"My respects, sir."
"Congratulations on your promotion to Commandant, sir."
Zhao Feng looked at Yue Lang, Luo Xiong, Jiang Chen, and the others before him.
Since returning from the battlefield in You Province, these trusted subordinates had broken through to Astral Force one after another, and had been promoted to Thousand-Household Officer or Deputy Thousand-Household Officer.
"How is it coming along? You've gathered most of what I asked for, haven't you?"
"Yes! We've nearly finished compiling everything from the Dark Guard's investigations in the capital, along with the people implicated by following the trail from the four great lineages' case."
Yue Lang presented a thick dossier.
Zhao Feng leafed through it for quite some time before setting it down. Although it did not contain the biggest fish, it was enough to wound the Maternal Relatives' Faction down to its bones.
"Make your move!"
Zhao Feng issued 137 arrest warrants. Without exception, the names on them belonged to officials of the Maternal Relatives' Faction and their relatives, retainers, and advisers. Some had been uncovered by following leads from the Prince of Jin's case; others were targets the Dark Guard had identified through their covert investigations over the past several days.
"Yes, sir!"
The next day, the Martial Suppression Guards descended upon residences throughout the Upper Capital like a pack of hounds that had caught the scent of blood.
The first to suffer was Chen Zhengyuan, the vice minister of rites, who had been the most vociferous when they surrounded the Cloud Crane Academy. Though he appeared loyal and upright, he had embezzled countless taels of silver alongside the Prince of Jin. When the Martial Suppression Guards stormed the Chen residence, Chen Zhengyuan was burning letters in his study. Before the flames could consume the papers, he had already been pinned to