Zong Ruoan had naturally considered this question.
He said solemnly, "For me, time is more important than anything else. Therefore, I can't wait three years to leave. I want to apply for the Special Security Bureau's special protection program and officially resign in a month."
The Special Security Bureau's special protection program isn't actually "protection," but surveillance.
It involves the Special Security Bureau sending different people to closely follow Zong Ruoan for three years, ensuring he doesn't use the information he knows from the Special Security Bureau's Information Department to engage in illegal activities.
After three years, even if he knows that information, it will be outdated.
It's a disguised way of handling the desensitization program.
Huo Yushen nodded, "If you've thought it through, write the application."
Zong Ruoan was surprised that Huo Yushen let him go so readily.
He thought Huo Yushen would make things difficult for him, after all, he was the first person to resign since Huo Yushen took office, and he was even resigning voluntarily...
Huo Yushen raised his eyes and looked at him, "Anything else?"
"No." Zong Ruoan quickly stood up and bowed to Huo Yushen, "Thank you, Inspector Huo, I've learned a lot from you. When my campaign starts, I hope Inspector Huo can lend me a hand..."
Huo Yushen interrupted him, "Young Master Zong, the Special Security Bureau cannot interfere in Cabinet and Senate affairs, please don't make things difficult for us."
Zong Ruoan: "..."
Is there such a regulation?
He had no idea! But his mind worked quickly, and he said with a smile, "This is too much. If I'm elected as a Senate Councilor, I must initiate a proposal to remove those unreasonable shackles placed on the Special Security Bureau."
"It's clearly a national institution, how can it only serve one person?"
This was another veiled jab at the Emperor.
Huo Yushen's expression didn't change, still icy and stern, but his tone softened a little, "Young Master Zong is exactly the talent the Senate needs, we'll wait and see the day Young Master Zong enters the Senate."
Zong Ruoan had never heard such high praise from Huo Yushen, and he was immediately filled with confidence, vowing to get elected and immediately deciding to double his campaign budget.
...
An hour later, Huo Yushen's Bat-style Fighter Jet returned to the Imperial City's space Terminal, Tiangang, on Beichen Star via space jump.
His fighter jet only needed to have its model confirmed by mechanical intelligence here, and it would be automatically released.
Zong Ruoan got off at the Imperial City's space Terminal and switched to the Zong Family's own Flying Vehicle to enter Beichen Star's airspace.
Huo Yushen, on the other hand, took his own Bat-style Fighter Jet directly to the location of the Imperial Palace in the Imperial City.
Huo Yushen came to the Imperial Palace, first met with Emperor Tantai Hongyuan, and then immediately took over the defense work of the Imperial Palace and the entire Imperial City.
It was morning in the northern hemisphere of Beichen Star, and Huo Yushen acted swiftly, inspecting the Royal Family's defenses while beginning a large-scale purge of the Royal Guard.
Tantai Jing's assassination attempt as the first in line to the throne, and the Empress's resulting serious injury, was not only major news for the Royal Family, but also for the entire Empire.
The last time the Tantai Royal Family was threatened was during the Constitutional Monarchy crisis more than five hundred years ago.
Therefore, this time, it made Emperor Tantai Hongyuan very angry.
Previously, because many things had not been investigated, Tantai Hongyuan suppressed the news.
But as time passed, the news couldn't be kept secret forever.
Because the Empress was seriously injured and still undergoing constant surgery.
The Princess was also said to be injured, but heartbroken that the Empress had taken a bullet for her, she volunteered to take care of the Empress as soon as she woke up.
The Empress was in the heavily guarded Royal Family's private hospital, and the Princess was also there.
According to the Royal Family's physicians, the Empress would be bedridden for a long time.
In this way, the Empress's long-term absence from occasions requiring the Emperor and Empress to be present at the same time would be unjustifiable.
So this news had to be announced.
The Emperor transferred Huo Yushen over to first go through the Royal Family, including the Royal Guard, Inner Guard, Hidden Guard, and Royal Family staff, all of whom had to accept Huo Yushen's investigation and purge.
