Ruan Xingzhu was overjoyed at once. Blinking up at him, she said, "I beg the young master to enlighten me."
Being regarded with worshipful eyes by a mature woman acting like a young girl was rather gratifying even for someone with Song Qingshu's resolute will. He slowly replied, "Although Sichuan's situation is chaotic, its forces can roughly be divided into several camps. Murong Fu was originally the strongest faction. He held the highest nominal office appointed by the court. Yang Juyuan, Liu Changuo, Zhang Ning, and Zhu Bangyi were all Jia Sidao's trusted confidants, each holding a measure of military power. Shen Xiaolong and Sun Zhongrui represented the neutral faction. They belonged neither to Jia Sidao nor leaned toward Han Tuozhou."
"Now Sun Zhongrui has been eliminated by Yang Juyuan, and Yang Juyuan has in turn been eliminated by Shen Xiaolong. Jia Sidao's faction has only Liu Changuo, Zhang Ning, and Zhu Bangyi left, while the neutral faction has only Shen Xiaolong remaining."
Hearing this, Ruan Xingzhu asked doubtfully, "Doesn't Jia Sidao's faction still have its strongest member, Murong Fu?"
Song Qingshu smiled faintly. "Although Murong Fu was promoted by Jia Sidao himself, that man is wildly ambitious and will never be content to serve beneath another. The tremendous opportunity I mentioned is based precisely on this."
"Oh?" Ruan Xingzhu's heart stirred. As an ace spy, she dealt with high-level political struggles, so she naturally thought of a whole series of possibilities upon hearing this.
Song Qingshu continued, "Murong Fu will never willingly let others constrain him. What he wants is to dominate Xichuan alone and turn Sichuan into his personal domain. In that case, the others must all be eliminated. Besides Shen Xiaolong, that includes Jia Sidao's confidants Liu Changuo, Zhang Ning, and Zhu Bangyi."
Ruan Xingzhu gradually understood.