"Greetings, my lord."
In the outer hall, Shen Zunli stood with his hands clasped in salute.
Chen Cuo emerged from the rear hall, followed by Bao Gan, who had just gone to deliver the news.
"Master Shen, you're here." Chen Cuo showed no surprise at seeing him. Instead, he gestured toward a chair. "Sit."
Shen Zunli paused, yet found himself obeying without thinking. Only after sitting did he come to his senses, a faint unease rising in him. This was just his second meeting with Chen Cuo, but the man seemed different again.
"You've come with instructions from the Prince of Ancheng, I take it?" Chen Cuo asked casually as he sat down.
Shen Zunli shifted slightly and clasped his hands. "That's right. I've come about an important matter—and about an affair concerning your household."
Chen Cuo smiled. "Most of the chairs in this library are foreign-style. There are no floor mats. Are you perhaps unused to them?"
Shen Zunli shook his head. "Let's discuss the matter at hand first..." Only then did he realize that his hint about Chen Cuo's household had failed to draw the slightest interest. With an inward sigh, he came to the point.
"That Secretariat Vice Minister has gathered a group of people. He means to use the momentum of His Highness's evening banquet to make his move early!" Shen Zunli's expression grew grave as he spoke.
"Is someone behind this?" Chen Cuo asked.
"No feast is a good feast when it's set as a trap." Shen Zunli nodded. "Hou Andu is likely pulling the strings, hoping to make his move through it."
"I was just about to bring that up," Chen Cuo said. "I have a way to deal with Hou Andu. There's no need to concern ourselves with his schemes or plans; we