Chapter 130: The Emperor Is About to Make His Move

Though he couldn't tell whether Liu Yijing had noticed, Han Kuang did — Liu Yijing had no intention of getting involved in this matter, meaning the old fox wanted to stay out of it entirely.

This chilled Han Kuang's heart somewhat.

The reason was very simple: Liu Yijing's entanglement with the Donglin Faction was not deep, and even if the matter blew up in the end, it might not implicate him.

Especially on the issue of the Donglin Academy, it had even less to do with Liu Yijing — why would he be willing to wade into this muddy water?

For this matter to erupt at this particular juncture worked in Liu Yijing's favor for crushing the Donglin Faction. That he wasn't adding insult to injury right now was already his mercy; hoping he'd help was certainly out of the question.

But Han Kuang was now hesitating. If he continued to do nothing, even without adding insult to injury, the Donglin Faction would likely end up in dire straits.

The key issue was that his cooperation with Liu Yijing wasn't meant to crush the Donglin Faction completely, but rather to drive certain people out, then take over their property — he even needed that capital to contend with Liu Yijing.

If the Donglin Faction truly collapsed entirely, what would he do then?

Liu Yijing didn't care what Han Kuang was thinking; he had already ordered the routine memorial to be sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

In fact, what Liu Yijing was thinking about was much the same as Han Kuang.

He was thinking about how to add insult to injury, though he was also somewhat hesitant.

Because the initiator of this matter was Yu Maoheng, and Yu Maoheng had also used much of Li Zhi's doctrines, which meant there might be others behind Yu Maoheng.

If he and Yu Maoheng inadvertently coordinated, there was a good chance Yu Maoheng would step on him afterward.

Because he and Yu Maoheng were incompatible not only in officialdom, but also in scholarship.

Under such circumstances, the two sides might erupt in new conflict.

When that time came, he'd be in a tough spot — after all, at this moment he needed to help them, and doing so would offend too many people.

Once the academies of the realm were destroyed, it would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction from those who founded the academies, and also from those behind them.

One should know that standing behind the academies were all the local powerful and influential figures, along with those studying at the academies, and those about to enter them.

Under such circumstances, doing such a thing would truly be more loss than gain.

So Liu Yijing ultimately chose to stand by and watch, to see how things went first, to wait — if a suitable opportunity arose later, it wouldn't be too late to act then.

This was the victory of the wait-and-see faction.

Liu Yijing planned to first observe the reaction from the palace.

Deep within the imperial palace, the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao looked at the routine memorial in his hands, glanced at Chen Hong standing trembling on the other side, and shook his head expressionlessly.

The eunuch he'd chosen really wasn't up to par, though it seemed there was no suitable candidate available either.

There weren't many reliable eunuchs in the palace to begin with. Wei Zhongxian counted as one — he had methods and was ruthless in dealing with people — but his ambition was too great; there was no way he could be brought in.

Wei Zhongxian was fine for biting people on his behalf; the palace should have reliable people stationed in it.

Wei Chao had been sent by him to Liaodong, and even if he returned, he wouldn't dare use him.

Aside from that, there was Wang An, but Wang An was a man of the Donglin Faction. First, the matter wasn't settled yet, so it wasn't convenient to use Wang An for anything; second, he needed to keep one person in reserve — if the situation reversed, there would still be someone he could use.

He lacked a shrewd eunuch by his side. Chen Hong wasn't one — this man lacked both ability and foresight. But since no suitable candidate had been found for now, he could only make do with him.

Continuing to flip through the routine memorial in his hands, Zhu Youxiao's expression grew somewhat complicated.

As for Yu Maoheng, Zhu Youxiao had expectations for him, but he'd given him a great surprise — one he hadn't anticipated.

There was another crucial reason: Yu Maoheng's routine memorial had come at the wrong time.

He had originally wanted to watch Liu Yijing and the Donglin Faction tear into each other, but that was no longer possible now.

Once this memorial came out, the matter could no longer be dragged out — it truly needed to be handled quickly. Combined with the case of the Donglin Faction's counterattack, if he didn't step forward now, things would truly descend into chaos.

Glancing at Chen Hong beside him, Zhu Youxiao asked: "Is Fang Congzhe about to arrive? Has the Embroidered Uniform Guard sent any news yet?"

"Your Majesty, no new news has arrived yet, but according to the report from two days ago, it should be within these two days." Chen Hong hurriedly said: "Once I've finished attending to Your Majesty, this servant will go ask."

"Don't wait until later — send someone to ask right now." Zhu Youxiao directly ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will arrange for someone right away." Chen Hong said hurriedly.

The person Chen Hong arranged to inquire soon departed, while Zhu Youxiao stood up and paced back and forth within the great hall.

Things had reached the critical moment of being on the verge of eruption. If Fang Congzhe could make it into the capital quickly enough, then he could make his move.

The time would be set for the next grand court assembly. Since he'd crossed over, he hadn't attended court yet — this would be his first time.

Many things had already been detonated now, and he needed to show his face. Hiding in the background any longer wouldn't be appropriate.

"Your Majesty, Sun Chengzong requests an audience." Chen Hong once again came to Zhu Youxiao's side, speaking softly, then bowed and retreated to one side, standing quietly.

In fact, Chen Hong had already sensed that something was wrong.

Yu Maoheng's routine memorial was simply too momentous. Thinking of how he'd previously tried to build a relationship with Yu Maoheng, Chen Hong felt a chill run down his spine.

He hadn't expected this Yu Maoheng to have such audacity.

That routine memorial from Zhu Tongmeng was one he'd delivered himself, and he could roughly guess some of what was in his master's heart. But he also hadn't expected Yu Maoheng to be so ruthless, leaving no room at all.

Zhu Youxiao hadn't expected Sun Chengzong to come. Some time ago, members of the Donglin Faction had gone to see him — Zhu Youxiao knew about this.

And Gao Panlong had gone in person. He'd originally assumed Sun Chengzong would enter the palace soon, but he hadn't.

Unexpectedly, he'd come at this moment — it seemed it was also for the routine memorial from Yu Maoheng in his hands.

He sighed softly. Yu Maoheng's routine memorial truly had too great an impact.

In fact, Yu Maoheng's going all-in like this was something Zhu Youxiao hadn't anticipated either.

In this memorial, Yu Maoheng had not only offended the Donglin Faction, but had also directly opened fire on the academies of the realm, and even dragged in the School of Principle.

The whole thing was the work of a wild scholar.

Not to mention anything else, Yu Maoheng's routine memorial actually bore a few traces of Li Zhi's style.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew that Yu Maoheng was doing this for his benefit.

This was a talent.

He had not only grasped his intent, but also knew that he valued Li Zhi's doctrines.

Not only that, Yu Maoheng had also forged a connection with Xu Guangqi, advancing step by step.