Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

In the cold winter of the imperial city, the sky cleared up after the rain.

The rain on the eaves reflected a cold light in the sunlight, and the rain on the street splashed out under the footsteps.

Jia Yu sat in a private room on the second floor of the "Tingxue Tower" in the south of the city, holding a cup of hot tea, but his eyes were always fixed on the three streets in the distance.

There were the residences of the Minister of Personnel Lü Xiuwen, the Vice Minister of Revenue Liu Feng, and the Chief Censor Li Shaoyuan.

The first group of Jinyiwei, led by Captain Zhang Cheng, quietly sneaked into Lu Xiuwen's mansion.

The Lu Mansion is located in Qingpingfang in the east of the city. It is a three-courtyard house with blue bricks and gray tiles. There is only a simple wooden plaque with the words "Lu's House" hanging in front of the door, and there are not even stone lions.

The courtyard wall is not high and is covered with dead vines, making it look particularly low-key.

Zhang Cheng made a gesture, and more than ten Jinyiwei divided into three groups: one group sneaked in from the side door, one group climbed over the low wall of the backyard, and the other group disguised themselves as coal porters and knocked on the front door.

There were only two old servants and a housekeeper in the mansion.

The Jinyiwei quickly took control of the front yard and began to search the study.

Lu Xiuwen's study was extremely simple, with an elm desk and two bamboo bookshelves, the desk piled with performance books of officials from all over the country.

Zhang Cheng flipped through a few booklets and found that they were densely packed with annotations on the officials' achievements and shortcomings in neat handwriting. It was obvious that Lu Xiuwen was extremely diligent in his daily life.

"Search!" Zhang Cheng shouted in a low voice.

The Jinyiwei pried open the floor, knocked on the walls, and even took apart the partitions of the bookshelf, but found nothing.

In the backyard room, Lu Xiuwen's wife was chanting Buddhist scriptures and did not see the Jinyiwei breaking in.

Half an hour later, Zhang Cheng walked out of Lu's house with a frown and shook his head at the captain waiting at the alley entrance:

"Nothing suspicious."

At the same time, the second group of Jinyiwei, led by Captain Zhao Han, sneaked into Liu Feng's house.

The Liu Mansion is located in Fuchun Lane in the west of the city. It is a two-story house with a cross-courtyard. The words "Liu Mansion" are hung on the lintel. Although it is not luxurious, the bluestone road in front of the door is spotlessly clean, showing an atmosphere of shrewdness and competence.

Zhao Han sneered and waved his hand to signal his men to take action.

There were no guards in the Liu Mansion, only an old doorman who was taking a nap.

The Jinyiwei easily climbed over the wall and went straight to the study.

Liu Feng's study was completely different from Lu Xiuwen's - the desk was piled with account books, and on the wall hung a distribution map of granaries in various places, and there was even an open book called "Accounting of Taxes and Silver on Trade Routes".

Zhao Han narrowed his eyes and quickly checked the account books, trying to find any clues about the transaction with the Scorpion Tribe.

However, all the accounts were clear, and every transfer of military rations and tax deposits were recorded clearly.

The Jinyiwei even pried open the secret compartment of Liu Feng's bed, and found only a private account book inside - a record of the money he had secretly donated to poor students over the years.

"Strange." Zhao Han murmured, "Is Liu Feng actually an honest official?"

In the backyard kitchen, Liu Feng's wife was directing the maid to cook porridge, and the Jinyiwei deliberately avoided them.

But after searching for a long time, no clues were found.

In the end, Zhao Han had to return empty-handed.

The third group of Jinyiwei was led by the commander Han Lie and headed straight to Li Shaoyuan's mansion.

The Li Mansion is located in Yushi Lane in the north of the city. It is a slightly old house with a plaque with the words "Impartial and Impartial" standing in front of the door. The courtyard wall is mottled and there are even a few clumps of dead grass growing in the corners, making it look particularly deserted.

Han Lie sneered: "You pretend to be serious."

