Not long after the new emperor ascended the throne and Jing Hongchen became Chief Minister of the Cabinet, another earthquake rocked the Sun Moon court.
During one of the morning court sessions His Majesty held only a few times each month, Jing Hongchen suddenly submitted a report, claiming to have uncovered evidence of crimes committed by two major underground powers: the Ordinary Alliance and the Aodu Chamber of Commerce.
They had committed every imaginable evil in Mingdu's underworld, colluded with numerous court ministers, and flouted the law. They had even attempted to harm the Investigator the Cabinet had sent to the Ordinary Alliance.
In the end, everyone who resisted had been arrested, all the Ordinary Alliance's establishments had been sealed, and countless pieces of evidence of human trafficking and bribery of court officials had been secured.
"Your Majesty, I had only heard a little about the Ordinary Alliance's business before. Only today did I discover that almost all the ordinary women in their alliance had been forcibly abducted from elsewhere. After being tortured and trained, they were reduced entirely to tools of the Ordinary Alliance."
"Those of average beauty were kept in the alliance, while the finest beauties were given to officials who took a liking to them. Ordinary women with nothing but beauty and no family backing could hardly expect a good end. There were at least a thousand of them."
Jing Hongchen spoke with righteous conviction before the court, yet a trace of mockery lurked in his eyes as they slowly swept over the ministers.
Every official connected to the Ordinary Alliance turned deathly pale, their faces filled with terror.
They did not believe for a moment that Jing Hongchen had only just learned about the Ordinary Alliance. He certainly had not struck at it for that reason.