Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 235 Talented Individuals Awaiting Appointment: A Blessing for the Nation

Upon hearing Consort Hui's accusations, Gao Lishi couldn't help but show a bitter expression. He had no intention of implicating Zhang Dai, so when reporting the matter to the Emperor, he repeatedly emphasized that Zhang Dai was unaware of it.

"Consort Hui's words have truly made me feel ashamed. A servant's willfulness has implicated innocent people, and Zhang Dai treated him like a close friend, yet he has been so inconsiderate and has dragged down a good friend. This is truly infuriating!"

He didn't try to explain further, but instead bowed his head to Consort Hui to admit his mistake. Consort Hui was taken aback for a moment before waving her hand and saying, "What's hateful is that Gao Chengxin. How dare he make decisions without asking Liu Lang's opinion!"

"My lady, you already know?"

The emperor waved his hand, signaling Consort Hui to come closer, and asked a question.

Consort Hui nodded, then presented a letter to the Emperor and replied, "Last night, the Sixth Prince sent a letter to my servant Niu Gui'er's residence. This servant delivered the letter earlier, so I knew about this matter."

This letter was written by Zhang Dai last night explaining the situation. It was delivered to the palace by Niu Guier's servant and only reached Consort Hui this morning. It wasn't a secret channel, so Consort Hui had no problem speaking about it.

The sage took the letter and glanced at it quickly. He saw that the events were not much different from what Gao Lishi had just told him, except that there was an additional record of Zhang Dai reprimanding Gao Chengxin at his home.

After reading the letter, the Emperor's brows slowly relaxed, and he sighed, "Zhang Dai is at the age where he is attracted to young women, yet he is able to maintain his integrity and not lose his manners, which is truly rare. It's just a pity that he made the wrong friends and was burdened by them. This matter should not involve him. My wife, please have your disciple convey this message to him so that he can rest assured."

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui's expression softened, but she then sighed and said, "This child is truly remarkable and admirable, so it's normal that people are drawn to him. If he were truly a frivolous and dissolute person, he would have long been embroiled in controversy."

"Lord Huo may not be entirely without fault in this matter. He was completely unaware of his daughter's true intentions. If he had noticed earlier, in every way my nephew is far superior to Young Master Geng. If he had invited this fine woman to discuss matters of the heart sooner, perhaps a happy marriage could have been formed, and things wouldn't have become so embarrassing!"

"This is a woman's opinion. Other people's children's marriages are their own family matters, and they have their own plans. How can outsiders have the right to interfere or criticize them!"

Upon hearing this, the sage shook his head and said, "No matter how outstanding your nephew is, does that mean he is destined to be a widow or widow if he is not matched with a suitable partner in the mortal world?"

Consort Hui was merely making sarcastic remarks. Although she no longer held a grudge against Wang Maozhong for the past, she still harbored some resentment. Hearing about the chaos that had occurred in his family, she was secretly pleased to watch the drama unfold.

However, she had been somewhat concerned because it involved her nephew, but when the emperor spoke up to distance himself from Zhang Dai, she couldn't help but criticize Wang Maozhong harshly.

Upon hearing the Emperor's reprimand, she quickly pouted and stuck out her tongue to show that she had misspoke. Her mature and alluring charm was enhanced by a touch of seductive cuteness. This scene, when witnessed by the Emperor, made him feel a little hot and regretted that he should have summoned Consort Hui to serve him the night before.

Putting aside these petty thoughts, the attendant who had been sent to check on the North Gate returned in a hurry, reporting that everything at the North Gate was as usual.

Upon hearing this, the emperor snorted coldly, immediately stood up from his imperial bed, and paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

Gao Lishi's heart tightened when he heard the emperor clarify that Zhang Dai was not involved.

He didn't implicate Zhang Dai before because he didn't want to antagonize Zhang Shuo, but deep down he still hoped that someone could share some of the pressure of retaliation from the North Gate.

However, the emperor directly sidelined Zhang Dai, which was partly due to Zhang Dai's timely reaction and integrity, but it also showed that the emperor did not want the affairs of the outer court to become entangled with the affairs of the northern gate. This would undoubtedly put more pressure on Gao Lishi.

However, when the eunuch reported that Wang Maozhong's family had not yet noticed the woman's disappearance, Gao Lishi breathed a long sigh of relief, knowing that the pressure had shifted from him to Wang Maozhong.

As a general of the imperial guards, it is already extremely shameful that his own daughter, who is about to be married, was taken away from his home. To be completely unaware of the incident and even bring it to the attention of the emperor is simply absurd and laughable!
Where is that woman surnamed Wang now?

The sage paced back and forth in the hall for a while before bowing his head and looking at Gao Lishi.

"It is still in my household and no outsiders have seen it."

Gao Lishi quickly lowered his head and said that he had not expected Wang Maozhong to be so slow to react. If this matter were handled properly, it might turn from a disaster into an opportunity.

Upon hearing this, the sage first snorted coldly, then said, "So, what does the general intend to do with them? Return them to the Huo family?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui immediately perked up. She knew that this woman had recently been offered to the Emperor by her father; if the marriage had gone smoothly, there would have been no further issues. However, a new variable had arisen, forcing her to consider the matter. Gao Lishi, hearing the question, was also filled with many thoughts. After weighing his options, he decided to take the gamble and bowed, saying, "What I mentioned before actually involved a hidden matter I dared not elaborate on. Chengxin came to me last night, saying that besides acting rashly out of loyalty to Zhang Dai, he had another concern: he did not want the Huo and Geng families to form a marriage alliance..."

