The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

It's really lively.

The highest official rank a eunuch could hold in the palace was the fourth rank. For a fourth-rank eunuch to greet him outside the city gate and then lead him directly to the royal villa—this was undoubtedly intentional on the emperor's part.

Those who know the truth will immediately stop their plans and wait for a new trend to emerge, while those who don't know the truth can also realize from this behavior that a new favorite will soon join the emperor's side.

In other words, even before Qiao Yelan entered the capital, he was already considered one of the emperor's people.

No wonder that old fellow, the Grand Tutor, dared to ask me such a question openly—His Majesty's position is truly precarious.

It's good that it's on the verge of collapse!

Qiao Yelan likes people with desires the most, especially those with urgent needs.

Now, let's see what kind of news this person, who is now far removed from the center of power within the palace, can bring us.

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

“Lord Qiao, you are well aware of the rules in the palace. You haven’t been back for several years, and the emperor has changed, but the rules will not change—so there are some questions that you should avoid asking if possible. Let’s look out for each other.”

Eunuch Li sat opposite Qiao Yelan and poured him a cup of tea.

"I won't make things difficult for you, Eunuch Li."

Qiao Yelan smiled and placed a stack of silver notes directly on the table, then pushed it over.

"Just say what you can say."

But Eunuch Li sighed and pushed the silver note back.

"To be honest, I am old and an old man. The Emperor has his own attendants. The only reason I can still wear this set of robes of a Grand Eunuch is because the late Emperor mentioned you, saying that only I can contact you, so the Emperor has kept me until now."

“The capital is in complete chaos right now. If I leave the palace, no amount of money will be enough to keep myself safe. But as long as you are here, as long as you talk with the Emperor, I can stay in the palace for one more day. So I will try my best to tell you everything I know.”

Qiao Yelan narrowed his eyes, simply smiled and shook his head, then pushed the silver note over.

"Rules are rules, and rules will not change. Eunuch Li, you should not refuse. Speaking of which, what exactly happened in the capital that has led to this situation?"

Eunuch Li sighed, but still didn't reach for the stack of silver notes.

The reason he has survived to this day as the liaison between the emperor and Qiao Yelan, from the previous dynasty to the new dynasty, and has not even been demoted, is because of his cautiousness.

"What else could it be—a conflict between the Emperor and the Prime Minister?"

He lowered his voice.

"As you know, before the late emperor passed away, he was ill for several years, and the crown prince had been the regent in charge of the government. Back when the Duke of Wei was not yet the Duke of Wei, weren't all the ministers in the court directly responsible to him? So the current emperor doesn't have any capable people at his disposal; all the capable people are with the Duke of Wei!"

"Duke Wei went to Longmen, and it was only three or four years. The Emperor has been on the throne for two years. In that short period of time, how could the late Emperor have had time to help the Emperor build a new team and place them in the court? Wasn't it all just the old people being used?"

Qiao Yelan silently mourned in her heart; the old emperor was indeed unlucky to have such a crown prince.

"So this is the stalemate. The emperor doesn't trust the ministers in the court and wants to promote people himself and replace them all—but the prime minister is unwilling. The people the emperor chooses are of varying quality, and moreover, not many of them have the ability to become vice ministers or ministers right now. If they are replaced, won't the administration be in complete chaos?"

Eunuch Li sighed. Since the emperor ascended the throne, the things he changed most frequently in his study were teacups, pen holders, and the like—sometimes several times a day.

"Therefore, His Majesty is now unable to issue orders in court without being thwarted."

"Most of them, I don't know much, but after each grand court assembly, no one in the palace dares to speak loudly, for fear that the emperor will take his anger out on them."

Got it, these old fogies have suddenly tasted the sweetness of success—it turns out that the affairs of the Great Yan Dynasty don't actually need the emperor's intervention; we can handle it ourselves.

The sage emperor governs the world by simply sitting idly by his side.

No wonder the emperor specially sent someone to contact Babel Tower, asking him to return to the capital to "report on his duties." He was probably really desperate, but he had no one else to rely on, so he wanted his "old friend of the late emperor" to stand up for him.

Are all the talented people Your Majesty has promoted incompetent?

Qiao Yelan suddenly asked this question.

"How could that be? How could the Emperor possibly nominate a pig to succeed him? It's just that the people the Emperor has chosen are too radical—corrupt officials under investigation, cruel officials who have been impeached, and even officials who have had their homes confiscated while imprisoned. Do you think the Prime Minister would agree to that?"

