Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 194: Favors (asking for monthly tickets)

The next morning.

Li House.

In the living room in the backyard, Li Zisheng was wearing court clothes. He was going to attend court that day as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. This was also the first time that Zhu Jianshen attended court after the New Year.

For the ministers in the court, this is also a special festival and everyone takes it very seriously.

At this time, besides several beautiful maids who helped Li Zisheng put on his clothes, there were three other people standing beside him, namely Pang Qing, Shen Lu and Zhang Luan.

Li Zisheng opened his arms and urged impatiently, "Hurry up, don't delay the morning court later."

Pang Qing smiled and said, "Your Majesty's scheduled court meeting time is not too early, so it shouldn't be considered an early court meeting, right?"

Li Zisheng replied nonchalantly, "It is a blessing for a minister to see the emperor several times a year. Why would we care about the morning and afternoon courts? We will go when the notice arrives."

Pang Qing glanced at Zhang Luan and said, "Thanks to you, the Taoist priest, for reporting the good news to His Majesty on behalf of Mr. Zhang, telling him that he will recover soon... As Mr. Zhang said, His Majesty recovered quickly. Now that His Majesty has recovered, he is holding court, which gives all the civil and military officials a chance to see him. Those officials should thank you, the Taoist priest and Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Luan felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this.

In the past, when Pang Qing wanted to flatter someone, he basically only had to flatter Li Zisheng. But now he has to flatter two people at the same time, and he himself was actually dragged into it.

"Can this be considered my credit? They all came here to see me."

Li Zisheng said with a smile, "In a few days, the marriage of the Eastern Palace will be officially completed. After the wedding, you will be an important official in the court. By then, I will find a way to help you talk so that you can officially enter the Honglu Temple to perform your duties, and it will no longer be an empty title!"

Zhang Luan's eyes lit up when he heard that the fourth-rank Honglu Temple Minister was in charge of foreign guests, court ceremonies and other important matters, and could be considered a powerful figure in the court. He hurriedly said, "Thank you, Minister Li, for your support."

"Look at you, you're talking nonsense again."

Li Zisheng said, "Oh, by the way, the Ministry of Personnel has made a major decision these past two days. None of the officials in Hejian Prefecture have resigned. Many of them have even received excellent evaluations and are just waiting to be promoted when the selection process comes back... Come and look, from now on, the officials in Hejian Prefecture will follow your lead."

Zhang Luan was pleasantly surprised when he heard this and said, "It is thanks to your help, Minister Li, that we are in this situation now. How dare I take credit for it? I am so ashamed!"

Li Zisheng suddenly seemed to be muttering, "Recently, His Majesty has been talking about giving me a promotion, but I don't know how high I can get. I can influence the official titles of most people in the court, but I can't control myself. Isn't this a kind of sadness?"

Pang Qing seemed to have heard something, glanced at Zhang Luan, and then chimed in, "Either the Minister of Rites or the Left Vice Minister of Rites... His Majesty has such confidence in you, so you should be entrusted with an important task."

"Laizhan, what official position do you think I will be promoted to?"

Li Zisheng asked with a smile.

Zhang Luan swallowed his saliva. He wanted to say, of course, promote him to Shangshu. This way he could get a good reputation and not offend anyone. Why not do it?

But then he thought that since Li Zisheng asked him in person, he would not just ask him to say some auspicious words of blessing, but must want him to help with the calculation.

But now that his youngest son is not around, how does he know what to say so as not to arouse the other party's suspicion?
Shen Lu saw that Zhang Luan looked strange and seemed to be in great difficulty, so he quickly said, "Of course it's the Minister of Rites."

"oops."

Li Zisheng pointed at Shen Lu and said, "In fact, whether it is the Minister of Rites or the Left Vice Minister, they are just honorary positions. I wish I could really get those positions...

"Until now, there are still many people in the court who look down on me. I can't blame them. Who made me not come from the official imperial examination? But in the current situation, even if I am a Jinshi, what does it matter? Those top three candidates still have to rely on me to survive, haha."

"What the Taoist said is absolutely right. Who in the court dares to challenge the Taoist now?"

