Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 99 Tacit Understanding (Please vote)
The emperor wanted to hold a wedding in the Eastern Palace to bring happiness to his beloved Concubine Wan.

This matter was unknown to outsiders, but Li Zisheng and Empress Dowager Zhou knew it very well. Empress Dowager Zhou asked Li Zisheng to delay the prince's wedding. Wasn't this asking him to deliberately send Concubine Wan to her death?
"This……"

Li Zisheng didn't know how to answer for a moment. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said, "I will do my best and go all out. Even if it takes a lot of effort, I will try my best to get things done before the end of the year. I will not let your majesty down."

"Haha, didn't you say that you weren't responsible for this matter? Why did you come here with all your heart and soul?"

Queen Mother Zhou laughed and joked.

Li Zisheng said, this place is really cold. It's so cold that I get goose bumps all over my body and cold sweats are about to break out.

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "Don't misunderstand my intentions... I am not asking you to disobey the emperor's orders, I am just saying that you should be more careful.

"What I mean is actually very simple. You should find a suitable candidate with a good background and good family. It would be best if you can have a say in that. Send that person to the East Palace. This way, if there is anything in the future, it will be easier to communicate, right?"

"Um!?"

Li Zisheng was a little confused.

He had not yet mentioned to the empress dowager about recommending Zhang Laizhan's daughter, and he had even planned to back off after feeling the tremendous pressure exerted by the other party this time.

How come the old lady actually brought it up on her own initiative?
This is at……

Test me?
Li Zisheng swore: "I will never dare to have any selfish thoughts on such matters."

"Don't say that."

Queen Mother Zhou smiled like an old fox and said, "Just think of it as my order. You don't need to mention it to His Majesty.

"Now I want to ask you one question, do you have a suitable candidate?"

Li Zisheng felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

He thought to himself, did the Queen Mother know something?

Why are you targeting me like this?
"If you have any, just tell me. What are you worried about? The Eastern Palace is selecting concubines. There are so many girls. If one of them is close to you, does that mean you can't be selected?

"Whether he is chosen or not is not up to you, Li Qing. What are you worried about? I just want to be more confident about this matter, so I asked you if you have any candidates you know."

"Just tell me the truth. If you have any, just bring it up in person. There are no outsiders here. If not, go find one for me."

Li Zisheng pondered secretly.

This requirement is tailor-made for me!

If Your Majesty asks me about the relationship between me and Zhang Laizhan, I will say that this is the person the Empress Dowager asked me to find. Given Your Majesty's filial piety, how could he continue to delve into it?
But why do I vaguely feel that something is wrong, as if there is some trap waiting for me to jump into?
Li Zisheng finally mustered up the courage to say, "Come to think of it, I do know someone who is planning to put forward the daughter of our mansion to be selected as the Crown Princess."

"oh!?"

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and joked, "This is not easy. I originally thought that no one would take the initiative to select the Crown Princess this time. Everyone knows that my grandson is alone and will not get any benefits even if he becomes a relative. I am afraid that the government will have to force the ladies of appropriate age from all families to participate in the selection, just like the selection of concubines for His Majesty during the Tianshun period."

What Queen Mother Zhou meant was that our emperor is also wise and powerful, right?
But when his father, my husband, was choosing a concubine for him, the scene was extremely awkward, and in the end they had to mobilize the power of the government and barely managed to get the people together.

Queen Mother Zhou asked curiously, "Who is this person?"

Li Zisheng naturally would not say that he was his disciple, and said cautiously: "He is a student, who just arrived in Beiyong after the beginning of winter this year. He was born in Xingji County, Hejian Prefecture, and was selected to Beiyong as a tribute student. His surname is Zhang."

Empress Dowager Zhou nodded and said, "A child from a supervisor's family... well, this person has a good background, but I don't know how talented or beautiful he is."

Li Zisheng said: "I have never seen her, but I heard that this girl was famous in Xingji. Many famous families wanted to marry her, but they all refused. The Zhang family has high hopes for this girl."

