The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

May 20th, the 24th year of Yonghe.

A thin layer of white fuzz settled on the windowsill of the side hall. Chunlan swept it twice with a feather duster, but then became too lazy to sweep it any further and simply let it pile up.

Zhou Xing sat by the window, with the complete chain of evidence sent by Yao Guangxiao spread out in front of him.

The Jiangning Textile Bureau's accounts were irregular, Liu Heng's ship hijacking record, and the original approval document from the Jiangning Prefecture's Household Affairs Department were all clearly marked.

He spread out the papers one by one, his gaze slowly sweeping over the dense numbers and names, then picked up his pen and wrote a few lines on a blank sheet of rice paper.

"Wang Anshi is to draft an impeachment memorial, to be completed within three days."

"Yao Guangxiao compiled all the evidence, sent copies to Zhao Gao, and presented them to His Majesty for preview. There was no need to wait for the Censorate."

"Su Shi built up his influence at the Hanlin Academy and contacted the upright officials at the Imperial Academy and the Censorate, determined to cause a stir in the court on the day his memorial was submitted."

"At the same time, we sent messages to the Wudang branches and Beggars' Sect liaison stations in various prefectures and cities, in case of any changes in the capital, we tightened control across the entire Jiangnan region to prevent the Fourth Prince's henchmen from destroying evidence."

"Furthermore, starting today, Tongzhou Wharf will strictly inspect canal boats, and all suspicious cargo will be detained."

He put down his pen, folded the paper, stuffed it into the copper tube, and tied it to the gray sparrow's leg.

The gray sparrow flapped its wings and took flight, circling in the air before disappearing beyond the layers of palace walls.

He watched the small black dot gradually disappear into the twilight, a faint, cold smile appearing on his lips.

Fourth Brother, you hold the military power of Marquis Wu'an in the southwest, and you thrive in the palace thanks to the Zhao family's connections. Over the years, you've been up to no small business behind the scenes.

Did you kill that tiger during the spring hunt? Did you think no one would find out?

This old score will be settled with interest this time.

On May 21st, at the office of the Censorate's Records Department.

Wang Anshi had been sitting at his desk all day.

He had all the evidence compiled by Yao Guangxiao laid out in front of him.

The records of losses incurred in the Grand Canal transport, the procurement orders from the Textile Bureau, the original approval documents from the Jiangning Prefecture Household Affairs Office, and a comparison table of Liu Heng's records of ship robberies over the years.

He marked each piece of evidence with key figures and the names of those involved in the case using vermilion ink, analyzing each piece meticulously and linking them together.

He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the first line on the blank memorial.

"Your subject, Wang Anshi, the clerk of the Censorate, hereby impeaches the Director of the Jiangning Textile Bureau for embezzling official silk, colluding with river bandits, deceiving the court, and enriching himself. He also impeaches the Assistant Prefect of Jiangning for bending the law for personal gain, protecting the bandit leader Liu Heng, and falsifying case files."

He wrote slowly, each stroke penetrating the paper.

In his previous life, he wrote countless memorials during the Xining Reform and knew the proper measure for impeachment memorials.

It can't be too light, otherwise it'll just be scratching an itch through a boot.

It can't be too heavy, otherwise it will be suspected of being a partisan struggle.

He needed to nail every charge to the evidence so that no one who wanted to protect the fourth prince could speak up.

When he finished writing the last stroke, he read the memorial three times from beginning to end.

We ensured that every number was verifiable and every name was traceable.

Then he put down his pen, handed the memorial to Yao Guangxiao sitting opposite him, leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Yao Guangxiao read it word by word, nodded slightly, and said that the chain of evidence was complete, the wording was precise, there was not a single empty word, and there was no loophole.

But by submitting this memorial, Wang Anshi was essentially placing himself in opposition to the Fourth Prince and everyone behind him.

Wang Anshi picked up the cooled teacup and drank it all in one gulp, saying that the purpose of being an imperial censor was to offend people; otherwise, what would be the point of being an imperial censor?

Meanwhile, in the Hanlin Academy, Su Shi was standing among a group of colleagues, holding a stack of copies of the weaving bureau's shipment orders transferred from the Ministry of Rites, and spontaneously wrote a postscript on the paper.

His voice was clear and resonant, attracting a crowd of upright civil officials from the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial College, and the Censorate.

He unfolded the stack of shipping manifest copies in his hand and made public the details of the hijacking of the Runzhou official ship, comparing it with the data on "transportation losses" of the Weaving Bureau over the years.

The connection between the Runzhou official ship case and the accounting holes in the textile bureau was something that all the civil officials present, well-versed in classical Chinese literature, could not ignore, given the numbers and facts laid out before them.

He closed his folding fan and pointed in the direction of the Imperial Academy and the Censorate, questioning these government offices about their role in handling the public opinion of scholars and the impeachment of officials.

The Imperial Textile Bureau is now colluding with river bandits to rob official ships. This is a slap in the face to the imperial court and to His Majesty.

The news spread like wildfire, flying from the Hanlin Academy to the Imperial College, from the Imperial College to the Censorate, and from the Censorate to the various ministries and departments of the Six Ministries.

In less than half a day, the entire court was discussing the truth behind the Runzhou official ship case.

Several young censors immediately wanted to submit a joint memorial.

