Cui Jinzhi stood behind the Crown Prince, his expression cold and severe, and was the first to level accusations at Shen Xiao.

“Your Majesty, last night Shen the Superintendent led five hundred soldiers to force their way into the princess’s manor in Wannian County. Wielding the grain requisition edict as justification, they seized thirty thousand shi of grain outright.”

“Minister Shen, I simply cannot fathom it — you are nothing more than a lowly Superintendent of the Ministry of Revenue. How could you possibly have mobilized so many soldiers?”

Cui Jinzhi swept his gaze to the Minister of Revenue standing behind Li Yan, his eyes carrying the sharpness of blades. “Presumably the Minister of Revenue himself dispatched the soldiers to Minister Shen — was it not so?”

He cast another sidelong glance at Li Yan. “Second Imperial Highness, you oversee the Ministry of Revenue. How could you permit your subordinates to commit such a blatant breach of the law?”

Cui Jinzhi smiled coldly, his meaning unmistakable. “If this minister’s memory serves correctly, Minister Shen originally served at the Censorate, and somehow — no one quite knows how — he was transferred by the Second Prince to the Ministry of Revenue. And now he has committed this sort of offense. This minister simply cannot understand: is it that Your Highness the Second Prince is poor at judging character, or rather… that Shen Xiao was acting under your direct orders?”

Li Yan’s face turned an iron grey at these words.

Cui Jinzhi’s words were like ten thousand arrows loosed at once, deflecting every accusation away from Shen Xiao and pointing them squarely at the Ministry of Revenue — squarely at the Second Prince.

Last night, Cui Jinzhi had failed to prevent Shen Xiao from seizing the grain. After his brief flash of fury, he had quickly composed himself — just as Li Shu had said: Shen Xiao had dared to seize the grain, but thirty thousand shi was hardly easy to absorb. In the end, he would have to give it back.

Shen Xiao had dared to seize — and he, Cui Jinzhi, dared to impeach. Not just alone; he would rally all the officials under the Crown Prince’s banner and impeach together. And it would not stop at Shen Xiao — they would impeach the Second Prince behind him as well.

This matter had now transcended Shen Xiao altogether. He was merely the spark that had ignited the powder, and the flames that started from him had spread into a conflagration that scorched the heavens themselves.

Pull up a radish and mud comes with it. Cui Jinzhi had gathered nearly all the forces under the Crown Prince’s command to impeach Shen Xiao, and he had two objectives.

The first was, naturally, to strike at the Second Prince.

Shen Xiao was one of the Second Prince’s men. Whether or not the Second Prince had prior knowledge, when one’s subordinate commits a crime, the master cannot escape culpability. The best outcome would be to use the impeachment of Shen Xiao to flay the Second Prince alive; at the very worst, it would deal a severe blow to the Ministry of Revenue.

The second purpose… was something Cui Jinzhi had calculated far more shrewdly — something even the Crown Prince only vaguely sensed without having fully articulated to himself: the struggle between the lowborn and the great clans.

Since Emperor Zhengyuan’s enthronement, he had sought to suppress the great clans, elevate men of humble birth, and consolidate imperial power. The Emperor had waged this battle against the great clans for many years now. The Emperor was relentless, and the great clans were not weak — it had been a war of attrition with each side winning and losing by turns.

The Cui Family, once dominant in military circles, had been forcefully suppressed by Emperor Zhengyuan — that was a victory for the Emperor.

The civil examination system had been established under considerable resistance, in an attempt to select talented men of humble birth — that too was a victory for the Emperor.

Yet once the examinations were opened, save for the top graduate who came from a humble background, every one of the top three finalists hailed from families whose lineages stretched back through hundreds of years of officialdom. That was a defeat for the Emperor.

The Emperor wished to suppress the great clans, but the Crown Prince did not necessarily share that wish. The great clans, hoping to preserve their centuries-long prestige and standing, had clung tightly to the Crown Prince, clustering around him and elevating him almost to the heavens themselves.