The defense work of the entire Imperial City was mainly the responsibility of the Royal Garrison Force, referred to as the Royal Guard, with a total of one million people.
The defense of the Imperial Palace is primarily the responsibility of the Royal Inner Guard, a standing force of one hundred thousand.
In addition, there is a team of armed individuals who secretly protect the Emperor and the Royal Family, known as the Hidden Guard, whose numbers vary.
Inspector Huo did not previously know how many people were in the Royal Hidden Guard.
Because theoretically, the Hidden Guard reports directly to the Emperor and handles matters related to the Emperor's private affairs, unlike the Special Security Bureau, which assists the Emperor with official and state affairs.
Now that the Emperor has entrusted all his defense forces to Huo Yushen, Huo Yushen has learned that the Emperor's Hidden Guard consists of a total of fifty thousand people.
Of these fifty thousand, only five hundred are truly elite.
Emperor Tantai Hongyuan did not reveal the details of these five hundred individuals, only stating that he believed there were absolutely no problems with them.
However, the Emperor was not so sure about the remaining forty-nine thousand five hundred, and instructed him to investigate them thoroughly.
Furthermore, there are approximately one hundred thousand people inside and outside the Imperial Palace who serve the Emperor and the Royal Family in their daily lives, including the imperial chefs who prepare food and the Royal Gardeners who tend to the Imperial Garden.
If so many people were handled by someone else, it would probably take a year and a half to see results.
But Huo Yushen's actions were very swift.
He made full use of the Information Department and Intelligence Division of the Special Security Bureau, coupled with the Empire's most advanced mechanical intelligence for big data retrieval, and in just two days, he identified a small group affiliated with the Judge cult organization within the Royal Guard, Inner Guard, and Hidden Guard.
This discovery shocked Emperor Tantai Hongyuan.
At this moment, Tantai Hongyuan looked at the evidence before him and said sadly to Huo Yushen, "Yushen, tell me, have I not treated them well enough? Can't I provide the same benefits that the Judge organization can offer?!"
Huo Yushen said calmly, "Your Majesty, these people have betrayed your trust. It is not your fault, but theirs."
With one sentence, he reversed the Emperor's near self-pitying emotions.
Tantai Hongyuan immediately felt much better.
He sneered and said, "You're right! These people have betrayed my trust! It's not that I have failed them, but that they have failed me! — Truly damned! If you hadn't discovered this, Yushen, who knows what they would have done!"
"This time it was an assassination attempt on the Princess, next time, will they assassinate me!"
Tantai Hongyuan said through gritted teeth, "I will execute their three generations!"
Before the Constitutional Monarchy, the Emperor could execute nine generations of a family.
After the Constitutional Monarchy, the Emperor's power was limited by the constitution, and he could only execute three generations at most.
However, even to reach the point of executing three generations, it was not up to the Emperor alone.
It also required the joint signature of the Cabinet and the Senate.
If either party opposed, three generations could not be executed.
Huo Yushen did not respond, standing there straight as a ramrod, as if he were not a person, but a knife, a spear, with no sense of presence, yet full of power.
It was this feeling that made the Emperor feel extremely safe and comfortable.
He walked around the Imperial Study, which was as spacious as a banquet hall, and finally calmed down.
With his hands behind his back, he stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, looking at the Imperial Garden outside, which was tended by the Royal Gardeners to resemble a paradise on earth, and asked in a deep voice, "What else? What else have you found?"
Huo Yushen said simply, "The Royal Guard, Inner Guard, and Hidden Guard have a total of 1,150,300 people on the rolls. Among them, 365 have joined the Judge organization. And of these people, 71 percent are from Noble families."
"Of these people, 80 percent were already members of the Judge organization before joining the Royal Guard, Inner Guard, and Hidden Guard, but they bribed the Imperial Clan officials responsible for background checks during the background investigation process in order to be selected."
Tantai Hongyuan's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Huo Yushen continued, "There are a total of 104,088 Royal direct staff members on the rolls."
