My Imperial Father Was Worse Than Pigs and Dogs, Utterly Heartless, Shameless, a Beast in Human Skin, Treacherous and Vicious

Yet hearing Lu Mingqian's complaints, still steeped in lingering fear, Ji Chen actually stopped worrying. He slung an arm around the shoulders of this "timid, trouble-shy" old official and gave them a hearty pat, grinning like an old fox that had stolen a chicken.

"Oh, Lord Lu, your noble integrity has won this junior's wholehearted admiration."

"But my dear old lord, what rotten boat have you boarded? You've clearly placed your wager on a golden ship!"

He pointed toward the gathering, his brows lifting, unable to hide the shrewd gleam in his eyes.

"Just wait and see. What do these past few days of fear and worry amount to? Once we spot the right moment, we'll tidy ourselves up and get ready to rush over and cling to our new master's golden thigh!"

Lu Mingqian glared at him, his lips trembling, but ultimately said nothing more. A sharp gleam faintly flashed through his cloudy, aged eyes.

Clearly, he too felt those words were true.

Really, who could have imagined it?

This seemingly mediocre, unimpressive minister of Great Zhou's Court of State Ceremonial actually possessed such astonishing courage and decisiveness behind the scenes!

It seemed as though the siblings Ji Shuyue and Ji Lingri had altered the sacrificial ceremony by coordinating from within and without. In reality, however, with a ritual system this vast, without the cooperation of the Ministry of Rites organizing it, the Court of State Ceremonial assisting it turning a blind eye, and secret help from several Ji Clan elders in the supervising Imperial Clan Court whose minds had not yet been ruined by "Sacred Blood," no one could have pulled off such a heaven-stealing, sun-swapping deception in a ceremony sealed tight at every level.

The people who could act within the Ministry of Rites were those Ji