Chapter 591: Record of the Zhou State Aristocrats

Lu Yiman gave a gentle nod, saying nothing further.

He had followed Mei Renbi for years and knew the lord's temperament well; the closer a major affair approached, the more composed he became.

Mei Renbi lifted his hand and pulled aside the carriage curtain beside him.

A bone‑piercing night wind rushed in at once, making the candle flame flicker violently.

He stuck his head out, gazing at the night outside the window.

The trees lining the official road cast wavering shadows, like lurking spirits; occasional wolf howls drifted from afar, bleak and distant.

Chang'an's outline remained hidden in the heavy night, indistinct, yet an invisible pressure seemed to loom over it from thirty li away.

Mei Renbi withdrew his gaze, lowered the curtain, turned and ordered, "Yiman, bring the register that records the central court aristocrats of Zhou State for me to see!"

"Yes, my lord," Lu Yiman replied, turning to rummage through a Zitan Wood Box in the carriage corner.

A moment later, he produced a thick silk scroll and handed it up with both hands.

Mei Renbi took the register, his fingertips brushing the gold‑stamped "Zhou State Aristocrats Record" on the cover, then slowly opened it.

The candle flame danced, illuminating the neat rows of characters on the silk scroll, which recorded not only names but also each person's background, official rank, residence, and even parts of their past records.

His gaze swept over the names, and he read them slowly, pausing between each: "Yuwen Hu, Yuwen Heng, Yu Tinggui, Pei Xun, Du Yaoguang, Hou Mo Chen Yi..."

With each name he uttered, his fingertip lightly tapped the line, and a deeper gleam appeared in his eyes.

Lu Yiman leaned forward beside him, his eyes brimming with uncontainable anticipation.

He tightened his knife grip at his waist, his fingers rubbing unconsciously, his voice tinged with restless excitement: "My lord, now that we have entered Chang'an, which of these shall we pick to strike first?"

Mei Renbi did not answer immediately; his gaze remained on the first few pages of the register, he pondered briefly, then spoke in a deep voice: "Grand Pillar of State Yuwen Hu, Grand Marshal Yuwen Heng, these two brothers should be dealt with first..."

Immediately, his fingertip pressed those two names, his tone firm: "The two control Zhou State's military and political power; Yuwen Hu oversees the court, Yuwen Heng holds the capital's military authority, they are the de facto masters of Zhou State, with deep roots, and are the hardest to handle!"

"We are newcomers; we should not clash head‑on..."

Mei Renbi knew clearly that the two who wielded great power were not only blood brothers but also mutually complementary, with extremely high mutual trust.

The difficulty of sowing discord is far beyond ordinary.

Lu Yiman agreed deeply, his eyes scanning the register quickly, landing on a name, and suggested: "How about choosing the local official Grand Minister Pei Xun?"

"He controls the nation's household registration and land taxes, with abundant resources; he offers a good leverage point!"

"Pei Xun?" Mei Renbi shook his head, his brows slightly raised, a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth: "You seem to have forgotten, he not only hails from the He Dong Pei Clan, a century‑old prestigious family, but is also Chen Yan's father‑in‑law!"

He paused, his voice deepening: "Chen Yan is now Grand Pillar of State, Left Martial Marquis Grand General, Left Martial Guard Grand General, Chief of the Capital, holding the authority over Chang'an's prisons, ruthless, and will repay any insult!"

"If we move against Pei Xun, we will be the first to clash with Chen Yan; he will fight us to the death and will surely disrupt the entire subsequent plan!"

Every line between the characters exudes caution.

Chen Yan's power is too great, and his nature is protective of his own, so engaging him first is not a good choice...

He is someone we must deal with, but certainly not now!

Lu Yiman suddenly understood, quickly nodding: "My lord, your foresight is complete; I was the one who thought incompletely..."

Speaking, his gaze continued downward, landing on another name, and asked, "What about the Grand Minister Yu Tinggui of the Winter Office?"

"He oversees construction and repairs; I hear he is quite greedy for ink, secretly hoarding a lot in his office..."

Mei Renbi narrowed his eyes slightly at the words, a cold glint flashing in his pupils: "Yu Tinggui? Do you know who his father is?"

