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

The princes standing in front of the officials all turned their heads to look at Xia Zhaoyan.

Among these people, some looked regretful, some looked indifferent, and some had gloating in their eyes.

Previously, none of the princes looked up to the Heavenly Punishment Division.

However, even some of the princes now harbor the desire to take over the Heavenly Punishment Division.

Who wouldn't want to control the power granted by the emperor?

It's a complete combination of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Six Doors.

However, they did not personally intervene; it was only among their own people that most of the officials who stood up to impeach them in the court were impeached.

In any case, for these princes, the so-called royal brotherhood was nothing compared to the benefits brought by power.

Mu Wenhan's forehead was already sweating. Although he knew what the Prince Ren was planning, this was the first time he had faced so many ministers' impeachment.

When no one else stepped forward, Emperor Xia Hongwu looked at Mu Wenhan.

"Minister Mu, do you have anything to say regarding the accusations from our ministers?"

...

"Your Majesty, I can only say that they have slandered me."

"The deaths of those fifty guards were caused by someone secretly controlling a mysterious entity to assassinate them."

"Now, after our investigation, we know that the monster has long been silenced."

"So it's not that I lack the ability!"

"I have reason to suspect that the mastermind behind this strange phenomenon is one of those who have come forward today to slander me."

Everyone's expression changed; no one had expected Mu Wenhan to go so insane.

"Nonsense, Your Majesty! I have never controlled any supernatural entities!"

...

"Your Majesty, Mu Wenhan has wronged me!"

...

"Your Majesty, minister..."

Everyone rushed to the scene, accusing Mu Wenhan of wrongly accusing someone.

The supernatural has existed for a long time, but because of its special nature, once it gets involved with officials of the imperial court, things become very serious.

Finally, one of the officials stepped forward to speak.

"Your Majesty, in order to escape the accusations and impeachments of the people, Mu Wenhan actually openly slandered everyone in the court."

"I believe he is not suitable for the position of Director of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau. Looking at all the institutions in the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there is none as closed off as the Heavenly Punishment Bureau."

"Because Mu Wenhan has controlled the Heavenly Punishment Bureau for too long, he has turned this imperial institution into a private one."

"This old minister suggests that personnel be dispatched from other agencies to join the Heavenly Punishment Bureau, so as not to let this core agency escape the control of the imperial court."

"If the imperial court had intervened back then, the deaths of fifty guards wouldn't have gone unsolved for so long!"

Xia Zhaoyan knew it was his turn to step in. The fact that the other officials were starting to take the stage meant that they were officially revealing their hand.

They're going to interfere with the operation of the Heavenly Punishment Bureau!

"Father, I have something to report!" Xia Zhaoyan's voice instantly silenced the noisy court.

"Speak!" The Xia Emperor's voice was unreadable.

"Father, we have investigated and found that the strange incident of the assassination of the Heavenly Punishment Division's guard originated from the residence of an Inspector General of the Censorate."

boom!!

Everyone was shocked, and their hearts began to pound.

The Censorate—that's a court agency directly under His Majesty.

No one expected that today's attack on King Ren and the Heavenly Punishment Bureau would involve the Censorate.

Some people began to regret their decision, realizing that things weren't going according to plan.

Every time Niou makes a move, he catches everyone off guard from an unexpected angle.

At this moment, the head of the Censorate, along with the Left and Right Censors-in-Chief, the Left and Right Deputy Censors-in-Chief, the Left and Right Assistant Censors-in-Chief, and all other officials belonging to the Censorate, stepped forward.

They rushed out, shouting their grievances and questioning Xia Zhaoyan.

"Your Highness, you can't just shift the blame to officials of my Censorate because everyone is targeting your Heavenly Punishment Division!"

...

"That's right, the Censorate is an agency directly under His Majesty. Even if you are a prince, how can you be allowed to slander us at will!"

Xia Zhaoyan ignored these people and looked at his father, the emperor, at the head of the table, though the space there was blurry and his appearance was not clearly visible.

But Xia Zhaoyan knew that his father was watching him.

"Father, I did not slander that censor."

"We've already found five domesticated monsters in his residence!"

hum! ! !

The murmurs among the officials below grew even louder instantly; previously, one could have argued that it was the benevolent king who was slandering them.

However, they actually found several strange things in the mansion, which meant they were caught red-handed.

At this moment, someone finally realized that the Heavenly Punishment Division's second visit to the Li residence was to investigate the strange occurrences!

At this moment, Xia Zhaoyan took out a confession and presented it with both hands.

"Father, this is the confession of Li Chengyuan, the Censor of the Censorate. He admits to keeping a strange creature, and that the strange creature that assassinated the Heavenly Punishment Division was one he had previously kept."

The palace eunuch standing nearby carefully took the confession and quickly presented it to Emperor Xia.

At this moment, the court was quiet, and everyone looked at Prince Ren with very complicated expressions.

Even those high-ranking officials who had served under several dynasties looked at the young man in front of them with complicated emotions.

Some people couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What a pity!"

They regretted that King Ni was born too late, and that he did not have the support of a powerful maternal clan. Otherwise, he would not have been granted the title of King Ni and would have lost his qualification to compete for the throne.

This is clearly a person with profound wisdom and a broad vision!

Bang! ! !

Suddenly, a violent explosion rang out in the main hall. The air around Emperor Xia above exploded, and the space itself trembled and rippled.

The air pressure in the main hall had reached its limit.

"Hehe, good, very good!"

"How could there be such a person in my dignified Censorate who disregards the law and deceives his superiors?"

"Gao Zhan, as the head of the Censorate, do you know your crime?!"

Not only Gao Zhan, but also the officials of the Censorate behind him trembled and bowed.

"Your Majesty, I...I am guilty!"

"I have failed in my judgment of character and in my incompetence in management, and have thus failed Your Majesty's trust!"

...

"Hmph, of course you are guilty. How dare you, a dignified Censor, harbor treacherous individuals and accept bribes from local prefects? Is this how you manage the Censorate for me?"

"Listen carefully, because of your poor management, you are hereby fined one year's salary."

"The rest of the Censorate members shall have their salaries reduced by six months!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Censorate breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly expressed their gratitude to His Majesty for his great favor.

Xia Zhaoyan felt a great sense of relief. It seemed that the pressure exerted on the Heavenly Punishment Division by everyone today was likely to fail.

Compared to the Censorate, the reasons given by the people for attacking the Heavenly Punishment Bureau are simply untenable.

If the high-ranking officials of the Censorate are only fined, then the Emperor will certainly not allow other forces to interfere with the Heavenly Punishment Division.

All of this was planned in advance by Xia Zhaoyan. By comparing the problems of the Censorate with those of the Heavenly Punishment Division, the Heavenly Punishment Division appeared to be a loyal and devoted institution at this time!

Some of the wise ministers have clearly realized what King Ni has done today!

This time, everyone secretly gasped in shock at the sight of this prince!