Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

The southern prison has been renovated and the three gilded characters "Supervision Department" on the vermilion gate shine brightly in the sunlight.

The drill ground was flat and spacious, the torture instruments in the interrogation room were gleaming, and the cruel officials and jailers transferred from the Ministry of Personnel were already in their positions.

The first fire Xiao Fang set after taking office was that of the Zhao residence.

What kind of place is the Zhao residence?

It was the maternal family of Consort Zhao, the current emperor, and the maternal family of Prince Yi.

The Zhao family, relying on the favor of the Imperial Concubine and the power of the Prince of Yi, has been tyrannical and domineering in the capital for years.

They used various means to annex and seize countless fertile fields, shops, and estates.

The victims dared not speak out, making it a mountain that all the officials avoided.

Because the old emperor had favored Consort Zhao too much in his early years, the Zhao family's influence had become deeply entrenched in the court.

In addition, Consort Zhao's son, Prince Yi, was also very capable, and nearly half of the court officials had already submitted to him.

Even the old emperor was at a loss as to how to deal with the combined forces of the Zhao family, Prince Yi, and Consort Zhao in the harem.

Xiao Fang, however, insisted on being the first to step on him.

Early that morning, the entire Inspectorate was mobilized.

A group of over two hundred people, dressed in uniform black uniforms and with military knives at their waists, lined up in front of the Zhao residence.

The surrounding people formed several layers deep, but no one dared to step forward.

The vermilion gates of the Zhao residence remained tightly shut, while the two stone lions in front of the gate stood majestically, completely unaware of the impending disaster.

Xiao Fang rode on his horse, his bright red cloak billowing slightly in the morning breeze.

He glanced sideways at the Prince of Qing'an beside him and lazily raised his chin.

"Break down the door."

Lu Zhao chuckled and led his men to charge forward.

The door to the Zhao residence, which was usually only knocked on by high-ranking officials and nobles, was kicked open at this moment.

The sound of the bolt breaking was particularly crisp on the long street.

The inspectors flooded in like a tidal wave.

Upon hearing the news, the Zhao family's steward stumbled out.

Upon seeing the courtyard filled with a swarm of black-clad officials, he was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Several elders of the Zhao family were also alarmed and came over, leaning on their canes and trembling.

Just then, a group of spoiled brats burst into the rooms, ransacking the place and carrying things away with great enthusiasm.

The warehouse door was pried open.

Boxes and boxes of gold, silver, cloth, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings were carried out in a continuous stream.

Several clan elders trembled with anger, and the head of the Zhao family, leaning on his cane, slammed it forward and shouted sternly:

"What...what are you doing? Even if you're confiscating property, you should at least have a reason for doing so."

"Our Zhao family has neither been convicted nor tried. What right do you have to enter our house and take our things!"

Lu Zhao was directing people to move a celadon vase that was about half a person's height.

Hearing this, he turned around, looked the Zhao family head up and down, and his face was full of impatience.

"Wow, you're quite the talker."

He dusted off his hands and gestured with his chin toward the person next to him.

"Stop moving them! Arrest these old folks first!"

Several spoiled brats rushed forward and quickly pinned the Zhao clan elders, who had lived a life of luxury for decades, to the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.

The Zhao family head and several elders had never suffered such humiliation before. They were both shocked and furious, trembling with rage.

An elder struggled to raise his head, his eyes wide with anger.

"How dare you! I am the Imperial Concubine's— ugh!"

A smelly sock was pulled out from somewhere and stuffed directly into his mouth.

Lu Zhao clapped his hands, turned around and shouted to the people carrying things:

"What are you standing there for? Keep moving!"

Xiao Fang was very satisfied with Lu Zhao's performance. He looked down at the elders who were being held down on the ground and added calmly.

"Whether or not there is a confession is irrelevant. Go back and use a whip dipped in salt water to interrogate them slowly."

"Won't it come to light as you investigate?"

Xiao Fang waved his hand, signaling the heir of the Duke of Fuguo to lead his men and take the old man from the Zhao family away.

"Have you finished moving?"

Lu Zhao asked with a grin.

"All moved."

The playboys responded in unison.

"Alright, let's call it a day!"

