Peter Scott remained unafraid and instead asked forcefully, “If Your Majesty does not believe these people have been isolating the court from the outside recently, then with all the favor Your Majesty has shown these old ministers, why are you only now questioning this matter?”

John Harrison was left speechless. Arthur Lee was struck with terror, Henry Carter said nothing, only kowtowing repeatedly, and even Charles Young, standing just inside the palace doors, could not help but change his expression.

At this moment, John Harrison’s incompetence as an ordinary student was laid bare. He could share hardships and lower himself to win people’s hearts; he could even imitate some petty scheming from TV dramas with ease. But when it came to actually ordering punishment—especially knowing full well that the crime of isolating the court was a grave offense anywhere, possibly even costing lives—when the moment truly arrived, he hesitated.

“I just fell into a well. The prime ministers arranged for the eunuchs and imperial guards to shield me; perhaps their intentions were not bad.” With this thought, as if possessed, John Harrison actually began to make excuses for those people.

Upon hearing this, Henry Carter, who had been tense for half a day, nearly collapsed to the ground.

“Whether their intentions were bad or not can be easily verified.” Clearly, Peter Scott had come prepared. “I ask Your Majesty to summon all the ministers, check the memorials, and see if any civil or military memorials have been intercepted by these traitors! If so, that is their crime; if not, then I am the one stirring up trouble and slandering the prime ministers!”

John Harrison and Arthur Lee, who had wanted to speak, were left utterly speechless, while Henry Carter was thrown into utter despair, nearly breaking down.

The reason was simple: Mr. Harrison, who had only recently become acquainted with the Song system, might need time to understand the intricacies, but the experienced Mr. Carter knew that Peter Scott’s final move was like a decisive goal in a game of cuju, essentially pronouncing political death on him and his small faction. In fact, with things having reached this point, even the direction of future events was no longer in Mr. Harrison’s control...

Indeed, as Charles Young had hinted earlier, the political system of the Song dynasty was set: the roles of the censors and Hanlin scholars, the connections between the prime ministers, eunuchs, Privy Council, and Imperial Guards—all interlocked. Mr. Harrison was neither stupid nor mad; for the prime ministers and eunuchs to jointly control the inner palace was nothing short of a fantasy.

Even if Mr. Harrison truly lost his wits, they would still need Consort Pan to appear with the imperial heir for even a slim chance of success.

Back to the present, what made Mr. Carter most resentful was that, with things having come to this, Wang Yuan and Charles Young might be pardoned for being “rough warriors,” Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan might merely be expelled for being prime ministers, but he, Mr. Carter, would likely be killed or exiled to Shamen Island simply for being a eunuch—because he once enjoyed the emperor’s favor, a favor that had vanished without a trace just over ten days ago!

The day before yesterday, he was a powerful chief eunuch, almost equal to the prime ministers; yesterday, he was confident of victory, thinking everything was under control; today, a single impeachment by a censor in front of a vice prime minister might cost him his life!

Such was the political game of the old era.

John Harrison had also come to understand the intricacies, yet remained silent, for he was now weighing and analyzing the situation further in his mind:

At this point, first, he had to keep Peter Scott! He had to employ Peter Scott! Because whether out of opportunism or sincerity, this was the first proper minister to publicly make an anti-Jin political declaration for him. For that, he was even prepared to tolerate Li Gang’s arrogance—let alone a clever man who could read his intentions.

Resisting the Jin was the main task, the core contradiction!

Second, if he kept Peter Scott, then he could not stop this attack initiated by Peter Scott, and in that case, he also had to protect Charles Young. By the same logic, even if the “national enmity and family hatred” was an act, this The Young Family Tiger General was now his personal safeguard.

However, at the same time, John Harrison could not help but worry about one person: the now dazed and slumped Henry CarterMr. Carter on the ground... At this point, it was not just a matter of a modern man’s reluctance to kill; he also had to worry whether, when he came up from the well, he had left any leverage in this man’s hands, and what Charles Young’s attitude toward him was.

Thinking of this, John Harrison couldn’t help but look up at Charles Young standing inside the palace doors... only to find that, at this very moment, the other was also nervously watching him.

The two locked eyes for a while, both silently trying to guess the other’s intentions, when Henry Carter on the ground noticed this scene, completely lost his composure, and immediately flipped over to kowtow:

“Everyone, do not be deceived by Charles Young and Peter Scott; these two are cut from the same cloth! They may appear righteous, but in truth, they only serve petty men! They’re just putting on a show because they see Your Majesty’s change of heart! Let it be known: in Tokyo, Peter Scott was cowardly and afraid to die; when the country fell, he could not die for his principles, only hiding in the Imperial Academy and playing dead! Charles Young was always obsequious to me in private—even when I was washing my feet, he would stand by and serve! How can anyone trust such petty men?!”

Hearing this, John Harrison instead made up his mind, and directly waved to Charles Young. Seeing the clear signal, Charles Young, now equally resolute, dared not delay, stepped forward, and pinned down Henry Carter, who might have said even more, then prepared to drag him out of the hall.