Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 513 A Simple Trick, Li Shi is Doomed

Gao Lishi's statement reassured Zhang Dai considerably, and he couldn't help but start thinking about how to deal with these people.

Wu actually came to Gao Lishi's house to badmouth him and complain about him, which greatly annoyed Zhang Dai.

Therefore, he also planned to take this opportunity to make a show of force and see if he could find out how Wu Zetian and Li Linfu secretly met and communicated, in order to prepare for the next step of exposing their relationship.

"I plan to take my leave later and head to Minister Pei's house to apologize to Aunt Wu and accept my punishment. I wonder if the Duke of Bohai has anything he needs me to convey to Minister Pei?"

Zhang Dai then asked Gao Lishi, who had just hinted at using the conflicts within the outer court to attack Yuwen Rong. After learning that Pei Guangting had reached an understanding with Prince Xin'an, Gao Lishi must also have some ideas of his own.

As expected, Gao Lishi pondered for a moment after hearing this, and then spoke again: "There is a distinction between the inner and outer courts, and it is certainly not appropriate for me to comment too much on the affairs of the outer court. However, whether or not justice is up to the times and the hearts of the people. Yuwen Rong is becoming increasingly arrogant and has repeatedly lost his composure. If we allow this to continue without any intervention, where is justice?"
As the current head of the Censorate, how should Prime Minister Pei explain himself to the current officials? This is something he must carefully consider. Some say that Yuwen Rong is deeply favored by the Emperor and difficult to impeach, but the Emperor's favor only extends to the virtuous and capable; how could he tolerate the wicked and harbor evil? If, because of this, the truth is suppressed, wouldn't that be a tragedy for the world?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded in agreement. Seeing that Gao Lishi had no further instructions, he got up to take his leave.

After leaving Gao Lishi's house, he did not go anywhere else, but went straight to Pei Guangting's house in Pingkangfang.

It was still early, and neither Pei Guangting nor his son had gone home from get off work yet. However, Wu Shi should be at home. After submitting his calling card, he was not summoned for quite some time and could only stand in front of Pei Guangting's house and wait.

Bored, he looked eastward. His own house looked grand and beautiful from the outside, which made Zhang Dai feel very happy. He planned to move in after winter, so that it would be more convenient for him to go to work.

Upon crossing his own wall, he noticed that there seemed to be some activity on Li Linfu's property as well, so he arranged for Ding Qing to take a few people to investigate.

Before long, Ding Qing returned and reported: "My lord, construction has also begun on Li Linfu's house. Dozens of craftsmen are digging and ramming the walls on his land!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but laugh. Could it be that Li Linfu was so confident that he could handle him this time that he had already started popping champagne halfway through? Or perhaps he had made some kind of deal with Wu Wenshen, transferring his residence to Wu Wenshen in exchange for helping him complete the task he had agreed to with Consort Hui?

At this moment, a maidservant came out of the house and bowed to Zhang Dai, saying, "Madam has asked me to tell Young Master Zhang that the master and young master are not at home, and Madam is not in the mood to receive guests. Please go back. If you have something to tell him, please come another day."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh. He wondered what this spendthrift woman was thinking. He was, after all, her husband's trusted subordinate. If she didn't want to see him, he could have just waited outside. Why did she have to send someone to chase him away? Was she worried that her husband had too many cronies?
He inwardly grumbled, but outwardly remained polite, smiling at the maid and saying, "Please tell Madam that I have come specifically to visit you. I am here on the orders of the Duke of Bohai to express my regards, and I also have a few matters to discuss with you. If I cannot see you, I fear I will disappoint the Duke of Bohai."

After the maid entered, she hurried into the house. This time, she didn't have to wait long before coming out again to lead Zhang Dai into the inner hall of the house.

"You audacious brat, trying to intimidate me, the Duke of Bohai? Didn't the Duke of Bohai teach you that you must respect your elders and elders, and never act arrogantly!"

As soon as Zhang Dai stepped into the inner hall, he was met with a cold reprimand from Madam Wu.

He was not angry upon hearing this. He simply raised his hand in a deep bow and said with a smile, "It was because I was deeply enlightened at the Bohai Duke's residence that I realized I had incurred your aunt's wrath. That is why I rushed here to apologize. Please forgive me, Aunt..."

"No need, let it go. You are a dutiful grandson of Zhang Yan, a favored junior of Consort Hui, and a young talent praised by everyone in the capital. How dare I, with my authority, criticize you? I have always ignored your words, but today I only managed to get you to bow your head and admit your mistake by complaining to those in power. I am too lazy to care if your parents fail to raise their son well. Don't bother me again in the future!"

Wu's expression remained quite unfriendly as she sat high in the hall and spoke coldly, her eyes still filled with disdain for Zhang Dai, yet also with a hint of pleasure.

Zhang Dai increasingly felt that this woman was seriously ill. He hadn't directly offended her in any way, so why was she getting more and more excited and into the drama as she talked?
“Aunt’s words have truly broken my heart. My mother has long since passed away, and my father is away on official business. There is nowhere in the house for me to receive instruction. That is why I have come to you kind relatives, hoping to learn a thing or two about how to conduct myself and how to be a person of integrity. Now that you have abandoned me and cast me aside, where can I turn for guidance?”

