County Deputy Tao Dingnian and the other officials of the Left Prime Minister Faction stared at Fang Yun as though stunned witless, their faces filled with terror.
The provincial governor oversaw civil administration, while the military governor commanded the troops. Had two of the three highest-ranking officials in a prefecture really been taken down just like that?
As officials of Jing Kingdom, they knew its political landscape all too well. The imperial family lacked such power, as did the military and the Minister of Literature's faction. Even if they had possessed it, none of them had the boldness to tear away all pretense and overturn the table.
Fang Yun's wings were not yet fully fledged, so he was even less likely to have the ability to bring down two high officials. Even assistance from the Hall of Punishment could not have made it possible. After all, the hall was an outside ally and could not become the main force in striking at the Left Prime Minister's faction.
Yet all the faint threads of evidence clearly suggested that Fang Yun had personally entered the fray and ended the two officials' careers.
What gave Fang Yun that power?
The officials frantically began sending letters to friends in the capital or the Sacred Academy, hoping to get to the bottom of it.
But the more they asked, the more they discovered that the situation was far graver than they had imagined. Within a single day, more than ten officials in Mi Prefecture had been taken away by the Hall of Punishment. No one dared reveal the true reason, though faint hints slipped through: they were very likely suspected of betraying humanity and joining the Rebel Species.
Everyone immediately stopped investigating. Many even broke into cold sweats. If betrayal of humanity and the Rebel