Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 366 Brother-in-law

Liu Jian's house.

At this time, Liu Jian had no status. It was indeed not easy for him to live in Beijing and support his family by relying on the salary in a low-paying government office like the Hanlin Academy.

So the place he lived in was very small, but fortunately it was a private house with its own yard, which was considered very good among his colleagues.

Xie moved to his house, and there was even a separate living room for the two of them to chat.

"The Imperial Household Department just sent someone to ask you and me to work with the Crown Prince on the Tongzhou Warehouse case. I don't know much about the situation, so I came here to ask you, Brother Xixian."

Xie Qian directly stated his purpose.

Liu Jian pushed the cup of Huangshan tea he had just brewed towards Xie Qian, but Xie Qian waved his hand and said, "You can use it yourself. I'll leave when I'm done. No need to bother."

Liu Jian did not force it. He took a sip of the teacup and said, "Earlier, Elder Wan and Elder Liu intentionally mentioned the Tongzhou warehouse matter in front of the Crown Prince. Do you remember?"

"It's only been a few days. Of course I remember it."

Xie Qian asked with some confusion, "Brother Xixian, are you trying to say that the cabinet has already noticed this matter and made arrangements in advance, and we just need to follow the cabinet's orders?"

Although Liu Jian, Xie Qian and other rising Hanlin scholars looked down on Xi Diao Xianggong and Liu Mianhua, they were, after all, prime ministers who had been in charge of government affairs for many years. If they encountered any major events, they still had to follow the lead of the cabinet ministers.

It is no wonder that Xie Qian insisted on relying on the cabinet ministers. It can only be said that in the Hanlin system, seniority is too important, and this is exactly what he lacks the most.

Liu Jian shook his head and said, "I don't understand why His Majesty suddenly wants the Crown Prince to intervene in this matter, and even wants you and me to take the lead."

Xie Qian smiled and said, "Perhaps your majesty wants the prince to gain more experience... It is actually a good thing to take action at this time."

"Did you hear anything?"

Liu Jian frowned.

Xie Qian looked around, appearing quite cautious. Seeing that no one was around, he stepped forward and whispered, "Even if no one in the palace said anything, the news that His Majesty is ill has spread throughout the court and the country. It's hard not to hear it."

“Don’t criticize yourself.”

Liu Jian waved his hand.

"Of course I know." Xie Qian shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty may be considering the Crown Prince's ability to handle state affairs at this time. This may be complementary to the previous controversy over the replacement of the crown prince. If someone deliberately causes trouble for the Crown Prince, we must protect him no matter what."

Liu Jian said helplessly: "Just us?"

Xie Qian smiled and said, "Anyway, I have been with the prince these days... Don't you think the prince's character is just right for the Ming Dynasty? Why does he have to do such disloyal and unjust things?"

Because Xie Qian was famous for his eloquence and silver tongue, he also had a lot of complaints.

Liu Jian interrupted him at the right time and reminded him, "Let's talk about the facts. You and I are only ordered to assist the prince in investigating the case. Now all the evidence is not enough to prove that there is any illegality in Tongzhou Warehouse... I think that His Majesty may feel that even if the prince can leave the palace, it is not convenient for him to leave Beijing, so there may be some things that we can do."

"Oh."

Xie Qian nodded and said, "Brother Xixian has a unique insight. The actual situation may be true... To investigate Tongzhou Warehouse, someone must go there to conduct an on-site inspection. Brother, don't worry about this. If there is anything important, I will go there."

Liu Jian said: "The attitude of the people in the cabinet is unclear, so it's best not to provoke them. Even if someone comes to pass on a message, you must remember that we are only responsible for assisting the prince. We will do whatever the prince asks us to do, and we must not act rashly to cause trouble."

"This……"

Xie Qian seemed to find it difficult to agree with this.

