All the Donglin Party members were calling for Bi Ziyan's execution.

Bi Ziyan's face darkened.

In fact, after what happened in the imperial court, he had already figured it out.

Zhou Yanru is a despicable person. He dragged me into the memorial, intending to betray me at a crucial moment.

Okay, he can clean it himself.

Since Zhou Yanru, a bigwig in the Donglin Party, was so despicable, Bi Ziyan's impression of the other members of the Donglin Party was even worse.

He sneered, "How dare you lowly people presume to judge me like that?"

"I tell you, if I, Bi Ziyan, am a member of the eunuch faction, then may I be struck down by heavenly lightning!"

The phrase "天雷濛之" is a classical Chinese expression for being struck by five thunderbolts.

Upon hearing Bi Ziyan make such a solemn vow, the attitude of the Donglin Party members softened considerably.

He took the initiative to apologize.

"Lord Bi, we misspoke just now, please don't take it to heart."

"But... how exactly did you escape from the imperial prison?"

"We heard that you went to the palace once. Did His Majesty say something to you?"

After pondering for a moment, Bi Ziyan did not reveal the truth.

Zhu Youjian personally instructed him not to speak carelessly.

Bi Ziyan said, "His Majesty did see me, but what we talked about is a secret and I cannot tell you."

"As for why I was released while Zhou Yanru is still imprisoned..."

Bi Ziyan, of course, did not know that this was because he was extremely honest and upright, which had already made Zhu Youjian look at him with new respect.

His praise of Gao Qingyun pleased the emperor even more.

Only then did they release him.

After hesitating for a moment, Bi Ziyan said mysteriously, "Hmph, you all know the truth!"

He didn't expect that after he said those words, the Donglin Party members opposite him would visibly panic.

"Ah? Could it be that His Majesty has discovered... Ouch!"

Some people slapped their thighs, their faces showing extreme regret and fear.

Some people even trembled so badly that they knelt down on the ground.

"It's over, it's over, everything's ruined!"

Bi Ziyan looked at them with suspicion, wondering why they were making such a move.

But he didn't ask any further questions.

He simply said, "It seems that you gentlemen already know the reason."

"In that case, I won't say any more to you."

He walked straight through the bewildered Donglin Party members, entered his own home, and then ordered his men to close the gate tightly.

As the gate closed, the Donglin Party members outside could no longer hold on.

They collapsed to the ground instantly.

"Disaster! Disaster!"

"The young emperor must have found out about his drowning and is now going to take action against us!"

"That's absolutely right, otherwise why would the emperor release Bi Ziyan but keep Zhou Yanru imprisoned?"

"This is terrible!"

Many people looked utterly hopeless.

"If the emperor catches us with solid evidence, we'll all have to report to the Meridian Gate!"

"It's all that Master Gao's fault! If it weren't for him..."

"We've already enthroned a new emperor, and the court is now filled with upright officials! What's there to worry about?"

Some even sighed, "What are you dreaming of? Do you think we'll be the only ones reporting to the Meridian Gate?"

"Our whole family has to go!"

"This is regicide, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!"

Hearing this, the other members of the Donglin Party felt even more desperate.

"How did things get to this point?"

"If we had known this would happen, we shouldn't have..."

However, at this moment, some people stepped forward.

"Alright, what's the point of you being wise after the event now?"

"Let's quickly think of what to do!"

Although most members of the Donglin Party were intellectuals who only knew how to talk, there were also some who were truly insightful.

Knowing that regret is useless at this point, we should still try to find a solution quickly.

Someone gritted their teeth and said, "Zhou Yanru is probably finished. He's a coward by nature, and I reckon he'll sell us all out in a few days!"

"The most urgent task now is to bring Lord Qian back as soon as possible!"

The "Master Qian" he mentioned is Qian Qianyi, a famous hot water enthusiast.

He was the true leader of the Donglin Party, but he was overthrown by Wei Zhongxian as early as the Tianqi era and lost his official position.

When Zhu Youjian first ascended the throne, he had not yet met Gao Qingyun and regarded the Donglin Party as loyal ministers.

So an imperial edict was issued, ordering Qian Qianyi to return to the court and serve as Vice Minister of Rites.

Although Zhu Youjian later learned about history, he wished he could wipe out the Donglin Party in one fell swoop.

However, in order not to alert the enemy, he did not retrieve the imperial edict.

Judging by the time, Qian Qianyi should indeed be in the capital by now.

Thinking of this, many members of the Donglin Party had their eyes light up.

"That's right, Lord Qian definitely has a way!"

"Let's go to the city gate to greet him!"

As they spoke, the Donglin Party members immediately perked up and headed toward the city gate together.

Only after they left did the gate of the Bi residence open a crack.

The old steward of the Bi family poked his head out, looked around, and then turned back to say:

"Master, they've all left."

Bi Ziyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Don't be fooled by his fearless demeanor in front of the Donglin Party.

But if the Donglin Party really turned against him, he was still a little uneasy.

“If those bastards from Donglin smear me behind my back, I will become a sinner for all time.”

"We can't afford to fall out with them so easily."

"But their behavior just now was a bit strange."

Bi Ziyan stroked his beard, lost in thought.

"Could it be that the Donglin Party has really done something that they can't let the emperor know about?"

"So I just casually tricked them, and they got scared?"

But Bi Ziyan was unaware of the details, and after pondering for a moment, he stopped thinking about it.

"Never mind, anyway, that Master Gao by His Majesty's side seems to have some skills."

"With him by the emperor's side, I don't need to worry about him much."

Bi Ziyan stretched and went straight to sleep.

The next morning, he went straight back to the Ministry of Revenue.

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue had already heard the news and gathered at the entrance to congratulate Bi Ziyan.

"Your Excellency, it is truly a cause for celebration that you have escaped this calamity."

Bi Ziyan waved dismissively.

"Oh, what's so great about this?"

Then he became a little curious.

"Why are you the only ones here? Didn't anyone from the other five departments come over?"

Of the six ministries of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Justice was located in a slightly different place, while the other five ministries were almost adjacent to each other.

The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel, in particular, were practically next to each other.

Logically speaking, since Bi Ziyan had just escaped a disaster, they should have gone to his door to congratulate him.

As a result, Bi Ziyan hasn't seen a single person yet.

It's no wonder he was puzzled.

A clerk from the Ministry of Revenue laughed and said, "Your Excellency, you are unaware of this, but the people from the other ministries are all busy going out of the city to welcome Qian Qianyi."

"That Lord Qian is said to be returning to the capital today."

"Wouldn't all the Donglin Party members in the capital be in a hurry to go and welcome their new leader?"

The words of the person in charge were full of disdain for Qian Qianyi.

However, this was not surprising to Bi Ziyan.

The Donglin Party members were mostly all talk and no action, while the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for getting things done.

So, besides the six censors, there were also some members of the Donglin Party.

Other officials in the Ministry of Revenue looked down on the Donglin Party.