"If His Majesty refuses to depose Prince Qi, would he thank us for exposing this, or fly into a rage?"
"But impeaching Prince Shu is just right-neither too big a matter nor too small. And our lord need only get things started. Who knows? Other mad dogs might keep biting. When dog bites dog, wouldn't that benefit us even more?"
What Wild Daoist left unsaid was that this was precisely the outcome the man on the dragon throne wanted to see!
Whether for public or private reasons, the emperor only wanted their lord to muddy the waters. He had never intended for their lord to wipe everyone out.
With that, Wild Daoist patted Cen Rubai on the shoulder and left.
In fact, before Wild Daoist had even finished, understanding had poured into Cen Rubai like nectar over his head. Throughout the dynasties, many loyal ministers had submitted remonstrances, exposing dark secrets out of loyalty, only to die without even a place for burial, their wholehearted devotion washed away down the river.
Many believed this happened because villains had deceived the emperor, or because the emperor was muddleheaded. In truth, the root cause was that an outsider should not drive a wedge between those close to one another-or that the timing was wrong.
Back when the Long'an Emperor entrusted Ji Heng with great responsibilities, he relied on him to root out disloyal subjects. Minister Fu Zhen might have gotten away with impeaching Ji Heng for some minor offense. Instead, he accused Ji Heng of plotting treason. That was effectively forcing the emperor to choose between them, ruining his larger plans.
Thus, the emperor flew into a rage and had Minister Fu Zhen imprisoned instead. In the end, out of consideration for his loyalty, he spared his life and sent him home.