Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 223: The Su Mansion is in crisis again, and is still being plotted against

[The court immediately exploded, and everyone was in uproar. ]

[Officials named, such as Zhang Shixian and Li Mingyuan, turned pale and knelt on the ground, shouting that they were wronged.]

[They claimed that this was a forged list by Chu Shizhao, with the intention of framing loyal officials.]

[The other ministers also split into several groups, some were shocked and confused, while others glared at Chu Shizhao, accusing him of being too reckless and undermining the stability of the court.]

[Emperor Yongjin sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face. He ordered someone to present the list. After carefully checking it, although he had some doubts in his heart, he could not make a decision immediately.]

【Zhang Shixian seized the opportunity and cried that he had worked hard for the court for many years and had never been corrupt. It must be Chu Shizhao's revenge due to some personal grudge.】

[Chu Shizhao tried to defend himself by presenting some circumstantial evidence related to the Su family, but these pieces of evidence seemed a bit flimsy in the absence of solid physical evidence.]

[Finally, Emperor Yongjin ordered the establishment of a special investigation team to investigate these officials, and the matter was put on hold for the time being.]

[Chu Shizhao offended many of the officials who were named, and they secretly united to fight against Chu Shizhao.]

Chu Shizhao looked solemn.

He analyzed that the problem with this exercise was that the list was released too hastily without sufficient preparation and comprehensive planning.

Without absolutely conclusive evidence, it is difficult to convince people with just a piece of cloth.

Moreover, he did not take into account the attitude and handling methods of Emperor Yongjin, which led the situation into an unknown investigation and made him create a large number of enemies.

It seems that before announcing the list, sufficient physical evidence must be prepared, and at the same time, the intentions of Emperor Yongjin must be understood in advance to win his support. Moreover, before announcing the list, a strategy must be thought of to deal with the counterattacks of the named officials, and one must not make oneself the target of public criticism.

【Chu Shizhao was not in a hurry to announce the list in the court, but met with Emperor Yongjin in private first.】

[Chu Shizhao told Emperor Yongjin in detail about the unjust case of the Su family and the origin of the list, and presented some physical evidence he had secretly collected related to the corruption of the officials on the list, such as some account books and letters.]

【Emperor Yongjin fell silent after reading it】【Chu Shizhao took the opportunity to say that these officials were powerful and if not dealt with in time, they might cause serious harm to the court.】

[Emperor Yongjin agreed with his opinion, but was also worried that this move would cause unrest in the court. ]

[Chu Shizhao was well prepared. He proposed to conduct a secret investigation first, and then defeat them one by one after obtaining more evidence to avoid causing a large-scale backlash.]

[After receiving the tacit approval of Emperor Yongjin, Chu Shizhao began to act. ]

[However, during the investigation, the officials named became aware of the situation and began to secretly target those responsible for the investigation.]

[In order to prevent their families from falling into danger, some ministers involved in the investigation began to waver, and some even tipped off the officials under investigation.]

The investigation reached a deadlock. Although Chu Shizhao tried hard to push it forward, the progress was slow, and there were also some rumors in the court that were unfavorable to him.

】After the second deduction, Chu Shizhao was still not satisfied.

The oversight this time was that although the support of Emperor Yongjin was won, the counter-attack ability of the officials under investigation was underestimated.

The secret investigation team was unreliable, easily infiltrated, and had no effective measures to deal with rumors.

Next, Chu Shizhao felt that he had to form an absolutely loyal and reliable investigation team, and prepare strategies to deal with rumors in advance, so as to take the initiative in public opinion.

[Chu Shizhao selected a group of loyal and capable people from among his confidants to form a new investigation team.]

[He gave these people strict training, emphasizing the importance and confidentiality of the matter. At the same time, he prepared some countermeasures to deal with rumors in advance and asked his trusted ministers to spread them in the court and among the people in a timely manner to set the record straight.]

[After the investigation team began to act, they were extremely cautious. They avoided the eyes and ears of the officials under investigation, started with some inconspicuous clues, and gradually obtained more powerful evidence.]

[As the investigation deepened, more and more evidence surfaced. Chu Shizhao felt that the time was right, so he went to the palace again to meet Emperor Yongjin and presented all the evidence.]

[After seeing the detailed evidence, Emperor Yongjin was furious and immediately decided to make the matter public in the court.]

[In the court, the officials who were named still wanted to defend themselves, but in the face of the irrefutable evidence, their defense seemed pale and powerless.]

