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

The city of Kyoto was covered with dark clouds.

Zhao Yu, wearing silver armor and holding a spear, led hundreds of Jinyiwei to line up on the street.

His eyes were stern as he scanned the mansion in front of him with its vermilion lacquered gate and stone lions guarding it—the residence of Liu Shouren, the Cabinet Minister and Minister of Revenue.

Although Liu Shouren was the first old minister to follow Chu Ning and his loyalty was unquestionable, it was precisely because of this that Zhao Yu deliberately chose him as the first target of the search.

"Lord Liu." Zhao Yu stepped forward, clasped his fists and bowed, his tone respectful yet majestic.

Liu Shouren had already been waiting in front of the mansion gate. When he saw Zhao Yu, a wry smile appeared on his old face and he raised his hand to return the greeting:

"General Zhao, there's no need to be so polite."

Zhao Yu stood up and said in a deep voice, "The Emperor was assassinated. His Majesty is furious and has ordered a thorough investigation of the capital. I have been ordered to search the residences of the ministers to prove their innocence."

"Lord Liu is a pillar of the country. I dare to bother you first."

Liu Shouren sighed deeply, his sleeves swaying slightly in the cold wind. "The Emperor's murder was extremely serious. If the murderer is not quickly identified, the government and the people will be in turmoil."

"Since the general is acting according to orders, I shall cooperate."

After saying this, he stepped aside to make way and gestured, "General Zhao, please."

Zhao Yu nodded slightly, waved his right hand, and ordered in a cold voice: "Jinyiwei, listen to my order, search Liu Mansion!"

"Yes!"

Dozens of Jinyiwei quickly lined up and entered with orderly steps, and the air was filled with a murderous atmosphere.

They divided into several teams and went to search the study, storehouse, side rooms and other places. They moved quickly and followed Zhao Yu's orders carefully and did not destroy anything in the mansion.

Liu Shouren stood in the courtyard, looking at these elite warriors walking through his mansion with a deep gaze.

Although he had a clear conscience, he still felt a chill in his heart - the emperor's move was obviously not only to investigate the case, but also to intimidate the ministers!

Three quarters of an hour later.

A captain of the Jinyiwei came over quickly, clasped his fists and whispered, "General Zhao, nothing suspicious was found in the mansion."

Zhao Yu's expression remained unchanged. He simply nodded slightly, then turned and bowed to Liu Shouren. "Sorry to bother you, Lord Liu. I still need to search other mansions. Farewell."

Liu Shouren watched him leave, his old brows deeply furrowed.

He looked up at the gloomy sky and muttered to himself, "The storm is coming!"

Feng Anguo, the Minister of War, is also the father of Concubine Lan Feng Mulan and the father-in-law of the current emperor.

Zhao Yu chose him as the second target of the search, and his intention was obvious - if he even dared to search the residence of the father-in-law of the emperor, what reason did the other ministers have to refuse?

In front of the Feng Mansion, Feng Anguo had already received the news and was standing outside waiting in person.

He was about fifty years old, with a resolute face, dressed in a purple official robe, and had an extraordinary demeanor.

Seeing Zhao Yu and his men coming, he did not show any dissatisfaction, but smiled slightly: "General Zhao, long time no see."

Zhao Yu clasped his fists and saluted: "Sir Feng, I am conducting a search under your orders. Please forgive me."

Feng Anguo smiled brightly, "Your Majesty's order, I shall obey. General, please do as you wish!"

The Jinyiwei entered one after another, and the search process was faster than that of Liu's mansion.

Feng Anguo even led the way himself and took people to check the warehouse and study to show his openness.

Half an hour later.

"General Zhao, there is nothing unusual in Feng Mansion." The Jinyiwei reported.

Zhao Yu nodded and bowed to Feng Anguo: "Thank you, Lord Feng, for your cooperation."

Feng Anguo stroked his beard and smiled: "It's my duty, General. No need to be polite."

Next is the residence of Prime Minister Yang Wende.

However, Yang Wende was not in the capital at this time. He was stationed in Yan to take charge of government affairs. There were only a housekeeper and a group of servants in his mansion.

Zhao Yu did not relax his vigilance and still ordered people to search carefully.

"Commander, several secret letters were found in Prime Minister Yang's study!" A Jinyiwei suddenly whispered.

Zhao Yu's eyes narrowed and he quickly stepped forward to check.

