Dead End

The Imperial Prison of the Court of Justice has another name: the Heavenly Prison.

The Heavenly Prison is a place of utter darkness; entering it essentially means having no way to ascend to heaven.

This was a prison directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, specifically used to detain imperial relatives and high-ranking officials.

This prison is well-constructed and heavily guarded. Once imprisoned, escape is virtually impossible; even True Self Realm cultivator cannot escape once captured and imprisoned.

As far as the imperial court was concerned, it was well aware of the abilities of all the high-ranking officials.

If one does not wield immense power and influence, the court can easily imprison high-ranking officials.

Zhao Wan and Wang Zang were thus brought in.

The two men shouted for three days that they wanted to meet the Emperor and confront the Empress Dowager at Anle Palace, but no one paid any attention to them.

This is the intimidating presence one must face while in custody.

Even the toughest man would fall into despair after being imprisoned for days on end without anyone responding.

"Leaving aside our official positions in the imperial court, we are at least great Confucian School scholars. How dare you, a mere official of the Nine Ministers, humiliate us?" Zhao Wan shouted.

"Brother Zhao, calm down!"

Wang Zang reminded him in a low voice.

The Court of Justice was the territory of the Court of Justice, and only the Court of Justice was qualified to contact and meet with the emperor in the Weiyang Palace.

To see the new emperor, Zhao Wan and the others had to meet with the Minister of Justice before they could have any chance of meeting him.

"We were forcibly detained and brought here as soon as we left Sima Gate after court. This must be some villain deceiving His Majesty!" Zhao Wan said angrily. "This cannot be His Majesty's order. Someone is deceiving the emperor and covering up the truth. We demand to see His Majesty!"

"Where are Prime Minister Dou and Grand Commandant Tian?" Wang Zang asked. "Zhuang Qingdi, if you won't let us see the Emperor, at least let us see Dou Ying Tian Fen, right?"

"Please calm down, both of you. Prime Minister Dou and Grand Commandant Tian have been incompetent in protecting Yangling and the Imperial Palace, resulting in the Empress Dowager's serious illness. They are already in dire straits themselves, let alone coming to see you!"

Zhao Wan and Wang Zang had been calling for an audience with the emperor for three days, but the Minister of Justice, Zhuang Qingdi, did not respond to them.

When Wang Zang was looking for Dou Ying Tian Fen, Zhuang Qingdi, who was sitting on a stone chair at a distance, finally replied with a single sentence.

These words caused Zhao Wan and Wang Zang's expressions to change drastically.

With all three high-ranking officials of the court being targeted, it's highly likely that Anle Palace will undergo a complete reshuffling of its personnel.

They looked at each other and could see the bitterness in each other's eyes.

If Dou Ying Tian Fen are both targeted, once they're in the Court of Justice prison, they can forget about getting out.

The Empress Dowager's illness was a serious matter, but they were a little slow to receive the news and did not use it to restrain Anle Palace. Instead, Anle Palace took the initiative to target them.

In situations like this, whoever strikes first gains the advantage.

Undoubtedly, Zhao Wan and the others were a little slow.

They had indeed seen Zhang Xuezhou of the Imperial Medical Academy and had seen Zhang Xuezhou carried into Anle Palace, but no one expected that the Empress Dowager of Anle Palace was seriously ill. It was highly likely that they were using this patient as a reference.

If they had made a clearer judgment a little earlier, things might not be the way they are today.

"What exactly does your Anle Palace want?" Wang Zang asked in a deep voice. "Does Empress Dowager Dou intend to repeat the treacherous and chaotic actions of the Lü clan?"

"Lord Wang, based on what you just said, you will not die unjustly in the future," Zhuang Qingdi replied calmly.

"You are nothing but a lackey of Anle Palace. Even if we suffer misfortune, what good do you think you will do in the future?" Wang Zang said.

"My future may not be good, but at least it won't end up like the two gentlemen who have passed away first," Zhuang Qingdi said.

"The one surnamed Zhuang..."

"Lord Zhuang, not only are our positions as the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers not easily shaken, but we also hold the status of great Confucian School. How can you kill us just like that?" Wang Zang said, "Aren't you afraid that the Confucian School will rebel against the court and plunge the Great Han into chaos!"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Zhuang Qingdi said calmly. "Besides, you Confucian School can't rebel against it."

"I'll wait..."

"I obtained some interesting testimonies from His Majesty. I wonder if you two gentlemen would be interested in taking a look?"

Zhuang Qingdi picked up a scroll of bamboo slips, and without waiting for Zhao Wan and Wang Zang to express their opinions, he jumped down from the stone chair.

After walking several dozen meters, they arrived at the prison where Zhao Wan and Wang Zang were bound with chains.

