A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Every time Dong Cheng went to a new place, his expression would become more unpleasant.

All the important figures in Dong Zhuo's faction were absent from their residences.

He sent men to search the entire city of Chang'an, looking for every possible hiding place, but they couldn't find a single person.

Finally, Dong Cheng arrived at a place he didn't want to be: the Marquis of Anxi's residence.

It was also the home of Wei Ya, Dong Zhuo's chief strategist, and the residence of the Wei family's Western Regions Protectorate in Chang'an.

This mansion alone could hide all the people under Dong Zhuo's command.

He had already set up surveillance in Chang'an some time ago, and he absolutely did not believe that this group of people could escape from Chang'an right under his nose.

They must still be in this city.

This is their only option.

After all, Wei Ya was just a branch of the Wei family, and it was impossible for him to persuade the entire Wei family to hide him in the Prince of Yan's mansion.

But this was also the residence of the Wei family. Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, no one had ever dared to search the Wei family's residence, not even a branch of the marquis's mansion.

This is quite audacious of him to defy public opinion.

But he had no choice; his actions this time had offended Dong Zhuo to the death.

If Dong Zhuo hadn't died, his entire clan would have perished.

"Go in and search!"

Dong Cheng gritted his teeth and braced himself to issue orders.

The surrounding generals all looked at him as if he were insane. "Sir, this is the Wei residence!"

"So what if it's the Wei family! This is Chang'an, the capital city, where His Majesty resides. The Wei family is ultimately a subject!"

"We are acting on His Majesty's orders. Search!"

Even though Dong Cheng said that, no one dared to step forward.

The Wei family has accumulated power for 400 years; how could it be dismissed by Dong Cheng's mere words?

Left with no other option, Dong Cheng had to personally lead his personal guards forward.

"Squeak."

The main gate opened, and the old steward of Wei Ya's mansion walked in.

The old steward glanced at the army in front of him with his dim eyes and sneered.

"What brings you all here?"

"By order of His Majesty, we have come to search for the remaining followers of Dong Zhuo."

Seeing that it was just an old man, Dong Cheng mustered his courage and revealed their purpose.

"Search for the remnants of the Prime Minister's faction?"

"When will the Prime Minister use the term 'remnant party'?"

"Is there an imperial decree from His Majesty?"

Why would those searching for Prime Minister Dong come to the Wei residence?

"Could it be that they intend to use the guise of a search to insult the Wei family?"

The old butler's tone turned cold, and the smile on his face disappeared.

Dong Cheng felt a chilling aura rushing towards him. Having never been on the battlefield or killed anyone before, he was so frightened by this aura that he took several steps back.

Dong Cheng's face flushed crimson. He felt as if all the zombies around him were mocking him. Enraged, he shouted, "I'm here on the Emperor's orders! Are you going to disobey?"

"By imperial decree? His Majesty ordered you to search for the Marquis of Anxi's residence? Why haven't I seen it?"

The old steward's imposing aura pressed down on Dong Cheng alone. After Dong Cheng uttered those words, he couldn't say another one.

"Unless it's a forged imperial edict? That's treason, a capital offense!"

"Search me? Go ahead and search me! Come on, I'll move aside, let's see who dares!"

The old butler simply opened the door and gestured for him to come in.

But none of the 5 troops, including Dong Cheng, dared to take a single step forward.

"Withdraw!"

Dong Cheng, who commanded an army of 5, was actually scared off by an old man.

Dong Cheng returned to the palace in a humiliating manner to report back to Liu Xie.

"Your Majesty, I am certain that Dong Zhuo's remaining followers are hiding in the Marquis of Anxi's residence!"

"I beg Your Majesty to issue a decree; I will personally lead the search with the order!"

Liu Xie looked at Dong Cheng with dissatisfaction. How could he let Dong Cheng issue the order to search the Wei family?

How can he possibly take the blame for this?

Doesn't Dong Cheng know he's taking the blame?

We can just search without an imperial edict. Then we can push Dong Cheng out and appease the Wei family's anger.

Now the problem has been thrown into his hands, how is he supposed to deal with it?

He wouldn't dare issue such an edict.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, the scholar walked in again.

News has arrived from Hangu Pass that Dong Zhuo has appeared there.

"Traces of the families of important officials under Dong Zhuo have been discovered in the direction from Chang'an to Xiliang."

"Our plan has been leaked."

Liu Xie immediately shifted the blame to the scholar, "How did you aristocratic families make such a plan? How could such an important plan be leaked? And let it escape? Couldn't you have sent someone to keep an eye on it? A bunch of useless trash."

Dong Cheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he didn't have to search the Wei family, and vented his anger on the scholar.

"Your Majesty is right. This plan is known only to the two of us; it has not been told to a third person."

"The information must have been leaked from your aristocratic family!"

The scholar's lips twitched; he hadn't expected these two to be so shameless.

Fortunately, they weren't genuinely cooperating with these two guys, otherwise, having such incompetent teammates would be a real pain.

"Your Majesty, whether it's monitoring these people's residences or guarding Chang'an City, it's all being done by General Dong's men."

"Dong Zhuo has wiped out all the powerful families' people in Chang'an. This was something we agreed on beforehand."

Liu Xie and Dong Cheng looked embarrassed; they had forgotten about it in their haste.

"waste."

Liu Xie cursed Dong Cheng, saying, "You're more than capable of ruining things, but utterly useless!"

"What should we do next?"

Liu Xie panicked when faced with an unexpected situation.

"If the Prime Minister were to return, wouldn't that mean..."

"Then let him never come back."

"I urge Your Majesty to issue a decree directly, condemning Dong Zhuo as a traitor to the country, stripping him of all his posts, labeling him a rebel, and calling upon the whole world to punish him."

The scholar's words made Liu Xie hesitate. Although he took action, he did not suffer any loss to Dong Zhuo.

If he yields, given how much Dong Zhuo cares for him, he might forgive him.

He was still a child, and he was fooled by this bad guy in front of him, so he did some wrong things.

Couldn't Dong Zhuo, as the head of the family, have been more understanding and forgiving towards him?

"Does Your Majesty still harbor some unrealistic fantasies?"

The scholar raised an eyebrow, discerning the thought on Liu Xie's face.

"That's Dong Zhuo. His Majesty should know best how ruthless his methods are, how vicious his mind is, and how decisive he is in killing."

"If we can support His Majesty, we can naturally support others as well. His Majesty is now left with no choice but to go down a dark path, while we are on the other side. If Dong Zhuo dies, we live; if Dong Zhuo lives, we die."

The scholar's words directly shattered Liu Xie's beautiful vision; he knew that Dong Zhuo was indeed that kind of person.

"Draft an imperial edict."

"I have heard that among the great human relationships, the bond between father and son is paramount; and among the distinctions of rank, the relationship between ruler and subject is of utmost importance. Recently, the powerful minister Dong Zhuo has abused his power, seized control of the government, violated the law and disorder, and acted arrogantly and domineeringly towards me, bringing the nation to the brink of collapse. I hereby strip him of all his official positions and titles and punish him for treason. All his high-ranking officials will be punished in the same way. All loyal and virtuous officials of the Han dynasty may secretly join forces with righteous men to punish the traitor and secure the country!"