The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

Aside from Manager Wang, who was a commoner, both the families of Vice Minister Wang and Zhu Ronghui were allowed to have descendants—it was clear they knew the rules.

Now, the gatekeeper of the Prime Minister's residence has also suffered the same bloodshed.

If the first three bloody incidents were gradually narrowing down the list of perpetrators, then this final case is essentially revealing who the mastermind is.

After all, Cai Yan's motive for killing the gatekeeper's entire family was the most compelling.

Ironically, this Prime Minister Cai also had a motive to kill the people from the first three families, or rather, Cai's faction had this motive.

Chen Fan, who wasn't exactly a loyal follower of Cai Yan, had never been counted as one of Cai Yan's trusted subordinates like Gao Cheng. So, it seemed highly likely to outsiders that he would use these methods to suppress Chen Fan and the Ministry of Revenue, and take them under his wing.

"Furthermore—in this gatekeeper's home, we found a large silver note. After identification, it was found to have the same stamp as the silver note used by Zhu Rong Shaoqing to exchange a large sum of money at a private bank before leaving the capital. Both were silver notes issued to Wang Ji Trading Company."

The words of the Imperial Guard Commander definitively labeled this fourth bloodshed as a serial crime.

In other words, these four cases are still connected.

Since they are connected, wouldn't it be enough to find someone with the motive and ability to commit these four cases?

There is certainly more than one suspect with motive and ability.

However, no third person was suspected.

The exposure of smuggling plunged the Ministry of Revenue into turmoil, leading to the purge of those who had taken bribes and forcing the gatekeeper to carefully consider his words.

Cai Yan, counts as one.

The second one is the emperor.

Then someone needs to work hard to guide Cai Yan.

"Your Majesty, this series of bloody incidents all point to me. Not only me, but the entire Ministry of Revenue has been thrown into turmoil because of it. They even want to pin the blame for murder on this old minister to cover it up—therefore, I implore Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate this matter and clear my name!"

Chen Fan stepped out of the procession, knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, each word a tear of blood.

Following closely behind were several vice ministers from the Ministry of Revenue, who all followed suit, tearfully proclaiming their innocence in the matter and hoping that the emperor would not only not back down but also continue to intensify the investigation.

It should be noted that just yesterday Cai Yan suggested that the emperor should restrain himself, and Chen Fan had already taken the opposite stance. Today, he took the lead and directly knelt down to beg His Majesty to continue with drastic measures.

This means it's been completely cut off...

The officials in the court watched the Ministry of Revenue's performance with varying expressions, and for a moment, only the sobbing voices of these few people could be heard.

The Ministry of Justice immediately followed suit, while the Minister of Works naturally lagged behind—at this point, the Grand Tutor once again began to stand by and watch.

However, his Ministry of Rites no longer needs to intervene.

Gao Cheng stared at the scene before him, his heart pounding.

This was a deliberate attempt to put pressure on Cai Yan—but at this crucial moment, Cai Yan couldn't speak up himself, since they hadn't actually criticized him, only asked His Majesty to investigate thoroughly.

What's the rush? Could it be that you really did it?

"Your Majesty, I believe it is better to take a longer view at this time. It would be making a mountain out of a molehill by having the Imperial Guards investigate the case, which would damage the face of the court. It would be better to leave it to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice."

He couldn't hold back in the end and stepped forward to try and smooth things over.

His words made Cai Yan sway.

Gao Cheng couldn't see Cai Yan's expression at that moment. If he could, he would know what a huge mistake he had made by standing up today.

The most important thing for someone in the imperial court is to follow the crowd.

Cai Yan knew very well that in this court, only a minority of people would take sides, while most officials were the type to go with the flow.

This was also a key tactic he used to control the emperor—as long as he could win over the neutral majority, he could use the voice of the court to suppress the emperor's decrees.

After all, most of the things the emperor does end up harming the interests of his officials.

The situation is so clear now, with all the hostility directed at me. At this point, they'll inevitably try to build relationships with me first, and then consider what happens next.

Therefore, Cai Yan didn't take Chen Fan's suggestion yesterday to heart at all, because that was the right thing to do.