His fingertip tapped the small annotation beneath the register, "His father Yu Jie, one of the Eight Pillars of State personally appointed by Yuwen Xin, now retired at home yet holds great prestige in Zhou State; even Yuwen Hu respects him threefold, and he is still alive!"

He exhaled a breath of foul air, his fingertip lightly tapping the page, and said slowly: "Even if we can seize a lever on Yu Tinggui or fabricate evidence to frame him, Yu Jie needs only a single word to suppress the matter..."

By then, not only would we fail to bring him down, we would stir up a snake and lose more than we gain!

"My lord, your consideration is most apt!" Lu Yiman quickly agreed, a fine bead of sweat appearing at his temple.

He had only seen the surface of official ranks and power, forgetting the tangled web of relationships behind these aristocrats...

Had the lord not been wise, a grave mistake would likely have been made.

He steadied himself, his gaze wandering the register again, finally resting on a relatively later name; his finger tapped it, his tone tentative: "My lord, what do you think of the Tian Guan Fu's Grand Secretary Gao Bing?"

He paused, then analyzed softly: "He is a civil official, holding the position of Grand Secretary; although he handles imperial edicts, he wields no military or financial power..."

"Moreover, his background is not from the Six Surnames of Guanzhong aristocracy; his family has no backing in the court, its foundation is very shallow..."

Lu Yiman grew more convinced as he spoke, his eyes reigniting: "Shuyi sees this man as an excellent breakthrough point!"

"If we cut him down, we won't disturb the interests of those aristocratic families, nor rouse the Yuwen Hu brothers, nor provoke a ruthless figure like Chen Yan..."

"Even if someone investigates later, his weak position won't stir up any great wave."

Mei Renbi's gaze lingered on the two characters 'Gao Bing' for only a moment before he abruptly lifted his eyes, his tone decisive and without hesitation: "Impossible!"

Those two words landed heavily, freezing the joy on Lu Yiman's face in an instant.

Mei Renbi's mouth curled into an arrogant arc, his brows radiating self‑confidence, his voice tinged with mockery: "My Qilin prodigy's first battle in Chang'an cannot be a mere Grand Secretary?"

"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?"

"If we act, we act on the principal official among the six officials!"

Dealing with a mere subordinate official is tantamount to lowering one's own status, unfit for his stature, and merely a small skirmish...

Lu Yiman heard this and felt a headache, raised his hand to rub his temples, and with a wry smile sighed: "My lord, even so, the remaining ones are all difficult opponents!"

He said, his fingertip tracing the silk scroll, finally stopping at the names Du Yaoguang and Hou Mo Chen Yi, his eyes filled with a sense of helplessness, his tone growing more bitter: "Du Yaoguang is Yuwen Hu's children's in‑law; their fortunes rise and fall together..."

"Hou Mo Chen Yi need not be mentioned; he is one of the original Eight Pillars of State of Zhou, with former students and officials spread throughout the court, his power tangled like roots; moving a single hair of his would raise a stormy sea..."

At that moment, Lu Yiman inexplicably thought that it would have been better if Zhou State were still in the era when Yuwen Hu and the two Grand Pillars of State were playing chess...

Alas, they arrived at the wrong season!

"Hehe." Mei Renbi suddenly let out a low laugh, the chuckle carrying a hint of inscrutability, he looked up at Lu Yiman and said leisurely, "Yiman, you're wrong!"

He said, his brows slightly raised, his fingertip lightly tapping the silk scroll, his tone bearing a hint of provocation: "He is not as hard to deal with as you imagine!"

Before the words finished, his slender right‑hand fingertip landed precisely on the name Hou Mo Chen Yi.

The candlelight reflected on those four characters, also illuminating Lu Yiman's suddenly widened eyes.

He blinked, his tone full of disbelief: "Lord, do you intend to cut down Grand Senior Earl Marquis Mo Chenyi of the Spring Office?"

Speaking, his brows instantly knit, his voice deepening with concern: "But this man's power is not to be underestimated!"

"In his youth he earned brilliant battle merits, being, before Chen Yan, the youngest Senior Pillar of Great Zhou!"

"His former troops are spread throughout the army; if we move against him, the support will not be smaller than that against Ting Gui!"

