The servants scattered to various courtyards and ran to inform other masters of the Wei Mansion, all of them were frightened out of their wits.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Why are the Jinyiwei here?! Everyone in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. The originally cheerful atmosphere was gone, and the atmosphere took a sharp turn for the worse, becoming a bit more chilly.

"What?!" Lord Li blurted out with a frown on his face. His hand holding the teacup trembled, and some tea spilled out of the cup, wetting his cuffs, but he was completely unaware.

Wei Jingze's face turned cold. He had been in a high position for many years, and when he was angry, he had a terrifying aura.

The servant who came to report had already stepped into the hall. His face was pale and he said in a trembling voice, "Master, Commander Pei has personally brought a team of Jinyiwei here. Now the Jinyiwei have surrounded the outside of the mansion!"

Wei Jingze had lived through three dynasties and had seen many ups and downs, so he quickly calmed down.

He curled his lips sarcastically and snorted, "Isn't Pei Linye busy getting married to the Queen's biological mother?! He has time to come and hang out with me."

"Humph, this is outrageous. In order to win over Gu Jue's cronies, the Queen even gave up her own mother. This is simply a violation of morality!"

A hint of contempt flashed across Wei Jingze's eyes.

Seeing that Wei Jingze remained calm as usual, the other adults also calmed down a little, but they were still somewhat nervous.

As they were talking, they saw Pei Linye, who was wearing a bright red Qilin costume, leading a team of Jinyiwei in fragrant hemp flying fish costumes, walking towards them aggressively. All the Jinyiwei were tall and mighty, with grim faces.

There were two other maids who tried to stop Pei Linye and said in a timid tone, "Commander Pei, please stay. Please allow me to report first..."

“Get out of the way!”

"How dare anyone stop us, the Jinyiwei, from doing our job!"

The two Jinyiwei domineeringly pushed aside the old women who blocked their way. After a while, Pei Linye and the Jinyiwei walked under the eaves outside the hall.

The spacious hall instantly became crowded due to their intrusion.

Pei Linye casually brushed off the unnecessary dust on his sleeves, then stood leisurely with his hands behind his back. Dressed in his official uniform, he was like a sword drawn from its sheath, and his temperament was much more fierce than usual.

Pei Linye slightly raised his hard jaw and said in a very calm voice, "If a son is not taught well, it is the fault of the father. Lord Wei can't even teach his son well. Instead of reflecting on himself, he has the leisure to gossip and stir up trouble!"

He was almost saying it directly, but Wei Jingze acted like a gossipy woman.

Obviously, Pei Linye had heard what Wei Jingze said about Shen Zhi just now.

Wei Jingze: “!!!”

Wei Jingze's face was as gloomy as water, and his eyes were gloomy and cold.

Without waiting for Wei Jingze to speak, Pei Linye raised his hand and waved, and ordered casually: "Capture him."

Wei Jingze and everyone else present heard it, of course. One of them shook his hand and the teacup slipped from his hand.

“Bang!”

The teacup fell on the smooth marble floor and shattered into pieces, with broken porcelain pieces, tea leaves and tea splashing onto someone's soap boots.

Wei Jingze's face darkened even more. He slammed his hand on the table and questioned Pei Linye, "Why? Pei Linye, what law have I broken that you dare to arrest someone in the residence of a second-rank official! You Jinyiwei are too rude and arrogant!"

The Jinyiwei didn't care what Wei Jingze said at all. They rushed towards the five officials present, obviously wanting to capture all five of them.

"You dare?!" Wei Jingze suddenly stood up from his chair and shouted.

The Jinyiwei showed through their actions whether they dared or not.

A certain Jinyiwei said "I'm sorry" with a fake smile, but his subordinates were not polite at all. They rudely pulled up Lord Li, Lord Liu and four others who were sitting on the chairs. It was obvious that they regarded these officials as prisoners.

Lord Li and the others were pale and dejected, but Wei Jingze was still arrogant and shouted with his chest puffed out, "Pei Linye, we are just sitting together for a gathering. What right do you have to arrest people? Those present are all officials appointed by the imperial court!"

The other four people quickly echoed:

"That's right, we are officials appointed by the imperial court after all!"

"The Royal Guards want to arrest people, so there must be a reason!"

"We are just here to visit Lord Wei. Isn't that a sin?"

“…”

These people were talking at the same time, getting more and more excited.

Pei Linye was too lazy to say more to these people. He just raised his hand and snapped his fingers, quick and decisive.

A Jinyiwei with a mustache nearby understood Pei Linye's meaning and immediately took out a piece of silk paper folded into a long strip from his belt. After unfolding it, he began to read to the paper:

"Lord Wei just said: Gu Jue is not impatient, he is just killing the chicken to scare the monkey!"

“…”

"Then Lord Liu said: Lord Wei, don't forget that the Queen's family is also involved. Just try to meet the Second Young Master before the court session and get some good words in advance..."