To speak with some irreverence — the great clans were waiting for Emperor Zhengyuan to die soon, so that the Crown Prince could ascend the throne. The Crown Prince possessed little ability, and once on the throne, would he not simply be theirs to manipulate?

Driving a wedge between the Crown Prince and the Emperor — that too was a defeat for Emperor Zhengyuan.

And now Cui Jinzhi had assembled all the great clan officials under the Crown Prince’s banner to impeach Shen Xiao. This was hardly for the sake of impeaching one man alone — it was plainly an attempt to kick the lowborn entirely off the court. To strangle Emperor Zhengyuan’s policy of elevating men of humble birth in the cradle.

One: remove Shen Xiao, that thorn in their side. Two: deal a severe blow to the Second Prince. Three: suppress the lowborn.

Cui Jinzhi’s scheme to fell three birds with one stone had been plotted with crystalline clarity.

Cui Jinzhi’s pronouncement rang out and landed heavily on the floor of the Hanyuan Hall. The hall fell silent for a moment — not even the sound of breathing could be heard. In that absolute stillness, Li Shu sat on her round stool with her eyes cast downward, not saying a single word.

It was as though she had ceased to exist within the hall entirely — as though Cui Jinzhi’s words had not even reached her ears.

After a long silence, Emperor Zhengyuan finally spoke, his manner still unreadable, his voice deep and steady, betraying not a flicker of emotion.

“Cui Jinzhi, you are Princess Pingyang’s Prince Consort. It is only natural that you should speak up when Pingyang has been wronged. Then speak — how should Shen Xiao be punished for commanding soldiers to seize grain by force?”

Upon hearing this, Cui Jinzhi let his gaze rest briefly on Li Shu. She still sat with her eyes lowered on the round stool, thoroughly pale and still. In past discussions of court affairs, Li Shu’s eyes had always shone with vibrant alertness. Today, Cui Jinzhi felt something was off about her — and yet when he thought more carefully, he could not quite identify what.

Perhaps it was her twisted ankle, and the exertions of the previous night — she was probably genuinely unwell at the moment.

Cui Jinzhi shifted his gaze away and declared in a resounding voice: “Shen Xiao commanded soldiers to pillage, humiliated a princess, and violated the law — three compounding offenses. His crimes are unpardonable. The Minister of Revenue, for tolerating and enabling his subordinate, cannot escape culpability either. As for His Highness the Second Prince… his poor judgment of character and inability to govern those beneath him — and the repeated disruptions to the grain supply at the Yongtong Canal over these past three months, demonstrating how incompetently the Second Prince has managed the Ministry of Revenue… Hmph. The Second Prince is afraid he is not equal to the responsibilities of overseeing the Ministry of Revenue.”

Emperor Zhengyuan sat behind the table, leaning back against his chair until his face receded into the shadows. His deep voice asked another question: “And what else?”

“Furthermore, Shen Xiao has been an official for barely three months and has already committed such an outrageous act. He is the top graduate of the civil examinations — yet the runner-up and third-place finisher from the same cohort have both already produced meaningful results in office. This minister believes that a man of lowborn origins such as Shen Xiao is perhaps not suited to serve in the court.”

The moment Cui Jinzhi finished, there was a brief pause, and then Emperor Zhengyuan’s gaze moved from him to the assembled officials. “What do the rest of you think?”

As though by prior arrangement, the scarlet and purple robes spoke in unison: “Vice Minister Cui is correct.”

The Hanyuan Hall, moments ago a place of tumult, now had every soul standing behind the Crown Prince. On the Second Prince’s side, apart from the Minister of Revenue alone, not a single other person remained.

Only Li Shu sat on her round stool, and Shen Xiao knelt on the floor — they seemed to exist apart from everyone else, belonging to neither side, and strangely carried an air of detachment from the world entirely.

As it stood now, who would win and who would lose between the Crown Prince and the Second Prince was almost already a foregone conclusion.

The Crown Prince could see it too, and was inwardly bursting with ten thousand expressions of triumph. He had been waiting and hoping for so long to see his second brother fall from grace — never had he imagined that in the end, his second brother would be brought down by one of his own men.

