"Boom!"
The two Explosive Talismans pasted on the gates of the Gao Mansion exploded under the control of his transcendence energy. With a loud bang, the two gates of the Gao Mansion collapsed.
The gatekeeper of the Gao Mansion stood in the courtyard and stared at the collapsed gates in a daze. His mind was blank.
His master was a respected figure in the Fairy's Capital. Even if he was no longer the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was still the elder brother of Concubine Gao, a relative of the royal family. Who would be so bold as to blow up the gates of the Gao Mansion?
Zhang Chun stood outside the gate and waved at the officials of the Imperial Clan Temple. "Follow me in and arrest the guilty official!"
The loud noise at the gates had already alerted the people of the Gao Mansion.
In a split second, more than ten maids and servants rushed out from various places. As soon as they arrived at the front courtyard, they saw the collapsed gates of the Gao Mansion.
The former Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Gao Hong, rushed out of the inner court. Seeing that the main gate of his residence had been blasted open, he was enraged. He glared at Zhang Chun, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets as he snapped, "Zhang, what are you doing?!"
Gao Hong hated Zhang Chun to the core.
Not only because Zhang Chun took his position as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but also because Zhang Chun was Li Mu's number one lackey.
If you hated someone, you would naturally hate everything about that person, including his lackeys.
Zhang Chun looked at Gao Hong and said calmly, "There is a case that requires you to go to the Imperial Clan Temple. However, your gatekeeper refused to cooperate, so I can only take forceful measures."
The gatekeeper of the Gao Mansion hid in a corner, trembling and not daring to raise his head.
Gao Hong held back his anger and asked, "What case?!"
Zhang Chun said, "You'll know when you get there."
Gao Hong said coldly, "No matter what, I'm still the royal uncle. You don't have the right to summon me. If you want to summon me, show me the official seal of the Imperial Clan Temple."
Zhang Chun looked at a minor official of the Imperial Clan Temple and asked, "Is there such a thing?"
The minor official nodded and said, "Lord Gao's sister is the son of the former emperor's concubine, Concubine Gao of the Western Palace. To summon a member of the royal family or a relative of the emperor, you need the seal of the Imperial Clan Temple Master. Indeed, Lord Gao does not have this authority."
Zhang Chun looked at Gao Hong and said, "You want the abbot's seal, right? Wait a moment. I'll be right back …"
Gao Hong's face darkened as he watched Zhang Chun leave with his men. Since Zhang Chun dared to come knocking on his door, he must have gotten hold of something that could be used against him. He couldn't figure it out at the moment.
As he walked out of the main gate of the Gao Mansion, Zhang Chun looked back and said, "Before I return, you are not allowed to go anywhere. If you leave the Gao Mansion by ten feet, you will be considered a fugitive. The Imperial Clan Court can arrest you or execute you …"
Gao Hong's face darkened, but he still retracted his foot.
He walked back to the Gao Mansion and said to a servant, "Go to the Royal Prince's Mansion of Nanyang and inform the Royal Prince of this …"
On the way back to the Zongzheng Temple, Zhang Chun muttered, "The Gao Manor doesn't look small. There should be five entrances, right?"
A minor official beside him said, "The Gao Residence is a standard seven-sectioned mansion."
"Seven …"
Zhang Chun thought about how his mansion only had four entrances, and there were only two maids and two servants. Just now in the Gao Residence, there were almost twenty maids and servants who rushed out in an instant. Zhang Chun's heart was filled with envy.
At this moment, the minor official continued, "That's nothing. The Royal Prince of Nanyang's mansion is the bigger one. It has ten entrances and ten entrances. He has thirteen wives and concubines, and each of them has their own independent courtyard. Each of them has a senior maid and four junior maids. There are artificial mountains, ponds, and beautiful pavilions in the mansion …"
Zhang Chun thought about his dream of living in a five-sectioned mansion before he retired. He shook his head and said, "The layout is too small …"
The group walked through the palace gates and returned to the Zongzheng Temple. They didn't know that the Imperial Court was in an uproar.
The number of officials in the Imperial Court was mysteriously reduced by more than twenty. The morning court could no longer be held. Some officials even guessed that the powerhouses of the Demon Sect had sneaked into the Fairy's Capital and killed these officials to create chaos in the Imperial Court …
After that, Mr. Mei clarified that the Demon Sect had nothing to do with this. Last night, it was the Zongzheng Temple's Deputy Minister, Zhang Chun, who led the Zongzheng Temple's people to arrest the guilty officials. He told the officials not to worry.
It would have been better if Mr. Mei didn't clarify. After he did, the officials became even more worried.
"What? These officials were all arrested?"
"More than twenty people were all arrested and sent to the Zongzheng Temple?"
