It was an excuse to claim credit for Grand Scholar Gonglei, but the real goal was to claim credit for the three of them, his deputies.
After all, Grand Scholar Gonglei's status was right there for everyone to see. If they pulled this off, his credit would be just as plain, and no one could take it away from him.
Even if they wanted to commend the Water Engineer Scholar, he certainly wouldn't be measured against Grand Scholar Gonglei. Instead, it was these three deputies who would be compared to him. If they weren't involved enough, the share of credit they could claim would be next to nothing.
Though they were Grand Scholar Gonglei's deputies, they were also scholars of the Five Elements Academy. In terms of rank, they were actually on the same level as the Water Engineer Scholar.
If they could take over the Water Engineer Scholar's share of the credit, the beneficiaries would naturally be his faction.
How could Jiang Yue not see through these three men's ulterior motives?
The three hadn't gone to much trouble to hide their little scheme. They knew Grand Scholar Gonglei could see through it too, so when Jiang Yue put it that way, they understood that was enough. They should leave it at that.
If they pushed any further, they'd be overstepping. They couldn't very well force Grand Scholar Gonglei to help them claim credit, could they?
"My lord, what should we do next?"
They couldn't force his hand, but that didn't mean they couldn't test the waters.
Jiang Yue smiled and looked around at the three of them. "Do you have any good suggestions?"
The One-eyed Deputy said, "Now that the Spirit Vein has been confirmed, I believe control of its development should be in our hands."
"Mm. We should