He really wanted to ask, what do you think the prince knows?
The prince knows nothing, and you don't even give him any advice, but just wait for him to arrange things for us? What's the difference between having us or not having us?
How do we demonstrate our special status as lecturers in the Eastern Palace?
Liu Jian said with emotion: "If something happens to Tongzhou Warehouse, it will be a major case involving the entire court, and many people will be imprisoned because of it. When the eunuch came to pass on the message to me, he specifically mentioned that the Minister of Revenue Li Min would come forward to cooperate with the crown prince. If we don't understand something, there will be someone who understands it. Let the crown prince come forward to contact us."

"That makes sense. The Ministry of Revenue will naturally take the lead in handling the Ministry of Revenue's affairs. This arrangement is perfect. But can we confirm that Minister Li..."

Xie Qian almost said that he should ask the Minister of Revenue to investigate him. Isn't this pure nonsense?
Liu Jian said, "You just have too many opinions, and I'm afraid that something bad will happen. When cooperating with the Crown Prince this time, the most important thing for us is to be cautious and not bring trouble to our colleagues in the Hanyuan. If there is really something...that you and I need to take responsibility for...it's not too late to step forward."

……

……

The next morning, Zhu Youtang changed into casual clothes and prepared to leave the palace with Tan Ji, Jiang Cong, and several Jinyiwei who were arranged to provide close protection.

"Your Highness, we have prepared a carriage for you, but the regulations are lower. I will drive the carriage myself. There are two carriages in front and behind. We are in the rear one. We should keep a proper distance from the carriage of the Jinyiwei in front. We should not drive too fast because we have to pass many streets and alleys..."

Qin Ji was very worried about the prince's safety.

Because the prince had little experience of leaving the palace, he was probably not vigilant enough to face the dangers he faced. And once someone knew that the prince wanted to investigate the case, the people involved might secretly harm the prince in desperation.

In this way, not only do we have to be on guard against people outside the palace, we also have to be on guard against people inside the palace. Even the Emperor and Concubine Shao may not really help the prince...

Qin Ji felt that the current situation was one in which all sides were trapped.

Zhu Youtang asked, "Shall we go see my father-in-law Zhang Taichang first?"

"no no."

Qin Ji reminded, "According to the rules, you should go to see the Minister of Revenue, Li Min, first. After you leave from Donghua Gate, you must first pass through Dong'an Gate, then go from the east to the south of the city. When you are near the Ministry of Revenue, someone will go in first to pass on the message and arrange a better place to meet... This matter is confidential, so it's best not to make any mistakes in every step."

Zhu Youtang knew that he would be meeting a stranger, and a high-ranking official like the Minister of Revenue, and he seemed a little nervous: "But when I meet Minister Li, I don't know what to say."

Tan Ji said: "Don't worry, Prince. You only need to ask a few questions when we meet."

"Then...what can we ask?"

Zhu Youtang seemed very confused.

Going to Li Min just to ask a few questions casually? What's the point of doing that?
Qin Ji whispered, "Asking the Minister of Revenue is just a formality. You also know that this matter was exposed by Zhang Taichang. Naturally, Zhang Taichang is very clear about this matter. Find an inconspicuous place to meet with Zhang Taichang later, and the prince may be able to sort out the whole matter."

"Oh."

Zhu Youtang was not stupid. Hearing this, he suddenly realized, "I see. Meeting Li Min was just a cover to make people think that I was negotiating with the people in the Ministry of Revenue. In fact, I was mainly listening to my father-in-law's opinions, right?" "Yes, that's right."

Qin Ji was also very happy.

Although he felt that he had made his words very clear, it was still quite difficult to make the prince, who was not worldly-wise, understand it all at once.

……

……

After leaving the palace, Zhu Youtang went directly to meet the Minister of Revenue Li Min.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the two of them only met briefly in a teahouse outside the Ministry of Revenue, a place that Li Min had found.

Afterwards, Zhu Youtang could not wait to visit Zhang's house, but was told by Qin Ji that he had asked someone to notify Zhang Luan in advance and they had an appointment to meet at an inconspicuous roadside tavern in the south of the city.

