A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Upon arriving at the palace, Shi Gao was stopped by a eunuch.

"Lord Leling, His Majesty has given orders that no one is to disturb you."

The eunuch still did not move aside; he only obeyed the emperor's orders.

Shi Gao frowned. What a coincidence that Emperor Xuan of Han happened to be out of sight at this time.

Who's inside?

Shi Gao handed a gold ingot to the eunuch, who readily accepted it.

"It is the Marquis of Yan."

It really is the Wei family.

By having Wei Ming keep Emperor Xuan of Han at bay, Wei Du's actions outside would not reach the emperor's ears, thus allowing him to act without restraint.

Shi Gao took a deep breath and shouted into the palace.

"Your Majesty, I have important matters to report."

Emperor Xuan of Han, inside the palace, was puzzled by Shi Gao's shouts. Why would Shi Gao behave so rudely?

"Let him in."

Emperor Xuan of Han said.

"Your Majesty, please grant justice for my brother!"

After Shi Gao entered, he knelt down before Emperor Xuan of Han.

What do you mean by that?

Emperor Xuan of Han asked in confusion.

Shi Gao's younger brothers are all marquises of the current dynasty. They should be grateful if they don't cause trouble for others. Who would dare to cause trouble for them?

"My third brother was just arrested and imprisoned by Lord Wei Du."

"The entire family's property was seized, and all family members were imprisoned in the dungeon."

"Your Majesty, please grant my brother's request!"

Shi Gao kept his head pressed tightly to the ground, refusing to get up unless Emperor Xuan of Han relented.

"Wei Du? Isn't he investigating a corruption case related to the management of the Zhuohe River?"

"How did the investigation lead to Shi Xuan?"

Emperor Xuan of Han realized what was happening and glared at Shi Gao with hostility.

"Didn't I give orders that you were not allowed to have any designs on this money?"

"Haven't I already given you enough rewards?"

He never expected that Shi Xuan would still dare to tamper with things he had repeatedly warned against.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am willing to persuade the third prince to return the money in full, and our Shi family is willing to contribute 3 million coins to river management in order to atone for our sins."

Shi Gao never raised his head; he had to arouse Emperor Xuan's compassion.

Emperor Xuan's expression softened somewhat. It seemed that only that useless Shi Xuan couldn't see the situation clearly, while Shi Gao was still sensible.

"That's good. Let Shi Xuan calm down in prison and learn a lesson from him."

"Get up."

Emperor Xuan of Han decided to keep Shi Xuan in prison a little longer. "By the way," he asked, "how much did he embezzle?"

Shi Gao remained hunched over, not getting up.

"20 billion dollars."

"That's what Shi Gao replied."

"How much?" Emperor Xuan's voice changed.

The total annual fiscal revenue of the Han Dynasty is only 20 billion coins, less than 200 billion coins per month.

It's only been two months since the river management project started, and they've already embezzled 20 billion yuan.

Is this a locust?!

"We beg Your Majesty to punish him!"

Shi Gao used a strategy of retreat as a means of advancement, reasoning that no matter what, Emperor Xuan of Han couldn't possibly kill his brother.

As long as he doesn't die, he's been a competent older brother.

Emperor Xuan of Han was so angry he laughed. "Who was involved in this?"

"I do not know, but before I entered the palace, the residences of Hong Gong and Shi Xian had already been sealed off. Now Lord Wei is heading towards the Wang family's residence."

"Were Hong Gong and Shi Xian also involved?"

"Very well, they all ignore what I say."

"Let's go, let's go and see how much my maternal clan can embezzle?"

Emperor Xuan of Han was very curious about how much money these people had embezzled in total.

By the time they arrived at the Wang family's residence, the search and seizure operation was nearing its end.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Upon seeing Emperor Xuan of Han, Wei Du bowed.

"How much did the Wang family embezzle?"

Emperor Xuan of Han asked directly.

"20 billion dollars."

