Chen Mu was filled with anger, a hint of threat flashed in his eyes, and he tore off the pretense of friendliness.
He said to Su Ye coldly:
"If you don't eat the toast, you will be fined! If you don't hand over the box, you will be responsible for the consequences."
However, Su Ye didn't care about Chen Mu's threats. He responded with a smile:
"Master Chen, some people and some things cannot be measured from a secular perspective. I stick to my principles and will not compromise for five buckets of rice."
Hearing this, Chen Mu felt that he was being played wantonly by Su Ye in white, and he felt extremely angry.
He stood up suddenly and overturned the tea set on the table. Tea splashed everywhere and the atmosphere became tense for a moment.
Chen Mu stared at Su Ye, sparks of anger flashing in his eyes, as if he was about to explode at the next moment.
However, Su Ye still maintained a calm attitude, as if he didn't care about all this.
Mo Yi, who was waiting on the side, immediately pulled out his sword and stood in front of Su Ye.
Seeing that he could not gain the upper hand, Chen Mu gritted his teeth:
"Okay, okay, okay!"
His tone was full of sarcasm:
"Su Ye, if you insist on going your own way, you will regret it sooner or later!"
After saying that, he walked away, leaving the prime minister's house in a mess.
Su Ye was still sitting on the chair with a calm expression, as if he had expected this scene.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He knew that this struggle had just begun, and a bigger storm was yet to come.
Chen Mu's threat was not empty talk.
The next day, Chen Jie just left the city and wanted to stay away from this place of right and wrong.
He was killed in the suburbs by the masters sent by the assistant minister.
However, when Chen Jie bled to death, he had a happy smile on his face.
When he betrayed the auxiliary minister, he was already a dead man.
The reason why he has survived until now is only because Yan Lingshan came to the rescue.
At least, he could do something for her.
Closing his eyes, Yan Lingshan's gentle eyebrows seemed to reappear in Chen Jie's eyes.
The news of Chen Jie's murder reached Su Ye's ears, and he sighed.
He also asked Chen Jie if he needed the protection of Jin Yiwei, but Chen Jie refused.
Perhaps, dying for Yan Lingshan is the best ending in Chen Jie's heart.
Su Ye took out the box that Chen Jie had stolen from Chen Mu's mansion at the risk of his death, and was filled with emotion.
He will not let Chen Jie die in vain.
Su Ye took out the list from the box and resolutely brought it to the empress.
royal palace.
Yan Lichu looked at the corruption list in his hand.
Densely packed, dozens of people.
Not surprisingly, most of them are from the faction of Assistant Minister Chen Mu.
What makes the list even more convincing is that it is clearly Chen Mu’s own handwriting!
Chen Mu's original intention in writing this list was to use the officials of the Yan Kingdom for common crimes.
But thirty years later it turned into a complete list of crimes!
Yan Lichu looked at the familiar names, including many prominent figures in the Yan Kingdom's court.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes, wondering how much money these officials had embezzled in the past few decades.
Those shabby weapons and armor might be the result of corruption on the list!
Thinking of this, Yan Lichu could no longer restrain the anger in her heart. She stood up suddenly:
"Anyone on the list who is corrupt will be killed without mercy!"
But Su Ye stood up and stopped the impulsive empress:
"Your Majesty, think twice. Corrupt people are certainly hateful, but if they are all executed on the spot, it will cause turmoil in most of the court, and may even shake the country."
Yan Lichu was not a stupid person, although he was temporarily blinded by anger.
But she finally woke up after Su Ye's persuasion. She took a deep breath and suppressed her anger:
"According to Prime Minister Su, how should we deal with it?"
Su Ye thought for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty, for this reason, it is better to give them a chance to admit it. If they refuse to admit it, it will not be too late to execute them."
When Yan Lichu heard the words, he knew that what Su Ye said was true, so he nodded in agreement:
"Then just follow what Prime Minister Su said."
In the court hall the next day, Yan Lichu glanced at the ministers below and said firmly:
"I already have the list of corruption cases that year. If someone is willing to admit and hand over the embezzled payment, I can let him go. But if no one admits it and I find out, then don't blame me for being rude. All Kill without mercy!"
After Yan Lichu finished speaking, the court fell into a dead silence.
The ministers' hearts were heavy and they exchanged nervous glances. Each could see the fear and worry in each other's eyes.
No one knows how much evidence Yan Lichu has, or the existence of the list.
In this tense atmosphere, the officials in the court lowered their heads one after another, feeling uneasy in their hearts.
What shocked everyone even more was that Yan Lichu's eyes suddenly locked on Chen Mu:
"Counsellor, what do you think?"
To this day, Chen Mu is optimistic that Yan Lichu and Su Ye will never dare to risk political instability.
Capture everyone on that list.
It's just a bluff!
However, when he felt the firmness and determination in Yan Lichu's eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in his heart.
Chen Mu knew that the empress was warning him.
In any case, it would be foolish to openly contradict the empress in the court.
He cleared his throat, forced himself to calm down, and said in a righteous manner:
"Your Majesty, corruption is a cancer for the country. If your Majesty really has conclusive evidence, then I believe that no matter who is involved, they should be dealt with in accordance with the law and will not be tolerated."
The forces on the side of the auxiliary minister felt panicked when they saw that their immediate superiors stood up to support him.
Could it be that the auxiliary minister, in order to protect his own safety, handed over these little minions?
An uneasy chain of suspicion runs through the hearts of all corrupt people.
This is the effect Su Ye wants. Amidst such suspicion, there must be some unsteady people who cannot bear it.
Letting the people involved in the case admit it will serve as a warning to the monkeys more than beheading them all.
A deathly silence spread throughout the entire hall.
The atmosphere in the court became even more tense, with cold sweat breaking out on the foreheads of the ministers and fear in their hearts.
They knew that Yan Lichu was serious this time.
No one dares to betray the entire corruption-crime collective and become the leader.
Seeing that no one dared to stand up and admit it, Yan Lichu's face became even more ugly.
Just when she clenched her fists and was about to get angry, a trembling voice came:
"Your Majesty, I...I plead guilty."
It turned out that it was a low-ranking official in the Ministry of Rites who could not bear the torture in his heart and the pressure of beheading, so he stood up.
He knelt on the ground tremblingly and said:
"Your Majesty, I would like to admit that this is my embezzlement over the years, totaling one thousand taels of silver."
After speaking, he took the initiative to hand over a thousand taels of silver notes.
A cold glint flashed across Yan Lichu's eyes. She knew that the first official who dared to admit his crime was just the tip of the iceberg.
However, she kept her word and issued the order:
"Those who voluntarily surrender will be exempted from the death penalty, deprived of their official positions, and exiled to the frontier."
The petty official felt deeply that he had survived and knelt down repeatedly:
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"
Yan Lichu stared at the ministers in the court sternly, his tone was like the cold winter north wind:
"Is there anyone among you who is willing to come forward?"
With the first one, can the second one be far behind?