The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

Qiao Yelan didn't put any effort into Gao Cheng, whom she had won over through their teacher-student relationship, but instead focused all her energy on Chen Fan, whom she had won over with mutual benefits from the very beginning.

The most crucial point is that after splitting Chen Fan and himself, the normal person's thinking would naturally be to use this crack to continue expanding until the Tsai Party is completely split.

But Qiao Yelan was not a normal person at all—after the rift appeared, he was able to pull Chen Fan to the emperor's side overnight.

What Cai Yan least expected was that in just one night, Chen Fan not only defected, but also, in a manner almost like paying a pledge of allegiance, set off a bomb within Cai's party with the most drastic actions.

An internal explosion occurred, and the emperor exerted external pressure. At this critical moment, Cai Yan himself was unable to speak due to the gatekeeper case—thus, Gao Cheng, the good-for-nothing he had promoted, was instantly exposed for what he truly was.

This is the only thing Cai Yan doesn't understand.

If Cai Yan could still analyze the situation after the fact, the fact that he could persuade Chen Fan to turn against him overnight and pledge allegiance to the emperor was something that Cai Yan found utterly unbelievable.

Because unity is much harder to achieve than division.

Qiao Yelan not only needed to persuade Chen Fan, but also the emperor, and even the emperor needed to reassure Chen Fan so that Chen Fan would willingly pledge his allegiance.

Moreover, after the downfall of the Cai faction, Cai Yan and Chen Fan clashed several times in the court. The results of these clashes convinced Cai Yan that Minister Chen was still the same Minister Chen, prioritizing his own interests above all else. Therefore, he could be irreconcilable with Cai Yan in front of the emperor, but also stand with Cai Yan in the court.

So Prime Minister Cai's review has been stuck here—until he figured out how Qiao Yelan brought Chen Fan and the emperor together, he didn't even dare to contact Chen Fan privately.

In the events of the past two days, Cai Yan immediately noticed traces of Qiao Yelan.

Because they are too similar.

All of these involved major events, followed by the undeniable manipulation of those targeted, allowing the emperor to mold and control them before finally releasing them with satisfaction.

Moreover, the emperor had clearly intended for Qiao Yelan to take over the position of Minister of Rites, as evidenced by the various rumors circulating in the court—there was no reason for the emperor to hand over the position to someone else when Qiao Yelan had once again "made a great contribution."

Therefore, this must have been Qiao Yelan's own idea.

Therefore, Qiao Yelan must be a participant in this plan.

So here's the problem—I was spared by Qiao Yelan and the Emperor.

If even he himself could remain in the court, how could the Grand Tutor be trampled to the point that he was even deprived of the opportunity to serve the emperor?

It doesn't make sense. Even Cai Yan himself wouldn't dare say he could surpass the Grand Tutor. How could the Emperor be so wasteful?

“Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor is, after all, the Grand Tutor. Managing a mere department like the Imperial Household Department shouldn’t require all his attention—he is an old minister, and there are still many things he can do for Your Majesty.”

The Grand Commandant, who never interfered in court affairs, suddenly stood up and pleaded for the Grand Tutor.

This is perfectly reasonable—given the position of Grand Tutor among the Three Dukes, and the fact that the emperor was in a fit of anger at the time, the only people qualified and courageous enough to plead for him were the other two of the Three Dukes.

However, it was this sentence that made Cai Yan's pupils shrink sharply.

Is that all it was for?!

The emperor appoints people based on their talents. As long as he is under his control, he will not waste the talents and abilities of others. Qiao Yelan was able to persuade the emperor to let Cai Yan go, so why couldn't he persuade the emperor to let the Grand Tutor go?

With Cai Yan as a shining example, and now working diligently and conscientiously, how could the emperor possibly restrain the Grand Tutor from attending court and doing his job?

Therefore, such severe suppression must be for other purposes.

Now, the objective has become clear on its own.

In the first few years after the emperor ascended the throne, he suffered many grievances. If we were to assign blame, none of the Three Dukes could escape responsibility—because if even one of them had stood on the emperor's side, things would not have escalated to this point.

Cai Yan led the resistance against the imperial decree, the Grand Tutor was concerned about the former crown prince, and the Grand Commandant acted as if he were deaf and blind in the court.

The only difference between them was that Cai Yan was executed by slow slicing, the Grand Tutor was hanged, and the Grand Commandant was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Now, in the imperial court, the Ministry of Revenue has defected, the Ministry of Personnel has been replaced, the Ministry of Rites has been reorganized, the Ministry of Works has been replaced, and the Ministry of Justice goes without saying—of these six ministries, only the Ministry of War remains.

And the relationship between the Grand Commandant and the Ministry of War...