Wei Du looked at the bills he had found, which were comparable to those of Shi Xuan.

"Alright, alright, where are Hong Gong and Shi Xian?"

"15 billion each."

Wei Du replied directly that he had memorized all those numbers.

"That adds up to a whopping 70 billion!"

"That's a full third of the nation's annual income!"

This is one-third of the current peak income of the Han Dynasty. In the original history, during the reigns of Emperor Wu and Emperor Zhaoxuan, the peak annual income was no more than 80 billion coins.

"Where are the two of them?"

Emperor Xuan of Han now wants to have these two people killed alive.

Shi Gao and Wang Wu are one thing, after all, they are relatives of the emperor, but what gives these two spineless eunuchs the right to dare to do that!

One person embezzled 15 billion!

This is all his money!

The reason he was willing to take such a large sum of money was simply for his posthumous reputation, wasn't it?

If the entire dam is a shoddy construction project, what's the point of expecting a good reputation after death?

It would be good enough if he wasn't given a terrible posthumous title after he died.

"Hong Gong was executed on the spot for resisting arrest, and Shi Xian has also confessed his crime."

"Well done."

Emperor Xuan of Han took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Your Majesty, you must avenge me! Wei Du dared to break into my residence, search my home, and even threaten to imprison me in the imperial jail. This is a slap in your face!"

Wang Wu, who was being held down by the Imperial Guards, happened to pass by and, upon seeing Emperor Xuan of Han, shouted at him.

Emperor Xuan of Han drew the imperial sword from Wei Du's hand and slashed at Wang Wu.

Wang Wu quickly dodged.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing? I am your uncle!"

"I am not worthy of having an uncle like you!"

"That's money for river management! You dare to embezzle that money?"

Emperor Xuan of Han roared at Wang Wu.

"I only embezzled a tiny fraction of their wealth; they were just a bunch of lowly commoners. Why should so much money be spent on them!"

Wang Wu said this with a straight face.

"You think you're right?"

"That's right, I'm a member of the royal family, what's wrong with being greedy for a little money?"

Wang Wu didn't think he had done anything wrong. Which noble in the court wasn't greedy for money?

He only embezzled a little more than a billion, but he's the emperor's maternal uncle, so what's wrong with embezzling a little more?!

"And you lowly commoners, what are you looking at? I've remembered you all. When I get out of prison, I'll see how I deal with you!"

Seeing himself being watched like a monkey, with all his ugly moments being observed by these unruly people.

Wang Wu was immediately seized by the urge to kill all these unruly people.

"I beg Your Majesty to sentence Wang Wu, Shi Xuan, and others to death."

"This is evidence of their embezzlement; Your Majesty, please take a look."

Wei Du presented the evidence they had gathered to Emperor Xuan of Han, which alone was enough to convict them.

Looking at this evidence, Emperor Xuan of Han deems it a capital offense?

Wang Wu and Shi Xuan were, after all, his maternal relatives, and to execute them directly for this matter was something Emperor Xuan of Han was unhappy about.

Moreover, he needed these two clans to counterbalance the Wei family, so sentencing them directly to death would be a huge blow to both families.

"My dear minister, Wang Wu and Shi Xuan are, after all, marquises. They should be punished. Killing them outright would be too harsh."

"How about we make them atone for their crimes with their titles, return all their ill-gotten gains, and then impose hefty fines?"

Emperor Xuan of Han said to Wei Du.

"Your Majesty, please grant him death!"

Wei Du insisted.

"These two have committed heinous crimes; their deaths are the only way to appease public anger!"

"The people of Chang'an, and tens of millions of people along the Zhuo River, are watching His Majesty's decision!"

Emperor Xuan of Han glanced around and saw a huge crowd of people from Chang'an.

No wonder Wei Ming went to the palace today; it was all to spread the news far and wide, so that by the time he received it, it would be too late to stop it.

This is a coup attempt.