Shengshichun

Chapter 391 Old Man

Yang Yi didn't care at first, but as he listened, he turned his head away.

He saw figures moving on the other side of the screen, and two men in silk shirts were whispering to each other. The voices were not particularly clear, but he was always alert, so he could hear them clearly.

Who is the "one above" who likes "osmanthus"? Who is worthy of meeting so solemnly and asking for a chance to pay respect to him?

Yang Yiqing couldn't help but prick up his ears, but saw that the two men had packed up the two scrolls of paintings and walked to the counter to pay.

Yang Yi winked at Chen Song at the door and continued to look down at the painting.

Xie Zhang picked out two paintings and handed them over: "What do you think of these two? I remember that the queen once commented on similar paintings at the palace banquet. Maybe she would like this kind of magnificent mountains and rivers."

Yang Yi looked at it carefully and nodded, "My mother is as magnanimous as a man. This is indeed the type she would appreciate. But I see that she mostly wears gentle colors nowadays. She might as well choose a bright garden landscape."

"Makes sense."

Xie Zhang agreed.

So he asked the shopkeeper to pick out some suitable scrolls and send them over. Yang Yi picked one and put it together with the previous two.

Paintings by famous artists are not cheap, but I didn’t have enough money on me, so I sent someone to deliver them to your house, and He Zhao would receive them.

Seeing that it was still early and not far from his home, Xie Zhang invited Yang Yi to his house for a visit.

Yang Yi bowed and said, "Your Excellency is very busy. I have already wasted a lot of your time today. Thank you in advance. If you are not busy another day, I will come to visit you specially."

Xie Zhang knew that he was not the kind of person who would shy away, so he let it go.

The two of them went their separate ways in front of the store. Xie Zhang walked back home, while Yang Yi looked around and called the guards who stayed behind to ask, "Which way did Chen Song go?"

The guard pointed to the east street and said, "Guard Chen, follow the two people who bought paintings to Sanyang Hutong ahead."

Yang Yi glanced forward and immediately said, "Let's go take a look."

The two people who bought the paintings conspired in low voices. Although no one mentioned a specific target, Yang Yi just happened to know a very suitable candidate, the queen.

The queen likes osmanthus.

Being the head of a country is enough to make anyone mention it in such a cautious tone.

Since it is very likely that the Queen is involved, what are the gains they mentioned?
Why did they take such a valuable painting to see the Queen?
Maybe Yang Yi was not very familiar with handling state affairs, but his vigilance was unmatched.

If he had not been alert enough all these years, he would not have been able to survive until now.

He and his guards quickly arrived at Sanyang Hutong. As soon as he entered the entrance of the alley, his attention was attracted by the high walls on both sides.

There were actually several government residences located in this alley. The bluestone road was shiny from being worn out by car wheels, but even after walking half a mile, there were not many common people on the road.

"Lord!"

When they were about to reach a red lacquered door, Chen Song came out from the alley between two houses in front of him. He pointed to the red door next to him and said, "The two people just entered here."

Yang Yi looked up at the huge characters "Yi Mansion" on the plaque and asked, "Whose home is this?"

"I have already found out. The owner of this house is Yi Yun. He used to be an official of the Crown Prince and worked in the Zhanshi Mansion. After the deposed Crown Prince was executed, the Yi family was also implicated, and Yi Yun was demoted to the Imperial Household Department as a sixth-rank official."

Yang Yi frowned: "He is a sixth-rank official, and he was implicated in the incident of the deposed crown prince forcing the emperor to abdicate. How can he still use the regulations of a first-rank official?"

"I heard that it was left by his father. But I haven't had time to ask for the specific reason."

Yang Yi withdrew his gaze from the vermilion lacquered door: "Find out as soon as possible. Also, find out the details of those two people just now. Including this Yi Yun."

Chen Song took the order and retreated. Yang Yi also turned around and left the alley with his men.

In the alley on the other side, Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan poked their heads out one after the other. When Yang Yi and the others walked away, the couple also left Sanyang Hutong from the other side of the alley and returned to the carriage.

As soon as he sat down, Fu Zhen said, "His Highness has indeed noticed something. I wonder what will happen when he finds out the details?"

