Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Today, the Sword Tower has been struck by a thunderclap from the ground.

Two hundred and twenty-four officials of various ranks suddenly arrived together and gathered in the city lord's hall. Reports impeaching Zhou Qingfeng, the deputy commander of the Censorate, were sent to the First Lady's desk like snowflakes.

The reports from the 224 officials were largely the same, all accusing Zhou Qingfeng of misconduct in the Censorate, colluding with cronies, ruthlessly eliminating dissidents, and plotting a rebellion.

Upon closer inspection, these officials discovered that none of them were officials from the Fifth Division of the Plum Blossom Bureau. Neither Luo Bingyi nor Zhai Xingyuan showed up, avoiding giving others a handle to use against them and being labeled as insubordinates.

After all, in the strictly regulated Sword Tower, regardless of the truthfulness of the accusation, publicly accusing a superior official to the highest authority is considered insubordination and is directly regarded as a sign of disloyalty and disrespect for authority.

Even if the lawsuit is successful and the problem is resolved, one's future prospects will come to a standstill, and promotion will become extremely difficult.

However, none of the 224 officials had any superior-subordinate relationship with the Fifth Division's Plum Blossom Division. If they jointly sued Zhou Qingfeng, then there would be no concern about being penalized for breaking the rules in this game of power.

They could even launch a fierce attack on Zhou Qingfeng with righteous indignation and the banner of justice.

"We implore the city lord to severely punish Zhou Qingfeng!" the two hundred and twenty-four officials shouted in unison, without stopping for a moment.

The inner courtyard of the city lord's mansion, the waterside garden, and the council pavilion.

The assistant commanders remained silent, some gloating, some watching with amusement, and some with worry. They could all see that the Luo family gang was going to deal with Zhou Qingfeng, and they were going to do it to the death, leaving no room for maneuver.

The joint lawsuit filed by hundreds of officials against Zhou Qingfeng has caused such a huge uproar in public, and there must be a result.

However, one thing still surprised the assistant commanders: the power that the Luo family gang had cultivated over the years was indeed beyond their expectations. Even if they were to switch places with Zhou Qingfeng, they probably would not be able to escape unscathed.

The First Lady reclined on her throne, casually dressed in a white and gold nightgown, holding a memorial to read. After finishing one, she ordered Qiu Chengde, who was waiting ten paces away, to hand over all the memorials to the assistant commander present.

As she read, the First Lady found it tedious and lost interest. She casually tossed the report onto the desk, beckoned, and Qiu Chengde, understanding her meaning, distributed hundreds of reports to the various assistant commanders.

The First Lady, however, walked slowly to the observation deck with her hands behind her back and her bare feet, feeding the fish and enjoying the view.

The assistant commanders stood quietly in front of the table, reading through the reports one by one.

Half an hour later, Qiu Chengde glanced around, then turned to look at the observation deck. He saw the First Lady wave her hand without turning her head, indicating that they could begin.

Seeing this, Qiu Chengde slowly spoke: "Today, two hundred and twenty-four officials at various levels have filed a complaint against Commander Zhou for abusing his power, eliminating dissidents, colluding with cronies, and plotting a rebellion. What do you commanders think?"

With these words, the agenda for today was set. The next step was for each of the advisors to express their opinions and discuss a concrete plan to quell this huge storm.

The assistant commander coughed twice and took the lead in offering his advice, stating his position: "I believe there is no smoke without fire. Since so many officials have jointly filed a lawsuit against Assistant Commander Zhou, there must be a factual basis for it."

"If the city lord turns a blind eye and a deaf ear, it will inevitably cause huge negative consequences."

"We might as well suspend Zhou Fushuai from his position as deputy commander first, and then send someone to investigate the details."

"At that time, the truth will be revealed through investigation."

Upon seeing this, Liangyue immediately followed up, saying, "The words of Liangyue are reasonable."

Xingyao's assistant commander echoed, "I second that."

The assistant coach present remained unfazed upon hearing this, showing no surprise.

