Only after being reborn did I realize that I was the white moonlight of a powerful minister.

Even before arriving in Huaizhou, Xie Bohuai had arranged for someone else to mobilize troops from the nearby area.

He served as commander in the town government for so many years; he didn't become commander for nothing.

Originally, Meng Feichi had more men than Xie Bohuai, but now that a group of soldiers had arrived, Meng Feichi knew he was doomed.

"Tell me, how did you manage to scheme against me?" Xie Bohuai looked at Meng Feichi, who was kneeling down.

Meng Feichi remained silent. At this moment, someone brought Jiang Zongping, along with the two children that Meng Feichi had raised in Jiang Zongping's residence.

"The Jiang family in the capital is on good terms with Prince Hui. Is it because of Prince Hui?" Xie Bohuai went to see Jiang Zongping.

Jiang Zongping knelt on the ground, trembling violently. "My lord, I don't understand what you're saying."

"Are you genuinely ignorant, or are you pretending? You can intimidate most people, but there are still some who tell the truth," Xie Bohuai said.

Huaizhou City was so big that when Xie Bohuai looked at Jiang Zongping and then at Meng Feichi, his gaze was as if he were looking at two dead men.

Jiang Zongping still refused to speak, and Xie Bohuai's gaze lingered on Meng Feichi. "You are, after all, a member of the Zhenfu Division. Even if Jiang Zongping threatened you, you would have found a way to escape. But you are using my name to bully others. Is it really just because you are greedy?"

"It has nothing to do with me!" Jiang Zongping shouted. "It really has nothing to do with me, Lord Xie. You must investigate this thoroughly. I really don't know what happened."

Minister Zhou couldn't help but say, "As the local official, how could you not know what's going on? Two taels of silver per mu of land, how could you even think of that? Jiang Zongping, do you know that what you're doing will kill people!"

If there is no harvest for a year, at least 30% of the people will starve to death.

Minister Zhou took a deep breath; he was still recovering.

Jiang Zongping trembled all over, but he still refused to confess. It wasn't until someone brought the little beggar's body and other people acted as witnesses that Meng Feichi finally nodded and admitted his guilt.

"Yes, I was bewitched and couldn't resist the temptation," Meng Feichi said, head down.

"Alright, since you've admitted what you did, then let me ask you, who gave you permission to do these things using my name?" Xie Bohuai used the hilt of his sword to lift Meng Feichi's head, making Meng Feichi look into his eyes.

“There’s no one here; it was my own idea,” Meng Feichi said.

Upon hearing Meng Feichi's confession, Jiang Zongping knew he couldn't hide it any longer and immediately shifted the blame, saying, "Lord Xie, Minister Zhou, it was Meng Feichi who threatened me. He said he was doing this on Lord Xie's orders. How could I dare offend Lord Xie? I was just following his orders. You must see the truth!"

"If you didn't dare to offend me, you wouldn't have left me hanging on the first night," Xie Bohuai sneered. "Take them all to the dungeon. Meng Feichi, you know the interrogation methods of the Town Government Division. Don't force me to torture you, or you'll wish you were dead."

At this moment, Minister Zhou looked at the little beggar's cold, lifeless body, filled with rage and anger. Just yesterday he was a vibrant, living person, and now he was a cold, lifeless corpse.

Jiang Zongping fainted from fright upon hearing Xie Bohuai describe the methods of the Zhenfu Division.

Meng Feichi remained silent, allowing himself to be taken to the dungeon for interrogation.

Si Yan led a group to search the house and quickly found Meng Feichi and Jiang Zongping's account books from the past few years, thus providing evidence.

Minister Zhou went to the dungeon, but he couldn't stand it and vomited as soon as Xie Bohuai started interrogating him.

"I advise you, Minister, to go outside and wait. You've never seen anything like this before; there's something even more terrifying to come," Xie Bohuai said bluntly.

