Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 304 Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick
"Zhang Lian, Zhang Lian." Zhu Houzhao muttered a few words and said to Pei Yuan, "Let him submit the letter as soon as possible."

Pei Yuan thought to himself, here it comes.

I worked hard for half a day today just to eat these dumplings.

Pei Yuan hurriedly said, "Please ask the emperor to give me a handwritten letter so that Censor Zhang can cooperate with my actions."

Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised, "Isn't he very familiar with you?"

Pei Yuan explained, "This is a matter concerning the emperor's reputation, I'm afraid Zhang Lian will hesitate."

Zhu Houzhao hesitated for a moment. After all, he had only met Pei Yuan a few times, so he didn't dare to trust him too much. He immediately wrote a vague note, used his private seal, and gave it to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan opened it and saw only some repetitive words asking Zhang Lian to stick to the right path, stick to his original intention, and not have any worries.

The private seal that indicated his identity was the world-famous golden seal of "Daqing Dharma King".

This seal has a magical effect within the court.

Everyone knew that it was Zhu Houzhao's seal, but no one was willing to admit it.

Last year, Zhu Houzhao wrote an imperial edict to the Ministry of Rites, intending to allocate 100 hectares of land to a foreign monk so that the monk could build a Dharma King's lower house for him. However, when Fu Gui, the Minister of Rites at the time, saw it, he immediately criticized it fiercely.

Who the hell is the Dharma King Daqing? He actually dared to put his seal on the emperor's decree. It was extremely disrespectful.

The eunuch in charge was very angry and took the decree back to complain.

Zhu Houzhao's response to this was to persuade the eunuch: "Forget it, forget it..."

Pei Yuan looked at the note with high-sounding words in his hand, and then looked at the useless private seal, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, such a cautious method can be said to be...

This completely matched Pei Yuan's prediction about Zhu Houzhao.

Pei Yuan carefully put the note away.

To Pei Yuan, the content on the note was not important, nor was the seal on it. What was important was the note itself.

If we put it into easy-to-understand game terms, this thing is now called a "quest item".

No matter how rubbish this thing is, it will have magical power if used in the right place.

Seeing Pei Yuan put away his things, Zhu Houzhao lost interest in talking and immediately got up to leave.

Pei Yuan hurried to see him off, but Zhu Houzhao stopped him by waving his hand, signaling him not to attract too much attention.

Only after Zhu Houzhao left did Pei Yuan calm down and turn his attention back to the candidates who were making impassioned speeches.

Just as Pei Yuan expected, as Zhu Houzhao supported Liang Chu, the spirit and morale of these scholars were indeed much lower than before.

Despite Huo Tao's repeated instigation, fewer and fewer people responded.

Even some people who had initially responded actively, after seeing their companions gradually falling silent, belatedly realized and lowered the tone of their words.

Seeing this, Huo Tao knew that nothing could be done and felt quite depressed.

Pei Yuan waited patiently until the scholars dispersed one after another and Huo Tao was about to leave disappointedly. Pei Yuan then stood up and stopped him with a smile.

"Please stay first."

As the number one in the world in the next imperial examination, Huo Tao had his own luck. When Pei Yuan called him, he felt his scalp tingling and had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

I wanted to ignore it and just leave, but I was stopped again.

He could only take a look at the man in front of him and asked cautiously, "Who are you? I have no impression of you."

Pei Yuan replied, "The indignant man wants to get drunk with Wei Xian."

The "angry person" in Pei Yuan's words hit Huo Tao's heart. He asked in confusion, "Since we are on the same path, why didn't you discuss it together just now, but come to stop me now?"

Pei Yuan spread his hands, "Because I don't have any honors in the provincial examination."

Huo Tao's doubts were immediately resolved. He looked back at the corner where everyone had been discussing and said bitterly, "A bunch of useless people, even if they talk from morning to night and from night to morning, what great things can they accomplish?!"

Seeing this, Pei Yuan hurriedly called the store owner and asked if there was anything to eat with the wine.

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "We do have some meat dishes to go with the wine, but this is outside the Da Ci'en Temple, so we have to consider the face of the Buddha and Bodhisattva, so we'd better go to the backyard corridor to enjoy it."

Pei Yuan stood up and pulled Huo Tao's sleeve without any hesitation, "Let's go, I'll accompany you to relieve your troubles."

Huo Tao sighed.

Not only did he fail to accomplish his mission and offend the Liang family, he decided to leave and planned to go home to study to avoid any other trouble.

Facing Pei Yuan's invitation, Huo Tao was quite calm.

——I will run away after eating. If the other party has any plans, then handsome boy, come to Guangdong to find me!

The two of them walked to the backyard hand in hand, and found that although the front of the store was not big, the yard at the back was quite large.

There is a pond for raising fish inside, with a long corridor built around it and several tables and chairs.

Pei Yuan took Huo Tao to a good seat, asked the shopkeeper to bring some wine, and ordered some braised meat.

Huo Tao had already prepared to flee back to Guangdong, so he accepted everyone who came and drank the wine to the bottom of the glass. He then dipped the finely chopped braised meat in the sauce and ate it with satisfaction.

