Inside the bedchamber.
Dressed in red robes with his hands tucked into his sleeves, Ren Ye paced back and forth through the hall, his concentration at its peak.
He was thinking, recalling everything Chief Secretary Li Yan had done.
First, in the first act, Li Yan had brought the assembled officials to force Prince Huai's hand as soon as Ren Ye entered the Star Gate. His attitude had been extremely aggressive, with no intention of discussing anything with Prince Huai.
His attitude at the time had practically said, "Not only am I going to get Wang Jingzhong killed today, I'm also going to humiliate a useless prince like you beyond recovery and force you into a corner."
After that, Chief Secretary Li Yan had made no further moves. Then Liu Ling'er appeared, and the two sides engaged in a covert struggle over the secret chamber.
During the battle outside Tranquil Heart Hall, Li Yan had once again led the civil and military officials in pressuring Ren Ye, maintaining that same aggressive attitude. Only after Old Taoist Xu's Might Body met a gruesome death and Ren Ye displayed his power through the Soul-Gathering Art did Li Yan compromise and bring things to a close, "forced" to hand over Wang Jingzhong's family.
Judging solely by his performance in the previous act, Li Yan was a diehard Court Faction player, the emperor's lackey assigned to monitor Ren Ye.
Back to the current second act.
Just before they entered the Princess Tomb, Li Yan had taken the initiative to arrange the Sow Banquet, inviting the players to show themselves and confirm one another's identities. And when the Qingzhou Guard's Left Chiliarch disrupted things, he had been forced to display his Mystical Ability to save everyone, ensuring that the players' identities remained concealed.
Given the