After being exiled with her husband and children, she returned with great power to rule the world

Just as everyone was thinking about this, a minister in a scarlet robe stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that Prime Minister Bao's words are reasonable, but the people sent to Guangzhou must be carefully selected to prevent anyone from taking this opportunity to distort the facts."

Emperor Zhao nodded slightly, his eyes swept over the ministers, and he said in a deep voice, "Then, in your opinion, who should we send?"

The minister thought for a moment and replied, "I recommend Lord Li, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple. He is upright and has solved countless cases. He will definitely find out the truth."

Rong Taigong sneered at this time: "Humph! Lord Li may be fair, but this matter involves so many people that I'm afraid he can't handle it alone."

Rong Taigong thought to himself: Li Shaoqing of the Dali Temple is originally a party of the prince. If he is sent there, he will definitely find ways to cover up for the prince. How can he fulfill their wish!

Emperor Zhao frowned and fell into deep thought.

Emperor Zhao turned his gaze to Rong Taigong and suddenly asked, "Taigong, what do you think about this?"

Rong Taigong hurriedly stepped forward and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I believe this unusual phenomenon and thunderous punishment are far from ordinary! Perhaps a heinous crime has occurred here, irritating both heaven and man. We must thoroughly investigate and make the truth known to the public to appease the people."

Grandpa Rong knew that this was a great opportunity. Once something happened to He Hong, the prince would inevitably be implicated. The emperor was already dissatisfied and disgusted with the prince, and was particularly fond of his grandson, the eldest prince. If the prince could be made to bear the bad reputation in this incident, and then they could cleverly blame the responsibility of the thunder punishment on the prince, it would inevitably cause panic among the people.

Once the prince loses the support of the people, it won't be long before he is deposed.

Emperor Zhao nodded slightly in agreement.

"What you two ministers say is quite reasonable, but I wonder who would be the most appropriate person to send to Guangzhou to investigate this matter?"

Prime Minister Bao spoke quickly, almost without hesitation, "Your Majesty, to appease the people and demonstrate the court's resolve, I believe it would be most appropriate to send the Crown Prince personally. This would demonstrate his resolve to thoroughly investigate the truth, and would also silence the public, letting the people know that the Crown Prince cares deeply about the country."

Rong Taigong immediately retorted, "Prime Minister Bao, what do you mean? The Crown Prince is of noble status, a child of royal rank. How could he so easily set foot in such a place filled with unknown dangers? Moreover, if anything were to happen along the way, who would bear the responsibility? I believe it is best to send the First Prince. He is wise and intelligent, and has experience in handling important matters. He will surely live up to Your Majesty's expectations."

Prime Minister Bao snorted coldly, "Emperor Rong, do you have ulterior motives? The eldest prince is kind, but this incident happened in the Crown Prince's jurisdiction after all. If the Crown Prince doesn't go in person, he'll inevitably be accused of shirking responsibility."

Rong Taigong's face darkened. "Prime Minister Bao, you are slandering me! I am solely concerned about the interests of the court, so how could I have any selfish motives? It is you who blindly favors the Crown Prince, and that is the one who has selfish motives, isn't it?"

Prime Minister Bao glared at him and said, "Emperor Rong, please stop lying! I am loyal to the Emperor and have absolutely no selfish motives."

In the court, the two factions argued endlessly and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Zhao slammed the throne and said, "Shut up! This is disgraceful!"

All the ministers fell silent and dared not say anything more.

Several ministers had different expressions as they watched coldly as Prime Minister Bao and Lord Rong, the two enemies, confronted each other fiercely in front of the emperor, using harsh words and neither of them giving in.

Prime Minister Bao's eyes were sharp, and every word he said was full of deep meaning, in an attempt to gain an advantage in this dispute.

Rong Taigong also did not back down, he was imposing and argued with reason.

Emperor Zhao sat high on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed, his eyes shifting between Prime Minister Bao and Rong Taigong, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

Just as everyone was speculating about what decision Emperor Zhao would make, no one expected that he would be so ingenious as to let his personal eunuch serve as an imperial envoy to investigate the controversial matter.

The atmosphere above the court hall was solemn.

The ministers whispered to each other, discussing the emperor's unexpected decision.

Some believed that the emperor intended to suppress the power of the prime minister and the grandfather, while others thought that this was just a temporary expedient measure of the emperor.

But in any case, this decision made the situation in the court even more confusing.

The news quickly reached the prince's ears like a gust of wind. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, and the air around him seemed to freeze.

When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with determination, and that gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the thick fog and reach the unknown future.

That night, the He Mansion in Guangzhou was silent, as if shrouded in a thick haze.

After He Hong finished reading the letter in his hand, his face instantly became extremely dejected, as if all his energy and spirit had been drained away at once, and he was like a body without a soul.

"Master, the prince is safe and sound this time, but what should we do now?" The aide standing aside said with doubt in his voice, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes fixed on He Hong's face.

He Hong raised his head, his face full of bitterness like the fallen leaves in late autumn. "So what if I'm safe and sound? I'm afraid my time as the prefect of Guangzhou is coming to an end." His voice trembled with deep despair.

The aide felt very strange and rubbed his hands together unconsciously. He said, "The master sent people to investigate, but they came back and said it was just an ordinary mountain collapse. There was nothing unusual at the scene. This is really puzzling! It was clearly a gold mine, how could it disappear out of thin air? Is there something strange going on here that we don't know about?"

He Hong let out a long sigh, and the sigh seemed to come from the depths of his soul. "Even if there was no gold mine, the royal family would definitely hold me accountable for such a huge thunder punishment in order to give an explanation to the people of the world. You go down and make arrangements first! There is no escape this time." His eyes were empty, as if he had already seen his tragic end.

At this moment, He Hong was filled with regret, and his heart was in turmoil. He thought to himself: If I had not taken sides too early, had not been blinded by the temporary interests, and had remained sober and neutral, I would not have ended up in such a tragic situation today.

Now I am stuck in this quagmire and can't extricate myself. I really regret it! It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in this world. One wrong step leads to another. Now I can only leave it to fate.

After receiving the order, the aide turned around and left in a hurry.

As the door closed gently, the room fell into silence, leaving He Hong alone.

He sat there quietly like a sculpture, his eyes closed, but the thoughts in his mind were like the sea at high tide, one wave higher than the other. Those complicated thoughts, unresolved problems and possible situations in the future were intertwined in his mind, making him feel extremely heavy and anxious.

At this moment, there was a sudden rapid and loud knock on the door. The sudden sound broke the original tranquility in the house and shocked He Hong's heart. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing a hint of astonishment and uneasiness in his eyes. Then he slowly stood up and walked towards the door with slightly heavy steps.

When he reached out to grasp the door handle, turned it gently and opened the door, he saw a yamen runner standing outside the door with a panicked look on his face.

The yamen runner was panting, his hands trembling as he handed an expedited document to He Hong.

He Hong subconsciously reached out and took the document. His fingers felt slightly cold, and the moment he touched the paper, an ominous premonition came to his mind.

He took a deep breath, tried to calm his inner turmoil, and then carefully unfolded the document.

However, with just one glance, his face suddenly turned as pale as paper, without a trace of blood. The hand that was originally holding the document began to tremble involuntarily, as if what he was holding in his hand was not an ordinary letter, but a bomb that was about to explode.