The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

until--

He saw a sitting man and smiled slightly at him.

He was one of only two men sitting in this great hall.

That is......

The newly appointed Director of the Imperial Household?

Cai Yan was stunned.

He only had one impression of this person—at the court assembly more than half a month ago, it was this person who, in order to avoid being punished by the emperor, deliberately reported the case of Manager Wang's family being wiped out in front of everyone.

Then, that person never appeared in front of him again.

Oh—I see.

Cai Yan smiled and even nodded slightly to the man as a greeting, and the man responded in the same way.

Then he turned back and knelt respectfully on the ground in front of another man who could sit in the main hall, without saying a word, awaiting his fate.

For such people, it's a willingness to step forward at the very last moment of a game, allowing those already powerless to change the outcome to see them—

That is already the greatest mercy.

Chapter Ninety-Four Settlement Time

"Since you all share the same thoughts as me, then this case must be handled by the Imperial Guards and the Palace Secret Service working together to uncover the truth!"

The emperor stepped forward and began to reap the rewards of his victory.

"Minister Gao, you don't know the importance and urgency of matters, and you can't distinguish right from wrong. What is your intention in saying such things?"

Gao Cheng could only kneel on the ground, remaining silent.

"This matter falls under the purview of the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. As the Minister of Personnel, you neglect your own ministry's duties and instead interfere elsewhere, presumptuously criticizing my decisions. Do you think you can speak on my behalf?"

"Your Majesty would not dare! Your Majesty would never have such an intention!"

Gao Cheng dared not accept this honor, but it was not meant for him either—when the emperor said this, he was looking at Prime Minister Cai.

"Gao Cheng is muddleheaded and incompetent, and has presumptuously discussed state affairs. He is demoted one rank and fined one year's salary! The position of Minister of Personnel will be temporarily filled by Vice Minister Zhang Jin."

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree—thank you for your great favor!"

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree... I thank you for your forgiveness."

One was overjoyed, the other was devastated.

"Prime Minister Cai, is there anything amiss with my decree?"

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Thunder and rain are all imperial grace. How can there be anything wrong with it?"

Cai Yan remained kneeling there steadily, obediently accepting all of the emperor's orders without uttering a single word of dissent.

In the imperial court, the officials remained in place, some standing and some kneeling.

—But Cai Yan, by chance, has already triggered the state of being isolated and helpless.

"Minister Chen, rise. And all of you—I will not allow you to suffer unjust accusations."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue all rose and expressed their gratitude.

"Then let's conclude today's court assembly—next year, I hope to see a brand new Great Yan."

The emperor rose and walked towards the inner palace.

"Your Majesty, you are about to depart."

As always, Eunuch Zheng followed behind him.

The officials left in turn, but Prime Minister Cai remained kneeling there, motionless.

Everyone stared at that retreating figure, each with their own thoughts and calculations.

The sky has changed back to normal.

Only after all the officials in the hall had dispersed did a young eunuch jog over to Cai Yan and speak softly.

"Prime Minister Cai, the Emperor heard that you are still kneeling here and wants you to get up and go home. Today is New Year's Eve—His Majesty will not forget to send dishes to your residence."

"Thank you, father-in-law."

After the eunuch left, Cai Yan stood up shakily, trembling slightly.

He hadn't knelt for such a long time in a long time.

Turning around, he discovered that there was another person in the hall.

"Prime Minister Cai."

Qiao Yelan, sitting in his wheelchair, bowed.

"The Junior Supervisor is still here. Is there anything else he needs?"

"This humble official has difficulty walking. I wonder if Prime Minister Cai would be so kind as to offer me a ride?"

"Why not? It's not a condescension for me to push you—after all, the accomplished are teachers."

Cai Yan patted the hem of his robe. He staggered a few steps at first, but quickly regained his balance, walked behind Qiao Yelan, and pushed him away from the main hall.

"I wonder how Your Majesty intends to deal with me?"

Cai Yan was also puzzled. Logically speaking, the emperor should have dismissed him completely, or at least forced him to retire to his hometown. But in the end, he only took down Gao Cheng and didn't even mention him at all before leaving the court. This left Cai Yan with no way to speak.

"Prime Minister Cai is joking. You are the Prime Minister of the Great Yan Dynasty, second only to the Emperor, and a pillar of the court. His Majesty relies on you greatly—how could he possibly punish you?"

Qiao Yelan's words made Cai Yan realize something.

