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

The news that the Heavenly Punishment Bureau had arrested the Censor instantly caused a stir throughout the court and the country.

The censors of the Censorate were the emperor's eyes and ears, and one of the means by which the emperor controlled various regions.

Many people's expressions changed drastically, wondering if the Heavenly Punishment Bureau had become arrogant.

The Censorate has always been an institution that all officials in the court had to deal with with caution.

Although it, along with the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, dominated the judicial work of the Great Xia Dynasty.

However, the hidden power of the Great Xia was much greater than that of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review.

The headquarters of the Censorate is located here on the south side of the inner city.

Its area is equivalent to seven or eight princely mansions, and today the person in charge here is Shi Chongyue, the Left Censor-in-Chief!

The highest-ranking official of the Censorate is the Chief Censor, below him are the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief, below the Censors-in-Chief are the Left and Right Deputy Censors-in-Chief, and below the Deputy Censors-in-Chief are the Left and Right Assistant Censors-in-Chief.

In the various official departments of the Great Xia Dynasty, the senior officials take turns sitting in office.

Today happens to be the day Shi Chongyue is in charge of the headquarters. Don't underestimate him just because he is only a third-rank official. His cultivation level is at the peak of the Grandmaster realm.

The head of the Censorate, however, is only at the mid-stage of the Celestial Realm in terms of cultivation.

As for each outgoing head of the palace, no one except the royal family knows where they are.

The Great Xia Dynasty has existed for 100,000 years, and many of the officials who have achieved success in cultivation and retired are still alive today.

This is also one of the foundations of the Great Xia Dynasty. Therefore, generally speaking, the dominant forces on the Tianhuang Continent are mostly dynasties, with very few sects or religious groups becoming hegemons.

Getting back to the point, Shi Chongyue heard his subordinates urgently requesting an audience outside the main hall.

"Come in!"

"Sir, something has happened," the visitor reported anxiously.

"Censor Li Chengyuan was just taken away by the Heavenly Punishment Division!"

Shi Chongyue suddenly stood up, a look of shock flashing in his eyes, and a look of surprise on his face.

"What did you say? Li Chengyuan has been taken away by the Heavenly Punishment Division!"

"Has the Heavenly Punishment Division gone mad?!"

"If Prince Ren doesn't understand court politics, doesn't that old fellow Mu Wenhan understand it too?!"

If Li Chengyuan was taken away by the Heavenly Punishment Division, then it's obvious that something must have happened to him.

However, he was completely in the dark and had no idea what was wrong with Li Chengyuan.

At this point, a subordinate couldn't help but suggest, "Sir, should we step in and stop it?"

"Stop it? Do you want the Censorate to go to war with the Heavenly Punishment Division?" Shi Chongyue asked, his face turning ugly.

"Alright, let's just sit back and wait to see how things develop."

"Whether it's good or bad, the Heavenly Punishment Division will give us an explanation!"

Shi Chongyue did not use his status to demand the person; he did not want to offend the Heavenly Punishment Division.

Anyway, the Heavenly Punishment Division will face attacks from all the officials at the court meeting the day after tomorrow. If I go to ask for the person now, wouldn't I become a sword in someone else's hand?

In the interrogation hall of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau, Xia Zhaoyan personally interrogated the censor.

"Li Chengyuan, do you know why we're arresting you?"

Li Chengyuan remained silent for a while, then looked up at the Prince Ren and the Chief Justice at the head of the table.

"I know that I shouldn't have accepted the benefits from those local prefects in the first place to cover up their poor governance."

Ha, I never expected such an unexpected gain. Xia Zhaoyan had already sentenced this person to death in his heart. As an investigative censor of the Censorate, how dare he conceal the emperor's secrets for the local authorities.

With such a charge, no one but the emperor could save him.

However, this was not the charge he wanted!

"Li Chengyuan, I'm not referring to that matter, but rather the strange disappearance of something from your residence!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengyuan's mind went blank.

His hands trembled slightly, and his lips even quivered a little.

He forced himself to remain calm and said, "What strangeness? Although I am currently a suspect wanted by the Heavenly Punishment Division, I am still an official of the imperial court. How could the Benevolent King slander me so easily!"

As he said this, his heart sank to the bottom.

Indeed, there was something strange about his own residence. There was nothing he could do; his son had ordinary talent and cultivated slowly, so he had no choice but to take an unorthodox approach to cultivation.

Using unorthodox methods for cultivation is not unusual on the Tianhuang Continent.

However, for an official to harbor such strange creatures is a serious crime punishable by having his property confiscated.

After all, raising strange creatures requires living beings to feed them.

"Is that so? You know best whether it's true or not."

"Still being stubborn? You used some kind of supernatural means to assassinate my Heavenly Punishment Division's guards? Do you really think no one will know?"

What?! Li Chengyuan was immediately shocked!

"Injustice! How dare you, the Heavenly Punishment Division, slander me so arbitrarily!"

"I have no grudge against the Heavenly Punishment Division, so why would I order such a bizarre assassination of their guards?"

"I understand. You mean I ordered the assassination of those fifty guards who died?"

Only now did Li Chengyuan understand why the Heavenly Punishment Division had arrested him.

But he was truly innocent; when had he ever sent a mysterious figure to assassinate the guards?

"That's right!"

As Xia Zhaoyan spoke, he picked up a document and tossed it to Li Chengyuan, "Take a look for yourself!"

Li Chengyuan hurriedly checked the contents, and the more he read, the more horrified and angry he became.

What terrified them was the strange marks on the guards' bodies; they were indeed left behind by the one that had disappeared from their own residence.

What's infuriating is that I had no idea this strange creature had committed such a heinous crime!

He no longer cared about being discovered keeping the monster; his most important task now was to prove that he wasn't the murderer!

At worst, the former would be executed, but his family members could continue to live.

If the latter's crime is proven, his whole family will be buried with him!

"Your Highness, I swear to God, I am truly not the mastermind behind the assassination of the guards."

"I admit that I keep a few strange creatures in my household, but I only intend to use them to improve the cultivation of my sons."

"That eerie creature disappeared a long time ago. I thought it had secretly escaped, so I spent a lot of time searching for it in private."

"The restriction I placed within it has lost its effect, and as a result, I have also lost track of it!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhaoyan and Mu Wenhan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of shock in each other's eyes.

Xia Zhaoyan could tell that Li Chengyuan was not lying. So how could the strange thing about losing its master be that it could assassinate fifty guards and then completely disappear?

His brain was working frantically, analyzing every detail before and after.

Suddenly, his heart sank to the bottom; he realized he was being led by the nose!

Li Chengyuan is taking the blame for someone else. Xia Zhaoyan can't help but suspect that the real mastermind is probably deliberately leaving behind various clues.

All these clues point to Li Chengyuan, suggesting that he is the Eighth Prince's man.

Then he was certain that someone wanted to incite a conflict between him and his eighth brother!

Who exactly orchestrated all of this?

He doesn't have time to investigate who's really behind this, even though the final result is different from what he initially expected.

But the effect is the same, as long as Li Chengyuan's crime of keeping strange creatures is confirmed.

Then I will have enough confidence in the court the day after tomorrow!

After thinking it through, Xia Zhaoyan breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Li Chengyuan.