He held up the bamboo slips and unfolded them one by one, allowing the words on them to be clearly seen by Zhao Wan and Wang Zang.

"This is..."

"It's Kong Zhong!"

The bamboo slips contained the charges against Zhao Wan and Wang Zang.

Within the Confucian School school, each of these points serves as evidence that Zhao Wan and Wang Zang contributed to its development and Confucian School.

As far as the imperial court was concerned, Zhao Wan and Wang Zang's use of nepotism to place officials in government positions was something that could be overlooked as long as the officials were competent in their roles.

However, when investigated thoroughly, their actions were undoubtedly illegal.

"Gentlemen, this isn't just Anle Palace targeting you," Zhuang Qingdi reminded them. "If His Majesty doesn't acquiesce, this confession won't reach me. And what I find particularly interesting is the provider of this confession; that's quite intriguing!"

Zhuang Qingdi stared at Zhao Wan and Wang Zang, who were bound by chains, and then slowly closed the bamboo slips.

"Anle Palace is targeting you, His Majesty has tacitly approved it, Confucian School scholars have testified against you," Zhuang Qingdi said. "So, what way out do you have now?"

"That's impossible!"

Zhao Wan gritted her teeth.

He felt chills creeping through his body.

Zhao Wan never imagined he would fall to such a state. Not only was he a thorn in the side that Anle Palace wanted to get rid of, but the new emperor no longer protected him, and someone within the Confucian School school was stabbing him in the back.

It wouldn't be a problem if someone within the Confucian School held a slightly lower position, or even the same rank. The key issue is that Kong Zhong is a descendant of Sage Kong and is the nominal head of the Confucian School.

Such a person may lack power, but being accused by such a person in conjunction with the imperial court is an insurmountable obstacle for Zhao Wan, one that even Shen Peigong could not overcome in a countersuit.

The imperial court and Confucian School backing he relied on had almost all collapsed, and his own strength was limited, leaving him with no power to escape.

"I don't believe it either," Wang Zang said through gritted teeth.

"Come here, please invite Mr. Kong over," Zhuang Qingdi called out, clapping his hands.

The stone door of the prison suddenly creaked and groaned in the distance, and five short men, each about half a person's height, walked in, looking left and right.

"I don't like this place. It's all rocks; we can't dig a hole here!"

Du Wencai, who was in second place, muttered a complaint, which made Kong Zhong, who was in first place, look uneasy.

Let alone a normal person entering such a prison, even a person who is not normal would feel apprehensive coming to such a place. Moreover, Kong Zhong and the others have been waiting outside this prison for who knows how many days and nights.

After the new emperor hosted a banquet for them, he handed them over to Zhuang Qingdi for hospitality, and Zhuang Qingdi brought them here to eat, drink, and pass the time.

Only now were Kong Zhong and others able to enter the Tingwei prison and see Zhao Wan and Wang Zang imprisoned there.

When Kong Zhong felt a chill in his heart, Zhao Wan and Wang Zang's hearts sank even further upon seeing Kong Zhong and the others.

With no possibility of seeking redress from the imperial court, no Confucian School support, and no chance of escaping the court's prison, their paths were blocked.

"Why did you do this to me?" Zhao Wan gritted her teeth and roared at Kong Zhong and the others.

"What we said is true," Kong Zhong said in a low voice, his lips twitching slightly. "We were negligent in our defenses, and His Majesty's ancestral graves were dug up. Who wouldn't want to save their life? If we wanted to save our lives, we would have confessed and told the truth about how we were arranged to be here. You say we harmed you, but why don't you mention that you made us fight against a Ninth-Rank Demon Saint? Even Zhi Buyi was beaten to death in Yangling. How could people like us do that kind of work? You are the one who deliberately harmed us..."

Kong Zhongpin was honest and straightforward, and he spoke very frankly.

It's impossible for officials to set fires while commoners are forbidden even to light lamps. It was bad enough that Zhao Wan and the others almost killed him due to their poor arrangements, but after barely escaping, he still had to face the court's blade. This was unacceptable to Kong Zhong.

His muttering made Zhao Wan's heart sink to the bottom.

All the misfortunes stemmed from Yangling.

Little did he know that a top-tier demon was going to Yangling.

According to their information, it was clearly just some powerful cultivators from a declining school of thought venting their resentment on the already deceased Emperor Jing.

The Anle Palace and the royal family kept their mouths shut, and he only learned the reason for this great disaster now, and understood why they had come to this dead end.

"Lord Zhao, you have no other way out. Rather than implicate your family and be executed by the court, or be condemned by Confucian School for your incompetence and disgrace..."

Zhuang Qingdi's low, persuasive voice continued, and Zhao Wan felt as if it were a death knell.