"I see—Chen Fan defected, Gao Cheng was dismissed, and today he knelt in the main hall to vouch for the officials. I am now a tiger with its claws and teeth pulled out, with only its skin left on its body. Naturally, I pose no threat. Therefore, to His Majesty, I am now a 'newcomer' to the court without any foundation, and you trust me more than anyone else."

"The Prime Minister is indeed the Prime Minister. After so many years in the officialdom, I have already given myself away with just one sentence."

Cai Yan chuckled to himself.

"Let's just forget about it—we've already come this far, what's the point of continuing with this bureaucratic rhetoric?"

"It's easy to put on or take off a mask, but it's tiring to wear it for a while and take it off for a while."

"...That's well said. Now, I really feel relieved."

The old man's voice no longer carried that weariness; instead, it had a sense of carefree acceptance, as if he had let go of everything.

“If you had such thoughts when His Majesty first ascended the throne, instead of being blinded by greed, but instead assisting His Majesty, it would have surely created a beautiful story of a ruler and his ministers—and things wouldn’t have come to this.”

Qiao Yelan's words carried a hint of regret.

"Once you enter the officialdom, you're meant to climb the ladder. If you don't have that ambition, why bother staying in the capital and going through all the ups and downs? Some people do choose to find a place to settle down and be a local official for life, but there are far more who don't."

“Back when the late emperor was alive, I was cautious and timid, as if walking on thin ice. When the crown prince was regent, I was loyal and devoted, working tirelessly. All of this was to climb higher—all to satisfy my ambition.”

Cai Yan showed no sign of regret.

"I failed to see through your schemes because of my incompetence. My greed led me to only think of using this opportunity to put pressure on the Ministry of Revenue, but you went along with it and pushed the Ministry of Revenue to the Emperor. And because of my ambition, I promoted Gao Cheng, which led to my complete defeat at the court meeting today, leaving me with no way to turn things around."

“You can say that ambition and greed are what led me to fall into your trap today, but if I hadn’t had that ambition and greed, how would I have become the prime minister today? I was made and I was ruined by ambition. My success and failure are both on my own shoulders. What do I have to regret?”

Qiao Yelan paused for a moment.

He felt a little regretful that he couldn't witness the vigorous figure of the old man behind him at this moment; it was something he truly regretted.

"His Majesty used Chen Fan to suppress me, and then transferred this case from the Dali Temple to the Imperial Guards and the Secret Service in the court. This is equivalent to having a handle on Chen Fan's smuggling. So His Majesty will definitely not touch Chen Fan for the time being, otherwise Chen Fan would not have dared to act so exaggeratedly today."

“If the Minister of Personnel is someone who has been suppressed by Gao Cheng and me, and the Minister of Revenue is someone who has just gained his position by betraying me, then there is no better candidate for the position of Prime Minister than me—because I can no longer win them over.”

Cai Yan spoke calmly, having already figured it out. The emperor hadn't actually intended to do anything to him today. Ultimately, what the emperor wanted was for the court not to unite against him—so securing the Ministry of Personnel was far more important than removing him as prime minister.

"Conversely, these two ministers will also truly do their best in their positions, because they know very well that their memorials will have to go through your hands. If there are any loopholes in their memorials, you will definitely put in the most effort to cause them the most trouble."

Qiao Yelan added.

"Indeed, that is probably what His Majesty hopes to see—I will serve as a loyal minister in the position of prime minister until my death."

The old man's voice suddenly lowered.

"However, this makes me feel a bit strange. Although some positions in the court have changed, they have all been filled in the end. You are already a third-rank official, but no new position has been made for you. My position as prime minister should, in principle, fall into your hands."

"I am just a businessman, I don't have the same grand ambitions as you."

Qiao Yelan said gently.

“You don’t need to be too self-deprecating. His Majesty also believes that if the Grand Tutor is unwilling to take over the position of Prime Minister, then no one else is qualified to replace you. Your abilities are only slightly weaker in terms of political maneuvering, but when it comes to political affairs, the gap between us cannot be measured by reason.”

Cai Yan remained silent for a while before speaking again.

"Isn't Your Majesty afraid that I will join forces with Chen Fan again? Although he betrayed me this time, in the officialdom, only interests matter."

"Since His Majesty has spared your and Minister Chen's positions, it is naturally because he is absolutely certain of success—and I also believe in Minister Chen's loyalty."

Cai Yan: ?

Is this some kind of lame joke time?

He tried his best to think about Chen Fan's reasons for being loyal to the emperor, but he always felt that they were so pale and powerless—at least he had a way to resume cooperation with Chen Fan.