The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"This is the capital region, right under the Emperor's nose! These people dare to act so recklessly; they are no ordinary bandits. We must strike hard! Where are the Imperial Guards?!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards immediately knelt down.

The emperor's wrath.

"The Prefectural Governor's Office and the Court of Judicial Review are already overwhelmed. I will mobilize the Imperial Secret Service to assist you. At the same time, the Imperial Guards will also be deployed. If you anticipate any obstruction during your investigation, take the Imperial Guards with you—I want to see who in this capital dares to defy the Imperial Guards!"

"I will receive the order."

Faced with the emperor's wrath, the officials all kept their eyes down and pretended to be wooden figures.

No one wanted to offend the emperor at this time, and the emperor's order was completely reasonable and justified, so even Cai Yan did not say anything at this moment.

However, the furrowed brow on his face proved that the prime minister was not in a good mood.

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Immediately after the court assembly ended, Minister Gao of the Ministry of Personnel arrived at the Prime Minister's residence.

"Teacher Cai, something's not right."

He spoke in a deep voice to his mentor.

Cai Yan sat there silently, his desk still piled high with official documents.

"Master Cai?"

"—This wasn't done by Chen Fan; he couldn't possibly do such a thing."

Cai Yan slowly began to speak.

"Yes, no matter how desperate Minister Chen is, he would never do something like killing the emperor's special envoy. Besides, the current situation is far from a point where he has to gamble everything! Even if he bribed Zhu Ronghui, so what?"

Gao Cheng's voice was somewhat hurried and agitated.

"When faced with important matters, one must remain calm—I've said this many times. If you don't correct this flaw, you can only ever become a minister!"

Instead of answering Gao Cheng's question, Cai Yan scolded him.

Gao Cheng paused, didn't speak, found a chair to sit down, closed his eyes, and only opened them after a while, his expression had become calm.

“Our previous judgment may have been wrong. The deaths of those two families may not have been caused by Chen Fan.”

Cai Yan said in a deep voice.

"I was wondering why Chen Fan would frame the Imperial Guards for silencing someone, since he was capable of doing so. Now that this has happened, it makes sense."

What exactly did the killer want to do?

Gao Cheng was also thinking, but it was still all a blur.

"Killing Manager Wang was to stop the expansion of the Imperial Household Department; killing Vice Minister Wang was to frame the Imperial Guards; the purpose of killing the Imperial Envoy is still unclear, but there is no doubt that, regardless of whether Zhu Ronghui was on a mission or not, the Zhu Rong family was originally the emperor's retainers, so killing him was aimed at the emperor."

"You mean, the person who planned these murders targeted the royal family?"

Gao Cheng was utterly shocked.

"At present, this is the only reasonable explanation, but only the planners themselves know the real purpose."

Cai Yan sighed.

“We need to talk to Chen Fan—to have an open and frank talk.”

"You mean..."

"The people behind this are not simple. In the capital, besides us, there are not many people who have the ability and qualifications to do this kind of thing."

As Gao Cheng thought about those few names and identities, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

"At this time, we cannot afford to be in disarray internally. No matter how much we want to put Chen Fan in a bad light, we must wait until this matter is over. Otherwise, the court will definitely undergo changes that we cannot predict."

At this point, Cai Yan raised his voice.

"Someone is coming."

"master."

"Go and invite Lord Chen from the Ministry of Revenue to my residence for a chat."

"Yes, sir."

Not long after the servant left, Cai Yan was just about to pull himself together to deal with some official business when he heard a commotion, and then a servant came running in, stumbling and crawling.

"what happened?"

He frowned, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

"Master—Master, please go and see! The officials from the Dali Temple said that Vice Minister Wang came to our residence before he died, but the gatekeeper said he didn't, saying that the gatekeeper is suspected of colluding with bandits and that he should be arrested and interrogated."

"what!"

Cai Yanteng stood up, and Gao Cheng, who was standing next to him, immediately stood up as well.

"Come on, let's go take a look."