Cai Yan took a deep breath—he knew it!

Once the emperor starts targeting the Three Dukes, how can he possibly stop?

After the Grand Tutor fell from power and handed over the Ministry of Rites, the emperor no longer cared about him—because the Grand Tutor could no longer control the court.

Then naturally, we must squeeze out every last bit of value from him.

— This led to the downfall of the Grand Commandant.

Cai Yan felt a chill run through his body.

His attitude towards Qiao Yelan had ranged from fear to trust, from flattery to retaliation—but this was the first time he had ever felt fear towards Qiao Yelan.

This man... does he intend to use the emperor to cleanse the entire court of high officials?

The Three Dukes were there to assist the emperor in governing the country. After all, the Great Yan was so vast, and the emperor was not a wise and virtuous king forever, so it was natural that the Three Dukes needed to be by his side.

But now, Qiao Yelan intends to use the emperor's hand to turn the three dukes into his yes-men one by one.

This is still within the imperial court—outside the court, the Imperial Household Department has spies throughout the capital, and now they've even drawn on skilled individuals to form the Embroidered Uniform Guard, working alongside the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate to investigate all officials across the land...

Once the Grand Commandant falls, it means that there is no one left in the entire Great Yan Dynasty to stop the emperor. Including the Imperial Household Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it can be said that the emperor's power has reached an unprecedented level.

This is the true meaning of "I am the state".

Qiao Yelan—what exactly are you trying to do!

Refusing the position of Minister of Rites...does that mean he looks down on a mere ministerial post?

Or......

Cai Yan dared not think any further.

Once this is done, the Three Dukes will become mere figureheads, and Qiao Yelan will truly become "Under One Person".

He longed to go out and plead for the Grand Tutor with the Grand Commandant—but then Cai Yan was at a loss.

Why would he object?

For the sake of the Great Yan?

By definition, it seems that those who disrespect the emperor are the true rebels...

For His Majesty's sake?

If others heard this reason, they might all sweat buckets...

For the sake of ancestral customs?

...That's enough. Even the emperor didn't feel he was going against his ancestors' wishes—but who are you?

Cai Yan suddenly realized a problem.

The reason he can't turn back is because Qiao Yelan has already labeled him.

The Grand Commandant was the head of the military officers, so his pleas for leniency were ineffective against the civil officials.

Cai Yan was the head of the civil officials, but how could his plea resonate with the other civil officials and prompt them to follow suit?

And what about the other head of the civil service?

They're still kneeling there.

At this moment, unnoticed by anyone, Prime Minister Cai was sweating profusely.

This is wrong—this is wrong!

The imperial court should be like a game of chess. Since it is a game of chess, there must be players and two sides playing against each other for it to be called a game of chess.

The ministers, based on their talents, occupy their positions, some in opposition to His Majesty, others in accordance with His Majesty, while the Emperor uses power to control them.

This has always been the case between the imperial court and the emperor.

The emperor is a chess player, and naturally, there are also chess players among his ministers.

Qiao Yelan is on the emperor's side, so even if he can replace the emperor as a player—what about the players on their side?

He, the Grand Tutor, the Grand Commandant—they were all pawns with labels attached.

All of them are pieces that have been tagged by the opposing player!

Who is actually playing the game on their side?

A conclusion that sent chills down Cai Yan's spine crept into his mind quietly and silently, like a leech clinging to his bones.

Their chess player is also Qiao Yelan.

Prime Minister Cai remembered something.

The night before his downfall, when he forced Chen Fan to break with him, there was actually a court assembly.

At that court assembly, the one who seemed to be challenging him was neither the emperor nor Qiao Yelan.

He is the Grand Tutor.

He was the Grand Tutor, who had not attended court for a long time and had not spoken for a long time.

He had a chance to turn the tide that day. His doorman was arrested, which deprived him and Chen Fan of the opportunity to communicate secretly. However, Chen Fan was still a member of Cai's faction at that time, and he had already realized that something was wrong and that the person behind it was not any of them.

As long as Cai Yan gains a foothold that day, everything will continue to drag on.

But then, the Grand Tutor came to court. Not only did he come, but he also brought the Minister of War with him and became the first to oppose his own proposal to "not expand the scope of arrests."

So the winds shifted abruptly, and Chen Fan had no choice but to follow the crowd, standing on the opposite side at the court assembly that day.

That court assembly was the fuse that ignited the downfall of the Cai faction, and it was the Grand Tutor who lit the fuse.

So, would Qiao Yelan put such a switch in the hands of someone he doesn't trust?

The emperor was already in a precarious state at the time, and he had never successfully recruited the Grand Tutor before, so there was no reason for him to suddenly accomplish this task—therefore, it must have been Qiao Yelan who did it himself.