Upon hearing the Emperor say to send the "family letter" to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Eunuch Fu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xingxing’s "family letter" was not only heartfelt but started out well-written, yet the further it went, the more illegible it became, making it rather difficult to read.

Within Xingxing’s "family letter," there wasn’t a single good official mentioned. Although the matters described were minor, they were closely related to the common people. If investigated... who knows how many people would be unlucky.

Eunuch Fu personally delivered this weighty impeachment memorial to the Ministry of Justice.

Eunuch Fu, a favored person beside the Emperor, had been loyal for decades. His sudden appearance at the Ministry of Justice, instead of serving the Emperor in the palace, startled everyone there, thinking a shocking case had emerged.

Eunuch Fu thought, although the cases Xingxing presented were minor, once investigated, they could cause quite a stir throughout the court for several months.

Not many major cases have such impact.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice approached and asked, "Why has Eunuch Fu come to the Ministry of Justice? Has the Emperor given any instructions?"

Eunuch Fu nodded lightly.

He turned his head, and the little eunuch behind him stepped forward with a tray.

On the tray lay those two books of family letters.

Eunuch Fu said, "The Emperor instructed Minister Qu to have these two cases investigated."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice was genuinely curious about what kind of cases had bypassed the Three Ministries and alerted the Emperor?

When he picked up the book and glanced through it, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice’s lips twitched.

"Isn’t this the family letter written by the maid of the Heir’s wife of Prince Zhenbei to the Emperor?" The Minister of the Ministry of Justice asked in bewilderment.

"Minister Qu, please look further," Eunuch Fu stated.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice flipped through a few more pages, and even his eye began to twitch.

Though the Ministry of Justice deals with major cases, these minor cases...

To call them minor cases is incorrect; the County Magistrate’s son forcibly took a common girl, resulting in a death, a matter concerning human life, and the Magistrate is involved, thus it cannot be considered a minor case.

After passing along the message, Eunuch Fu didn’t delay the Minister of the Ministry of Justice any longer and returned to the palace.

It had just been the Emperor having a headache, and now it was the Minister of the Ministry of Justice’s turn to have one.

The Emperor could become a hands-off manager, but the Minister of the Ministry of Justice couldn’t afford to.

Sitting on the chair, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice turned a page and sent a government official to investigate the truth.

One government official after another took orders and left.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice read aloud a case of wrongful death, saying, "Come, go to Lizhou to investigate...."

After that, there was no response.

Raising his head, the large Ministry of Justice was already empty.

"Where is everyone?" The Minister of the Ministry of Justice asked.

Where have they gone?

The mouth of Assistant Minister Lord Lin twitched uncontrollably. He looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and said, "Now, apart from a few who are in the prison interrogating and haven’t come back yet, only myself and Lord Minister are left."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice, "...."

Lord Lin considered that the Ministry of Justice could just close down.

How could just he and the minister manage the Ministry of Justice?

To truly adjudicate, there’s not even anyone left to shout for order.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at the "case file" in his hand, and his brain involuntarily cramped.

Even though he hadn’t finished reading this one, there was nobody left to command.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice rose from the chair, and Lord Lin watched him, "Where are you going, my lord?"

"To the Ministry of Justice, to pass half of this case to them, and then borrow a few people," the Minister of the Ministry of Justice felt exhausted.

He had sent everyone away, without even holding back a little.

Lord Lin wanted to go with the Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice looked at him, "All gone, the Ministry of Justice truly needs to close."

Lord Lin, "...."

The Minister of the Ministry of Justice mounted his horse and left.

Lord Lin stood bewildered in front of the main door.

Don’t leave him alone here, he felt unnerved in this empty Ministry of Justice.

Border, within the military camp.

Xingxing was unaware of how many people her two family books had troubled.

Having mastered the skill of writing longer family letters, she no longer fretted over writing them.

By being so obedient, the Emperor would definitely reward her generously, wouldn’t he?

Thinking of the great rewards awaiting her upon returning to the Capital City, Xingxing’s eyebrows curved into crescents with joy.

