The mansion was guarded by middle-level Qi-refining cultivators. So, when Lu Yan suddenly heard a voice right outside the door, he had been frightened. Since there wasn’t a warning from the mansion, it was likely that the guards had been subdued. Essentially, if someone had come to assassinate him, then Lu Yan was in a critical situation. After all, he wouldn’t bring many of his guards when he met his beauty privately.

As a high-level Qi-refining cultivator, Lu Yan was not afraid of assassination. He could escape if he couldn’t win. The real reason for Lu Yan’s surprise was that he feared that the other party had been sent by his wife. If he was caught by his wife when he was with the beauty, then he would get into big trouble. After all, once his family’s scandal had spread, his reputation would be damaged and he would have no chance at becoming the prime minister.

When he realized that the person who came to the door was Li Ye, Lu Yan wasn’t relieved, but even more shocked.

Why is Li Ye here?

It was totally unreasonable!

Lu Yan was confused and ignored what Li Ye said.

“Nice to meet you, Duke Lu.” Li Ye entered through the door and greeted Lu Yan, making an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest.

“Prince An? Why are you here?” Lu Yan looked at Li Ye incredibly, full of vigilance. If Li Ye hadn’t the Grand Prince, but a common person, Lu Yan would have already attacked him.

The beauty shrank behind Lu Yan and showed only her two eyes. She stared at Li Ye without blinking, like a frightened rabbit.

Li Ye smiled helplessly. “I know it’s rash to come and see you in this way, but I want to talk to you about something secretive and I don’t want others to overhear. That’s why I came here. Hoping that you would understand.”

Again, he made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest.

There was no hatred between Lu Yan and Li Ye. In Li Ye’s Last Life, Lu Yan hadn’t harmed Li Ye. Because, in the near future, Lu Yan would be forced out of Chang’an City by Wei Baoheng because he would fail to frame Wei Baoheng and compete for the position of prime minister.

Lu Yan kept silent for a moment, then laughed. “Your Highness, you really have good timing. After the event at Cloud-engulfed Mountain, all the people of Chang’an City praised you. But, now I know that even though everyone is looking up at you, in fact, they are still underestimating you.”

With that, Lu Yan regained his composure, and the etiquette of an important official returned to him. He asked the beauty to step down and the servants to prepare tea and refreshments. Then he asked Li Ye to sit down and said, “Now that you’re here, please sit down.”

It was obvious that he wanted to know Li Ye’s intention first.

Li Ye smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Li Ye was not surprised that Lu Yan calmed down so quickly. After all, he was one of the countable important ministers in the court. So, his temperament was not bad. Although, in essence, Lu Yan was not a good person. However, being a good person and having outstanding talents were irrelevant.

After sitting down, Lu Yan began to flatter Li Ye. “I have heard of your deeds on Niushou Mountain and I wanted to visit you. Unfortunately, I have been too busy to pay a visit as soon as possible. Please don’t blame me.”

Li Ye also began flattering Lu Yan. “Your prestige reverberates like thunder. Everyone in the world knows you. It’s my great pleasure to talk to you.”

After saying that, he pretended to sigh. “Only after seeing you today, was I able to know how mean people in the world are. No matter how much praise they give you, they still can’t show you their demeanor to the fullest extent. Today I ventured to come here. Ordinary people must either regard me as an enemy or act nervously, but you’re calm. Only celebrities of ancient and modern times have such demeanor.”

“Thanks a lot. You came here with calmness, which shows your great confidence. In the past, the old Prince An was famous and admired by the whole world. Although you are young, you already show the same demeanor of your father. It is true that the tiger father will not beget a dog son.” Lu Yan pretended to be modest

Although Lu Yan came here to meet the beauty, he still brought masters to protect him. However, the masters had yet to appear. Obviously, they had been controlled by Li Ye. It could be seen that Li Ye had brought more powerful masters. That was why Lu Yan said Li Ye had been confident.

The two greeted and flattered each other. Lu Yan kept expecting his guards to come and control the situation and regain the initiative. Li Ye was trying to let Lu Yan know that his guards weren’t going to come.

After a while, the beauty served tea and refreshments with her maid, Lu Yan felt cornered and Li Ye was still talking.

Although the beauty didn’t understand the affairs of officialdom, she could see that Lu Yan had lost control of the situation. She had followed Lu Yan for several years, and this was the first time she saw this kind of situation. She could not help but glance at Li Ye several times, but she couldn’t find anything. She only found that the young person in front of her was really handsome. So much so that she lost her heart.

But, she couldn’t stare at Li Ye for much longer, because Lu Yan waved her out, which made the beauty feel a little disappointed.

“I came here hoping to make an alliance with you to deal with Wei Baoheng.” After the greeting, Li Ye, who took the initiative, directly spoke his purpose.

Lu Yan hadn’t expected Li Ye to be so direct. The hand holding the tea bowl he had been lifting to his mouth stopped and he didn’t drink it.

“What do you mean?” Lu Yan didn’t understand Li Ye’s intention and gave him the runaround.

Li Ye spoke directly and sincerely, “I don’t need to tell you what Wei Baoheng has done since he became the prime minister. Such a crafty sycophant deserves to be expelled from the court. In my opinion, you are the best choice for the ruling prime minister.”

Lu Yan’s tea bowl was at his lips and he wanted to take a sip to hide his embarrassment. Suddenly he heard Li Ye’s words and was shocked again. He put down his tea bowl and looked at Li Ye directly. “Your Highness…”

Li Ye waved his hand, not wanting to talk too much with Lu Yan. “That’s also Duke Wang’s thoughts. If you want to share the burden of the country, Duke Wang and I will support you.