However, it was tacitly suppressed by the disciples of Kong Yan and Pei Du.

The time is not right, and the memorial has not yet been submitted. Submitting a memorial at this time would only alert the enemy.

But this undercurrent was already surging among the civil officials, and it was just waiting for Wang Anshi's memorial to be submitted before it would unleash a massive wave.

Inside the office of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Zhao Gao was arranging a stack of memorials according to their urgency.

His hands were very steady, and each memorial was placed in its corresponding position according to the rules set by Wang Zheng.

When his fingers touched a secret report that was unsigned and without an official seal, he did not pause at all, but simply placed it on the top shelf for the emperor to view.

He knew that the first document His Majesty would review tonight would be this secret report.

All he did was put a document in the right place, nothing more.

Inside the dispatch room at Tongzhou Wharf, Shangguan Jin Hong held Zhou Xing's warrant up to the candle flame and burned it, the ashes falling into a copper dish.

He turned around and gave instructions to his deputy one by one.

All official vessel berths were strictly inspected, and all cargo ships from the canal groups were required to have their cargo manifests and seals checked before docking. Any discrepancies were to result in the seizure of the ship and its cargo.

Three hundred elite brothers were mobilized and deployed.

Then, someone will invite Chief Qiu of the Hai Sha Gang to come over, and the workers' association and the Hai Sha Gang will conduct a joint patrol tonight.

The deputy accepted the order and left, and the lights in the dispatch room stayed on until late at night.

In the backyard of the Runzhou Wudang Boxing Hall, Song Yuanqiao finished reading Zhou Xing's secret order and handed it to Zhang Songxi beside him.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Songxi arranged for all branch offices that had reopened in various prefectures to be placed on high alert.

All suspicious individuals associated with the Canal Gang were to be closely monitored, and at the same time, messages were to be sent by carrier pigeon to the liaison stations of various Beggar Gangs along the Grand Canal in Jiangnan to assist the Wudang branch in its operations.

Song Yuanqiao nodded, and then specifically instructed Zheng Ke to go there personally, as Liu Heng's confession must be obtained before the Jiangning Governor's Office.

In the study of the mansion in Guihua Lane, the Third Prince Zhou Ying gently placed the secret report in his hand on the table.

This was sent by Yao Guangxiao through a middleman. There were no pleasantries or formalities inside, only a few tables showing discrepancies in the textile bureau's accounts and a timeline of Liu Heng's hijacking of the ship.

His hands were steady, but his gaze lingered on those few lines of numbers for a long time.

The fourth brother has the military power of the Marquis of Wu'an in the southwest and the connections of the Zhao family in the palace. Over the years, he has been making many underhanded moves behind the scenes. He has long wanted to get rid of the fourth brother, but he just needs a knife.

Now someone handed him a knife.

He picked up a pen and wrote a line on a piece of paper, instructing Liu Wenzhao to fully cooperate with the Ministry of Rites and to send all the procurement files of the Jiangning Textile Bureau to the Censorate.

On the morning of May 22nd, just after 5 a.m., the palace gates were still shrouded in a thin morning mist.

Wang Anshi, dressed in the blue official robe of a seventh-rank official in the Censorate, held the impeachment memorial in both hands and stepped up the white marble steps.

His steps were not fast, but each step was very steady, and the hem of his robe fluttered gently in the morning breeze.

When he handed the memorial to the Ministry of Justice, Su Shi stood at the entrance of the Hanlin Academy, looking towards the Qian Yuan Hall, and said softly, "The wind is rising."

Yao Guangxiao sat in the Ministry of Rites' duty room, holding a cup of cool tea, his expression unchanged.

……

In the other side hall, Zhou Xing sat by the window, reviewing the latest developments compiled from various sources by candlelight.

Liu Heng died suddenly from an "illness" in the Jiangning prison. When Zheng Ke arrived, he only found a cold corpse.

But Zheng Ke did not return empty-handed.

He brought back a sentence that Liu Heng said to the jailer before he died: "When the birds are all gone, the bow is put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked."

The jailer couldn't understand, but Zheng Ke could, and Zhou Xing could understand as well.

He put down the letter and turned his gaze to the night sky outside the window.

Liu Heng's connection to the imperial textile bureau has been severed, but the accounts of the bureau and the data on losses incurred during the canal transport have already formed irrefutable evidence.

The Fourth Prince's situation will not become any easier because of Liu Heng's death.

At this moment, Zhao Gao was on duty in front of the emperor. After Zhou Qian finished reviewing the last stack of memorials, he suddenly asked him what he thought of the Runzhou official ship case.

Zhao held the teapot steadily and slowly, pouring the tea into the cup.

He put down the teapot and replied with his hands hanging down, "If the Imperial Textile Bureau had really done such a thing, it would have betrayed His Majesty's trust."

Zhou Qian picked up Wang Anshi's memorial and read it again. Every number on it was clear, and every name was verifiable.

He remained silent for a long time, then picked up his vermilion brush and wrote a line at the end of the memorial: "The Censorate, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Court of Judicial Review shall jointly try the case of embezzlement by the Jiangning Textile Bureau. The Assistant Magistrate of Jiangning Prefecture shall be dismissed from his post and escorted to the capital to await trial. This is the imperial decree."