"Your Majesty, please look at this list..."
"These are the rebel Gao Rou's confidants in the Central Secretariat. Those forged edicts were their handiwork!"
Naturally, Cui Zan had not come to see the emperor empty-handed.
Unlike Xin Chang, however, Cui Zan had brought another lavish gift.
Cao Mao looked at the list in his hands in surprise. Even that old scoundrel Gao Rou's secrets had been dug up.
What mattered was not the names on the list, but Cui Zan's actions at this moment.
Cui Zan had just betrayed a portion of the Great Clans to the emperor.
After doing something like this, Cui Zan would certainly find it difficult to gain acceptance among the ministers again. This was how he was showing the emperor his resolve.
Cao Mao found it somewhat difficult to understand. Cui Zan was capable in government and steady by nature, rarely taking the initiative. Unlike Xun Yi, who wanted to get ahead, he had always been content to remain in his own position, rather like Zheng Mao.
Why would he make such a risky move?
At that moment, Cui Zan's face was filled with determination.
"Your Majesty... my clan has suffered enormous losses."
"All at the hands of the rebels at court."
Only then did Cao Mao understand. Cui Zan and Lu Yu came from the same region; both were representatives of the great clans of Hebei.
Sima Shi's earlier contingency had severed their roots outright. The Cui clan had suffered a grievous blow. Although they had not been reduced to the Lu Family's miserable state, with only a single household left, they were hardly much better off. Only a dozen or so people had escaped.
Their branches had once flourished with luxuriant leaves, so naturally they had been in no hurry to stand out.