Sheng Boyuan said slowly, "I heard that Void Sage Fang has been visiting the various halls and pavilions of the Sacred Academy lately. I fear he has already been planning to have Master Riverstream transferred away."
"My dear minister Sheng, what should we do now?" The empress dowager's voice was filled with exhaustion.
Sheng Boyuan gave a meaningful look, and the eunuch hurried away.
After a moment, Sheng Boyuan said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Fang Yun's wings are fully grown now. We must not confront him directly, or the Jing Kingdom will surely fall into chaos, and Fang Yun may seize the opportunity to... take our place. At present, only one path remains open to us: feign compliance and play along. After all, I have heard that Fang Yun is gravely injured, and even the Half-Sages are powerless to help him. We need only wait until his body fails him, then seize the momentum to strike back. Moreover, the Jing Lord is still young. If we can hold out until he comes of age, he can rightfully take personal control of the government. When that time comes, as their strength wanes and ours grows, there will be hope for the Imperial House's revival."
The empress dowager let out a long sigh. "We drove out Liu Shan, only for Fang Yun to come along. The Jing Kingdom truly suffers one calamity after another. Very well. Rather than tear away all pretense and leave everyone looking bad, we should retreat three marches and plan for the long term."
Sheng Boyuan gritted his teeth. "Though Liu Shan cannot be reinstated, some members of the Liu Party enjoy considerable reputations for talent. They should not be left buried in obscurity."
"I am sorry for the trouble, my dear minister Sheng."
Sheng Boyuan