Jin Jinzhi looked at the sky. It was already bright, and the time was almost up; it would be time for court.

Jin Jinzhi packed her things, took the evidence, and boarded a carriage to the palace.

He took a short rest in the carriage and also sorted out his words for impeaching Tan Biao in court later.

The carriage sped along without stopping and came to a stop outside the red palace walls.

Jin Jinzhi was greeted by eunuchs and palace maids. He encountered many ministers along the way, and they all greeted each other.

Inside the Golden Palace, Yun Beiye, dressed in a dragon robe, received the worship of the crowd with a majestic expression.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

All the officials knelt on the ground to pay their respects.

"Rise!"

After Minister of Revenue Kang Fuguo reported on the disaster relief efforts, there was nothing else of importance to discuss.

Jin Jinzhi knelt before the emperor and presented the memorial he had written overnight: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Yun Beiye nodded in agreement, and the chief eunuch Zhao Zhongquan, who was beside him, took the memorial and presented it to Yun Beiye with both hands.

After reading it, Yun Beiye angrily threw the memorial on the ground.

"Tan Biao murdered a total of thirty-two girls, and their bodies were all dumped in the dry well in the backyard of the Marquis of Chi Nan's mansion," Jin Jin said clearly, enunciating each word distinctly.

"Thirty-two?!" The court erupted in uproar.

"This is a law-abiding citizen!"

"I'd long heard that Marquis Chi Nan was unruly, but I never imagined it would come to this!"

"General Jin, everything must be based on evidence. You can't just make baseless accusations without proof," said an official from Tan Biao's faction calmly.

Many of the court officials were also confidants of the Tan family, and they all echoed his sentiments.

"Yes! We can't ruin Marquis Chi Nan's reputation without any evidence!"

"Pah!"

"This beast, everyone in the capital knows about the outrageous things he's done, what need is there for evidence or reputation?!" Left Chancellor Xue Guangjin spat.

He immediately realized that this was in the imperial court, and spitting carelessly was already disrespectful to His Majesty.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This old minister is truly outraged. I recall that a while ago, that wicked beast, Tan Biao, wanted to marry my granddaughter after she grew up, saying that he liked her because she had a fiery temper!"

"Isn't this absurd?!" The Left Prime Minister spat as he spoke, raising his eyebrows and exchanging words with the surrounding ministers.

Kang Fuguo, the Minister of Revenue, who was standing behind him, circled around him to avoid his spittle, and kept covering his face with his sleeve from time to time.

"This scoundrel, I disagree with him. He actually spread rumors in the capital that my granddaughter is in love with him?"

"How absurd!"

"Minister Kang, why are you following me in circles?" The Left Prime Minister noticed the person behind him, glanced at Kang Fuguo, and said in a low voice.

"Left Prime Minister, we're discussing how the King of Yin is slandering Marquis Chi Nan. Why are you bringing up such an unrelated matter?"

Tan Biao's confidant, General Zhou Yixuan, stepped forward and bowed, interrupting the Left Chancellor's speech.

“Since you gentlemen require evidence,” Jin Jinzhi said calmly.

"Bring it here!"

A young eunuch, with small, quick steps and his head bowed, strode into the main hall and presented a small booklet with a green cover and dark yellow paper.

Zhao Zhongquan, standing beside Yun Beiye, solemnly took the booklet and respectfully placed it in front of Yun Beiye.

"Please take a look, Your Majesty," Jin Jinzhi said respectfully.

Yun Beiye flipped through the booklet. The court was very quiet, with only the sound of Yun Beiye turning the pages.

Wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, Yun Beiye grew angrier the more he looked at it. Suddenly, he threw the booklet on the ground.

"Jinzhi, you tell me, what's going on here?!"

"Your Majesty, this booklet contains detailed information about the dancers and singers purchased by the Marquis of Chi Nan's residence, as well as the concubines given to him by his friends. It also specifies the dates when these women entered the residence and the dates when they were abused to death."

"It even documents the entire process of some orphaned girls being abused to death."

Before Jin Jinzhi could finish speaking, the court officials began whispering among themselves, discussing the matter amongst themselves.

The Grand Censor of the Inspectorate stared in utter shock: "Is this really true?!"

The Vice Minister of Rites, rubbing his forehead, cursed, "This is an insult to scholarship!"

"If the Southern Rong and Western Liang find out about this, wouldn't they laugh at our dynasty?"

The Hanlin Academy academician said with a heavy heart, "Such a minister has truly chilled the hearts of the people!"

The historian growled angrily in a low voice, "Such vicious and cruel people should be erased from the annals of history! How can they be allowed to live on for eternity?!"

That's really despicable!

Utterly depraved!

This is not accumulating good karma for yourself!

Some ministers felt that although Tan Biao was arrogant, he was not so cruel as to be so ruthless, and there might be some misunderstanding.

"These people all died at the Marquis of Chi Nan's residence?"

"Yes, every stroke was written by Zhen Quede, the steward of the Marquis of Chi Nan's residence."

The ministers were in an uproar.

"Lord Zhou, I wonder if this counts as evidence?"

Jin Jinzhi turned around, stared at General Zhou Yixuan, and asked him a question.

Yun Beiye looked at the sixteen-year-old boy in front of him with approval.

This child, so young, speaks and acts with such maturity; he certainly has the air of his father back then.

[In the future, he will be of great use.]

General Zhou Yixuan, a man who had experienced many great events, remained calm and composed. "Alas, General Jin, you are just saying that. We are all officials in the same court, serving His Majesty and the court. Why must you be so aggressive, General Jin?"

"I also feel deeply sorry for these young girls. However, as far as I know, Marquis Chi Nan is busy with military affairs every day. Perhaps he is not strict in disciplining the servants in his household, which has led to the steward Zhen Quede being so audacious!"

General Zhou Yixuan bowed respectfully to Yun Beiye with his head bowed.

What a convenient excuse for lax discipline! Zhou Yixuan's explanation completely absolved Tan Biao of any blame.

If Tan Biao insists that he was busy with military affairs all day and knew nothing about this matter, and that it was all the steward's doing, then the court would at most punish him for failing to manage his subordinates properly, and would not be able to touch him in the slightest.

Jin Jinzhi curled the corners of her lips. It's alright, he still has a lot of evidence, a lot, a lot.

"Bring it here!" Jin Jinzhi waved her hand.

Another presentation?

The little eunuch, head bowed, quickly took small steps, holding a small blue-covered booklet in both hands, and handed it to Yun Beiye.

Zhao Zhongquan took the booklet and gave it to Yun Beiye.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Chi Nan has been abusing his position and colluding with his subordinates to embezzle military funds for many years, amounting to as much as one million taels of silver."

"These silver coins are hidden in the basement of the Tan residence."

"Marquis of Chi Nan, what a fine Marquis of Chi Nan!"

Yun Beiye flipped through the booklet, growing angrier with each page, until he threw it to the ground.

"Where is the Minister of Revenue? Kang Fuguo?!" Yun Beiye's eyebrows twitched with anger.