At the same time, in Fucha Maqi's official residence.

The three brothers Ma Qi, Ma Wu and Li Rongbao sat facing each other in the study, looking gloomy and sad.

"Second brother, let's go and beg the emperor again. We can't just watch our eldest brother die."

Ma Wu's face looked a little pale.

He just couldn't understand why the emperor, considering how much he valued them, would suddenly break into his eldest brother's house and check his warehouse.

Which emperor would break into a subordinate's house without warning when the minister is on duty?

Officials like them are not even safe at home!

After this incident, I'm afraid everyone in the court will be dissatisfied with the emperor's behavior.

Ma Qi's expression looked better than Ma Wu's, but only slightly. Thinking about the note he received when he returned home in the morning, his brows were furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly.

"The Emperor broke into my eldest brother's house by force. Perhaps there is something else going on."

Hearing this, Ma Wu immediately sat up straight.

"Second brother knows?"

Even the gloomy Li Rongbao couldn't help but look up and stare at Ma Qi with burning eyes.

Ma Qi took a deep breath, his heart in turmoil.

"When I came back this morning, I received a message."

"What news?"

Ma Wu asked impatiently.

Ma Qi: "Yesterday morning, after the morning court session, the Crown Prince returned to Yuqing Palace. The Fourth Prince, the Eighth Prince, and the Ninth Prince also went with him. After the three of them left the palace, the Crown Prince went to the Qianqing Palace."

"Are you saying that the Crown Prince went to see the Emperor yesterday just to expose the fact that my elder brother and his men were withholding tribute?"

Ma Wu's expression hardened, and he quickly thought of another possibility.

"The Crown Prince has always been at odds with our family. He should be suspected, but there's no need for him to offend everyone in the Imperial Household Department, right? Not all of them are bondservants."

Ma Qi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So you suspect someone else exposed this?"

"That's right."

"I think... the Ninth Prince seems to have more motives than the Crown Prince."

On the surface, the Ninth Prince had no connection with the Imperial Household Department, but those who knew the inside story knew that most of the profits from the Ninth Prince's industries went into the Emperor's pocket.

The Imperial Household Department is responsible for managing the emperor's assets.

The Ninth Prince resents the Imperial Household Department more than any other prince.

Ma Qi thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Not the Ninth Prince."

Ma Wu was stunned.

"Why? The Ninth Prince is the most likely person to have learned this news. He..."

"The Emperor will not easily trust the Ninth Prince. His influence in the Emperor's eyes is not enough for the Emperor to believe his words and just force his way into the eldest brother's house."

Before Ma Wu could finish his words, Ma Qi interrupted him.

Hearing this, Ma Wu was somewhat distracted.

"Second brother, what you said makes sense... Then, is this matter really inseparable from the Crown Prince?"

"But that doesn't make sense. The Crown Prince's position in the court is already precarious. How could he offend so many families at once? He..."

“Knock, knock, knock!”

"Master, something bad has happened!"

Ma Wu frowned and analyzed Yinreng's behavior, but before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the noise coming from outside.

Ma Qi stood up unhappily and went to open the door, and what he saw was the housekeeper's face which was anxious and a little frightened.

Ma Qi's heart skipped a beat and he asked hurriedly,

"What happened?"

"Master, news has come from the prison. The eldest master is gone!"

Ma Qi's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he immediately grabbed the butler's arm.

"What did you say?!"

His strength was really great, and the housekeeper felt pain and frowned as he replied,

"The master hanged himself."

Ma Qi froze, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

"How is this possible?!"

Ma Wu and Li Rongbao also came over.

"Butler Dou, when did this happen?"

The butler retracted his arm and rubbed it inconspicuously.

"Just now, someone from the Heavenly Prison sent a message to our residence, saying that the Emperor felt that the cause of the eldest master's death was unusual and handed the case over to Prince Cheng for investigation."

"this……"

The expressions of the three brothers also became completely gloomy.

If the eldest brother was still alive, they could go to the emperor and beg for mercy, or at least ask the emperor to spare the eldest brother's life.

But now that the eldest brother is gone, no matter how they plan, it’s meaningless.

"Butler Dou, prepare the car, I want to go to the Heavenly Prison!"

"yes."

Steward Dou hurried down to prepare the carriage. Ma Wu and Li Rongbao looked at Ma Qi.

"Second brother, what should we do now?"

Ma Qi has always been their backbone.

"Let's go to the prison first and check the situation. I know my brother's character well. He wouldn't easily commit suicide. There must be something going on here that we don't know about."