"Charge in!"
The Ministry of Justice's Administrative Bureau received a secret order to arrest Zhao Yilu, the Chief Scribe of the Central Secretariat!
Sang Ji, the official in charge of the Administrative Bureau, led his subordinates, kicked open the doors of the Central Secretariat, and rushed in en masse.
With menacing momentum, they were clearly not here for pleasantries.
The officials within the Central Secretariat were startled.
"Presumptuous!"
The Right Grand Censorate Officer, upon hearing the commotion outside, came out to investigate. Seeing the armed men who had stormed into the Central Secretariat, he glared with wide, angry eyes.
Since when could mere cats and dogs run wild within the gates of their Central Secretariat?
Sang Ji straightened his robes, his hand resting on the long saber at his waist. He glanced at the official attire of the other man – Right Grand Censorate Officer, Sixth Rank.
The Administrative Bureau belonged to the Ministry of Justice, which in turn was under the Grand Secretariat. By right, their two departments should have kept to their own affairs. The Central Secretariat was responsible for drafting secret documents and issuing decrees. Even the Minister of Justice would treat the officials of the Central Secretariat with a degree of courtesy. But at this moment, they were carrying out the Emperor's orders. Even with the Grand Secretary presiding, they would not be allowed to flex their official authority in front of them!
"My lord, we've found him!"
A subordinate hurried to Sang Ji's side and whispered into his ear.
Sang Ji nodded. Enduring the furious gaze of the Right Grand Censorate Officer, he raised his hand and waved: "Charge!"
"You, you are simply lawless!"
The Right Grand Censorate Officer stomped his feet in anger. The guards of the Central Secretariat rushed forward. A cold glint flashed in Sang Ji's eyes. He took a imperial token, personally bestowed by His Majesty, from his robes, raised it high above his head, and shouted at the crowd: "This official is here under His Majesty's command to apprehend a wanted criminal. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be killed without mercy!"
The token in his hand struck fear into the hearts of everyone. The Right Grand Censorate Officer's face flushed red, then white, then dark. He clutched his chest, gasping for air.
It was unclear if it was from anger or fear!
"Thump~"
The men from the Administrative Bureau kicked open the door to Zhao Yilu's office and rushed in first.
"My lord!"
The first man to enter rushed to Sang Ji with a grim expression.
Sang Ji's heart sank. He quickly strode into the room. Hanging from the beam directly opposite the door was a person – Chief Scribe Zhao Yilu, who had hanged himself.
Someone brought Zhao Yilu down. Sang Ji touched his body; it was still somewhat warm, indicating he had died within the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep.
That was, within a quarter of an hour.
This meant that after they received the secret order, in the blink of an eye, the news had already leaked.
"Detestable!"
Sang Ji was filled with rage.
He recalled the case of the lost border defense map from the Ministry of War. To this day, his elder brother's whereabouts remained unknown. These damned parasites deserved to be executed by a thousand cuts!
"Take the body away. Notify those surrounding the Zhao family. Watch them carefully. If anyone is allowed to escape, bring me their heads!"
"Yes!"
"Go!"
The group dragged Zhao Yilu's corpse and hurried away.
Zhao Yilu hanged himself, his entire family was arrested by the Ministry of Justice, and the officials of the Central Secretariat were in an uproar, collectively submitting memorials requesting the Emperor to provide a reasonable explanation.
Ji Hong, looking at the memorials piled on his imperial desk, curled his lips into a cold sneer. "Someone, relay my decree!"
An inner attendant quickly entered the imperial study. Ji Hong's stern voice reached the attendant's ears: "Order Lin Yuyin to lead the Imperial Guards and surround the Central Secretariat for me!"
Feeling the killing intent radiating from Ji Hong, the attendant trembled and bowed his head to his chest. "This servant obeys the decree!"
He retreated backwards out of the imperial study, and after stepping over the threshold, he ran to find Lin Yuyin.
