Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 348 It’s Time to Change

Li Zisheng received the imperial order and was very proud of himself. He thought that he would become the most powerful person in the capital after the emperor went into retreat.

But when he went to the Ministry of Personnel and wanted to discuss something with the Minister of Personnel Li Yu, he was told that Li Yu had gone to visit the Chief Minister of the Cabinet Wan'an.

"What does it mean?"

Li Zisheng looked annoyed and shouted, "Didn't I inform you in advance that I would come to the Ministry of Personnel today? Could it be that I, Li, can't speak well, and Li Yu must report to the Prime Minister to do serious work? I really don't believe it. I won't see him today!"

Xu Qiong, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, received a message from Shangshu Li Yu and hurried back from outside. He met Li Zisheng and went into the side hall to talk with him.

Xu Qiong introduced the situation he had learned: "The cabinet has passed on the emperor's oral order, saying that the emperor will go to the Izumo Temple to practice in seclusion for half a month. During this period, only the Minister of the Ministry of Rites can enter and leave the Taoist temple at will to pass on the emperor's messages. Even the eunuchs are not allowed to set foot in the Taoist temple."

"what?"

Li Zisheng felt like he was struck by lightning when he heard this.

In the past, his close relationship with the emperor, or the power to see the emperor in person, was the only way for him to survive and become prominent in the court.

To put it bluntly, he can see the emperor at any time, while others cannot do that, so he seems so important, because his words represent the emperor's will.

Before the emperor went into seclusion this time, he specifically asked him to do a few things on his behalf. He once thought that he had become the emperor's spokesperson, but now he learned that Deng Chang'en had the authority to enter and exit the Taoist temple where the emperor was in seclusion at will, and could even convey the emperor's oral instructions. Only then did he understand why he was treated so coldly today in the Ministry of Personnel, an office that used to be as free as his own backyard.

Xu Qiong said tentatively: "If you have anything to ask us to do, just tell us. The people below will handle it as soon as possible, but Minister Li has been busy with official duties recently, so I'm afraid he doesn't have the time to receive you."

"Humph!"

Li Zisheng said coldly: "I understand. In the eyes of some people, I have lost my position and am not worth mentioning, so they avoid me!"

"You can't say that."

Xu Qiong looked ashamed, but could only force himself to say, "I need you to give me more advice on the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel this year."

"Okay. I know what you mean. The world is so fickle these days. I will never blame anyone. I can only blame myself for not being able to make pills or practice Taoism. It seems that I am not good enough in my studies."

Li Zisheng's words clearly implied that the reason why Deng Chang'en was in favor now was all due to crooked means.

Li Zisheng did not make things difficult for Xu Qiong.

No matter what, Xu Qiong was promoted by himself, and Xu Qiong was also Zhang Luan's brother-in-law. He had no reason to glare at a "family member", so he went straight home.

"Master Dao, please don't be angry. Let the Jiaofangsi make good arrangements today. You can go over and have a drink. If possible, invite Zhang Hanlin over as well to discuss this together."

Pang Qing saw Li Zisheng coming back dejected, asked about the situation, and then tried to persuade him.

Li Zisheng said: "I feel unhappy. Can drinking some wine make me feel better?"

Pang Qing said: "A little drunkenness can relieve a thousand worries."

"That depends on who you drink with."

Li Zisheng stood up and said, "Let's make the arrangements. Let Lai Zhan go with me... Oh, and call the second kid from the Zhang family. That kid is very shrewd, so let him help with some advice."

……

……

That night, Li Zisheng arranged a banquet in the Jiaofangsi.

He came in a low-key manner, bringing only a few followers, and even declined the request for an audience with Fengluan from the Jiaofangsi. After all, officials of his level rarely set foot in places like the Jiaofangsi. If there was anything, they would hold a meeting in their own courtyard and there was no need to show up in person. It was just a matter of saying hello.

