Although Cai You did not explicitly mention the official positions or identities of the other individuals, the incident involving Wang Boyan had already made everything clear.
With the situation having escalated to this point, he understood perfectly well that Cai You's parting words were a clear indication for him to quickly rein in his own hidden schemes.
Not only could he no longer conceal the men he had secretly deployed, but he also had to hand them all over directly to Cai You.
The effort he had invested over many days was all in vain, leaving Bai Shizhong feeling utterly dejected.
However, if one were to speak of troubles, he was certainly not the only one in Bianliang city experiencing them.
As the biggest scapegoat in Bianliang city, Li Bangyan was currently overwhelmed.
He hadn't even figured out the full details of what his father-in-law and brother-in-law had done.
His two subordinates were already plotting to usurp his position.
Even the Crown Prince seemed to be wanting to meddle in his affairs at this very moment.
Of course, what the Crown Prince and his faction were thinking, and whether their involvement was to help him resolve his current predicament or to gain complete control over him, only the Crown Prince himself knew.
He had originally thought that after ascending to the position of Prime Minister, he would be able to navigate more smoothly between the competition of the two princes.
Yet, he never expected that upon actually taking the position, he would discover it was akin to standing on a volcano.
However, by the time he realized this, he was already in a situation where it was impossible to retreat.
Judging by the current state of affairs, even achieving a safe exit seemed like a luxury for him.
"My Lord, it is getting late. Madam asks for you to rest..."
Seeing Li Bangyan's frustrated demeanor, the household servant spoke in a hushed tone, even lower than usual.
"Go tell her I'm sleeping in the study tonight!"
Li Bangyan waved the servant away without a second thought.
"Li, don't you dare be ungrateful! Don't think that just because you've become Prime Minister, you're superior. Don't forget where all your food, drink, clothing, and everything else you've used over the years has come from!"
As soon as Li Bangyan finished speaking, the study door was kicked open by the tigress of the household.
Hearing Lin Shi's scolding, the household servants quickly retreated with wry smiles.
These were not matters that they, as servants, could possibly get involved in.
"You shrew, what do you want?"
The recent court affairs had already given Li Bangyan a splitting headache. Now, upon returning home, he was being berated by his wife, and in front of so many servants, how could Li Bangyan maintain his dignity?
Lin Daqian's matter was becoming more and more complicated, and for the sake of avoiding suspicion, he couldn't let his own people approach Han Mo on this matter.
Being cursed out by Lin Shi had completely ignited Li Bangyan's temper.
"Li, I've supported you for so long. Now that you've taken the position of Prime Minister, are you going to put on airs with me? I'm telling you, if this is how it's going to be, we can just end this marriage, and I'll go complain to the Emperor!"
After hearing Lin Shi's words, Li Bangyan felt an urge to kill her.
However, he also knew that if this damned woman continued to scold him, his secret affairs might all be exposed by this foolish woman.
"Slap—"
Unable to bear it any longer, Li Bangyan retaliated with a slap across Lin Shi's face.
He had intended to calm Lin Shi down, but unexpectedly, with that slap, Lin Shi seemed to have gone completely insane.
"Li Liulang, I'll fight you to the death!"
Before Li Bangyan could even react to what was happening, Lin Shi had already pushed him to the ground.
Immediately after, Li Bangyan felt a searing pain across his face.
When he reacted and shoved Lin Shi aside, he discovered that his face was already bleeding profusely.
The Prime Minister of a nation had his face disfigured in his own home…
"You damn foolish woman, do you want the entire Lin family to be executed? Do you even know what your brother did? He colluded with the Manichaeans to rebel, and even conspired with foreign elements. Do you know the penalty for treason?"
Seeing blood, Li Bangyan no longer held back.
He tightly gripped Lin Shi's neck, pinning her to the ground, and in a low, gritted-teeth voice, he said:
He had initially refrained from telling Lin Shi the specific details.
He feared that if this woman lost control of her emotions, she might cause further trouble.
But at this point, he could no longer afford to hold back. He blurted out all the information he had gathered.
Lin Shi, after all, was a woman. Upon hearing Li Bangyan's words, she became as if struck by lightning, lying dazed on the ground.
"This, this is impossible?"
After a long while, Lin Shi stammered.
"Impossible? You'll have to ask your good brother! Do you know what would happen to your Lin family if I were to fall? Colluding with the enemy and treason are unforgivable crimes!"
After venting his anger, Li Bangyan finally regained a shred of rationality. After several deep breaths, he slowly got up from the ground.
"But, he's still a..."
"Shut your stinking mouth. If you dare to utter another word, believe me, I'll immediately act against my own kin!"
In his rage, Li Bangyan no longer cared about their marital affection when he spoke.
"Shimei, you can't abandon them! Even if my brother committed a crime, my parents are still innocent, aren't they? They are already at that age..."
Only now did Lin Shi finally comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Crying, she began to plead with Li Bangyan.
"What time is it, and you're still thinking about these irrelevant things? Do you know that if this matter is not handled properly, not only will your unfortunate brother be finished, but I might also be implicated! If I lose this position of Prime Minister, do you think Wang Fu and the others will let us off?"
After spitting out a few harsh words, Li Bangyan roughly wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and stormed out of the study.
"My Lord, a guest has arrived. He said..."
As soon as Li Bangyan stepped out of the study, a servant cautiously approached him.
"Tell him to get lost. I'm not seeing anyone tonight!"
However, before he could finish speaking, Li Bangyan rudely interrupted him.
"He said his surname is Yuan..."