General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

in the hall.

The ministers were delighted to see that the emperor, who had been frowning for several days, was finally in a good mood and came to court happily.

"Father, is there some joyous occasion today?" The Third Prince, Chen Chengfeng, was the first to ask.

The Emperor nodded: "Yes, there is good news."

"Father, please tell us what good news you have, so we can share in your joy."

"Hmm." The Emperor said, "Yesterday I received an urgent memorial from the General of the State, saying that the matter of the trip to Longcheng has been completely resolved. The plague has been brought under control, the rebels have been quelled, and the army will soon return to the capital."

"Oh, this is wonderful."

The ministers all smiled and whispered among themselves.

"General Zhenguo truly deserves to be called our God of War of Nanyue."

"Yes, it feels like we've never lost a battle with General Zhenguo around."

"Alright." The Emperor's smile faded. "Although we have won a great victory this time, the General of the State mentioned other things in his letter to me."

The court fell silent instantly, everyone waiting for the emperor to continue.

The emperor scanned the court with his old, somewhat cloudy but still sharp eyes.

The Third Prince's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Where is Wang Liang, the Vice Minister of Revenue?" the Emperor asked, his tone unfriendly.

"Your subject is here." Upon hearing his name called, Wang Liang quickly stepped forward and knelt down.

Without uttering a single wasted word, the Emperor went straight to the point: "Guards, remove the peacock feather from his head! Take him to the dungeon and await further judgment!"

"!"

The Third Prince gasped.

"Yes!" Several imperial guards entered and immediately took Wang Liang away.

The incident happened so suddenly that it wasn't until the Imperial Guards pulled him up that Wang Liang suddenly realized what had happened and immediately cried out, "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

But no matter how much he shouted, he couldn't change the fact that he was imprisoned.

What's happening?

The sudden change in atmosphere in the imperial court left everyone bewildered.

It is said that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; no one knows why an emperor who is happy one second might suddenly start arresting people without explanation the next.

Only the Third Prince remained calm, exchanging a glance with Jiang Qianzhong as he turned his head.

The Second Prince Chen Chengwu, who had been observing him closely, did not miss this action, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

"Hmph!" The Emperor snorted coldly.

"If it weren't for General Zhenguo's visit, I would never have known that Cui Zhi, the Prefect of Longcheng, colluded with Wang Liang, the Vice Minister of Revenue, to embezzle seven or eight tenths of the disaster relief funds that our court sent to Longcheng last year!"

"What! So many!" The emperor's words immediately caused astonishment among the court officials.

The second prince immediately understood; no wonder the third prince's face looked so grim earlier.

As the Vice Minister of Revenue, he was naturally on the same side as the Minister of Revenue, meaning he was one of Chen Chengfeng's men.

What was originally just an ordinary disaster relief effort involving a few corrupt officials became entirely different once it involved factional struggles within the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, in the past few decades, our dynasty has never seen a case of such a huge amount of embezzlement, especially since it involved disaster relief funds. I beg Your Majesty to punish this person severely as a warning to others!"

The Second Prince's men will not let this opportunity pass them by.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Thinking about it this way, could it be that the officials in Longcheng embezzled all the disaster relief funds, causing the people to not feel the court's blessings and Your Majesty's grace, which ultimately led them to rebel?"

"What Lord Zhao says makes sense. If that's the case, then doesn't that mean Cui Zhi, Wang Liang, and the others directly caused this rebellion?"

The matter of establishing an heir is now urgent, and the power struggle between the factions of the second and third princes is becoming increasingly fierce.

At this critical juncture, with such a major blunder occurring on the Third Prince's side, this side certainly won't let it go unpunished.

"Not only that, Your Majesty. I believe a thorough investigation should be conducted. If there are others manipulating Wang Liang, they should also be apprehended. Our Nanyue will never allow such parasites to exist!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qianzhong couldn't stand it anymore. He said that Wang Liang's superiors could just give him their ID numbers.

"Your Majesty, I know nothing about Wang Liang's actions. Please, Your Majesty, be wise."

Regardless of whether it's true or false, at least we have to say it.

As soon as he spoke, the ministers on the Third Prince's side also chimed in.

"Your Majesty, I believe that since the General Who Protects the Nation has not yet returned and the situation is still unclear, we should first imprison Wang Liang."

"Your Majesty, we should wait for the general to return and explain the details of the matter before making a decision."

"Lord Li and Lord Xue are right. Your Majesty may wish to hand this matter over to the Ministry of Justice, and then conduct a thorough investigation once the general brings back the evidence."

The Third Prince's men tried to save him.

There was immediate opposition from the Second Prince's side, since the Ministry of Justice was also under the Third Prince's control.

"Your Majesty, I find this inappropriate. The amount of money involved in this case is so large, and the actions of Wang Liang and others are so heinous. I believe Your Majesty should personally investigate this case to alert all officials."

In the imperial court, everyone was talking at once, and it looked like they were about to start fighting again.

"Alright!" the Emperor said, having long anticipated this scene.

"I have already made up my mind about this matter, so you should stop talking about it."

Have you already made plans?

Everyone fell silent instantly.

Someone asked, "How does Your Majesty intend to handle this matter?"

The Emperor spoke slowly but with an undeniable air of authority: "This matter is of utmost importance and must not be left unresolved. Since it was discovered by the General of the State, he must possess the most complete evidence. Therefore, this matter will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for processing. When the General of the State returns, he will also participate in the case and jointly supervise the trial."

The Emperor's words seemed impartial, but even if they were, no one dared to refute them.

The ministers exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Father, I wish to request to be present to oversee the trial." Suddenly, the Second Prince made his request.

"Oh?" The Emperor was a little surprised. His second son, who usually seemed lukewarm, had actually taken the initiative to make a request today.

"Why do you want to supervise the trial?" the Emperor asked.

The Third Prince, Chen Chengfeng, was taken aback.

"That's right, Second Brother, why did you supervise the trial? Do you not trust the Ministry of Justice or the General Zhenguo?"

We absolutely must not let them get involved in this.

Chen Chengwu had anticipated their question, and he answered:

“Father, I believe that the root cause of this matter lies in the lax supervision within our court. As a prince, I have many officials under my command. If I were to participate in the trial, it would serve two purposes: firstly, it would demonstrate to the world that the court takes this case very seriously; secondly, after reviewing the case, I could return and speak with my superiors, so that everyone can learn from this experience.”

His argument was logical and well-founded, and there was no way to refute it.

"Hmm." The Emperor nodded after listening. "That makes a lot of sense. You may go as well."

The third prince gritted his teeth:

"Father, I want to go too."

"Alright." This time, the Emperor agreed without waiting for his reason. "Perfect, both of you go and keep an eye on things for me."

"Yes! We will obey the Emperor's decree!" the two replied in unison.