When the two hurriedly arrived at the front gate, they saw that the guards of the mansion were all empty-handed, looking nervously towards the gate.

When they turned their gaze outside, they realized why the guards of the Cai residence were all in such a state.

Besides the Dali Temple officials, a whole squad of Imperial Guards came to arrest people.

Fortunately, they were guards from the Prime Minister's residence, and they were quite knowledgeable. If someone had dared to confront them with a knife today, the Cai family might have been massacred immediately.

Upon seeing the leader, Cai Yan's heart sank to the bottom.

"Eunuch Zheng, this is..."

"Oh, greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Eunuch Zheng glanced indifferently at Gao Cheng behind Cai Yan, then bowed to Cai Yan.

"The man has already been arrested. I'm staying here because His Majesty considered that the arrested person was your gatekeeper, so he specifically sent me to tell you, sir. His Majesty believes that you wouldn't do anything foolish, but this case is of great importance. From His Majesty to the court and the people, everyone needs an explanation—so it's best if you don't get involved in the arrest."

Cai Yan barely managed to keep his expression in check, took a jade pendant off his person, and handed it to Eunuch Zheng.

"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this order to arrest them—"

"Lord Cai, please don't make things difficult for me."

Eunuch Zheng coldly pushed the jade pendant back.

"Go back to the palace!"

Chapter Ninety: Blinded by a Leaf

Cai Yan was helped back to his residence by Gao Cheng.

"Master, should we still go and inform Minister Chen to come to your residence?"

At this moment, a servant cautiously asked.

"No, don't go. Don't do anything. From now on, the Cai residence will be closed to all visitors. No one is allowed to enter."

Cai Yan waved his hand and said weakly.

"Master Cai, if we don't meet with Minister Chen now, then—"

The prime minister slammed his hand on the table, about to explode in anger, but then realized that there were outsiders present.

"You go out first."

"Yes, sir."

The servant immediately trotted away to take his leave.

"Meeting Chen Fan at this time, are you hoping to give the emperor a handle to use against you?!"

Cai Yan's anger was obvious.

“Originally, this matter only involved the Ministry of Revenue, but now, because of Vice Minister Wang, we have been implicated. After the gatekeeper of my Cai residence was arrested, immediately going to meet with Chen Fan in secret, in the eyes of outsiders, wouldn’t that be an admission that Cai Yan and Chen Fan are inextricably linked to this matter?”

Gao Cheng immediately bowed and apologized, realizing that he had said something foolish.

"Don't stay here with me any longer. This matter is not simple. Go back and connect with the officials in the Ministry of Personnel. At tomorrow's court meeting, I will submit a memorial to His Majesty, hoping that His Majesty will not broaden the scope of the crackdown. At that time, with Chen Fan's abilities, he will naturally realize that I am helping him, so the Ministry of Revenue will also help."

"When the time comes, if we stand up, the neutral fence-sitters will also stand up, as will those who have done dirty work. In addition, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War will not interfere. This will create public opinion in the court and suppress the unbridled actions of the Imperial Guards."

"Okay, I'll go back and prepare now."

Watching Gao Cheng leave in a hurry, Cai Yan sighed.

His student, in terms of talent and ability, was not qualified for this position; his seniority was barely sufficient. However, he was loyal enough to him, which is why he helped him get this position in the Ministry of Personnel. He also had to help him with some things from time to time.

With the Ministry of Revenue's affairs piling up on him now, Cai Yan felt an even bigger headache as he looked at the huge pile of government documents on his desk.

Fortunately, the New Year is just around the corner. After New Year's Eve, there will be a 15-day holiday, which will be enough time for him to sort out his relationship with Chen Fan. At that time, the court will still be in their hands.

Thinking of this, Cai Yan felt a little more at ease. He sat down in his chair, mustered his energy, and began to handle government affairs.

------------------------------------------------

After the routine court meeting report, when the emperor asked if there were any further reports, Cai Yan stepped forward.

“Your subject Cai Yan has a memorial to present.”

"What matter does the Prime Minister wish to report?"