The zheng tells the minister that he will be punished by the academy if the incident is his fault, but the minister says that if it is not, the academy will punish him for saving face. The minister tells the zheng that the academy was founded by the government 77 years ago, and that it is the most impartial academy in the country. He says that the empress's party has already infiltrated the Ministry of War. The empress is waiting for the chance to install her men in the ministry, and the academy is the perfect place for her to do so. If the academy can quickly purge all the officials who were involved in the incident, the civilians will believe that they were just dirty deeds carried out by some minions. As long as this remains a secret, she will not punish the academy for her reputation.