At Riverview Tower, Wei Zi descended the stairs alone.
His teacher had once said, "I wish you to secure a place on this chessboard that no one can wrest from you."
Now, step by step, Wei Zi was drawing nearer.
"Unfortunately, I cannot reach it alone."
Wei Nisheng glanced back at the window where Shen Yi sat.
"Since ancient times, the Court has teemed with men coming and going for profit.
Without profit, no band can form, much less a faction!"
So he, Wei Nisheng, needed others. He needed Zhang Zai, Wang Kan, and Shen Yi.
These men belonged neither to the Feng Faction, nor to the Upright Officials, nor to the Shen Faction.
They were all men who could shoulder responsibility.
And they would be the foundation of the Wei Faction.
Below Riverview Tower, Cui Fu was dozing against the carriage shaft.
Hearing footsteps, he hastily jumped down and lifted the carriage curtain.
"Young master, back to the residence?"
"Back to the residence."
With Wei Zi gone, Shen Yi sat alone.
The prefectural judge of Suzhou.
Subordinate Sixth Rank, overseeing grain transport, waterworks, litigation, granary inspections, and other matters.
In rank, the post stood half a grade below a department secretary in the Ministry of Justice, a Principal Sixth Rank official.
But in actual authority, the two could not be spoken of in the same breath.
A department secretary in the Ministry of Justice was merely someone who carried out orders in a capital office.
The prefectural judge of Suzhou presided over a prosperous region, an official who truly governed.
"Grandpa..."
Shen Yi murmured the word, an involuntary bitter smile rising to his lips.
He was Shen Duan's eldest legitimate grandson, the rightful heir of the Shen Family.
Yet after three grueling years in the Ministry of