The whole family died tragically? The eldest daughter is the most powerful in the capital after her

In the prince's bedroom, candlelight flickered. The prince was reading memorials behind his desk. When he heard the news, he looked up and saw Gu Nanyuan coming in. He smiled and said, "Nanyuan, you came to see me so late. Is there something important?"

After Gu Nanyuan saluted, he got straight to the point and said, "Your Highness, this is indeed a big deal. It concerns the Zhu family and the Falcon King and the Prime Minister behind them."

"Oh?" The prince's eyes flashed with surprise, and then he sat up straight, "What did you find out?"

Gu Nanyuan presented the evidence file and briefly stated the results of the investigation.

The more the prince listened, the deeper his frown grew. When he heard that the Zhu family was involved in many crimes including human trafficking, smuggling of contraband goods, and collusion between officials and businessmen, his expression became even more solemn.

"The Zhu family is indeed very bold in these matters, but it is obvious that they are just lackeys of the Falcon King and the Prime Minister." The prince said in a deep voice, his eyes as sharp as an eagle, "What do you think should be done?"

Gu Nanyuan looked solemn, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Your Highness, my idea is to start with the Zhu family and take them down in one fell swoop. The fall of the Zhu family will not only deter other families in the capital, but also shake the interest chain between the Prime Minister and King Falcon. But we must ensure that the blow is fatal and not give them any chance to counterattack."

The prince nodded gently: "You are right, but how should we do it specifically? The Prime Minister and the Falcon King are not ordinary people. If they notice it in advance, they will definitely take action. Especially the Falcon King, he is in the south, and if there is any disturbance, he may escape."

Gu Nanyuan's eyes darkened slightly. "Your Highness, I will arrange for someone to closely monitor the Prime Minister. At the same time, I suggest that you send the secret guards to the south to keep track of all the movements of the Falcon King. Once the action begins in the capital, the Falcon King must be controlled immediately and must not be allowed any chance to escape."

The prince nodded slightly, his eyes full of thought: "Indeed, in this way, the Falcon King will be unable to escape. However..."

He paused for a moment, his eyes locked on Gu Nanyuan, "The prime minister in the capital is even more difficult to deal with. Are you sure you can contain him?"

Gu Nanyuan's face was stern, and his tone was steady: "Don't worry, Your Highness. No matter how cunning the Prime Minister is, his actions cannot be separated from the connections in the capital. I have arranged people, and as long as he makes any unusual moves, I can control it in the first place."

Upon hearing this, the prince praised and said, "Okay, then proceed according to your plan. You are responsible for the capital, and I will send secret guards to the south to keep a close eye on the Falcon King. Once the operation begins, both the capital and the south must close the net simultaneously, and no one must be allowed to escape."

Gu Nanyuan nodded: "Yes, Your Highness."

The prince added: "However, it would be best to make a bigger noise when arresting the Zhu family. Let everyone in the capital see that this is the result of violating the law and the bottom line."

Gu Nanyuan's eyes revealed a hint of coldness: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will arrange everything."

After returning to the Gu Mansion, Gu Nanyuan immediately summoned Qingji and Qingxiang, informed them of the results of the discussion with the prince, and issued specific instructions.

"Qingji, take your men to block the Zhu family's assets first, especially their pawnshops and caravans. Do not let any vehicle or cargo escape."

"Yes!" Qingji bowed and accepted the order, then turned around and left in a hurry.

Gu Nanyuan turned to Qingxiang and said in a cold voice: "Go and lead your men to the Zhu family's mansion. During the arrest, make as much noise as possible so that the whole capital will know the news of the Zhu family's demise."

Qingxiang nodded: "Don't worry, my lord, I will do it cleanly and neatly."

Before the night faded, Gu Nanyuan's men had already begun to act.

At dawn, the heads of the Zhu family's first, third and fourth branches were arrested, and the news spread quickly in the capital.

A vendor said excitedly, "Have you heard? The Zhu family's eldest branch has been arrested! They forced women of good families into prostitution and ran a brothel business. The Manyue Building is full of shady activities behind the scenes!"

"Isn't it? They've done all kinds of bad things, such as human traffickers, gambling houses, and loan sharks!" Another cloth merchant lowered his voice, "But they do have a backer. When Master Zhu was taken away, he was still shouting, 'There's someone up there.' Guess who he was talking about?"

The waiter from the restaurant next to him came over and whispered, "Who else could it be? It must be Zhu Kang from the second branch! He is the most powerful figure in the Zhu family. I heard that he has contacts with many officials in the court."

A sigh came from the crowd: "Oh, this is really unjust! These people have ruined so many families!"

More and more people gathered to watch, and the scandal about the Zhu family became more and more outrageous.

In the Golden Throne Hall, court officials stood on both sides and the atmosphere was solemn.

The Chief Censor stepped forward, holding a memorial in his hand, and spoke in a loud voice: "I have this memorial! Zhu Kang, the head of the second branch of the Zhu family, relied on his family's power to bully men and women, opened a casino, lent money at high interest, and even participated in crimes such as forcing women into prostitution and human trafficking! I ask Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate all illegal activities of Zhu Kang and the Zhu family!"

The emperor frowned, his eyes sharp as a knife: "Zhu Kang is also involved?"

The Chief Censor said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the heads of the other three branches of the Zhu family have all been detained in the past few days. In their confessions, they mentioned Zhu Kang and his behind-the-scenes activities many times. He is not only a core figure, but may also implicate high-ranking officials in the court."

The ministers in the hall all looked sideways and talked in low voices.

"Is this true?" The Minister of Personnel was surprised. "If Zhu Kang is really the mastermind behind this, and is so deeply involved, then the Zhu family is in danger, isn't it?"

The emperor snorted coldly and slammed the table. "The Zhu family is ambitious and disregards the laws of the country! Nanyuan, I order you to thoroughly investigate all the crimes of the Zhu family. No matter who is involved, you must investigate it thoroughly and deal with them according to the law!"

Gu Nanyuan took a step forward, clasped his fists and bowed his head: "I accept your command!"

The courtyard of the second branch of the Zhu family was bustling with noise, and the door was crowded with people from other branches of the Zhu family.

The leader was the third wife. She was so angry that her face turned red. She rushed to the main hall of the second house and kicked the door open.

"Zhu Kang! Give us an explanation!" The third lady roared, her chest heaving violently, and the anger that had been suppressed for a long time finally erupted.

Behind them, the first lady and the fourth lady also followed in, followed by many servants of the Zhu family, all of whom had unfriendly expressions and the atmosphere was tense.

Zhu Kang heard the noise and hurried over from the inner room with a gloomy face.

"Aunts, what's going on?" Zhu Kang glanced at the group of people in front of him and spoke in an unfriendly tone.

The Third Madam strode forward, pointed at Zhu Kang, and asked angrily, "What's the matter? How dare you ask us? Now the properties of the first, third, and fourth houses have all been seized, and several of us have been arrested and tried, but only your second house is safe and sound! Zhu Kang, did you know that something was going to happen and deliberately let us take the blame?"

The eldest lady snorted coldly and agreed, "That's right! Weren't those shady businesses brought in by you? How come when something went wrong, the other families suffered, but you were unscathed? Why don't you explain it to me!"