Lord Zhang's legs went weak, his heart filled with unease, and his face turned deathly pale as he knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty..."

He was somewhat puzzled as to why His Majesty would be so furious when he had merely spoken up for Lord Cao.

Emperor Chongde suddenly slammed a stack of letters to the ground, his expression chillingly cold: "I had no idea that my good ministers had such a good relationship in private. They met during the day and then exchanged letters at night! What, is there something I can't hear about?"

The people below turned pale and knelt on the ground, staring in astonishment at the scattered letters.

This was found by Chi Yan in Lord Cao's study. There was nothing treasonous in the letter, but the signatures on the letter just happened to be from several powerful ministers from aristocratic families with whom he had good relations.

Making factions in the court has always been a major taboo for emperors. The close ties among powerful families have always been a major concern for the emperor, who has been worried about not having a good opportunity to punish them severely. The things that Chi Yan sent can be said to be timely rain. Of course, it also made the already sensitive and suspicious emperor even more suspicious.

Emperor Chongde would not conclude that Lord Cao was a spy just because of a ghost mask, but he would never give up such a great opportunity to defeat the powerful families one by one.

Seeing that His Majesty was angry, the officials who had originally intended to plead for Lord Cao immediately fell silent, fearing that they would be labeled as his cronies.

Several ministers who had corresponded with Lord Cao were particularly uneasy, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Shouldn't something like this be burned after you've seen it?

That idiot Cao Zhengren actually stayed behind, and now he's being used against them. Is he trying to kill them?!

Lord Zhang looked terrified and begged for mercy. Emperor Chongde impatiently raised his hand, and someone covered his mouth and dragged him out.

They had agreed to plead for Lord Cao together, but only he foolishly stepped forward, and the world of him being the only one injured was achieved.

Finally, Emperor Chongde's punishment for Minister Cao was also announced—

Cao Zhengren has harmed his colleagues and is a spy for an enemy country. He shall be beheaded and his head displayed to the public on a chosen day!

His entire family property was confiscated, but his family members were spared death, and his descendants for three generations were barred from holding official positions!

"..."

This punishment caused an uproar throughout the court, with everyone feeling insecure and fearful.

At the same time, this also made everyone take the Yiluan Division seriously. At first, no one took this rabble seriously, but this organization, which was established in the middle and was full of all sorts of people, easily confiscated the property of a fourth-rank minister in just two months!

If this continues, what kind of terrifying existence will it develop into?

——

When Chi Yan returned home, Shen Tangning had been waiting for her for a long time.

Seeing that she seemed to be in fairly good spirits, Chi Yan nodded: "Did you rest well last night?"

She pulled him down to sit and first checked the wound on the back of his hand. He had gone out in a hurry last night and hadn't had time to treat it, so the edges were still red.

She asked Xueqing to fetch the ointment, and as she applied it with her eyes lowered, she suddenly said, "Won't you make enemies by doing this?"

Chi Yan quickly understood what she had guessed, and after a moment's pause, she said in a relaxed tone, "Even if I don't do this, there will still be people who disapprove of me."

That's how things are in this world; there are gains and losses. He was prepared for this when he decided to take this path.

Rather than being passively schemed against, it's better to become strong enough that people dare not provoke you.

But as he gazed at her face, a sudden sense of fear arose within him. He raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, speaking as if casually, "A-Ning, do you think I'm ruthless?"