Pei Zhan said: "No matter what, since this matter has fallen into his sight, it is better for us not to interfere too much. Let's continue to dig into the Yi family's actions over the years!"

Fu Zhen nodded.

After knocking on the wall of the carriage, it drove away into the distance.

After leaving the palace that day, the two of them immediately gathered everyone to start searching in the capital. There is strength in numbers, and the area to be searched is not very wide. Within two days, several clues pointed to the Yi family in Sanyang Hutong.

Yi Yun did not hold an important position in the Zhanshi Palace originally, and fortunately for that he was able to keep his official status. He was just demoted several levels and went to the Taifu Temple.

Logically, he should have stopped doing this, but he has been making a lot of noise recently. Ever since the background of Prince Yan was exposed and public opinion was stirred up in the capital, Yi Yun teamed up with several officials he was friendly with and sent people to the emperor's ancestral home to look for candidates without informing anyone, hoping to promote him to appear in the palace as a distant relative of the emperor.

In this way, everyone knew what Yi was thinking. The emperor no longer had any relatives worth contacting, and anyone who could be related to him had been rewarded in the past and had their records kept in the clan office.

In other words, those who were not on the list back then were completely unrelated.

Now the clan house can no longer find anyone who can be a candidate for the crown prince. What other relationship could the person they found with the surname Yi have other than having the same surname as the emperor?
And this chosen person will be pushed into the palace by the Yi family to become the emperor - at least that's what they plan to do. If their plan succeeds, this person will be promoted directly. And the Yi family will definitely become the right-hand man of the monarch. Isn't this path to promotion more convenient than serving in the Zhanshi Mansion?

However, this plan sounds a bit outrageous, but if Yang Yi does not exist and the emperor is really facing the dilemma of no one to inherit, then this ghost idea may really have some chance of success! As an emperor, if there is no other way, he will definitely hope that his country will fall into the hands of someone with the same surname!

The Yi family actually had such a method, so they had to investigate the details. However, the investigation did reveal some connection between the two of them...

……

Chen Song returned to the mansion in the twilight and went straight to the open pavilion to find Yang Yi sitting on the railing admiring the painting he had bought today.

"My lord, I have found out," Chen Song approached his side, "Yi Yun's father originally revolted together with Guo Su, the leader of the Jiangling uprising. Later, after joining the Zhou army, Yi's father's military achievements gradually became greater than Guo Su's, so when the country was founded, he was also made a second-rank general." At that time, the emperor sympathized with the soldiers' hardships in fighting all the way, so he granted special permission to the generals of the second rank and above to paint their gates with vermilion within three generations.

"Father Yi died more than ten years ago. As the second generation, Yi Yun's family is still a wealthy one."

"I do have an impression of the general who revolted with Guo Su," Yang Yi paused here, "but his father's name is Yi Pingyang?"

"That's right! It's Yi Pingyang! When we left the Zhou army, Guo Su and his men had only been in the army for a short time. I thought my lord didn't remember it."

Yang Yi put down the painting in his hand and asked, "Have you found out the details of the two people who bought the painting?"

"I found out!" Chen Song bowed, "One of the two is Yi Yun's cousin, probably his uncle's son. The other is the Yi family's housekeeper.

"The Yi family was once a second-rank general. Although Yi Yun was demoted, the Enronghai left by his father has recently been planning an attack to celebrate the Queen's birthday.

"They went to buy the painting because they wanted to please the Empress and present it to her."

"Is he really going to be sent to the palace?"

Yang Yi straightened his back and rested his hands on the edge of the table. "So what have they gained recently? Why would they want to use this gain to curry favor with the palace?"

"My Lord," Chen Song glanced at him suddenly when he heard this, "Not long ago, the Yi family sent people to the emperor's ancestral home and brought back two children with the surname Yang."

Yang Yi suddenly stopped: "What do you mean?"

Chen Song then went on to say, “Although these two Yang brothers are more than a dozen generations apart from the emperor, they are well educated and not very old, only fifteen or sixteen years old, and it is said that their eyes look somewhat like the emperor’s.

“The Yi family wants to take advantage of the Queen’s birthday to bring these two Yang children to the palace to meet the Emperor and the Queen.

