"Father..."
Wang Kai knelt beside the bed, looking at his father, who lay at death's door. His eyes could not help reddening.
Wang Su lay listlessly on the bed, his expression dazed, one foot already in the grave.
When Wang Su had first come to Luoyang, he had been so full of spirit, brimming with excitement and eager to see his old friend Wang Xiang and thoroughly pit their learning against each other.
Yet things had not developed at all as Wang Su had imagined.
After arriving in Luoyang, Wang Su had scarcely even had a chance to launch his attack. Under the manipulation of interested parties, his feud with Wang Xiang had suddenly escalated into a struggle over the authority to interpret learning, allowing the ministers to play both sides, while no one dared support what was right.
Wang Su had produced a great deal of evidence to substantiate Wang Xiang's plagiarism.
Yet no one would listen to him at all. In the end, Wang Su had even been driven to publicly denounce Wang Xiang at the Imperial Academy.
Later, the matter had been placed in the hands of the Minister of Justice and the Censorate, making it even more complicated.
The ministers were in a bind too. If they supported Wang Su, they feared he would gain fame and compete for a seat among the Three Excellencies.
If they supported Wang Xiang, they feared more people would follow his example and undermine their foundations.
If they helped neither side, they feared the matter would spiral out of control.
In any case, not a single person involved in this affair had been at ease.
The ministers had even begun to miss the days when the Grand General was still around. Though the Grand General killed people, at least he