Minister Zhou eventually waited outside the dungeon. For an hour, he continuously heard the screams of Jiang Zongping and Meng Feichi. When Xie Bohuai came out with the confession, he said that Jiang Zongping had implicated the Jiang family in the capital, while Meng Feichi maintained his original story.

Minister Zhou: "As expected, it's related to the Jiang family in the capital. Sigh, how did people turn out like this?"

“A person cannot remain unchanged while alive,” Xie Bohuai said. “You, Minister, have served as an official for so many years, surely you understand this principle?”

In the past few days, Xie Bohuai has been making a lot of sarcastic remarks to Minister Zhou. Minister Zhou snorted when he heard this, "Xie Bohuai, you really are annoying. You have a sharp tongue. No wonder nobody likes you."

"An official only needs to do good things; why should people like what they do? The matter has been investigated clearly; Minister Zhou should understand, right?" Xie Bohuai asked.

"I understand now, but there's one thing I don't quite understand. Prince Hui was executed long ago, so why is the Jiang family in the capital still opposing you?" Minister Zhou was now clear-headed. "Logically speaking, they should be invisible. It can't really be that they're taking revenge on you for Prince Hui's sake?"

That's highly unlikely. Aristocratic families prioritize the stability of their entire lineage. With Prince Hui dead, there's no chance of a comeback. Since a comeback is impossible, why would the Jiang family still target Xie Bohuai?

As the saying goes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. If there is any deep-seated hatred, one should wait for an opportunity rather than take action at this time.

Minister Zhou felt increasingly uneasy, but Xie Bohuai said, "Minister Zhou, since they sent you to investigate this far, then you know this much. We've been out for many days, it's time for us to go back."

"Xie Bohuai, aren't you curious?" Minister Zhou pressed.

"If you want to know, then go and find out for yourself. It's not like it's my territory, why should I be so sure about everything?" Xie Bohuai snorted coldly, then told Qingshan and the others to pack up; he wanted to go back.

Minister Zhou frowned, pondering this question all the way back.

He thought of the phrase "using someone else's knife to kill someone," but he couldn't think of anyone who would want to use that knife, or if there really was such a stupid person.

In private, when no one else was around, Si Yan also mentioned this matter to his master, "Actually, we'll see some clues once we return to the capital. Shu An has returned to the capital, right? From Shu An's perspective, Minister Zhou is already dead, or rather, he was killed by you. He will definitely incite the Zhou family to file a complaint with the emperor. This is the result the mastermind wants. When he sees that adding fuel to the fire will bring you down, he definitely won't be able to resist."

Si Yan's brain is worth a hundred Qingshan's.

Xie Bohuai hummed in agreement, then asked, "Who do you think it could be?"

"It's hard to say," Si Yan said, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

“That’s true, we’ll find out when we get to the capital,” Xie Bohuai said.

When Xie Bohuai returned to the capital, Shu An, just as they had expected, went back to the Zhou family to accuse Xie Bohuai of plotting to murder Minister Zhou. The Zhou family was furious. Minister Zhou's two sons immediately took Shu An to file a complaint with the emperor. When the emperor met with the Zhou family and heard Shu An's unwavering testimony, complete with the token given to him by Minister Zhou, even if the emperor wanted to speak up for Xie Bohuai, he was no longer able to.

The emperor had no choice but to order the Xie residence to be surrounded and send the crown prince to arrest Xie Bohuai.

Two layers of soldiers surrounded the Xie residence. When Yunzhi and the others saw this, they were so frightened that they couldn't sit still.

Zhe Zhu remained calm and approached Ye Wanning. "Madam, please calm down. If the Lord is truly in trouble, he will surely send word back beforehand. Please eat and drink well. Everyone in the capital knows that the Lord took Minister Zhou to Huaizhou. The Lord wouldn't be so foolish as to kill someone in Huaizhou to cover it up."

Hearing Zhe Zhu say this, Ye Wanning felt a little more at ease. Indeed, Xie Bohuai wouldn't do something so stupid.