Serves him right!

Cui Jinzhi’s cold, sharp gaze landed on the Crown Prince in a silent warning, and the Crown Prince instantly suppressed every trace of expression.

Fortunately, Emperor Zhengyuan was not looking at the Crown Prince at that moment. He only turned his head toward the Second Prince and asked, “Old Second — Shen Xiao belongs to the Ministry of Revenue, and you are his superior. In this situation, what do you have to say?”

Li Yan stood there and for a long moment gave no answer.

He truly did not know what to say.

When he had first employed Shen Xiao, it was because he had admired the man’s daring in impeaching Princess Pingyang — only someone with that kind of nerve would have the courage to go and requisition grain. What Li Yan had not anticipated was that Shen Xiao’s nerve was enormous enough to dare to seize grain outright, in broad defiance.

The Crown Prince had now seized upon this grain-seizure incident to make a great spectacle of it, wanting nothing more than to slap him back down into the earth and prevent him from ever climbing back out.

Who was to blame?

Only himself, for being blind and poor at judging character — for using a wretch like Shen Xiao who had now turned against his master.

Li Yan remained silent for a long stretch, and Emperor Zhengyuan pressed him again: “Old Second?”

Li Yan hastily raised his eyes, glanced at Emperor Zhengyuan, and as his gaze withdrew, he saw Shen Xiao — who was kneeling in the hall — suddenly turn his head around, brow furrowed, staring hard at him. His eyes seemed to carry ten thousand meanings, none of which could be conveyed across the distance. What reached Li Yan was nothing more than a warning.

Shen Xiao was warning him? Laughable — warning him of what? Not to throw him to the wolves?

Li Yan’s gaze turned cold, and his resolve was set —

The Crown Prince’s side would never let Shen Xiao go. He himself was already in a disadvantageous position, and if he rashly moved to protect Shen Xiao, it would gain him nothing — it would only pit him against more than half the officials at court.

He had struggled and clawed for so many years to build what little he had. It was not worth sacrificing everything for a single Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao had always been his sacrificial piece.

With his mind made up, Li Yan looked over and saw that Shen Xiao had already turned his head away again, kneeling with his back toward him — his figure upright and straight, as though he feared nothing.

He feared nothing — but the Second Prince was afraid.

He weighed every consequence and shrank at every turn. He had accumulated so much that he feared losing it all the more.

Li Yan said, “Shen Xiao commanded soldiers to pillage and humiliated Princess Pingyang. His audacity is unparalleled, and his crimes deserve death. This son agrees with Vice Minister Cui — Shen Xiao must certainly be punished. Dismissal from office alone is not sufficient; he should be exiled to the frontier, so that he may be truly chastened and learn his lesson.”

Sacrifice the pawn to protect the king — only by appearing impartial and selfless himself could he demonstrate his own innocence.

The moment Li Shu heard this, she raised her head.

Second Brother was ruthless.

Shen Xiao had been elevated by him — or to put it another way, this was the bond between a lord who recognized talent and the talented man he had promoted. Yet now, at the first sign of trouble, Second Brother was willing to have his prized talent slaughtered outright.

In the struggle for the throne, one recruited allies through amassing influence — and influence depended on court officials. Subordinates needed ability, and masters needed to demonstrate loyalty and gratitude, so that lord and retainer might not betray one another.

Though Shen Xiao’s act of seizing grain had been excessive, he had still staked his official robe, his career — and potentially his very life — in service to the Ministry of Revenue. Yet at the first adverse turn of events, Second Brother had dragged him out to take the blow.

With such conduct, was he not afraid of chilling the hearts of those who served beneath him?

Li Shu closed her eyes briefly.

On the path to the throne, Second Brother could not travel far.

Emperor Zhengyuan had made his rounds of inquiry, and whether it was the Crown Prince or the Second Prince, the sentiment was perfectly uniform.

It was as though the man kneeling in the hall was some heinous, irredeemable criminal that everyone was eager to be rid of.