"What's going on? Are we in trouble too?"
…
Twenty officials of the Imperial Court had been arrested in one night. Without knowing the reason, all the officials in the Great Hall felt threatened, especially those who were close to these two. They were even more frightened.
At some point, an official seemed to realize something. He mumbled, "These people, these people are all accomplices in Li Yi's case …"
His words woke everyone up. The officials counted the people who were absent today and were shocked to find that all of them were related to Li Yi's case. A few days ago, when Li Mu overturned Li Yi's case, they were accomplices. However, they didn't receive any heavy punishment. They were only fined a few months to a year's salary.
Everyone thought that it was the end. They didn't expect that it was just the beginning.
Without any warning, those officials were all caught in one fell swoop overnight.
Zhang Chun, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was also the Zongzheng Temple's Deputy Minister, did it himself. There was no need to guess who was behind this.
Zhang Chun was Li Mu's number one henchman. He always fought for Li Mu in the Imperial Court. He must have been allowed to do this by Li Mu.
Obviously, Li Mu didn't just want to overturn Li Yi's case. He also wanted to avenge Li Yi.
As for the reason, everyone knew very well.
Everyone in Fairy's Capital knew that Li Yi's daughter was one of Li Mu's lovers. Not only did she live in his house, but they often walked hand in hand when they went out. They were very close. Li Mu overturned Li Yi's case because Li Yi was wronged and died. He wanted to avenge Li Yi because Li Yi was his father-in-law.
Everyone's gaze shifted to where Li Mu was, only to find that there was no one there.
Li Mu didn't even come to the Imperial Court today.
"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense!" The left servant walked out and said in a deep voice, "What is the Imperial Court trying to do by arresting more than twenty officials for no reason?"
Many people looked at Prince Shou in front. Prince Shou shook his head and said, "Don't look at me. I don't know anything …"
Some people in the Imperial Court shook their heads and sighed. Prince Shou was a prince and the head of the Imperial Court. He couldn't even control a minister. He was useless …
Mr. Mei said, "Yesterday, before Zhang Chun brought people to arrest them, he said that the Imperial Court has enough evidence."
The left servant said with a dark face, "What evidence does he have to arrest more than twenty officials?"
Mr. Mei said faintly, "The Inner Guards don't interfere with the Imperial Court. If you want to know, you just have to summon Zhang Chun to the Imperial Court."
He turned to look at Shangguan Li. Shangguan Li walked to the curtain and came out after a while. She said, "Summon Zhang Chun."
Crape Myrtle Palace was only a few hundred steps away from the Imperial Court. He quickly walked into the Imperial Court in half a cup of tea's time.
Mr. Mei looked at the left servant and said, "If you have any questions, you can ask Lord Zhang directly."
The left servant looked at Zhang Chun and asked coldly, "Assistant Minister Zhang, you arrested more than twenty officials in the middle of the night and caused chaos in the Imperial Court. Shouldn't you give His Majesty and the Imperial Court an explanation?"
Zhang Chun said, "The Imperial Court has evidence to arrest people. May I ask what explanation you want?"
The left servant said in a low voice, "What crime did the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue, Ai Tong, commit that you want to arrest him?"
Zhang Chun said, "The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Revenue, Ai Tong, took advantage of his position to embezzle taxes from the Imperial Treasury. What's wrong with me arresting him?"
The left servant was shocked. He asked, "Do you have evidence?"
Zhang Chun said, "The evidence is conclusive."
The left servant said, "Minister of Imperial Treasury, Wu Sheng …"
Zhang Chun said, "Minister of Imperial Treasury, Wu Sheng, used his power to threaten and sleep with young girls. The youngest of those girls was only eight years old. Shouldn't he be arrested?"
The left servant moved his lips and said, "Then the Minister of Imperial Treasury, Chen Guang …"
Zhang Chun continued, "The Minister of Imperial Treasury, Chen Guang, allowed his younger brother to commit crimes and invade private residences. He bribed the Ministry of Justice to get his younger brother released and exonerated, breaking the law. What's wrong with me arresting him?"
He looked at the left servant and said loudly, "There's also Wei Chong from the Taichang Temple, Wang Ning from the Taichang Temple, and Zhuo Xian from the Ceremonies Department. As officials of the Great Zhou, these people acted as a protective umbrella for criminals who trafficked women and children. Shouldn't they be arrested …"
He listed the crimes of these more than 20 people one by one. The officials in the court were shocked. They had never heard of such things before. Since Zhang Chun dared to arrest them, then the Imperial Clan Temple might really have evidence of the crimes of so many officials.
But how did they find out about these hidden things?
Among the officials, some of them realized something. They lowered their heads and squeezed out two words from between their teeth, "Zhou Zhong …"
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