At the end of the hour of the boar, all was silent in the Eastern Garden.
Glazed lamps hung high in the Eastern Palace. Draped in a loose dragon robe, the Retired Emperor bent over his desk reviewing state affairs, occasionally setting down the Vermilion Brush to ponder the newly established Eastern Depot.
What was the emperor's true purpose?
Everyone in the Central Court knew that the Eastern Depot could never stop his beloved minister Jia. Once Jia Huan returned to the Capital, he would at least eradicate the office; at worst, he would unleash a slaughter.
The Eastern Depot threatened the interests of the Embroidered Uniform Guard throughout the land. Trying to seize those interests crossed the bottom line. No Commanding Commissioner could tolerate it, let alone the most domineering and forceful of them all, Jia Huan.
Knowing this, why had the emperor schemed so painstakingly, only to end up humiliated?
Suddenly.
The Retired Emperor's eyes flashed, and he slammed the desk:
"The Ancestral Hall Guardians!"
He understood now. The Eastern Depot was merely a smokescreen. Making the Ancestral Hall Guardians its deputies was the real crux of the matter.
Only a conflict would provide grounds for a killing.
The emperor wanted the Ancestral Hall Guardians to kill his beloved minister Jia outright!
The Retired Emperor's expression grew grave, and he murmured:
"First thing tomorrow, I must stop that group in the Ancestral Hall from meddling in state affairs."
The consequences would be unthinkable!
The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were bound to fight until one side perished. Once the Ancestral Hall Guardians insisted on intervening, his beloved minister Jia would become a wronged soul in the Yellow Springs, with no chance of survival.
As he considered this, his personal eunuch slowly approached and said respectfully:
"Your