Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 334: The Unsophisticated Minister

Li Zisheng left the palace.

He was sent off by the Internal Minister Tan Chang, and the arrangement was made by the emperor himself.

Li Zisheng originally thought that Qin Chang would have something to tell him on the way, but when they were almost at the Meridian Gate, Qin Chang didn't say a word. He wanted to talk to Qin Chang several times along the way, but Qin Chang avoided him with a smile.

After leaving the palace and Qin Chang turned back, Li Zisheng realized that the emperor asked Qin Chang to send him out of the palace just to show his respect for him.

"I am a Taoist priest who served as a minister, but now I am a minister entrusted with the care of an orphan. Who would believe me if I told them this?"

Li Zisheng felt quite helpless.

When he got home, he sat in the main hall, closed his eyes and thought, and hardly moved for an hour.

It was not until Pang Qing came back from outside and heard that Li Zisheng was sitting quietly in the main hall, which was contrary to his usual behavior, that he hurried to see his employer in surprise.

"Master Dao?"

After Pang Qing entered the room, he walked straight to Li Zisheng and gave him a reminder.

Li Zisheng didn't look up, but slowly opened his eyes, shook his head and sighed, saying: "Bingkun, do you think that I am always laughing and joking, never making things difficult for you, always treating people with kindness, not liking to make enemies in the court, and not often going to the government office? I am just an idle person who fishes in troubled waters?"

Pang Qing said aggrievedly: "Master Dao, please don't say that. I have something to do today..."

At this time, Pang Qing thought that Li Zisheng wanted to tell him, don't think I'm easy to talk to, you're not home all day, I can't find you even if I want to, and you're leaving me here waiting...

"Ugh!"

Unexpectedly, Li Zisheng was not what Pang Qing thought. He sighed heavily and said, "But a person like me who knows nothing has become an important minister entrusted by His Majesty. Can you believe it?"

Pang Qing asked in surprise: "Trust the orphan? Who? The crown prince?"

"What's the matter? Can I only entrust my orphan to the Crown Prince?"

Li Zisheng glared at his staff and asked, "Can't others do the same?"

Pang Qing seemed speechless.

I thought to myself, look at what you said, you are not the prince's trusted minister, so what are you sighing about here?
Do others need help?

"It's Concubine Shao and her son..."

Li Zisheng's words answered Pang Qing's questions and cleared up his confusion.

Pang Qing asked, "Your Majesty...what's wrong? Why did you mention such a serious matter as entrusting an orphan to someone else? Daoshi, this matter is full of evil spirits. You must clear yourself up. We must not deviate from the principle."

I'm just about to remind Li Zisheng that you are the prince's man now, and from now on you can only support the prince and not be indecisive.

You must know that you are now in a very dangerous situation. If you don't know how to restrain yourself and keep taking on jobs everywhere, you are simply seeking death, isn't it?
"How could I not be aware of my situation?"

Li Zisheng smiled bitterly, "But His Majesty insisted that the Fourth and Fifth Princes worship me as their teacher, and also told me something about life and death, and whether the Crown Prince would treat Concubine Shao and her son well after ascending the throne. What do you think...what can I do? Can I tell His Majesty that I don't have the ability to be a teacher to the two princes?"

Pang Qing said: "You really should tell the truth."

Li Zisheng waved his hands and said, "Impossible! Your Majesty has been so kind to me. Everything I have now was given by Your Majesty. Even if I have to go through fire and water, I cannot frown. I cannot ignore Your Majesty's trust for my own future. Otherwise, I would be disloyal, unfilial, unkind and unjust!"

"Okay!"

Pang Qing raised his thumb and praised: "Your Excellency Dao is truly the most loyal minister of our Ming Dynasty, you deserve it!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Li Zisheng shouted, "That's enough, stop talking nonsense. I'm still worried about this matter."

"Master Tao."

Pang Qing asked tentatively, "Let me ask you something unpleasant. Why did His Majesty suddenly entrust Concubine Shao and her son to you? Does His Majesty intend to change the crown prince?"

"Why do you say that?"

Li Zisheng frowned and looked at him.

Pang Qing said as a matter of course: "At this critical juncture, you have extraordinary influence in the court. You will definitely support whoever you are the teacher of. Does His Majesty want you to...support the Fourth Prince to ascend the throne in the future? And...my words may not be pleasant to hear. I am just discussing the matter at hand."

"How is this possible?"

Li Zisheng said, "Your Majesty didn't mention a word about changing the crown prince, and even told me all the good things about the crown prince, thinking that the crown prince is kind and filial, and will never mistreat his mother, concubines, brothers and sisters. But Your Majesty is not very confident about those civil officials in the court who claim to be loyal and righteous, and thinks that they may put pressure on the crown prince in the future to punish those who are related to Concubine Wan."

Pang Qing murmured, "No matter what, it won't involve Concubine Shao and her son, right? In this world, how can a son who is known for his benevolence and filial piety be so mean to his stepmother and his younger brothers and sisters?"

Li Zisheng nodded: "That's what I said at the time, but His Majesty had this concern and asked me to protect Concubine Shao and her son. What do you think I can say?"

"That's why I think that Your Majesty may be hinting that you will change the crown prince in the future, or leave a will or something to abolish the crown prince's position. In the future... maybe you will come forward to support the fourth prince to ascend the throne." Pang Qing speculated.

"Ah? Is that what you mean?"

Li Zisheng stood up suddenly.

Perhaps because he felt that this matter was too serious, almost like treason, Li Zisheng was so nervous that he had to pace back and forth to calm his agitated heart.

