The morning court session was relatively calm overall. Apart from a minor official from Qi’s faction filing a complaint against Su Yi, everything went smoothly. The Ministry of Revenue's Assistant Minister accused Grand Tutor Su of indulging in pleasure and frequenting places of ill repute.
Su Yi remained unbothered by this. His relationship with Qi’s faction was already past the point of no return. In fact, he would find it odd if there ever was a day when officials from Qi’s faction didn’t provoke him during court. Those scheming old turtles were always secretly plotting something.
Apart from his fractious relationship with the Qi’s faction, Su Yi’s relationship with the military generals was far from harmonious. However, since their core interests had yet to clash, the generals mostly limited themselves to throwing glares his way without making serious moves against him. Moreover, the generals were reluctant to openly oppose him due to the imperial favor he currently received.
For this reason, when Chen Xun issued a decree during court to proactively abandon Liangzhou Prefecture, only a few generals voiced token protests before the matter was dropped.
When the court session ended, Su Yi, as usual, lingered at the back. He waited until most people had dispersed before heading toward the palace gates.
Just as he exited the Yingtian Gate, a voice called out from behind him.
Su Yi turned around and saw Eunuch Yue hurrying toward him.
Su Yi stopped momentarily, allowing Eunuch Yue to quickly catch up to him.
Eunuch Yue smiled faintly, flicking the whisk in his hand onto his arm. In a soft voice, he said, "His Majesty has commanded me to see you off, Lord Su."
Su Yi was momentarily surprised before smiling in understanding. "Then I must trouble you, Eunuch Yue."
See him off? Su Yi didn’t believe Chen Xun would do something so pointless. It was likely that Eunuch Yue had something to say.
The two walked side by side toward the palace gates at a leisurely pace. Neither broke the silence. The occasional eunuch or servant would lower their head and greet them as they passed.
As the palace gates came into view, Eunuch Yue finally broke the silence. "Lord Su, that old scoundrel Qian Huaide was particularly insolent during the morning court session."
Qian Huaide was the Assistant Minister of Revenue and the one who had accused Su Yi during the morning court.
Su Yi nodded. "Minister Qian is generally a straightforward man by nature. Since he’s part of Qi’s faction, it’s only natural for him to target me."
"A straightforward man? Ha!" Eunuch Yue sneered. "Straightforward, my foot! That old goat secretly took in a pair of twin sisters as concubines just last month, and even brought them both into his house at the same time."
"Ahem..." Su Yi coughed awkwardly. "Minister Qian... well, he certainly still has vigor in his old age... But Eunuch Yue, your intelligence network is truly impressive to know even this."
Eunuch Yue chuckled dryly. "This came from a report handed in by one of the Eastern Depot’s men. I stumbled upon it by chance. Lord Su, you know the Depot and Imperial Guardians exist precisely to gather such information."
"Let’s get to the point," Eunuch Yue said as he adjusted his whisk. "Qi Zongbi’s defeats in the north have made the officials from his faction uneasy. They fear we’ll use this chance to strike at Qi Zongbi.
"Lately, they’ve been growing restless again. I worry that today’s incident might be their signal to act. So, I was thinking... should we strike first? We can take Qian Huaide and make an example of him."
Su Yi gave Eunuch Yue a subtle glance and asked nonchalantly, "What are you proposing to do?"
Eunuch Yue let out a cold laugh. "Any pretext will do. Among all the civil and military officials in court, who dares claim to be clean? Take Qian Huaide, for example. Those twin sisters were a bribe from someone seeking his favor.
"Embezzlement and bribery, just that alone would be enough for me to drag him into the Eastern Depot’s prison. Whether he comes out alive would depend on his luck."
Su Yi remained silent, seemingly contemplating Eunuch Yue’s suggestion. After a long pause, he shook his head. "Forget it. These are already troubled times; let’s not stir up more complications."
"We will do as you wish," Eunuch Yue agreed immediately.
"One more thing," Eunuch Yue said, shifting the topic.
Su Yi raised an eyebrow, realizing that all the previous chatter was just a prelude to the real issue Eunuch Yue wanted to discuss.
"Eunuch Yue, please speak."
Eunuch Yue glanced up to gauge Su Yi’s expression and said, "It’s nothing major, but I’d like to hear your opinion, Lord Su. Currently, the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guardians are technically part of the same system but report to separate heads.
"I hold the Seal of the Directorate of Ceremonies, while the Eastern Depot is now managed by Eunuch Chen. Important reports are still sent to me for personal review. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guardians are under Commander Lin.
"Because of this, the intelligence from both sides inevitably doesn’t align all the time. Lord Su, you know that the Depot and the Imperial Guardians are the emperor’s personal forces. Logically, they should report to the same person..."
A faint smile played at the corners of Su Yi’s lips and he asked, "Does Eunuch Yue want control of the Imperial Guardians?"
Eunuch Yue was startled by the question and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, Lord Su! Please don’t say such things! Commander Lin of the Imperial Guardians is someone you personally promoted. How could I dare seize power from you?"
Su Yi was puzzled. Initially, he had suspected Eunuch Yue wanted to consolidate control over both the Imperial Guardians and the Eastern Depot. However, Eunuch Yue’s earnest demeanor didn't seem to be fake. Perplexed, Su Yi said, "Eunuch Yue, just speak plainly."
Eunuch Yue patted his chest as if relieved, then explained, "My intention is simple. Both the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guardians handle intelligence gathering, but their reports are sent to two different places.
"As you know, Lord Su, Commander Lin submits important reports from the Imperial Guardians to you, while Eunuch Chen hands those from the Depot to me. This leads to inevitable overlaps or omissions.
"So I was thinking, why don't we consolidate all important reports under me? I could screen and review them before passing them along. This would reduce redundancies and ease the burden on you, Lord Su.I know you’re busy with state affairs."
Su Yi suddenly understood but was also a bit puzzled. Was such a relatively minor issue worth all this roundabout discussion?
Su Yi cupped his hands slightly. "Eunuch Yue, your consideration is appreciated. Let’s do as you suggest. I’ll inform Commander Lin about this arrangement. From now on, the reports will all go through the Directorate of Ceremonies under you."
"Ah!" Eunuch Yue responded with a smile. "I was just worried Lord Su might misunderstand, so I didn’t know how to bring it up. It’s a relief to have it clarified."
Su Yi gave a wry smile. "Eunuch Yue, you overthink things. Just come to me directly with such matters in the future."
"Hmm..." Eunuch Yue nodded but then casually asked, "Speaking of intelligence, it seems the Imperial Guardians are far better at this than the Eastern Depot, aren’t they? I’ve noticed that your information, Lord Su, often arrives faster than anything from the Depot..."
Su Yi’s heart skipped wildly!
"This..." Su Yi felt sweat forming on his brow. Others might not know, but he was painfully aware of the truth. His intelligence that always arrived ahead of the rest came from one place and one person.
The Storm Listening Pavilion, Ye Fan.