Liu Cheng did not even need to return to Shouchun. Within a mere two or three days, he had all but witnessed a resounding political rout firsthand.
Wang Qia remained at home, declining three times over three days, yet utterly failed to gather enough supporters to "urge him to accept"... everyone had expected that, of course.
Yet Wang Qia himself had clearly lost control of his emotions.
According to rumors, he had not expected the emperor to be in such a hurry either, and the appointment as Director of the Central Secretariat had left him somewhat dazed. Unfortunately, Sima Yu, Wang Shu, and the others had all been present that day, and as the man being appointed, he had been put on the spot. Before he quite knew what was happening, the emperor's appointment had been issued, sending him straight into the formal process of declining it.
So he, too, had guessed that he might fail.
But he truly had not expected so few people to come. The prestige of the Langya Wang Clan, the prestige of being Wang Dao's son, had depreciated before Sima Yu's dozen-plus years as Regent and the current alliance between the Upper and Lower Reaches as wildly as Shenlang Coins before Lulang Coins!
Those who came were either the Xie brothers' in-laws and allies, his own clansmen, or a handful of aristocratic sons whose fortunes had declined so far that they were almost slipping out of their family standing. Never mind current holders of the offices of the Three Excellencies, Nine Ministers, or departmental ministers-even among those who had held prominent posts in recent years and could be said to have maintained their families' standing and political power, hardly any visited.
As for celebrated men who currently enjoyed reputations, it was not that none came.