The majestic hall is paved with blue bricks and black tiles, the roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles with green trimmings and a flaming bead in the middle. At this moment, the majestic emperor is sitting in the hall, his eyes are like torches, watching people slowly approaching him.

He did not wear a dragon robe, only plain clothes, but he had been in a high position for many years, and his sternness and domineering aura had not diminished in the slightest.

It's just that, having taken off his yellow robe, Emperor Shunkang now looks a little more worldly than usual.

The title of the Emperor of Nanshao was Zeyang and his reign title was Shunkang, which means prosperity for many years to come. Therefore, people generally call the current emperor the Emperor Shunkang.

He is over fifty years old and exudes a sense of righteousness, but upon closer inspection, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes cannot be hidden, as well as the gray hair at his temples, which turned golden in the sunlight.

"Is there any progress regarding Liu Jing's murder?"

Emperor Shunkang's indifferent voice sounded, echoing in the silent and empty hall. Long Moxun bowed leisurely, his cold eyes staring directly at Emperor Shunkang, and he said indifferently.

"It has been found out. The murderer is Liu Jing's first wife, Gu."

After Long Moxun finished speaking, he handed the evidence in his hand to Emperor Shunkang. His eyes were still indifferent, revealing a bit of deliberate alienation.

There had been a grudge between Emperor Shunkang and Prince Jing for a long time. This was known to everyone in Nanshao. Long Moxun never hesitated to excuse Emperor Shunkang in various occasions. Therefore, Emperor Shunkang was extremely displeased with Long Moxun's rude behavior. After looking through the evidence, he frowned.

"Come here, pass on my order. Gu has committed murder premeditatedly. Her virtue as a woman is despised. The evidence is conclusive. She will be beheaded today and put on display."

"Gu Qing, the Minister of Revenue, allowed his sister to commit murder and was incompetent in managing the household. He was fined for half a year and was ordered to copy the law fifty times."

As soon as the two orders were issued, the palace servants were already trembling with fear. Their emperor had always been kind, but today, he did not even give the Minister of Revenue Gu Qing a chance to explain himself. It was obvious that the Gu family was doomed this time.

However, less than half an hour after Emperor Shunkang issued the order, when Emperor Shunkang and Long Moxun were still staring at each other, a palace maid's sharp voice rang out outside the door. It turned out that it was the Empress who came to ask for an audience with the Emperor.

The wind direction in the palace had changed, and Emperor Shunkang's decree soon reached the ears of Empress Gu Wei. This Liu Gu was the Empress's biological sister.

How could the queen watch her sister being executed and her own brother being implicated and becoming a laughing stock in the court?

The emperor's order was essentially an insult to the queen. Thinking of this, Gu Wei packed up her things and walked towards the Yangxin Palace.

Emperor Shunkang saw that Long Moxun had a bad look on his face. Obviously, Long Moxun still had a grudge about what happened that year. His eyes turned suspicious, but he still invited the empress into the Yangxin Palace.

"Your Majesty, I heard that Your Majesty wants to punish my sister. I wonder what crime she committed and why she ended up like this?"

Hearing this, Emperor Shunkang narrowed his eyes and looked down at the empress. He then discovered that there were two beads of sweat on her forehead and her expression was anxious. She could not have heard the news that Liu Gu was executed, so she naturally knew what crime Liu Gu had committed. It seemed that the empress was trying to protect Liu Gu again this time.

"When the emperor breaks the law, he is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Liu Gu killed someone, and the empress does not need to plead for her."

Emperor Shunkang dismissed the empress with just one sentence. Over the years, in order to protect the empress's family, he had turned a blind eye to the Gu family many times. But this time, Liu Gu deserved to be put to death.

"Your Majesty, but she...is still my sister after all."

The Queen looked at the man with a faint gaze, her sad and resentful eyes were full of pleading. She knew that Emperor Shunkang had always been soft-hearted. She had used this method to impress Emperor Shunkang before, but this time.

In the face of the empress's humble plea, Emperor Shunkang was indifferent: "Empress, if you had known this would happen, you should have taught them how to behave and do things properly. From today on, I will no longer protect the people of your family. You, take care of yourselves."

"emperor?"

The Queen called out again in a low voice, and in her panic, she even accidentally reached out and grabbed Emperor Shunkang's sleeve.

Emperor Shunkang just coldly pried open the Queen's fingers one by one. He spoke in a low voice, as if he was talking to the Queen, but also as if he was talking to himself.

"For so many years, the Gu family has been so rampant."

The Queen's face was pale. She raised her head dejectedly, and her hands, which had been pried apart by Emperor Shunkang, drooped down to her waist.

