You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 131 How did he die?

Prime Minister's House.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo returned to his residence with a deep expression and sat in the hall to calm his somewhat agitated emotions.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo never imagined that the reason why Minister of Works Cui Yongyuan and his family were exterminated by the Eastern Depot was because the Eastern Depot had discovered that Grand Tutor Wen Zhong had died in battle in the four northwestern prefectures.

Furthermore, the investigation traced back to the Cui family of Boling.

This is trouble.

If the Cui family of Boling cannot withstand the power of the imperial court and implicates them all, then the emperor in the palace will certainly not let them off easily and will issue an edict to exterminate them.

"Damn it."

"How could the Eastern Depot have traced their investigation to the Cui family of Boling?"

"The Cui family of Boling are too careless."

Prime Minister Yuan Bo thought with a somewhat gloomy expression.

He had already reminded Cui Yongyuan, the Minister of Works, to make sure that the Cui family was thoroughly cleaned up.

What I fear most is that the person in the palace might discover some clues.

Unexpectedly, things went wrong in the end, and the person in the palace investigated and found out that it was the Cui family.

However, these are no longer matters for Prime Minister Yuan Bo to consider. What he should be considering now is how to deal with the situation that is about to unfold.

If the Cui family of Boling really implicates them, what should they do?
This is the most important thing.

"master."

At that moment, the butler rushed in looking very anxious.

When Prime Minister Yuan Bo saw the steward enter, he immediately looked up at him and asked, "How is it?"

"Has the matter been settled?" Prime Minister Yuan Bo asked somewhat anxiously.

"Don't worry, sir, the matter has been taken care of." The butler nodded and said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Yuan Bo breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It's good that things were done.

With the immediate crisis resolved, the next step is to consider the Cui family of Boling.

"What about people?"

"No trace was left, something must have happened!"

Prime Minister Yuan Bo glanced at the steward and asked again.

The steward shook his head. "No, the person has been dealt with without leaving a trace. Even if the Eastern Depot wanted to investigate, they wouldn't find anything."

"That's good."

Prime Minister Yuan Bo nodded in relief and said to the steward, "Immediately send a message back to the clan regarding the Cui family of Boling, and instruct them to handle the situation carefully."

The fact that the Cui family of Boling was ordered by the emperor to have their property confiscated and their clan exterminated was such a momentous event that Prime Minister Yuan Bo had no choice but to quickly inform the clan.

This was to prepare the clan for any unforeseen circumstances.

No sooner had Prime Minister Yuan Bo finished speaking than a dark figure appeared in the hall.

"Sir, an urgent message has arrived."

As the shadowy figure spoke, he handed a small piece of paper to Prime Minister Yuan Bo.

"Urgent message?"

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Yuan Bo immediately took the small note from the shadowy figure, opened it, and glanced at it.

The note contained only one sentence.

But this short sentence caused Prime Minister Yuan Bo to lose his usual composure and stand up abruptly.

"The Cui family of Boling has been wiped out by Lü Bu and his Divine Martial Guard army."

what?
Has the Cui family of Boling been wiped out by Lü Bu and his army?
Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Yuan Bo's expression changed, and he could hardly believe the contents of the note.

The Cui family of Boling had actually been wiped out by Lü Bu and his Divine Martial Guard army.

How can this be?

The emperor in the palace just issued an edict, how could the Cui family of Boling be wiped out so easily?
In an instant, Prime Minister Yuan Bo seemed to have thought of something.

It seems that the one in the palace had already given Lü Bu a secret decree, ordering him to lead the Divine Martial Guard army to exterminate the Cui family of Boling.

Today's morning court session was merely a formality.

What a good idea.

The one in the palace managed to keep it a secret from everyone.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo thought with a grim expression.

Chancellor Yuan Bo never expected that the Cui family of Boling would be wiped out by Lü Bu and his Divine Martial Guard army.

It's quite shocking.

No matter what, the Cui family of Boling is one of the seven great families of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although it cannot compare with the Yuan family of Yuan Bo, it is still deeply rooted in the Great Zhou Dynasty and should not be underestimated.

How could Lü Bu be so easily killed?
Prime Minister Yuan Bo's eyes flickered with a gloomy light.

Now that the Cui family of Boling has been wiped out by Lü Bu, did the Cui family of Boling say anything to Lü Bu?
Or perhaps Lü Bu pried something useful out of the Cui family of Boling.

Thinking of this, Prime Minister Yuan Bo immediately said to the shadowy figure, "Immediately send someone to investigate. I need to know if the entire Cui family of Boling was killed by Lü Bu."

