Deathly silence filled the hall.
The Prince of Badong sat in brooding silence.
After a long while, Kong Changyu spoke:
"If this was premeditated, two conditions must have been met. First, our plan had already been discovered. Second, whoever discovered it could get the Governor of Yongning to stake his life and fortune on sending troops across the border. Who ordered those troops out? Wang Yi? Though Wang Yi is a Court Envoy empowered to investigate the barbarian affair, he has no authority to mobilize provincial or commandery forces, unless..."
Kong Changyu fell silent in thought.
Tao Rui continued:
"Unless the Son of Heaven issued another secret edict. Yet that does not quite make sense either. If the Son of Heaven truly discovered our plot beforehand, he need only have caught us unawares, had Wang Yi use the delivery of the decree as an opportunity to confiscate Your Highness's seal, ribbon, and tally, then escort you back to the capital under guard. Or he could have ordered the Administrative Clerk to issue a clerk's warrant and, together with the Military Commissioner and advisory staff officers, directly stripped Your Highness of military command and sealed the Prince's Residence. He would not have remained inactive until now, merely sending the Yongning Army to lift a siege before furling their banners and silencing their drums. That makes little sense."
"Moreover, within the Provincial Tribunal, the Chief Clerk and Military Commissioner foremost share the Inspector's authority. If the Imperial Court suspected Your Highness, it would certainly have appointed a forceful Chief Clerk when it removed Liu Yin, to take control of the Military Headquarters, perhaps even administer the Provincial Government directly in your stead. Yet it still has not filled the vacancy. That is hardly how the court behaves toward a regional prince it