"Your servant..." Minister Li was at a loss for words, unsure how to answer.
After the others finished reading one after another, they too looked at each other in dismay. So this was the justification for arresting their families. So the trouble had come from their usual offerings of incense money.
Whether they had coordinated with Song Kingdom's side in court, whether there had been any improper dealings behind those incense offerings—they certainly knew the truth in their own hearts. Precisely because they knew, they were convinced that Shao Pingbo was settling a private score under the guise of public duty.
They even suspected that His Majesty himself had instructed Shao Pingbo to do this, using the opportunity to punish them for joining forces to force the palace's hand!
But now that they were implicated in something like this, and the other side had produced supporting evidence, what was wrong with taking their family members away for questioning? Was that a mistake?
When suspicions of colluding with the enemy and betraying the state were involved, did their sons dare obstruct it? What was wrong with decisively killing them rather than giving them time to delay and coordinate their stories? So long as it could be accounted for afterward, Blackwater Bureau had the authority to do that!
The problem now was that, whether it was truly about incense money or not, once such matters were involved, no one could say it did not need investigating!
The several men were suddenly left speechless. They realized that all their kneeling and pleading outside earlier had been for nothing!
Never in their wildest dreams had they expected Shao Pingbo to strike back through the opening of incense money!
The watching Taishu Feihua saw it. The ministers' arrogance had vanished in an instant; they were