"You!" Mei Renbi raised his hand, lightly tapping Lu Yiman's forehead with a finger, his face still bearing a bright smile, his tone carrying a hint of meaning: "You have vision, yet cannot see the deeper ways…"

He placed his fingertip on Marquis Mo Chenyi's record, sliding slowly, analyzing word by word: "Although Marquis Mo Chenyi still holds a position among the Six Officials, bearing the title Grand Senior Earl, he is the weakest of the Six Officials in power!"

"Yuwen Hu, the chief of the Five Officials after the Tian Guan, fearing his military authority and prestige, long ago employed overt promotions and covert demotions, layering restrictions that weakened him…"

"Now the Spring Office is merely an idle post handling ancestral temple rites and ceremonial music; it appears lofty, but in fact has long been stripped of real power!"

"Understood!" Lu Yiman's eyes suddenly brightened, as if clearing clouds to see blue sky, he slapped his thigh and shouted loudly, "Yuwen Hu does not trust Marquis Mo Chenyi, nor wishes to employ him; he seems a hard bone but is already a spent bow!"

"Using this man, who is both one of the Six Officials and once a Grand Senior Earl, to cut, can both showcase our Jiang‑right Alliance's strength and announce our arrival—perfectly fitting!"

"Indeed." Mei Renbi nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, a half‑smile forming, his tone calm with strategic composure: "Eliminate him, then slowly deal with that Nayan Gao Bing you mentioned…"

"And that Shang Ting of the Tian Guan Fu!"

He paused, lightly tapping the two characters "Shang Ting" with his fingertip, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Your insight, Lord!" Lu Yiman quickly raised his thumb, his face full of admiration as he flattered, "Just now I was dull‑witted, failing to see the crucial point!"

Snap!

Mei Renbi slammed the roster shut, producing a crisp sound that made the candle flame flicker again.

He tossed the silk register onto the desk, his gaze sharp as a blade, his tone brimming with a world‑conquering swagger: "Once Marquis Mo Chenyi is eliminated, we'll drop each of those listed in the register from their horses one by one!"

He rose, walked to the carriage window, flung the curtain open, gazing at the heavy night thirty li away, his chest swelling with lofty ambition, his voice confident as if the outcome were certain: "Finally, we'll expose Chen Yan's corrupt, law‑breaking, nation‑ravaging crimes to the world, one by one!"

"Let his name stink for ten thousand years, let the common folk of Zhou State curse him!"

"Let Chen Yan be nailed to the pillar of disgrace in history, never to rise again!"

The night wind poured into the carriage, rustling the moon‑white scholar's robe, a soft rustle, and on his refined face now shone a blade‑sharp decisiveness.

Lu Yiman stood behind him, his blood boiling, quickly smiling broadly and clasping his hands: "When the time comes, the Lord will surely achieve greatness, be enfeoffed as king and appointed minister, his name recorded in history, revered for ten thousand generations!"

Mei Renbi slowly lowered the Cheli, raised a hand to press it lightly, his face withdrawing the determined edge, instead showing a feigned modest smile: "Enfeoffed as king and appointed minister, a name in the annals—these words are still premature…"

"When we turn Chang'an upside down, then it won't be too late to speak of that!"

As the words fell, he looked up and laughed aloud: "Ha—…"

But before the laughter faded, the carriage suddenly lurched, the wheels grinding against the Shiban road with a harsh screech.

Mei Renbi, caught off guard, lunged forward, nearly smashing his head against the nanmu desk at the front of the carriage.

"Lord!"

Lu Yiman's eyes flashed, his hand reflexively reaching to steady Mei Renbi's waist.

He steadied him, concern etched in his brows, whispering: "Lord, are you all right?"

Mei Renbi steadied himself, lifted a hand to smooth his slightly disheveled collar, and gave a light nod: "No problem!"

Calming himself, Lu Yiman's complexion darkened instantly.

He helped Mei Renbi sit back on the soft couch, then turned toward the outside of the carriage and barked loudly: "Chen Peinan! What are you eating!"

"Why did it suddenly stop?"

"Did you know it almost startled the Lord just now!"

From outside the carriage came hurried footsteps; the driver Chen Peinan quickly replied through the Cheli, his voice tinged with panic: "Brother Lu, forgive me!"

"A group of men in black emerged from nowhere ahead, blocking our path!"