"I would like to make a bold guess. I'm afraid they still want these two people to worship the Queen and recognize her as their adoptive mother."

"What wishful thinking!" Yang Yi blurted out, "We don't even know where they found this person, and we're not sure if she's from the Yang family. Why did he bring her into the palace? And why can he recognize her as his adoptive mother just because he wants to? The Yi family really dares to think this way!"

As he finished his words, he slapped the painting.

This is really unbelievable. A man who has fallen to the level of a sixth-rank official in the Imperial Household Department, who has been implicated by the Eastern Palace and has not yet fully turned over, actually started to think like this!
Is this what is called a slave bullying his master?
Although the emperor was weak, he was still sitting on the throne. He was not blind or deaf. He reviewed the court's memorials clearly and set a trap for Yang Yi very smoothly. Where did Yi Yun get such confidence that he thought he could do whatever he wanted?

He couldn't help but say, "People outside say that although the border was unstable in the past few years, the emperor and his ministers were united in the court and the policies were clear. Is this really the case? Or are they just people who don't know the truth and are just flattering?"

Chen Song said: "Regarding this point, I don't think it is a lie."

"If it's not a lie, then why would a family have the guts to do this?"

"My lord," Chen Song raised his head, "No matter how well-behaved a person is, he will inevitably be tempted when he sees silver coins lost on the roadside. Imperial power is a huge temptation for people in the court, and it is more attractive than silver coins lost on the roadside.

"People die for money, birds die for food. Now that there is such a big hole in the inheritance of imperial power, some people will just want to take a chance.

“Perhaps the Yi family is just the first to come out, and there are many people hiding deep inside who are ready to make a move but are still waiting and watching.

“For ambitious people, if there is no opportunity, then forget it. But once there is an opportunity, there is no way they will let it go.

"Besides, their plan can't even be called a conspiracy. It's already an open conspiracy. They will send people to the palace under the banner of helping the emperor relieve his worries. When it is confirmed that these two people are indeed surnamed Yang, then the Yi family can indeed be considered to be helping the emperor relieve his worries.

“Because if the emperor doesn’t approve, they can refuse, but there is no reason to punish them.

"Someone has to sit on this throne!"

Yang Yi pursed his lips in silence. He turned his head and looked at the solemn dusk outside the railing. After a while, he said, "So they are sure that this is the only way to go in the palace."

"Besides that, there is really no legitimate way to change the name."

Yang Yi said angrily, "Is this another trap set by that old man? Did he come up with this stupid idea to force me into the palace?"

"No." Chen Song shook his head decisively, "It's really not this time. Because during the investigation, I found that the guards of the Qianqing Palace were also patrolling incognito in various places in the capital. In addition, General Pei and General Liang also seem to be looking for clues everywhere recently."

Yang Yi glanced at him: "Are you sure?"

"The zodiac sign can confirm it."

Chen Song nodded heavily. "The guards of the Palace of Heavenly Purity have already recognized him."

Yang Yi frowned: "It turns out that this is not his trap. It is definitely not a wise move to allow such a family to exist in the court."

He picked up the tea and took two sips. He stared at his reflection in the tea for a moment and suddenly asked, "Have the people from the Qianqing Palace targeted the Yi family?"

"They are observing outside the Yi family. But no one else knows."

Yang Yi stared at him: "Since you have set your sights on him, why would you let him go?" He fixed his eyes on Chen Song's face: "What kind of person was Yi Pingyang in his past?"

"Very bellicosity. Or, rather, ostentatiousness."

"What happened to Guo Su?"

"I heard that before the emperor ascended the throne, Guo Su was very dissatisfied with his position as a second-rank general, and felt that he should also be ranked as a general, and he had some complaints about the emperor.

"The emperor tolerated it at the time, but Guo Su still refused to obey, so the emperor sent him to Guangxi to guard the border. He never came back."

"What was the relationship between Yi Pingyang and Guo Su like at that time?"

"Very good. They have always called each other brothers. And although the two governments are thousands of miles apart, they seem to still maintain correspondence."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yi flicked his sleeves, his eyes becoming serious. "Go check right now. When I delivered the letter to the old man in the northwest, who received the letter? Who were the people who chose me?"