The Imperial Guards were divided into inner and outer corps. The inner corps protected the Emperor, while the outer corps served as the vanguard guarding the palace. Their duties were confined to the palace grounds. However, with the urgency of the matter, Ji Hong did not want too many people involved. Furthermore, due to Qin Qiancheng and Yu Dabou, he no longer trusted most officials. Thus, he could only dispatch the Imperial Guards first, not summoning the Ministry of War or the Ji Yang Army.
As for the Black Armored Army, he had other arrangements for them!
The Central Secretariat was surrounded. On the day of the holiday, a Secretariat Associate thought for a moment before ordering a carriage to be prepared to head to the Prime Minister's mansion.
He was stopped by the gatekeeper of the Prime Minister's mansion.
"My lord, my master has instructed that he is not receiving guests!"
The gatekeeper said with a fawning smile.
Ever since His Majesty demoted his master from Prime Minister to Grand Censorate, his master had been in a state of discontent. Moreover, his master was currently under house arrest and confinement, so how could he meet with officials?
Besides, with the uproar surrounding the Central Secretariat, his master had no intention of getting involved in such a mess!
The Secretariat Associate did not even get to enter the Nan family's gate. Nan Chaoyun had sent a mere gatekeeper to dismiss him. The Associate was furious and immediately mounted his carriage to return home.
Upon hearing the report from his hidden guards, Ji Hong sneered. Nan Chaoyun was as cunning as ever!
...
Xuan Lin gripped the railing, gazing at the vast, boundless sea.
The endless blue and the golden reflections of the bright sun shimmering on the water sent a wave of dizziness through him.
He covered his mouth, suppressing the churning bile.
"General, we are almost there!"
A soldier ran to the stern of the ship and said to Xuan Lin.
Xuan Lin turned around and saw the vague outline of a town on the horizon, at the boundary between the sky and the sea.
"Order full speed ahead!"
...
"Bang~"
The wine cup was violently smashed onto the ground, spilling wine everywhere.
"Wasn't it said that Ji Hong and that Ji Jinmo were like fire and water? Why would Ji Jinmo present the list to Ji Hong, and why would Ji Hong believe it without question?"
A man with a hooked nose and a rough face questioned furiously.
Feng Luan's movements were too swift. Before they could react, everything had been settled. Not only had she obtained the list, but she had also massacred Zhongshi Village, leaving not a single subordinate behind.
While Yu Dabou was being tortured by the populace, he had ordered the interception of all correspondence sent from Wucheng to Linyuan Capital. Nothing flying in the sky or running on the ground, not even a single fly, was allowed to escape. Yet, Feng Luan, somehow and at some unknown time, had managed to get the list into Ji Jinmo's hands.
He had merely predicted that Ji Hong would never believe the list in Ji Jinmo's possession, which was why, after the imperial envoy was sent by the court, he had intercepted the dispatches from the Department of Public Information.
Despite all his calculations, he had never expected that Ji Hong would actually believe it.
Was he truly not afraid that Ji Jinmo was using this to eliminate his rivals!
Simply detestable!
"Give the order to stir up trouble. Ji Hong wants to investigate? Fine, then I'll let him investigate to his heart's content!"
"Yes!"
...
After the Central Secretariat was surrounded by the Imperial Guards, that night, memorials began arriving from various regions.
"A sudden fire broke out at the Lincheng yamen. The county magistrate, deputy magistrate, scribe, and chief clerk were all engulfed in flames. The fire was fierce, burning dozens of houses and courtyards. Eleven officials died and seven were injured; twenty-three civilians died and fifty-seven were injured!"
"The Deputy Commander of the Bianjun garrison in Tongji Prefecture tragically fell into the river while drunk and died!"
"Japanese pirates appeared in the waters of Yuzhen Prefecture, massacring half the residents of a coastal town in Yuzhen Prefecture!"
A series of urgent memorials bypassed the Central Secretariat and were sent directly to the imperial palace. Ji Hong, looking at the contents of the memorials, saw his veins bulge.