Maybe Li Zisheng felt that the Jiaofangsi, with its crowded places and many eyes, was a safe place in the dark, and was more suitable for entertaining Zhang Luan.

More importantly, he had never invited Zhang Luan to the Jiaofangsi before.

On that day, Zhang Luan brought his son Zhang Yanling to the appointment.

"My son, you must be careful when you go in... You know that the Jiaofangsi is full of talented women, so don't behave too vulgarly."

Zhang Luan reminded.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, no matter where this is, what do you think I can do at my age? Hey, are you reminding yourself?"

Zhang Luan felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

The two of them went upstairs together, where Pang Qing was already waiting. He then led the father and son into the banquet room.

……

……

There were only four people sitting at the table.

There were empty seats on the big round table, which should have been reserved for the drinking companions, but Li Zisheng did not call the woman to join in the fun right away. Instead, he prepared to have a few drinks with Li Zisheng to relieve his boredom first.

"Lai Zhan, I'm not happy. Please drink a few glasses with me first... Let's drink and then talk about things."

Li Zisheng picked up the wine jug, stood up and poured wine for Zhang Luan himself.

Zhang Luan accepted it with great respect.

After three rounds of drinking, Li Zisheng asked someone to invite musicians to sing some songs behind a curtain not far away to liven up the atmosphere.

Li Zisheng said with a sad face, "His Majesty is in seclusion and only Deng Changen is allowed to enter and leave. Even I am not qualified to enter."

"Ah."

Zhang Luan nodded.

"Your Majesty... How could he trust Deng Changen so easily? He clearly had the medicine you gave him, and it was thanks to it that his health gradually improved. He insisted that it was the 'magic pill' Deng Changen gave him that worked... Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

Li Zisheng said angrily.

Zhang Luan was a little surprised: "Does that mean that Your Majesty will no longer take my medicine?"

Li Zisheng was very curious: "Laizhan, from what you said, you seem very happy?" "No, I just feel...hahahaha..."

Zhang Luan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

I was afraid that there might be something wrong with the prescription I wrote and the emperor would put the blame on me for his worsening condition. But now he chose the "magic pill" presented by Deng Chang'en and stopped taking my medicine. It was simply God's help to me!

Pang Qing was somewhat bewildered when he heard the laughter, and asked in surprise, "Mr. Zhang, do you have so little confidence in your medicine?"

Zhang Luan glanced at his son, then shook his head and sighed, "To be honest, the main purpose of the prescription I wrote is to delay the disease as much as possible, alleviate the pain of some patients during the onset of the disease, and improve the quality of life of patients. Other than that, it cannot cure your majesty's illness, so I..."

When Li Zisheng heard this, he suddenly thought of something and frowned and asked, "Then Laizhan, if His Majesty doesn't take the medicine, what will happen in half a month?"

"This……"

Zhang Luan didn't know how to answer for a moment, and looked at his son, meaning, "Come out and tell me."

Zhang Yanling was eating the delicious food prepared by the Jiaofangsi. It must be said that the food tasted really good.

It was a rare occasion for him to get out for a banquet, especially one of such high standards. He thought to himself that the Jiaofangsi was indeed a place of debauchery. The dishes at the banquet were almost comparable to those prepared by chefs in five-star hotel restaurants in later generations, and the raw materials were all natural and pollution-free. It seemed that he should come here more often to taste them in the future.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he immediately shook his head and said, "I'm not sure what the consequences will be. But it stands to reason... the condition will get worse!"

Li Ziliu hesitated for a moment and said, "Laizhan, I've thought about it and this is what you and your son meant... Do you think it's right?"

"Minister Li, please speak."

While Zhang Luan was speaking, he pulled his son's sleeve, meaning to listen quickly, because Li Zisheng was about to speak.

He seemed to be talking to me, but if you didn't hear clearly, I'm afraid no one can answer this question.

