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

Xu Jie acted faster than Duan Xi had anticipated.

While Duan Xi's messenger was still on his bumpy journey back to Jiangxi, Xu Jie had already sat down in the signing room of the Nanchang Prefectural Government.

The entire case file of Ma Wencai's brother-in-law's illegal occupation of farmland was spread out in front of him.

He did not bring any attendants, but only had the people from the Nanchang Prefecture Bureau of Records retrieve all the case files related to the Ma family's land disputes from the past three years.

He flipped through them one by one, and approved them one by one.

His fingers slowly traced across the yellowed pages, circling each suspicious point with a vermilion pen and writing a line of small notes beside it.

His handwriting was neat and tidy, each stroke perfectly matching his usual gentle and honest demeanor.

But the officials from the Nanchang Prefecture Bureau of Records stood by watching the vermilion annotations, and cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

The vermilion pen circled not only the loopholes in the case file, but also the handles they left behind over the years when they covered up evidence of the Ma family's crimes.

Within a few days, Xu Jie, in his capacity as Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, issued three official documents in succession.

The first order was to compile and submit a list of all land transaction contracts of the Ma family over the past ten years within three days.

The second step was to summon the officials involved in the case—the head of the Household Department of Nanchang Prefecture, the clerk of Nanchang County, and the village heads of the three suburban villages—to the Provincial Surveillance Commission for questioning.

The third step was to send copies of all relevant case files related to the case of Ma Wencai's brother-in-law's illegal occupation of farmland to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review for record-keeping.

Each of these three official documents is reasonable and justifiable.

Each of these matters falls within the jurisdiction of the Deputy Provincial Inspector.

Duan Xi couldn't find any procedural flaws in any of the dishes.

But he used the most conventional methods to launch the most ferocious offensive.

The head of the Household Registration Office of Nanchang Prefecture was the first to give in.

This official had been in charge of land tax records under Ma Wencai for many years. He was the one who personally prepared the forged land deed when Ma's brother-in-law forcibly seized farmland.

Xu Jie summoned him to the Provincial Surveillance Commission for questioning, and after less than half an hour of questioning, he had him sweating profusely and incoherent.

Xu Jie did not force him, but simply recorded every word he said and then had him sign and affix his fingerprint.

After signing, Xu Jie gently pushed aside the stack of forged land deeds in front of him, speaking in a gentle tone as if chatting with an old friend.

The question that came out caused the person in charge to collapse to the ground on the spot.

"There must be more than just these few forged land deeds in Nanchang Prefecture over the past decade. Tell me about them all."

The official knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy and telling the whole story.

The clerk of Nanchang County then recounted how Ma's brother-in-law forcibly seized farmland, beat farmers, and drove people to their deaths in three villages on the outskirts of the city.

The entire process of how he spent money to bribe the local constable and the coroner to suppress the murder case.

The village head of the three suburban villages confessed to the correspondence left by the Nanchang Prefecture over the years when it covered up the Ma family's crimes.

The recipient was not Ma Wencai, but a seventh-rank official in the Provincial Surveillance Commission.

Those letters clearly stated that the case should be suppressed, and Lord Duan would take care of it.

Xu Jie compiled these confessions into a booklet one by one.

Each statement was signed and sealed by the person making the confession.

Each document was accompanied by corresponding physical evidence.

Forged land deeds, receipts from the local headman, and autopsy reports from the coroner.

Instead of going directly to Duan Xi, he made two copies of the prepared case file.

One copy was sent to the Ministry of Justice for filing, and another was kept on file by the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner.

Then all the low-ranking officials involved in the case.

The head of the Household Registration Office, the clerk, and the village head of Nanchang Prefecture all issued arrest warrants and detained the prisoners pending trial.

He didn't touch Ma Wencai or Duan Xi, but only their lowest-ranking henchmen.

But the cut was extremely precise, striking the major artery precisely.

Duan Xi sat on the rosewood chair in the back hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, a chair he had sat on for more than ten years.

On the table in front of him lay a copy of the dossier presented by Xu Jie, and next to it was a reply from Zhao Huan sent from the capital.

He had just finished reading Zhao Huan's letter; the handwriting was messy, but every word was weighty.

Let him know that Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were summoned by the Emperor alone, and also make him realize that Xu Jie may be backed by the person on the dragon throne.

Duan Xi folded the letter and burned it over the candle flame, staring at the ashes in the copper dish in silence for a long time.

He knew that Zhao Huan was reminding him.

You can provoke Xu Jie, but you can't confront him head-on.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea had gone cold, and as the bitter tea slid down his throat, he suddenly felt a little tired.

He served as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner in Jiangxi for more than a decade, fighting against countless people, and always managing to handle each situation with composure.

But this time is different.

Xu Jie was like a snake that had been lying dormant for many years; once it moved, it would bite the vital point and not let go.

If he doesn't fight back, he's just waiting to die.

If he retaliates, he will be gambling with the lives of the entire Duan family.

But he had to fight back.

Because Xu Jie wasn't investigating a few old cases, but rather the foundation he had built up in Jiangxi over a decade.

Those minor officials who were detained by Xu Jie.

Everyone knows Duan Xi's secret, and the longer they stay in prison, the greater his risk.

He put down his teacup, picked up his pen, and wrote two letters.

The first letter was addressed to Zhao Huan, and the wording was extremely humble. He thanked his brother Zhao for his previous guidance, saying that he would remember every word.

It was also mentioned that Xu Jie had recently detained several officials in Nanchang Prefecture, some of whom knew about some of the financial dealings between him and Zhao Huan.

If these people are found to have something during their interrogation in prison, it could have far-reaching consequences.

At the end of his letter, he wrote, "I dare not ask Brother Zhao to personally intervene, but I humbly request that Brother Zhao do some work in the Ministry of Personnel."

See if we can find a pretext to transfer Xu Jie away from Jiangxi.

Whether he's transferred to a remote prefecture or given a sinecure in the capital, the important thing is to get him out of Jiangxi as soon as possible, and he'll cover all the expenses.

If a transfer cannot be arranged immediately, then it is necessary to find a way to smear Xu Jie.

He must have offended people during his years in Jiangxi. If we can find something to hold against him, we can fabricate a few charges against him.

Even if no evidence is found in the end, as long as his reputation is ruined, he won't be able to stay in Jiangxi.

The second letter, addressed to Ma Wencai, was even more cryptic in its wording.

He instructed Ma Wencai to find those in Nanchang Prefecture who had worked for the Duan family.

Silence those who need to be silenced, hide those who need to be hidden, and just say that these are extraordinary times and that everyone should have a way out.

My fingers trembled slightly as I put down my pen after writing these two letters.

He picked up the letter, blew the ink dry, put it into two envelopes, sealed them with sealing wax, and handed them to two trusted family members to deliver separately.

Then he leaned back in his chair and looked out the window at the old locust tree that was rustling in the spring breeze.

Suddenly I felt that my roots in Jiangxi, built over the past ten years or so, were being slowly eroded away by an invisible knife.

Zhou Xing, who was far away in the capital, received two secret reports late that night.

A document from Xu Jie.

With the initial victory in Nanchang Prefecture, Duan Xi has been cornered and is now gathering resources in the capital to prepare for a counterattack.

A report came from an informant in Zhao Huan's duty room.

Duan Xi asked Zhao Huan to lobby the Ministry of Personnel to transfer Xu Jie away, and fabricated charges to smear him.

He unfolded the self-made relationship diagram and drew a downward arrow next to the name "Duan Xi".

He also drew an upward arrow next to the name "Xu Jie".

Four words were written next to the arrow.

Continue to apply pressure.