Li Zisheng pondered for a long time, but finally shook his head: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! The prince's position is too stable now. He has already taken office in Wenhua Palace. Do you know how much praise the lecturers in the Eastern Palace have given him now?

"Everyone who has come into contact with the prince says that he is not only benevolent and filial, but also a role model. When he is in charge of affairs in Wenhua Palace, he often makes surprising remarks and has unique views on things. Even old hands like Wan'an and Liu Ji are often unable to cope with him."

"Really?" Pang Qing shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Is this still the foolish and incompetent prince as rumored?
Li Zisheng said: "At first, I didn't quite believe it, but this matter is completely plausible. You said that before the prince got married, there was an earthquake like Mount Tai, and it seemed that even the heavens favored him. And after he got married, everything he did, which one was not awesome?
"Let's talk about Liang Fang, for example. He is the most powerful person in the court. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is second to none. I don't think I can fight him. He was defeated by the prince in a series of moves. Do you think this is something that an incompetent person can do? Even His Majesty can't find any fault with the prince's ability now."

Pang Qing smiled bitterly and said, "The capable person you are talking about is Zhang Laizhan, who is good at calculating, and not the prince, right?"

When Li Zisheng heard this, there was a bit more friendliness and kindness in his eyes.

He nodded slightly and said, "Yes, ever since the prince had Zhang Laizhan as his powerful assistant, his momentum has been unstoppable. But doesn't everything still depend on me? I have paved a lot of ground for Laizhan, right?"

"hehe."

Pang Qing was laughing, and his mocking look seemed to be saying, who is paving the way for whom?

"With Lai Zhan's help, the prince has become a competent crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. So I don't believe your Majesty's intention to change the crown prince. Your Majesty has more and more trust in the prince. The so-called entrustment is just to let me take good care of Concubine Shao and her son, and it does not mean that I should instigate a change of crown prince."

When Li Zisheng said this, there was still some doubt in his expression.

Obviously, he couldn't guarantee that he could fully understand the emperor's true intentions at the moment.

Pang Qing said: "Master Dao, let me ask you a question, does Your Majesty want to change the crown prince only because the crown prince is incompetent, and there are no other reasons involved?"

"This……"

Li Zisheng looked a little unhappy, and frowned, "I have had similar concerns before, and I think that Your Majesty may feel that the Crown Prince... is not his biological son.

"This rumor was originally started by Concubine Wan and Liang Fang, and spread widely among some people. But today, I heard your Majesty's address and evaluation of the late Concubine Ji, and I know that your Majesty has no doubts about the prince's background."

"I see."

Pang Qing was relieved and said thoughtfully, "That means that Your Majesty trusts the Crown Prince very much and will entrust the foundation of the country to him in the future. There will be no changes?"

"Bingkun, Bingkun, although your words are often unpleasant to the ear, when you think about them carefully, you feel that your words are like Zen, which is thought-provoking."

Li Zisheng shook his head.

Pang Qing smiled and said, "Master Dao, you are overpraising me. I was just talking nonsense."

Li Zisheng asked, "After hearing what you said, it suddenly occurred to me that your Majesty only asked me to take care of the orphan, why didn't he ask Wan An and Liu Ji to take care of the orphan? Logically speaking, they are cabinet ministers, outstanding civil officials, and can even be said to be prime ministers of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't it more practical and effective to entrust the mother and son of Concubine Shao to them than to tell me?"

Pang Qing smiled slightly and asked, "Have you thought of it?"

"What? You expected it a long time ago, but you deliberately didn't tell me?"

Li Zisheng frowned and looked at Pang Qing angrily.

Pang Qing asked, "Master Dao, have you not noticed that Elder Wan and Elder Liu have not visited our residence in the past month? Have you not felt that they are planning to leave you aside and let them discuss matters among themselves?"

Li Zisheng frowned and asked in a cold voice: "Really? I met them in the government office before, but I didn't think they were anything special..."

Pang Qing shook his head and said, "That's because you didn't go down there. The people from the factions of Elder Wan and Elder Liu are even starting to distance themselves from us on purpose, and they seem to be determined not to have any contact with us until death.

"As for the meaning conveyed above, the people below understand it most clearly. At first, I thought that they might think that after Liang Fang's downfall, you have become their biggest enemy, and they are guarding against you, but now it seems... maybe there is another hidden story."

"What's the secret?"

Li Zisheng stared at Pang Qing and shouted, "You mean, they want to go against me and don't intend to...hiss..."

Having said this, Li Zisheng suddenly fell silent.

Pang Qing wanted to say something, but was directly kicked out of the house by Li Zisheng.

"Leave me alone while I review the whole thing. No need to call me for lunch."

Li Zisheng ordered.

Pang Qing asked, "Aren't you going to talk to Zhang Banxian about curing His Majesty's illness?"

"Let it go first."

Li Zisheng said, "Let me figure this out first."

……

……

After noon, Li Zisheng still hadn't come out of the main hall.

No one in the Li Mansion had any idea what Li Zisheng was doing, and Pang Qing did not leave to do his own thing, as if he was waiting for Li Zisheng to "break out of the cocoon and be reborn."

When the sun set in the west, there was still no sign of movement from Li Zisheng. Unexpectedly, a servant came to the door and reported: "Master Pang, there are guests at the door."

Pang Qing turned his face away and shouted, "Do you think I am interested in receiving guests now?"

"It is Zhang Luan, the Minister of the Honglu Temple."

The servant reported, "This is a visiting card."

"Who? Quickly... lead me out... to welcome you..."

(End of this chapter)