Chapter 141 - 106: Dad’s Confidence

Chapter 141: Chapter 106: Dad’s Confidence

In the grand hall, an eerie silence fell after Lou Yingqi’s words trailed off.

Ren Weizhi’s expression was exceedingly grim. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at Lou Yingqi, who looked as though he was itching to leap up and curse him out. Refusing to be outdone, Lou Yingqi matched his intensity, staring right back. As their gazes clashed, invisible sparks seemed to fly between them.

Conversely, Zeng Shilin—the very center of this verbal warfare—fell into deep thought. He glanced at Lou Yingqi with a slight frown. Although he had some impression of the man, it wasn’t much. During their younger days at the Imperial College, Lou Yingqi’s talent in the Confucian Dao had been remarkably mediocre. He was merely an obscure, marginalized figure. Let alone paying him any attention, Zeng Shilin wouldn’t have even remembered the man’s existence if he hadn’t thought carefully.

Lou Yingqi managing to secure the position of Assistant Minister was already quite surprising. Yet here he was, openly going to war with his direct superior... No matter how Zeng Shilin looked at it, the man seemed to be digging his own grave.

"Could he be intending to join my ranks?" he wondered, a strange look flashing across his face. A Third Grade official of the imperial court defecting to a newcomer like him? This... was peculiar.

Having navigated the tumultuous waters of officialdom for half his life, Zeng Shilin naturally knew how complex the court’s factions were. First, Li Zhen had served as Chief Minister for nearly two decades, meaning those tied to his interest group were countless. He was deeply entrenched in the court. That was why His Majesty supported Si Zhongxiao, intending to keep the Li Faction in check.

However, this also exposed a problem. The struggle between the Eunuch Faction and the Li Faction had plunged the originally stable court into chaos. From this turmoil, the Crown Prince Faction, the Fourth Prince Faction, and the Princess Faction had emerged. Yet, these factions each had their own agendas; it would be difficult to unite them to balance out the Li Faction and the Eunuch Faction.

With his current arrival in the capital, Zeng Shilin had two choices. First, pledge his allegiance to either Li Zhen or Si Zhongxiao, which would allow him to quickly establish a firm foothold in the court. Second, rally the officials who hailed from Shuidu Academy and form his own faction.

The Zeng Faction? That sounded terrible. Since most officials from Shuidu Academy were from Jiangnan, perhaps the Jiangnan Faction? Too tacky...

He was getting sidetracked. To establish a solid foothold in the court, one needed sufficient power, along with enough cunning and reputation to earn the conviction of other officials. But this required time to accumulate bit by bit.

"Could it be..." Zeng Shilin’s eyes flickered slightly. He looked thoughtfully at Bai Ziqing, who was standing in the hall. With this realization, he swallowed the urge to curse back at Ren Weizhi. He stood his ground, quietly watching the scene unfold before him.

Naturally, this tense atmosphere drew the attention of others as well. Members of both the Eunuch Faction and the Li Faction turned to look at Lou Yingqi with thoughtful expressions. Since they were all Capital Officials, they had a much deeper impression of him. Their view of him was rather stereotypical: to put it nicely, he was meticulous; to put it bluntly, he was inflexible. That was exactly why, after the last metropolitan evaluation of officials, Ren Weizhi had been able to exploit a loophole and snatch the position of Minister right out from under him.

Emperor Jianhong had naturally taken in everything happening in the hall. He remained noncommittal about the argument.

"Enough. Such bickering in the royal court—what an utter disgrace!" he said lightly, cutting off his ministers’ quarrel. Then, a pensive look crossed his face as he shifted his gaze to Bai Ziqing. "My dear subject, Bai."

Bai Ziqing bowed. "I am here."

"You have made a significant contribution in cracking the case of the Demon Race’s Cyan Viper," Emperor Jianhong stated. "You shall temporarily act as the Imperial City North Governor."

Upon hearing this, the others immediately looked anxious, ready to voice their objections.

Before they could speak, Lou Yingqi bowed deeply to Emperor Jianhong. "Your Majesty is wise! A sage ruler for the ages!" His voice even carried a hint of a choke.

"Mm. Court dismissed!" Emperor Jianhong stood up and headed toward the back of the hall, denying anyone else the chance to speak.

Bai Ziqing merely stood there in a daze. The sudden reward had left him so stunned that he forgot to thank the Emperor for his grace.

Lou Yingqi slowly straightened up, his gaze casually sweeping over Ren Weizhi. A smile graced his resolute face as he walked leisurely over to the Minister, speaking in a measured tone. "Minister Ren, you’d best refrain from spouting such nonsense in the court from now on." With a cold sneer, he turned and strode out of the hall.

Ren Weizhi simply stared coldly at Lou Yingqi’s departing back, a faint glint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. A long moment later, a cold snort finally escaped his nose.

After leaving the palace, Bai Ziqing still wore an expression of disbelief. Feeling completely disconnected from reality, he rubbed his chin, a dazed look lingering in his eyes.

"Is solving a case really this easy?" he muttered to himself. "And getting a promotion is this easy, too?"

Inside a moving carriage.

Zeng Shilin slowly looked out the window, his eyes narrowing in thought. It wasn’t until he had left the palace that he began to untangle his chaotic thoughts. Lou Yingqi’s abrupt outburst in the hall had caught him off guard. Now, sitting in the carriage and carefully pondering the situation, things were finally starting to make sense.

Although Lou Yingqi was a Third Grade official, he didn’t belong to the Li Faction, nor was he part of the Eunuch Faction. While it remained unknown who had dispatched the Cyan Viper to his estate to murder his only son, it was easy to guess that Lou Yingqi had definitely encroached upon someone’s interests.

Even though Lou Yingqi was currently isolated and without support, as an Assistant Minister, he certainly wasn’t foolish enough to overlook this reality. Having survived this ordeal, he must have realized that forging ahead alone was far less safe than banding together for survival in the royal court.