In recent days, Nanliang hadn’t attacked the city. If Su Jin guessed correctly, the design for the crossbow car had already reached Nanliang.

Nanliang plans to assault the city after building the crossbow car.

Considering the days, there should have been a response by now, shouldn’t there?

Just as she was thinking, Xueling came running, saying, "Princess Consort, the spy has been captured."

"Who is it?" Xingxing asked eagerly.

"It is General Guide, under the Prince," Xueling replied.

Xingxing furrowed her brows.

How could it be someone from the Prince’s side?

Even Su Jin was surprised at such a result.

General Guide, Secondary Third Rank, was one of the Prince’s top generals.

General Guide’s father had saved the Old Prince, and for all these years, he’d followed the Prince through life and death numerous times, earning the Prince’s trust.

Hearing that he betrayed the nation, Su Jin was really astonished.

But thinking of Su Chong and others’ failed attempt to burn Nanliang’s grain and forage, Su Jin wasn’t surprised anymore.

From the start, they knew the spy held a significant position in the army; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known about Su Chong and others’ plan to night raid the enemy camp.

Moreover, they had tried so hard to catch the spy without any success, indicating the spy was highly alert, and certainly not a common person.

Su Jin rose, determined to see why General Guide decided to betray and sell out the country.

Inside the tent, it was crowded.

General Guide knelt on the ground, his face strangely red, eyes filled with terror.

He was tightly bound, struggling but unable to break free.

He felt unbearably itchy all over, desperate for ten pairs of hands to scratch.

Since yesterday, he had felt somewhat itchy, but hadn’t paid much attention, assuming the heat and lack of bathing caused it.

Who would have thought he’d be awakened by itching at night, calling for the military doctor early in the morning to check his pulse?

After the military doctor left, before the medicine arrived, Prince NanAn and others came to capture him.

He didn’t expect the design for the crossbow car had been poisoned by the Princess Consort.

The poison’s outbreak exposed the fact that he’d bribed someone to steal the design.

He didn’t even get a chance to argue.

The Prince looked at him, disappointed, and asked, "Why did you do it?"

General Guide let out a bitter laugh, "It’s too late to say anything now."

Marquis Dongxiang looked at him and said, "General Li saved the Old Prince. You’ve been following the Prince for years, knowing he is someone who repays his debts, yet you chose to leave behind a bright future to help Nanliang?"

Such an obviously unreasonable move, who would believe there was no issue?

General Guide regretted it, his nose stinging as he explained the truth.

Three years ago, his son killed someone, witnessed by the Heir of Duke Chong.

Duke Chong knew he was trusted by the Prince, using it as leverage to coerce him into secretly serving him, or his son would be executed.

As a father, could he sit and watch his son beheaded?

Since then, he had secretly served Duke Chong.

Just in those years without war, Duke Chong hadn’t much needed him as a pawn. After escaping the Capital City, he sent a message instructing him to assist Nanliang when necessary.

He struggled, but already being onboard with Duke Chong, he had no chance to retreat.

Another part of the reason General Guide didn’t mention, but everyone could guess.

His treason might be related to Xie Jingchen’s incident.

The Prince had only two sons, and with Xie Jingchen’s issue, the Prince would be succeeded by Xie Jingchuan.

Who was Xie Jingchuan?

He was Duke Chong’s external nephew.

Helping Duke Chong was essentially helping Xie Jingchuan.

The Prince closed his eyes, opening them after a while, looking at Su Jin and saying, "Give him the antidote."

Su Jin looked at Xingxing.

Xingxing pouted unwillingly.

A traitorous bastard who sold out the country should suffer more, shouldn’t he?

But the Prince had ordered, she dared not disobey, pulling out the antidote from the newly made satchel, poured out a pill, and handed it to the soldier.

The soldier took the pill, feeding it to General Guide.

The Prince said, "Escort him to the Capital City, handing him over to the Emperor for judgment."

General Li saved the Old Prince, and the Prince remembered the kindness of the Li family.

However, General Guide’s treason was too grave, nearly jeopardizing Su Chong and Prince NanAn’s lives; such a crime was too substantial to be pardoned by anyone.