Almost at the same moment, on the other side of the Imperial City's inner district, an ancient and unadorned residence blazed with lights. A banquet had been laid out, and every person at the feast carried an extraordinary bearing—clearly all were ministers holding great power.
The Emperor was gravely ill. Though the palace had not publicized it, the news had long since swept through the city like wind and rain. The ministers each had their own calculations, but outwardly, they still had to show some restraint. The higher one's rank and power, the less extravagant one could be when hosting a banquet. Often, they had to use gathering together to pray for the Emperor's recovery as a pretext.
This was precisely such a case. The host was Gu Yin, the newly appointed Minister of Personnel.
The Ministry of Personnel controlled officials' promotions and evaluations. The weight of its authority was beyond description to the hundred officials; at times, it was even called the Ministry of Heaven, for it could determine one's future in officialdom.
Thus, whenever a Minister of Personnel took office, he would inevitably receive visiting cards from other ministers wishing to offer their congratulations. In Great Rui, this had practically become an established custom. Even with the Emperor gravely ill, little had changed in this regard.
Therefore, Gu Yin followed the old custom and held a family banquet in his residence, entertaining several ministers.
Of course, doing so still carried risks, given the Emperor's grave illness. Yet one crucial reason Gu Yin had risked it was that the banquet at the Gu Residence was actually a smokescreen, meant to confuse the royal eyes and ears and conceal its true purpose. Still, anyone in officialdom knew which way the wind was blowing. With the Emperor gravely ill and a