In the inner chamber, the charcoal fire was nearly spent, but medicinal vapor still hung thick.
Wei Nisheng had already risen, but Shen Duan called him back.
"Wei Zi'an." Propped against his pillows, Shen Duan drew a breath. "I still have a few things to say."
Wei Nisheng could only sit down again.
Shen Duan gazed at the lamplight. After a moment's silence, he said, "Do you know what Kou Yuan fears most?"
"His Majesty?"
"Not entirely." Shen Duan shook his head with a soft sigh. "Only someone stronger than Kou Yuan can keep him in check."
"Someone like His Majesty, Feng Yan, or me...
Apart from us, no one can hold him down.
He is a quail." Shen Duan spoke slowly, stressing each word.
"But do not underestimate this quail.
A quail cannot fly high or travel far. It looks a sorry creature.
But have you ever watched a quail peck for food?
With every peck, this bird takes a mouthful. If it cannot get one, it crouches and waits.
Once an opportunity comes, it takes another mouthful.
It is not greedy, but it never lets go."
Wei Nisheng listened in silence.
"Kou Yuan and I have served in the same court for many years," Shen Duan said.
"To give him his due, he truly has talent.
Since taking charge of the Revenue Bureau, he has held every ledger in the realm, volume after volume, in his mind.
Where grain transport has fallen short, where a Granary Depot has deficiencies, which commandery's tax revenues fail to match those of previous years...
Heh, he could tell you with his eyes closed, and get eight or nine answers out of ten right.
Since your grandfather Wei Zheng passed away, no one in the entire court has been able to match him