After hearing what Zheng Duobao said, Xue Shu turned around and glanced sinisterly at the young tiger at his feet.

The tiger cub had been called to Zheng Duobao's side by his hand. It was pacing around him with its ears shaking. It looked stupid and didn't have the aura of a king of beasts. I don't know what your majesty liked about it.

Xue Shu stared at it for a moment, bowed to Zheng Duobao, and walked away with an unhappy look on his face.

In the end, he did not dare to disobey orders, for fear of making Yin Chengyu even angrier.

He thought about it and remembered that his subordinates had reported to him that Shao Tian was very stubborn and refused to speak. After all, Shao Tian still had the title of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, so his subordinates did not dare to use severe punishment on him, so they could only ask him for instructions.

Your Majesty would be happy if Shao Tian could plead guilty as soon as possible.

Xue Shu had an idea in his mind, and the corners of his tightly pursed lips relaxed a little. After leaving the palace, he rode his horse to the imperial prison.

Three days have passed since Shao's mansion was surrounded by the Dongchang bandits and Shao Tian was imprisoned.

During these three days, Shao Tian was locked up in the deepest cell of the Imperial Prison. The guards interrogated him three times but failed to pry open his mouth. Shao Tian was a cunning man. Although he had bad behavior, he was smart. After two interrogations, he found that the guards did not use heavy punishment on him. He thought he had a firm grasp on him and had something to rely on, so he became more and more stubborn.

Xue Shu was imprisoned. After listening to the report of the judge who interrogated Shao Tian, ​​he sneered: "Other scholars may still have some backbone, but Shao Tian just saw that you are jealous and is just showing off."

He didn't even look at the torturer kneeling down to plead guilty, and said in a deep voice, "Bring the man out and put him in heavy shackles."

In order to prevent the Shao clique from turning against him and forcing him to confess, cruel and bloody punishments could not be used. However, in this imperial prison, there were many ways to torture people without leaving any trace.

Shao Tian, ​​wearing prison clothes, was quickly taken to the torture room, where the guards chained his limbs to the rack, forcing him to stand only.

Shao Tian struggled and cursed unwillingly, pulling the chain so hard that it clanked. "What, the bastard from Dongchang can't wait any longer and wants to confess under torture? Even if I die in this prison, I will never admit to those slanderous words!"

"Lord Shao, you have misunderstood. I just want to talk to you about my feelings." Xue Shu sat on the chair brought by the servant and looked at him casually.

The guards below had already brought over heavy shackles of different weights. He glanced at the shackles and pointed at the last one, saying, "This is it. Lord Shao has a strong mouth, so I think he has a strong back too. He should be able to withstand this 300-jin heavy shackle."

As soon as he finished speaking, four guards lifted up the 300-jin heavy yoke and put it on Shao Tian.

Shao Tian was just a scholar, and he lived a life of luxury. He probably had never lifted anything weighing 300 kilograms, let alone 300 kilograms. As soon as the heavy yoke was put on, he sank heavily, but the chains on his body prevented him from squatting, so he was forced to stand.

Seeing Shao Tian's veins bulging and his teeth almost biting off, Xue Shu finally felt relieved. It seemed that his bones were not as hard as he boasted.

He calmly picked up the teacup and said slowly, "I have nothing to do today, so I have plenty of time to have a good chat with Master Shao."

After Xue Shu left, Zheng Duobao brought the young tiger into the Yangxin Palace. The young tiger recognized him, and without waiting for Yin Chengyu to call him, he trotted to his legs and put his head on Yin Chengyu's legs.

It was sturdy and had a heavy head. Yin Chengyu put down the letter in his hand and rubbed its furry round ears.

Zheng Duobao watched from the side and couldn't help but smile. Then he remembered something he hadn't said before and said softly, "Your Majesty's birthday is coming soon. The Ministry of Rites has submitted the list of ceremonies for the birthday celebration. Your Majesty, please take a look and see if there is anything you want to add or subtract."

The coronation ceremony was followed by Yin Chengyu's birthday. Due to the tight schedule, preparations were very hasty and were mostly based on the late emperor's birthday celebration.

