The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Before long, an edict to depose the crown prince was drafted.

After affixing the imperial seal, Wang An held it with both hands, bowed, and withdrew to the Eastern Palace to announce the imperial decree.

With the memorial from the Six Ministries' censors, which had just been stamped with their seals, the matter of deposing the crown prince was now a done deal and there was absolutely no possibility of it being changed.

No sooner had Wang An left than a series of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed outside the hall.

Supported by palace maids, the Empress Dowager stormed into the palace.

She first glanced at the emperor on the couch.

Only after confirming that the emperor was still awake did they turn their gaze to Pei Yan.

"His Majesty has only just woken up and hasn't even had a proper dose of his medicine! Is Prime Minister Pei now proposing to depose the Crown Prince in an attempt to force the emperor to abdicate?"

The Empress Dowager's voice was not loud, but she directly accused Pei Yan of treason.

"With the Crown Prince deposed, chaos will surely ensue in the court and among the people. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

The Emperor's face darkened. "Mother... are you here to plead for the Crown Prince?"

"I am distressed that Your Majesty is delirious due to your illness, and I worry that you may be misled by wicked people around you with ulterior motives!"

The Empress Dowager looked in the direction where the sorcerers outside the palace had been dragged away.

"To accuse the Crown Prince of treason without verifying the words of the sorcerer is far too hasty."

"If someone deliberately bribed a sorcerer to frame the Crown Prince, wouldn't Your Majesty's decision to depose him today be playing right into the hands of those treacherous officials?"

The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall all lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

Pei Yan stood to the side, his posture upright, his expression unchanged, not even his eyelashes twitching.

When the Empress Dowager saw that he did not answer, she raised her eyebrows.

"As the chief minister, Prime Minister Pei oversees all officials and manages the affairs of the court. With the emperor gravely ill, he should be even more committed to upholding the order of the realm… Why didn't you advise him against it?"

Pei Yan slowly pulled out another memorial from his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I have another memorial submitted by a censor from the Censorate this morning."

"I originally did not want to disturb His Majesty's recovery, but now it seems that His Majesty must see this memorial."

Pei Yan stepped forward, opened the folded book, and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor, his face grim, forced his eyelids open to look over.

After reading just a few lines, the emperor's face turned from pale to ashen.

This memorial is entirely impeaching the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Tan clan!

The folded document clearly and in detail states that the second master of the Tan family forcibly seized fertile land in Suzhou and allowed his servants to beat more than a dozen villagers to death.

His cousin (Tan Yu's brother) was injured by villagers during the conflict and died a few days ago.

Fearing the matter would escalate, the Tan family blamed the death on the dozen or so disaster victims, claiming they were attempting a rebellion and that their servants had killed them to rid the people of a menace.

Master Tan not only bribed Prefect Zhao, but also secretly bribed those in the know to silence the other villagers.

Several boxes of gold, silver and antiques were also sent to the retired former Grand Secretary Xiao, hoping to use the Xiao family's connections in the court to suppress the case.

Every sentence is sharp, every word is filled with blood and tears, speaking out for the people of Suzhou who have been humiliated!

It was an endless lament for the Great Chu, beset by internal and external troubles and with an empty treasury!

"Great...it's great!"

The emperor's hands trembled as he gripped the folding book tightly.

"Mother! Look at the mess your good second brother has made! Murder, seizing land, distorting the truth, bribing court officials!"

He turned his head again and stared at Xiao Yuzhen, who looked bewildered and frightened.

"And you! The Xiao family has some nerve, daring to take bribes from the Tan family to cover up a murder case for them!"

"Are you Xiao family and Tan family conspiring to rebel?!"

Xiao Yuzhen's fingertips tightened suddenly, and she immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty, my family and I have been wronged! This is absolutely not true! This is absolutely not true!"

But her heart sank to the bottom. If she hadn't obtained solid evidence, Pei Yan would never have dared to break ties with the Xiao family.

Could it be that her father really accepted so many bribes without her knowledge?

The Empress Dowager suppressed her panic and quickly walked to the Emperor's bedside.

"Your Majesty, if there is evidence, then the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate should conduct a thorough investigation."

"If the Tan family is guilty, I will not plead for them! But the relationship between the Xiao family and the Tan family should be investigated before making a judgment, not just based on a single document..."

Pei Yan cupped his hands in greeting at the opportune moment: "What evidence does the Empress Dowager desire?"

