With Luo Wenjin imprisoned, the skies over the Ministry of Personnel were quieter than before.
Wei Nisheng sat in the Selection Bureau duty room, a stack of merit assessment documents spread across his desk. He had read them for half a day without approving a single word.
Now Luo Wenjin was in prison, the Upright Officials were trembling, Kou Yuan was doubting himself, and Xie Lin had secretly torn through one of the Stone Record's threads, ripping away a corner.
This move had been cleanly executed.
But the internal war had only just begun.
With Shen Duan ill, departmental affairs were "customarily handled by a vice minister acting in his stead." That was the rule.
Though Wei Nisheng was a vice director, he held the minister's seal and had Right Vice Minister Zhang Cheng beside him. Yet moving against Zou Mo would still mean "overstepping his rank and defying a superior."
Of the Ministry of Personnel's four bureaus, Sun Bonian of the Merit Assessment Bureau was Kou Yuan's man.
The Appointment Verification and Merit Review Bureaus sat on the fence, watching.
The only man he could truly use was Qiu Heng.
Legitimate authority, evidence, allegiance-all three were trapped in deadlock.
"My lord." Qiu Heng entered carrying documents. Seeing him like this, he said softly:
"You've had much weighing on your mind these past two days."
"Yes." Wei Nisheng set down his brush. "Guangda, let me ask you something: what has Vice Minister Zou been doing these past two days?"
Qiu Heng started, then lowered his voice. "I was just about to speak of that."
"Over these two days, Vice Minister Zou invited the vice directors of the Appointment Verification and Merit Review Bureaus to tea, once each.
"One meeting was at a teahouse in the south of the city,