The Minister Is Here: Season Two

Synopsis of The Minister Is Here, Season 2 Shen Du is “dead.” With Yun Qingluo by his side, Xiao Zhao has grown into Shen Du’s likeness. He learned to sit upright on the dragon throne, to weigh the court officials against one another, and to bury his emotions deep in his bones. From a young emperor sheltered by others, he has grown into a strategist able to match wits with the entire court. But in the end, he is not Shen Du. Shen Du killed with a blade. Xiao Zhao kills with rules. He understands better than anyone: a blade cannot kill the rules. Only rules can kill the rules. The Lin faction has grown powerful, the imperial in-laws meddle in politics, and the mess left by the late emperor has the court gasping for breath. Xiao Zhao moves carefully, step by step, promoting men from humble backgrounds, reforming the canal transport system, and auditing military pay, wresting back power from the old ministers inch by inch. But no one knows he is doing all this for a dead man. Until that confession edict lands in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. “Shen Du assassinated the emperor. I knew.” “I knew and said nothing. That is my crime. The court knew and said nothing. That is the court’s crime.” He pins himself to the confession edict and binds the entire court to the same boat. Three days. Three hundred edicts. Either they all die together, or they drag the late emperor out and whip his corpse. To overturn the verdict, he must first overturn the late emperor’s legacy. The target is the late emperor. The wager is Shen Du. In a small courtyard outside the city, the man who “died” three years ago finally sets down his book and looks toward the capital. He had anticipated Xiao Zhao’s every move, but there was one thing he never foresaw: That the young emperor he had protected with his life for twelve years would stake everything to win justice for him. This time, he is not in court, not in the history books, and not by his side. Yet he will still make sure Shen Du hears him: Your servant is here.