When Pei Yuan saw Huo Tao's attitude, he had some guesses in his mind.

He was not in a hurry to start a conversation and ate a lot. After finishing another cup, Pei Yuan pretended to sigh.

Huo Tao was too embarrassed to just sit there eating since Pei Yuan had invited him. Although he knew that the guy in front of him was about to reveal his intentions, he still had to ask, "Brother, why are you sighing?"

Pei Yuan said in a drunken tone, "What Liang Ci's actions have done is really infuriating. I see that you are doing nothing, so I plan to try it myself and see if I can bring him to justice."

Seeing that Pei Yuan was not speaking like others, Huo Tao could not help but say, "Excuse me, I haven't asked for your name yet?"

Pei Yuan replied, "My name is Pei Yuan. I was born into a military family and do some minor work at Zhihua Temple."

Huo Tao then realized that the guy in front of him was not just an ordinary failed student.

He immediately felt that the meat in his hand was no longer tasty, so he asked tentatively, "Could it be that Brother Pei works in the Ministry of Rites?"

Pei Yuan shook his head and said frankly, "Jinyiwei."

Huo Tao's face changed, and he was about to stand up. Pei Yuan quickly stopped him and said with a smile, "I am just a Jinyiwei who manages monks. Could it be that Brother Huo is confusing me with those evil Jinyiwei?"

Without even wiping the oil off his lips, Huo Tao said sternly, "People with different ideals cannot work together. Jinyiwei and I have nothing to say to each other."

Pei Yuan pushed him back to his seat and said sternly, "But we are on the same path now. We are both indignant about Liang Ci's massacre of the people. We both want to sweep away the evil atmosphere in the court and clear up the chaos. Can't we reach a consensus on this matter?"

Huo Tao ignored this. Although he sat down, he was not fooled by Pei Yuan's words and still insisted, "I, Huo Tao, will never cooperate with Jinyiwei."

Pei Yuan picked up a peanut from the table and threw it into his mouth. "To be honest, I don't need you. The Censor Zhang Lian and I are close friends. I plan to persuade him to write a letter to the court to impeach Liang Chu and request his dismissal from his position as a cabinet minister."

"What?" Huo Tao was shocked. Liang Chu was now ranked third in the cabinet, after Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe.

Considering that Li Dongyang is old and basically no longer takes care of affairs, it is not an exaggeration to say that Liang Chu is the second best minister of the current dynasty.

Although Huo Tao organized the candidates to target Liang Ci'ao, no one dared to directly target Liang Chu.

In addition, Huo Tao was also surprised by the person Pei Yuan mentioned.

"Are you talking about Zhang Lian, the Censor-in-Chief who first impeached Liang Cishuo in a letter to the court?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Not bad."

After that, he asked Huo Tao, "How do you compare to Zhang Lian?"

Huo Tao was silent for a moment. "Zhang Lian does not shy away from the powerful. He first impeached Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling, and then impeached Liang Chu's son Liang Ci'an. This person has a clear character and a strong will. Huo is not as good as him."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Zhang Lian is not shy about my identity as a Jinyiwei, and treats me as a close friend. Why should Brother Huo be so arrogant?"

After saying this, he took the wine jug in his hand and was about to add more wine to Huo Tao.

Huo Tao subconsciously wanted to stop him, but after hearing Pei Yuan's words, he moved his hands and finally let Pei Yuan fill it up.

After Pei Yuan filled his glass with wine, Huo Tao asked hesitantly, "Excuse me, Zhang Lian is an imperial censor, so noble, how could he possibly be close to a Jinyiwei like you?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "I am a Jinyiwei who manages the monks' comings and goings in the temple. Every day, I watch over the ancient Buddha statues with green lamps and bright moon. Am I not more noble than most ordinary people?"

Pei Yuan said again under the influence of alcohol, "I know you don't believe me. Well, I will go to see Zhang Lian tonight and ask him to submit a letter to the court tomorrow morning. Then you will know what kind of man I am."

Huo Tao became more and more confused when he heard Pei Yuan say this.

Pei Yuan came this time just to show up in front of Huo Tao and to create a time difference. He took advantage of Zhang Lian's letter to offset some of the negative reputation of the identity of "Jinyiwei" in Huo Tao's heart.

Pei Yuan drank another glass of wine and asked Huo Tao, "Do you know this person called Tian Fu?"

Huo Tao hesitated for a moment and said, "I've heard a little bit about it."

Pei Yuan said, "I am an outsider, so I shouldn't interfere in this matter. But I just can't stand such disregard for human life, so I come to the Da Ci'en Temple from time to time to take a look."

"I found that although Tian Fu acted late, he is determined and not inferior to you. Why don't you two join forces and make a big move together?"

Huo Tao shook his head after hearing this. "That's impossible. He is from Shunde, the same hometown as Liang Ci'er."

Pei Yuan asked, "Don't you trust him?"

"That's not the case." Huo Tao explained, "He is from Shunde. If he does this out of righteous indignation, no one in the world can say anything. But if he joins forces with me, a Nanhai native, he will be suspected of betraying his own people."