Long Moxun, who was sitting quietly on the side, was enjoying the show with great contentment. He looked at the empress's decadent appearance and laughed softly, with no disguising the contempt in his laughter.

The Queen frowned and looked at Long Moxun. This Prince Jing thought that he could trample on her head just because her family was in trouble. He really overestimated his own abilities.

"Prince Jing, how can you be so presumptuous in the palace?"

"This king is not being presumptuous, but is pleased."

Long Moxun sat calmly on the armchair, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking very lazy. The afterglow of the setting sun cast upon his body, mottled and flowing with shadows.

It was clearly an extremely beautiful picture, but as soon as Long Moxun opened his mouth, people would have a mouthful of blood stuck in their throat.

In front of the two elders, Long Moxun said that he was pleased and really did not take the emperor and the empress seriously.

The Queen's eyes were deep and a trace of hatred flashed across them. Long Moxun, isn't he just taking advantage of the Emperor's indulgence?

"Your Majesty, I was ordered to investigate the murder of Liu Jing. I also checked Liu Jing's performance and found that Liu Jing lied about the number of our soldiers who died and withheld their allowances. This is an unforgivable crime.

Because of this incident, Gu Hang was displeased, which led to a conflict with Liu Jing. When he hit Liu Jing, he accidentally triggered a severe poison attack in Liu Jing's body, which led to Liu Jing's death. "

Long Moxun glanced at the gloomy queen and handed over Liu Jing's evidence directly to her. Looking at the queen's expression at that moment, it was obvious that she had known about this for a long time and she was just holding back.

Emperor Shunkang quickly flipped through a few pages. The amount of allowances for dead warriors that Liu Jing had secretly deducted hurt his eyes deeply. Liu Jing was just an assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. How could he be so bold? How could this matter be unrelated to the Minister of Revenue, Gu Qing?

"Someone, tell Gu Qing to come in right now..."

......

The final result of this incident was that Gu Qing was demoted, fined for three years, and ordered to make up the lost allowances for the dead soldiers within three days. The total amount of these allowances was not a small number. If they were to be made up within three days, the Gu family would suffer a huge loss.

As for Liu Gu, he was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to immediate execution. When the news got out, the entire Gu family cried and wailed. This result was the result of Emperor Shunkang giving in for the sake of the Empress. From then on, the Gu family's dominance in the capital was somewhat ruined.

Of course, Long Moxun didn't care about all this. The Gu family was the right-hand man of Prince Shou. Now that the Gu family was in trouble, Prince Shou and his faction were probably in a state of panic.

He felt that it would be a good idea to use this incident to dampen the arrogance of Prince Shou's faction, so that they would not have to proclaim every day how virtuous Prince Shou was and how cruel he, Prince Jing, was. Although this was true, it did not mean that Long Moxun had to bear the consequences of what Prince Shou had done.

At this time, Long Moxun brought Gu Hang back from prison and held a banquet for him. Gu Shuchang also attended the banquet.

After three rounds of drinking, Gu Hang was a little drunk. He raised his glass to show that he was very grateful to Long Moxun for saving his life. His eyes turned and fell on his son Gu Shuchang. Gu Hang blinked and said with a bit of pride.

"Shuchang, I was right, wasn't I? Ning'er is really a good girl. If it weren't for her, your father would have been in jail for a long time. Tomorrow, you should bring a gift and thank Ning'er, okay?"

"Got it, Dad."

Gu Shuchang responded obediently. He had originally had this idea. This time, Luo Xuening was truly a great contributor to their family.

Long Moxun, holding a white jade wine glass, shook it in his hand boredly, listening to the conversation between the father and son.

"I told you that Ning'er is your perfect match. That girl surnamed Xia is too playboyish and she is not worthy of you. Tomorrow, go talk to Ning'er more and find out what Prime Minister Luo has to say about it. See when our in-laws can get married. That will also put my mind at ease."

Gu Shuchang: "...I understand."

Gu Shuchang lowered his head shyly. In the past, he would resist when hearing about his marriage with Luo Xuening, but today, his performance made Gu Hang very happy. He reached out, patted Gu Shuchang on the shoulder, and said loudly.

"Good boy, it's good once you figure it out."

Gu Shuchang smiled timidly and did not answer. In the past, he disliked Luo Xue Ning and thought she was vicious. However, in the past few days, Luo Xue Ning's performance really made him look at her differently. At least, he no longer disliked her.

However, Long Moxun, who was sitting aside, frowned when he heard the three words "Luo Xuening". When he heard Gu Hang talking about marriage, he became even more annoyed. He didn't want to see Luo Xuening's marriage at all.

"Gu Shuchang, do you want to have your feet on two boats?"