Pang Qing praised Li Zisheng, then turned to Zhang Luan and said in a pleading tone: "Mr. Zhang, can't you just count on your fingers for me right now?"

"Don't force yourself to come."

Li Zisheng had already dressed up and immediately corrected his staff, "To predict the heaven's secrets, there is a set of mysterious methods, and they all work, which must contain great risks... Think about me, Li, how can a mere mortal body appear in the evolution of heaven's secrets? This kind of thing, it's better not to predict it!"

After hearing this, not only Shen Lu and Pang Qing, but even Zhang Luan heard something.

It seems that Li Zisheng is very afraid that the secret of heaven will come true to him.

It was obvious that he relied on that set of mysterious and metaphysical methods to gain a foothold in the court, but he was afraid that his own destiny would be calculated by others, and he was even more afraid of knowing it in advance.

This is a manifestation of his extreme lack of confidence.

……

……

An hour passed quickly.

Outside Fengtian Hall.

It was already noon, but the ministers were still not allowed to enter the palace. This was a large-scale court meeting, and all civil and military officials gathered together, all lined up in an orderly manner waiting for the emperor to appear.

Li Zisheng, a court official who came from a Taoist background, was listed in the East Class, separated from the military officials in the West Class next door, and there was still a bit of pride on his face.

Because after the cabinet ministers and the six ministers, Li Zisheng was the one standing closest to the front, even the chief officials of the Censorate and the Dali Temple were listed behind him.

However, when he saw Deng Chang'en standing behind him, he was immediately filled with anger - since when did this clown get such a high rank?

"Master Li, are you okay? You look really good today. I guess you're going to be promoted again. This is a time of great luck for you." Deng Chang'en spared no effort to please Li Zisheng, saying some flattering words that even he himself did not believe.

Li Zisheng's mouth twitched, and he said with a half-smile: "You look pretty good...but the dirty things you did don't seem like something you would do in the bright sunshine."

"what?"

Deng Chang'en was stunned. Why was Li Zisheng mocking me in front of others?

What did I do to make you so angry?

This scene was very interesting to some of the self-proclaimed upright officials behind. They were all thinking, this is really a case of dogs biting each other and getting fur in their mouths, it would be best if they started fighting in person and made the two of you lose your dignity.

After waiting for a long time, no one who was summoned into the hall came.

All the ministers were waiting anxiously. Some people in the team began to whisper about something, and the censors from the six departments behind the line seemed to be filled with indignation. They seemed to want to take advantage of today's court meeting to expose the illegal behavior of certain people and rectify the government.

Finally, when the sun was high in the sky and many people were feeling hot because of the scorching sun and the thick clothes they were wearing, the eunuch Tan Chang, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, finally appeared outside the Fengtian Gate.

"My fellow ministers, the emperor is not feeling well today, so we will not attend the court... Please go back."

Qin Chang did not disappoint the hopes of those present.

The words he brought were basically the same as what he had said in the same situation over the past few years.

Zhu Jianshen once again stood up the ministers present.

In the past, some civil officials were not used to it and even wanted to be serious about it, so they wrote memorials to advise and remonstrate. Unfortunately, the emperor either kept them in his palace or issued an edict to reprimand them. Some even lost their jobs because of this. As time passed, it is now the 23rd year of Chenghua. The ministers present have long been familiar with the emperor's temperament and roughly understand that it is really difficult to see the emperor.

Everyone started to walk out.

Wan'an intended to move closer to Li Zisheng, and before he even walked out of the left gate of Chang'an, he had already rubbed against Li Zisheng's side.

"Eh, eh."

Wan'an's way of greeting is also different from others.

He didn't call out his name, but it seemed like he was reminding Li Zisheng that he was here and he could get close to him at the right time so that he could have some way out.

Li Zisheng certainly knew that Wan'an was the kind of person who had to put on airs when he was outside, but had no moral integrity at all in private. Now he also knew that he had to consider the other party's face. After all, he was the prime minister of the dynasty, and nominally the highest official in the country. He should take the initiative to greet him.

"Lord Wan, I am honored to be here."

Li Zisheng stopped and bowed, looking extremely respectful.

