The news quickly spread throughout the capital, and indeed, everyone among the powerful families felt insecure.

With such a large family, who can guarantee that there are no dirty secrets in their own home? It would be a bit of an exaggeration to implicate the entire family over something so trivial.

Moreover, who can guarantee that those imperial guards will act impartially and without any selfish motives?

The Emperor has given them such great power, what if they abuse it for personal gain?

Therefore, on the second day after the decree was issued, the court was filled with impeachments. Some said he was eccentric and vicious, some said he was cunning, and some said he acted like a petty person.

The entire court became a denunciation meeting, and the more this happened, the more at ease Yuwen Wuji felt.

Only when Chengcheng is isolated and helpless can he rely on himself the most.

If he were to form cliques and engage in corrupt practices like his sons, how could he possibly secure his throne?

The argument in the court was fierce, and that afternoon, Chengcheng led the Imperial Guards to search and confiscate the residence of the Marquis of Jing'an.

This is the residence of a Marquis of the highest rank! Cheng Cheng didn't submit any memorials, had no evidence of wrongdoing, and didn't have any official approvals. He simply led the Imperial Guards and stormed in.

The Imperial Guards and the Marquis's mansion's soldiers clashed, and blood flowed from the mansion's main gate all the way to the backyard. Anyone who resisted was executed on the spot.

When this terrible news reached the ears of the major families, they even thought they had misheard.

"What crime has the Marquis of Jing'an committed?!" Wang Xuan immediately ordered his official robes to be brought to him. He wanted to go to the palace to see Yuwen Wuji. If this continued, the entire capital city would be in turmoil!

Madam Wang quickly helped him put on his clothes and then hurriedly went to fetch him his official hat.

When Wang Xuan took it, Madam Wang hurriedly let go, and Wang Xuan lost his grip, causing the official hat to fall to the ground.

Madam Wang was startled and quickly grabbed Wang Xuan, "My lord, I have a bad feeling. Please don't go to the palace!"

Wang Xuan picked up the official hat from the ground, flung her aside, and said, "The Emperor is now making an example of us, how is that any different from discarding a used tool after it has served its purpose! It was us noble families who helped him open the gates of the capital so that he could sit on that throne! Now he's turning the blade on us, it's simply outrageous!"

Knowing that her husband was furious and she couldn't persuade him, Lady Wang could only send a maid to tell her son to stop Wang Xuan.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Chong immediately ordered his men to lead horses and pursue Wang Xuan.

Fortunately, Wang Xuan was riding in a sedan chair, and Wang Chong quickly caught up with his father.

"Father, Chengcheng is a treacherous villain who has fooled the Emperor into not suspecting him at all. Now that the Jing'an Marquis's mansion is in trouble, we should go to rescue the mansion and go to the palace to meet the Emperor later!"

Wang Xuan, who had been stunned by anger, calmed down a bit and immediately sent people to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence. They wanted to see how much courage Cheng Cheng had.

However, he was truly frightened when he arrived at the gate of the Marquis of Jing'an's residence.

Even though he had experienced a palace coup back then, it was a long time ago, and at that time his father and grandfather supported the Wang family, so he had never really experienced any major storms.

The two gates in front of the vast mansion of the Marquis of Jing'an had already fallen. The sun was setting in the west, and night was falling. The world behind those two gates was like a corner of hell emerging on earth.

The strong, pungent smell of blood filled his lungs and churned his insides, making him almost vomit.

Chengcheng emerged from the Marquis's residence with his men, his clothes mostly covered in blood, the long sword he carried still dripping blood onto the ground. Upon seeing Wang Xuan, he flicked his wrist, raised his arm to tuck the blade between his fingers, and wiped the blood off the sword.

"What brings you here, Your Excellency?"

Hearing the contempt in his tone, Wang Xuan turned and got into the sedan chair.

"To the palace!"

Seeing Chengcheng looking at the father and son with a half-smile, Wang Chong felt a bad premonition rising in his heart.

When Wang Xuan arrived at the palace gate, he found that he was not alone. Several cabinet ministers had also arrived, but they were all stopped at the palace gate.

"We have important business to attend to Your Majesty!" Several Grand Secretaries produced their tokens for entering and exiting the palace, but the guards at the gate remained unmoved.

"Elders, Commander Cheng has instructed that there are villains roaming around today. We are on the important task of guarding the palace gates, and no one can be allowed to enter the palace today."

Wang Xuan was so angry his head was spinning. How dare Cheng Cheng?!

"You brat, how dare you act like this!"

"Your Excellency, the palace gates will not be opened today unless there are important military or political matters. Please return."

Feeling awkward, the group didn't bother going back. Instead, they strolled over to a teahouse outside the palace gate and sat down.

"This Chengcheng is really outrageous. Now he even has to watch his face when he sees the Emperor!" Yue Qinlang's face was not good. He was old, and it was such a hot season. If he hadn't had to, he wouldn't have wanted to leave the house.

"Hmph, if the Emperor still protects him when we see him tomorrow, we'll probably have to be mindful of his attitude for a long time to come!"

"I don't know what the Emperor was thinking, actually allowing such a person to command the Imperial Guards and even giving him the gold medal!"

Several elderly men were cursing and swearing, but none of them offered any solutions.

"I wonder what the Marquis of Jing'an did to offend this brat, that he would suffer this calamity of his entire family being wiped out!"

"Just now, my father and I went to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence, and it seems that there are no survivors." Wang Chong's face was still a little pale when he thought of what he had just seen, and he really didn't want to recall what had just happened.

Cheng Cheng was truly a god of death.

"This man has no parents; he was taken in and raised by Jiang Peiwang. That old scoundrel Jiang Peiwang is indeed loyal to the Emperor, but this adopted son... who knows!"

"Lord Zhai, why are you not saying a word?"

All eyes fell on Zhai Xianjin, who sat there expressionless, like a mere background figure, without uttering a word.

After being called upon, he slowly said, "I've been thinking, Marquis Jing'an only holds a sinecure in the Ministry of War, and he is usually low-key and doesn't have much contact with people in the court. Why did Chengcheng choose him first?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. Logically speaking, if you want to make an example of someone, you should choose a leader to quell the restless flock.

This Marquis Jing'an was usually quite inconspicuous. If Chengcheng hadn't led the Imperial Guards to massacre his family today, they would have long forgotten that such a person existed in the capital.

Just as they were wondering what was going on, they saw the Imperial Guards marching in a long procession downstairs from the teahouse. These men all looked relaxed and leisurely, with the wealth they had confiscated from the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion hanging behind them.

Wang Chong was deeply moved by this scene, feeling that it would happen in his own home in the near future.

He suppressed his fear and looked at his father.

"Tomorrow is the grand court assembly; we must make this brat give everyone an explanation!"

Wang Xuan meant that they were determined to do everything in their power to kill Cheng Cheng.

Several senior officials sighed inwardly, each with their own thoughts.