General Hu had been feeling somewhat anxious these past few days.
He was quite worried.
Although Hu Zun stood above Guanqiu Jian in both seniority and rank, he knew that their standing with His Majesty was not quite equal.
Guanqiu Jian had been firmly loyal to the Imperial Clan from the very beginning, whereas he, Hu Zun, had been Duke Xuanwen's trusted aide, once a fierce general under Sima Yi.
Of course, with Sima Zhao's death from illness, the Imperial Court had already closed the coffin and passed final judgment on the history of the Sima Family, Cao Shuang, and the other such matters.
As a subject, Cao Shuang had scorned the emperor, promoted his trusted aides, and treated both the emperor and the Empress Dowager disrespectfully, truly acting as a minister who monopolized power. But in consideration of his contributions to the Imperial Court and the fact that he was already dead, his crimes had been pardoned. He would no longer be treated as a criminal, and his direct descendants had regained the right to hold office, no longer to be regarded as the offspring of a traitor.
Sima Yi had earned merit by campaigning beyond the pass, resisting enemy invasions, quelling internal coups, and eliminating a minister who monopolized power. But he had also disrespected the Son of Heaven, persecuted his colleagues, and promoted his trusted aides, with his persecution of the Imperial Clan and loyal, worthy men being particularly grave. Having both merits and faults, he was therefore stripped of his posthumous title, posthumous honors, and rewards, and reburied with the rites of a commoner. Yet in view of his many earlier achievements, his crimes could be pardoned and the offices and noble rank he had held in life restored, so that he would no longer be