Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 350: Operations in the Palace

Zhang Mansion.

Li Zisheng and Zhang Luan sat in the main hall, with Zhang Yanling and Pang Qing sitting opposite them. A four-person meeting began.

"Laizhan, please calculate it quickly... You know why I came to you for this, right?" Li Zisheng said.

Zhang Luan nodded: "It must be the Heavenly Family... the thing you least want to happen?"

Li Zisheng nodded and said, "Now whether you want it or not, you need a result. I have been really exhausted these past few days. To be honest, I am OK in other aspects, but I really have no military power. It is said that many officials are attached to me, but these people are just servile people. They will listen to whoever is in power. Even the so-called confidants I promoted will turn against me at the critical moment."

Zhang Luan said helplessly: "But... I really can't guess what's going on with your majesty."

"what?"

Li Zisheng stood up suddenly, looking very anxious. "You always guessed right about Lady Wan's affairs, but now that it involves His Majesty, you say you can't figure it out? Is that so bizarre and ridiculous?"

Zhang Luan glanced at his son first, then said, "Your Majesty's condition may last for quite a long time if it develops normally, but some things just don't follow common sense."

"I see."

Li Zisheng said with relief, "Deng Changen is now going against the will of heaven and shortening your majesty's life."

Pang Qing hurriedly reminded: "Master Dao, don't say such things carelessly."

"What's wrong with me speaking out? If it weren't for the Deng, would Your Majesty have given up on healing your illness and gone to practice Taoism? Your Majesty's dragon body isn't very good to begin with, so the so-called practice of Taoism..."

Li Zisheng seemed to want to complain, but Pang Qing quickly interrupted him: "Master Dao, this is not the time to complain. You are also a cultivator, so there is no need to undermine yourself."

"I……"

Only then did Li Zisheng realize that the reason why the emperor was so devout in Taoism and even believed in Deng Changen might be related to his own "great abilities".

Especially the predictions about heaven's secrets at the beginning of the year made the emperor feel the power of God directly.

Li Zisheng was thinking, wouldn’t I be digging a hole for myself?
"Laizhan, do you have any other ideas?"

Li Zisheng asked eagerly.

Zhang Luan said, "Besides waiting, is there any better way? With my ability, I cannot see the prince, and I have no connections in the capital. If something really happens... Minister Li, where do you think it will happen?"

"Where else can it be? Izumo-kan!"

Li Zisheng answered as a matter of course, then froze for a moment and asked, "No, you mean, who dares to go against the will of the world? It must be... the Jinyiwei?"

Li Zisheng thought about it and decided that the only troops that Deng Changen and his gang could mobilize now were the Jinyiwei.

But the problem is that the Jinyiwei is not under the command of Deng Changen.

Wan'an and Liu Ji were closer to Zhu Ji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Li Zisheng said: "There are some things that I can't do even if I know them, because the military power is not in my hands."

Zhang Luan nodded and said, "But it's not in the hands of some people with different intentions... If something unexpected happens, everything will still be based on your majesty's wishes, right?"

"That's why I'm worried."

Li Zisheng said helplessly, "Laizhan, let me be frank. What if someone takes out a will with clauses about usurping the throne, and uses Jinyiwei Commander Zhu Ji as a guide to mobilize the generals in the capital? By then... we won't be able to change anything."

Zhang Luan asked, "Hasn't the incident happened yet?"

"How did you..."

Li Zisheng sighed, "Laizhan, even if you can't guess it, you have to give a relatively accurate judgment... I've been here to urge you these past two days when I have nothing to do. If you find it annoying, I can't do anything about it.

"Right now, we have no idea what is happening in Izumo Temple. We must control the situation before His Majesty comes out to prevent anyone from causing trouble."

Zhang Luan was helpless and glanced at his son. Seeing that Zhang Yanling didn't react, he had to say, "Okay, I'll think of a way, but if you really can't think of one, you can't blame me!"

Li Zisheng was overjoyed: "Just hearing your words is enough! Now I can finally feel relieved and go home to have a good sleep..." At this point, he yawned, "Oh, I haven't had a good sleep for four or five days. Now that I'm relaxed, I really want to find a bed and lie down directly..."

……

……

Imperial Palace, Duanjing Hall.

After nightfall, Zhu Youtang was sitting at his desk reading, but he couldn't concentrate.

"Prince, what's wrong with you?"

Zhang Yu walked over and looked at her husband who was standing there in a daze with his chin resting on his hand.

Zhu Youtang frowned: "Yu'er, father has been in Chuyun Temple for five days. I don't know how he is doing, and whether his body has shown any signs of recovery."

