Impossible!

Without giving him a chance to protest, two Imperial Guards forcibly dragged Yingchen Wen onto a shared Xu Mi carriage, clearly preparing to escort him to the Sky Prison!

As for Ye Luo, he didn’t leave. Since he had committed to the act, naturally, Ye Luo needed to see the matter through to the end!

"Please rise, everyone! Today, I received intelligence suggesting that there might be Demon Clan operatives lurking nearby. So, I came to investigate, but unexpectedly stumbled upon Yingchen Wen. You all know the Yingchen Family, don’t you? It’s one of the Great Clans. However, Yingchen Wen’s presence here seems suspicious. Coupled with the intelligence I received earlier, I strongly suspect the Yingchen Family is involved in something shady!"

A brazen accusation!

With Ye Luo acting this way, the Yingchen Family would be forced to respond!

It’s well known that, in the Great Tang Empire, the gravest crime is collusion with the Demon Clan!

Once proven guilty, the extermination of three generations would be considered lenient; most of the time, the Emperor of Great Tang would eradicate nine generations!

Collusion with the Demon Clan is an unforgivable crime!

Ye Luo continued his performance, but his eyes never left Yingchen Wen’s guards.

At that moment, one of the guards, with a horrified expression, made an attempt to escape, which finally appeased Ye Luo’s satisfaction with the scene!

However, what Ye Luo didn’t know was that the information traveled far faster than he could imagine. Even as these events unfolded, both the Emperor of Great Tang and the Yingchen Family had already received the news.

"Speak, does the Ninth Prince have evidence? Could the Yingchen Family truly be colluding with the Demon Clan? I do not want to believe it!"

The Emperor of Great Tang sat on his throne, his expression filled with disbelief. Yet no one noticed the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

This Emperor of Great Tang was likely thinking at that moment: Ye Luo is quite efficient. Didn’t I delegate authority to him so he could pressure the Great Clans?

Unexpectedly, Ye Luo not only understood his intent but had already begun taking action!

As it was not an official court session, only a few ministers were present before the Emperor.

The heavyweights of the Great Tang Empire all whispered amongst themselves, unable to come to any conclusion!

After all, the Yingchen Family had existed since the founding of the empire, and no one dared to offend them lightly!

They truly didn’t know how to judge this matter.

At this moment, a messenger continued to report, "Your Majesty, according to the intelligence we received, the Ninth Prince indeed disguised himself today, seemingly preparing to investigate Demon Clan activities. Among the four charges he listed against Yingchen Wen, the evidence for the first three is conclusive. However, as for collusion with the Demon Clan, we cannot confirm it yet."

"Hmph. If the evidence is conclusive, send him to the Sky Prison first and have the Ministry of Punishment conduct an inquiry. Additionally, inform the Yingchen Family—I expect their explanation regarding whether or not they are colluding with the Demon Clan!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The messenger accepted the order and withdrew, while the Emperor of Great Tang, still fuming, unexpectedly swept out of the room!

However, the ministers would never know—once the Emperor turned away, a smile appeared on his face!

"Ye Luo, what a clever choice you’ve made. While the Yingchen Family may indeed be a Great Clan, they rely on the status of being founding elders, rarely interacting with outsiders, and have no allies in court. Targeting the Yingchen Family is quite an inspired decision!"

The Emperor was in a great mood; in his eyes, Ye Luo was merely executing his orders.

But while some rejoiced, others lamented!

At this moment, the Yingchen Family’s leadership had convened in the family’s council hall!

"Everyone, what do you think we should do about this matter?"

The Family Head of the Yingchen Family asked loudly.

The elders, each with their own considerations and opinions, chattered noisily.

Before the meeting began, the Family Head had already informed everyone of the details!

"Family Head, so what if he’s a Prince? Anyone who slanders our Yingchen Family must pay! Family Head, we must save him!"

The speaker was an elder from the Yingchen Family’s third branch!

Others might not care about Yingchen Wen’s fate.

However, as this elder belonged to the third branch, it was impossible for him to abandon Yingchen Wen!

Even the Yingchen Family Head felt conflicted.

Save him?

But Ye Luo’s charge against Yingchen Wen was collusion with the Demon Clan.

How could they act recklessly?

At present, in the Great Tang Empire, collusion with the Demon Clan was the most severe of crimes. Whoever was implicated faced a doomed fate!

The Yingchen Family Head frowned deeply, calculating the risks and rewards.

"Family Head, we must save him. Colluding with the Demon Clan is a capital offense, one that could implicate the entire clan! There’s no room for compromise—either we defeat the Ninth Prince, or our Yingchen Family faces annihilation!"

"Exactly! This Ninth Prince is too ruthless. Any other charges might be negotiable, but accusing us of collusion with the Demon Clan? He clearly intends to destroy the Yingchen Family!"

The Yingchen Family truly bore no disloyalty toward the Imperial Family, a fact the Emperor of Great Tang knew well. However, as a Great Clan wielding substantial resources and declaring no alliances, who else would the Emperor target but them?

Ye Luo’s actions were something of a fortunate coincidence, finding himself facing a family with no defenders.

In the blink of an eye, the Yingchen Family turned into a cacophony of voices, escalating from cautious debates to outright calls for slaughter. Great Clans, ever entrenched in time, would abandon caution when pushed to the brink; once threatened, they would stop at nothing!

After their deliberations, the Yingchen Family ultimately decided to rescue Yingchen Wen. After all, if his crimes were proven, the entire Yingchen Family could face a catastrophic fate!

Ye Luo, of course, was unaware of this meeting. But he had already steeled himself for potential backlash, for his true objective was to provoke conflict!

At this moment, the Yingchen Family wasn’t yet ready to escalate matters; they hoped instead to reconcile and resolve the issue peacefully. After all, they were unable to determine whether Ye Luo, the Ninth Prince, personally targeted the Yingchen Family—or if this was an order from the Emperor of Great Tang!

What’s more, they couldn’t even confirm whether Yingchen Wen was truly colluding with the Demon Clan!

In recent months, Ye Luo had eliminated many undercover Demon Clan operatives and taken extensive responsibility for investigating Demon Clan activities in the Imperial Capital.

It was this very fact that sowed doubts and concerns within the Yingchen Family.

If this had been anyone else making such accusations, the Yingchen Family would have acted long ago, wiping out whoever had dared to slander them!

But against Ye Luo, they did not dare—or rather, they did not want to!