The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

The old man's face twitched.

"For His Majesty to bring it up and for the court to have no doubts, it must mean I've really messed up a lot—what could be a bigger mess than the Grand Chancellor escaping from the Imperial Household Department?"

"Your Excellency has a discerning eye."

"Stop talking nonsense, keep going!"

"What else is there to say? Wang ran away, and His Majesty was furious. But he also knows your position and seniority, so removing you from the position of Minister of Rites is a price that both sides can accept. His Majesty will no longer be too wary of you, and you can devote yourself wholeheartedly to the Ministry of Rites. As for the Grand Commandant, he can start shifting the blame onto Wang."

Don't ask, the evil fragments of the Year Beast did it.

He must have orchestrated it! The executor must be [Shan Hai Zhong]!

“Once the matter of your escape is made public, taking responsibility and handling the problem are two different things—handing over the Ministry of Rites is not shirking responsibility, but expanding the Office of the Year and developing institutions such as the Candle Bearers will show that you are handling the problem properly.”

Qiao Yelan certainly wasn't simply trying to make the Grand Tutor take the blame while also making him suffer injustice—if you want someone to take the blame, you have to offer them benefits.

"As the emperor, what you want most is balance. But the two agencies that oversee the year are both in your hands. This is a path to death. That's why you've never dared to develop the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites too much. It seems like you've united the forces, but in reality, you've restricted the upper limit of these two agencies."

"If His Majesty gains control of the Ministry of Rites, he will certainly make the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department compete with each other. At that time, if you propose that the Imperial Household Department should be expanded, and you do so with a reasonable reason, what will His Majesty do when he finds that he cannot deny it?"

The Grand Tutor's expression shifted slightly.

What else could be done?

The obvious approach would be to strongly support the Ministry of Rites, ensuring that it has the power and authority to counterbalance the Imperial Household Department, while maintaining a close relationship with the Department.

Sometimes, proper splitting and mutual integration can contribute to the healthy development of a force.

The old man was already somewhat tempted.

Regardless of whether Qiao Yelan paid for the benefits or not, just tell him whether he received any benefits or not.

Qiao Yelan assured him that he had a way to control [Wang] and could even arrange for [Ji] to be an undercover agent by Wang's side—at least this man had never broken a promise about what he could do.

If Wang escapes and doesn't oppose or harm the interests of the Great Yan, then letting him escape isn't a big deal. He'll just have to take the blame himself. Aside from that, it seems like everything is beneficial.

"But after all, if I hand over the position of Minister of Rites, His Majesty will definitely support someone who is not on good terms with me to take the position. If the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice turn from cooperation to mutual confrontation, then the competition will turn into pointless internal strife."

This was the only worry the Grand Tutor had left.

"Then all you need to do is support someone, make His Majesty think that someone you have a conflict with has ascended to the throne, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Qiao Yelan said calmly.

The veins on the back of the old man's hand bulged slightly.

That was his biggest worry—

Qiao Yelan never had the slightest sense of awe, towards anyone, anything, or any life.

"...You've got someone in mind?"

"Didn't you suppress the matter with the archives a few days ago? Now you don't need to suppress it anymore, just expose it directly."

A word to awaken the dreamer.

"Minister Ning?"

The old man's voice carried a hint of surprise, but more so a sense of realization.

"Duke Ningguo has always been the most outspoken royalist, but as he got older, he stopped speaking up in court. Even when the Cai faction was at its most rampant, Duke Ningguo never gave Cai Yan a kind look, but instead stood up for His Majesty a few times."

The Grand Commandant and his gang were only doing things behind the emperor's back, but when it came to loyalty to the Great Yan and the royal family, it could be said that no one in the entire country could surpass them.

Therefore, the Duke of Ningguo's attitude never changed from beginning to end, and His Majesty still had a good impression of these people.

"Moreover, although in name Vice Minister Ning is your student and, under your care, rose to the position of Vice Minister of Rites at a young age, he has served you diligently for several years since taking this position, yet he has not received any credit, let alone any promotion."

Qiao Yelan pointed out an even better "evidence".

Grand Tutor and Qiao Yelan knew that this action was to protect the young man in the turbulent court, while also preventing him from standing out too much and being forced to take sides in court, thus offending His Majesty the Emperor in advance.

But the others don't know.

At a young age, Vice Minister Ning was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites, but he remained in that position for several years without any advancement, and spent his days doing various tasks for the Grand Tutor in charge of the year-end ceremony...

To outsiders, the Grand Tutor seemed to be just like most graduate advisors—promoting the most capable person to a teaching assistant position, then blocking their graduation thesis, and finally sending them to his own company for an "internship"...

