The moment the court adjourned, everything was finalized: Qi Zongbi's military power was stripped away, and Ying Gutong was reassigned to the border regions. Only at this point did the officials, upon careful reflection, realize that what had appeared to be a farce between civil and military officials ultimately benefited only Su Yi.
Su Yi's seemingly chaotic yet meticulously calculated series of moves had truly left this group of people utterly bewildered.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Su Yi was the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Guardians, Yu Shibang. Yu had long maintained a personal friendship with Ying Gutong and held an equivalent rank. However, unlike Marshal Ying, Marshal Yu was responsible for commanding all the palace's imperial guards and had not led troops on external campaigns for many years.
As Yu Shibang brushed past Su Yi, he let out a heavy snort and coldly remarked, "Grand Tutor Su, your tactics are remarkable. I fear that Marshal Ying's reputation will take a serious hit after this round of turmoil."
Su Yi smiled faintly and cupped his hands in reply. "Marshal Yu, you flatter me."
Su Yi was the last to leave the grand hall. This was primarily because he had few allies in the court to begin with, but he also wanted to avoid the scornful glances of the other ministers.
As he walked out of the palace gates and headed toward the carriage waiting to take him home, he suddenly heard someone calling his name. Turning to look, he saw a carriage approaching leisurely.
It was Senior Fan's carriage.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Senior Fan cheerfully poked his head out. "Su Yi, I have been waiting for you for quite a while."
Su Yi was taken aback, then glanced around to ensure that no one nearby was paying attention. Satisfied, he stepped into the carriage. The curtain fell back into place, concealing everything within.
Inside the carriage was a small table, upon which sat a tray holding a small teapot that was steaming gently. A few delicate tea cups were placed upside down beside it.
Senior Fan picked up a teacup, wiped it with a cloth, and poured Su Yi a cup of tea. Instantly, the fragrance of fresh tea filled the carriage. Senior Fan chuckled and said, "When you get old, you care less about formalities. The elaborate rituals of warming the teaware and rinsing the tea seem too cumbersome now, so I simply go with the flow. I hope you won't mind."
Su Yi quickly waved his hand and said, "Of course not. I have yet to taste tea personally brewed by Senior Fan. It is truly my good fortune."
"You played your hand beautifully today." Senior Fan changed the topic, smiling as he fixed his gaze on Su Yi. "The court is even more perilous than the battlefield. I imagine you've begun to grasp its intricacies?"
Su Yi's expression remained unchanged as he responded calmly, "I merely leveraged the situation."
"Exactly," Senior Fan nodded, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Leverage the power of the civil officials, the military officials, the Emperor... even the flow of the world itself. With such a vision, anything becomes possible."
"Senior Fan, why are you bringing this up with me today?" Su Yi looked steadily into Fan Shaolin's eyes. "What is your purpose?"
Fan Shaolin's involvement had not been part of Su Yi's original plan, and his unexpected support today, however slight, still left Su Yi indebted.
Fan Shaolin shook his head without answering and continued, "First, you stirred up conflict between the civil and military officials, using this to bring up military matters. Then, you called for Qi Zongbi's authority to be stripped and summoned him back to the capital.
"Naturally, his faction would resist, but the military officials stayed silent, content to gloat from the sidelines. Next, you replaced the commander of the troops. While the military officials disliked both Qi Zongbi's and Ying Gutong's outcomes, their prior silence left them with no grounds to speak now.
"In the end, you delivered blows to both sides. Of course, these terms were unacceptable to either group. But the brilliance lay in the Emperor's final decree, which didn't summon Qi Zongbi back to the capital but instead paired him with Qi Yanzhu to jointly oversee the army...
"Ha, His Majesty's timely concession silenced the civil officials while leaving the military powerless to stir up trouble."
Su Yi smiled faintly. "Senior Fan has sharp eyes."
"I usually don't say so much." Fan Shaolin leaned back, making himself more comfortable, and smiled at Su Yi. "Do you know why today is different?"
Su Yi remained silent for a long moment, then shook his head and replied, "I do not know."
"Qi Zongbi is not truly a treacherous man." Fan Shaolin's voice grew slightly somber as he raised his head to observe Su Yi's face closely. "Moreover... you are a lot like him."
Su Yi was startled and took a second to realize that the old man before him was not referring to physical resemblance. He fixed his gaze on Fan Shaolin, waiting for him to continue.
"Over the many years Qi Zongbi has held his position, I’ve observed him closely. He truly has done much that benefits the nation and its people. He was mentored by Li Xun, and in matters of governance, I am no match for him..." Fan Shaolin said quietly. "If possible... I shamelessly wish to plead with you here on his behalf, to grant him a favorable end."
Su Yi opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. He had never expected that this would be Senior Fan's request.
Su Yi finally broke the silence after a long pause, and bluntly asked, "Senior Fan, do you think... that I can contend with External Prime Minister Qi?"
Fan Shaolin turned to look out the carriage window. The morning streets were already bustling with pedestrians, and the sounds of hawking and bargaining filled the air. Senior Fan spoke a sentence laden with meaning.
"This realm... will ultimately still belong to the Chen family."
The carriage fell silent once more.
It was unclear how much time had passed before Su Yi hoarsely said, "Qi Zongbi... must die."
"I understand." Senior Fan nodded.
"It’s this realm that cannot tolerate him," Su Yi said with some difficulty, as if searching for justification for himself. "It’s not that I want to kill him. He and I have no personal enmity... I don’t want this either."
"I know that too," Senior Fan turned back to look at Su Yi. "That’s why I’m saying this to you today, and not to Yue Dou... or His Majesty."
"Then, Senior Fan, what do you mean?" Su Yi lifted his head to look at Fan Shaolin, his eyes betraying an unmistakable confusion.
At this moment, the carriage came to a stop.
Fan Shaolin lifted the carriage curtain for Su Yi and said, "Su Yi, it's your time."
Hearing this, Su Yi looked outside and immediately fell silent again.
The carriage had stopped in front of a mansion, but it was not the Su residence. The gilded plaque above the gate bore two large characters. Zhang Mansion.
This was the residence of Assistant Minister Zhang Li.
Su Yi opened his mouth. "Senior Fan..."
Fan Shaolin smiled and said, "Go on. I hope you will wholeheartedly assist His Majesty in the days to come, Su Yi."
Su Yi nodded silently, fully aware that this old man had already seen through everything.
If he hadn't encountered Fan Shaolin, his first task after leaving the court would still have been to come to Zhang Li's residence—for Zhang Li served as the first nail he had driven into Qi's faction.
This was also why Zhang Li, who was usually so composed, said those words in the golden hall. None of these plans could have been executed without his role in inciting conflict between the civil and military officials.
Su Yi stepped down from the carriage, dusted off his sleeves, bowed deeply toward the carriage curtain, and then strode toward the Zhang residence.
"If possible"—Senior Fan's voice came from within the carriage behind him—"grant Qi Zongbi a dignified death."