Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 353 Those who get things done are all subordinates.

"Feng Chuo?" the emperor chuckled. "Very good!"

After gritting his teeth and finishing his sentence, he added, "Bring Feng Chuo in! Bring Lu Jie in too!"

……

After returning from the Yan residence, Lu Jie became even more convinced of his earlier judgment: Yan Song, that old scoundrel, had indeed become wary of him, and it was only a matter of time before they turned against each other!

Not long after arriving home, Yang Bonong also returned. The two of them worked in the study all night without closing their eyes. In the morning, Shen Qingzhou sent a letter over. After reading it, Lu Jie finally lay down on the couch fully clothed.

With my eyes closed, many past scenes floated by like a revolving lantern. Suddenly, I heard Yang Bonong's voice in my ear. I opened my eyes and sat up, and then I clearly heard Yang Bonong say that the emperor had summoned me to the palace.

A surge of warmth welled up in Lu Jie's heart, just like when the results of the imperial examinations were announced that year, and the people from the Ministry of Rites delivered the imperial edict to his door with gongs and drums; just like when he was riding high in the spring breeze and finally married his childhood sweetheart under the resentful glare of his brother-in-law.

He quickly washed up, changed his clothes, and, with his hat and belt neatly arranged, boarded a sedan chair and entered the palace.

Inside the palace gates, they encountered Feng Chuo, who had just alighted from his sedan chair. Feng Chuo could not hide his unease: "I heard earlier that His Majesty has chosen an auspicious day to refine elixirs in the palace today. Brother Lu, do you know why you have suddenly summoned us?"

"I have no idea!" Lu Jie spread his hands. "I'm completely baffled! I heard that yesterday the Emperor was furious and wanted to kill Lord Yan, but then he imprisoned him. Could it be that he was willing to spare him and specially summoned you and me to give him a way out?"

Feng Chuo thought that Lu Jie was Yan Shu's in-law, and since he was being passed on to him, it shouldn't be unrelated to the Yan family!
He found this reasonable and went to the Qianqing Palace with him.

A large group of eunuchs were already standing below the palace gates, waiting for orders.

Feng Chuo slowly stopped walking: "How come there are still eunuchs from the Eastern Palace here?"

Lu Jie looked bewildered: "Yes, the Emperor rarely sees the Crown Prince, so why is the Eastern Palace here to join in the fun now?"
"I see!
"In recent years, the affairs of the Eastern Palace have been handled by the Grand Secretariat, and the Crown Prince has relied on the Grand Secretariat in many ways. Now that the Yan family is in trouble, His Highness the Crown Prince will naturally have to step forward to plead for them!"

He gave the other person a meaningful look and said, "It's just about human relationships!"

What he said was all true. Everyone in the court knew how the position of Crown Prince came about. To put it bluntly, the Emperor had more than one prince. With the Yan family controlling the cabinet, it was still uncertain whether he could successfully remain in power until the end.

The Crown Prince usually doesn't dare to put on airs in front of the Yan family father and son, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to come out and curry favor with them at this time.

Feng Chuo glanced at the palace servants below with a complicated expression, then turned to look at a familiar eunuch below, gestured towards the direction of the Grand Secretariat, and then stepped inside after the eunuch announced his arrival.

The crown prince had an injury to his leg and had been granted a seat to sit to the side.

Li Quan stood under the curtain, holding a whisk, his expression as calm as ever, revealing nothing.

The emperor sat cross-legged on the couch, the sunlight shining in from behind him, and the smoke from the incense burner still rising, obscuring his face.

"Old minister, see the emperor!"

The two people knelt down.

"Feng Chuo, what do you think of the Crown Prince's attire today?" The Emperor pointed to the Crown Prince beside him, whose face, which had been lurking in the shadows, finally revealed a corner, its sharp features as sharp as a blade.

Feng Chuo looked up at the Crown Prince, scrutinized him from head to toe, and a chill ran through him.

Although the emperor on the couch was dressed in a Taoist robe, with only a jade hairpin on his head and a jade ring on his right hand, both the material of the robe and the quality of the jade hairpin and ring were extraordinary.

On the other hand, the Crown Prince was wearing an old robe with summer clothes underneath, which made him look rather shabby!
Feng Chuo glanced quickly at the top of his head, then looked down and said, “I heard that Your Highness has recently been studying with Scholar Li of the Hanlin Academy. This Scholar Li admires the ‘elegant and unrestrained style of the Wei and Jin scholars’ and is usually quite unconventional. It seems that Your Highness has been influenced by him quite a bit.”

A sneer came from above: "You mean the Crown Prince isn't poor, but just pretending?"

Feng Chuo said, "This old minister dares not! It is just that His Highness the Crown Prince has come to pay homage to the Emperor, yet his appearance is so disheveled. If this old minister did not say that it was due to the influence of Scholar Li, it would seem as if he were blaming His Highness the Crown Prince for deliberately disrespecting the Emperor!"

At this point, he turned to look at the Crown Prince: "His Majesty has devoted himself to the country and the court, and it is one thing that His Highness the Crown Prince cannot share the burden, but he should be diligently learning the strategies of governing the country from his teacher, yet he acts so recklessly. No wonder His Majesty is angry!"

The crown prince glanced at him calmly, without saying a word.

Lu Jie glanced at Feng Chuo, who had a dignified and upright expression, and stood up straight with his hands clasped together and his eyes downcast.

That's why these people are so arrogant and presumptuous! They dare to humiliate the Crown Prince in public like that; you can imagine how they view this heir apparent behind his back!

Unsurprisingly, the emperor then took action.

He picked up a stack of documents from the table next to him and threw them at Feng Chuo's face: "Take a look at this first, and then tell me who has paid for the Crown Prince's food and drink?"

"The whole world belongs to the emperor. I, the Son of Heaven, have personally appointed a crown prince who is starving and freezing. You, Feng Chuo, tell me, have you been hungry or cold all these years?!"

The documents fell to the ground in front of them. These were standard documents for the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds, each with a clear date of receipt and a signature at the bottom.

Feng Chuo was speechless, not knowing how to reply!
It has been nearly two hundred years since the founding of this dynasty. During these two hundred years, the imperial family has been passed down from generation to generation, and the number of people has grown to a huge number!

The emperor himself was often troubled by the large number of imperial relatives, which burdened the court. Therefore, he rarely inquired about the situation of imperial relatives in various places and left it all to the cabinet to handle, as if he was afraid of getting into trouble.

This situation has not been a matter of just one or two days, nor even one or two years; it has been like this for decades, and there has never been an exception!

Although the current crown prince is of a different status, he was appointed by the emperor against his will, so he is usually avoided. At first, everyone was wary of him, but as time went on, they realized that the crown prince did not hold much weight in the emperor's heart, so they gradually became negligent and acted according to the rules for treating members of the imperial clan!

The Crown Prince was walking on thin ice in the palace, so he certainly wouldn't dare to complain. With his strength, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

So over the years, there have been no major problems!
No one dares to challenge the Yan family!
Everyone thought that the emperor wouldn't care about his son until his death, so who would have thought that he would suddenly ask about it at this critical juncture?!
"Your Majesty!" he said, his voice choked with emotion, "At that time, I was the Minister of Revenue, and the actual work was handled by lower-ranking officials. I have no idea who was so audacious..."

"Summon the head of the Ministry of Revenue!"

As soon as the emperor gave his word, the eunuchs led two people in. Upon closer inspection, Feng Chuo realized that they were the two officials from the Ministry of Revenue in charge of distributing the annual stipends!
...They had actually entered the palace long ago!