“…”

"Master Wei also said: The most dangerous time is also the safest time. Gu Jue would definitely not think that we would dare to take action during the re-examination."

“…”

Every word that the Jinyiwei with a small mustache read out was exactly what Wei Jingze and the others had just said, without a single mistake.

They were talking freely in private just now, but when they heard these words from other people's mouths at this moment, Wei Jingze and others all turned pale and were shocked.

No one had expected that things would turn out like this!

Therefore, all the words they just said during the discussion were heard by the Jinyiwei and recorded. Once these words were brought to the court, they would not only be guilty of fraud, but also of great disrespect!

Wei Jingze's heart sank, and he felt as if he was stuck in a cold quagmire. These days, Pei Linye had not accompanied the new emperor to the morning court. He thought Pei Linye was busy with the wedding and had no time to care about other things. It seemed that this was just a strategy of the new emperor and Pei Linye to divert their attention.

Even though he was panicking, Wei Jingze remained calm and continued to shout, "Slander! It's you Jinyiwei who are slandering us!"

At this point, all Wei Jingze could do was to never plead guilty. Even if he went to court, he would still not plead guilty.

Pei Linye's eyes were bright and sharp, stabbing at Wei Jingze like a sharp sword. A confident and calm smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said lightly: "Wei Jingze, are you confident that you don't have evidence? Then I will look for evidence to see if this evidence is really destroyed so perfectly!"

Even though Wei Jingze, Lord Li and others were confident that the evidence of the fraud case had been destroyed, they were still shocked by Pei Linye's words.

Pei Linye waved his arm and gave the order: "Take them all to the Imperial Prison!"

The five officials including Wei Jingze were just weak scholars. They had no power to resist these skilled Jinyiwei and could only be escorted out of the main hall, staggering like defeated roosters.

They all heard Pei Linye's calm and self-controlled voice coming from behind: "Give the order to search! Dig three feet underground!"

The Jinyiwei who remained in the hall received the order in unison, and they immediately began to search the Wei Mansion. The Jinyiwei with a small mustache left in a hurry and rushed to the gate to call more people into the mansion to search.

The servants of the Wei Mansion inside and outside the hall were all at a loss. Who in the capital didn't know the reputation of the Jinyiwei? Even their master had been taken away, so how dare they stop the Jinyiwei?

The servants were all feeling very upset. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Once the master is convicted, even they, the servants, will be sold out. Their future will be bleak! An atmosphere of uneasiness spread like ripples on the lake.

The Jinyiwei's move was like several huge rocks falling into an originally calm lake, which instantly caused a thousand waves and the entire capital was in an uproar.

Since the reign of the previous emperor, the people of the capital had never seen such a big move by the Jinyiwei, especially Wei Jingze, Lord Li, Lord Liu and others who were taken to the imperial prison. They were all important officials in the court, including ministers, vice ministers, and censors... Each of them was a well-known figure and a key official of the court.

Naturally, several other cabinet ministers also got the news and went to Prime Minister Zhang's house that same day. The Minister of Revenue Xu Qian suggested that they go to the palace overnight to ask for an audience with the new emperor, but Prime Minister Zhang suppressed the idea.

Gu Jue had been on the throne for only a few months, but several cabinet ministers had the most contact with him. From his daily behavior, they already had a fifty- whit understanding of the new monarch's temperament.

Gu Jue is a man who is ruthless and ruthless in his approach to dealing with things, but he is definitely not a tyrant and he would not do things without a legitimate reason.

He must have his reasons for mobilizing the Jinyiwei to launch such a massive attack today.

After Prime Minister Zhang said this, several other cabinet ministers also agreed and decided to wait and see what happens and return to their respective offices.

This was a sleepless night for many court officials, especially those who had guilty consciences. They woke up several times throughout the night, fearing that the Jinyiwei would knock on their doors.

The next morning, the atmosphere in the Jinluan Palace was a little strange. Under the subtle gazes of the ministers, the Left Vice-Censor mentioned the Jinyiwei's search of various mansions yesterday and expressed his disapproval:

"Your Majesty, Da Qi has its own laws and rules, and we govern the country according to the law. Even if the ministers are guilty, they should be thoroughly investigated by Jingzhao Prefecture or the Dali Temple according to procedures. Your Majesty really shouldn't let the Jinyiwei arrest people for no reason and cause panic among the people!"

The court officials had different expressions. They all knew that the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief had no dealings with Wei Jingze. This old man had always been a conservative person. He was upright and honest in his official duties. He said whatever he thought, and had been the same for decades.

Several officials from Wei Jingze's party secretly exchanged glances with each other, thinking that this was going to be a long meeting.

Then, three or four civil servants came out one after another and echoed: "I second the motion!"

"Lord Wei and Lord Li have served as officials for many years. Even if they have no merits, they have worked hard. Now the Jinyiwei has no evidence and confiscates the property without any proof. It is really chilling!"

Several people were talking to each other, hoping that the new emperor would release Wei Jingze and others.

All the ministers were observing Gu Jue's reaction.

