The True Mastermind

Lily Evans sat down and spoke slowly, "Today at the teacher appreciation banquet, I was challenged by Liu Yi, and after leaving the palace, I was confronted by Old Man Hu. At first glance, it seems like all this trouble is simply because I'm a woman, which makes some people unhappy. But if you think about it more deeply, something doesn't add up."

First of all, Professor Su Yu is a woman—this was something Liu Yi himself revealed at the banquet. There aren't many people in this world who know Su Yu's true identity, so how did Liu Yi find out? Who told him I was a woman, and who urged him to risk offending the Prince of Qin's household to expose me, and to go against me?

Lily paused, frowned, and said, "Liu Yi's involvement is the first suspicious point."

Next, I ran into Old Man Hu at the palace gates, who brought several senior staff from Wutong Academy to pressure me into handing over my authority. If we say rumors spread fast and they simply heard the news, I wouldn't be surprised. But why, as soon as Old Man Hu found out I was a woman, could he rally hundreds of people, dress them up as scholars, and have everything planned in advance, ready to kneel and petition at the palace gates?

That leaves only one possibility: Old Man Hu must have known my identity long ago. He timed everything perfectly, prepared early, and just waited for the palace news to break before blocking my way! As for those fickle senior staff from Wutong Academy, they probably had no idea and were just dragged along by Old Man Hu to serve as pawns.

My identity was so well hidden—how could Old Man Hu have known in advance? That's the second suspicious point. From these two doubts, it's clear that someone knew I was a woman all along and wanted to use this as a breakthrough to force me to hand over the authority of both academies.

Lily paused again, and Alexander Hayes nodded, "Your analysis is spot on, my dear. Liu Yi and Old Man Hu definitely knew you were a woman beforehand and had everything arranged in advance. It's very likely they coordinated their actions ahead of time."

"Exactly. They must have conspired ahead of time—otherwise, how could Liu Yi expose me in the palace and Old Man Hu immediately block me outside?" Lily nodded in agreement, then smiled, "The person who knows Professor Su Yu is actually a woman, has motive and history of exposing me, and holds a grudge against me is quite obvious: Gregory Gu Jr., the former Imperial Grand Tutor who fled to Chu and became Prime Minister."

After Lily finished speaking, Alexander Hayes pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Lily poured herself another cup of tea, her gaze growing somber. She sighed, "All this reasoning, every piece of evidence, points to Gregory Gu Jr. as the mastermind. Before, he tried to smear me as a witch through Sophie White, and now, it seems perfectly logical that he'd make me give up my beloved Dean position. No matter how I look at it, it all seems to be his doing. But..."

Lily sighed, turning her teacup in her hands as she fell into deep thought. "But I can't help feeling that things aren't as simple as they seem... The reasoning is too straightforward, the mastermind too easy to identify. It feels more like a deliberate misdirection, a trap to hide the real culprit..."

Alexander Hayes lowered his voice and looked at Lily, "Then, my dear, who do you think the real mastermind is?"

Lily frowned in thought, then suddenly shuddered, "Alexander, I still remember what Sophie White said to you before she died, in prison. She claimed she never meant to poison you, but was tricked by someone. When you told me, I thought she was lying, but now, thinking back, it seems she might have been telling the truth..."