Inside the Chongzheng Hall, after Dou Miao ordered the punishment of those who were lazy and negligent in their duties, all the remaining officials, including General Dou Wu, looked at Dou Miao with fear in their eyes.

During the Han Dynasty, a ruthless and powerful empress dowager was far more terrifying and difficult to deal with than the emperor.

"Have you investigated the rumors circulating in the city yesterday thoroughly...?"

Ignoring everyone else, Dou Miao looked at Yang Qiu and the others again.

"Your Majesty, we have apprehended all those who spread the rumors and interrogated them..."

Subsequently, Yang Qiu, Xun Shuang, and Song Feng each took out some confessions.

After taking the confessions and glancing through them briefly, Dou Miao's expression changed slightly.

Because most of the confessions presented by Yang Qiu and Xun Shuang pointed to Liu Kui, the King of Bohai, but not by Song Feng, Dou Miao couldn't help but look at Song Feng with suspicion.

"Good! Good... These treacherous people, stirring up trouble between my son and me like this, are truly despicable!!"

After reading the confession, Dou Miao was furious.

Then Dou Miao looked at Yang Qiu, Xun Shuang, and Song Feng, and said coldly, "Those who spread rumors, the followers will be fined a million and imprisoned for three years. The ringleaders will have their property confiscated and be exiled to the frontier!"

"promise!!"

Yang Qiu remained calm and immediately stepped forward to agree. Xun Shuang and Song Feng were slightly taken aback, but followed suit.

"Read this confession aloud to all of you!"

As they were talking, Dou Miao had a eunuch read aloud the confessions accusing Liu Kui, the Prince of Bohai, to the assembled officials.

After the confession was read, the hall fell silent. The officials in the hall couldn't help but ponder the key point. Yesterday's rumors came on strong, intending to push the emperor and empress dowager to the opposite side. Once the two forces clashed, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed that the Prince of Bohai would be the biggest beneficiary.

Song Feng's expression changed slightly as he stood there. He had personally participated in the interrogation in the prison of the Lieutenant's Office last night, but he had not found anything about the King of Bohai regarding the person behind the scenes.

But why do Yang Qiu and Xun Shuang's testimonies both point to their brother-in-law? Is this a coincidence? Or... are they deliberately framing him, trying to take the opportunity to get rid of the King of Bohai?

Yang Qiu is one thing, but why would Xun Shuang, who is known as a "great scholar" and has a great reputation, do something like framing someone?

If they weren't conspiring together, then someone must have instructed them. Thinking about this, Song Feng broke out in a cold sweat and looked up at the Empress Dowager, only to find that she was also looking at him. Startled, Song Feng quickly lowered his head again.

"As for this King of Bohai, he's based in his own territory, yet he's dared to extend his reach here. What do you all think we should do...?"

Seeing Song Feng's constantly changing expression, Dou Miao did not ask directly, but instead looked at the people in the hall.

Chen Fan stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Bohai is, after all, the late Emperor's younger brother. It would be inappropriate to punish him based on mere accusations..."

Dou Miao pondered for a moment, then asked, "Does the Grand Tutor have any suggestions...?"

Chen Fan cupped his hands and said, "I believe that the Empress Dowager should issue an imperial edict summoning the Prince of Bohai to the capital to castrate himself, and then the Imperial Clan Court can conduct an investigation!"

"Grand Tutor's words are excellent! Let's do it that way!"

Dou Miao nodded and agreed to Chen Fan's suggestion. Once a vassal king leaves his fiefdom and comes to the capital, he won't be able to cause any trouble, and it will be much easier to deal with him then.

"Your Majesty, the number of officials arrested yesterday was so large that various government offices were struggling to function. We need to promote some capable people to fill the gaps as soon as possible..." Hu Guang stepped forward and said respectfully.

Dou Miao nodded. "Yes! This matter will be handled by the Grand Tutor and the Three Dukes. They should draft a plan as soon as possible!"

"Your humble servants obey!"

Chen Fan, Hu Guang, Li Ying, Yuan Feng, and several others also stood up and responded in unison.

Dou Miao then inquired about local government affairs and border military matters, and only after confirming that nothing serious had happened did she feel relieved.

Dou Miao then looked around at the officials and said in a deep voice, "Now that the emperor is temporarily unable to govern, all of you must return as soon as possible to handle your respective affairs of state, and remember not to cause any trouble!"

"Your humble servants obey!"

"Dismiss the court!!"

"Your humble servants respectfully bid farewell to the Empress Dowager!!"

After waving to the officials, Dou Miao got up and left Chongzheng Hall. The remaining officials were all capable and accomplished people promoted by Liu Hong. With Chen Fan and the others also present, there shouldn't be any trouble.

Led by Chen Fan and others, the officials left Chongzheng Hall and returned to their offices. Because the emperor was in a coma and those lazy and negligent officials had been arrested, all the original government affairs fell to them.

Soon, Chen Fan and his group promoted and appointed the subordinates of the arrested officials. After consulting with Dou Miao, they also selected a group of young students from the Imperial Academy to fill the positions.

Within just half a day, the various departments that had previously ceased operations gradually began to return to normal, and everyone threw themselves into their respective intense work, forgetting to eat or sleep.

After a whole day of work, everyone was exhausted. Looking at the piles of official documents in front of them, these newly promoted people felt even more resentful towards those who were lazy and negligent in their duties.

Lanzhi, who was waiting to be summoned at the inn, couldn't help but sigh after hearing the whole story. Besides not being able to meet the Emperor of Han to present her credentials, the most important thing was the impact of the escort movement on her.

It should be noted that among the countries of the Western Regions, no royal king or prince had ever been known to possess such a powerful appeal.

For a moment, she couldn't help but think of what people on the street had been saying lately: the emperor was the reincarnation of the divine son of Taiyi, and as long as the emperor had a single thought, countless heavenly soldiers and generals would follow him to the death.

Anyone who dares to offend the Han Dynasty and anger the Emperor will be punished by the gods, resulting in the complete extinction of their clan.

For a time, Princess Lanzhi of Gaochang was filled with awe for this Han emperor she had never met before.

Afterwards, Lanzhi boarded a carriage and left the inn, heading towards the lecture hall outside the South Palace. The three Zhang brothers had recently been going there to preach their doctrines, and Lanzhi had overheard them by chance and was deeply attracted by their teachings that guided people toward goodness.

Behind Lanzhi's carriage followed several constables arranged by Yang Ci, who were responsible for protecting Lanzhi's safety.

When the carriage stopped outside the lecture hall, Lanzhi couldn't help but raise her head and look towards the palace. She saw that there were still thousands of young people sitting cross-legged at the palace gate, waiting for their emperor to wake up.

"Only a god could inspire such willingness to follow to the death...!"

The scene outside the palace gates filled Lanzhi with awe, and at the same time, she became even more convinced of the Taiping Sect's claim that the emperor was the reincarnation of the Taiyi God.

At this point, Lanzhi had already become a novice believer in the Taiping Religion.