[Other ministers saw the irrefutable evidence and began to accuse these officials of crimes.]

[Finally, Emperor Yongjin ordered these officials to be dismissed and investigated. [However, although Chu Shizhao successfully brought down these officials, it caused panic among some other officials who were not investigated. They became wary of Chu Shizhao and worried that they would be implicated, so they chose to remain neutral.]

This time, although Chu Shizhao successfully brought down the target official, he ignored the feelings of other officials and even caused collective panic among the civil and military officials in the court.

If he did so, it would definitely be detrimental to his future development in the court, not to mention the position of crown prince that he had been dreaming of.

As the saying goes, if you are not afraid of people stealing, you are afraid of people thinking about it.

If those scholars who are full of benevolence, righteousness and morality really get on board with this, I'm afraid I won't be able to live a peaceful life from now on.

It seems that the next time we conduct a simulation, we will have to appease other officials in advance before dealing with those parasites!
[Before Chu Shizhao was ready to release the list and evidence, he first gave a speech in the court. ]

[He stated that his purpose was to rectify the government, and that he would only target those officials who had been proven guilty of crimes, and would not implicate other ministers without reason, hoping that the ministers could rest assured.]

[He also emphasized that this was for the long-term stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty and hoped that everyone would support it.]

【After this speech, the panic of some ministers was alleviated. 】

[Afterwards, Chu Shizhao presented the evidence to Emperor Yongjin as planned and made the matter public in the court.]

[The officials named still tried to deny it, but in the face of overwhelming evidence, they had no choice but to plead guilty.]

[Emperor Yongjin ordered severe punishment for these officials, and the corruption in the court was rectified to a certain extent.]

[However, although Chu Shizhao was recognized by some ministers, some ministers also thought that his move was too radical and tough, and they were dissatisfied with him. ]

[These ministers secretly united to trip up Chu Shizhao.]

After the fourth deduction, Chu Shizhao felt helpless.

Although chaos in the court was avoided this time, the means used still caused dissatisfaction among some ministers.

It seems that when dealing with things, we should not only achieve the goal, but also pay attention to the methods and means, and be more tactful and gentle, and not be too tough and radical.

[Before Chu Shizhao released the list and evidence, he first communicated privately with influential ministers in the court, listened to their opinions, and explained his intentions to them.]

[This time, he was sincere and modest in his words, which made the ministers feel his sincerity.]

[Afterwards, he gently proposed in the court that he had recently received some clues about official corruption and hoped to conduct a secret investigation without affecting the stability of the court, so as to restore the integrity of the court.]

【Emperor Yongjin agreed to his proposal.】

[During the investigation, Chu Shizhao still asked his confidants to be cautious and only report to Emperor Yongjin again after collecting enough evidence.]

[Emperor Yongjin ordered the results of the investigation to be made public, and the officials named were punished according to law.]

[This time, most ministers approved of Chu Shizhao's handling of the situation, and there was no large-scale unrest or resistance in the court.]

[Chu Shizhao also discovered that some ministers who had friendships with the punished officials, although they did not object on the surface, actually developed some resentment towards him in their hearts.]

As the fifth deduction ended, Chu Shizhao let out a long sigh of helplessness.

Although the current problem was solved relatively smoothly this time and was recognized by many ministers, the potential hidden dangers could not be completely eliminated, and new contradictions also made the situation somewhat difficult to control.

Chu Shizhao felt that he was not particularly satisfied with the current result. He planned to wait and see how the situation develops in the court before finding a better way to deal with it.

The Su Mansion was shrouded in silence late at night, with only the occasional chirping of insects.

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed past the wall, followed by several figures climbing over the wall silently.

These men in black were agile and obviously had extraordinary skills.

"Search separately and make sure to find the list!"

The leading man in black lowered his voice and gave orders.

However, just as they were about to disperse, the shadows of the trees in the yard suddenly shook, and several figures flashed out from the darkness.

"You never imagined it, we have been waiting for you here for a long time."

A secret guard sneered.

The men in black obviously did not expect to be ambushed, but they reacted extremely quickly and immediately engaged in a fight with the secret guards.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a man in black was knocked flying and hit the pillar.

At this moment, a scream suddenly came from the backyard: "Help!" It was Su Wan'er's voice!
It turned out that two men in black took advantage of the chaos and went around to the backyard.

