The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

Having said that, Qiao Yelan finally raised an eyebrow, truly taking this Minister Ning into his own eyes.

The Grand Tutor's meaning is clear: the reason he promoted Vice Minister Ning is because he is truly talented and needs a higher level and broader perspective to fully utilize his abilities. Therefore, he is essentially exercising the power of the Minister of Rites.

However, if the Grand Tutor were to promote him without any clear direction in the court, it would only draw him into factional strife prematurely. Therefore, in name only, he would not give anyone any leverage or cause for covetousness.

In other words, this old fellow was truly grooming Minister Ning as his successor.

However, considering the Grand Tutor's performance from Qiao Yelan's perspective, it means that Vice Minister Ning has already qualified to become a pawn.

His gaze fell on the Grand Tutor, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Sure enough, the anger expressed through cursing wasn't genuine anger—this old man was clearly sincere about protecting his student.

Although it was a reprimand, such a detailed reprimand was more like instructing the other party on how to do things than an outburst of anger. The implication was that Minister Ning should abandon the late emperor's order and turn his attention to serving the current emperor.

The matter of secretly replacing the original documents in the archives could be a big deal or a small deal, especially since it happened within the Ministry of Rites. It would be easy for the Grand Tutor to suppress it and prevent it from leaking out.

The old man knew that although he still had many years to live, he would eventually need a successor, and the Ministry of Rites did indeed need someone to step forward—Vice Minister Ning's qualifications and abilities were top-notch.

The problem now is that Vice Minister Ning's words are all about "the late emperor's decree," which will inevitably be exposed to the emperor in the future, and then there will be no way to undo it—that's why the Grand Tutor is using such a drastic method to grab his student's head and shake it from side to side, to shake out that so-called late emperor's decree.

Having achieved this, the Grand Tutor was naturally somewhat confident—but there was still one last problem to solve.

Why not let Qiao Yelan tell the truth?

Therefore, he revealed his intention to cultivate a successor in front of Qiao Yelan for two reasons. First, Qiao Yelan already knew about this, which was already a handle in Qiao Yelan's hands. Rather than letting Qiao Yelan keep using it and cause an ugly situation in the future, forcing him and his student to back down...

Why not just sell Vice Minister Ning to Qiao Yelan now?

This isn't just a formality; it's a one-step solution—the Grand Tutor directly forces Vice Minister Ning to become Qiao Yelan's pawn. Qiao Yelan will inevitably protect and defend his pawn, thus completely suppressing the matter and eliminating the risk of the emperor's repercussions.

Secondly, for Qiao Yelan, protecting Minister Ning is both protecting his own pawn and doing himself a favor—a win-win situation that Qiao Yelan would certainly be happy to do.

No one would think it's a bad deal to buy two things for the same price.

—Except for Qiao Yelan.

The reason is very simple—when has Qiao Yelan ever needed to spend money to buy things?

Isn't it always the other person who pays him to buy it, and then Qiao Yelan sells it to him?

So, one thing at a time, the Grand Tutor wanted to be sold to a good person, and he wanted his successor to be taken as a pawn by Qiao Yelan—these came at two prices, so the Grand Tutor had to pay twice.

Qiao Yelan doesn't mind taking a pawn, nor does he mind doing the Grand Tutor a favor—but if the Grand Tutor thinks it's the same thing and only intends to pay him once, then that won't do.

Therefore, Qiao Yelan merely glanced at the Grand Tutor with amusement.

This old bastard, trying to outsmart me, huh? — I'll scare you a little.

You need to think faster.

Otherwise, if you don't realize I'm bluffing, I'll feel a little embarrassed.

Qiao Yelan coughed softly.

The Grand Tutor's voice abruptly stopped, leaving even Vice Minister Ning completely bewildered.

What's going on?

"The late emperor's decree is indeed of paramount importance, but the late emperor is dead after all, and Minister Ning is merely being used. His respect and affection for you are evident to all. Therefore, the mastermind behind the scenes who truly lured Minister Ning to his side must still be alive."

Qiao Yelan chuckled and bowed to the Grand Tutor.

“Your Excellency is one of the Three Dukes. Who in the world, besides His Majesty, would dare to do such a thing to you? From this perspective, Grand Tutor will surely find the real culprit—at that time, Vice Minister Ning’s innocence will be proven.”

Minister Ning's pupils constricted immediately. He had already lost his composure due to his teacher's words, and now Qiao Yelan's heavy blow completely shattered his defenses, causing him to involuntarily reveal a weakness.

The Grand Tutor immediately seized upon this flaw.

The fact that his students reacted meant that Qiao Yelan's words were definitely targeted, and the mastermind behind it must be someone of high rank and power, just as Qiao Yelan said.