After Yin Chengyu finished reading the list, he picked up a pen and crossed out a few items, saying, "Since it is the Longevity Festival, we should celebrate with the people. All these unnecessary expenses should be waived, and the money saved should be sent to the Shanji Hall in the city."

Zheng Duobao took the list and bowed in response.

However, Yin Chengyu suddenly remembered that Xue Shu's birthday was only one month away from his.

He thought for a moment, then picked up a pen and wrote down a few things, asking Zheng Duobao to get them.

Xue Shu stayed in the imperial prison for most of the day and did not return to the palace until the end of the night of Hai.

He put Shao Tian's signed confession in his sleeve and went to the Yangxin Palace in a good mood.

If it wasn't busy at this hour, Yin Chengyu would have almost rested, so he went straight to the bedroom.

Zheng Duobao was not there, so no one knew what Yin Chengyu had ordered in broad daylight. When the palace servants saw him coming in, no one stopped him. They just whispered, "Your Majesty, please rest," and made way.

In the inner hall, Yin Chengyu had already bathed, changed into loose pajamas, and was leaning on the Luohan couch reading a book. Hearing the voice, he looked up and saw Xue Shu swaggering in.

He was not surprised at all, he just raised his eyebrows and said lazily: "What crime should be committed by intruding without permission?"

"I have something to report." Xue Shu approached and took out the confession from his sleeve and presented it to him: "Shao Tian has confessed his guilt."

"So fast?" Yin Chengyu immediately shifted his focus when talking about business. He sat up straight and carefully read Shao Tian's confession, which confessed to the imperial examination fraud and the frame-up of Xie Wendao.

Although the evidence was solid and Shao Tian had been sentenced to prison, it was too late for him to confess. But Yin Chengyu never thought that he would confess so quickly.

It saves a lot of trouble.

Now that Shao Tian has fallen, it is time to clean up the other Shao cronies.

Yin Chengyu handed the confession to Xue Shu and said, "Go and tell Xie Pingchuan first." Seeing Xue Shu frowning, Yin Chengyu was afraid that he had not thought of this, so he said, "With Xie Pingchuan's ability, the position of the Prime Minister will be his sooner or later. Now you can do him a favor to ease the relationship. It will be beneficial and harmless."

Although Xue Shu didn't allow him to think about "what if" anymore, he still had to pave the way.

Xue Shu naturally understood what he meant and said with a smile, "I saved Xie Pingchuan once in the Sun Miao case, and later I gave him some advice. Now he is eager to regard me as a great benefactor, so there is no need to deliberately do favors for me."

Yin Chengyu didn't expect to get such an answer. He paused and looked at him meaningfully: "Oh? I didn't know you two were so close. I was worrying too much."

His tone was calm, without much emotion, and at first it seemed like he was just speaking casually.

But Xue Shu was very perceptive. He recalled that the other party's expression and tone seemed a little strange when he mentioned Xie Pingchuan in front of him twice before. He didn't think much about it at that time, but now it was the third time, and he didn't dare to think too much and understood it.

He knelt on the edge of Luohan's bed, lowered his body, and fixed his eyes on the person in front of him. There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice: "Is your majesty jealous?"

Yin Chengyu leaned back and distanced himself from her without answering.

But Xue Shu was almost certain. He pressed his shoulder, looked into his eyes to prevent him from escaping, and asked repeatedly, "Will Your Majesty be jealous?"

Yin Chengyu didn't want to pay attention to him.

He naturally knew that there was absolutely nothing going on between Xue Shu and Xie Pingchuan, but knowing it intellectually was one thing, and seeing Xue Shu getting close to others was another.

Perhaps it was because Xue Shu had only him in his heart and eyes before, and never paid any attention to others. Now, he suddenly saw him being polite to others, and although he knew it was just a polite greeting between colleagues, he still felt unhappy.

He used to think that Xue Shu was like a wild beast, always fond of marking out his territory and overly possessive.

Now that it’s my turn, I realize that no one is immune to this.

