This Man Must Not Be Kept Alive

Su Ziji listened from outside, his heart turning cold, yet he also came to a realization.

He had wondered why he had been dispatched from the capital so urgently this time, even assigned a task. To others, it seemed like a plum assignment, but Su Ziji knew the Emperor's attitude toward him was somewhat strange. That plum assignment needed to be placed in quotation marks.

Sure enough, there really was a trap in this matter.

"Still, the Emperor may not necessarily want to do anything to me. From his position, if he truly wanted me dead, there would be no need to take such a roundabout path. He must have some other purpose."

"The likeliest possibility is indeed as this man said: he wants to see where the limits of my abilities lie. That is why Prince Qi's people filled this post, and the Emperor approved it."

As Su Ziji pondered, the people inside were still discussing matters. They had already reached the subject of colluding with officials.

"Besides, even if the deficit in the commandery treasury was the previous official's responsibility, failing to handle it well would not constitute a grave crime. At most, the evaluation would be poor. But I have another plan."

"Those who wish to swallow up the Kingdom of Lin's hidden agents and assets in Great Zheng are not limited to Duke of Wei's Residence and Duke An's Residence. Even Prince Shu is interested. Cen Rubai was once Lin Yuqing's retainer and is one of the few people who had remained alive at his side. Many now want to capture him and pry open his mouth."

"Though we will not truly hand him over to others, we can use him as bait to lure others into helping us."

"We need not act personally at all.