I am one of the Three Dukes... except for His Majesty...

The old man's expression changed drastically in an instant.

The three highest positions are the Chancellor, the Grand Tutor, and the Grand Commandant.

Now that Prime Minister Cai Yan is a defeated dog, firmly held by the emperor, how could he possibly have the strength to harm himself?

Moreover, after the late emperor's death, this guy dared to try to restrict the emperor's power and even openly formed a faction in the court. Even if Qiao Yelan did not appear, this guy would still lead the Cai faction to stir up trouble. Would he really treat the late emperor's orders as gospel?

Look at Minister Ning's appearance. Does he look like an idiot who can be easily fooled by Cai Yan's words?

That would be a slight underestimation of the Grand Tutor's teachings.

If we eliminate all the impossibilities, then only one answer remains.

The Grand Tutor's hands were clenched tightly together, constantly shifting.

"How dare you... How dare you!"

This statement seems to refer to both Minister Ning and someone else.

"If I hadn't discovered this, if I hadn't been the one to uncover it, do you think you could have—"

The Grand Tutor suddenly stopped speaking.

Ning Shilang looked up in confusion, only to find that the anger on his teacher's face had vanished in an instant, replaced by another emotion.

He wasn't even sure if what he was seeing was that emotion—because he had never seen such an expression on the Grand Tutor's face before.

That emotion was—fear.

Minister Ning's guess was actually correct, because the Grand Tutor, while beating his disciple, was suddenly awakened by his own words—

Was this matter really uncovered by him, the Grand Tutor?

He suddenly turned around and looked at Qiao Yelan.

Before Qiao Yelan returned and before he saw him, how many times had he entered the palace and met the emperor?

Qiao Yelan maintained his calm and composed expression, as approachable and friendly as an audience member sitting under the stage—the kind of audience that actors love.

Because regardless of how well she performed, it seemed that Qiao Yelan didn't mind giving her some money as a reward.

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(36 chapters still owed)

Chapter 136 The old man is easily frightened

The old man forced himself to turn his head back and look at his students.

Although his heart was pounding like a thunderous war drum on a battlefield, his years of composure and self-control prevented him from revealing too much of a weakness.

What exactly is Qiao Yelan trying to do?

Did he leak this information beforehand?

Did he come to me to use me to lift the lid, or had he already discussed with His Majesty and wanted to take me down with him in one fell swoop?

Cai Yan is no longer capable of resisting. Now that I'm joining forces with that old bastard Grand Commandant, can we stop him?

One question after another flooded into the Grand Tutor's mind, making his heart grow colder and colder.

He suddenly realized something—

In the eyes of the current emperor, these three old ministers who had stayed from the previous dynasty did not seem to be any good people.

Cai Yan didn't say anything more. He figured that the emperor's hatred for him was probably only slightly lower than Cai Yan's—maybe about the same.

After all, Prime Minister Cai only wanted to be a powerful minister, while I had made it clear that I hoped Wei Yanwu would come back to take over the position.

The Grand Commandant is probably in a slightly better position, since the military still strictly adheres to the rule of not interfering in politics. But for this reason, it seems that he hasn't been able to offer His Majesty any assistance in recent years.

The three of them stacked together now—who knows how much they weigh in the Emperor's eyes? Whether they can even surpass Qiao Yelan's wheelchair is another question entirely.

If Qiao Yelan were to tell the emperor that the Grand Commandant was secretly plotting something, colluding with others, and that the matter even involved the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department, and that Vice Minister Ning was one of those colluding with the Grand Commandant—then, given Qiao Yelan's current high level of imperial favor, the emperor would likely side with Qiao Yelan, even if he didn't act immediately.

At this point, if Qiao Yelan simply says he will produce evidence, the emperor will certainly not stop him. On the contrary, he will send people to secretly follow him and collect the evidence Qiao Yelan finds.

Thinking of this, the Grand Tutor felt a chill run down his spine.

He finally understood why Qiao Yelan's words had given him such a strange feeling!

The questions, like those witty comedians, led me to explain myself. Afterwards, I gave myself ample face in my behavior, without overstepping any boundaries, and was so well-behaved that it felt strange to me.

The Grand Tutor still remembered his previous assessment of Qiao Yelan's behavior—

[Just like a normal Vice Minister of Rites.]

Yes, Qiao Yelan is normal—so why does he have to act so normal?

That's obviously to highlight the abnormality.

The old man swayed, and even with his physique, he felt a sense of emptiness beneath his feet.

It's all over.

When Chen Fan bowed to Qiao Yelan, he didn't say anything because he wasn't a corrupt official.

When Cai Yan knelt before Qiao Yelan, he did not speak, because he was not a powerful minister.