The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

In court, the evidence was irrefutable.

Ambassador Cang and others initially tried to deny their crimes, but faced with irrefutable accounts, physical evidence, and several "special witnesses" "invited" by Yin Wujiu, their psychological defenses quickly collapsed. They confessed to their crimes and implicated several officials in the Ministry of Revenue who accepted bribes and provided cover-up.

Although they did not dare to directly identify the Third Prince, their confessions were enough to bring down Li Qiushui and a group of other officials.

After the case was concluded, the emperor, in a fit of rage, issued an edict: Ambassador Cang and others were to be executed immediately, and their property confiscated.

Li Qiushui, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was dismissed from his post and exiled three thousand li away.

The remaining officials involved will be severely punished according to the law.

The recovered embezzled funds shall be disposed of in accordance with the imperial decree.

He also issued an imperial edict praising the Princess Zhenguo for her "loyalty, integrity, and keen insight," and ordered the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and other relevant departments to immediately conduct self-examinations of their long-standing malpractices and rectify them within a specified time.

A major corruption case involving the Changping Granary, which shocked the capital, ended with Yun Jin's resounding victory.

Princess Yun Jin, the eldest princess of the Zhenguo Kingdom, not only achieved new heights in popularity among the people after this case, but also truly established a strong image of being "impartial and incorruptible," "skilled in financial management," and "daring to confront tough challenges" in the imperial court.

Many officials who had initially been observing began to reassess the significance of this eldest princess.

The Third Prince's faction, on the other hand, lost a key pawn in the Ministry of Revenue, and its momentum suffered a setback.

However, Yun Jin and Su Che both knew that this was just the beginning.

The Third Prince will never let this go, and the inner court and the Xun Gui Group will hate Yun Jin even more because of this incident.

The real counterattack is probably yet to come.

Sure enough, just five days after the Changping Granary case was settled, an urgent military report arrived from the south.

Yun Tao, the southern rebel king known as the "Prince of Jingjiang," who had been confronting the imperial army in the Jiujiang area, suddenly received a large amount of high-quality military equipment, greatly increasing his combat strength. He then decisively defeated the vanguard of the government army and set his sights on Anqing, a key town on the Yangtze River.

The military report specifically mentioned that a large number of well-made armor and crossbows appeared among the rebels, suspected to be... craftsmanship of the Northern Barbarians.

Meanwhile, rumors began to quietly spread within the Central Government.

When Princess Zhenguo was in the northern frontier, she "privately released" some of the captured Northern Di artisans and "had contact" with the Northern Di Right Wise King Tuoba Wugu.

Is the fact that Northern Barbarian standard weapons have now appeared in the hands of the rebels related to Her Highness the Eldest Princess?

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

Moreover, this time, the accusation is directed at Yun Jin for treason!

The storm suddenly escalated.

Inside the study of the Princess Zhenguo's residence, the lights burned all night once again.

Yun Jin looked at the urgent military reports from the south and the briefings on rumors gathered by "Di Ting" from the court, her expression grave.

"Sir, is this the work of the Third Prince?" she asked Su Che, who was silent and lost in thought.

Su Che tapped the table lightly, his gaze deep: "Yes, and not entirely."

Using the Northern Barbarians to frame His Highness is something he is capable of doing.

But the rebels suddenly received a large quantity of sophisticated weaponry... This matter is probably not that simple.

"The Northern Di leader Modu has just suffered a defeat, and his sons are vying for the throne. They are too preoccupied with their own affairs to care for the rebels. Who could, and who would dare, take such a great risk to support the rebels? Unless…"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Unless, the support for the rebels isn't from the Northern Di royal court at all, but rather... certain internal forces within the Northern Di who have a grudge against Luandi Modu and are eager to find external aid and seize profits. For example, that Right Wise King, Tuoba Wugu, who is at odds with Luandi Modu and 'luckily' escaped death from Your Highness's arrow?"

Yun Jin's heart skipped a beat: "Bald Wugu? He dares to collude with the rebel king? Isn't he afraid of the opposition from the remnants of Luandi Maodun's forces and his own followers?"

"If it's for the sake of seizing the throne, what wouldn't you dare to do?"

Su Che sneered, "Luan Di Mo Dun was severely wounded and fled, his prestige greatly damaged, and his internal situation was already unstable. If Tuoba Wugu could obtain the promises of the rebel king... such as ceding several border states after the deed is done, or opening trade, providing financial and material support, to help him seize the Khanate... this deal might be worth the risk for him. More importantly,"

He looked at Yun Jin and said slowly and deliberately, "If we can cleverly pin the crime of supporting the rebels on His Highness, causing internal strife in Jiangqiong and even leading to His Highness's downfall... it would be killing two birds with one stone for both Bald Wugu and the Third Prince."

A cold silence fell over the study.

The flames of war in the south, the rumors in the court, the underhanded tactics of the Northern Di—the Third Prince's deadly moves, like countless venomous snakes, were baring their ferocious fangs at the newly established Princess Zhenguo from all directions.

This crisis is far more dangerous and deadly than the Ever-Normal Granary Case.

Yun Jin slowly stood up and walked to the huge Jiangqiong map hanging in the sky. Her gaze swept over "Jiujiang" and "Anqing" in the south, and then over the vast grasslands in the north.

"It seems that someone doesn't want us to establish our government peacefully and conduct our audits peacefully."

Her voice was calm, yet carried a chilling coldness: "Since they want to muddy the waters and pin the charge of treason on me... then we don't need to be polite anymore."

She turned to Su Che, her eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit: "Sir, how do we break this deadlock? Not only must we clear our names, but we must also... make those behind-the-scenes manipulators pay the price!"

Su Che met her gaze, and a cold, sharp smile slowly curved his lips.

"Your Highness, do not worry. They want to play with fire, so we will... let them get burned."

"This time, we're not just going to investigate a few granaries of grain or a few account books."

"What we need to investigate is the root cause of this southern rebellion, the origin of the northern barbarian weapons, and even more so... the corrupt officials in the court who are colluding with foreign powers!"

He walked to the map and pointed heavily with his finger, drawing an invisible line between "Anqing" and the northern grasslands.

"Since they dared to drag the Northern Barbarians into this, then we'll play along and turn the tables on them..."

"Burn it up to the Northern Barbarian royal court! Burn it up to the Third Prince's backyard!"

On the chessboard, the black pieces have already revealed their poisoned daggers.

Bai Zi's counterattack will be even more fierce, even more... deadly.