Gu Jue, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had a calm expression, without even moving his eyebrows. He did not say much to the people below, but called Pei Linye over first.

When attending court today, Pei Linye wore the same bright red Qilin robe as yesterday. The already bright-colored robe became even more eye-catching against the backdrop of the magnificent palace.

Pei Linye saluted towards Gu Jue, then began to report the results of the search at Wei's residence yesterday, stating several major crimes of Wei Jingze:

First, forming cliques for personal gain.

Second, he used his position as the Minister of Personnel to appoint people based on personal connections and secretly modified the performance evaluation of local officials.

Third, he privately lent out 200,000 yuan at high interest rates, competing with the people for profits.

Fourth, he embezzled and accepted bribes, and hid more than 20,000 taels of gold and one million taels of silver in the cellar.

…

Pei Linye listed eight major charges against Wei Jingze and handed over some account books that he had searched from the wall of the Wei family's study, which detailed the corruption and bribery committed by Wei Jingze and other officials.

In addition, Pei Linye also handed over the evidence copied from the residences of officials such as Lord Li and Lord Liu.

As a result, more than ten officials in the court were also involved in the case.

The Golden Throne Hall fell into deathly silence, and even the sound of breathing seemed to have stopped. Especially those officials whose names were mentioned by Pei Linye were all sweating profusely and looked as disheveled as if they had been fished out of the water.

Only Gu Jue and Pei Linye looked normal.

Gu Jue instructed Pei Linye, “Submit the evidence you found to the Cabinet and the Three Departments to see if they have any objections.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The ministers' expressions became more complicated.

They previously thought that the new emperor wanted to investigate Wei Jingze and his party because Wei Jingze's second son was involved in a fraud case, but they did not expect that the new emperor would not investigate the fraud case, but instead let the Jinyiwei take a different approach and investigate other crimes of Wei Jingze and his party.

Wei Jingze was an old minister during the reign of Emperor Renzong, when he was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Later, after the previous Emperor Gu Lang ascended the throne, he was appreciated by Gu Lang and promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He was also the Second Assistant of the Cabinet and enjoyed great glory.

Other court officials also knew that Wei Jingze relied on his status as a veteran of three dynasties to bully others and was forming cliques for personal gain, but they did not expect that he had committed so many shocking crimes.

Just the second crime committed by Wei Jingze was a big taboo for an official, enough to get him exiled three thousand miles away.

Now that so much evidence was laid out before everyone, no matter how the Jinyiwei found out, no one could accuse Gu Jue of ordering the Jinyiwei to arrest people without reason.

The Golden Palace became even quieter, with not a sound being made.

Gu Jue calmly added: "This case will also be handed over to the three courts for trial. Do you have any objections?!"

Objection?! All the ministers were like dumb. How dare they raise any objection?

Even the Left Vice-Minister of the Imperial Censorate, who had been so righteous just now, silently returned to the queue.

For crimes like those committed by Wei Jingze, even if the new emperor ordered him to be dragged away and beheaded, others would not dare to plead for him for fear of becoming suspects themselves.

The ones who really have a headache are the three officials.

The fraud case that is about to be tried today is enough to give people a headache. Next, the case of Wei Jingze and his party will also be a major case that will shock the court and the Great Qi.

Moreover, the number of people involved in this case is greater than that in fraud cases, and it is bound to implicate many people.

The Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court exchanged glances and felt that this case was so complicated that it would take a month to finish. They would have to work overtime again.

Since all the officials in the palace were silent, Gu Jue assumed that they agreed with his idea and patted the armrest lightly, saying, "Pei Linye, you hand over these account books and letters to the three departments for joint review. Today, the Jinyiwei will arrest all the people involved in the account books, investigate them if necessary, and seal them if necessary."

The last sentence made the officials, who were already frightened out of their wits, even weaker in their steps.

Suddenly, one of the short and fat middle-aged officials rolled his eyes, fell to one side, and hit his head heavily on the gold brick floor.

It was obvious that he had fainted from fright.

Everyone was silent, knowing that Lord Hua's name was also in the account book, and he was now half dead.

Gu Jue glanced at the ministers below as if he saw nothing, said "dismiss the court", and stood up and left.

From below came the uniform voices of the ministers: "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

Gu Jue walked down from the high throne and walked around the golden carved screen. He saw Shen Qianchen standing in front of him in a purple skirt. She smiled brightly at him. In an instant, it seemed as if the peach blossoms on the tree suddenly blossomed, so gorgeous and tempting.

"Let me help you change your clothes." The little girl said with a smile, holding a purple gown in her hand, which was prepared for Gu Jue.

The two of them had agreed yesterday that after today's morning court session, they would leave the palace together and go to the Dali Temple to attend the trial.

"Okay!" The coldness in Gu Jue's eyes was gone, his smile became warm, and he was like a completely different person from when he was sitting on the dragon throne just now.

Suddenly, he went from being an emperor to her husband.

(End of this chapter)