Episode 17 plot introduction

After Xie Yanlai's expedition, the Chu Dynasty began to vigorously reorganize the capital.She knew that Xie Yanfang had been waiting for her and Deng Yi to openly quarrel, so she took advantage of the situation and assumed a tit-for-tat stance with Deng Yi.At court meetings, the two often argued over political orders, and there were also rumors among the people that the eldest princess and the Taifu were at odds.But those who really knew the truth understood that Chu Chao and Deng Yi had already secretly reached an arrangement to lure the snake out of its hole.They deliberately made Xie Yanfang think that the internal strife in the court was intensifying, so as to attract corrupt officials who were dependent on the aristocratic families.

The Chu Dynasty supported Mu Xiaoman to take charge of the Imperial Guard Department.Mu Xiaoman was born in Cangmu Village, and was not bound by the old rules of aristocratic families in the capital. He worked quickly and ruthlessly, so he was suitable for investigating those intricate and hidden clues.As soon as she took office, she forcibly interrogated Zheng Xia's fraud case, and followed the clues to find out the irrefutable evidence that Deng Yi's disciples had framed him.Deng Yi was furious on the surface, but in fact he gave in according to the arrangements of the Chu Dynasty and pushed those under his command who had long been out of control to the front.When Xie Yanfang saw Deng Yi being frustrated, she really began to relax her vigilance.

Immediately afterwards, the Chu Dynasty continued to pursue the case of false accounts by Du Fucheng of Shaofu Temple.Du Fucheng has been responsible for money, food and utensils for many years, and his books are extremely clean, but many corrupt officials are implicated behind the scenes.The Chu Dynasty did not just catch a scapegoat, but asked the Gongwei Department to spread out the account books, the whereabouts of the treasury money, and the transactions between various governments.Those who originally wanted to rely on the protection of the aristocratic family to escape discovered for the first time that the eldest princess did not act according to the rules they were familiar with.She is not merciful and is not afraid of offending people. She just depends on where the evidence falls.

The people in Beijing soon heard about the serial crimes committed by the Imperial Guard.Some people were refunded the money they had owed for many years, and some saw officials wandering the streets being taken away. As a result, the reputation of the Chu Dynasty rose rapidly.Xie Yanfang praised the eldest princess for her skill on the surface, but secretly she became more and more wary.He originally thought that the Chu Dynasty would only use Chu Cen's death to win the sympathy of the border troops, but he did not expect that she could take action at the same time to cleanse the people of the capital and the officialdom.If he continues to let things go, there will be more and more people around the young emperor who can really rely on, and the Xie family's space to control the court will become smaller and smaller.

The Chu Dynasty was not obsessed with folk praise.Late at night, she would still read the military reports sent back by Xie Yanlai from the front line.The situation at Changping Pass was tense, and King Shuomo refused to engage in a decisive battle. Instead, he continued to harass the grain road with small groups of cavalry.Xie Yanlai wrote briefly in the letter, saying only that everything was okay.But Chu Chao could see his fatigue from between the lines.While she continued to clean up the court, she secretly asked people to replenish food and fodder for the front line.She knew that every time a mole was removed from the capital, the front line would have less to worry about.

After Mu Xiaoman took charge of the Imperial Guard, the first resistance he encountered came from the old officials in the capital.They looked down upon a woman who came from a small village, and did not believe that she would dare to touch a disciple of an aristocratic family.Mu Xiaoman did not argue with them. He just put the first batch of witnesses and account books in the hall, and checked whoever blocked them first.Within a few days, the front door of the Gongwei Office was lined with people calling for grievances, and there were also piles of messages of mercy from various governments.Chu Chao didn't read any of them, and only asked people to sort the evidence in order of importance.What she wants is not a temporary shock, but to make the capital believe again that the powerful will pay the price for their wrong doings.

Xie Yanfang sent someone to test the Chu Dynasty and sent several lists of names that seemed to help her clean up the court.There are indeed corrupt officials on the list, but they are all side characters that the Xie family is ready to abandon.The Chu Dynasty accepted the list, but did not arrest the people in his order. Instead, he investigated the relationship between these people and the Xie family's accountant.Xie Yanfang quickly understood that she had not taken the bait, and her smile became even deeper.He began to regard the Chu Dynasty as his true opponent, rather than the survivors who had relied on rebirth and the Chu family's reputation to get to where they are today.The Chu Dynasty also knew that the two sides had begun to make moves with each other across the court.