By Imperial Decree

Shangguan Yuan slumped back into the wide armchair, his weight drawing a creaking groan from the wooden backrest.

A fine sheen of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. In the candlelight, his face appeared rather pale, and his brows were locked tightly together in a deep frown.

"Principal Secretary Gu," he said, fighting to maintain his composure. "Do you have any idea what this means? That is a Grand Secretary! Do you know how massive the shockwaves will be if this blade truly falls, how much turmoil it will unleash?"

His questioning was less a challenge and more a manifestation of his instinctive terror toward the horrifying consequences.

Slaying a Grand Secretary was no ordinary political struggle; it was shaking the very foundation of the Great Luo dynasty's power structure!

Gu Chengyin listened in silence. Only when Shangguan Yuan finished did he speak, his voice unhurried and measured.

"In Your Excellency's view, if this blade does not fall, will Great Luo be spared from turmoil?"

"It is merely boiling a frog in warm water. The fire has always been burning; the water has always been heating up."

"When that frog is boiled thoroughly, stripped of any strength to struggle... do you truly believe the ensuing shockwaves will still be controllable?"

Shangguan Yuan opened his mouth, only to find himself completely at a loss for words.

As the Minister of Revenue, he understood the true state of the national treasury better than anyone. He knew the immense difficulties in collecting regional taxes, and he knew the shocking corruption hidden behind those financial deficits.

Gu Chengyin was not fear-mongering; he was stating cold, hard reality.

It was just that this reality had been veiled by layers of superficial prosperity and bureaucratic inertia, making people prefer to turn a blind eye.

He took several deep breaths, desperately trying to calm his churning emotions.

His gaze refocused on Gu Chengyin's face, now filled with profound scrutiny. "Principal Secretary Gu, I will ask you one more time."

"This... this scheme of yours. Is it your own idea, or is it Her Highness's?"

This was the most crucial question.

If this was merely Gu Chengyin's arrogant delusion, then he, Shangguan Yuan, would absolutely not join him in his madness.

But if it was the will of Her Highness...

Gu Chengyin did not answer directly. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint, meaningful smile.

He picked up his cup of tea, which had already gone cold, and gave it a gentle swirl. Watching the tea leaves rise and fall within the water, he countered:

"Lord Minister, you have dealt with Her Highness extensively. Knowing her character, do you honestly believe that if she were fully aware of the situation, she would hold back simply because the target is a Grand Secretary?"

Hearing this, Shangguan Yuan's pupils violently contracted.

Exactly! How could he have forgotten?

Who was Her Highness?

She was the iron-fisted Princess who, when investigating major cases, would ruthlessly reject any pleas for mercy without batting an eye!

She was the dominant Crown Heir who, upon taking charge of the Imperial Household Department, had forcefully ripped power away from the eunuchs piece by bloody piece!

If the evidence was truly irrefutable and presented right before Luo Zhao... would she give a damn whether the culprit was a Grand Secretary or not?

She was the type who would stubbornly push back even if it meant defying His Majesty's own wishes!

The study descended into silence once more, save for the occasional, faint crackle of the candlewick popping.

Shangguan Yuan's frown deepened. His fingers unconsciously traced the smooth surface of his armrest, clearly undergoing a fierce internal struggle.

After a long while, as if he had finally come to a decision, he asked tentatively, exercising the utmost caution:

"Principal Secretary Gu, could you perhaps reveal a little... exactly which Grand Secretary has Her Highness set her sights on?"

This was an absolutely vital question.

Different Grand Secretaries represented different factions and different webs of interests. The chain reactions triggered by their respective downfalls would be drastically different.

He needed to know the target in order to properly assess the risks and weigh the pros and cons.

However, Gu Chengyin's response made Shangguan Yuan freeze instantly, before a surge of fiery indignation at being toyed with flared up within him.

"I don't know."

"What?!"

Shangguan Yuan almost thought he had misheard. He jerked upright, the color draining from his face, only to be rapidly replaced by an angry flush.

"You don't know?! You've sat here talking in circles with me all this time, and you don't even know?! Gu Chengyin, are you making a fool out of me?!"

He practically wanted to slam the table and storm off. This was utterly absurd!

"Please calm yourself, Lord Minister."

Gu Chengyin made a gentle downward pressing motion with his hand, his tone remaining perfectly steady. "Hear me out first. As for which Grand Secretary to slay... or rather, which Grand Secretary is the most suitable target to receive this blade..."

He paused, his piercing gaze locking onto Shangguan Yuan as he enunciated every word clearly,

"That is not for me to decide, nor is it for Her Highness to decide. Rather, it is for you to decide."

"Me?!"

Shangguan Yuan pointed at his own nose, thoroughly dumbfounded. His belly full of rage vanished into thin air at this abrupt twist, leaving behind only sheer, incredulous shock. "You want me to slay a Grand Secretary?! Gu Chengyin, have you lost your mind?!"

