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

In the twenty-fifth year of Yonghe, there was a Grain Rain.

The spring rains in Nanchang Prefecture this year have been exceptionally long, drizzling for more than half a month.

The water level of the Gan River rose again and again, and the cargo boats on the river shuttled back and forth in the rain.

Xu Jie sat in the office of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, with all the evidence he had collected over the past three months neatly stacked in front of him.

At the top is the complete case file of Ma Wencai's brother-in-law's case of forcibly seizing farmland.

It includes a handwritten confession from the head of the Household Registration Office of Nanchang Prefecture, a confession and signature from the clerk of Nanchang County, and the original forged land deeds of the Ma family provided by the village heads of three villages in the suburbs.

In the middle is an anomaly list of salt and iron tax accounts, with each item accompanied by corresponding transportation documents and tax receipts and payments records.

Evidence shows that Jiangxi's salt and iron tax revenue had a deficit of at least tens of thousands of taels of silver over the past three years.

The notes involved handwritten comments from Sun Nian, the prefectural judge of Yangzhou, Zhao Huan, the vice minister of the Ministry of Works, and Duan Xi, the provincial judicial commissioner.

At the bottom are copies of the letters exchanged between Duan Xi and Li Shaoyuan.

Although the text uses a lot of veiled language, anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a naked transaction of power and money.

Xu Jie read the last confession three times from beginning to end.

Every signature and fingerprint was confirmed to be clear and accurate, every piece of evidence was interconnected, and every step could withstand review by the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review.

He gently put down his vermilion pen, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

As the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi, impeaching the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of the same province and department was tantamount to detonating a heavy powder keg in officialdom.

Even if the impeachment is successful, once the reputation of the deputy inspector impeaching his superior spreads, which official in any government office will dare to trust him in the future?

Will someone use this as an excuse to make things difficult for him during future performance evaluations by the Ministry of Personnel?

However, Duan Xi has been operating in Jiangxi for more than ten years, and his network of relationships is intricate and complex. The longer it drags on, the more variables there will be.

If he has time to destroy evidence and collude with others to fabricate testimonies, all the hard work of the past few months will be in vain.

He opened his eyes, and the last trace of hesitation in them had vanished.

He spread out a blank memorial, dipped his brush in ink, and began to draft a formal memorial impeaching Duan Xi.

Every word is powerful and penetrating.

After writing the last word, he put down his pen and sealed the memorial along with all the evidence into the special document box of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, sealing it with sealing wax.

He summoned his trusted servant and ordered him to deliver the document directly to the capital by express courier, without passing through the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commission or any other local government office, and to present it directly to the Censorate.

At the same time, he issued an arrest warrant directly in his capacity as the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, based on a copy of the document.

The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner ordered his officers to immediately detain Duan Xi, Ma Wencai, and Sun Zhiyuan.

The residences of the three individuals and related businesses involved in the case have been sealed off, and all related account books have been sealed and are not to be touched by anyone without permission.

As he issued the arrest warrant, he sat in the duty room, placed his pen on the pen rack, gazed at the old locust tree outside the window that was rustling in the spring rain, and murmured to himself, "Lord Duan, we were colleagues, and it is truly not my wish to come to this."

"But someone has to hold you accountable for what you've done."

The constables were already waiting outside the duty room, fully equipped.

These constables were all young people promoted from the bottom ranks of the Provincial Surveillance Commission after Xu Jie took office.

He has no complicated local connections and no past favors owed to Duan Xi.

Xu Jie handed the arrest warrant to the head constable, his voice as gentle as ever, yet carrying an undeniable weight: "Arrest them according to the list, leave no one out."

"After the mansion and business are sealed, there is no need to make a fuss. All account books and documents shall be sealed and stored in the warehouse. No one may access them without my written order."

The constables obeyed and left, their footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Xu Jie stood by the window, watching their figures disappear into the rain.

I suddenly recalled my younger, impetuous self when I was a censor in Jiangxi many years ago, when I was demoted, ostracized, and ridiculed by my colleagues behind my back for "not knowing the rules".

He once thought he would never have the chance to hold this knife again in his life, but now the knife has finally been unsheathed.

He turned around and sat back down at his desk, picking up his pen to write a short letter to Lu Zhi: "Brother Jiefu, my matter is settled. You must also make a decision soon in Yangzhou."

"This case involves a wide range of issues, and we should act quickly rather than delay."

He packed the letter and handed it to the messenger to be sent to Yangzhou, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

The months-long investigation has finally come to an end, but the battle is far from over.

The unseen force behind Duan Xi is the real adversary we need to be wary of.