Kou Yuan was certain that once Shen Duan was gone, the Chief Minister's seat could belong to no one but him. Yet he had forgotten that at Court, no seat had ever been destined to belong to anyone.
Qin Yan's refusal to contend was itself a form of power; Song Yue's refusal to form factions was itself a strategic position.
Zou Mo offered no answer. He merely used the words "greedy for power" as a wedge, turning the ministerial seal in Wei Nisheng's hands into a question no one dared answer.
You did not believe Shen Duan would surrender his seal willingly, yet you dared not imagine that the seal had come from the Son of Heaven.
For if the Son of Heaven had bestowed that seal, then the Chief Minister's seat, supposedly as easy to seize as something from one's own pocket, would become a prize awaited in vain.
Thus, all Zou Mo's questions today had served only to lead him toward doubt.
"Besides..." Seeing Kou Yuan waver, Zou Mo continued adding oil to the flames.
"Wei Zi is a minister of the Eastern Palace.
With the Crown Prince overseeing the realm, once he ascends the throne, whom would His Majesty choose as his Chief Minister?
The leader of the Upright Officials? An old servant of the Eastern Palace?
If that seat is ultimately to belong to Wei Zi, where, then, will your ambition to become Chief Minister find a home, Lord Kou?"
Silence lingered in the study.
The charcoal crackled faintly. Kou Yuan's gaze darkened as he regarded Zou Mo as though peering into a deep well.
He had intended to watch the fire from the opposite bank, letting the old and new ministers hack at each other while he reaped the fisherman's reward.
Yet only after