Zhang Yu shook his head: "Since Father didn't practice Taoism in the palace and insisted on going to Chuyun Temple, it means he doesn't want us to worry. It's useless for you to think about this here."

"But I..." Zhu Youtang seemed very confused.

It's like a filial child who has never been favored, but tries all kinds of ways to please his father, but unfortunately can't find a way.

That feeling made him feel helpless.

It was okay to feel helpless before, and at most I would say a few words to Qin Ji.

Now that he has a wife, his heart knots have been untied a lot, but most of the time he still needs his wife to comfort him, and even has to pretend to be very pitiful in front of his wife in order to gain her sympathy and love.

As a severely autistic teenager, his thoughts are different from many people and he is very eager to get the care of others.

Of course, most of the time Zhu Youtang was just whining in front of Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu said, "Didn't Mr. Qin just come to my house today? My father didn't ask him to bring any message, which means nothing serious happened."

Zhu Youtang asked, "Does my father-in-law know what happened in Chuyun Temple?"

“It doesn’t matter whether you know it or not.”

Zhang Yu said, "If the emperor has anything to say, he will definitely find someone to inform us. Although my father said that Deng Changen is now in control of the internal and external communication, the emperor is still a smart and wise man. How could he allow Deng Changen to completely monopolize the emperor's hearing and even falsely pass on the imperial edict to disrupt the government?"

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang sat there, still feeling annoyed, and said, "I want to help my father relieve his pain. What should I do?"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "For the time being, we can't do anything. You should continue your studies. This is what you should do now."

……

……

Early the next morning.

After Zhu Youtang went to Wenhua Hall to attend classes, Qin Ji came back from sending the prince and found Zhang Yu putting on makeup in front of the mirror in the inner hall of Duanjing Hall.

"Greetings to the Crown Princess."

Tan Ji said respectfully.

Zhang Yu looked back at Qin Ji and asked, "My dear Qin, why did you come back alone?"

Qin Ji stood up and said, "Yesterday, I went out of the palace and met Mr. Zhang and the second young master."

"Didn't you tell me that when you came back?" Zhang Yu frowned.

"There is one more thing that I didn't make clear."

Qin Ji lowered his voice and said, "Before the Second Young Master left, he asked you to... go alone to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the ancestors. And to inform the Empress Dowager and the ancestors of some matters."

"what?"

Zhang Yu put down the eyebrow pencil in his hand.

She was putting on makeup here not because she was going to meet anyone, but because she was bored.

Qin Ji took out a book from his bosom and said, "This is a Buddhist scripture compiled by the second young master. It is said to be the only copy in the world. The second young master wants you to pay respects to the Queen Mother and her ancestors in the name of presenting the Buddhist scripture and establish a good relationship with her."

Zhang Yu took the Buddhist scripture and looked at it, then shook his head and said, "It is clearly written by Yanling himself... How can this be considered a unique copy?"

Qin Ji smiled and said, "Many Buddhist scriptures from the Sui and Tang dynasties have been lost. The second young master said that he got a unique copy of the Buddhist scripture from Dunhuang. I don't know whether it is true or not, but I have seen it and it is indeed a scripture that no one has ever seen before."

"Why does my second brother want to do so many things?"

Zhang Yu put away the Buddhist scriptures, frowned and asked, then continued, "But it's good to be able to help the prince, but the Empress Dowager has always liked the prince and me, so what difference does it make whether I send gifts or not?"

Qin Ji said: "You still have to do your best, otherwise it will appear that you are not sincere enough. These words are specially told by the Second Young Master, I hope you can remember them. When you say them... don't be too anxious. It's best to say them casually so as not to make the ancestor doubt your motives."

Zhang Yu asked in surprise, "What happened to Yanling?"

"Ugh!"

Qin Ji sighed and said, "There are some things that I really shouldn't say, but I should be prepared. Now that His Majesty has left the palace to go to Chuyun Temple for training, there are very few people in the palace who can influence this matter. If something unexpected happens, someone must come out to take charge of the situation, and that person... must be our ancestor, the Queen Mother.

"It may seem like no one listens to her words now, but when the time comes, her words are worth a thousand words from others."

"What is it?"

Zhang Yu asked first.

Then, with her wisdom, she immediately thought of something: "Could it be..."

"Crown Princess, there are some things that the Second Young Master didn't say clearly, so you don't need to explain them too clearly. We just need to know them in our hearts. All of this is to help the Crown Prince, and we are definitely not doing it out of selfish motives." Tan Ji said, "Sometimes it is not so appropriate for the Crown Prince to go there in person. It is better to hand it over to you, so that there will be more room for maneuver!"

(End of this chapter)