Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 116 Suppression
Led by Pang Qing, Shen Lu came to Li Zisheng's study, only to see the emperor's favorite man "counting silver" there.

Count the gifts!
Shen Lu knew that the gifts received by Li Zisheng's family this New Year alone could pile up into a small mountain.

Sometimes Shen Lu couldn't help thinking that my brother-in-law seemed to have only helped Minister Li to gain a little fame, but he actually intimidated all political enemies and competitors, and in return won him even greater admiration from the ministers. He indirectly earned a mountain of gold and silver for Minister Li, and gave Laizhan a mansion, but perhaps Laizhan was the one who suffered the loss.

"Master Dao, Lord Shen is here."

Pang Qing had a cunning smile on his face like an old fox, and half-closed his eyes and said, "He has something to report to the Taoist master about the East Palace's marriage."

Li Zisheng looked up at Shen Lu and asked nonchalantly, "Hasn't everything been arranged? All the relationships have been taken care of... Ruxue, what are you still worried about?"

As soon as Shen Lu heard this, he knew that Li Zisheng was well aware of the Ministry of Rites' planning and organizing of the selection of concubines. Of course, this is easy to understand, otherwise what would be the point of him asking the Imperial Observatory to assist in the selection of concubines?
Shen Lu said respectfully, "A few more candidates have been added today. They are all outsiders who arrived in the capital early in the morning. After the by-election, they were added to the list of candidates for the palace selection."

“Everything is going as planned!”

Pang Qing smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you that I already know everything that I should know, and there won't be any accidents."

"Ah."

Li Zisheng was still busy until he finished counting the gift list, then he looked at Shen Lu and nodded, "In order to ensure that things don't go wrong, we need more outsiders to decorate the palace selection, and it will look more presentable... In this way, when it is mentioned in the future that there are candidates from all over the Ming Dynasty, it will save the court's face.

"Although we didn't add many people today, we have given them enough face. We can send them to the palace together. His Majesty is pressing us. Originally, the palace selection would be postponed to the next day or the day after tomorrow, but His Majesty just issued an order to send people to the palace this afternoon. The Queen Mother will summon these maids one by one to Qingning Palace."

Zhu Jianshen was already very anxious, and as Concubine Wan's condition worsened, it was said that she had not eaten a single grain of rice since yesterday, and not only had she cried out in pain frequently, but she had also vomited several times in a row and was almost vomiting bile. The emperor became even more anxious.

Empress Dowager Zhou pretended to be ill in order to put pressure on her son, hoping that it would have a certain negative effect. However, she did not know that this move greatly stimulated Zhu Jianshen's rebellious psychology.

In the eyes of the emperor, no one's life is more important than his "Wan Shi". Even if you are sick, you have to force yourself to come out and choose a concubine for your grandson, even if it's just a formality.

Shen Lu said cautiously: "What I am most afraid of now is an accident... In fact, early this morning, Lai Zhan went to my house."

Pang Qing, who was helping Li Zisheng secretly manage everything, was very relaxed. Hearing this, he smiled and asked, "Why, is he worried? I have already informed the noble master of Qingning Palace, what is he afraid of?"

"No."

Shen Lu organized his words in his mind, and then he said tactfully, "Laizhan said that he heard a piece of news yesterday, saying that Lord Deng... also found someone he knew to apply for the selection of the Crown Princess, and it was the daughter of a Jin merchant. Her brother is a student, and he fully meets the selection criteria."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zisheng's face changed immediately.

Even Pang Qing couldn't laugh anymore.

Sure enough, the flying knives from competitors are the most worthy of attention!

Seeing this, Shen Lu became more cautious: "Laizhan's words are very convincing. He also found out that the woman's surname is Chai, from the Chai family of Fenyang, Shanxi. I dare not neglect it and immediately checked the list. I found that there is indeed a daughter of a family surnamed Chai in Fenyang, Shanxi who passed the re-selection. If nothing unexpected happens, she will be sent to the palace for selection today." "Humph!"

Li Zisheng clenched his fists, pressed his hand firmly on the list, and said in a cold voice, "This Deng guy is totally out of his mind... He wants to compete with me for everything, even the matter of marrying into the Eastern Palace, he wants to get involved? Does he do a favor to the Eastern Palace? Will the Eastern Palace give him face? Does he think that he can hold me back by doing such a stupid thing?"

Pang Qing hurriedly suggested: "Master Dao, now that we know what happened, we should step forward and suppress the person immediately. We can't let this woman enter the palace."

"Why?"

Li Zisheng glanced at Pang Qing and asked, "You think the person he chose is stronger than the one I sent, right?"

Pang Qing explained: "It may not be a force, but I am afraid there is something that can be used. Currently, few people know about this matter, but what if the Queen Mother finds out the truth?
"According to the Queen Mother's thoughts, if both girls are sent to the East Palace and the Crown Prince is allowed to choose, and then they are kept together, it is hard to say who will be the eldest and who will be the second. I am afraid that this girl will be ordered to speak ill of you in front of the Crown Prince."

When Li Zisheng heard this, he became even more furious and shouted, "This is probably Mr. Deng's sinister intention!"

Shen Lu was timid at this time and did not dare to jump out and express his opinion.

“I just don’t know whether this news is true.”

Pang Qing looked at Shen Lu with a suspicious look, meaning, you certainly wouldn't spread false news, but your brother-in-law wouldn't think it's going to rain just because he heard the rumor, right?
Li Zisheng waved his hand and said sternly, "Who cares? Since I know about this, how can I let him succeed? Inform the Ministry of Rites to cross out the name of the woman surnamed Chai. She must not be allowed to enter the next round."

For Li Zisheng, it doesn’t matter whether the matter is true or not. Since there are risks involved, they must be eliminated in advance.

What if the originally planned things develop in the most uncontrollable direction?
If this woman were to be chosen to enter the Eastern Palace, no matter whether she was the crown prince's principal wife or a concubine, she would end up whispering in the crown prince's ear every day. How would Li Zisheng be able to maintain his wealth and prosperity for eternity?

"Bingkun, I'll have to trouble you to go there in person... Take my letter to the Ministry of Rites and tell them that this girl is not allowed to enter the palace. Also, investigate carefully to see if Deng has any other tricks up his sleeve. I'm afraid he's well prepared and has found more than just this one person to help him."

Li Zisheng was very cautious.

Pang Qing hesitated and said, "Today is still a holiday, I'm afraid there's no one at the Ministry of Rites."

"Even if no one knows, we should find the person in charge, or give a heads-up to the palace... Humph, is it difficult to stop such a person? She is just a commoner girl who was selected by a merchant family. She is not the Crown Princess yet! Even if she is, I can make sure she is not the Crown Princess!"

When Pang Qing heard Li Zisheng's resolute tone, he knew that what Deng Changen had done had completely annoyed Li Zisheng.

In the past, both sides were equal competitors. Today you were favored, tomorrow I was favored, and the fight was so back and forth that even if Li Zisheng had resentment in his heart, he had to endure it.

But now the times have changed. Li Zisheng can control everything. How can he let you, Deng Changen, do whatever you want?

First block him from entering the palace, and then find an opportunity to teach Deng Changen a lesson. It would be best if people with the surname Deng could no longer contact the emperor and make him lose power completely, just like the previous biggest rival of Li Zisheng, Monk Ji Xiao, who ended up miserably.

(End of this chapter)