Lu Yan was speechless.

He calculated in his mind quickly.

He had just told the beauty that he wanted to replace Wei Baoheng, but he needed to draw some ministers over to his side because of the limitation of his power.

The current situation was Li Ye would provide him with the help that he needed.

With the help of Wang Duo, Lu Yan’s power would undoubtedly rise to a different level.

Wang Duo was not just a person. He represented a group of people. There were many parties in the court. The power of Wang Duo’s team wasn’t too powerful. But, now that Wei Baoheng had lost Li Guanshu and Kang Chengxun, Lu Yan and Wang Duo would be powerful enough to compete with Wei Baoheng.

Lu Yan was moved!

Lu Yan, who felt moved, immediately asked a crucial question, “What’s your gain in all of this?”

He meant what did Li Ye want from Lu Yan in return?

If Li Ye and Wang Duo succeeded in helping Lu Yan in replacing Wei Baoheng, then that great power would be in the hands of Lu Yan and he would gain the most wealth. What would Li Ye and Wang Duo get?

At this time, if Li Ye still said that Wei Baoheng was a treacherous minister and they believed that Lu Yan would be a good and important minister and they hoped that Lu Yan would eliminate the corrupt and rectify the Imperial Court, Lu Yan wouldn’t believe him and would immediately refuse to ally with Li Ye and Wang Duo.

No one would believe such a grand reason. They were in the officialdom and what they paid attention to was the actual interests of power distribution. If Li Ye said so, it meant that he wasn’t being honest. Insincerity indicated evil intentions.

“When you succeed in taking the place of Wei Baoheng, please let Duke Wang take charge of the Department of Finance. I am now working in the Chang’an Office and will take charge of it in the future.” Li Ye said truthfully.

Of the six ministries, the Ministry of Appointment was the most important one. Because it controlled the appointment and promotion of all officials. The Ministry of Finance could bring wealth because it was in charge of taxes and transportation. As for the importance of the Chang’an Office, it was apparent.

Lu Yan was silent. If Li Ye had said that he wanted to be in charge of the Ministry of Appointment, he would certainly not agree. If Li Ye had the authority of appointment and promotion, then his power as prime minister would be reduced and the position’s power would be in name only.

However, Li Ye wanted the Ministry of Finance, and Lu Yan also felt that pain. However, his fundamentals would not be influenced even though he felt the pain. After all, when he became the prime minister, he could still gain wealth from the Ministry of Finance.

As for the Chang’an Office, Li Ye could control it with his own influence. And, although the Chang’an Office was important, its power had been limited within Chang’an City.

Lu Yan didn’t doubt Li Ye’s intentions but was trying to calculate his gains and losses.

Seeing that Li Ye remained calm the entire time, he thought more highly of Li Ye.

Now, Li Ye knew Lu Yan’s weakness. If he told Lu Yan’s wife that her husband had a beauty outside their home, Lu Yan would be in great trouble and wouldn’t compete for the position of the Prime Minister anymore.

Li Ye promised him benefits while knowing his weakness. Lu Yan had to cooperate with him.

What’s more, Li Ye had spoken honestly about his intentions today. If Lu Yan disagreed, they would become enemies in the future.

Lu Yan suddenly remembered a rumor he heard.

It was an emperor who appointed Li Ye as the Vice Magistrate of the Chang’an Office.

At last, Lu Yan sighed, “People all over the world say that the Old Prince An was versed in both literature and military affairs and guarded the whole country. Now it seems that you can inherit the Old Prince An’s business and maybe you will surpass him.”

After that, Lu Yan stood up and made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before his chest to Li Ye. “It’s my good fortune to be able to conspire with you on important matters and to share our country.”

That meant he agreed to ally with Li Ye.

Li Ye stood up and grasped Lu Yan’s hand. He was very excited and said, “Duke Lu, you’re talented. As long as we go ahead hand in hand, those dirty dogs will withdraw and our goals will be achieved!”

They clasped each other’s hands, and their gazes were firm. They were like two loyal ministers who were going to sacrifice themselves for their country.

…

After performing in the mansion with Lu Yan, Li Ye shook hands as he walked out.

Song Jiao, who had been controlling Lu Yan’s guards while Li Ye was talking with Lu Yan, appeared like a ghost and asked Li Ye in a low voice, “Deal?”

Li Ye nodded. “Let’s go back to the manor and then talk about it.”

Because of the help of the intelligence department set up by Song Jiao, Li Ye could find the place where Lu Yan hid his beauty.

As soon as they returned to Prince An’s Manor, Song Jiao was eager to ask Li Ye, “Will Lu Yan become the next Wei Baoheng when he becomes the prime minister?”

Li Ye smiled and said, “He wants to be the ruling prime minister. How can it be so simple? You really think I will be satisfied to take charge of the Ministry of Finance?”

Song Jiao understood and looked at Li Ye strangely. “So you and Wang Duo are going to gain the benefits when Wei Baoheng and Lu Yan are competing?”

Li Ye said, “That’s not my goal. Duke Wang must do his best in this matter otherwise Wei Baoheng won’t be defeated. As for the distribution of interests after the success of the matter… it will become another power competition.”

Song Jiao nodded. “What can you gain?”

Li Ye smiled and said, “We won’t talk about any further benefit. At present, there is a ready-made surprise. Previously, I had thought that Xu Shaomu, the Magistrate of the Chang’an Office, was Wei Baoheng’s subordinate. But, just now, Lu Yan told me he that he isn’t.”