Before, Zhao Ji would accept the task and do the work upon hearing the emperor's orders.

But now that Zhao Ji has a sense of crisis, he is not going to act so obediently.

"Your Majesty is right. In fact, the most fundamental thing is to recover the disaster relief money..."

At this point, Zhao Ji hesitated to speak, looking as if he had encountered a difficult problem.

The emperor really took the bait: "My dear minister, if you encounter any difficulties, please tell me."

Now, after the incident of disaster relief silver, the emperor's trust in Zhao Ji has deepened a little bit.

At least in the emperor's opinion, Zhao Ji is really capable of getting things done.

In fact, the most fundamental reason was that after an illness, the emperor realized that the forces in the court were somewhat complicated.

Now the emperor is in urgent need of people like Zhao Ji, the kind of "knife" that can chop any official without restraint!

Therefore, in terms of attitude, the emperor was more tolerant towards Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji was quick to notice this, and pretending to be grateful, he knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I have been repeatedly assassinated recently. First, my food was poisoned, and before that, I was assassinated."

When the emperor heard this, he pretended to be heartbroken. In fact, if Zhao Ji complained to him about these things before this matter was accomplished, the emperor would only feel impatient.

But now that Zhao Ji has demonstrated his value, the emperor must also act respectful to him.

The emperor slammed the table and pretended to be angry: "How dare you! Even the head of the Imperial Household Department could be assassinated. It seems that the guards in the palace are not paying enough attention!"

Zhao Ji took this opportunity to say, "Speaking of which, the deputy leader of the Imperial Guards was also implicated in the case this time, and the assassin and the poisoner were able to sneak into the harem... It can be seen that the current Imperial Guards may..."

Looking at Zhao Ji who was hesitant to speak, the emperor quickly understood what Zhao Ji meant. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said, "The Imperial Guard has always been divided into four branches, each in charge of the four directions of the imperial palace."

"I will give you one of the imperial guards to manage. You will be mainly responsible for the safety of the imperial palace and the harem. If you need anything on weekdays, you can also use it."

"You can also use these people to find the place where the disaster relief silver is hidden as soon as possible, and make sure to rescue the refugees in Hua'an County from their predicament as soon as possible!"

Zhao Ji was already quite satisfied after hearing this. The Imperial Guards might have lax discipline, but it was an army after all!

This is equivalent to gaining some military power in disguise, although from what the emperor said, this right will be taken back after the money is recovered.

But this did not prevent Zhao Ji from doing something during the time he was in control of the army.

So Zhao Ji bowed to the emperor with great satisfaction, looked at the emperor's dark circles and said, "Your Majesty is wise, long live the emperor!"

The emperor waved his hand and coughed twice: "Alright, it's alright, you can go down quickly and help me get the relief money back as quickly as possible!"

Zhao Ji turned around and went to the Imperial Guard camp, and pulled out the Imperial Guard that the emperor had mentioned.

He then selected fifty men from among them, had them wear the uniforms of the Imperial Guards, and follow him out of the palace.

The prime minister, his confidants and some close court officials were in a secret room of a restaurant, gazing at the imperial palace in the distance through a small window.

"Although Lord Zhong sacrificed his life for justice and died bravely, I think this mad dog Zhao Ji will definitely not give up!"

The Minister of Revenue said viciously.

If the Minister of Revenue and the Prime Minister had not acted quickly this time, Zhong Lingyun would have been forced to death in the cell.

I'm afraid Zhao Ji will follow the clues and find the two of them, and then it won't be the end of just one person's death.

So now the Minister of Revenue is still frightened, and now he wants to kill Zhao Ji more than anyone else.

However, what surprised the Minister of Revenue was that the Prime Minister did not allow the use of such an efficient method as assassination.

Therefore, the Minister of Revenue can only make some harsh remarks at best.

The prime minister looked at the palace in the distance with a deep look in his eyes: "Don't worry, as long as he can't find out the silver, then this line will be broken. Zhao Ji's contribution is not that great. There will be plenty of ways to deal with him when the time comes!"

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was heard on Chang'an Street, as shocking as thunder.

Who dares to ride a horse recklessly on Chang'an Street?

The prime minister frowned and looked towards the street.

Then a group of dark cavalry appeared.

The Minister of Finance behind the Prime Minister recognized it at a glance: "This is not the Imperial City, why are the Imperial Guards here?"

"This street leads to... Zhong Lingyun's home!"

The Minister of Revenue was startled and suddenly looked up and exchanged glances with the Prime Minister.

The next moment, the prime minister immediately sent his men to find out the news.

"Why would it be the Imperial Guards? Aren't the Imperial Guards only mobilized by the Emperor? Could this be the Emperor's order?"

"So what is the emperor going to do now?"

Zhao Ji led this group of guards into Zhong Lingyun's mansion. Because Zhong Lingyun's wife and daughter had disappeared long ago, there was only an old housekeeper in this huge mansion.

The butler had never seen such a scene before and was so frightened that he fainted.

"Since the owner is not here, I can only apologize for the offense. Someone search for me!"

Zhao Ji said that he was offended, but when he gave the order, he was not soft-hearted at all.

The reason for bringing the Imperial Guards here this time was not for anything else but to confiscate the property.

This was Zhao Ji's first time raiding a house, so he was a little inexperienced.

Looking at the piles of gold, silver and jewelry thrown on the ground, Zhao Ji had a headache.

"Can you rough guys be a little more gentle? At least find a box with some bedding before throwing the gold and silver jewelry in. What if the jade gets broken into pieces or has cracks and becomes worthless?"

"Also, be careful. This piece of furniture of Master Zhong is made of mahogany. If you damage it, it will be worthless when you receive it in the warehouse!"

"You have to remember, we are here to confiscate people's property, not to smash their houses!"

When the prime minister came over, all he heard were Zhao Ji's heart-wrenching words.

"It's really too much..." The Minister of Revenue jumped up suddenly, but the next second Zhao Ji's eyes swept over him.

"I was wondering who it was, it turned out to be Mr. Zhong's boss. I wonder if you guys keep in close contact with each other on a daily basis?"

As soon as Zhao Ji asked this question, the Minister of Revenue, who had been jumping up and down just now, suddenly became obedient.

This is not the right answer, and not answering is not the right answer either.

If the answer was not relevant, Zhao Ji could accuse the Minister of Revenue of not taking care of government affairs.

If I answer closely, I might be the next one to have my house confiscated.

For a moment, the Minister of Revenue was unable to speak at all, and began to pretend to be dumb, not saying a word and not asking a single question!