At this time, they held Su Wan'er on the left and right, and one of them put a dagger against her neck.

"Stop it! Otherwise this lady's life will be in danger!"

The secret guards had to stop what they were doing.

The man in black held Su Wan'er hostage and retreated quickly. The others also took the opportunity to escape and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

The news soon reached Chu Shizhao's ears.

His face instantly darkened and he overturned the table: "Damn it!"

"I am incompetent and failed to protect Miss Su."

The leading secret guard knelt down and pleaded guilty.

Chu Shizhao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down: "Are there any clues left at the scene?"

"Your Excellency, we found this."

The secret guard handed over a piece of torn cloth, "It was torn off by one of them during the fight."

"This fabric has a special texture. It is made with a unique craftsmanship from the most famous Tianyifang in the suburbs of Beijing."

Chu Shizhao narrowed his eyes: "Tianyifang?"

"Chase me!"

……

Following the clues, Chu Shizhao and his group soon arrived at an abandoned manor.

The manor was dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, and looked like it had been abandoned for many years.

But Chu Shizhao noticed that there were faint traces of trampling in the weeds.

"Be careful."

Chu Shizhao whispered, "Su Wan'er is probably locked up in there."

Just as they were about to sneak in, a scream was suddenly heard from the manor, followed by a chaotic sound of footsteps.

Chu Shizhao's heart tightened, and without caring about anything else, he immediately led his men to rush in.

Chu Shizhao and his secret guards sneaked into the manor quietly.

The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and the surroundings were pitch black. Only the outlines of the dilapidated buildings in the manor could be vaguely seen.

"Watch your step."

Chu Shizhao reminded in a low voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold light flashed, and several hidden arrows came flying through the air!

"There's an ambush!"

The secret guards quickly formed a formation and stood in front of Chu Shizhao.

But at this moment, the ground suddenly collapsed, and several secret guards slipped and fell into the trap.

"boom!"

There was a muffled sound coming from the bottom of the trap, and it was obvious that it was covered with spikes.

"My Lord, be careful, there are traps everywhere!"

The leading secret guard looked solemn.

"It seems that they have been prepared for this."

He spoke with a serious expression.

However, just as he finished his words, a group of men in black rushed out from the darkness, wielding weapons and charging at him.

The two sides fought in one place in an instant.

Chu Shizhao seemed to be cheating and knocked down several enemies in just a few moves.

However, before he could catch his breath, more men in black began to swarm around him.

It looks like these guys want to kill them here.

Chu Shizhao, thinking of the other party's intention, immediately gave a decisive order.

"Don't fight too long, everyone disperse and break out!"

Following his order.

The secret guards immediately split into several groups and advanced in different directions.

This way, the enemy would have to disperse its forces.

Chu Shizhao and two of his trusted confidants headed straight into the depths of the manor.

They encountered several traps on the way, but they were all discovered and resolved in time.

Finally, they came to an underground secret room.

"Help. Is there anyone?"

A faint cry for help came from inside.

"Wan'er!"

Chu Shizhao's face changed.

Just as he was about to break in, a cold voice sounded behind him: "Fourth Prince, how are you?"

Chu Shizhao turned around and saw a thin civil servant standing there. It was Yang Chengyi, a minor official of the sixth rank in the court.

"It's you?"

Chu Shizhao narrowed his eyes, "I didn't expect you to dare to do such a thing."

Yang Chengyi sneered: "The Fourth Prince is really capable. He found this place so quickly. However."

He suddenly attacked and slapped Chu Shizhao in the face!

This seemingly weak little official actually has profound inner strength!
Chu Shizhao was not in a hurry. He dodged sideways and at the same time delivered a heavy punch with his backhand.

"boom!"

The two of them instantly fought.

Yang Chengyi's Kung Fu is weird and vicious, and every move is deadly.

But Chu Shizhao was a martial arts expert and always had the upper hand.

"what!"

With a scream, Yang Chengyi was hit in the chest and staggered back.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned, "Fourth Prince, do you think this is the end?"

As he spoke, he took out a bamboo tube from his pocket and said, "Guess what this is?"

Chu Shizhao's pupils shrank.

There was a bloody word "Gu" engraved on the bamboo tube!

Chu Shizhao's heart shuddered, he knew how powerful the poison was. If one was poisoned by it, the worst possible outcome would be a fate worse than death, or death on the spot.

(End of this chapter)