But now that the other films have taken the lead in launching attacks, do you, Gao Cheng, still dare to stand up and sing a different tune?

I am the Prime Minister! I can withstand the pressure and the storms! Because I have stood in the court of the Great Yan Dynasty for decades!

What kind of person are you, Gao Cheng?

If this wave suddenly turns and crashes down on you—can you withstand it?

"Minister Gao, you are mistaken! How can there be any 'deliberation' regarding such a bloody case? If we cannot solve the case quickly, that would be a disgrace to our Great Yan!"

A man stepped out from behind Gao Cheng and said coldly.

“Your Majesty, I am Zhang Jin, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Although I also serve in the Ministry of Personnel, I cannot agree with what Minister Gao said. I also believe that this case should be investigated and dealt with swiftly!”

After saying that, he knelt down on the ground.

Cai Yan closed his eyes in pain.

Zhang Jin's words effectively separated Gao Cheng from the Ministry of Personnel. Since he had already spoken out, the remaining vice ministers were also required to follow suit and express their own stance.

At this point, if they didn't stand up and agree with Zhang Jin, it would be as if they were standing behind Gao Cheng and thinking that Gao Cheng was right—there wouldn't even be a chance for ambiguity!

But given their current influence in the court, would they side with Gao Cheng?

Can they stand on Gao Cheng's side?

Do they dare to stand on Gao Cheng's side?

No, I can't, I dare not.

Because they were only vice ministers, they were not qualified to participate in this game. They could only barely survive in the court by going with the flow.

"In my opinion, Vice Minister Zhang's words are very reasonable."

"I second the proposal."

"I also believe that this case should be investigated immediately."

......

ended.

Under Chen Fan's leadership, the Ministry of Revenue unexpectedly launched a counterattack; and the other officials in the Ministry of Personnel who were originally under his control were also forced to stand on the opposite side—meaning that the core system of the Cai Party had been completely dismantled.

Cai Yan had originally hoped that the Lunar New Year holiday would allow him to reunite people and work together to overcome the difficulties.

Who should he talk to after today's morning assembly?

Is it Chen Fan, who has completely turned against him?

Or is it Gao Cheng, who has already been expelled from the Ministry of Personnel's circle of friends?

uniting people's hearts...

Where is humanity now...?

Cai Yan swayed, then managed to stand up straight.

He had a sense of unreality, like a dream.

Yesterday, the Grand Tutor said something that put the Ministry of Revenue in a difficult position.

Today, Zhang Jin said something that split the Ministry of Personnel in two.

Years of painstaking efforts were completely shattered in just two days, two court assemblies, and two sentences.

Before today, and even before the commander of the Imperial Guards entered the main hall and announced the fourth bloodshed, Cai Yan actually thought that this was just a ploy against the Ministry of Revenue, and that he should take the opportunity to suppress Chen Fan and gain some more benefits—

He still couldn't see that all these methods were aimed at him!

Like a frog being slowly boiled in water, I, the frog, didn't even realize it until the water boiled.

Such strength!

Such cunning!

Such a scheme!

who is it?

Who is it?

Cai Yan knew very well that he had been utterly defeated and had no right to fight back—so at this point he no longer cared about any breach of etiquette in front of the palace.

He wanted to see who the person who had plotted against him was.

From his current position and orientation, he can only see the emperor, but if the emperor had such power, he probably wouldn't have gotten to where he is now.

So he turned around.

View from left to right, and from right to left.

The Minister of War was yawning; it seemed he hadn't slept well.

The Grand Tutor of the Ministry of Rites remained expressionless, like a stone statue—he was merely a pawn in a game, incapable of orchestrating such a plan.

The Minister of Justice knelt on the ground, his face still cold.

The Minister of Works was visibly excited, clearly pleased for the Emperor.

Gao Cheng knelt there blankly; the silly boy probably didn't even know how he had suddenly sent it.

Tsk, why is that old man Chen Fan still crying? How much dogwood powder is he hiding in his sleeve? At his age, isn't he afraid of blinding himself?

One after another, familiar faces, or at least faces I'd seen before, flashed by.