Yin Chengyu pursed her lips and said nothing. Xue Shu kept asking her questions, his low voice revealing joy and disbelief.

Yin Chengyu was so entangled that he had no choice but to press his chest to push him away, and said with a little annoyance: "You can be jealous of General Tiger, why can't I be jealous?"

"Of course I eat it."

Xue Shu suddenly hugged him tightly, rubbing his face against his neck. He was like a large beast that suddenly got a treasure but didn't know what to do. He could only hold the treasure tightly in his arms, and even his voice was trembling with excitement: "I'm just... just too happy."

He tightened his arms and buried his face in Yin Chengyu's neck, joy overflowing from the corners of his eyes and brows.

Yin Chengyu was infected by his joy and couldn't help but smile.

She let him hold her for a while before she reached out to push him away: "Go take a shower. You smell like prison."

The three judges discussed for two days how to convict Shao Tian before drawing up the final decision and presenting it to the emperor.

Shao Tian's crime is unforgivable and he cannot escape the death penalty, but when to kill him is a question worth discussing.

Yin Chengyu looked at the memorial submitted by the three courts, pondered for a long time, and decided to execute him in March of the following year.

Keeping Shao Tian has many other uses.

After the decision on Shao Tian was made, the government and the public were shocked. Officials who had close contacts with Shao Tian were all panicked and tried to find out the news, fearing that they would be implicated.

Yin Chengyu watched it coldly and ordered Dongchang to keep a close eye on these people. Sure enough, they followed the clues and caught several key figures.

In recent years, Shao Tian has held a high position and has done many corrupt and illegal things. However, because it happened a long time ago and Shao Tian handled the case carefully, it would be time-consuming and laborious to investigate it now. However, it would be much easier if his comrades confessed.

With Dongchang keeping watch, another group of Shaw's cronies were soon sent to prison.

In order to get away with it, these officials pointed fingers at each other, and all the evil deeds committed by Shao's clique over the years were presented to Yin Chengyu.

There were countless cases of disregarding human life, corruption and bribery. Yin Chengyu was furious and ordered all officials involved to be severely punished. For a time, the government and the public were in turmoil and no one dared to speak up for mercy.

In just a few days, the number of officials standing in the Imperial Palace decreased by 30%.

Especially the Ministry of Revenue, because Shao Tian was the Minister of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue was in cahoots with everyone, and the huge amount of corruption shocked the government and the public. When Yin Chengyu made the decision, the entire Ministry of Revenue was suddenly empty by half.

The remaining officials were shocked by the emperor's wrath, and despite the shortage of manpower, they worked more efficiently than before.

There are capable officials in the court, but there are more mediocre people. The officials who can stand in the Huangji Palace are at least Jinshi graduates, not without talent. It's just that during the nearly 20 years of Emperor Longfeng's reign, these people have become accustomed to eating and waiting for death and doing nothing. What's worse, some of them, like those officials in prison, took the opportunity to spend money and ignore the law, becoming termites in the granary.

Yin Chengyu wanted to kill Shao Tian, ​​and also get rid of these parasites and clean up the atmosphere in the court and the country.

"There are too many people in the court who are doing nothing but sitting idle." Yin Chengyu flipped through the secret report that Xue Shu handed over and said calmly, "We should take this opportunity to shock and discipline them, so that the remaining people will be obedient in the future."

Xue Shu said, "We have sent soldiers to search the houses according to the names on the list. Recently, officials in the court have even had fewer drinks and small gatherings. After the court session, they stay at home."

“It’s a good thing to let them learn a lesson.”

Over the years, all the officials had the impression that Yin Chengyu was kind and tolerant, but they had never had the opportunity to see his decisive and murderous side.

In just a few days, more than 20 officials, both large and small, were executed after their homes were searched and interrogated. Dozens of others were still in prison, and their crimes had not yet been investigated and convicted. Every morning, people would go to Caishikou to watch corrupt officials being executed.

After this incident, I am afraid that no one in the court or the country will dare to say that the current emperor is kind and tolerant.

The emperor, who had just come to power, could not wait to show his sharp claws.