Pei Yuan had originally planned to release the two sheep together, and felt a little depressed after hearing this. Doesn't that mean he will have to go find Tian Fu and do it again?
Thinking of this, Pei Yuan didn't waste time with Huo Tao anymore.

We must quickly take up the reputation mission regarding Tian Fu before the "Zhang Lian's Petition" event is triggered.

Thinking of Huo Tao's narrow-mindedness, Pei Yuan deliberately said, "Well, today I'm done drinking, I'll go to Tian Fu and see what kind of person he is."

After saying this, he asked people to pay the bill and stood up to leave.

Huo Tao looked at Pei Yuan's back, frowned, and wondered what this idiot wanted to do, but he couldn't figure it out.

However, if he could really persuade Zhang Lian to impeach Liang Chu, this "Liang Ci's murder case" might have a turning point.

In this case, there is no need to rush back to Guangdong.

Pei Yuan left Huo Tao and walked out of the teahouse. He waved to Yun Buxian who was waiting not far away, and then asked, "Has Tian Fu left?"

Yun Buxian replied, "I have already returned to my rental place."

Pei Yuan asked, "Do you know the place?"

Yun Buxian replied, "The house he rented is not far from here. I know the way."

Pei Yuan said, "Send someone to buy some wine and food, and go with me to see Tian Fu."

After hearing this, Yun Buxian quickly arranged for his personal soldiers to take care of it. After a while, they brought two jars of wine and a lot of cooked meat and dried fruits wrapped in paper.

Pei Yuan had an average alcohol tolerance, and by the time he arrived at the courtyard rented by Tian Fu, he was already a little drunk.

Yun Buxian walked up and knocked on the door. An old servant came forward to answer the call. Seeing that the visitor was bringing wine and food and was not on guard, he led him into the courtyard.

Tian Fu was reading in front of the window and looked out in surprise when he saw this.

Pei Yuan took a look and saw that he was a little older, with ordinary looks, probably in his thirties. He looked much more stable than Huo Tao, who was about twenty-four or twenty-five.

Tian Fu stood up through the window and asked calmly, "This is the place where Tian rents. Who are you looking for?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "That's why I came to look for Brother Tian. Huo Tao and I didn't enjoy drinking enough, so I wanted to see if Brother Tian is someone I can relate to."

"Huo Tao?" Tian Fu hesitated for a moment. They both organized social movements in Da Ci'en Temple, so they knew each other's identities. After hearing what Pei Yuan said, he had some guesses in his mind, so he said, "A guest is a guest, and Tian will accompany him."

Seeing that Tian Fu was calm, Pei Yuan slightly modified his previous judgment of him.

After Tian Fu invited Pei Yuan to the main hall, he did not care about the time and directly asked Yun Buxian to put the food he brought on the table.

When the old servant saw that Yun Buxian had brought some wine, he went to the kitchen to get hot water to heat the wine.

Pei Yuan was a little tipsy and didn't say a word. Tian Fu also kept his composure and waited to hear what Pei Yuan wanted to say.

Soon the wine got hot, and Pei Yuan drank a cup with Tian Fu, then he said, "I am Pei Yuan, a Jinyiwei spying in Zhihua Temple. I have been keeping an eye on you because I am upset about Liang Ci's affairs."

"Today, I heard that the court had rewarded the Liang family. I felt a little unhappy, so I went to find Huo Tao for a drink."

When Pei Yuan said this, he observed carefully and found that there was no change in Tian Fu's expression after he heard that he was a Jinyiwei.

Then he said, "I saw that Huo Tao's spirit had been drained and he was not happy drinking, so I came to look for Brother Tian. Brother Tian would not despise me for being a Jinyiwei, would he?"

Tian Fu said calmly, "How could that be? Liang Ci'an is the son of a cabinet minister, but he is as cruel as a tiger and a wolf. Although Brother Pei was born in the Jinyiwei, he can distinguish right from wrong and hates evil. He is also a brave man whom Tian respects."

Pei Yuan was drunk and laughed, "Well said, you are indeed different from Huo Tao."

Tian Fu also smiled when he heard this, raised his glass and said, "Tian and my brother will drink another glass."

Pei Yuan finished his drink and was about to tell Zhang Lian that he was planning to persuade him to write a letter to the emperor.

Tian Fu observed Pei Yuan and said, "I see that you are a strong man, with the spirit of a Yanzhao hero, and you can distinguish good from evil, and right from wrong, which is rare. But Liang Ci's matter involves the current cabinet elders, so you can just talk about it, but for your own sake, please don't act recklessly."

Pei Yuan recalled what he had said in front of Zhu Houzhao, and he became a little emotional. He immediately slammed the table and said, "Who is Liang Ci'an? If such an evil villain is not eliminated, will there be justice in this world?"

Tian Fu saw that Pei Yuan's words came from the heart, so he looked at Pei Yuan with a deep gaze and said, "Brother Pei, do you know that there are 'small righteousness' and 'great righteousness' in this world?"

Pei Yuan felt that Tian Fu's words were very kind, and he couldn't help but ask, "Please speak."

(End of this chapter)