Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

At this point, the Sima family's temporary allies could no longer sit still.

Seeing that the Prime Minister had reversed the situation with just a few words, some people below took the lead in standing up.

"I object! Your Excellency, you are using a fallacy of semantics!"

Xia Zhaoyan glanced at the other person indifferently; it was someone from the Wu King's court.

"How foolish! What gives you the audacity to target me now?"

"Once we deal with the Sima family, you'll be the first one I target, making you the first prince to be eliminated."

"The main family of a prominent clan is the main family, while the branches, though sharing the same surname and bloodline, have long been like strangers."

"The Heavenly Punishment Division wiped out both branches of the family in one fell swoop. This is no longer a normal confiscation of property; it's a deliberate attempt to expand the scope of the attack and create a bloody retribution!"

As soon as this person finished speaking, several more ministers stood up to support the old ministers of the Sima family.

More and more people are standing up to support the other side and criticize the Heavenly Punishment Bureau.

The prime minister gradually frowned, thinking to himself, "This can't go on!"

"Quiet!" a dignified voice rang out.

Emperor Xia looked at the Prime Minister, and then at Xia Zhaoyan.

"Your Majesty, as the Chief Justice of the Heavenly Punishment Department, do you have anything to say about the joint memorial submitted by all the officials?"

All eyes turned to Xia Zhaoyan. With the Prime Minister leading the charge, the current low-key behavior of the Prince Ren made everyone feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Xia Zhaoyan rose and went to the center, first bowing to the Xia Emperor at the head of the table.

He then spoke up, saying, "Father, I believe that those who are criticizing and supporting us are spouting nonsense."

"As for the situation with the officials, I think many of you may not be clear about it, so let me give you a brief explanation!"

"They were all officials who had violated the laws of the imperial court, and each of them was guilty of crimes that warranted their property being confiscated and them being executed several times over."

"Do you yourselves find such officials' reports credible?"

...

"Your Highness, let's set aside whether they have broken the law or not."

"But tell me, are their accusations true or not!"

The old ministers of the Sima family retorted, not following Xia Zhaoyan's words at all.

To everyone's surprise, Xia Zhaoyan spoke up without even thinking.

"Fake!"

Upon hearing this, the officials nearly broke their backs.

"You..." The old minister of the Sima family trembled with anger.

He suddenly looked at Emperor Xia, "Your Majesty, this old minister has a request."

"Since King Ni does not approve, I think it is necessary to summon those people to the court for a face-to-face confrontation."

Tsk tsk, this old guy's got some serious abacus skills; they're practically jumping into my face.

Unfortunately, no matter how much you calculate, it's not as fast as my blade!

"Is that so?" Xia Zhaoyan looked at the other party calmly, and his next words shocked the court.

"Unfortunately, it's too late; each of them is guilty of heinous crimes."

"After an overnight interrogation, I ordered him to be executed at the Meridian Gate today!"

hiss! !

A collective gasp filled the hall!

Ruthless, absolutely ruthless!

They didn't give them any chance at all, not even a chance to have lunch.

He'll be executed at the Meridian Gate at dawn!

At this moment, Xia Zhaoyan's voice rang out again.

"I guess the executions are over by now!"

"What, if the old man still wants to ask, I don't mind letting you go down and ask them in person!"

That was incredibly arrogant of him, threatening a high-ranking official in front of all the court officials!

After saying that, Xia Zhaoyan waved his hand, and a beam of light shone in the center of the hall.

Dense text appeared in the air.

"Father, these are the charges against the officials from Lingwu Prefecture who jointly submitted this memorial!"

"What right do officials like these have to criticize the Heavenly Punishment Division's handling of cases!"

"Moreover, I have never heard of a so-called aristocratic branch and the main family not being from the same family."

"Then wouldn't the crimes of 'exterminating the entire family,' 'exterminating three generations, five generations, seven generations, or even 'exterminating nine generations' in the laws of my Great Xia become a joke!"

Clearly, after Xia Zhaoyan invoked this law of the court, the so-called joint petition by officials to overturn the verdict lost its foundation.

Anyone who supports these people's memorials is disrespecting this law of the court.

The Emperor's lips curled up slightly, but he quickly returned to his normal expression.

"Do any of you, my esteemed ministers, have different opinions?"

Emperor Xia did not show favoritism towards Xia Zhaoyan, and his gaze swept over the officials below.

Seeing that no one else stepped forward, Emperor Xia then announced.

"The joint memorial submitted by all officials has no basis and is therefore invalid."

"This matter is now closed!"

"Never before in the history of our dynasty has such an absurd scene unfolded!"

"They are clearly family, yet you refuse to acknowledge them as family. What, are your aristocratic families special, Minister Sima!"

The Sima family members looked terrified, and at this moment their heads were about to kowtow to the ground.

Cold sweat streamed down his face. This was the first time since Emperor Xia ascended the throne that he had reprimanded the aristocratic families in court.

Those other noble families who had not yet had a chance to speak out in support all lowered their heads, not daring to look at Emperor Xia.

"Do any of you gentlemen have anything else to report?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xia Zhaoyan spoke up.

"Father, I have something to report."

Thump!

The officials felt their hearts suddenly race!

Whenever the Benevolent King made a report at a court assembly, it was always a major event that would affect the Great Xia Dynasty.

"I would like to ask Lord Sima, how dare your Sima family openly challenge the authority of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau and the laws of the court!"

"Harboring remnants of the Zhang family, and then voluntarily releasing them to slap this king in the face!"

"Do you think you can challenge the authority of the Heavenly Punishment Division and slap this king in the face just because you have the support of other forces and all the noble families behind you?!"

"Since you enjoy courting death so much, then I, the King, will grant your wish!"

At this moment, everyone realized that something was wrong!

The murderous intent in Niou's tone and expression was no longer concealed!

The old ministers of the Sima family secretly felt uneasy. They had deliberately let the remnants of the Zhang family out to provoke King Ren and make him take action.

In their plan, the joint petition from officials and the support of allies would definitely cause King Ni to suffer a setback.

However, things did not go as planned; instead, they took a completely different turn.

Then wouldn't their own family be considered to be harboring and protecting traitors...?

Xia Zhaoyan said coldly:

"With all the officials present at this court assembly, I hereby announce a piece of news."

"The Sima family of Lingwu Prefecture has been harboring and protecting remnants of the Zhang family; the evidence is clear!"

"For the sake of your noble family, Lord Sima will go back and tell your family that as long as you hand over the mastermind behind the scenes, namely your family's founding ancestor and patriarch..."

"I can spare the Sima family!"

This is hardly a way out for the Sima family.

The officials were terrified; this was clearly pushing the Sima family to the brink of destruction!

It seems like they've given us a way out, but if a powerful family really hands over their ancestor and patriarch, then that family is doomed!

"If we don't hand over the person, then according to the imperial law, the entire Sima family should be executed!"

Old Man Sima was pale. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

He knew there was no way to salvage the situation, and the family needed to prepare for a major battle!