"Whom did the Tan family send to deliver gifts to the Xiao family, and who did they send to Suzhou to silence them? Or did someone in the surrounding area witness it?"

"Every single detail, big or small, including the exact time, the number of horses used, and the amount of silver received to cover it up, is known to the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice!"

"What...what did you say?!" The Empress Dowager stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her withered old hands gripping her golden phoenix cane tightly.

No, this is impossible, how could this be?

How could her brother be so stupid as to leave behind so much evidence against him?

She certainly couldn't have imagined that Pei Yan obtained these fragmented pieces of evidence not by monitoring the Tan family, but by having the Owl Guards monitor the servants, based on Jiang Guo'er's suggestion.

After collecting all the evidence, Pei Yan ordered three copies to be made and sent to the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice.

Verification is easy; simply interrogate each of the servants separately, ask about the time, place, and personnel, and then compare the information with each other.

However, many of Xiao family members hold important positions in these three departments, and if the usual procedures were followed, they would definitely try to suppress them.

Therefore, Pei Yan's initial plan was to take the situation by surprise and make a big fuss in the shortest amount of time.

By the time the emperor learned of this, news of the collusion between the Tan and Xiao families, their manipulation and bribery of court officials to serve them, had already spread throughout Suzhou and the capital.

Not only the powerful and noble families, but also merchants and ordinary people knew about it!

They have suffered under the corrupt officials for many years. Now that this matter has been exposed, how could they not seize the opportunity to retaliate?

The Suzhou prefectural government office is probably already surrounded by merchants and common people.

At this moment, on the dragon bed, the emperor's weakened body could no longer endure the strain.

He was breathing heavily, pointing at the Empress Dowager, then at Xiao Yuzhen.

"You...you really think...I know nothing...I..."

Before he could finish speaking the last few words, Emperor Zhaode suddenly bent over, vomited a mouthful of blood with a "pfft," and fell straight backward.

"Your Majesty! His Majesty has vomited blood!"

"Oh no! The Emperor has fainted!"

The palace maids and eunuchs were thrown into chaos.

Xiao Yuzhen rushed to the bedside and reached out to check the emperor's breath.

The Empress Dowager was also supported by palace servants, and said urgently, "Quickly! Go and fetch the imperial physician, and issue his order!"

The emperor had only woken up last night, but now he's been so angry that he's fainted again.

Chaos erupted immediately inside the Qianqing Palace.

People mingled inside and outside the palace gates, and medicine bowls and broken porcelain shards were scattered all over the ground.

Only Pei Yan remained standing in place, without stepping forward.

He glanced at the emperor, who had fainted on the bed, then looked at the Empress Dowager and Xiao Yuzhen, who were surrounded by palace servants, and called out in a sinister tone:

"His Majesty was so enraged upon hearing that the Empress Dowager's own brother had been killing civilians and seizing land in Suzhou, bribing court officials, that he vomited blood!"

"Your Majesty, you are truly His Majesty's good mother!"

The Empress Dowager was not Emperor Zhaode's biological mother. Upon hearing Pei Yan's pointed words, she felt dizzy and her vision went black.

Xiao Yuzhen felt a chill run through her body.

Is Pei Yan determined to wipe out the Tan family and their Xiao family?

Not to mention the Tan family, the Xiao and Pei families are actually cousins!

Why has he been in such a hurry lately?

Xiao Yuzhen sensed something was amiss. She stopped crying, walked to Pei Yan's side, and said in a low, menacing voice:

"Has the Prime Minister gone mad? At this critical juncture, he dares to incite a feud between powerful families?"

"Aren't you afraid of pushing us too far and causing us to fight to the death?!"

Pei Yan snorted coldly and glanced at her indifferently.

"A strong medicine is needed for a serious illness; extremely severe measures are required."

"I want to see... whether these aristocratic families, rotten to the core, can overcome the justice in the hearts of the people!"

Xiao Yuzhen, relying on her knowledge of the Pei family's secrets, repeatedly crossed his bottom line.

Now that things have come to this, Pei Yan cares about nothing but Murong Shunshun.

If she wants war, then let's fight!

Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and walked out of the palace, looking up at the sky.

As the sun sets in the west, its golden rays fall upon the glazed tiles, yet they cannot penetrate the decaying palace.

The sun that had been hanging over the Great Chu for many years, rotting away, was finally about to set.