"Not at all," Gu Chengyin shook his head in explanation. "Her Highness is unparalleled in her brilliance, and her character is open and honorable. However, she is not well-versed in these murky, underhanded dealings, which is precisely why she entrusted this matter to me."

Gu Chengyin pointed to himself. "But I am a newcomer here, completely unfamiliar with the political landscape of the royal court. If I were to blindly select a target, it would not only ruin both of us, but it would also bring disaster to the nation and its people."

"But you, Lord Minister, are entirely different." His gaze sharpened, piercing straight to the depths of Shangguan Yuan's heart. "You are the Minister of Revenue. You have overseen the realm's finances, grain, and taxation for over a decade! In this domain, who in the entirety of Great Luo understands better than you..."

Gu Chengyin leaned forward, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper:

"...who understands better which Grand Secretary is the easiest target? Whose crimes have the most irrefutable evidence? And whose downfall would send the most spectacular shockwave of deterrence throughout the imperial court?"

Shangguan Yuan was left speechless.

It was true. He was the Minister of Revenue.

Those seemingly flawless flows of ledgers and accounts were riddled with gaping holes in his eyes.

It was just that in the past, he had chosen to turn a blind eye, or had securely locked away the relevant records.

Because making a move against those figures required more than just evidence; it required the power and the sheer resolve to flip the entire board.

And now, Gu Chengyin—or rather, Luo Zhao standing behind him—had brought that very resolve.

Gu Chengyin closely observed the shifting expressions on Shangguan Yuan's face, knowing perfectly well that the older man's mental defenses were crumbling.

Striking while the iron was hot, he threw out another irresistible temptation, this time painting a far more tangible picture:

"Lord Minister, as it stands, there is already one vacant seat within the Grand Secretariat. It is only for the sake of maintaining a delicate balance between factions that His Majesty has temporarily held off on filling it."

"But what if... another seat were to open up at this exact moment?"

Shangguan Yuan's heart gave a violent lurch.

"Then the Grand Secretariat would have two vacant seats."

Gu Chengyin's voice was like the whisper of a devil, dripping with bewitching allure. "The balance of the court would inevitably be shattered. To maintain stability and appease the various factions, His Majesty would be absolutely forced to appoint new Grand Secretaries."

"And so, looking across the entire imperial court today... among the candidates who possess sufficient seniority, commendable political achievements, and who—in His Majesty's eyes—could serve to balance out the existing power structure..."

"...who could possibly be more suitable than you? The Minister of Revenue who controls the realm's wealth, and who, by virtue of being half-aligned with the Crown Heir's faction, maintains a safe, ambiguous distance from the traditional cliques?"

Shangguan Yuan was thoroughly, undeniably tempted.

A fire seemed to ignite within his chest—the blazing flame of a political ambition that had lain dormant for years.

The Grand Secretariat! The pinnacle of power he had gazed up at for so many years!

It had always felt entirely out of reach, simply because those few chairs were occupied too securely.

But now, someone was about to kick one of those chairs over. And once it was kicked over... he could be the one to sit in the empty seat.

The risks were undeniably astronomical, but the reward... the reward was entering the Grand Secretariat, being appointed as a prime minister, and reaching the absolute zenith of a subject's power!

However, years of ingrained caution prevented him from agreeing immediately.

As reason and composure returned to him, Shangguan Yuan pondered for a long time before finally, slowly, uttering a single sentence:

"Master Gu, this matter concerns the very survival, honor, and disgrace of my Shangguan family."

"Please return and report to His Highness. Tell him... to allow me some time to consider."

It was not a refusal, yet neither was it an agreement.

He needed time. He needed to weigh his options more carefully, and perhaps, he needed just a little more of a push.

Hearing this, Gu Chengyin showed no intention of rising to take his leave.

"It is only natural that the Lord Minister requires time to consider," Gu Chengyin said slowly.

"However, before that, there is one thing I am still unclear on, and I would like to seek your insight."

Shangguan Yuan raised his eyes to look at him, a hint of confusion in his gaze. "What is it?"

"My Lord, given His Highness's temperament, why do you suppose he would choose to delay his report?"

At first, Shangguan Yuan thought little of the question and answered casually, "To delay the report is naturally to review the ledgers and thoroughly investigate the financial deficit. Only then can he..."

His voice trailed off, growing lower and slower.

No, that wasn't right!

If it were merely to investigate a deficit, why would there be a need to requisition the core ledgers and the archives of major projects from the past ten years, especially the most recent five?

The sheer scope of what those ledgers involved, the astronomical sums of money, and how high up the hierarchy they pointed...

A flash of realization, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, violently struck Shangguan Yuan's mind!

He snapped his head up, all the color draining from his face as he stared fixedly at Gu Chengyin:

"His Highness delayed the report..."

"Was it at His Majesty's behest?"