Return and purge Empress Dowager's supporters

Upon your return to the imperial palace, you are presented with a lot more information and evidence; some of it are from your own investigation, and some are gifts from your sworn sister, passed through Ran Rab. Those are involved are not some backwater officials; they formed the very backbone of Empress Dowager Yi’s faction. There are ministerial leaders, wealthy regional governors, and powerful military commanders who had long impede not only your rule, but your father's.

Armed with the evidence you need, you orchestrated a swift and merciless purge, striking before everyone else know what is happening. You send your magistrates and soldiers to simultanously arrests the traitors in the middle of the night to prevent any coordinated rebellion. Oh, you welcome the attempt to fight, as that would give you all the reasons to kill them on the spot, and not few fell to the simple provovation. As for those who cooperate, it's not really a ground for leniency. You still punish them and three layers of their family.

Within days, the high courts were filled with tribunals, and the public square saw the execution of those who had once considered themselves untouchable. Empress Dowager Yi could only watch in stunned, helpless isolation as her political machinery was utterly demolished. With her core supporters imprisoned or executed, her influence within the inner court and the state council vanished overnight, leaving her a figurehead restricted to her own palace quarters. This clean sweep fundamentally shifted the balance of power, allowing you to finally consolidate your rule.

To fill in the vacuum, you quickly appoint those that you have earlier identified as capable. Your new appointments included members of neutral factions who were untainted by corruption, and even select figures from the Empress Dowager’s former sphere of influence. Among them, Nan Tianyu stood out; despite being part of the Empress Dowager’s retinue, his only real vice was a fierce obsession with managing his red light district business. Beyond that eccentricity, his administrative talent was undeniable.

It's not that you can simply punish him for having whorehouses. Besides, that idea seem interesting...