Earlier, when the trial of Sun Mingyuan was mentioned, it was stated that there were people colluding with him in three major judicial departments: the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Shuntian Prefecture.

However, yesterday, within the Dali Temple, Wen Yue Sheng did indeed execute four people.

But one of them was Kong Shen, an observer, not someone from the Dali Temple.

Since yesterday, no news has leaked from the Dali Temple.

Therefore, no one knew that the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple would actually plead guilty.

Moreover, apart from him, the others surprisingly signed confessions as well!

As Wen Yue Sheng said, a single official’s word may be unreliable, but what about two or three?

Not to mention, the officials involved in this case, there are actually more than ten.

The confessions they signed were even more convincing than the dozens of people outside the Dali Temple who collectively accused Sun Mingyuan.

But that’s not all.

The current Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, Yan Wei, stepped forward and solemnly said, “Your Majesty, according to the servants in Sun Mingyuan’s household, it appears that such amounts of gold are needed every so often to prepare a cart to send to his behind-the-scenes master.”

“Sun Mingyuan’s private residences, concubines, and various gold, silver, and jade objects were all prepared for his master. Some were used to win over the court officials his master was trying to pull in, and others were for his master’s enjoyment.”

He paused for a moment and continued, “In addition, according to the account books, Sun Mingyuan not only embezzled and took bribes, but also secretly maintained many assassins and colluded with vicious bandits.”

“He used gold, silver, and wealth to tempt, and added threats to force many who opposed or resisted his orders into submission.”

“Because of his master’s protection, many such incidents were suppressed.” Yan Wei handed over the account books. “This is just the cases involving Sun Mingyuan’s faction within the Dali Temple, or those forcibly suppressed.”

The hall fell silent.

Yan Wei had only recently taken office as the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, and had no prior connections with the many officials within or the mixed relations of the temple.

After entering the Dali Temple, he had always been average, which led many to believe that he was similar to the previous Deputy Minister, Zhou Yuandu, in his style.

But today, they learned that Yan Wei had not been idle in his time there.

The Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, though his position was not as high as Yan Wei’s, had been in the temple much longer and had handled many cases.

Yet now, Yan Wei, after carefully reviewing each case, had uncovered all the obscure or deliberately suppressed cases.

He handed over the account books and added, “Many of these cases are related to the Heng Guang Wangfu.”

First, there were the confessions of several fallen officials, followed by the cases organized by Yan Wei.

These pieces of evidence all clearly pointed to Prince Heng Guang.

The hall was eerily quiet.

Despite the hundreds of people standing in the large hall, it felt as though no one was there at all.

The Emperor’s gaze was dark as he turned towards Prince Heng Guang.

Prince Heng Guang was notoriously ruthless, proud, and extremely concerned with his image.

It was rare for him to appear like this—his expression dark, his eyes heavy.

He quickly stepped forward and said, “Father! Someone is framing me!”

Prince Hengguang’s face was grim as he spoke in a low voice, “I indeed had dealings with Sun Mingyuan, but we only met a few times at private banquets.”

“Besides that, I have no connection to him!” Rarely, Prince Hengguang spoke with such earnestness in front of others.

He knelt before the Emperor and cried out, “I don’t know where this so-called confession comes from, nor do I understand why Lord Yan Wei would present such a dossier.”

“There must be some misunderstanding!” He bowed low, his voice full of sincerity. “I am innocent in this matter. Please, Father, investigate the truth and clear my name!”

The Emperor looked down from the throne, behind him were heavy chests of gold.

He observed the kneeling King Hengguang, his emotions unreadable.

The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense.

The wind howled outside, the treetops swaying, and the sky was thick with clouds, as if a heavy rain was about to fall.

Prince Hengguang knelt, but there was no response from the Emperor for a long time, and his heart grew heavier.

The Duke of Xu, who had been kneeling beside him, also looked exceptionally grim.

The matter with Sun Mingyuan had come too quickly, without giving them any time to prepare.

What was even more bizarre was that Wen Yuesheng, for some reason, had managed to gather so much evidence.

After a long pause, the Duke of Xu finally looked up at one of the officials.

At this point, there was almost no hope of escaping unscathed.

The only way now was for someone to step forward, admit guilt, and confess to colluding with Sun Mingyuan in order to dissipate the Emperor’s suspicions.

The Duke of Xu had been assisting Prince Hengguang for many years, and had his own connections.

The difference was that the people under him were truly willing to die for them.

So, when he exchanged a glance with one of the officials, the official took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

The Duke of Xu saw this, and in a deep voice said, “Your Majesty, since the prince entered the court, he has worked tirelessly, hoping to ease the burden on Your Majesty.”

“Such conspiracies, colluding and bribing, could never have been the prince’s doing!”

The Emperor scoffed, “So, according to you, these confessions and the dossier are all false accusations?”

His voice was cold and heavy.

The Duke of Xu’s heart skipped a beat.

Without hesitation, he loudly declared, “This situation must have been caused by people below using the prince’s name for private dealings!”

“Sun Mingyuan, in his desperation for protection, mistakenly thought that by associating with the prince, he could find a powerful backer!”

“But the prince has been completely deceived throughout, and there are servants in the palace who can testify to this!”

After the Duke of Xu finished speaking, he glanced at Prince Hengguang.

Prince Hengguang reacted and loudly said, “Father, I am at fault!”

“I was wrong to trust others, allowing those under me to use my name to deal with Sun Mingyuan. Because of this, that evil man thought he had a powerful supporter, and thus did terrible things.”

“This is my dereliction of duty. Please, Father, punish me!”