"Insolence! What business is this eunuch of yours with the affairs of a high-ranking official's family!"

Upon hearing this, the sage immediately roared in a deep voice, his brows furrowed with rage.

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi was naturally startled. Could it be that he had made the wrong bet?
But since he had already said that, he still braced himself and continued, “Although this servant is reckless, he is indeed loyal and devoted. Although it is not his duty, he still sincerely offered his advice. Both families are blessed by the Emperor and receive their stipends. As long as they are loyal to the Emperor and fulfill their duties, why worry about not receiving their stipends?”

There's no need for any elaborate alliances or political maneuvering. Such actions would be putting the cart before the horse and would only confuse public and private interests…

Hearing this, the Emperor remained silent, but slowly walked back to his bed and sat down. Consort Hui, somewhat impatiently, said, "After all this talk, the General hasn't even stated how this woman should be dealt with!"

"This servant advises that since this woman has left, she should not return and renew their alliance. There is a Changshou Temple in Luonan under his jurisdiction, which is the temple property that was recently donated to the Imperial Treasury. Let this woman be placed in the temple, and we will discuss other matters later!"

Gao Lishi had put a lot of effort into protecting his adopted son. He brought up Changshou Temple specifically to remind the emperor of Gao Chengxin's recent meritorious service in actively expanding the financial resources for the Ten Kings' residence.

Sure enough, the sage's expression improved slightly after hearing this, but he immediately shook his head and said, "How can it be reasonable to lure away a woman of marriageable age from another family and place her in a temple, no matter what the reason is!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi's heart sank. He knew that this alone was not enough to make the emperor decide to deal with Wang Maozhong. If Wang Maozhong still held power, the pressure would undoubtedly fall on him again.

"As long as you're willing to reason, how can logic not work?"

Consort Hui, always eager to stir up trouble, suggested, "Brother Gao, why don't you adopt this Wang girl as your daughter? It's said that she is compatible with your family's destiny, and raising her as a daughter will bring good fortune to your household. You can also devoutly worship Buddha and pray for blessings and ward off disasters. By keeping her in, you can cover up her illicit affair and preserve the Huo family's reputation. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi immediately glared at her, and even wanted to snatch the letter that Consort Hui had just handed to the Emperor to see if it was some little bastard who had come up with such a cunning and malicious trick for Consort Hui!
Upon hearing this, the emperor's eyes lit up, and he smiled at Gao Lishi, saying, "Although Consort Hui's words are somewhat absurd, they are still a way to maintain harmony among the ministers."

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi felt even more bitter. "You're trying to maintain harmony among the ministers? Aren't you afraid that all the firepower will be drawn to me, and I'll be beaten to death by the Huo and Geng families?"
The two families in the Northern Court were about to get married, but because he came to have his fortune told, he wants to kidnap their daughter to be adopted as a Buddhist nun for blessings. How can he be so domineering? Why doesn't the Emperor himself do that!

Although he was deeply worried, this matter was ultimately caused by his subordinates, and since even the emperor had expressed his approval, it was obviously not something he had discussed with him. Therefore, he couldn't shirk the blame.

"If there's no other way, we might as well try what Consort Hui suggested. However, Lord Huo might not be able to appease her properly, given that the matter involves supernatural beings. Besides, this woman is driven by love to abandon her home; she probably can't bear the loneliness of the Buddhist temple. She is devoted to Zhang Dai..."

Although he didn't dare to refuse, he still wanted to do his last bit of effort. "You two, have some decency and quickly give me a guarantee. If that doesn't work, we'll still leave a way out and send the person to Zhang Dai later."

The emperor was currently preoccupied with how to properly adjust the personnel at the North Gate, and naturally did not care about these trivial matters. However, considering that he should not put too much pressure on Gao Lishi, he pondered for a moment and said, "Lord Huo, please stay here for now. I will summon Lord Huo and Lord Geng to come in later to resolve the matter for your families and prevent any unrest among the people."

As for the handling of the aftermath, you each take care to coordinate it. Gao Chengxin's actions were indeed eccentric; strip him of his palace post, demote him to the Western Garden, and make him the envoy of the Qingcheng Palace.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi quickly nodded in agreement, feeling somewhat relieved. With the Sage intervening, Wang Maozhong, no matter how angry he was, wouldn't dare to openly turn against him. Moreover, the Sage had also protected Gao Chengxin, indicating his approval of the matter; it was just that he would have to take the blame for a while.

Consort Wu Hui didn't have any grand plans. What she was thinking about was preventing that Wang girl from ever entering the palace again. After all, Gao Lishi had gained a spoiled adopted daughter for no reason, and who knew if he would have similar thoughts to Wang Maozhong's in the future.

So after a moment's thought, she said to Gao Lishi, "I'm not suggesting this plan to you to bother you with personal matters. That woman surnamed Wang is in love with my nephew, but unfortunately, she couldn't win his heart and missed out on a good match."

"Sixth Master has his own principles. To avoid this woman harboring resentment and being heartless, I will send two palace maids to serve her, to ensure her comfort and ease her resentment."

"My wife is truly kind and compassionate towards this disciple!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor couldn't help but smile and say that this was the first time he had ever seen Consort Hui so attentive to a junior. Her care and consideration for Zhang Dai even surpassed that for her own children.

“My concern for him is merely a matter of kinship. It would be a blessing for the clan if the Emperor could bestow favor upon such a dignified and capable man with the qualities of a minister.”

Consort Hui smiled and said that she was still waiting for Zhang Dai to build a monument for her and publicize his merits when he went east!
(End of this chapter)