He waved his hand and the Jinyiwei climbed over the wall and entered.

Li Shaoyuan's study is extremely simple, even a bit shabby - a desk with peeling paint, a rattan chair, and most of the books on the bookshelf are classics related to law and supervision.

Spread out on the table were copies of impeachment memorials from officials from all over the country, with handwriting as sharp as a knife.

The Jinyiwei searched the entire study, even tearing up the floorboards, but only found a few letters from home.

This was written by Li Shaoyuan to his mother when he was on patrol outside. Filial piety is evident between the lines.

Han Lie frowned and led people to search the bedroom, and found a wooden box under the bed.

"Found it!" a Jinyiwei said excitedly.

However, the box contained not a secret letter of treason, but a stack of IOUs - it turned out that Li Shaoyuan had been secretly supporting the dismissed honest officials over the years, even at the cost of borrowing money.

Han Lie was silent for a moment, then he closed the wooden box and whispered, "Retreat."

In the distance, in the private room of "Tingxue Tower", Jia Yu's tea had already gone cold.

He tapped the table lightly, his brows slightly furrowed.

Outside the window, three groups of Jinyiwei returned one after another and shook their heads at him from afar.

"No?" Jia Yu muttered to himself, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the teacup.

The waiter came in to add more charcoal, but seeing that he looked serious, he didn't dare to say much and just tiptoed out.

Jia Yu looked out the window. The sky gradually darkened and the lanterns on the street lit up one after another, making the ground glow red.

"Are these three ministers really clean?"

He sneered, and suddenly remembered something, and turned his gaze towards the direction of the imperial city - there, Crown Prince Chu Ning was still waiting for news in the East Palace.

At this time, in the East Palace

It was already dark, and the candlelight in the East Palace flickered, illuminating the stern face of Crown Prince Chu Ning.

He picked up the wine glass, gently stroked the rim with his fingertips, and swept his eyes over the three ministers at the table - Lu Xiuwen, Liu Feng, and Li Shaoyuan.

The three men had different expressions. Lu Xiuwen was calm as usual, Liu Feng looked a little tired, and Li Shaoyuan lowered his eyes, as if in deep thought.

The cold wind howled outside the hall, causing the window frames to tremble slightly.

Chu Ning put down his wine glass and spoke slowly, "Thank you for troubling me today, my dear ministers. It's getting late, so you should go back and rest first."

The three men, as if pardoned, quickly stood up and bowed to take their leave.

Before leaving, Lu Xiuwen looked at the prince deeply, as if with some profound meaning, but in the end he said nothing, turned around and walked into the night.

After their figures disappeared outside the palace gate, the Scorpion Clan's General Gongsun Yi, who had been silent until then, finally spoke:

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Chu, since everything is fine for now, can I return to the camp outside the city?"

Chu Ning shook his head, his eyes deep: "Things have not been clarified yet, General Gongsun will stay here for the time being."

Gongsun Yi frowned slightly. The Scorpion Tribe members were not used to staying in the Imperial City for long, but since the Crown Prince had spoken, he could only control his temper and clasped his fists, saying:

"Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has asked me to stay, I dare not disobey."

Just then, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall.

Jia Yu entered the palace, shrouded in a chill, and knelt on one knee. "Your Highness, the Imperial Guards have searched the residences of the three masters and found no evidence of collusion with the grain merchants, nor any clues related to the masked man."

Chu Ning's expression remained unchanged, as if he was not surprised by the result.

He nodded slightly and said, "Keep watching them and see what they will do next."

Jia Yu took the order and left. Chu Ning turned to look at Gongsun Yi and said, "Come here, arrange accommodation for General Gongsun."

After the guards led Gongsun Yi away, Chu Ning stood up, a cold look flashing in his eyes: "Prepare the horses, go to the Heavenly Prison."

Outside the palace, the night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind whistled past with drizzle.

Chu Ning put on a black cloak, stepped out of the East Palace and walked towards the Sky Prison.