A Bad Mouth and a Good Mouth

At court, the Palace of Peace and Happiness accused Zhao Wan, Wang Zang, and the others, but the evidence it produced was insufficient to bring down a high official like the imperial counselor, one of the Three Excellencies.

The court consequently became mired in endless accusations and rebuttals.

There were the instructions from the Palace of Peace and Happiness, and there was also Shen Peigong, who had repeatedly spoken of his vision for the future while visiting Weiyang Palace, using it to sway the new emperor.

The new emperor was the weight caught in the middle.

No matter how matters were pursued, his approval was ultimately needed to settle them in the open.

The new emperor had indeed been caught in a dilemma for a long time.

Whichever way he chose, he would lose.

But the new emperor had never imagined that he had a third path.

This path would allow him to comply with the Palace of Peace and Happiness's wishes while displaying a measure of political skill. It would not arouse the suspicion of the school that had pledged allegiance to him, and most of the Confucian School cultivators installed at court could even remain in place.

Zhao Wan and Wang Zang had indeed kept themselves above reproach. Even when the Palace of Peace and Happiness pursued an investigation, it lacked sufficient evidence.

But in their efforts to bring Confucian School cultivators into court, the two had not only engaged in illegal enrichment-the money presented by Confucian School cultivators seeking official posts-but had also overstepped their authority to install officials in the court system.

Such things were fairly common in court departments. Even when the new emperor personally recruited talented people, plenty of others slipped their own people in.

But the new emperor had made a public announcement