"Also, have any members of the Cui family of Boling said anything they shouldn't have?"

"We must investigate everything thoroughly."

This is what Prime Minister Yuan Bo cares about most and is most worried about.

If the Cui family of Boling had told Lü Bu anything, or if Lü Bu had managed to get the Cui family of Boling to talk, then things would be in trouble.

Upon hearing this, the figure in black immediately bowed and said, "Yes."

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

When the Prime Minister's office received news that the Cui family of Boling had been wiped out by Lü Bu and his army, Zhou Chen also received the news.

Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne, looking at the message that Cao Zhengchun had just handed him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Zhou Chen was still somewhat worried about whether Lü Bu could successfully exterminate the entire Cui family of Boling!
After all, a first-class aristocratic family like the Cui family of Boling is no simple matter; they have a deep foundation and a considerable number of private soldiers.

If even the slightest mistake occurs, it could cause quite a bit of chaos.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly for Lü Bu, which allowed Zhou Chen to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhou Chen put down the message in his hand and looked up at Cao Zhengchun; "Lu Bu has already wiped out the Cui family of Boling, but he gained nothing."

"Where are you over here?"

"What was the result of the interrogation?"

Has Cui Yongyuan given an explanation?

Zhou Chen looked at Cao Zhengchun and asked.

Since no useful information was obtained from the Cui family, only Cui Yongyuan's side remained to be dealt with.

Cao Zhengchun immediately said, "Your Majesty, Cui Yongyuan is very tight-lipped and has not spoken yet."

"However, under the torture of the Eastern Depot, he probably won't be able to hold out for much longer."

"The others knew nothing about the Cui family's plot to murder the Grand Tutor; they only learned some other things about the Cui family through interrogation."

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Cao Zhengchun took out an interrogation record and handed it to Zhou Chen.

No one could endure the torture inflicted by the Eastern Depot.

It's only a matter of time before they speak up.

Sooner or later.

Zhou Chen took the interrogation record from Cao Zhengchun's hand, glanced at it briefly, and showed little interest.

Now that the Cui family of Boling has been wiped out by Lü Bu, there is little point in extracting information about them from the interrogation process.

At this moment, a palace eunuch entered and quietly approached Cao Zhengchun, whispering something in his ear.

After the eunuch finished speaking, Cao Zhengchun's face immediately darkened.

"what happened?"

"What happened?"

Cao Zhengchun's unusual change did not escape Zhou Chen's notice.

Zhou Chen put down the interrogation record in his hand, glanced at Cao Zhengchun, and asked.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have just reported that Cui Yongyuan and the officials who were arrested are all dead."

He died in the Eastern Depot prison.

Cao Zhengchun hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.

"Uh?"

"Cui Yongyuan and all the officials who were arrested are dead?" "And they all died in the Eastern Depot's prison?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chen was visibly taken aback, appearing somewhat surprised.

"How did you die?"

"Was it due to excessive torture, or did someone break into your Eastern Depot prison?"

Zhou Chen frowned and asked.

"Your Majesty, it shouldn't be due to excessive torture."

"Even the Imperial Guard doesn't know the specifics."

Cao Zhengchun forced himself to speak, though he felt a little uneasy.

The prestigious Eastern Depot prison had a serious criminal dead, yet the Imperial Guards were completely unaware of the details.

If this gets out, won't people laugh their heads off?
"Even the Imperial Guards didn't know?"

Zhou Chen frowned even more deeply, and looked up at Cao Zhengchun, saying, "It's truly remarkable that someone could kill someone so secretly in your Eastern Depot's prison!"

"Go and handle it!"

"Let's see what's going on."

Zhou Chen said calmly to Cao Zhengchun.

If it wasn't due to excessive torture, then it can only mean that someone killed Cui Yongyuan and those officials.

Zhou Chen was quite surprised that someone could kill someone in the Eastern Depot's prison without anyone noticing, not even the Eastern Depot's guards knew what was going on.

Zhou Chen had signed in all the guards, and he never doubted their loyalty.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Cao Zhengchun responded, turned around, and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation with a gloomy expression.

……

East Factory.

In a prison cell.

Cao Zhengchun stared at the mangled corpse before him, his face grim.

The corpse was none other than that of Cui Yongyuan, the Minister of Works.

Now, Cui Yongyuan is beyond dead, and the numerous wounds covering his body indicate that he had been subjected to torture by the Eastern Depot before his death.

On the surface, it appears that the injuries were too severe to cause death, but in reality, these numerous wounds were not fatal.

