At the mention of that name, the council chamber fell silent once more.
The list of candidates for Minister of Rites could be considered either long or short.
It was long because the Minister of Rites ranked among the Six Ministers and was a true pillar of the imperial court. Every word and action of the office concerned the dignity of the dynasty, while every move could influence scholars throughout the realm.
Each name on the list carried the hopes of one faction or another and affected the interests of countless people.
Yet it was also short, because the number of people truly qualified, capable, and well-connected enough to occupy the position could be counted on one hand when one looked across the entire court.
All three Grand Councilors present knew that if not for Emperor Luo’s intervention, everyone else was essentially there to make up the numbers for Gu Chengyin.
That was no secret.
From the moment Cui Zhenji submitted his resignation, from the day the position of Minister of Rites became vacant, everyone in the court with eyes to see had known who was most likely to be chosen.
It was Gu Chengyin, who also held the position of Right Vice Minister of Rites.
That word—“also”—was rather subtle.
Gu Chengyin was not truly the Right Vice Minister of Rites. His official position was Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince; the post of Right Vice Minister of Rites was merely an additional appointment.
Emperor Luo had granted him that title so that he could inspect the various sects.
Strictly speaking, Gu Chengyin had never actually sat in the office of Right Vice Minister of Rites, not even for a single day. He had never handled any of the Ministry of Rites’ mountain of daily affairs.
But then again, an additional appointment was still an appointment.
The laws governing official positions in Great Luo contained no provision stating that an official serving concurrently in another post could not be promoted to Minister of that same ministry.
What the law did not forbid, it permitted.
Therefore, setting aside his previous experience and accomplishments, Gu Chengyin was unquestionably qualified to appear on the list of candidates.
His qualifications complied with every regulation. No one could find the slightest fault with them.
Anyone who tried to make an issue of his qualifications would be questioning Great Luo’s system of official appointments itself—and would only end up making a fool of himself.
After all, several of the Grand Councilors serving in the Inner Cabinet concurrently held more than one position.
As for Gu Chengyin’s ability, that was even less something these minor details could reflect.
Cui Shifan could not help recalling the way Gu Chengyin had looked while sitting there earlier.
Calm and composed, with that inscrutable smile perpetually resting at the corners of his lips.
From the moment he entered until now, less than half an hour had passed, yet he had already dropped four thunderbolts.
Recommending Xiao Yuliang, announcing that he would join the Celestial Masters’ Palace, sending word that Cui Zilu would succeed Luo Zhao as Chief Female Official, and declaring that the Crown Princess was willing to become his junior wife.
Four matters—each more momentous than the last, each more shocking than the one before.
Yet Gu Chengyin’s tone had remained light and casual, and his manner had stayed relaxed and unhurried.
It was as though he had truly come only to have a cup of tea, chat for a while, and pass along a few messages.
Such composure, such methods, such an ability to turn the clouds with one hand and summon the rain with the other—there was no second person like him in the imperial court.
At times, it even made people unconsciously forget his age.
But the greatest question now was whether they should actually place Gu Chengyin on the list of candidates.
Especially when it was already certain that Emperor Luo was highly unlikely to choose him.
The Inner Cabinet drew up the list of candidates and submitted it to the Emperor for review, after which the Emperor would select one person from among them to take over the position.
This was a power granted to the Inner Cabinet by the laws of Great Luo, and it was also a power granted to the Emperor.
If the Inner Cabinet knowingly listed someone whom the Emperor would not choose, then it would be more than a recommendation.
It would be a stance, a form of pressure, and a declaration of position before the Emperor.
Emperor Luo was using an imperial marriage edict to restrain Gu Chengyin. That was an open move.
Emperor Luo did not want Gu Chengyin’s influence to continue expanding. That, too, was an open move.
Under such circumstances, if the Inner Cabinet placed Gu Chengyin’s name on the list, it would amount to laying down another open move in response to Emperor Luo’s.
It might even be interpreted as a declaration of support for Gu Chengyin.
How would Emperor Luo take it?
How would Emperor Luo respond?
There was no room for the slightest miscalculation in judging this balance.
What was more, there was now another variable: Gu Chengyin had recommended Xiao Yuliang rather than himself.
In theory, if Gu Chengyin had come to the Inner Cabinet today to pave the way for his own appointment as Minister of Rites, he should have recommended the candidate most beneficial to himself—or simply recommended himself.
Yet Gu Chengyin had gone out of his way to recommend Xiao Yuliang.
That move was far too unusual. So unusual that the three Grand Councilors were still turning over its implications in their minds.
Was this a retreat meant to advance?
Or was he issuing a challenge to Emperor Luo?
That was why Cui Shifan had not immediately declared his support as he had earlier.
When Xiao Yuliang’s name had been mentioned, he had shown hardly any hesitation. He had stated his position at once, listing Xiao Yuliang’s experience and accomplishments one by one before giving his decisive support.
After all, Xiao Yuliang was a member of the great clans. As long as it strengthened the power of the aristocratic faction, Cui Shifan would support it without hesitation.
As for the so-called betrayal of the Xiao clan by the Cui clan, no one would care.
If the roles had been reversed—if it had been the Xiao clan, or any other clan for that matter—its people would have made exactly the same choice as Cui Shifan.
But now, when the second candidate on the list turned out to be Gu Chengyin, Cui Shifan fell silent.
He still had not fully understood the purpose behind Gu Chengyin’s visit to the Inner Cabinet today.
Had he come to recommend Xiao Yuliang? Or had he come to demonstrate his power before Emperor Luo?
Or was it both?
There was at least one thing Cui Shifan could be certain of: Gu Chengyin truly wanted the position of Minister of Rites.
Otherwise, he would not have forced Cui Zhenji to resign voluntarily.
That meant Gu Chengyin was most likely demonstrating his power to Emperor Luo.
Recommending Xiao Yuliang was part of that demonstration. Announcing his intention to join the Celestial Masters’ Palace was part of it as well.
Sending word that Luo Zhao would have Cui Zilu take over as Chief Female Official was another part.
And the Crown Princess’s willingness to become his junior wife was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
Gu Chengyin was using these four matters to tell Emperor Luo:
You have imperial edicts. I have my own means.
If your edict can block one road before me, then I will open two more myself.
If you want me to stand alone, then I will make the Crown Prince obey me more readily than ever before.
That confidence came from Luo Zhao and Lin Qingyan.
With those two standing at Gu Chengyin’s side, his confidence was as solid as iron.
Otherwise, he would never have casually thrown out that heaven-defying statement.
And he had said it in front of the three Grand Councilors of the Inner Cabinet, which meant he was telling Emperor Luo:
Your weakness is in my hands. If you continue to pressure me, I have no objection to letting this matter spread throughout the realm.
Clearly, he was forcing Emperor Luo to choose him.
If that was the case, then what else was there to say?
Cui Shifan silently went over every detail once more. The more he considered them, the clearer everything became.
Gu Chengyin’s game had already been laid out plainly.
His true purpose in coming to the Inner Cabinet today had not been to recommend Xiao Yuliang.
Nor had it been to announce his intention to join the Celestial Masters’ Palace, much less to deliver a message on Luo Zhao’s behalf.
He had come to tell the three Grand Councilors of the Inner Cabinet—and the countless ears that could relay everything said here at any moment—
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
