Squeak——
Li Fei pushed the door open and entered.
The room's furnishings were simple. As soon as one entered, they would see a bed on which lay an elderly man, white-haired and in the twilight of his years.
Ye Ze'an was already emaciated, lying in bed with his eyes open, lost in thought.
Li Fei felt a pang of sorrow.
Though the former Grand Secretary was merely a mortal, Li Fei could always sense his formidable will and vigorous spirit whenever he stood before him, as though facing a giant that would never fall!
Now, however, he was merely an old man at the end of life.
Beauty and great generals alike rarely come to a good end in the mortal world, it seems.
Simply because beauties and great generals often have a hard time meeting a peaceful end...
Li Fei gently closed the door.
The bedridden Ye Ze'an finally noticed him, his gaze shifting:
"You have come."
Li Fei walked to the side of the bed, sat down, and with some difficulty said,
"It's not too late to turn back now."
Ye Ze'an smiled, "How has the once decisive Green-faced Ghost become soft-hearted?"
"..."
"The sins I committed are a hundred, thousand times more severe than those officials you killed. How could you let me live?"
"..."
When Ye Ze'an first sought out Li Fei and confessed the sins he had committed over the years, Li Fei couldn't believe it.
Only when Ye Ze'an presented undeniable evidence did Li Fei become speechless.
As the Head of the Ye Family and the current Grand Secretary, Ye Ze'an offering 'goodwill' and suggesting cooperation with other gate valves for mutual benefit—who would refuse?
Moreover, even though the Ten Gate Valves constantly rivaled each other, there were still interwoven interests, a practice steeped in centuries of tradition that no one questioned.
From initial collaboration to deep cooperation, Ye Ze'an managed to pull all the key figures of the major gate valves 'into the water,' making it logical.
"In politics, being an honest official isn't terribly hard, but being an official who can actually accomplish things is very difficult."
Ye Ze'an slowly said, "This is because to accomplish anything, you need the cooperation and assistance of many."
"If it was just as the parent official of a city or province, the power of the Ye Family would suffice to carry out my directives. But for what a Grand Secretary wants to accomplish, the strength of one Ye Family is far from enough. I needed the help of those gate valves, needed them to lend me their strength."
Li Fei was silent.
At this moment, he fully understood Ye Ze'an's strategy.
His past years of 'fraternizing with those gate valves' wasn't just about immersing himself to gather evidence of their crimes.
That would be underestimating this Grand Secretary.
Ye Ze'an was also leveraging interests to implement his policies with the help of those gate valves.
The greatest resistance to the Mingxin Reformation came from the gate valves. Why did Ye Ze'an ultimately succeed?
Because the Ye Family was strong enough?
No! Because Ye Ze'an found means to align with each of the gate valves.
As he said, being an honest official is easy, but being one who can do real work is immensely challenging!
This is also why Ye Xuanming and the other heads of the great gate valve families were so furious with Ye Ze'an.
From their perspective, Ye Ze'an was indeed an ungrateful, bridge-breaking villain!
Ye Ze'an looked at the silent young man next to him and said with difficulty:
"I had thought I wouldn't see this day in my lifetime, wouldn't take this step, but fortunately, there's you in the Da Lan Dynasty now."
"..."
As Li Fei stayed silent, there was a knock at the door behind him.
"Master, may I come in?"
It was Hu Tingzhong's voice.
Li Fei looked at Ye Ze'an, who nodded slightly.
Thus, he opened the door with his force, allowing Hu Tingzhong to enter.
Outside the courtyard, the heads of the Ten Gate Valves had already left with their unconscious guards.
"Master!"
Hu Tingzhong entered the room and, upon seeing Ye Ze'an on the bed, burst into tears and fell to his knees.
Since Ye Ze'an's severe illness, he had seen no one, and even Hu Tingzhong, his favored student, had not seen him for several months.
He did not expect that in just a few months, Ye Ze'an's condition would deteriorate to this extent.
As the current Grand Secretary, Ye Ze'an naturally enjoyed the best medical care.
Not only that, but he could also procure elixirs for prolonging life.
But he was already ninety-three years old, and for an ordinary person without cultivation, all the means of life extension had been exhausted, reaching their limit.
Even Li Fei, with his status as the World's Number One in cultivation, was powerless.
"Tingzhong..."
Ye Ze'an reached out with a hand that was only skin and bones.
Hu Tingzhong quickly grasped it: "Master, I'm here! I'm here!"
"You are my student. You will inevitably be implicated by me in this... but it does not matter. Over the years, your hands have remained clean..."
"Master, I..."
"Listen to me... Even if misunderstood and suppressed, it does not matter. You are cherished by the Emperor, and there will come a time for your resurgence."
"Yes, rest assured, Master, I will not disappoint your expectations!"
Ye Ze'an turned his head to look at Li Fei:
"Li Fei, I entrust this student of mine to you..."
Li Fei pursed his lips: "Very well."
Ye Ze'an's elderly face broke into a childlike smile:
"Those people always think my student could never become Grand Secretary because he lacks background... Cough cough cough... Hahaha... I have found him the World's Number One as his background. Who can compete with that?"
Li Fei said nothing, while Hu Tingzhong was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Having spoken so much, Ye Ze'an appeared exhausted.
He paused, finally saying:
"To obliterate the Gate Valve Families completely in a short time is impossible... kill some, suppress some, and draw some in... I have paved the path for you, so do not be impatient."