Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Zheng Luoqi read out the numbers in the ledger word by word.

This Peach Blossom Manor is a manor used by Fan Huai'an to amass wealth. Everyone who wants to enter must first pay one thousand taels of silver before they are allowed to go in.

Once inside, an auction-like event will be held, except that the items being auctioned are Fan Huai'an's own calligraphy and paintings. The highest bidder wins, and each successful bidder gets to meet Fan Huai'an.

Everything was ridiculously expensive; even the cheapest poem sold for two thousand taels.

It's easy to imagine how much money Fan Huai'an has amassed over the years.

Now that there is ample witness testimony and physical evidence, Fan Huai'an has no way to deny it.

Fan Huai'an is now in a panic. He doesn't know anything about the "theatre taking lives" thing, but the fact that he embezzled and committed bribery is true. He did send people to assassinate the prime minister and his son before.

He didn't understand how it suddenly became his own business.

He looked at the Emperor pleadingly: "Your Majesty, this old minister is innocent! This old minister truly knows nothing about this matter!"

"Your Majesty, as a censor of the Censorate, Lord Fan has not set a good example, but has also been corrupt, perverted the law, assassinated a high-ranking official, and amassed a fortune. All of these crimes are supported by conclusive evidence. I urge Your Majesty to order the immediate punishment of the criminal Fan Huai'an," Zheng Yuxiang stepped forward and loudly accused.

The emperor's face was so gloomy it seemed like it was about to drip water. His hand gripped the memorial Zheng Luoqi handed over tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Fan Huai'an was one of the core figures of the imperial power party. For many years, he had been loyal to the emperor in handling various affairs and could be considered the emperor's trusted minister.

If Fan Huai'an were to step down this time, it would undoubtedly be like the emperor losing a powerful right arm, so how could he not be furious?

Seeing that the emperor remained silent, the prime minister spoke again: "Your Majesty, I know that you and Lord Fan have a deep bond of friendship, but Lord Fan has indeed committed a serious crime. Your Majesty must not let this friendship cloud your judgment of right and wrong. That would not be the behavior of a wise ruler. Your Majesty, please immediately order the punishment of Lord Fan to uphold the law."

The emperor remained silent, only slightly furrowing his brow, as if deep in thought.

Seeing this, the Prime Minister added fuel to the fire.

"Lord Fan's actions have aroused public outrage. If he is not punished, I fear that more officials will follow suit. In this way, the court will be in chaos, people will be in fear, and the people will lose trust in the court. If all officials become like Lord Fan, wouldn't our Great Xia Kingdom be in grave danger? I will seek justice for the Prime Minister's Office, and Lord Fan must also give an explanation to the Prime Minister's Office and to the people of the world."

The emperor raised his head and gave the prime minister and his son a deep look, his eyes revealing anger, hesitation, and struggle.

Dealing with Fan Huai'an this time is no easy task for him. After all, Fan Huai'an has always been one of his closest ministers. If he is not handled properly, he may not only lose a capable minister, but also cause dissatisfaction in the court and the public, and even shake the stability of the court.

However, the evidence against Fan Huai'an was irrefutable. Embezzlement and corruption were already serious crimes, and assassinating an official of the imperial court was an even greater crime. There was no way to exonerate him.

Zheng Yuxiang's tone was also somewhat angry. He no longer wanted to waste time arguing with the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the evidence of Fan Huai'an's crimes this time is conclusive and too numerous to count. I hope Your Majesty will consider the people of the Great Xia Kingdom and deal with this matter decisively to appease the people's hearts."

The Prime Minister solemnly bowed to the Emperor and shouted, "I beg Your Majesty to order the immediate punishment of Fan Huai'an, strip him of his official post, execute him, exterminate his entire clan (three generations), and exile his remaining six generations to the frontier!"

Zheng Luoqi immediately followed, shouting loudly, "I beg Your Majesty to issue an order to immediately punish Fan Huai'an!"

The other ministers also knelt down, not daring to utter a sound, fearing they would be next. The atmosphere in the council hall was extremely oppressive.

The emperor was silent for a moment, then said in a heavy voice with anger, "Very well...Very well, then let it be as the prime minister says. Take Fan Huai'an away, remove him from his post as censor of the Censorate, execute his entire clan, exile his remaining six clans to the frontier, and execute Fan Huai'an by dismemberment."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, this old minister knows his mistake. Your Majesty, Zheng Yuxiang, you will die a horrible death! You will die a horrible death!" Fan Huai'an continued to curse Zheng Yuxiang even after being dragged away by the guards.

After Fan Huai'an was dealt with, the ministers also withdrew. From the beginning of the investigation into the murder case to Fan Huai'an's punishment, the officials were still in a daze.

How did these two things become related, and how did Fan Huai'an suddenly step down?

The officials were also sweating profusely, and Ye Churan was completely bewildered from the palace to her residence.

Xue Huaiyu, out of consideration for their past relationship as ruler and subject, did not actually execute Fan Huai'an, but gave him a quick death.

The news of Fan Huai'an's family being raided spread quickly to the ears of officials in the capital.

Inside the palace

Since leaving the council hall, Xue Huaiyu had been smashing things and venting his emotions, and the palace servants were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

While smashing things, he cursed Zheng Yuxiang and Zheng Luoqi: "Damn it, damn it, damn Zheng Yuxiang, damn Zheng Luoqi."

Upon hearing that Xue Huaiyu had been smashing things ever since he returned from the council hall, Chen Xianlin rushed over to comfort him.

Chen Xianlin listened quietly to the sounds inside, and only stepped inside when it was completely silent.

"Has His Majesty calmed down?" Chen Xianlin asked softly, looking at the broken porcelain shards scattered on the ground.

Xue Huaiyu looked up at Chen Xianlin, took a breath, and said softly, "Why are you here?"

Chen Xianlin smiled and said, "I saw that the weather was very nice today, so I wanted to come and see His Majesty." She glanced at the broken pieces on the ground and continued, "I just didn't expect His Majesty to be in such a bad mood and to lose his temper like this."

Xue Huaiyu glanced at the broken porcelain shards around him and said with some annoyance, "There are too many broken porcelain shards here. It's dangerous. What if you get hurt!"

Chen Xianlin smiled gently, ordered the palace maids to clean up the fragments, and then walked over to Xue Huaiyu and sat down.

"What is troubling Your Majesty? May I ask?" Chen Xianlin asked gently.

Xue Huaiyu frowned, remained silent for a while, and then slowly said, "Because of the Prime Minister, Lord Fan has stepped down. It was I, I personally ordered his removal."

“This is not the Emperor’s fault,” Chen Xianlin said softly from the side.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Prime Minister's son, Lord Zheng Luoqi, is still unmarried. Why not..." Chen Xianlin was interrupted by Xue Huaiyu before she could finish speaking.

“Even if I were to issue an imperial decree, the Prime Minister would find a way to destroy that marriage alliance,” Xue Huaiyu said, shaking his head.

"But I have heard that Lord Zheng is already twenty-three years old. Although he has countless concubines in his household, none of them have had any children over the years. Moreover, I have heard that the Prime Minister sends a batch of beauties to Zheng Luoqi every month."

"The spies who sent messages back from the Prime Minister's residence almost all gave the same reply: after being favored once, they were kept locked in the backyard and not allowed to move around," Chen Xianlin asked in confusion.

"Doesn't Your Majesty find it strange? Why are they kept locked up like this? Is there something the Prime Minister's residence is trying to hide..."