Qianye’s expression changed quickly because the question was quite thoughtless and came out of the blue. Song Zining understood a lot about the situation in the Empire, so he had to have a reason for asking such questions.

Fang Zhang was the first to fidget in his chair. Lan Xincheng sat straight in his chair for a good while before finally saying, “I’m filled with admiration for Mister Zining for grasping so much of the situation in the Empire while staying in the neutral lands. So, there’s really no need to beat around the bush anymore. From what I know, Marshal Lin is in a very delicate situation.”

Qianye said, “Can you explain in greater detail?”

Lan Xincheng nodded at Qianye with a mysterious expression, but he turned to find Song Zining staring at him with meaningful eyes, and that caused several notions to shuffle through his mind.

He said after some thought, “I have a couple of backers in the Imperial court, so I’m able to hear some information from the minor court.”

Song Zining whispered something in Qianye’s ears. The difference between major and minor courts wasn’t in the scale or frequency. Some topics discussed, decided, and executed there wouldn’t even reach the major court. Even the aristocracy would never get first-hand information on such things, not to mention ordinary people.

Lan Xincheng paused momentarily, waiting for...