When Beringskjold saw himself thus passed over, he formed a plan for overthrowing the government, and laid his treacherous scheme before a near relative of the royal family; but one of his own sons, the chamberlain, betrayed his father's designs. On June 4, 1781, a royal cabinet order was sent to Bailiff von Bielcke, Bürgomaster Wulf, and Regimental Quartermaster Schiött, all of Nestved, to seize Chamberlain von Beringskjold, on whom a strong suspicion rested of carrying on a very treasonable correspondence, and sequestrate his papers. These gentlemen enticed the chamberlain, by a business pretext, to the town, read him the king's order, and the bürgomaster at once conveyed him under escort to Copenhagen, where he was handed over to the commandant of the citadel, who locked him up, and informed him that a dollar a day was allowed for his maintenance. In the meanwhile, the two other commissioners went to the prisoner's estate, packed up all the papers they found there in a trunk, sealed it up, and the quartermaster immediately started with it for Fredensborg, where the court was residing at the time. Simultaneously with the order of arrest, the postmasters of Nestved and Ringstedt received instructions, during the next eight days, to stop all letters addressed to Rönnebeksholm, and send them to the royal cabinet. A similar order was sent to Bürgomaster thor Straten and the postmaster of Flensburg, concerning all letters arriving for, or despatched by, a certain Comptroller Wildgaard. On June 9, Bailiff von Bielcke and his fellow-commissioners were instructed to restore to Frau von Beringskjold all the papers not retained from the trunk which had been examined at Fredensborg, and to give her and her sons, in the king's name, the assurance of his Majesty's lasting favour. Frau von Beringskjold was allowed to remain on her estate, and was only advised, in all future affairs, to consult with her son, Conferenz-rath von Beringskjold. After a survey of the sequestrated papers had proved the "continued bad designs of this man"--such were the royal words about Beringskjold--a commission of inquiry was appointed on November 13, 1781. In order that this affair which, owing to its nature, demanded the greatest secrecy, should be discussed with all due justice, the king selected those men as judges of whose insight and integrity he and the whole country were convinced, namely, the Justiciary of the Supreme Court, Privy Councillor of Conferences von Rosenörn, the Director and Attorney-General of the General Chancery, Privy Councillor Carstens, the Minister of Finances, Privy Councillor von Stemann, and the Professor of Law, Etats-rath Colbjörnsen.