Secret Tasks

After the emperor scolded them for a while, he seemed to have calmed down a bit. He thus said, "All of the officials here will have their ranks dropped by one level and you will forfeit your salary for three years."

"You all will temporarily remain in your positions and continue to deal with your matters like normal until you make up for your faults with contributions."

"Thank you, your majesty!" All of them bowed down and expressed their thanks. For people of their level, things like salary were already dispensable. This type of punishment was already letting them off easy.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction when he saw everyone's reactions. Then, he said, "Cheng Xiong, you will be in charge of the empress' assassination case, and you will also look into the background of those assassins!"

"Guo Zhi, you are in charge of the eastern palace's crown prince assassination. Eliminate all of the escaping assassins."