Who Fanned the Flames of This Rotten Trend! (Please Subscribe and Vote with Monthly Tickets)

Pang Jin was no rigid, reckless fool. After so many years navigating the Imperial Capital's official circles, he knew the rules here.

Even Lin Yue'e, whom everyone considered terribly inflexible, understood certain principles. She was simply more stubborn.

In Pang Jin's view, Li Chen had undoubtedly benefited most from the Crown Prince's death and the emperor's passing.

Whatever reason the Empress Dowager had originally had for supporting Li Chen, their relationship was now genuinely harmonious. As Minister of Justice, he could naturally discover that much.

After years of judging cases in the Ministry of Justice, Pang Jin had developed his own way of thinking.

Since the evidence now pointed toward the Empress Dowager's faction, someone in the shadows was fanning the flames, pushing him to act against her.

Several possible scenarios had already taken shape in Pang Jin's mind.

In the worst case, Li Chen might have killed the Crown Prince himself. He and the Empress Dowager were in league; only with the Crown Prince dead and the emperor gone could he seize the opportunity to ascend the throne legitimately.

Perhaps that was precisely what the hidden faction wanted Pang Jin to realize.

Pang Jin dared to think such things, but he absolutely did not dare voice them.

If that really was the case, Pang Jin would certainly stop investigating or slow the investigation down. As Minister of Justice, he could at least manage that.

As long as he chose not to investigate, no one would know how the Crown Prince had died.

He could keep the investigation open indefinitely, citing insufficient leads.

The previous Minister of Justice, Feng Huai, had done exactly that, though he truly had lacked leads.

Pang Jin was only newly appointed Minister of Justice. He was not bold enough to investigate the emperor.

Besides, the