If Ning, the Vice Minister, were released and made Minister of Rites, wouldn't he be determined to retaliate against the shameless tutor, the Grand Tutor?

"...Is this what you meant before, secretly helping out?"

The Grand Tutor glared at Qiao Yelan, wondering why this guy was only telling half the story.

"I'll save this for you. A surprise is something that will make you happy if you ask."

The man's unyielding behavior nearly made the Grand Tutor fly into a rage.

He calmed himself down, then took out a bottle of nitroglycerin tablets, poured out one, and swallowed it.

"Hey, I've never seen you eat this stuff before?"

"Yes, I've been carrying it with me ever since you came to Si Suitai to report it."

The Grand Tutor said in an annoyed tone.

After calming down, he had figured out Qiao Yelan's plan.

Qiao Yelan is currently in the eye of the storm, but isn't he, as the Grand Tutor, also in a situation where he is the target of everyone's criticism?

The Grand Commandant is hostile to him, and the Emperor doesn't give him a friendly look—not to mention Cai Yan, when have the two sides ever gotten along peacefully?

It would be better to follow Qiao Yelan's example and retreat in order to advance.

He made a big mistake, received a punishment, and then had to hand over the Ministry of Rites to the emperor. However, the person who rose to the position of Minister of Rites was Vice Minister Ning—Vice Minister Ning was the key to this plan.

In the emperor's view, Ning Shilang had been suppressed by the Grand Tutor for a long time. How could a young man not have ambition and passion? He must have been dissatisfied with the Grand Tutor for a long time. As long as he promoted him, coupled with the Duke of Ning's consistent loyalty, then Ning Shilang, no, Minister Ning, would definitely be grateful to him and stand firmly on his side.

In the Grand Commandant's view, this was clearly the Grand Tutor's side exerting its influence, presenting a heavyweight pledge of loyalty—after all, Vice Minister Ning was one of their people, and with him in the position of Minister of Rites, their preparations could be made more discreet and less likely to be detected by His Majesty in advance.

As for the Grand Tutor, he naturally knew that his student was not the kind of person who would be obsessed with factional struggles and power, and still respected him very much. Although there might be friction between him and his Director of the Imperial Household Department on the surface, when it came to matters of great importance, the other party would definitely cooperate with him to the fullest extent.

Everyone would feel that Vice Minister Ning was one of their own—so no one would try to trip him up; instead, they would all do their own thing to make it happen.

It's so vivid.

The Grand Tutor felt a pang of emotion.

Qiao Yelan always does things his own way, and anyone who has experienced it can see it, but no one who can see it will ever say it out loud—to put it more mysteriously, it's something akin to the "Tao."

He even suspected that Qiao Yelan, like Sui Xiang, might wield some kind of power.

Ancient Terra, the god who governs open and covert schemes.jpg

The Grand Commandant's previous accusations, which seemed like utter nonsense, once again lingered in his mind.

Is Qiao Yelan... really human?

"According to you, Minister Ning's rise to power is indeed unstoppable, and no one will be able to stop it..."

The Grand Tutor couldn't help but sigh as he finished speaking.

What else could he say? What else could he deny?

The pros and cons were laid bare before him, leaving him no choice but to make a decision.

He didn't know if Qiao Yelan had any other ideas—but since he couldn't think of any himself, he couldn't blame Qiao Yelan for only offering this one.

"Now that we've come this far, you should think it over yourself, or perhaps you should consult with the Grand Commandant first?"

"Nonsense! If that guy could really get Wang back by any means necessary, I'd be more than happy to do so."

The Grand Tutor said in an annoyed tone.

Is this something that can be discussed openly?

He's just setting things up; he's not planning on the old man spending all his time in the outhouse.

"Alright, this whole thing requires your personal planning from beginning to end. Once you're ready, I'll do my best to cooperate."

"Let's do it today then, and settle everything today."

The Grand Tutor sighed.

"So urgent?"

Nonsense, there's no rush. I'm afraid I'll regret it, and I'm even more afraid you'll come up with some even more outrageous plan.

The old man sighed, feeling utterly powerless.

-------------------------------------------------- ------

The four people on the table sat quietly, drinking tea.

The Grand Tutor was conflicted, Ji trusted his teacher's judgment, Wang was completely bewildered, and Qiao Yelan was...

Oh, Qiao Yelan is really thirsty.

This old man chatted with me for so long, but he didn't even bring me a pot of tea.

"Cough cough."

Finally, it was the Grand Tutor who spoke first.

After all, although Qiao Yelan was the one who proposed the plan, the final decision would definitely rest with the Grand Tutor, so he had to speak first.

"I have important matters to discuss with you today."