It was expected that the three assistant commanders, Sun, Moon and Star, would take the opportunity to punish Zhou Qingfeng and suppress the arrogance and power of the younger generation. After all, they would never let such an opportunity pass them by.

Ma Dalang crossed his arms and hid them in his sleeves, saying indifferently, "I disagree."

The assistant commander, who was known for his sharp tongue, stared at Ma Dalang and said, "What brilliant ideas does Assistant Commander Ma have?"

Ma Dalang said righteously, "I don't have any profound insights, I just feel that this matter is very strange. Everyone knows that the fourth son is my mother's favorite child and the leader of the new generation of my family."

"However, some people deliberately made a fuss about the fourth prince. Two hundred and twenty-four officials at various levels filed a lawsuit against him at the same time. Haha, what a coincidence. I think they were acting under someone's orders and had been secretly colluding to plot something wicked."

"I suggest we investigate who is behind these officials." Ma Dalang changed the subject, avoiding the main issue and not mentioning Lao Si's problem at all. In short, even if Lao Si had a problem, in his eyes, there was nothing wrong with him.

He seized every opportunity to win over the fourth son, and he wasn't afraid that his mother would suspect him of trying to steal his son away, because what his mother liked most was for her children to be united, loving, and respectful to each other.

It's normal to lend a helping hand or speak up for your younger brother when he's in trouble, especially since he's the older brother.

The Sun-Shooting Assistant Commander glared and said, "Assistant Commander Ma, you must speak with evidence. Zhou Qingfeng's behavior was improper, which is why officials impeached him. Now, instead of investigating Zhou Qingfeng's problems, we are investigating these officials who dared to speak out and report. Isn't that chilling people's hearts? If this continues, who in Sword Tower will dare to speak the truth?"

Disagreements and arguments are inevitable.

The council chamber quickly became extremely noisy. Everyone had their own reasons and arguments, and the two sides argued fiercely, spitting and shouting at each other until they were almost about to start cursing.

The veteran faction's attitude was clear: they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to punish Zhou Qingfeng, seize his power, and weaken his influence.

The younger generation, led by Ma Dalang, charged forward, taking on three opponents single-handedly without being at a disadvantage.

On the other hand, Zhou Qingfeng remained as calm as a rock, drinking tea and watching the show in his mansion, listening to the latest news from his subordinates, not in a hurry at all, just waiting for the final result of the discussion.

After all, his mother had made arrangements in advance, and his master had also given him advance notice. His master and mother were backing him up. So what if all the officials impeached him? Could they really send him to the guillotine?

Suddenly, Zhiqi rushed into the mansion to report: "Young Master, according to news from the City Lord's Mansion, 224 officials of various ranks are kneeling and shouting like a tsunami, demanding that the City Lord severely punish the Young Master. The assistant commanders are discussing how to deal with the Young Master in the council hall, but no clear result has been reached yet."

Zhou Qingfeng sat in the pavilion in the back garden, wearing a black bathrobe with red trim, his bare feet reclining on the seat, holding a cup of lychee black tea in one hand and reading "The Survival Story of the Borderland" in the other.

Upon hearing the report from Zhiqi, Zhou Qingfeng calmly hummed in response and casually turned a page.

Upon seeing this, the man holding the implement immediately bowed his head and took his leave.

Time flies like an arrow, and before we knew it, it was evening.

The advisors in the council had already reached a decision: Zhou Qingfeng would be suspended from his post, and a special team would be dispatched to investigate and verify the matter. If the allegations were true, he would be punished according to the rules.

However, when the report on the outcome was presented to the First Lady, she glanced at it and ordered Qiu Chengde to send the report to the Council Building verbatim, without any modifications or replies.

Qiu Chengde calmly said, "I would like to trouble you all to stay here and discuss this matter for the rest of the night. We will report back tomorrow. Madam is already asleep. I hope that you all can reach a result that satisfies Madam before dawn tomorrow."