Hot flashes

After the main culprits of the Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Shen families were executed, the officials of the Three Departments worked day and night to review the account books, letters, calling cards, and secret letters confiscated from the four families' mansions, villas, shops, and banks. The yellowed pages were densely covered with not only the four families' own properties and private armies, but also the names of all the officials who had been closely associated with them, secretly colluded with them, accepted bribes, or maintained "benevolent silence" at crucial moments over the decades.

These names are like roots lying dormant deep in the mud, invisible and intangible in normal times, but once someone tries to pull them out, they will find that they are larger, more tangled, and more difficult to clear than any visible branches and leaves on the ground.

Some had received money from the Cui family, some had done private favors for the Lu family, some had formed marriage alliances with the Zheng family, some had signed Shen Yu's letter of recommendation, some had spoken up for the powerful families in court, and some had chosen silence when wavering between the powerful families and the court.

That silence, which could normally be interpreted as caution, prudence, and impartiality, took on another name after the treason case was settled: observation.

In times of peace and prosperity, remaining on the sidelines is a sign of self-preservation; in cases of treason, it is seen as harboring malicious intentions.

Xiao Jue's decree was very clear: "Anyone who colludes with the four families, accepts bribes, exchanges letters, or secretly communicates with them, regardless of rank or relationship, shall be strictly investigated and punished according to the law."

This imperial edict was not drafted by the cabinet, nor reviewed by the Office of Transmission, nor even read aloud at court. Instead, it was sent directly to the Three Departments and the Censorate in the form of a secret edict from the inner court.

Those who received the secret edict knew what it meant—His Majesty wanted no procedures, no delays, and no excuses or cover-ups of any kind.

What he wanted was speed, ruthlessness, cleanliness, and a single, decisive cut that severed the root and all the mud.

The Ministry of Justice's constables and the Imperial Guards were divided into several small teams, each carrying a roster, and simultaneously raided the residences of officials throughout the capital in the early morning of the eleventh day of the first lunar month.

Some of those mansions were located in the area where nobles lived near the capital, with vermilion gates and copper rings, stone lions guarding the gates, and red lanterns that had been replaced for the New Year hanging in front of the gates, the gold powder on the lantern paper shimmering in the morning light.

Some are hidden deep in the winding alleys of the south of the city. Their storefronts are small, but their courtyard walls are extremely high. From the outside, you can only see a few bare branches of old locust trees peeking out from the walls and a corner of a gray roof ridge, like a cat lurking in the dark, silent but ready to pounce at any moment.

The people leading the teams all had a detailed list, which included not only the names, official positions, and hometowns of the officials, but also the specific reasons why they were involved with the four families.

Everything was crystal clear, as if someone had been following them for decades, remembering every single detail perfectly.

The first to be taken down were the high-ranking officials who had the closest ties with the four companies, were the most deeply involved, and had almost no room for argument.

Qian Duan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, appeared seventeen times in the Cui family's account books. The amount, time, and person in charge of each transaction were clearly written. He didn't even have the energy to refute it. When he was taken away kneeling in his own main hall, his face was ashen, like a crumpled old rag.

Although Wu Huai-ren, a senior official in the Ministry of Works, was executed in Jiangnan, the investigation into his accomplices and superiors in the capital had only just begun.

From the Ministry of Works to the Ministry of Revenue, and from the Ministry of Revenue to the Ministry of Personnel, a single thread was drawn out, revealing a network far larger than anyone had anticipated.

The position of Director of the Personnel Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel is particularly noteworthy.

This physician had worked in the Ministry of Personnel for over a decade, overseeing the selection, appointment, and evaluation of officials below the fourth rank nationwide. He was a powerful figure whom everyone in the capital fawned over, with students and old friends all over the country.

It was harder to see him than to see the Minister. His gate was always bustling with carriages and horses, people coming and going from morning till night to bring gifts, ask for favors, and inquire about information.

But when the Imperial Guards broke down the door, his door, which was always open to visitors, finally closed.