"Among them, 23,554 have falsified their resumes, and their claimed identities cannot be verified."
"These 23,554 people have inextricable connections with those members from the Judge organization, as well as the 172 Imperial Clan members responsible for background checks."
"Therefore, I have detained the 365 people from the Royal Guard, Inner Guard, and Hidden Guard, the 23,554 people from the Royal direct staff, and the 172 Imperial Clan members together."
Tantai Hongyuan sneered and said, "Those people in the Imperial Clan are living too comfortably. The 365 people you have identified from the Royal Guard, Inner Guard, and Hidden Guard will be directly tried by the Special Security Bureau, without handing them over to anyone."
"The more than 20,000 ordinary Royal direct staff members will be handed over to the Disciplinary Department on the Cabinet's side for investigation."
"But these 172 Imperial Clan members will not be handed over to the Cabinet, nor to your Special Security Bureau, but to me. That is my family affair!"
The Imperial Clan is actually the part of the Tantai family clan that did not become Emperor.
There are so many people with the surname Tantai. Even among the children of the previous Emperor, only one can ascend the throne. After five generations, the rest become ordinary members of the Imperial Clan.
In the Beichen Empire, Imperial Clan status is equivalent to nobility within five generations.
After five generations, they are just ordinary citizens.
The Tantai Clan also has its own management organization called the Forbidden Mansion, like other clans, responsible for managing clan members and taking care of clan properties.
The Imperial Clan members who can hold positions in the Forbidden Mansion have always been close relatives of the Emperor, not distant relatives more than five generations removed.
And these people, who have already received countless benefits from the Emperor, are still falsifying information in background checks.
Tantai Hongyuan shuddered at the thought of the serious consequences of doing so.
He stroked his chin, slowly extending his fingers one by one, and issued orders to Inspector Huo.
"First, all one hundred and seventy-two Imperial Clan members, including their wives, husbands, and adult children, even those who are married, are to be taken to the Royal Hunting Ground and executed. Also, summon all Imperial Clan members holding positions in the Forbidden Mansion to witness."
"Second, all the property of these one hundred and seventy-two Imperial Clan members is to be confiscated into the Imperial Treasury. Their underage children are to be demoted to commoners, sent to orphanages, and forbidden from continuing to bear the Tantai surname."
"Third, this operation does not need to be kept secret. Not only should it not be kept secret, but it should also be widely publicized! I want to show those people what the consequences are of provoking me!"
"They probably forgot that once you provoke the Emperor, the consequences can be the corpses of millions or rivers of blood!"
After Tantai Hongyuan finished speaking with impassioned fervor, his secretary had already written the Imperial Edict.
Tantai Hongyuan carefully reviewed it and then personally stamped it with the Imperial Seal.
Only with this Imperial Edict stamped with the Imperial Seal could Inspector Huo act with justification.
He turned and left, carrying with him an aura of grim determination.
Watching his departing figure, the secretary beside Tantai Hongyuan's eyes flickered, and he asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, you have given Inspector Huo so much power, are you not worried..."
Before he could finish speaking, Tantai Hongyuan suddenly drew his sword.
Tzzt! The blade flashed, and the secretary's head flew cleanly from his neck, blood spraying everywhere, rolling to a stop by the door.
Tantai Hongyuan coldly dropped his sword and said, "Someone."
Several Royal Inner Guards entered with their heads lowered. Without Tantai Hongyuan's instructions, some carried the body, some picked up the head, some cleaned the floor, and others wiped the blood from the Emperor's sword.
But when he was about to return the sword, Tantai Hongyuan waved his hand, saying indifferently, "This sword has tasted blood. I don't want to keep it by my side. I'll reward it to you."
The man was overjoyed and immediately knelt on one knee, holding the sword in his hand, and saluted Tantai Hongyuan, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward! Long live the Emperor!"
Even the worst sword of the Emperor is still a treasure, possibly even a cultural relic. Even in noble families, it could be passed down as a family heirloom.
The Inner Guard's face was flushed with excitement.
