Looking at the Marquis of Chengen, a beautiful figure flashed through Jiang Chen's mind.

The reason this person's attitude was so firm must be because he was instructed by Lu Wangshu!

Hmph, things have come to this point, yet the Grand Concubine Lu still dares to protect the Prince of Jiangzuo. She truly doesn't know what's good for her!

Suppressing the displeasure in his heart, Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes and said, "Then, according to the Marquis of Chengen, what should I do?"

"Should I respectfully welcome the Prince of Jiangzuo out, to cooperate with my good royal uncle?"

The sarcastic tone made the Marquis of Chengen's heart skip a beat. With a smile, he said, "Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare."

"It's just that General Xu hasn't returned yet, and no one knows the specifics. The person who secretly hid the army isn't necessarily the Prince of Jiangzuo."

"Perhaps, this is all just a conspiracy of the Fire Worship Sect."

"If Your Majesty is fooled and does something that leads to bloodshed among relatives, it will be too late to undo, and the Great Wei empire will fall into turmoil."

His words were impassioned, drawing admiring glances from many courtiers.

But Jiang Chen was amused by this shameless appearance. "Good, very good!"

"Since the Marquis of Chengen is so well-intentioned, it would seem foolish of me not to listen… Then, as you say, we'll wait for General Xu to return to court and interrogate the prisoners before making a decision, how about that?"

The Marquis of Chengen knelt on the ground, praising his wisdom, and breathed a great sigh of relief in his heart.

But before he could finish exhaling, Jiang Chen spoke again, "However, criminal punishment can be avoided, but confinement must continue."

"Before Xu Qing returns, the Prince of Jiangzuo must remain in the palace. No objections, right?"

"No, no." Seeing the advantage, the Marquis of Chengen respectfully said.

Jiang Chen had no intention of dwelling on this matter and finalized the decision, "Then let's do that for now. The specific handling of the Prince of Jiangzuo will be discussed after the matter is clarified."

"Now, it's time to discuss the innocent young girls who were harmed in the Imperial City."

Mentioning this matter, Jiang Chen's face turned slightly cold. "Because of those derelict wastes in the yamen and the Three Divisions, the people have a deep resentment towards the court, and even I have been insulted!"

"You tell me, how do you plan to make amends?"

Hearing this, the ministers immediately erupted, discussing and blaming the Three Law Divisions' dereliction of duty, trying to shirk responsibility.

Jiang Chen sat high above, watching coldly.

Seeing how long it would take for this group of ministers under his command to come up with a plan.

Amidst the chaos, five ministers stepped forward.

There were both civil and military officials, all with high ranks and considerable power.

With such a force combined, even Jiang Chen, the Son of Heaven, had to give them some consideration.

After the five of them came forward, they knelt straight down, pleading with faces full of indignation, "Your Majesty, please do justice for us!"

"Our daughters were all abducted by those foreign Gu masters, and almost turned into insect people… Although they have been rescued now, they weep every day and have even attempted suicide several times."

"Even when going out to socialize, they are met with contempt and rejection… We are heartbroken as fathers!" Speaking of the emotional parts, tears flickered in the eyes of these ministers.

Although he knew that there was some performance involved, Jiang Chen, thinking of the tragic state he had seen in the cellar that day, did not expose them, understanding their desire to avenge their daughters.

He immediately softened his tone and said, "Alright, I understand your grievances. I will definitely provide a suitable solution. Wipe your tears and stand up."

"This is the Golden Luan Hall, a place for officials to discuss matters of state, so it's best to maintain proper decorum."

Seeming to mistakenly believe that Jiang Chen was using delaying tactics to perfunctorily deal with them.

Among the five people kneeling and begging, the middle-aged man dressed as a military general was unwilling to rise. He cupped his fist and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, I believe that I have been loyal to you and to the Great Wei, and have made many contributions."

"How, how can you perfunctorily deal with me like this? Aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of loyal subjects?!"

As soon as this remark came out, the faces of the ministers in the hall changed drastically.

Jiang Chen, at the head of the hall, also showed anger and sternly said, "Wu Zhibo, are you threatening me?"

Thump!

The middle-aged military general knelt down upon hearing this, his eyes filled with despair. "I wouldn't dare, I only want to implore Your Majesty, for the sake of my past merits, to seek justice for my daughter!"

"Otherwise, I would rather resign from my post, leave the Imperial City, and return to my hometown to live with my daughter!"

The threatening words caused the officials to look sideways, and the air became silent.

Hiss, is this old Wu crazy?

He actually dares to offend His Majesty in front of the court. Doesn't he know that His Majesty hates being threatened the most?

The officials slandered inwardly, but no one spoke out.

In the end, Prime Minister Pei stood up and smoothed things over, "Your Majesty, General Wu is concerned about his daughter and misspoke for a moment. Please don't take it to heart."

"As the head of the officials, I am responsible for advising and will punish him for you."

After speaking, his face turned stern, "Someone, drag Wu Zhibo down and give him fifty strokes of the rod!"

"Let him remember the consequences of losing his composure in front of the palace and roaring in the court."

Prime Minister Pei took the light approach, not mentioning Wu Zhibo's threat to resign to threaten Jiang Chen, and gave a light punishment.

At this time, other officials also helped, fearing that Jiang Chen would not be satisfied with the punishment and personally take action.

Jiang Chen was speechless at their attitude, as if facing a flood or a wild beast, and impatiently said, "Stop, everyone stop!"

"I am not a narrow-minded person, and I won't be angered by a father's love for his daughter."

"Wu Qing only has this one child under his knee, I can understand his feelings, and I will not blame those extreme words."

Hearing this, Wu Zhibo's eyes turned red, and the eight-foot-tall man actually shed tears again.

Gratefully said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I implore Your Majesty to do justice for my daughter, to give my daughter a way out…"

As a military general who was not good at words, Wu Zhibo would not say nice things, and only repeated his daughter over and over again.

Jiang Chen was a little dizzy from hearing it, but he knew in his heart that this was a problem that had to be solved, otherwise he would lose the hearts of his ministers and lose a group of confidant capable officials.

While pondering, his gaze swept to the Gu master leader, Chacai, who was cowering in the corner of the hall.

Hmm, hanging this guy's head out, can it slightly calm the resentment of the victims?

Forget it, you have to keep this dog alive to accuse the Prince of Jiangzuo.

Jiang Chen regretfully dismissed the idea, but Chacai, who had already sensed his malice, was uneasy at this time, and shouted in horror: "Your, Your Majesty, I am an important witness, you promised not to harm me!"

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken, but once he spoke, he directly attracted the hatred of the entire audience.

Wu Zhibo, who had been kneeling honestly on the ground, immediately jumped up, pounced on Chacai, kicked him half a foot away with a vital strike, and cursed: "Although you are only an accomplice, you are also a cruel beast, unworthy of living in this world!"

"Today, this general will act on behalf of heaven and avenge those people who were harmed by you!"