The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror

Thinking deeper, although he is the Vice Chief, the position of the Vice Chief of the country's Court holds no formal status. It is merely a convention for Elder Mr. Liang, whose seniority happens to follow the Grand Secretary, to be the successor if the Grand Secretary steps down, but this is not an absolute certainty.

Minister Wang, with the support of Prince Yu, could leapfrog Elder Mr. Liang to become the Grand Secretary, which is not impossible. And this fellow is more than a decade younger than Elder Mr. Liang.

If Minister Wang indeed ascends, Elder Mr. Liang can forget about becoming Grand Secretary in this lifetime.

Moreover, due to seniority issues, Elder Mr. Liang might be forced to retire early, to save face for everyone.

Ah, this officialdom. Not taking sides is not an option. Just like rowing upstream in a river—falling behind if not advancing.

Xu Qing: "Our Wu people currently lack an esteemed elder statesman to lead us. Personally, I support Elder as our faction's leader among the Wu people."

Elder Mr. Liang quickly said: "What Wu Party, Chu Faction, at the Court, there is but one faction, all of us belong to the Emperor Faction. However, indeed, we Wu people should interact more among ourselves."

Minister Wang belongs to one of the Four Great Families from South Zhili. The Wang Family's influence in officialdom is immense, and now that they have attached to Prince Yu, if they aspire for the Grand Secretariat, Elder Mr. Liang won't stand a chance.

But having Xu Qing's support tells another story.

Xu Qing has the credentials and cannot directly compete with Minister Wang for the position of Grand Secretary. It is most fitting for Elder Mr. Liang to serve as a proxy.

As for the Grand Secretary, they are only too happy to see the wealthy Wu people infighting, which is also what Your Majesty wishes to see.

Elder Mr. Liang understands that if he again fails to discern the situation and aims to please all sides, he will only get kicked out of the game.

He is old but vigorous, able to keep company with two women in one night, blossoming twice over, and does not wish to retire so early.

Xu Qing knows Elder Mr. Liang would avoid causing trouble at this time, but must be moved to act; without acting, it means being out of the game. Securing Elder Mr. Liang's support would then provide an explanation to the Grand Secretary, and only after that does he bring up the matter concerning Yan Shan.

Yan Shan, thinking he was here today to run errands for his position, didn't realize his official post was merely an afterthought, not enough to make the agenda.

Still, it's Sitting Hall.

Throughout this entire banquet, he had no chance to shine, but he did see the Sitting Hall remains the same as ever, casually steering the world's major trends with a smile.

What counts as Elder.

Merely a puppet in Sitting Hall's hands.

On reflection, Yan Shan realized that the vision of Sitting Hall was that of the Grand Secretary's, even that of the Longevity Palace.

Moreover, not only did they have this scope, but they also truly possessed the strength to be a part of it.

Behind Sitting Hall was a group of people, a new elite who benefitted from the Reform and maritime trade.

Compared to the other loose alliances in the Court, the bond between Sitting Hall and its supporters behind the scenes is incredibly strong.

The longer the time passes, the closer this connection gets, and more people will join.

For Sitting Hall, as long as there is enough time, this community of interest will eventually become an unstoppable giant, even by the Court's standards.

For, by that time, they will constitute the mainstay of the Court's power structure, the essential part.

If he were in Prince Yu's shoes, after ascending to power, he indeed could not tolerate Sitting Hall's presence.

Minister Wang aligning with Prince Yu precisely perceived this fact. If Prince Yu can topple Sitting Hall, then the Wang Family could replace Sitting Hall's position, becoming the new leader of these stakeholders, establishing the Wang Family as the uncontested foremost Aristocratic Family, even reviving the prowess of the top noble houses of the Middle Ages.

Moreover, some of the Wang Family have been doing business in cooperation with Xu Qing.

Even if they fail, they are still part of the stakeholders, merely not one of those who get to split the money on the table.

In fact, Yan Shan has observed Xu Qing's rise all along, but even if he had witnessed it from the start, even if he attempted to replace Xu Qing and follow his steps, he could not achieve what Xu Qing has, probably perishing at some point.

It's a matter of destiny.

Xu Qing himself also holds this belief; his success certainly depends on his advantages, but also the destiny that accompanies him.

The crucial steps all involve an element of luck.

But since time immemorial, which founder of a dynasty did not have destiny on their side?

Xu Qing did not even summon a meteorite.

An individual's success requires both strength and fortune.

Xu Qing personally believes that materialism is about recognizing objective facts and laws; luck also exists objectively.

After the toasts and exchanges, Xu Qing asked Yan Shan to escort Elder Mr. Liang home, without personally doing so himself. Their cooperation is still in private and is not yet something flaunted.

After he went out, Feng Qintian approached, and Xu Qing took out a token.

"Take this to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow; someone will naturally lead you to your loved one, though you will have only a quarter of an hour," Xu Qing instructed.

Feng Qintian, with tears in his tigerish eyes, immediately wanted to kowtow.

Deep as the sea is the Imperial City, many a Court Lady enters the palace only to find it impossible to see her family again for a lifetime.

There is a saying from the previous dynasty: "Three thousand miles away lies the old country; within the deep palace, twenty years pass unnoticed."

Xu Qing supported him, and said: "If there is a chance, I will help Brother Feng rescue her to reunite with you. For now, the timing is not right; please bear with it, Brother Feng."

Feng Qintian: "I could work tirelessly like an ox or horse and still not repay the immense kindness and favor from you, sir."

Xu Qing: "Brother Feng, if you speak of such things, it feels like you are treating me as a stranger. We are both Cultivators; there's no need to adhere to the formalities of officialdom. Our bond is based on camaraderie; let's not dwell on the trivialities."

Feng Qintian nodded silently.

Xu Qing said no more.

This alliance with Elder Mr. Liang certainly follows the hint from the Grand Secretary, but it is also an unavoidable move to make. Not being able to enter the Cabinet himself, he necessarily requires a proxy.