Gu Chengyu speculated that the aristocratic families had already been significantly weakened. Among the noble sons and younger generations, few were talented, and most had already shown signs of decline. Whether Emperor Huiming had a hand in this, Gu Chengyu did not know. Nor was he aware if there were any who pretended to be foolish but were wise within these families, hiding their talents and biding their time.
He only knew that Xia Qing's power had made the Emperor start to become wary. Now, the Emperor would surely support an official or family to counterbalance Xia Qing, wouldn't this be the best opportunity for him to climb upwards?
