Imperial Court Factions

This is a closer look at the factions in the Imperial Court. Bright yellow is the Emperor's own faction, or at least supposedly part of the Emperor's faction. Light yellow is the neutral faction, which includes the Minister of Public Works,  and now also Kayla as the head of the Court of Judicial Review. Light green represents the Grand Duke's faction, which over the course of three generations of Emperors has grown to monopolize the Three Departments and much of the Six Ministries. However, both Liu Hongyu and He Shirang have been deposed, weakening the Grand Duke's stronghold over the court.

Light pink represents Xianchun's faction. After winning over Minister Jun Shao of the Ministry of Personnel, Xianchun's ally Lord Liang was appointed as the Minister of Justice from his original position in the Hanlin Academy. As such, Xianchun has a good amount of sway over two ministries. On the other hand, light blue-purple represents Kuang's faction. Kuang formerly had the support of Liu Hongyu (and thereby the Grand Duke), but that support was very much contingent on the Grand Duke's faction having a good amount of power over the Third Prince's actions. As such, Kuang was more than happy to let Liu Hongyu get deposed and for the subsequent reorganization of the court. A lot of this stems from Kuang's recruitment of many mid and low-ranking officials in each institution, and none of the institutions of the court could function without these officials despite their relatively insignificant ranks. That's why Kuang's light blue encompasses the Six Departments, due to his ability to win over court officials. As new spots open up with Kayla stirring the waters, some of Kuang's men are also attaining higher-ranking positions, such as Zhang Dingyong, who is now the second-highest ranking man in the Ministry of Justice, as well as Ma Kaijie, who is now the Vice-Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.