The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 739 Secretly Happy

The struggle between Prince Ning and the Emperor was no secret.

After the death of the retired emperor Long Yu, Prince Ning, who was demoted to a commoner, also lost his last support.

His death did not cause much stir.

Instead, it was Madam Miaoyin's enthronement as empress and Zhou Xianzu's transfer that attracted attention from both the court and the public.

The reform of the Three Judicial Departments was stopped by the retired emperor. At that time, the emperor often reprimanded Zhou Xianzu for his careless speech. As the chief official, Zhou Xianzu was often ostracized by his colleagues.

Unexpectedly, thanks to his sister giving birth to an imperial heir, he was able to turn his fortunes around and became a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel.

This inevitably aroused the previous concerns of all the court officials.

Fortunately, although Lady Miaoyin was named queen, she could not be happy because her son was different from others.

As Zhou Xianzu, who was at the center of the storm, had learned some lessons from the last time. In addition, it was a period of national mourning, so he did not dare to show much complacency.

Afterwards, the emperor on his sickbed took drastic measures, but he turned the blade towards the royal family members, and made the ministers gradually come to their senses.

There were many talented civil and military officials in the court. When the emperor was ill, he first promoted Zhou Xianzu and then began to restrain the royal family members.

Even Prince Zhongshun was dismissed from his post as the chief steward of the inner court and left idle, which made many people realize that the emperor was trying to pave the way for the prince.

The imperial court can do without the royal family, and even weakening the royal family can be beneficial to the stability of the country, but it cannot do without the civil and military officials in the court.

Since the emperor did not intend to touch his foundation, all the civil and military officials in the court were naturally happy to cooperate.

Some were happy while others were sad. For a moment, all the royal family members felt insecure and behaved themselves.

Even King Zhongshun broke with his usual behavior and began to be cautious.

Also in a state of confusion was Concubine Wu, who was dreaming of taking over the throne.

She could accept the fact that Madam Miaoyin was crowned queen. After all, she gave birth to the only prince.

But the emperor has been ill for a long time and can hardly get out of bed, let alone summon someone to sleep with him?
Moreover, given the emperor's current physical condition, even if he could muster up some courage, he might not be able to strangle someone to death.

This made Concubine Wu even more confused and uncertain.

Although Zhou Xianzu learned his lesson from the last time and did not dare to show off in front of the court officials, he acted aggressively in front of Wu Tianyou and the disgraced King Zhongshun.

He repeatedly used the excuse that Quyuan Zatan was running out of money and proposed a redistribution of shares.

In fact, this is also a tit-for-tat. Back then, whether it was King Zhongshun or Wu Tianyou, one relied on his position, and the other relied on the emperor's support, to dilute the Zhou family's shares.

Finally, Zhou Xianzu, who had been holding a grudge for a long time, had the opportunity to get back at his wits' end.

Because of this, he not only did not comment on the shares of Duke Qing Qi Yuandao and Zhang Yunyi, but was happy to take the shares of both companies as a favor.

Thanks to Zhang Yun逸, he did not add insult to injury and was fair in his handling of the matter.

As a major financial sponsor, Zhang Yun逸’s influence is no weaker than Zhou Xianzu’s. In addition, there is not much money in the entertainment circle nowadays, so he can barely maintain the original situation.

Now, the emperor is still alive and Zhou Xianzu is still aggressive. When Concubine Wu thinks of the emperor's health, she can't help but worry.

The only thing to be thankful for was that Zhang Yunyi did not add insult to injury. Instead, he was ambiguous in his attitude, allowing her to still have a glimmer of hope of turning defeat into victory.

However, Concubine Wu did not know that Zhang Yunyi did not foresee that she could turn the tide, but in order to preserve the shares of Prince Zhongshun, he did not give up an inch on the shares of Quyuan Zatan, and preserved the shares of the Wu family, but was unwilling to make concessions. However, even so, as the emperor's condition worsened, Concubine Wu's hope gradually turned into despair.

This is a later story.

……

Let’s talk about Zhang Yun逸 later.

Compared with all the civil and military officials in the court and a number of royal relatives, he lives in a secluded corner with unique scenery.

Although Quyuan Zatan was almost closed during the national mourning period, it caused Zhang Yun逸 considerable economic losses and also lost its intelligence function.

But these were only temporary pains and were within Zhang Yunyi's expectations.

On the contrary, the emperor was ill, Prince Ning died in the clan house, Prince Zhongshun was dismissed from his post, and the position of Grand Eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office fell on his head.

If Zhou Xianzu only enjoyed superficial glory, he was the one who got real benefits.

In addition, it was not appropriate to hold celebrations during the national mourning period, and the Beijing-Tianjin Railway no longer needed to wait for the Wanshou Festival or the second anniversary of the emperor's accession to the throne, but was opened ahead of schedule.

As the emperor's illness lasted for a long time and his condition gradually worsened, he had no time to take care of state affairs, which gave Zhang Yun逸 more autonomy.

The artillery and firearms produced in advance by the Tiangong Institute were continuously transported to Tianjin for installation and equipment along the newly opened railway.

It is worth mentioning that the reform of the Three Law Departments collapsed halfway, and the personnel of the Five Cities Military Departments of Tianjin were disbanded. Zhang Yun逸 also absorbed some of the elite personnel in advance, and followed the newly launched ironclad ships into the sea for training.

In addition, Zhang Yun逸 knew very well that modern warfare was a logistical war.

Although ironclad ships were indestructible compared to wooden ships of the same period, they were just toothless tigers without their supply of medicine and energy.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of preparing for the new soldiers' exercises, he used the Xue family's business in Jiangnan to find several docks. He also used the Xianxue Cement Research and Development Center to produce cement, which was transported to several coastal docks in Jiangnan via the canal, and a number of supply warehouses were established.

Being able to start preparations in advance to deal with the threats from the Red Hairs, those who came to propose marriage have stopped coming. For Zhang Yun逸, everything is getting better and better.

If we have to say something that was not perfect, it was that several children were born one after another and we were unable to hold a wedding banquet to celebrate.

That was fine. After all, even the only prince lived a simple life and had a uneventful birth, let alone these few in his family?

On the contrary, the wild flowers outside were all looking forward to it because of the national mourning period.

Especially Aunt Xue, her visit to Mrs. Wang at the Hot Spring Villa undoubtedly opened up her mind, and she couldn't help but come up with the idea of ​​opening another small account.

But, as luck would have it, I met Guoxiao and could only worry.

However, the closer it got to dawn, the more Zhang Yun逸 dared not to be careless.

Not only did he no longer set foot in Jia Yucun's mansion and Mei's mansion, he also never set foot in the Xue family in Rongguo Mansion, the Jade Emperor Temple, and the courtyards of Wang Xifeng and others.

At other times, it would be just a matter of personal moral corruption, but if something happens during the national mourning period and someone finds out, it would be a big loss for a small one.

Fortunately, when darkness falls in the west, there will be light in the east, although the complicated and tangled places outside and inside the Rongguo Mansion need to be avoided.

But national mourning did not prevent him from having children at home. Qin Keqing, You sisters, Xiangling and others returned to the family one after another. With Xing Xiuyun, Yuanchun, Yingchun and Baochai, Zhang Yunyi's life was quite enjoyable.

……

(End of this chapter)