He then said to Lady Wu with a sorrowful expression, “I am foolish and dull-witted. Only today, thanks to the guidance of the Duke of Bohai, do I understand the many teachings you have given me, Aunt. For example, you recently taught me to be kind to others, but I not only failed to understand your good intentions, but also argued back in anger. Now, this has indeed brought me trouble, and I can only seek help from all sides. Li Linfu, whom I used to regard as a villain, has now gathered forces to harm me. I went to ask the Duke of Bohai for help, but he told me that I must first seek your forgiveness before we can discuss anything else. Please have pity on me, Aunt, so that I may not fall into a difficult and desperate situation.”

Upon hearing this, Wu's face immediately lit up with a smug expression. Looking at Zhang Dai, who was frowning, she showed no sympathy but instead laughed with schadenfreude, saying, "Even if you can't get help from the Duke of Bohai, can't you ask someone else? Your grandfather, Duke Zhang Yan, has many former officials in the court, and Consort Hui in the palace has recently been quite fond of you, making you arrogant and looking down on the current generation. Why bother to beg me, a useless ordinary woman, for help!"

"Auntie, you flatter me. Good medicine is good, but it must be appropriate for the illness. The illness I am currently suffering from can only be cured by the skillful hands of the Duke of Bohai. Even if others are willing, they will find it difficult to help."

When Zhang Dai got to this point, he looked up at Madam Wu and said, “Didn’t you question Pei Lang about leaving money and silk with me so carelessly the other day? If you are willing to help me get the Duke of Bohai’s understanding, I have a plan to deal with this crisis. Before long, I can acquire a huge sum of money. At that time, I can not only return the money and silk, but also double it back, which can be used by you for your own purposes.”

Upon hearing this, Wu's eyes widened, and she leaned forward involuntarily, asking in a deep voice, "What other schemes do you have to harm others? From whom do you intend to obtain a huge sum of money and silk? Speak quickly!"

“My aunt probably doesn’t know that I run a money-making business, but Li Linfu has led many people to invest in it, intending to seize my assets. His schemes are vicious, leaving me in dire straits with no way out. But I realize that what he relies on is nothing more than the power of Prime Minister Yuwen. If I were to impeach Prime Minister Yuwen for accepting bribes and attempting to smuggle money out of the two capitals, and petition for a temporary suspension of the money-making in Bianzhou, and then thoroughly investigate the stolen goods, his plan would naturally fail.”

Zhang Dai then looked at Wu Shi and said with a smile, "Li Linfu's gathering this time includes many tribal chiefs and outlaws. It's no secret that he himself is burdened with huge debts. I can then spread rumors that Li Linfu tricked people into joining the scheme to swindle money to pay off his debts. The money and silk that everyone has donated have already been stolen by him. When people can't get their money back, they will naturally blame this guy. Li Linfu will have no way to defend himself and will surely die!"

"How dare you, so vicious... to act so recklessly, don't you fear the judgment of Heaven?"

Upon hearing this, Wu was immediately filled with shock and anger. She raised her hand and pointed at Zhang Dai, scolding him. Seemingly realizing that she had been too blatant, she shook her head and said, "Yuwen Rong is deeply favored by the Emperor and is shrewd and capable, which is why he has been able to hold the position of Prime Minister and his power is growing stronger. How could he be controlled by someone just because of your words?"
Besides, I've heard that the "flying money" only requires a ticket, token, and password to be withdrawn from the counter; the owner doesn't need to be present. People can easily delegate the withdrawal to someone else; who can you stop? Others are also depositing money; if you act this way, causing widespread panic, who will dare to deposit any more money?"

“Aunt, you only know one side of the story. The flying money tickets may look the same, but each one has a special mark. The counter has records of where the money came from and who handled the deposit. If there are no objections, they can be exchanged without any problem. If there are objections, not a single penny can be withdrawn!”

Zhang Dai's words were not meant to be intimidating. The financial services available at that time were not as advanced as they would be in later years. The lowest denomination of flying money was ten thousand strings of cash, which eliminated the possibility of most ordinary people using this service.

Moreover, in daily transactions, amounts of tens of thousands of strings of cash are very easy to trace. If they cannot be traced, then there must be a problem.

Therefore, it wouldn't be difficult to trace the source and ownership of the money invested by Li Linfu and his group. As long as there is a legitimate reason to use the power of the government to investigate, the Prefect of the Capital could find out the truth in a few days without affecting too many innocent people.

After all, the vast majority of people who use "flying money" nowadays do so simply because it's convenient and safe, not to commit crimes or cover up their sins. Even if some flying money funds are frozen due to the investigation of the prime minister's embezzled funds, it won't have a significant impact on others.

Because of the vast difference in their social status, normal people wouldn't feel much empathy for them. Unless they have a serious illness, who would imagine themselves experiencing the prime minister's fate?

"Even if the money can be investigated, what makes you think the court will punish the prime minister because of your impeachment? Aren't you afraid of failing to impeach someone and suffering retaliation?"

Wu was still trying to find loopholes in Zhang Dai's words in order to ease her panic.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai laughed again: "It's common knowledge that the sons of Prime Minister Yuwen gather guests and solicit bribes. If my words are true, why wouldn't the court take action? Besides, Aunt, don't forget, it's Prime Minister Pei who's currently in charge of the Censorate! I am his disciple, and it's my duty to eliminate his political enemies. Li Linfu is Yuwen's henchman; if the skin is gone, where will the hair attach?"

Upon hearing this, Wu's face turned even paler, her eyes darting around nervously, completely losing the imposing manner and charisma she had displayed when she had harshly rebuked Zhang Dai.

Just then, the sound of the prime minister's ceremonial procession and drums rang out from outside; Pei Guangting had returned home.

(End of this chapter)