The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

After a while.

Tai Chi Palace.

Chu Xiu stood outside the main hall of Taiji Palace, bowed and said, "Your humble servant Chu Xiu has come to request an audience with Your Majesty."

Because it was already midnight, the main hall of Taiji Palace was already closed.

Apart from matters of national importance, it was unlikely that civil and military officials would easily enter the palace to meet the emperor at this time.

crunch...

The main hall doors slowly opened, and Jiang Wan'er, the female official in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial, stood in front of Chu Xiu, extending her hand to invite him in, saying, "My lord, please come in. His Majesty is already waiting in the main hall."

"Thank you, Lord Jiang."

Chu Xiu thanked Jiang Wan'er and walked into the main hall.

Upon entering the main hall, Chu Xiu saw Empress Murong Si sitting upright before the imperial desk, and Pei Guanyin, the female official in charge of the Imperial Horse Stables, waiting to the side.

Chu Xiu bowed respectfully to Murong Si and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Minister Chu, there's no need for such formalities."

"Minister Chu, what brings you to the palace so late at night?"

Murong Si waved her hand and said to Chu Xiu.

Clearly, Murong Si may have already rested, and the Shadow Guard Commander has not yet reported the matter of Prince Qi, Murong Yu, to Murong Si.

In addition, Chu Xiu surrounded the Qi King's mansion and was about to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Jiang Wan'er and Pei Guanyin were also staring intently at Chu Xiu.

Every time Chu Xiu entered the palace, it was for something extremely important, let alone entering the palace late at night to meet the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have obtained evidence that Prince Qi, Murong Yu, is colluding with the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

Chu Xiu said with a solemn expression.

"Fourth Imperial Brother has indeed colluded with the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

A cold glint flashed in Murong Si's eyes as she said in a cold voice, "Minister Chu, tell me, how did you discover this?"

Chu Xiu immediately recounted in great detail how he had gone to Didao County in Liangzhou and captured Xu Zhan, the leader of the Shimenzhai stronghold.

Of course, he also revealed that he had returned to the capital immediately and surrounded the Qi Prince's mansion, but still managed to let Qi Prince Murong Yu escape from the capital.

"Hmph, it seems that the Fourth Prince had already guessed that he might be exposed, so he left the capital in advance."

"Jiang Wan'er, issue the order to put out a manhunt for Murong Yu throughout our entire Great Zhou Dynasty!"

"A thousand gold pieces will be awarded to anyone who discovers Murong Yu's whereabouts, and a marquis will be made whoever captures Murong Yu alive!"

Murong Si said with a chilling murderous aura.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Wan'er said with utmost respect.

"Your Majesty, what should be done with the guards, maids, and servants of the Prince Qi's residence?"

After considering for a moment, Chu Xiu asked Murong Si.

"Although the guards of Prince Qi's mansion were sent to the Ministry of Justice prison, they were still under the jurisdiction of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who would investigate whether any of Murong Yu's direct subordinates were involved."

"All members of Murong Yu's direct lineage shall be killed without mercy!"

"I would rather kill the wrong person than let him go!"

"No problem, send him to the Beijing Garrison and make him a member of the garrison."

Murong Si said without changing her expression, "As for the maids and servants, give them a sum of money to dismiss them."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's face showed admiration as he spoke.

Logically speaking, if Prince Qi Murong Yu colluded with the Heavenly Demon Sect, and all the guards, maids, and servants of Prince Qi's mansion were killed, no one would say anything.

However, Murong Si did not do that. She only purged any potential members of Murong Yu's faction from the royal guards. The rest could become members of the capital garrison, and the maids and servants were given money to be dismissed.

This already shows true magnanimity.

"Minister Chu, is there anything else?"

Murong Si waved her sleeve and said.

"Besides these two matters, Minister Chu will also go to the palace to meet His Majesty and apologize."

"Your Majesty, I did not foresee that Murong Yu would escape in advance. Please punish me."

Chu Xiu bowed to Murong Si and said solemnly.

"Minister Chu, this matter is not your problem, it has nothing to do with you."

"Moreover, you have obtained evidence that Murong Yu colluded with the Heavenly Demon Sect to plot a rebellion, which is a great achievement. I will remember it for you."

Murong Si pondered for a moment, then looked at Chu Xiu and said, "I will reward you for all your merits later."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

Chu Xiu thanked Murong Si for her kindness.

"Where are the Shadow Guards?!"

Murong Si nodded slightly and said in an icy tone.

Swish!

The commander of the Shadow Guards appeared in the main hall, knelt down before Murong Si, and said in a low but powerful voice, "It is the fault of my Shadow Guards for their ineffective supervision. I beg Your Majesty to punish them."

"I will not punish you this time, but if there is a next time, your position as the commander of the Shadow Guard can be replaced."

Murong Si looked indifferently at the Shadow Guard Commander and spoke.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."

The Shadow Guard Commander breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Murong Si.

Murong Si rose gracefully and strode out of the main hall, heading towards the sleeping quarters in the rear hall of the Taiji Palace.

"Farewell to Your Majesty."

Seeing Murong Si leave, Chu Xiu bowed and then turned and left the main hall of Taiji Palace.

The Shadow Guard Commander moved and disappeared from the main hall.

After leaving the main hall of Taiji Palace, Chu Xiu left the palace and headed towards the Marquis of Champion's residence.

The matter has now been resolved. As for the confiscation of the Qi Prince's mansion and the captured guards, maids, and servants, there is no need to rush to deal with them in the Ministry of Justice prison. They can be dealt with tomorrow.

The deepest part of the Prince of Yan's mansion.

In a pavilion.

Prince Murong Jian of Yan was holding a book and reading it.

Swish!

A man in black appeared out of thin air and bowed respectfully to Murong Jian, saying, "Your Highness, news has arrived from the Qi Prince's residence."

"Oh?"

Murong Jian put down the book in his hand, looked at the man in black, and said calmly, "Has Fourth Brother already run away?"

"Your Highness is wise. Prince Qi left quietly with his wife and the experts of the Prince Qi's mansion at the beginning of the twilight hour."

"Moreover, it wasn't just them; the Prince of Qi also left with the three commanders of the Prince's Palace Guard and three thousand elite guards."

The man in black answered without hesitation.

"Fourth brother, aren't you clever? You sensed the danger beforehand, so you ran away in advance."

"To say you're not smart is an understatement. You actually went so far as to expose your collusion with the Heavenly Demon Sect in an attempt to seize the Killing Blade Manual and Killing Blade Formation from the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Murong Jian sighed and said softly.

Clearly, Murong Jian already knew why Chu Xiu had surrounded the entire Qi Prince's mansion.

The man in black kept his head down and remained silent.

"Okay, step back."

Murong Jian waved to the man in black and said.

"Yes, I am resigning."

The man in black bowed and disappeared from the spot.

"Fourth brother, you probably wouldn't believe it, but I also have some connection with the Heavenly Demon Sect, would you?"

"But I'm not like you, I'm not that stupid."

"The Heavenly Demon Sect can be used, but we must not get too deeply involved, and we must not reveal that we have any connection with them whatsoever."

After watching the man in black leave, Murong Jian's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and a playful look appeared on his face as he said, "Your stupidest move was supporting the Qitian Chamber of Commerce."

Everyone knows that the Qitian Chamber of Commerce is related to the Tianyao Sect, yet you still stand up for the Qitian Chamber of Commerce.

From that moment on, you were destined to fail.