Su Ziji bowed his head deeply and answered calmly, "The sages said, kingly within and sagely without. A great nation, dignified and majestic, ought to win other nations over through propriety. How could we punish them without first instructing them? This subject still stands by his earlier opinion: we should begin with conciliation."
Su Ziji did not believe those words himself, but at a time like this, he could only answer that way.
The emperor's expression did not change. He then asked leisurely, "And if troops must be sent?"
Was he still not finished? Did he insist on finding out whether I had colluded with anyone in the military? Whether I intended to seize some military authority while I was at it?
Su Ziji sneered inwardly, but answered respectfully, "Your grandson is a civil official. Military affairs are beyond his knowledge. I beg the court to select another capable commander!"
That answer amounted to saying nothing at all. After hearing it, the emperor finally fell silent and stopped questioning Su Ziji.
Prince Qi and Prince Shu both withdrew their gazes as well.
Politics concerned actual allegiances, not temperament. Although Su Ziji had indeed initiated the impeachment of Prince Shu, he had voluntarily declined to interfere in the punitive expedition. For the moment, that meant he was not the enemy they needed to target first.
Many of the gazes fixed on Su Ziji in the great hall also fell away at once.
Su Ziji was not surprised in the least. He thought, *By impeaching Prince Shu, I've completed the task the emperor gave me. My half month observing affairs in the Grand Secretariat has also borne fruit. This impeachment might seem to have made me another enemy, but in reality, even if I hadn't impeached him, as long as I remain