Li Zisheng also deliberately tilted his head towards Zhang Yanling, as if he was afraid that the boy couldn't hear clearly, and said loudly: "Even if your majesty continues to take medicine on time, your liver disease will gradually worsen. The trend is irreversible, right?"

"Uh...right..."

Zhang Luan saw his son giving a thumbs-up under the table, so he answered accordingly.

Li Zisheng continued: "If you don't take the medicine, your condition will worsen faster, and you may die in a few days..."

Zhang Luan looked under the table again and saw another thumbs-up. He understood now and sighed, "It's very likely that the situation will develop to a point where it cannot be handled in a few days."

"call!"

Li Zisheng almost jumped up on the spot.

"Master Dao, what are you doing...?"

Pang Qing looked at Li Zisheng and asked with a smile, "Even if this result is what you want, it shouldn't be like this."

"What do you mean by accord with my wishes? Whether your majesty can recognize whether Deng Changen is a charlatan is not even within my consideration. If your majesty encounters any major changes in Chuyun Temple in the next ten days, then... how should the situation be handled? Does it mean that what Deng Changen said is equivalent to an imperial decree, and what he says is the truth?"

Li Zisheng does have a meticulous political mind.

He soon realized that whether the emperor realized that Deng Changen's medicine was ineffective was no longer the focus of the current attention.

What he feared most was that when the emperor was dying, Deng Changen was the only one by his side. That would make things a little mysterious. There was a possibility that someone would forge an imperial decree to change the crown prince and kill him, Li Zisheng.

Zhang Luan consoled him: "Minister Li, you don't have to be so nervous. Maybe things won't turn out that way..."

"Laizhan, your words have inspired me."

Li Zisheng said resolutely, "I can't drink with you here, I have to go back immediately... How about this, Bingkun, you treat my nephew Laizhan and Yanling well. You don't go anywhere today, just treat them well. All the expenses can be collected when you return home tomorrow."

"Yes."

Pang Qing didn't expect Li Zisheng to be so decisive.

Sensing a huge crisis, he immediately went back to arrange countermeasures.

Li Zisheng said, "Laizhan, maybe the great changes you mentioned are really coming. Who would have thought that it would come so soon... It's all because of that charlatan Deng Changen, who made your Majesty believe his lies. If anything happens to your Majesty, I will skin him alive!"

……

……

Pang Qing went downstairs to see Li Zisheng off, and also had something to say to him in private.

Zhang Luan and his son temporarily stayed in the banquet hall of the Jiaofangsi.

"Son, do you know what Li Zisheng is going to do next?" Zhang Luan asked.

Zhang Yanling ate the food on the table and shook his head: "I don't know."

"You don't even know?"

Zhang Luan was very curious. Doesn’t my son have extraordinary powers and can predict almost everything with a high degree of accuracy?
Zhang Yanling said, "Although I don't know, there is a point in what Li Zisheng said. That is, in the next half month, there is a high possibility that something will happen to His Majesty. If His Majesty really has something...unexpected, whoever is around him may become the regent, and his authority will be unlimited."

Zhang Luan widened his eyes and asked, "Does that mean that Lian Yichu is also likely to be involved?"

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "If Deng Chang'en, Wan'an and Liu Ji work together, it will be easy for them to push for a change of crown prince. Moreover, now... Tan Chang has been dismissed from his position as the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department. The new Wei Tai is far inferior in terms of qualifications and prestige... This will put the crown prince and Li Zisheng in a very passive position."

"Then...we can't just keep waiting here."

Zhang Luan couldn't help feeling anxious after hearing this.

Zhang Yanling remained calm and asked with a smile, "Then let's go back and eat?"

Zhang Luan was immediately discouraged when he heard this: "That's right, if I leave here, I can only go home and wait. I'm not like Li Zisheng, I don't have any connections or relationships that I can use. I can't do anything in the middle of the night, so I might as well stay and enjoy it..."

(End of this chapter)