I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was imprisoned.

In just two days, all the cells were full.

However, new prisoners kept coming in, so the only option was to select those who confessed voluntarily and whose crimes were relatively minor, and to deal with them swiftly and leniently to make room for the next ones.

Li Ruolian personally brought Lai Fu to Zhao Prison, and then returned to report.

Lai Fu looked around and saw that there were people everywhere, and continuous screams of agony.

The musty air, mixed with the stench of blood, sent chills down one's spine.

He finally realized that what happened today was very serious.

"Li Qianshi, Li Qianshi!"

Li Ruolian turned around and asked, "Have you thought it through? If you confess now, you might still be spared!"

Lai Fu's face was ashen as he said, "I am merely the steward of the Duke of Cheng's mansion, acting under orders. I know nothing else..."

"snort!"

Seeing that he wouldn't budge, Li Ruolian stopped paying attention to him.

Lai Fu hurriedly called out, "Could Vice Minister Li please pass on a message to the Duke of Cheng? I will be eternally grateful!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian suddenly stopped and returned to Lai Fu.

Seeing this, Lai Fu thought things had taken a turn for the better and quickly said, "Once this is done, the Duke of Cheng will certainly not mistreat Vice-Commissioner Li!"

Li Ruolian said slowly, "I see you haven't figured out the situation yet. Do you think I went through all this trouble just to capture a mere steward like you?"

"Ah, this..."

"To tell you the truth, whether you confess or not, the Duke of Cheng is finished."

"If you had confessed sooner, you would have suffered less physical pain and at least been given a proper burial."

"If they stubbornly resist, they should take a look around and see how many people who go into the Zhao Prison ever get out."

As Lai Fu listened, his face grew increasingly grim. He struggled to say, "The Duke of Cheng is the current Duke of the State, related to the nation as a member of the imperial family. You cannot..."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is the Emperor's personal army. We are acting on imperial orders. No matter how powerful the Duke of Cheng is, is he more powerful than the current Emperor?"

"But... but... those banknotes and letters belong to the Emperor's father-in-law. To oppose the Emperor's father-in-law is to oppose His Majesty. You should understand this, right?"

As expected, Li Ruolian suddenly fell silent after hearing this.

Seeing this, Laifu was convinced that he had found the other party's weakness and immediately became excited.

"Li Qianshi is a shrewd man. With the Empress as their backer, the Zhou family will never fall!"

"If this matter isn't handled properly, who knows who will suffer in the end..."

Li Ruolian snorted coldly, then turned around and ordered, "Someone, serve them well!"

Two captains stepped forward, lifted Fu up, and headed straight for the torture chamber.

Lai Fu was terribly pale, and kept shouting, "I want to see Duke Cheng! I want to see the Duke's father-in-law! You can't torture me..."

No matter how much he shouted, it was to no avail.

There were so many people like this in the prison that nobody paid any attention to them.

Soon, Laifu was tied to a pillar in the torture chamber, surrounded by a dazzling array of torture instruments.

Li Ruolian approached Luo Yangxing and handed him the silver notes and secret letter that had been found.

"This is troublesome; it is indeed the handwriting of the Emperor's father-in-law."

Luo Yangxing took the secret letter, his brows furrowing deeply.

Li Ruolian asked, "This is a matter of great importance. Should we go to the palace to consult His Majesty?"

Luo Yangxing slowly shook his head and said, "His Majesty has made it very clear that whoever it is, they will be thoroughly investigated."

"But the Zhou family..."

"You don't need to worry about that. If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it!"

"That's not what I meant!"

Li Ruolian quickly explained, "If we take action against the Zhou family, how will we explain it to Her Majesty the Empress?"

Luo Yangxing shook his head again and said, "No matter how great the Empress is, she is still a subject. The Zhou family betrayed the country and committed the crime of treason and deceiving the emperor. Even if the Empress is unwilling, she will not say anything. The only one to blame is the Zhou family father and son for their own actions."

"My concern now is that if we go to the Zhou family to arrest them, it will inevitably alert the Duke of Cheng's mansion!"

"The Duke of Chengguo commands the troops of the capital garrison. It is not advisable to alert the enemy before we are fully prepared."

After listening attentively, Li Ruolian said, "The fact that the Duke of Cheng has colluded with the enemy is already a fait accompli. On the contrary, I think we should take action sooner rather than later, lest things get complicated."

Luo Yangxing retorted, "I'm afraid a cornered dog might do something rash. If the Duke of Cheng suddenly rebels, how can the Embroidered Uniform Guard alone protect His Majesty's safety?"

"This...this was due to my oversight!"

"Let's just do it this way!"

Luo Yangxing made up his mind and said, "Let's split up. I'll go to the palace to see His Majesty, and you take your men to control the Zhou residence. Just say that Zhou Jian is embezzling funds, and don't mention anything else!"

Li Ruolian hesitated and said, "Prefect Zhou is my superior. If I were to go... perhaps it wouldn't be appropriate?"

Luo Yangxing raised his eyebrows and said, "This is my order, what's inappropriate about it?"

"In that case, I'll go right away!"

Li Ruolian got up to say goodbye, took stock of the manpower, and began the operation.

Luo Yangxing wrote a memorial about this matter and went to the Forbidden City.

The court session had not yet ended, and the officials were presenting their reports. So he found a junior eunuch, handed in the memorial along with the secret letter, and then stood outside the hall to wait.

The recent matters to be discussed are nothing more than sending troops and providing provisions. Chen Yan has received 200,000 taels of silver, but he is reluctant to set off.

Under Zhu Youjian's questioning, he reluctantly agreed to depart the next day.

At this moment, a young eunuch entered carrying a memorial, which Wang Chengen personally took and presented to the emperor.

Zhu Youjian opened it, glanced at it, closed it, and then looked around.

Among the officials, Zhou Kui was not seen, but Zhou Jian was.

"Minister Zhou, what brings you to court?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jian stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, my father is unwell and bedridden, so he specifically instructed me to come and deliver silver to Your Majesty."

"Oh?"

A glint flashed in Zhu Youjian's eyes as he asked, "Wasn't yesterday's silver already deposited into the treasury?"

Zhou Jian glanced at the crowd out of the corner of his eye, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips, and said, "My Zhou family has received boundless grace from the Emperor. Seeing the nation in peril, we are eager to fight on the front lines and personally slay the traitors. However, my father and I both have duties to perform. To repay the Emperor's grace, we have sold our ancestral home and land, obtaining a total of three thousand taels of silver, which we wish to donate free of charge to contribute to the court!"

These words immediately sparked discussion in the imperial court.

You already donated money yesterday, what's the meaning of this stunt today?

Some quick-thinking individuals were already wondering if His Majesty had instructed the Zhou family to put on a show for everyone.

Fortunately, it's only three thousand taels, which isn't much.

"Haha, hahaha..."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian burst into laughter after hearing this.

The officials present were at a loss, but Zhou Jian thought to himself that His Majesty would surely be happy since he had donated silver.

But why does your smile look even uglier than your crying?

Zhu Youjian's smile faded, and he slowly said, "The Zhou family truly are pillars of the nation!"

Zhou Jian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty's grace is beyond my ability to repay; I can only offer my humble assistance."

"The Zhou family sold their houses and land, raising three thousand taels of silver, and donated all their assets to this cause, which is truly touching. But little did they know..."

At this point, Zhu Youjian paused, his expression suddenly darkening.

"Where did the 50,000 taels sent out of the city today come from?"