Zhu Youtang didn't understand what was going on, he just sat in the carriage and followed the person who came to lead the way.

When they arrived at the place and entered the private room of the tavern, they found that Zhang Luan was not there.

"Father-in-law must be very busy recently, right?"

Zhu Youtang asked Tan Ji who was standing beside him.

Tan Ji was looking at the door of the wine shop and nodded when he heard it: "Zhang Taichang has just taken over the Imperial Hospital recently, and even the Imperial Palace of Changshi has been handed over to him to manage. He usually has to go in and out of the Qianqing Palace to diagnose the emperor, so naturally he doesn't have much free time. But there are some things that I just want to say a few words."

As they were talking, someone came in at the door of the tavern.

When Qin Ji saw it, his eyes lit up.

“Isn’t that Yanling?”

Zhu Youtang recognized his brother-in-law at a glance.

Behind Zhang Yanling was Zhang Heling, whose body had grown a lot in recent days.

The two brothers entered the tavern together and went straight to the private room without looking around.

The waiter was about to step forward to ask, but Zhang Yanling threw a few copper coins at him and told him not to disturb him.

"Greetings to my brother-in-law."

Zhang Yanling walked into the private room and greeted him with a smile, "It's not convenient to talk outside because there are too many people and eyes. Please forgive me for not being able to greet my brother-in-law."

Tan Ji smiled.

I thought to myself, you are such a sociable guy, calling me brother-in-law all the time. Others really can't guess the identity of our Crown Prince from your words.

"Yanling, please sit down. Your sister often mentions you. What is this...?"

Zhu Youtang couldn't help but look at Zhang Heling.

Zhang Heling seemed a little reserved and said, "Hey... Lao Er is your brother-in-law, and so am I. I have to call you brother-in-law, too."

"what!?"

Although they were both speaking, it was obvious that Zhu Youtang was not very used to Zhang Heling's way of speaking.

Tan Ji smiled and said, "This is the eldest son of the Zhang family, Heling."

Zhu Youtang suddenly realized and said with a smile: "Look at me, why didn't I think of it? Heling...your sister..."

He was halfway through his words when he suddenly couldn't continue.

Originally, Zhu Youtang was going to say the same thing as he did when he evaluated Zhang Yanling, saying that his sister often mentioned her older brother. But then he remembered that his wife had basically never mentioned this younger brother in front of him, as if this person had never existed. He only knew that his wife had two younger brothers.

Zhu Youtang was a very honest man, and he felt that lying in front of others was something he shouldn't do.

Zhang Heling asked excitedly: "Sister, do you often mention me in the palace? Haha, it seems that sister likes me, but she doesn't show it normally. When I meet sister later, I must..."

"Okay, big brother, don't bother me talking to my brother-in-law."

Zhang Yanling couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted his elder brother.

"Okay, okay, okay. I won't say anything. I'll just stand by and listen."

Zhang Heling didn't care at all.

Anyway, he was used to being scolded by his parents at home, and now his younger brother often scolded him, but he didn't have any temper. The main reason was that his younger brother crushed him in all aspects of intelligence. He wanted to resist occasionally, but the key financial power was in the hands of his younger brother, and even his parents acquiesced to his younger brother's right to discipline him, so he had no right to challenge his younger brother.

There is another very important point, that is, following his younger brother, he can always eat and drink well, have status wherever he goes, and even got an official position as a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Fighting with his brother won't do him any good.

"Yanling, where is your father?"

After sitting down, Zhu Youtang asked anxiously.

Zhang Yanling replied, "My father has gone to the palace to treat your majesty's illness... He has been in and out of the palace frequently these past two days, and his other schedules will have to be changed at any time according to your majesty's schedule."

"Oh."

Zhu Youtang nodded in relief, "Things over there are more important, my matter is not urgent for the time being."

Qin Ji kindly reminded: "Sir, listen to what Master Zhang said, the effect is actually... similar."

(End of this chapter)