Yet Shen Xiao was the top graduate whom he himself had read over the examination papers and personally selected.

He was also the lowborn man whom he had personally shielded and safeguarded so that he could remain in the capital.

And it was by his own hand that the grain requisition edict had been written — the very edict Shen Xiao had carried when he went to requisition the grain.

These stacks of memorials piled high as a mountain on the desk — if one were to trace the surnames of every signatory back eight generations, each would prove to be some high official of how many dynasties ago.

They had been in power too long. They looked down upon the lowborn. And in doing so… they even looked down upon the Emperor who stood behind those lowborn men.

Emperor Zhengyuan had reigned for more than thirty years, and had spent his entire life fighting tooth and nail against the great clans. By his account, he had accomplished something in this lifetime — he had suppressed even so prominent a family as the Cui clan, whose name had once rung through the land.

But old as he was now, he never imagined that the knife in his back would be wielded by his own sons — his very own flesh and blood!

The seat in the Eastern Palace seemed to grow thorns. The Crown Prince could not sit securely, terrified of falling from his perch, and so he had gathered all manner of men about him — all from the great clans that the Emperor had long wished to discard.

Emperor Zhengyuan’s mind turned over many thoughts — the contest for power between father and son, the struggle for status between the lowborn and the great clans, the competition for the dragon throne between the princes…

Everyone was struggling. Truly, the imperial family knew no human feeling.

Emperor Zhengyuan gripped the corner of the table, his entire body drawn taut, and when he spoke, his words came with great deliberateness — slow and utterly steady.

“Shen Xiao, hear the imperial decree. You commanded soldiers to seize grain by force — your offense cannot be absolved. By all precedent, you deserve punishment.”

The moment Shen Xiao heard this, he straightened his spine at once and listened as Emperor Zhengyuan’s voice continued: “This Emperor punishes you thusly — from Superintendent of the Ministry of Revenue, you are elevated to Supernumerary Official of the Chancellery. The appointment is effective immediately.”

Shen Xiao startled, and then immediately looked toward Li Shu. She raised her eyes and met his gaze briefly, but quickly looked away.

The assembled officials’ faces changed color at once. The Second Prince was struck dumb on the spot, staring blankly at Emperor Zhengyuan.

Supernumerary Official of the Chancellery — a rank-five official, a close attendant of the Son of Heaven, charged with reviewing and deliberating upon the memorials of all officials. Emperor Zhengyuan had elevated Shen Xiao into the Chancellery, driving a wedge straight into the very heart of the great clans.

Emperor Zhengyuan paid no mind to what the others were thinking, and continued:

“Princess Pingyang, hear the decree. This Emperor’s grain requisition edict was issued more than two months ago. Shen Xiao came to your residence bearing that edict and sought an audience for no fewer than two days — yet you… “

For the first time today, Emperor Zhengyuan allowed emotion to surface. He let out a cold laugh. “You hold several hundred thousand shi of grain in your hands, and yet you begrudge even a mere thirty thousand shi on loan. Was it Shen Xiao you were looking down upon — or this Emperor’s grain requisition edict?!”

Emperor Zhengyuan picked up one of the memorials from his desk and read from it aloud: “The Guanzhong region suffers severe drought — corpses litter the roads for a thousand li, and displaced people roam everywhere. Yet Princess Pingyang hoards grain and wealth, indulges in pleasures, and disregards the welfare of the people…”

The memorial in his hand was precisely the one Shen Xiao had submitted moments ago.

Emperor Zhengyuan said, “Shen Xiao impeaches you, and every word of his impeachment is justified. He requisitioned grain for the people of Guanzhong, and for this Emperor. Yet what was the reason for your resistance?”

Emperor Zhengyuan looked out at the ranks of scarlet and purple, his voice suddenly rising sharply: “This Emperor issued the grain requisition edict. Shen Xiao seized the grain because you all refused to surrender it! The entirety of the court’s high officials — every one of you ignorant of the suffering of the common people — and yet you want to suppress a man who actually gets things done!”