the evidence collected in the documents, Emperor Jianchang became furious.

"Take Li Rui and Tao Jingyu to the Ministry of Justice's prison and await trial."

The ministers were silent, and no one spoke at this time.

Every once in a while, Xiao Yuwei would present an official document to His Majesty to investigate the crimes of all officials.

Anyone who is caught by them will end up in a miserable situation.

Seeing His Majesty's furious look, they could guess that Xiao Yuwei had obtained evidence of Li Rui and Tao Jingyu's corruption, bribery, and visiting brothels and keeping male favorites.

The Royal Guards immediately dragged the two people who were fighting away.

The atmosphere in the court had not been quiet for long when Minister of Rites Gao Huaizhen stood up again.

"Your Majesty, the Great General who defends the country has failed to manage his family properly, leading to his brother's misconduct and corruption. He should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others."

As he finished speaking, Tao Zhihong cried out in grievance, "Your Majesty, my second brother was raised by my mother. I was away guarding the border for many years. When I returned home, my second brother was already an adult. As the eldest brother, I couldn't say much. Now, my second brother has separated from me. My mother wrote a letter of severance on his behalf. I don't know what he did. Please investigate, Your Majesty."

Many people in the court knew that the old lady in the General's Mansion was General Tao's stepmother, and that Master Tao was the stepmother's biological son.

They also heard a rumor that when General Tao was young, he was almost tortured to death by his stepmother and his good second brother.

Now, Mr. Tao is jealous of his status and has colluded with outsiders to harm him.

His brother, who had fought with him through thick and thin at the border, was ungrateful and, in collusion with someone behind his back, was trying to get rid of him with bad intentions.

The stepmother who had raised him for many years was willing to let him bear the stigma of being unfilial, so she wrote a letter of severance with him and separated the family.

General Tao is so unlucky!

If it were them, they would definitely be devastated.

At this time, there are still people coming out to accuse him of doing something wrong and asking Your Majesty to punish him?

"Your Majesty, General Tao fought bravely and defended the border for many years. Second Master Tao is over 30 years old. What does his mistake have to do with General Tao? Your Majesty, please don't punish General Tao."

Li Hugua was very angry at the Minister of Rites's aggressiveness, and with a sense of righteousness in his heart, he stood up and spoke for Tao Zhihong.

Censor Lin thought of his previous mistake and quickly stood up to speak. "Your Majesty, I believe General Tao is completely innocent in this matter and should not be charged with any crime."

"And before, I originally wanted to impeach Li Rui and Tao Jingyu, but I mistakenly thought of Second Master Tao as General Tao. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Minister of Rites Gao Huaizhen looked at Censor Lin in surprise.

Shouldn't he take the opportunity to suppress Tao Zhihong like himself?