Tantai Hongyuan smiled slightly, waved his hand, and dismissed them all.
After the Inner Guard left, the Imperial Study was as good as new, as if that sword stroke had never happened.
There was no head rolling on the floor, and the young, handsome secretary seemed to have never existed.
A voluptuous woman in a dark purple, floor-length, puffy dress emerged from a small door carved with twining branches in the Imperial Study.
She played with a small jade-bone fan in her hand, smiling as she curtsied to Tantai Hongyuan, "Your Majesty."
Tantai Hongyuan smiled when he saw her, "Jiuyi, you're here. Come, sit down. Were you frightened just now?"
This woman was none other than Quan Jiuyi of the Quan Family.
She opened her jade-bone fan, covering half of her face, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I am not someone who has never seen the world. A mere secretary sowing discord, why not kill him? Are we keeping him for the New Year?"
"Well said!" Tantai Hongyuan laughed heartily, "Jiuyi is truly courageous! Women are not inferior to men!"
Quan Jiuyi smiled without saying a word.
Tantai Hongyuan opened a piece of snow-white paper and picked up a vermilion brush, writing a large character 'Endure'.
He said with emotion, "The word 'endure' has a blade above it. Even if I am the Emperor, I must endure!"
Quan Jiuyi chuckled, not responding.
Everyone knew that since the Constitutional Monarchy, Imperial power had declined, and it was no longer an era where the Emperor's word was law.
But this Emperor was different from his pleasure-seeking ancestors.
Quite ambitious.
Quan Jiuyi gently waved her fan, a pleasant breeze sweeping through.
Tantai Hongyuan tossed the vermilion brush in his hand, saying with great interest, "Jiuyi, how about we go incognito and watch Inspector Huo execute people?"
Quan Jiuyi smiled, "Your Majesty commands, who dares disobey?"
With that, the two changed into ordinary clothes, put on face masks, and quietly left the palace under the protection of the Royal Hidden Guard.
Instead of taking a Flying Vehicle, they rode in a self-driving car, heading towards the Royal Hunting Ground outside the city.
Meanwhile, Huo Yushen was busily deploying troops and generals, fulfilling the Emperor's request.
He ordered Yazi, one of his elite action teams, to lead one hundred and seventy-two teams to the homes of the one hundred and seventy-two Imperial Clan members.
According to the records in the Empire's population management database, everyone in these Imperial Clan's homes, except for underage children, would be taken to the Royal Hunting Ground outside the city for execution.
These one hundred and seventy-two implicated Imperial Clan members ranged in age from seventy-three to thirty, all of whom were of child-bearing age.
Therefore, a considerable number of people were implicated.
Their wives, husbands, sons, and daughters, including the husbands or wives of their children if they were married.
A total of three thousand six hundred and twelve people, after verifying their biometric information, were driven onto the open-top trucks with their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged. They paraded through the most prosperous Beichen Avenue in the Beichen Star Imperial City, speeding towards the Royal Hunting Ground outside the city.
Because the Emperor had ordered them not to hide anything, Huo Yushen's subordinates spread all the recent events in the Royal Family.
As a result, within three minutes, the entire Empire's Star Network was filled with trending news about this incident.
#Shocking! Princess Jing Assassinated! The Empress Takes a Bullet for Her Daughter!#
#Imperial Clan Colludes Internally and Externally! Plotting to Assassinate Direct Members of the Royal Family! Deserves to be Punished!#
#Major Purge in the Imperial Palace! Who is Behind the Scenes!#
#Royal Power Yields Again and Again! Survival at Stake! No Retreat!#
...
At this time, She Zhuyin did not join in the excitement.
Wearing an ordinary middle-aged woman's face mask, dressed in a dark brown top and work pants, with a white sanitary cap on her head, she pushed a small cleaning cart filled with various cleaning supplies, and with a humble smile, walked into a bar.
This was also given to her by Huo Yushen, a stronghold of the Judge organization in the Imperial City.