"That's very good."

Queen Mother Zhou asked with great interest, "Li Qing, I have a question that may not be pleasant to hear, but how did you get to know this person and learn about this matter?"

"Your Majesty, I have some connections with this man... probably because there is an official in the Ministry of Public Administration named Shen Lu, who is related to the Zhang family by marriage. The Zhang family once had a governor of Liaodong named Zhang Qi, and this man is Zhang Qi's cousin."

Li Zisheng seemed to have opened up and began to promote various things to Empress Dowager Zhou.

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "She comes from a famous family, is talented and beautiful, and well-educated. She is now in the capital... She meets all the requirements." "Yes, Queen Mother."

Li Zisheng said with great joy, "The reason why I know this is because when my father was in Hejian Prefecture, he practiced medicine to save people and prevent smallpox. His contributions were outstanding, and local officials and censors all recommended him for merit. Now that he has arrived in the capital, His Majesty has also ordered the people in the Imperial Hospital to cooperate with him in planting medicines and treating diseases in the capital. I am concerned about this matter, and I asked Shen Lu, and that's how I learned about it."

Queen Mother Zhou clapped her hands and exclaimed: "Oh, not only does he have a good family background, but his father also has a broad mind to help the world. No matter how you look at it, he is a good choice."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "I did not observe deliberately. I just heard that Zhang Jiansheng wanted his daughter to be selected as the Crown Princess, and the Queen Mother happened to ask about it, so I told her the truth."

What I mean is, I didn't say it on my own initiative. It was only because you kept pressing me that I told you everything I knew.

Don't accuse me of having bad intentions. I have been looking for a suitable candidate to become the Crown Princess for a long time.

Queen Mother Zhou seemed very satisfied with this and said with a smile: "Li Qing, you are not only a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, but also able to listen to both sides and make wise decisions when encountering major events. You are willing to select talents for the court and can help me solve my problems. I think you have done a good job and there is nothing wrong with it."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind."

Li Zisheng continued to be humble there.

Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Where is she? I have noted her down. She is the daughter of Zhang from Xingji and her father is a student of the Imperial Academy?"

"Yes, his father's name is Zhang Luan, and his courtesy name is Laizhan."

Li Zisheng said, "I met him because of my work on growing medicine to prevent smallpox. He was worthy of praise for his conversation and his character. But I don't have a close relationship with him."

Queen Mother Zhou continued to smile and nodded, saying, "If someone is sent to me, I will definitely pay attention to this girl, but can she pass the previous selection?"

"This……"

Li Zisheng didn't know how to answer for a moment.

This question is too sharp.

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "If this girl is so outstanding, it shouldn't be a problem for her to pass the first few steps of the selection, right?"

Li Zisheng said: "I am not sure about this, but I think... it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Ah."

Queen Mother Zhou said, "Then you must be more careful. If there is anyone more suitable, you can send someone to inform me later and I will keep an eye out for it."

"Yes Yes."

Li Zisheng was originally worried about whether to recommend Zhang Luan's daughter to Queen Mother Zhou, but after Queen Mother Zhou's "mediation", he suddenly felt relieved.

The old lady is still a good person.

With just a few words, he dispelled my worries, solved my urgent needs, resolved the awkward situation, and paved a smooth path for me. He is indeed a smart person.

"Is there anyone outside? Why hasn't the brazier been delivered yet?"

Queen Mother Zhou suddenly shouted.

There was no answer from outside, apparently no one was eavesdropping at the door.

Li Zisheng smiled and stood up: "Empress Dowager, please sit here first. I will go and pass on a message for you."

"How can this be appropriate? You are a guest, how can you bother a guest?"

Queen Mother Zhou looked very well-behaved.

Li Zisheng was very tactful and quickly moved away: "Your Majesty, you are too polite. I am just an errand boy in front of you. Why do you respect me so much?
"I will go right away, right away..."

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(End of this chapter)