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

The next day, Xiao Fang stood in the main hall of the morning court session.

He was dressed in a black court robe and was holding three folded books in his hand.

Behind them were Lu Zhao and Lin Hui, who, unusually, had put aside their playboy manners and stood up straight.

Inside the hall, just after the old emperor asked, "Who else has a copy?", Xiao Fang strode forward.

"Your subject, Xiao Fang, has a matter to report."

His voice wasn't loud, but the entire hall fell silent instantly.

"Ma Zongliang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was corrupt and perverted the law. Under the instigation of the former party of the Prince of Ji, he released serious criminals in prison, altered case files, and disregarded human life."

The evidence is conclusive; we beseech Your Majesty for your judgment.

"Qian Shouyi, the principal of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Huaian, the prison official, and Zhao Guangtong, the prison warden, all colluded with Ma Zongliang and confirmed twenty-seven cases of perverting the law."

After he finished speaking, he raised the memorial above his head.

The eunuch hurriedly stepped forward to take it and delivered it to the emperor's desk.

The old emperor had only turned two pages when his face darkened considerably.

"Ma Zongliang was stripped of his official post and demoted to commoner status. The other three were also dismissed from their posts, their homes confiscated, and they were arrested and interrogated!"

Ma Zongliang stood in the court, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He opened his mouth, but before he could finish saying "Your Majesty, spare my life," the palace guards removed his official hat and dragged him out by the arms.

Xiao Fang turned around without looking at them.

After the court session ended, he immediately mustered the personnel of the Censorate and led Lu Zhao and Lin Hui out of the palace gates.

"Let's go, first to the Ministry of Justice to arrest them, then to the Ma family to ransack their property."

Lin Huiyin was most familiar with the scene of ransacking homes.

He led his men to search Ma Zongliang's private residence from the Ministry of Justice, even having the artificial hill in the back garden broken open to inspect it.

It doesn't matter if it's not carved out, there's a hidden room under the artificial hill.

The dark room was filled with boxes of gold and silver, land deeds, and several scrolls of secret letters that had not yet been burned.

Lu Zhao squatted at the door of the dark room, picked up a handful of gold ingots and weighed them in his hand.

"That old man, even those whose families run money shops aren't as rich as him."

Lin Hui stood aside, watching people carry out the boxes one by one.

Xiao Fang suddenly said to him:

"Don't confiscate it all, give me half."

Lin Hui glanced at him.

Xiao Fang lowered his voice.

"I will be going on a northern expedition in the future, and I can't rely on the imperial court's provisions alone."

"You have to leave me some of these copied materials first."

Lin Huiyin immediately agreed and arranged for someone to take action.

Xiao Fang looked at the ever-increasing pile of family property on the ground and thought of how his father had guarded the northern frontier for so many years, and how the border rations had never been allocated in full.

The soldiers fought the Northern Hu people on empty stomachs, and the king gritted his teeth and sent memorials to the court. Each time he sent a memorial, the provisions would be delayed for one or two months.

His eyes turned cold, and he said only one sentence.

"Make it more discreet."

Lin Hui nodded and quietly retreated to the back.

Ma Zongliang's family members were dragged out in the evening.

The women, both old and young, were crying and being dragged out by the guards.

Ma Zongliang's elderly mother, who is over eighty years old, was slumped on the door frame and refused to leave, constantly cursing.

"My son is an official appointed by the imperial court! You cannot do this!"

Nobody paid any attention to her.

Two bailiffs stepped forward and half-helped, half-dragged her out the door.

The daughters huddled together, their faces covered in tears.

"Please, let us go! We don't know anything!"

The constable kept working, only giving cold shouts.

"The Jiaofangsi's carriage is right outside. If you cause any more trouble, you'll be in for it."

The men had their hands tied behind their backs and were strung together.

Some lowered their heads, clenched their teeth, and remained silent.

Some had already cried until their legs went weak, and they were dragged along the bluestone pavement, leaving marks on the pavement.

The neighbors stood at a distance, no one daring to approach.

Xiao Fang stood on the street corner, riding his horse, watching without any expression on his face.

"Have you finished copying?" he asked.

Lin Hui nodded.

"We copied everything valuable; nothing was missed."

Xiao Fang pulled on the reins.

"Tomorrow's morning court session will continue."

For the next ten days, the imperial court was in complete chaos.

Every morning at court, Xiao Fang would step forward with a new folded book in his hands.

Yesterday it was the Ministry of Justice that was impeached, today it's the Ministry of Personnel, and tomorrow it will be the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War.

Sometimes he plays for two or three people at a time, and sometimes he plays for five or six people in a row.

Some were dismissed from their posts, some had their homes confiscated, and some were exiled.

"Zhao Qian, a principal officer in the Ministry of Justice, has formed a faction with Ma Zongliang and is hereby dismissed from his post according to the law!"

"Zhou Bingzhi, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has been found guilty of colluding with the former Prince Yi's court and accepting bribes to buy an official position. He has been dismissed and is under investigation!"

"Three officials from the Ministry of Revenue's Department of Finance have been found guilty of embezzling treasury funds and misappropriating relief grain; their property has been confiscated!"

"Two officers from the Ministry of War's Military Selection Division have been imprisoned immediately for smuggling military funds and colluding with foreign invaders!"

The old emperor sat on the dragon throne, issuing decrees one after another.

Although he is old, his mind is not confused.

The Wing King has fallen, but if these remnants are not eliminated, they will become a malignant tumor in the future.

He must take advantage of Xiao Fang's remaining ruthlessness to cut off all the rotten flesh in the court.

For a time, people were being escorted out of the capital city every day on the official roads.

There were officials, their wives, and servants who used to bully others.

The women, weeping and wailing, were tied with ropes and dragged toward the direction of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).

No one dared to say "we are innocent" anymore.

No one dared to put on airs in front of Xiao Fang.

By the tenth day of the ransacking, the imperial court was in complete upheaval.

More than twenty of the Wing King's former subordinates, both high and low, were all wiped out.

In the most serious cases, the head was chopped off in the street.

Some were put in shackles and chains and sent to the northern frontier to serve in the army.

Some were exiled three thousand miles away, and their female relatives were sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution).

In the Six Departments, almost everyone who had any connection with the Wing King was wiped out.

Xiao Fang secretly kept half of the money obtained from the confiscation of his property.

He had them transported to an inconspicuous village outside the city.

He was neither disloyal nor greedy.

He simply knew all too well that it was thousands of miles from the capital to the northern desert.

Without preparing his own money and provisions, he wouldn't even be able to avenge his father.

He had to secure his own escape route before he set off.

Once everything is ready, he will head north again.

Destroy the Northern Hu royal court!

Capture the traitor Gu Jinghuai!

Take him back to Daliang and have him torn to pieces.