Huo Li, the chief minister who succeeded Yan Zilian, could not bear the numerous difficulties from the eunuchs' party, and retired in a hurry after sitting in the position of the head of the ministers for less than a month.

The cabinet ministers are ranked according to seniority. When the ones at the top leave, the ones below can move up. When Yan Zilian was in office, he drove away Wang Shengsheng and took sole control of the cabinet, so the five cabinet ministers were all his people. But now he is gone, and even Huo Li can hardly hold the overall situation, not to mention the remaining few. Seeing the aristocratic faction being massacred, the original three assistants were unwilling to sit on the position of the first assistant, and the cabinet was in complete chaos.

This was exactly what Xie Zhongren had hoped for. He attempted to place members of the imperial party in the inner cabinet, but Emperor Zhaowu, contrary to his usual practice, did not use the person he had recommended.

Yan Sikong sensitively realized that although this dog emperor was incompetent, he had not let wine and sex make him lose his last bit of rationality. The so-called imperial technique lies in checks and balances. Even if he was lazy in state affairs and indifferent to people's livelihood, he still held the throne under his buttocks very tightly and would not sit idly by and watch Xie Zhongren monopolize power.

So even though one of the original three assistants, Wang Wenyu, the Grand Academician of Longtu Pavilion who had served as the Minister of Works, had repeatedly declined, he still ascended to the position of Chief Assistant at the instruction of Emperor Zhaowu.

Having seen enough of Xie Zhongren's evil deeds of harming court officials and framing loyal officials, Yan Sikong finally saw a glimmer of hope in the endless despair. This incident shows that Emperor Zhaowu did not trust Xie Zhongren wholeheartedly and without any scruples. After all, he would not allow eunuchs to interfere in the power of the prime minister. The more Xie Zhongren showed off his power, the more he would lose the emperor's favor.

Of course, Xie Zhongren had served Emperor Zhaowu for half his life and knew his temperament very well. He also knew that he should stop when he saw the good results. Wang Wenyu's appointment as the chief minister was a hint that he should stop. At this time, there were nearly a hundred officials from the aristocratic families involved. Even if Yan Zilian was resurrected, the aristocratic family would never be able to turn things around. What they had to do next was to do three major things that would please Emperor Zhaowu - Jiangnan sea tax, Datong military power and the throne - everything they did was nothing more than for these three things.

Many years later, Yan Sikong could still remember everything clearly when he recalled that time. It was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, and the weather was extremely hot, but he never felt the heat at all, because everything that happened around him always made him feel chilled to the bone, as if there was an invisible sharp blade across his neck, pressing against his flesh, ready to drink his blood at any moment.

With no one daring to object, the Ministry of Revenue proposed a new customs tax proposal, nearly doubling the customs tax in Jiangnan.

The Feng family's treason case had been shelved for more than a month, and the investigation was muddled. However, Emperor Zhaowu suddenly issued an imperial edict. Regardless of whether the two confessed their guilt or not, the Feng family, who had defended Datong for thirty years and made great contributions to Dasheng, ended up being stripped of their titles, their property confiscated, and their entire family exterminated. Perhaps out of consideration for Concubine Xian and Princess Wanyang, or perhaps out of fear of criticism from the world, Emperor Zhaowu "mercifully" did not punish Feng Jianping for his meritorious service in repelling the enemy.

But the more than 200 people in Feng's mansion have no chance of survival and will be executed in the autumn - after the annual sacrifice to the Empress Dowager and the wedding of Princess Wanyang.

Although he had expected it, when he actually heard the death sentence of the Feng family father and son, Yan Sikong still felt a suffocating chill.

Nothing in this world is dirtier than the human heart.

Not long after that, as expected, it was Chen Yi's turn. Emperor Zhaowu didn't even bother to find any excuses, because he knew that no one could compete with him for "establishing the eldest and the beloved". He simply deposed the crown prince on the grounds that Chen Yi was not smart enough and lacked moral character, and instead established Chen Chun, the son of his favorite concubine, as the crown prince. He was so easy, so contemptuous, and so frivolous, without any dignity as a monarch.

After Chen Yu was deposed, Emperor Zhaowu granted him a fiefdom in Luzhou Prefecture and gave him the title of "King of Chu". The area was located at the junction of Sichuan and Qianzhou, with rugged mountains and dangerous waters, which was not conducive to farming. It had been a poor place since ancient times. He was also forced to leave the capital within two days on the grounds that princes were not allowed to stay in the capital after they became adults.

The eldest prince and former crown prince of the Da Sheng Dynasty left the capital in such a state, filled with hatred and in a horrible state.

Yan Sikong’s words came true. That day in the East Palace was when he and Chen Yi said goodbye.

He watched all the people he cared about die, get imprisoned, demoted, or leave, while he had to fawn over his enemies. Every day, every hour, and every moment was more painful to him than death. He didn't know to what extent God would torture him. If he was to be punished for his bad deeds, why did the most wicked people always get what they wanted?

What about their retribution?

Yan Sikong no longer had tears and emotions. The contemptuous looks and sarcastic words from the people around him could no longer stir up any ripples in his heart. He carved the side of himself that he wanted Xie Zhongren to see into his flesh and blood, piece by piece, turning it into a mask and armor, and hid his true self deep in his soul.

For the sake of those names that were uttered with blood, he endured humiliation and lived a life of misery.

After months of planning and preparation, he and She Zhun have worked out a complete plan for the prison robbery. They have repeatedly considered and confirmed every checkpoint and every key person. If there is a problem at any point, it may lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

At this time, there were only fifty days left before the end of their sentence, and what they had to decide now was when to take action. However, there was a date that they both agreed on, and that was the wedding day of Yan Sikong and Princess Wanyang.

On that day, the whole city will be in turmoil, the guards will be lax, and it will be the easiest time to take advantage of the situation and make secret moves. If we miss this day, there will be no other chance to act.

Yan Sikong and She Zhun looked at each other for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter, almost laughing.

He is going to marry Feng Ye's cousin on the day when he is sending Feng Ye far away, perhaps to say goodbye to him for the rest of his life. Hahahaha, how ridiculous, how ridiculous!

She Jun looked at him silently.

“She Zhun…hahaha…She Zhun…” Yan Sikong said with a smile that was uglier than crying, “I must have been a great demon who brought disaster to the world in my previous life, and I have to suffer so much in this life. I said I was an evil star, but you still didn’t believe me. Just look…”

"Nanyu..." She Zhun said in a deep voice, "You can go with him."

Yan Sikong's smile froze on his face.

She Jun said softly: "Let's go with him. Why torture yourself for revenge? Let it go now. It's not too late..."

"It's too late." Yan Sikong stared at She Zhun with absent-minded eyes, but there was clearly nothing in his eyes, no one either. "I will not rest in peace until I have avenged my great vengeance. Only the blood of that wild dog can cure the poison of my fatal curse."

She Jun closed his eyes, feeling heartbroken.