This bar is located in a three-hundred-story commercial building on Night Spirit Avenue in the Imperial City. It is the most noisy, chaotic, and crowded bar in the entire Imperial City.
It occupies the bottom three floors of this building.
The exterior of the bar is decorated like an inverted lotus pod.
She Zhuyin didn't know why before, but now she understands.
It was not yet the normal business hours for the bar, but the bar and dance floors were still full of people.
Many people had even come here last night and hadn't had time to go home.
Some may still be hungover, while others simply didn't want to go anywhere, wishing they could call Lotus Heart Bar home.
There are particularly attractive advertising slogans at the entrance.
A three-dimensional holographic image of a beauty, wrapped tightly but with her figure revealed, is the living sign.
She doesn't need to speak, just a weary expression on her face, and every few minutes, she spins around, her high-slit dress fluttering in the wind, revealing glimpses of the beauty beneath her clothes.
This kind of temptation is even more evocative than stripping naked.
She Zhuyin pushed the cleaning cart in and found the hall manager, saying, "Manager Hui, I'm from Swift Cleaning Company, here to clean."
Manager Hui, a middle-aged woman in her forties, but well-maintained and still charming, waved her hand upon hearing this, "Alright, same as always, no cleaning on the third floor, just the first and second floors. And no cleaning in the basement either."
She Zhuyin had done a simple investigation before coming and knew that the first and second floors of this Lotus Heart Bar were where they received the most guests, and these two places had to be cleaned once a day.
The third floor is where they receive VIPs, and the basement is where their internal staff stay.
She Zhuyin's vast Mental Strength instantly swept through all three floors of the bar, as well as the basement.
In that instant, she clearly knew how many people were here, what they were doing, and what they were saying.
The area on the third floor for entertaining distinguished guests was currently empty, probably because the distinguished guests wouldn't arrive so early.
However, in the most bustling dance floor on the first floor, a man and a woman were sitting together.
The woman's heavy makeup was now ruined by her tears, the black eyeliner running down her face, leaving two black streaks.
Her red lipstick was smeared by the back of her hand, turning her entire chin red.
She cried as she said, "Brother Leopard loved me the most... He clearly said that after finishing this job, he would receive a large sum of money and would marry me, so I wouldn't have to be a dancer anymore..."
"But he's been gone for days and hasn't returned... Messages I send him go unanswered... I was worried about him... I asked his friends, and they told me... told me... that he failed his mission and was beaten to death!"
She wailed again.
The man sitting next to her was not tall, but he was all muscle, his bulging biceps visible on his outstretched arm.
He awkwardly handed the woman a tissue to wipe her tears, patting his chest as he said, "Brother Leopard is gone, but you have me, Raccoon Bro! Whatever Brother Leopard did for you, I, Raccoon Bro, will do even better!"
The woman leaned into his arms, sobbing, "Raccoon Bro, Brother Leopard said he would marry me, will you marry me too?"
"Of course!"
"Brother Leopard said that after we got married, he would let me manage all his money, will you let me manage yours too?"
"Of course!"
"Brother Leopard said..."
"Brother Leopard said so much, but did he ever do anything?" The man seemed unable to restrain himself, pulling the woman down into his embrace.
But the woman struggled, "Raccoon Bro, Brother Leopard only passed away recently, I can't be with you right now..."
She Zhuyin's expression didn't change as she pushed her cleaning cart past them.
At this moment, she heard the man anxiously say, "You're still keeping yourself pure for Brother Leopard?! To tell you the truth, Brother Leopard told me before he left that he was going to that poor place, Guiyuan Star, to kidnap a noble lady with a very important identity!"
"He also said that he had never tasted the flavor of a noble lady! If he succeeded this time, he would play with this noble lady until she was ruined before sending her back to Chongwu Hall..."
She Zhuyin's heart skipped a beat.
Chongwu Hall was exactly where the mid-level backbone of the Judge organization was located, according to the internal structure information that Huo Yushen had given her.
This is the second large chapter, including bonus chapters for the May monthly tickets at 300 and 600.
There will be a new update at 00:05 tonight.
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