Lord and Subject

Tianming Prefecture.

Han Xu, whose features were broad and whose eyes were kind, stood in the hall with his hands behind his back.

Compared to Han Yin, he had always presented himself with an image of benevolence and leniency.

"Du Ruhui has been released?" he asked.

The palace had just been scrubbed clean, yet the thick scent of blood still lingered in the air.

The Marquis of Martial Merit, clad in armor, stood to the side. "I only relaxed my guard slightly, and he fled back. This man is truly a thorn in the side of our great Yong; releasing him was undoubtedly letting a tiger return to the mountains."

As the youngest marquis in the Yong Kingdom, the Marquis of Martial Merit, Xue Mingyi, was a staunch reformist. He was deeply dissatisfied with the stagnation of the old Yong Kingdom and found his political views perfectly aligned with Han Xu's, having pledged his secret loyalty long ago.

"Do I not know the terror of Du Ruhui? But there are priorities in all things. Faced with a life-or-death crisis, one must set aside the thorn in one's flesh for a time. Reforming the state now, while the times demand change, is nonetheless a gamble. I truly cannot find peace... It is not the time to provoke Zhuang Gaoxian."

Han Xu looked out past the hall; the light of the sky was but a step away, and he had finally grasped the supreme power of this land.

"What is the attitude of the Marquis of Weining and the others?" he asked.

Among the four Yong marquises who participated in the encirclement of Du Ruhui, the Marquis of Weining held the most seniority and could well represent the stance of the meritorious nobility.

"The Marquis of Weining said nothing," Xue Mingyi replied.