Seizing Power

"Now that things have come to this, let's put it behind us for the time being."

Xu Yuan did not continue whipping Li Junwu's foolish choice like a dead corpse. Instead, he said softly, "Your choice was risky, but there's no denying that it did help us eliminate some hidden threats within."

Li Junwu still felt indignant, but she adjusted quickly and followed his train of thought. "You mean those generals who stood by and watched me take my own life?"

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and leaned against the edge of the desk, his gaze fixed on the calligraphy hanging on the side wall as he said faintly, "Killing you was one of their ultimate objectives. The spies within your Western Pacification Prefecture must have been hoping for your death."

Li Junwu lightly pressed her lips together. "You mean those generals who chose to stand aside are all traitors?"

Xu Yuan shook his head. "Not all of them. Failing to save you does not mean they are traitors. Some may simply not have reacted in time, while others may have genuinely been loyal to Western Pacification Prefecture but already harbored grievances against you, so they hesitated in that instant."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan cast a gentle glance at her in the seat of honor. "Zhan Xian'an may be a traitor from our perspective, but to the generals under his command, he was an elder brother who had fought through life and death alongside them for years. It is only human that they cannot accept such a change in identity in so short a time."

Li Junwu furrowed her delicate brows and said unhappily, "Can't you just tell me the conclusion?"

"Look at you, doing it again. Me helping you analyze things does not mean you get to