Wan An stopped, straightened his back with satisfaction, and responded with a smile: "Minister Li, hasn't it been a long time since we last got together?"

As he spoke, Wan'an looked around deliberately, as if he was looking for someone.

Li Zisheng sneered in his heart. You visited me at the beginning of last year, but now you are pretending to be a stranger to me? He immediately said in a slightly mocking tone: "That Deng Taichang has left first. If you want to catch up, you may still catch up if you hurry up."

"Uh……"

Wan An looked somewhat embarrassed. "No, no, I'm not looking for him. I just want to see if there's anyone who's ignorant enough to get close to us."

Li Zisheng smiled.

Wan'an's temperament... made him feel uncomfortable.

Same-sex repels!
Both of them are the kind of people who rely on flattery and reading people's expressions to get to the top. When they get together, it's like looking at themselves in the mirror. Their appearances and life experiences are different, so they just feel uncomfortable.

Wan An pretended to be calm and shook his head, saying, "That Deng guy is not reliable at all! I don't know where he got those pills from and asked me to present them to the emperor. Can I present them casually? I sent someone to investigate, and guess what? The medicine is not right. If you take it, there may be serious consequences!"

"Oh? How did you find out? Did the people in the Imperial Hospital know the origin of the medicine? Would they be so presumptuous as to criticize it in front of you?"

Li Zisheng pretended not to know.

Wan An smiled and said, "I won't go to the Imperial Hospital... I can't trust those people at all. Even Concubine Wan was cured to death by them. Who would dare to entrust me with such an important task?"

Li Zisheng nodded in agreement: "We share the same opinion. I think so too."

Wan An said, "I went to find Zhang Honglu... the one who will soon marry the prince. This new relative of the emperor is really an expert in medicine. He could tell at a glance that the elixir was not right, which prevented me from getting into trouble. Minister Li, I want to recommend him to you, which can be regarded as a favor."

Li Zisheng's face changed when he heard this.

Zhang Laizhan is mine!

Even though you, Wan'an, are the Prime Minister of the current dynasty, you hold a high position and great power, but don't you know how much power you actually have? When will it be your turn to get close to Zhang Laizhan? And you even openly recommend him to me?

"Master Wan, do you think this person is capable of great use?"

Li Zisheng asked with a smile.

Wan An nodded and said confidently: "This Zhang Honglu is talented and has a way of dealing with people. He is kind to others and has a good reputation. In addition, he has a relationship with the prince. He will definitely have a foothold in the court in the future. Minister Li, if you think this person is talented enough, why don't you recommend him to His Majesty?"

Li Zisheng frowned.

I thought to myself, if I recommend Zhang Luan to the emperor as you said, will Zhang Luan remember your kindness or mine?

That's not right. As the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, you want to promote the future father-in-law of the Crown Prince who is a scholar. Are you sure you are not playing with fire?
Is His Majesty still alive?
Li Zisheng was already very annoyed, and suddenly he felt that Wan'an's purpose was not simple, but unfortunately he could not figure it out for the time being.

"According to what Elder Wan said, Zhang Honglu should be very good at curing illnesses and saving lives, but he is now the father-in-law of the Eastern Palace, and his status is extremely awkward. We can't let him work part-time in the Imperial Hospital, right? I think we should put this matter on hold for now. At least wait until the Eastern Palace's wedding is completed... What do you think, Elder Wan?"

Li Zisheng became more cautious.

He was still figuring out what Wan'an was trying to do.

Wan An, however, had a frank face and said with a smile: "I will leave the matter of recommending Zhang Honglu to you, Minister Li. I heard that Minister Li has a close relationship with him, but I think His Majesty will be cautious about some things and will not agree easily. When the time comes, just say that it was me who recommended him."

Li Zisheng had not yet recovered from Wan'an's forced recommendation of Zhang Luan, so he didn't think any more about it.

When he said goodbye to Wan'an, he was still angry. He always felt that Zhang Luan was a precious treasure and should not fall into the hands of others easily, otherwise he might pose a threat to him.

(Second update is here. I need monthly tickets urgently. I beg you to help me. Thank you!)
(End of this chapter)