Mei Wen Shi's face was unsightly.

Even he, with all his cunning and experience, felt somewhat at a loss.

The Emperor's edict had completely torn away the last pretense between them!

To put it bluntly, the Mei family was now faced with a 'you die or I live' situation, with no other option!

But the struggle for power was extremely dangerous.

One wrong step would lead to eternal damnation!

Mei Wen Shi's shrewd eyes flashed with worry, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness.

This was a fight of trapped beasts, and he had no choice but to fight!

"Kang'er, what you said makes some sense, but now is not the time to show our cards!"

Mei Wen Shi raised his hand, signaling Mei Kang to sit down, and said calmly, "Now, both His Majesty and our Mei family are testing each other. Whoever loses their composure and strikes first will be at a disadvantage!"

"Your sister was too impatient and acted recklessly, which allowed the Emperor to seize the opportunity."

"This is a lesson from the past, and you must not repeat such a foolish mistake."

Mei Kang was somewhat unwilling and growled, "Father, are we just going to sit here and let the Emperor bully us?!"

Mei Wen Shi was displeased with his son's impulsiveness and frowned, "Calm down!"

"How can you accomplish anything with such impatience?"

After reprimanding him, Mei Wen Shi's eyes revealed a hint of ruthlessness, and he said darkly, "Not showing our cards doesn't mean we sit and wait for death."

"Your father has been in power for many years, supporting half of the Great Wei Dynasty, with countless relatives and colleagues! If the Emperor wants to move against our Mei family, he will have to ask if the people of the world agree!"

As he spoke, he stood up, his cold gaze locking onto Mei Kang.

With a threatening tone, he said, "Therefore, do not act rashly, and do not do anything behind my back!"

"If you ruin the Mei family's grand plan because of your actions, then don't blame me for disregarding our father-son relationship! Do you understand?"

Mei Kang gritted his teeth, and a flash of unwillingness flickered in his eyes.

But in the end, he did not have the courage to resist his father and lowered his head, "Your son understands!"

Only then did Mei Wen Shi withdraw his gaze and look at the map of the vast land in the study.

"You will set off now and send the message to the Mei family in Longxi, as well as the twelve southern prefectures. Make sure to let the nobles along the way understand the severity of the situation, they will know what to do."

"Yes!" Mei Kang immediately retreated.

Mei Wen Shi watched him leave, a cold smile rising on the corner of his mouth, "Your Majesty, you want to move against our Mei family? Then let's see if you have the ability to do so!"

...

The next day, the Jinluan Hall.

Bright sunlight poured in from the dome, outlining the solemn faces of the civil and military officials.

Even the air around them was deathly silent.

Jiang Chen sat on the highest seat, with Feng Jin reading the imperial edict beside him.

The content was to execute Mei Ruo Ying and thoroughly investigate the outflow of military equipment!

To avoid some ignorant people from singing a different tune, Jiang Chen had also specially brought the various standard military equipment that Xu Chang Qing had transported back yesterday into the hall, placing it directly in front of the officials.

With conclusive evidence, the officials remained silent, not daring to get involved in such a thorny matter.

After the imperial edict was read, Feng Jin stepped back.

Only then did Jiang Chen say with a cold gaze, "The laws of the Great Wei Dynasty are strict, and among them, the private trafficking of standard military equipment is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations!"

"But now, I have seized so many supplies from the hands of assassins, who can give me an explanation?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the officials changed.

Among them, some officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works were particularly prominent, so frightened that they could barely hold onto their court tablets.

Jiang Chen carefully noted these people, preparing to have the Dark Guards thoroughly investigate their backgrounds after the court session.

Of course, these were all minor matters.

The most important thing right now was to use the military equipment incident to nail Mei Ruo Ying and the Mei family.

A cold smile rising on the corner of his mouth, Jiang Chen continued, "According to the Dark Guards' investigation, the leader behind this assassin organization hiding military equipment has the intention of rebellion! Poisoning, assassination, arson, these three things were all planned by him!"

"Furthermore, Zhang Kang, the Grand Censor's rebellion, was also arranged by this organization!"

"And Consort Mei!" Jiang Chen's gaze swept over Mei Wen Shi, and he said calmly, "And Consort Mei, also has a close relationship with this assassin organization!"

"Such a powerful force, what are your thoughts, dear ministers?"

The officials were shocked and terrified, and they all remained silent.

This information was truly shocking, and they dared not say anything more.

Just as the officials were silent, Mei Wen Shi stepped forward.

He knelt in the center of the hall, kowtowing heavily, and said, "Your Majesty, this is a misunderstanding!"

A trace of mockery flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, "A misunderstanding? What do you mean by that, Minister Mei?"

Mei Wen Shi's expression remained unchanged, and he slowly raised his head, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, Consort Mei has been virtuous and obedient since she was a child, abiding by the virtues of women, how could she be related to such a rebel organization?"

"To convict Consort Mei based on a vague piece of paper, Your Majesty's actions are a bit hasty!"

As he spoke, he met Jiang Chen's gaze, and said without any fear, "Moreover, the Consort was almost burned to death by these assassins a while ago. If they really had a connection, how could those assassins have been so cruel to the Consort?"

"In my opinion, this piece of paper must have been set up by someone with ulterior motives, wanting to frame the Consort, sow discord between you and your ministers, thereby disrupting the court and taking the opportunity to profit! Your Majesty, you must not fall for the tricks of those treacherous villains!"

After saying that, Mei Wen Shi kowtowed again, putting on a noble posture of worrying about the country and the people.

Jiang Chen quite admired the old man's ability to adapt to the situation, but it was a pity that he could not be used by him.

"This matter has been investigated by my Dark Guard Commander. She personally saw the paper and carrier pigeon flying out of Consort Mei's palace, how could it be false?"

"Minister Mei, are you publicly questioning me?"

Mei Wen Shi did not panic at all, and cupped his hands, "I dare not, Your Majesty, but there are many doubts about this matter, and it needs further investigation."

"After all, the paper can be forged, and the Consort may have been framed."

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his voice, saying with certainty:

"Just last night, I found some clues. The origins of several palace maids serving Consort Mei are a mystery. I am sure that they are the assassins lurking in the palace!"

"This piece of paper must have been written by them, and then they framed the Consort!"

"I can offer the list of these maids to Your Majesty, and let the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review investigate to prove the Consort's innocence!"

Looking at Mei Wen Shi, who was speaking eloquently in the center of the hall, Jiang Chen smiled.

But there was no trace of a smile in his eyes, instead, they were filled with cold light!

"Absurd!"

"Since the fire, the palace servants around Mei have all been carefully selected and sent by me!"

"What do you mean by this? Are you accusing me?"

"Or are you implying to the ministers that the whole thing is a conspiracy by me against your Mei family?"

Mei Wen Shi remained calm, as if he could not feel Jiang Chen's killing intent.

He kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I just don't want the Consort to be wronged and damage the harmony between the ruler and his ministers, I have no other intentions."

This unyielding attitude made Jiang Chen secretly think he was difficult to deal with.

But he was determined to eliminate the Mei family, so naturally he would not back down...