Yan Ling stood among the officials, his expression cold.

Royal family members have always been like this: if a great mistake is made and it is hard to remedy, those who take the blame will inevitably be the ones beneath them.

The royal family members themselves are innocent; how could they be connected to such infamous deeds?

After the Duke of Xu and Prince Hengguang spoke, more and more officials in the court stood up.

“Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I believe that we should not hastily condemn King Hengguang, but rather conduct a thorough investigation before making any decisions.”

“I agree!”

“Princes who form factions with court officials, using their power for personal gain, have always been guilty of serious crimes. This matter also involves many officials and should be thoroughly investigated.”

“Indeed, it should be investigated.” The emperor said coldly, “According to his words, one of his subordinates could grant such power to Sun Mingyuan and protect him for so many years.”

“Isn’t it true that this court has long been under his control!?”

The officials who had stood up were completely taken by surprise by the emperor’s words. In a panic, they all fell to their knees, crying out, “We dare not.”

The emperor’s expression was dark as he coldly watched them.

Prince Hengguang could no longer hold his composure, and loudly said, “I have made a mistake. Please forgive me, Father!”

“My failure in governing has allowed these people too much power, which led them to commit such heinous acts.” Prince Hengguang spoke with a faint tremor in his voice.

He had always been extremely proud and seldom showed such vulnerability, so his sincerity appeared particularly striking.

Prince Hengguang gritted his teeth and said, “For this crime, I am willing to take full responsibility! Please, Father, punish me!”

After he said this, no one in the hall dared to speak in agreement.

Just those few words had already made the emperor angry.

Now, even those from the Xu family line had fallen silent.

These boxes of gold were simply too glaring, and they infuriated the emperor.

The more the officials tried to excuse King Hengguang, the more it solidified the accusation of factionalism, which only enraged the emperor further.

In the midst of this silence, Wen Yuesheng’s voice suddenly spoke up.

She coldly said, “These crimes, indeed, Prince Hengguang should bear them all.”

When Prince Hengguang heard this, he could not control his expression. His face twisted in anger as he glared at Wen Yuesheng.

The look in his eyes was filled with a direct, ruthless killing intent, which was enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine.

However, Wen Yue didn’t even glance at him.

She coldly said, “Numerous private estates, fertile land, and even over a thousand death warriors raised in your residence—all of these were prepared for the people around you, Prince Hengguang.”

“Even ten thousand taels of gold, or numerous high-ranking officials in the court, along with the three major judicial offices, could all be used by the people around the prince.”

“These people, the prince is completely unaware of them and has no knowledge of their actions, but they are able to clear all obstacles for the prince.”

Wen Yuesheng coldly glared at him. “Since the prince is entirely innocent and has not benefited from any of this, I imagine that if we were to search the prince’s residence now, nothing would be found, right?”

The hall fell silent.

Prince Heng Guang lifted his head, his dark eyes fixed on her. “Si Ning, do you know what you’re saying? I am Prince Heng Guang! I am the Emperor’s son, and you want to have my residence searched?”

Wen Yuesheng said, “If that’s the case, how can you prove your innocence?”

Duke Xu’s face darkened, and he said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, this matter is still undecided. The princess wants to search the prince’s residence—this has never happened in the court since the founding of the dynasty!”

“The prince is a royal descendant, the blood of His Majesty! How could he be treated so disrespectfully!”

Duke Xu’s words were firm, but to his surprise, after hearing them, the Emperor coldly said, “Then search it.”

Prince Heng Guang immediately raised his head, incredulously staring at the Emperor. “Father?!”

The Emperor sat on the throne, his eyes dark and unreadable.

The ministers below couldn’t interpret the Emperor’s emotions, but they instinctively lowered their heads.

“Because of a few words from Si Ning, Father Emperor would humiliate your son in this way!?” Prince Heng Guang shouted. “She has harbored resentment against me for the matter of Furu, and now she seeks all kinds of revenge.”

“Now she’s doing this, it’s nothing but an attempt to humiliate me before Father Emperor! How could Father Emperor believe her slanders?”

“Prince Heng Guang, don’t be so quick to judge. Whether it is slander will be clear after the search,” Wen Yuesheng said coldly.

She stood, and Prince Heng Guang knelt.

From Prince Heng Guang’s perspective, it was as if she was looking down at him from above.

He paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but sneer.

What a Si Ning.

A princess of the royal family, who lost her mother at a young age and has never been favored, dares to act this way towards him?

After today, he would make sure she wouldn’t have it easy.

“Your Majesty, this is inappropriate…” Duke Xu tried to advise again.

But he heard the Emperor’s deep voice saying, “Search it! I also want to see just how many good things are hidden in my good son’s residence that I don’t know about!”

These words immediately silenced all of Duke Xu’s objections.

His face darkened, and he looked up at Prince Heng Guang.

Prince Heng Guang, however, just sneered.

After doing all these things, how could he possibly leave everything in the residence, allowing his brothers to find evidence against him?

Wen Yuesheng thought that his previous performance meant he was afraid of her?

Prince Heng Guang, no longer showing the madness from earlier, only said coldly, “Today, Father Emperor doesn’t trust me, and I have no words to say.”

“Just one thing: if nothing is found in my residence, then Si Ning is deliberately framing me.”

“Framing a member of the royal family should be punished with severing her hands in apology!”

Minister Lu’s expression turned cold.

In such a big matter, Prince Heng Guang pushed all the blame onto Wen Yuesheng’s shoulders.

His arrogance, rudeness, and vicious methods made it clear that he was one of the future heirs to the throne.