After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

"Bang!" Inside Shangyang Palace, porcelain cups shattered on the ground.

"Yeah!"

"What a fine Baili family!"

Lu Jian was so angry that his whole body trembled.

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review exchanged a glance and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

"We are merely speculating, and have no concrete evidence." The moment they lowered their heads, they appeared solemn and cautious, but in reality, they were all secretly laughing.

"What further evidence is needed!" Lu Jian's expression, as seen by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was practically a confession that the witnesses had been abducted by the Baili family.

But then I thought about it again. The Baili family is a noble family with deep roots and a powerful clan. Even if there were evidence, let alone no evidence, we can't easily touch Baili Ming.

So all I could do was yell at them, "What are you two good for?!"

"How could a perfectly good witness just disappear?!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, regarding the disappearance of the witness, I have leads and will have results soon, but..."

Lu Jianying's brows furrowed slightly. "But what?"

"The Baili family has many powerful connections in the capital and is well-informed. What if someone..."

The meaning is self-evident.

"Hmph," Lu Jian sneered, his hands behind his back.

"Can the power and prestige be compared to the wrath of thunder?"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review bowed again, saying, "I am not even one ten-thousandth as good as the Emperor."

That's good. Lu Jian's brows visibly relaxed a little.

"Yellow Gate Attendant"

"I am here"

"By imperial decree, the deaths and injuries of the people in the three cities are highly suspicious, Baili Ce's whereabouts are unknown, and Baili Ming, as the eldest sister, cannot shirk her responsibility."

"Therefore, from this day forward, all members of the Baili clan shall be detained in the mansion until the truth is revealed, at which point a decision will be made."

"Yes!"

The voice of the Imperial Attendant was filled with barely suppressed excitement as he received the imperial decree.

After the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review left, Lu Jian sat on the dragon throne looking exhausted.

A moment later, the censor came out from the side door behind him.

"Your Majesty, your hand?"

Lu Jian raised his right hand and saw a cut on the inside.

It wasn't deep, but the edge of the inner sleeve was already stained red.

He covered the wound with "It's nothing," but he was genuinely angry just now.

However, he was not angry at Baili Shi, but rather at the fact that his court was full of corrupt officials.

The censor presented the transcript, saying, "Please review it, Your Majesty."

Lu Jian took it and looked at it... feeling much relieved.

He closed the booklet, glanced at it, and asked, "What are your thoughts, sir?"

The censor knelt upright, declaring, "Severe punishment without leniency."

Lu Jian remained silent.

This Xue Fengshi was poached from the Investigation Department.

He discovered some of the clues in the He family case; he was a troublesome character who even Lin Yuchuan found difficult to deal with.

Xue Fengshi pleaded again, "Your Majesty..."

Hardening his heart, he disregarded whether it was offensive or not, and said, "If Your Majesty does not agree, then grant me permission to resign and retire!"

Lu Jian chuckled, "How old are you? You resign from your post so easily."

But he put on a very kind and easygoing appearance.

After all, this person is truly fearless.

He reached out and looked down, as if to help but not to, and said, "My dear minister, please rise."

"..." Xue Fengshi hesitated for a moment, then stood up.

Seeing his face full of resentment, Lu Jian calmly advised, "Please believe me, Feng Shi, that I despise these parasites even more than you do when I sit in this position."

"However, the national disease has been long-standing. To cure it completely, we must find out its source before we can eradicate it in one fell swoop."

"Otherwise, if the main beam collapses and there is no replacement pillar, it will be a catastrophic disaster."

Xue Fengshi thought for a moment... and finally believed Lu Jian's words, "Yes."

However, he still had some questions: "Excuse my bluntness, but what about the witnesses?"

He stated bluntly, "It was I who sent people to abduct them."

Xue Fengshi's eye twitched slightly. "Were those people causing a ruckus outside the capital's government office also arranged by His Majesty?"

"Yes, that's obvious."

He just wanted to bring those forces that colluded with the He family to the surface; he didn't really want to fall out with the Baili family.

"Then why did His Majesty appoint the Yellow Gate Attendant..."

Lu Jian was as sincere as a white flower, "I just don't want Baili Ming to have an easy time."

Even the emperor himself went into the water to fight, so why should anyone else be able to watch the show from the shore?

Xue Fengshi, “…”

......

No sooner had Baili Ming left than the decree for his detention was issued.

All exits of Baili Prefecture, including dog holes and drainage ditches, were heavily guarded.

Fortunately, the household's food supplies are delivered regularly by designated personnel, and there are also supplies stored in the cellar, so there won't be a shortage of food in the short term.

"Young Miss, please have some tea," Feng Deng said, while secretly observing Baili Ming to see if she was injured.

He picked up the ginseng tea and drank it all in one gulp. He wasn't injured, but he was extremely thirsty.

Feng Deng naturally noticed this as well. "Please wait a moment, Miss. This old servant will go and prepare the meal."

"Go and make arrangements for those girls while you're at it."

"I've already sent someone to make arrangements. Would you like to come and pay a visit after dinner?"

"Let's wait a few days."

"Yes, this old servant will take his leave now."

As soon as Fengdeng left, Fenglan arrived. "There are indeed witnesses, but none of them are ordinary people."

"The night before they disappeared, the constable heard fighting sounds, but they wouldn't let him into the house to check."

"Then send someone to bribe someone in jail, so that no one..."

After a moment's thought, Baili Ming changed the subject, "We must save him if anything happens to him."

"Yes"

"Have you found any evidence of witnesses?"

Feng Lan shook her head slightly disappointedly, "However, the people from the Investigation Division went to the Ministry of War today."

"When?"

“Just one hour before you went to the Kyoto government office.”

Bai Liming smiled silently, it was obvious who had done it.

You're getting soaked in the rain, so why should others have an umbrella for you?

"Any news from the young lady?"

Just as Feng Lan was about to say this, "The situation is not good."

"Ok?"

"After being tricked by Lin Yuchuan, and unwilling to give up the people of Sancheng Village, the young lady was eventually taken away by the disguised private army."

"Her~"

"It's been like this since I was little... I want everything, but I can't do anything well."

Although it was a criticism, I was also envious.

Feng Lan automatically ignored the sour tone in his words, "As for the identity of that private soldier, it is still under investigation."

"According to news from the Wang family... it seems they've lost track of them."

Bai Liming frowned slightly, finding it somewhat strange. "Didn't she use the people from Thorn City?"

"It was just a few messages that were passed on," which was also what Fenglan was most worried about.

The chaos outside was beyond their imagination, and it was extremely inappropriate for Baili Ce to put himself in such danger.

just in case......

"That's not a good idea."

For people like them, reputation doesn't really matter, and they're not as obsessed with life and death as people imagine.

The fear is that the other five branches of the Baili family will not let her go.

"How about I go myself?"

What does Wang Qingyan mean?

Seeing that Baili Ming's tone was off, Feng Lan carefully chose her words, "It seems that Patriarch Wang is plotting something."

"However, in my opinion, given how much he cares for the young lady, he shouldn't be neglecting his duties."

It means he didn't manage it.

With care?

Looking out the window at the flowers in the yard, Baili Ming thought, "I'm afraid they have ulterior motives."

......