"Li Gongpu?"
Commandery Princess Changning blinked, looking somewhat amused.
"Impossible."
"Why?" Xie Jinhuan was slightly puzzled.
Duoduo quietly sidled over to Xie Jinhuan, helped put food on his plate, and explained:
"An embedded agent is there to steal secrets or hatch some sinister plot.
"Eunuch Li holds a high office, but he has little real power. His only duties are to keep His Majesty happy and convey his edicts. The people at his disposal are all petty officials who fawn on the powerful.
"Calling him an embedded agent of the Demon Path is even less believable than calling you a mole sent by some great demon, Young Master Xie."
"Hm?"
Xie Jinhuan sat a little straighter and declared with righteous indignation:
"How could I possibly be a Demon Path mole? Surely I'm not more suspicious than Li Gongpu?"
Commandery Princess Changning nodded in all seriousness.
"An embedded agent's first task is to infiltrate a faction and win its esteem, or even its trust.
"Your chivalrous reputation has spread far and wide. You're brimming with righteousness and have illustrious accomplishments. Nowadays, whatever you do, those in power won't suspect you. If you wanted to ask about military readiness, for instance, Father values you so highly that he might actually tell you.
"But Li Gongpu is different. Whatever he wants to do, the Censorate condemns him first and asks questions later. If he passes the Minister of the Ministry of War's door, the remonstrance officials wonder whether he's cooking up some rotten scheme to use military funds to build His Majesty a garden. If he passes the Minister of Personnel's door, they suspect he's taken another bribe to get someone promoted.
"If someone happens to receive a promotion or a noble title around then, they're finished. They'll be investigated inside and out