Before leaving, Lu Zhao casually took a gilded incense burner from the display shelf in the main hall, weighed it in his hand, and stuffed it into his pocket with satisfaction.

After the inspectors left, the Zhao residence was in complete disarray.

Overturned chests and broken porcelain were scattered all over the ground.

Outside.

Several clan elders were bound hand and foot and led at the back of the procession, walking unsteadily.

Each of them had socks, smelly handkerchiefs, and other such things stuffed in their mouths, and could only make muffled whimpering sounds.

The people along the way all turned their heads to look, but no one dared to utter a sound.

Some people's eyes showed fear, while others' eyes showed pleasure.

This group of men in black simply swaggered away and disappeared at the end of the long street.

The vermilion gate of the Zhao residence was wide open and crooked, the copper nails on it gleaming coldly in the sunlight, like a face that had been bruised and twisted.

Consort Zhao lost face at the flower-viewing banquet and has yet to regain it.

Her father, along with the elders of the Zhao family, were already trembling in the prison of the Censorate, experiencing the taste of whips dipped in salt water.

Those Zhao clan elders, who had lived a life of luxury for most of their lives, would cry out in pain even at the slightest bump or knock.

How could they withstand the cruel methods of those officials in the Censorate prison?

Some people, whose kneecaps had just been shattered, were in so much pain that they cried and sneezed.

Trembling, he confessed one by one the land he had seized, the shops he had embezzled, and the lives he had caused to be taken over the years.

Some had only had their fingernails pulled out, and before the excruciating pain from their fingers had subsided, they rushed to sign and fingerprint the confession.

They were afraid that if they signed too late, the next instrument of torture would fall on them.

First time: Zhao family

The first fire set by the newly established Supervisory Department targeted the Zhao family.

Over the years, the Zhao family has been able to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the capital, relying on the favor of the Imperial Concubine and the power of the Prince of Yi.

They dare to do anything and make any kind of money.

In this operation, Xiao Fang raided three of the Zhao family's houses and arrested more than forty members of the Zhao family, including the elderly and children.

The confiscated items filled the evidence room of the Inspectorate.

The land deeds, account books, gold and silver, and antiques were all inventoried, taking up three whole nights and three days.

Lin Hui, the heir apparent of the Duke of Fuguo, led his men to conduct an overnight interrogation.

When the words were handed to Xiao Fang, Shen Hui's expression was unusually solemn.

"Over the years, the Zhao family has seized a lot of farmland in the suburbs of Beijing, forcing tenant farmers to become homeless."

Several households were dissatisfied and jointly wrote a petition to appeal to the emperor in the capital.

Lin Hui turned to one of the pages of the confession and pushed it in front of Xiao Fang.

"But they didn't make it to the capital. They were intercepted near a post station thirty miles outside the city, and neither they nor the indictment were spared."

Xiao Fang looked down at the confession, his gaze lingering on a certain line of text, without saying a word.

Lin Huiyin continued:

"The ones who made the move were from the Yong'an Marquis's residence."

The confession stated that the Marquis of Yong'an personally hired the assassin, and the money was drawn from the Zhao family's account.

But the one who actually gave the orders was the Wing King.

Xiao Fang closed the confession, leaned back in his chair, and slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

This news was a great gift to him.

He was just looking for an excuse to deal with Gu Jinghuai and his Yong'an Marquis's mansion.

The Zhao family then offered up a pretext.

Intercepting and killing people who come to file a complaint is a much more serious crime than embezzling land.

What's more, it also involves the Wing King.

Embezzling land, murdering people, and disregarding human life—any one of these acts would be enough to get them into serious trouble.

The morning court session takes place in the Golden Palace.

When Xiao Fang stepped forward, the entire court was still not used to it.

The Supervisory Bureau had only been established for a short time, and this was Xiao Fang's first formal appearance in the imperial court.

He walked unhurriedly to the center of the hall.

He straightened his clothes and took out a memorial from his sleeve.

"Your subject has something to report!"

Xiao Fang suddenly turned around and glanced at the Wing King.

That glance carried a hint of a smile, not cold, even polite, as if greeting an old friend.

The Wing King stood at the front of the court and nodded slightly when he met Xiao Fang's gaze.

He wore his usual gentle smile, as if he were wondering if the people whose homes had been raided were not his maternal grandparents' family.