Cao Zhengchun glanced at the wounds on Cui Yongyuan's body, then looked at the guards behind him.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"How could someone die while locked up in a prison?"

“None of these injuries were fatal, yet the person died. Tell me, what happened?”

Cao Zhengchun glanced at the guards with a gloomy expression, his eyes filled with coldness.

It seemed as if they would kill these imperial guards if they couldn't give a clear answer.

"Master, we don't know what happened either."

"By the time we found them, they were already dead."

One of the factory guards said in a low voice.

"Yes, Master, no outsiders have entered except for us."

Another guard spoke up.

"Useless trash, you mean death from excessive torture?"

“Look at his injuries. They’re not fatal at all. It’s obvious that someone killed him.”

“But you know nothing about it.”

"bump."

Cao Zhengchun casually waved his hand, and several guards were swept away, crashing to the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Please spare us, Master! Everything we said is true."

"No outsiders have ever entered; it's all factory workers."

Several factory guards scrambled to their feet and hurriedly said...

They all knew the eunuch's temper; he was ruthless and merciless.

If they can't explain themselves clearly, they'll be stuck in this cell for the rest of their lives.

Are you sure no outsiders have entered?

Cao Zhengchun stared directly at the guards and asked in a shrill voice.

"determine."

"Master, we are certain that no outsiders have entered."

The guards immediately confirmed that they had been in their posts the whole time, and no outsiders had entered except for the factory staff.

If outsiders had entered, they couldn't possibly not know.

Upon hearing what the guards said, Cao Zhengchun frowned.

No outsiders have entered?
How can this be?

With Cao Zhengchun's keen eye, he could naturally see that Cui Yongyuan's death was not due to severe injuries.

This was clearly an act by someone who took advantage of Cui Yongyuan's severe injuries to kill him.

Although it was done cleverly, it couldn't escape Cao Zhengchun's notice.

But Cao Zhengchun also believed that these imperial guards would not lie to him.

Besides, with so many guards stationed at the Eastern Depot, it's impossible that they wouldn't know if an outsider entered.

But now, none of this makes any sense!

Even if a half-step Celestial Realm expert entered the Eastern Depot's territory and killed Cui Yongyuan and more than ten others, it would be impossible for them to remain undetected by the Depot's guards.

"Think about it carefully again and see if there are any oversights."

Cao Zhengchun did not believe that no outsiders had entered.

If no outsiders have entered, then it must be one of their own people.

But that's even more impossible. These imperial guards, like him, are loyal to the emperor and would never do such a thing.

Cao Zhengchun kept thinking about it.

He considered all the possibilities, but Cao Zhengchun ruled them all out in the end.

The guards carefully considered Cao Zhengchun's words.

After a while.

One of the guards suddenly remembered something and immediately said to Cao Zhengchun, "Master, I remember now. The three leaders seemed a bit off yesterday. After returning to their post, they seemed somewhat unfamiliar with the area."

"I even asked him why he didn't know the way after going out for a while!"

Another guard seemed to have thought of something and immediately said, "Yes, it's the Third Chief. Yesterday, the Third Chief personally interrogated the prisoner, and his behavior was very strange. He didn't seem to recognize us colleagues."

Upon hearing what the two imperial guards said, a glint of light immediately flashed in Cao Zhengchun's eyes.

I understand what happened.

Someone has infiltrated the Eastern Depot's headquarters by impersonating another person!

No wonder the guards at the base said no outsiders had entered; that's where the problem lay.

"What a great trick!"

"How dare they substitute one thing for another and act so presumptuously within my Eastern Depot! Very well done."

A fierce glint flashed in Cao Zhengchun's eyes as he coldly glanced at the guards in front of him. "You're all useless. You didn't even know someone had managed to sneak in by impersonation."

"Hurry up and investigate for me."

"Let's see who dares to be so audacious as to infiltrate my Eastern Depot and kill people."

Cao Zhengchun said in a gloomy tone.

His esteemed headquarters, the very heart of the Eastern Depot, was actually infiltrated without a sound. It's truly despicable.

"Yes, Master Chang."

The guards quickly accepted the order and got up to leave.

This was a good opportunity to redeem themselves; otherwise, they were really afraid that Cao Zhengchun would kill them with one blow.

After the guards left, Cao Zhengchun let out a cold snort with a gloomy expression.

"Humph."

"You dare to act recklessly in my Eastern Depot and even kill my people. No matter who you are, once I catch you, I will make you taste the tortures of the Eastern Depot."

Cao Zhengchun muttered to himself as he turned and walked out of the cell.

(End of this chapter)