Xun Yi's expression was exceedingly grim.
Everything had been proceeding according to plan, but the moment that old man began gasping, he dared not say another word.
Gao Rou's greatest asset at present was neither his reputation nor his rank, but his age!
He was the only eighty-year-old man at court!
Even knowing that Gao Rou might be pretending, Xun Yi dared not take the gamble.
What if that old man really collapsed? What if he actually died right there?
Then the unsullied reputation he had maintained all his life would be ruined in an instant. He was not a member of the Sima Family; he still cared about his reputation. He had no wish to go down in the histories with the infamy of having hounded an elderly minister to death.
Xun Yi dared not risk it, and neither did the other ministers. Seeing that something was wrong with Gao Rou, they immediately shut their mouths.
In an age that prized filial piety and had a deeply rooted tradition of respecting the elderly, throwing one's age around was still extremely effective-unless one encountered a ruthless man like Sima Shi, who would disown even his closest kin.
Gao Rou clearly tailored this tactic to the person. With Xun Yi, he dared put on the appearance of being at death's door to scare them away. Had it been Sima Shi, he might have turned Gao Rou's feigned death into a real one.
Xun Yi and the other ministers gathered at the Imperial Secretariat once more.
This matter could not be delayed any longer. If they kept putting it off, something truly disastrous would happen.
Filled with apprehension, Xun Yi looked toward Lu Qin some distance away.
"Master Lu, we must have Duke Lu step forward. We cannot get the Minister over