The letter paper was yellowed, the handwriting was neat, but the content was correspondence with a powerful official of the Han Dynasty.

Although the letter did not mention the matter of the retired emperor, the wording was ambiguous and hinted at collusion.

"Take him away." Zhao Yu said coldly.

Next are the residences of important officials such as Jia Yu and Xun Yu.

Although Jia Yu was Chu Ning's confidant, Zhao Yu still searched according to the routine and found nothing unusual.

Xun Yu's mansion was also clean, but the Jinyiwei found several secret letters from the Tang Dynasty in a manager's room in a side courtyard, which involved the leakage of military intelligence.

"Catch him!" Zhao Yu shouted.

The steward's face turned pale as death, and he knelt down to beg for mercy: "Please spare my life, sir! I was only following orders!"

Zhao Yu sneered: "On whose orders?"

The steward hesitated and was eventually dragged away by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

City-wide search!

After searching the residences of several important officials, Zhao Yu ordered the Jinyiwei to split into more than a dozen groups, each leading a white horse cavalry, and go to search the residences of other officials at the same time.

For a moment, the sound of horse hooves was deafening in Kyoto City, and the black-clad figures of the Jinyiwei were shuttling through the streets and alleys.

Most officials chose to cooperate, but some still resisted stubbornly.

"How dare you! I am an official appointed by the imperial court. How can I allow you to search me at will?" A fifth-rank minister shouted angrily.

The captain of the Imperial Guard sneered, "Your Majesty has ordered this. Anyone who disobeys will be charged with treason!"

"You dare!" the minister shouted and waved his hand to signal the guards in the mansion to stop them.

"kill!"

The white horse cavalry charged in an instant, swords flashed, and blood splattered on the gate of the mansion!

A moment later, the Jinyiwei broke into the inner courtyard and found several secret letters from the secret compartment, which turned out to be evidence of collusion with foreign enemies!

"take away!"

When the Embroidered Uniform Guards broke into the residence of Wang Xinde, the Minister of Rites, this civil servant, who always regarded himself as an upright official, was writing furiously at his desk.

Seeing the black-clad Jinyiwei breaking in, the brush in his hand fell onto the rice paper with a "click", and the ink spread out like a hideous ghost face.

"Sir Wang." Zhao Yu stepped into the study, his boots treading over scattered official documents. "Excuse me."

Wang Xinde pretended to be calm and straightened his clothes. "What do you mean, Commander Zhao? I have always..."

Before he finished speaking, a muffled "bang" suddenly came from behind the bookshelf.

A Jinyiwei kicked over the treasure box and shook out several letters with intact wax seals from the secret compartment.

Zhao Yu picked up the top seal with two fingers and saw the phoenix seal of the Tang Dynasty clearly stamped on the seal.

"Unfair! This must be a frame-up!"

Wang Xinde's face turned pale as he rushed forward to snatch it, but was hit hard on the knee by the Xiuchun sword sheath, and fell to his knees with a thud.

With his hair disheveled, he raised his head and shouted, "I have never colluded with the enemy! Anyone can enter this study on weekdays."

Zhao Yu slowly opened the letter and glanced at the words at the beginning: "Personally written by Wang Xinde, the Minister of War of the Tang Dynasty". Suddenly, he sneered and stepped on Wang Xinde's right hand as he tried to tear up the letter.

Amidst the sound of bones cracking, he leaned over and whispered in the man's ear, "Does Lord Wang know? This letter is written on Xuelang paper, specially supplied by the Tang Dynasty court."

Bloodstained fingers twisted a corner of the paper: "There's gold thread mixed in the interlayer."

"Drag him to the Imperial Prison."

Zhao Yu pushed away the tearful official and let him be dragged along, leaving long bloody marks on the blue brick floor.

"Remember to cool his hands with ice, so that Master Zhou won't lose his grip on the pen when he signs his name later."

As night fell, the search continued.

Zhao Yu stood on the city wall, overlooking the lights of thousands of homes in Kyoto with a cold look in his eyes.

Although today's search did not directly find the murderer who assassinated the retired emperor, it uncovered many officials who harbored evil intentions.

"I'm afraid your majesty wants more than just the murderer!" he whispered to himself.

In the distance, another mansion was on fire and the sound of fighting could be heard faintly.

The sky in Kyoto has completely changed.