Wang Jing looked around.
Ministers such as Zhong Yu had not arrived.
Clearly, they had invited only trusted ministers to this meeting of the Imperial Secretariat, excluding the Sima Family's forces.
Whether any hidden agents of the Sima Family remained among these men, no one knew.
But as things stood, Sima Zhao was away, and Sima Gan was utterly incapable of taking the lead. Though Zhong Yu was outstanding, he was only one of the Nine Ministers and could not contend with all the ministers.
Sima Fu, Gao Rou, Wang Xiang, and the others stared straight at Cao Yu.
Seeing him remain silent, Gao Rou spoke first. "Your Highness, as a member of the Imperial Clan, you are reluctant to speak much of affairs within the Imperial Palace. We understand."
This time, Cao Yu did not lower his head again, which left Sima Fu somewhat disappointed.
He still wanted to use this elder of the Imperial Clan to saddle the emperor with an evil reputation that he could never shake off.
Gao Rou, however, saw things differently. They had already decided to depose Cao Mao.
But not now.
For now, they merely needed to seize control of the Imperial Palace first, cut off the emperor's contact with the outside, then manipulate the Empress Dowager into dealing with Sima Zhao. Finally, they would bring the Outer Generals in the various regions to heel. Once all that was done, they could justifiably choose another ruler for the empire.
This time, they would choose someone relatively weak who would cooperate with them.
In fact, this Cao Yu was a fine candidate. He was so obedient.
He was just a little old.
Then Gao Rou began arranging precautions against the Sima Family.
"Lord Xin, sorry for the trouble, but you must go to the