Lu Wu nodded. "Because we must ensure the Qilin Blood Test goes smoothly. This is a crucial part of it. Had you not had other important business, I would have summoned you anyway."
Lu Wu paused. "We began laying the groundwork for this long ago. Only a handful of powers under heaven can influence it-Dali?"
The woman spoke for the first time at this banquet, her tone as flat as Pei Ye remembered. "Yesterday's news: the heads of the Five Surnames have all entered the capital. In terms of their inclinations, none of them wishes to see me ascend as heir, but the most drastic action they can take is to attempt to assassinate me a few times before the Qilin Blood Test."
"The Five Surnames would never defy the Qilin's heavenly might. If they dared, we wouldn't be enemies," Dali said seriously. "The Five Surnames have lacked resolve for a long time, their eyes fixed on their own little patches of land. In fact, at this point, most likely they won't even fight back. They're more likely to seize this opportunity to squeeze the North alongside me.
"The situation in the military is under control. Yesterday, I spoke with Shang Zichuan all day. Since Yu Sicheng's death, the Shang Family has begun taking full control of the Imperial Guard, and the camps outside the capital have also been handed over to the new chancellor. It will take another year or two to gain complete control of the Capital Region's troops, but nothing will happen that could affect the Qilin Blood Test.
"The only unpredictable factor is the Qilin itself. If it suddenly stops choosing the one with purer, denser Qilin Blood as its heir, no one can do anything about it," Dali said. "Still, for several hundred years, the