"In other words, these people are actually capable, but they have flawed personal ethics, right?"

Qiao Yelan grasped the key point.

Eunuch Li nodded and sighed, clearly not knowing why the emperor was doing this.

Those who possess both virtue and talent are either hard to find or their hearts are not with the emperor. That's why the emperor appoints people based on merit, not on their character. The purpose is to prove to those capable officials who use underhanded methods that as long as you do a good job, the emperor will personally stand up for you regarding issues of morality and corruption.

First, build up your team. It doesn't matter how the team is united. As long as you have the ability and stand on the emperor's side, the emperor will support you.

The man nodded to himself. This was indeed a good way to break the deadlock. After all, people with both virtue and talent are few and far between, and most officials can usually only have one. So the emperor was actually deliberately labeling and stigmatizing the ministers in the court, making them split up and forcing them to regroup.

After all, the emperor appoints people based on merit, so shouldn't the prime minister, as the opposite side, appoint people based on virtue, or rather, should he appoint people who are both virtuous and talented?

The problem is that there are plenty of officials with dirty hands. No matter how righteous they appear on the surface, they still know in their hearts what they have done.

Do people like this feel more comfortable standing with the "virtuous and talented" prime minister faction, or with the "merit-based" emperor faction?

The former worry about being exposed and scrutinized, while the latter—

They can even proudly say that their moral standards as officials are definitely above average!

Chapter 80 This is what a veteran actor is like.jpg

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, sir."

"Uh—is that enough?"

Eunuch Li was somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, that's enough."

Qiao Yelan already understands the current situation.

The emperor was not on an easy throne, but he had no intention of giving up. Instead, he tried every means to suppress his ministers and expand his sphere of power—which shows that he was an ambitious emperor.

This also means that now is the time when he is at his weakest and needs help the most.

The core intelligence that the Tower of Babel seeks is whether you have ambition.

"When will you be able to arrange for me to enter the palace to meet His Majesty?"

"His Majesty said, the sooner the better."

"Then I will trouble you to inform Your Majesty that I, Qiao Yelan, wish to enter the palace immediately to pay my respects to Your Majesty. I wonder if Your Majesty has the time?"

One sentence left Eunuch Li speechless once again.

"Now?"

"Yes, right away."

The man pushed the silver note towards the other party again.

"However, you should still have people in the palace who can help you—people who will arrange your future."

The other party's expression immediately began to change.

In fact, this issue has already crossed the line. After all, Eunuch Li is only thinking about stepping down peacefully. If he were to reveal his true intentions at this time, it would inevitably implicate others.

However, thinking of the Tower of Babel and the abilities of this Lord Qiao before him, Eunuch Li gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

"Yes—I am just one of the chief eunuchs, the current chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who is my godson. I planned to rely on him to help me secure a way out in the new dynasty, but I didn't expect that His Majesty would keep me around, neither using me nor killing me."

"Use your methods to inform him that if he wants to take things further, an opportunity will soon be presented to him—if he doesn't intend to, then forget it."

Qiao Yelan made a whispering gesture.

"Of course, this is something only you and I know."

"Of course."

This time, Eunuch Li took the silver notes directly and hurriedly left the royal villa.

At that moment, Ace hurriedly walked in, carrying a stack of documents.

“This was just delivered by someone—he said he came from Si Sui Tai.”

Qiao Yelan picked up the document and squinted.

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

Qiao Yelan sat in a wheelchair that had already been examined, pushed by Eunuch Li, and walked through the long palace corridors until they finally arrived at a secluded place.

A bare garden with a pavilion in the middle, surrounded by guards.

Inside the pavilion sat the current emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty.

"Your subject Qiao Yelan greets Your Majesty, but I am unwell and unable to perform the full ceremony. Please forgive me."

"It's alright. I've heard my father say that he once bestowed upon you the privilege of wearing a sword and shoes to court without kneeling or bowing."

The emperor showed no displeasure, but his expression was one of intense scrutiny.

"The late emperor's grace is not the grace of Your Majesty, so I dare not act presumptuously."

"Alright, that's enough for now—you may all leave."

"Your Majesty, this—"

"Go down!"

The guards and eunuchs dared not say anything and withdrew one after another.

Within a few dozen meters, there was no sound from anyone.