Hearing this, the housekeeper couldn't help but burst into tears. He wanted to say something but was pushed away by Zhang Cheng.

After looking at him reluctantly, the housekeeper could only take Zhang Cheng's wife and two children and flee away first.

Zhang Cheng sat in the main hall, waiting for Wen Jingchi and others to come, thinking about what to do.

Because the housekeeper's people took a shortcut, it took about an hour and a half for Wen Jingchi's people to get here.

An hour later, he received a letter from the butler via carrier pigeon, and then he smiled with relief.

His family had already fled, and he had no ties. He felt that a good death was worse than a miserable life, and he absolutely could not die. The worst that could happen was that he would fight them to the death.

When Zhou Yuanxun brought him to Wen Jingchi, Zhang Cheng's knees went weak and he fell to the ground on the spot.

He cried with tears in his eyes: "Please spare me, my lord. I did everything because of Ouyang Feng's instigation. He tempted me with benefits, and I couldn't bear it, so I made a big mistake..."

Wen Jingchi felt dizzy from his crying. He rubbed his temple and slammed the table hard.

"Zhang Cheng, you are the prefect after all, it's really shameful for you to cry like this."

"I want to ask you, how did Ouyang Feng instigate you? What did you two do? Tell me everything, or I will kill your entire clan. Don't think that your wife and children can escape this disaster just because they ran away."

These words frightened Zhang Cheng so much that he trembled all over. He knew very well that the whole world belonged to the king, and he also knew even more clearly that now he had become a prisoner and had no initiative at all.

Only by explaining things clearly and negotiating terms with Wen Jingchi can he have a chance to survive!

"Your Majesty, I know I am guilty of a capital crime. Please punish me and my family, otherwise I will have nothing to say."

Wen Jingchi's face darkened instantly, but he changed his mind and sneered coldly.

"I promise you that as long as you tell the truth, your family can turn a blind eye."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng immediately revealed an excited smile.

He knew very well that he had reached this point and that the prince would not be able to save him, and he wanted to find ways to kill him.

If he died at the hands of the prince, he would definitely not have a good end. If he was killed by Wen Jingchi, he might be able to die with more dignity.

He didn't care about anything else and just started to tell the truth.

“Your Highness, you don’t know that the Ouyang family’s business is actually a cover-up. On the surface, they monopolize the grain in the north, but in fact, the grain is secretly sent to Kyoto.

And the money they plundered from the people was secretly sent to the capital in order to satisfy the selfish desires of some people...

After hearing his words, Wen Jingchi frowned. These were exactly what he had guessed.

The lawyer next to him was taking notes seriously, and Wen Jingchi continued to ask questions.

"Who is the one who ordered you to do these things?"

"Who else could it be? That person is in a high position of power, as powerful as you. He is..."

Before he could finish his next words, a dart suddenly flew over and hit Zhang Cheng in the neck.

This poison dart can bring honor to one who kills someone. Zhang Cheng's face turned red, veins on his forehead bulged, and he vomited blood instantly, dying on the spot.

Wen Jingchi immediately ran over and pressed the bleeding part of his body: "Tell me quickly, who is it? Is it the prince?"

Zhang Cheng opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but no words came out. He just pointed to the east, then tilted his neck and died.

The coroner came over to check the body and sighed helplessly.

"Your Highness, the man is already dead. The poison he was poisoned with is extremely deadly. It only takes a moment for it to take effect and kill a person. This poison is also very precious. An ordinary person cannot have it, unless he is a high-ranking official in the capital."

Wen Jingchi's eyes flickered slightly and he snorted coldly.

I couldn't help but think of the direction Zhang Cheng pointed just now. If he was not mistaken, it should be east.

And the crown prince is the Eastern Palace. Could this matter be related to the crown prince?

The situation in the court is now divided into two factions, one favors himself and the other favors the prince.

As for the neutral faction, it is impossible for them to do these things and they would rather keep themselves safe forever.

Since it wasn't done by his faction, then there is only one possibility, that it was done by the prince's faction.

I just didn't expect that they were so well-informed. Zhang Cheng died before I had a chance to question him, and the important chain of evidence was completely broken.

Wen Jingchi's eyes were extremely dark. He knew very well that there must be someone controlling all this behind the scenes. Their recent movements were too loud, so the other party would naturally know about it.

"Come here, bring Ouyang Feng here immediately. I want to interrogate him personally."

Since Ouyang Feng had been detained in advance, he did not know that Zhang Cheng was dead.

Ouyang Feng knelt on the ground, trembling all over, looking extremely scared.

"Ouyang Feng, who is the person behind you? And where are all the food and fodder in your family transported to?"

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Feng was so frightened that he burst into tears and knelt on the ground sobbing and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life. This is all my fault. I was too greedy, so I made such a big mistake. Please only punish me and let my family go. I am willing to bear the blame."

"I am corrupt and abuse my power, and I oppress the people. It's all my fault. I deserve to die. Please kill me now, Your Majesty."

He just kept crying and didn't mention anything else. He just wanted to take all the blame on himself.

Wen Jingchi looked at him with disdain: "Ouyang Feng, do you think you can bear these charges alone?"

"The capital is in chaos now, and all officials are in danger. If you don't speak up, it won't just be your fault, but your whole family will be implicated."

Ouyang Feng was very clear about the current situation. It was precisely because of this that he held on to a glimmer of hope and did not dare to speak carelessly.

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Wen Jingchi frowned slightly and glanced at his men beside him.

"Since you don't want to confess anything, I will kill Ouyang Yu now."

Ouyang Feng was so frightened that his face turned pale: "Please spare my life, Your Majesty. I really did it alone. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Seeing that he still wanted to hide the truth from Wen Jingchi and was unwilling to waste any more time on him, he gave his men a look and they immediately brought Ouyang Yu over.

Ouyang Yu was covered in blood, and it was obvious that he had been tortured verbally and physically.

His men brought a nail board with bright red blood on it. This scene made Ouyang Feng collapse to the ground.

"I'll give you another chance. Will you tell it or not?" Wen Jingchi said in a serious but calm tone.

Ouyang Feng was trembling all over, looking around, at a loss for a moment, and was obviously considering something.