Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 205 Who is taking credit? (Seeking monthly votes)
Qianqing Palace.

Liang Fang finally met Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianshen. His principle was to kneel down when meeting someone and cry when he knelt down. His crying was so heartbreaking that even the emperor was moved.

Zhu Jianshen was holding a telescope in his hand, and wanted to use it to look around. When he saw this person who made him upset, he naturally lost his temper and shouted impatiently:
"I know you are sad and crying for Wan Shi's passing, but you don't have to act so recklessly in front of me... Okay, okay, put away your pretense and get up to talk."

Liang Fang originally thought that the emperor would empathize with his sadness, or at least be moved by him and shed a few tears.

Who would have thought that Zhu Jianshen was as hard-hearted as a rock and gave him a severe scolding.

Liang Fang could only wipe her tears while standing up and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, this is from the heart, not pretending... After these days, the sadness in my heart is not as deep as before, but after seeing Your Majesty today, I don't know why I feel sad again..."

"All right."

Zhu Jianshen waved his hands and said, "I told you to stop talking, but you still want to talk? Are you annoying? If you have something to say, just say it now."

Liang Fang said cautiously: "Your Majesty, I had someone buy a batch of tribute from the south, and I wanted to present it to Your Majesty and Lady Wan. But before the tribute arrived in Beijing, Lady Wan..."

Hearing this, Zhu Jianshen couldn't help but frowned slightly.

The prince had just given him a batch of gifts of unknown origin yesterday, and today Liang Fang was talking about tribute.

Is it such a coincidence?

"Tribute? I wonder where it is?"

Zhu Jianshen asked tentatively.

Liang Fang thought the emperor was moved and that his plan was at least partially successful, so he said, "Your Majesty, when the tribute was transported to Shandong, it was seized by local officials and their men."

"Detain!?"

Zhu Jianshen's face was grim, and he shouted, "Who is so bold? Knowing that it is a tribute to me, yet you dare to withhold it privately? Are you tired of living?"

Liang Fang said, "It was Zheng Shi, the Shandong councilor, and his group of followers. Originally, after I learned about this matter... I wanted to report it to His Majesty immediately and ask His Majesty to issue an order to allow the local authorities to release it. But I didn't know..."

Zhu Jianshen said impatiently: "Can you finish what you want to say at once? Do you think you need to pay attention to the intonation when telling a story or singing an opera? Are you trying to whet my appetite? If you have to fart, just fart now..."

"Yes."

Liang Fang said anxiously, "I have learned that some of the tributes that were withheld have been lost in the capital, and some people even gave them to important officials in the court...

"I was not sure at first, but after sending someone to investigate, I found that... it seems that this is not groundless."

When Zhu Jianshen heard this, the doubts in his heart gradually became clear.

The gifts sent by the prince yesterday and the tribute Liang Fang mentioned today turned out to be from the same batch, but there was a big problem with their ownership. Was it purchased by Liang Fang or was it obtained by the prince by accident...

There is a lot to consider here!
After Liang Fang finished speaking, he lowered his head, bent over, and pricked up his ears, waiting for the emperor to get angry and send people to retrieve the tribute. At that time, he would definitely investigate those who had held the tribute.

The main hall of the Qianqing Palace suddenly fell into deathly silence.

After a while, Zhu Jianshen raised his hand, raised his chin, and asked, "Look carefully, is this one of the tributes you bought?"

Liang Fang looked up when she heard that.

The emperor was holding a stick-like object made of something unknown. It was not very delicate, just like a crudely made bamboo tube. If you say it was a tribute...

Just kidding?
"I don't know."

Liang Fang did not dare to guarantee this, and could only report cautiously, "I just learned about the existence of this batch of tribute from the letter sent by Wei Juan, the eunuch in charge of the Maritime Customs. It is not clear which parts are lost... Please read it, Your Majesty."

Liang Fang was also prepared.

For some things, it’s not enough for me to say that they are mine. I need solid “evidence”, and the simplest one is “physical evidence” like a list.

But he seemed to have overlooked one issue, which is that whoever hands in the physical evidence first will have the advantage.

What you handed over was physical evidence, while what the prince handed over was directly the property... After others handed over their things, you said that they are all yours. Isn't that ridiculous?

Zhu Jianshen was too lazy to read the densely written list and continued to ask: "What are the tributes? You don't even know what they are when you see them in person?
"You even took out a list like this and want me to help you check it one by one? Do you think I have the time? Humph, you are so bold!"

"Slave...slave..."

Liang Fang suddenly felt that her IQ was not enough.

The emperor's attitude is very abnormal!
Originally, in Liang Fang's imagination, shouldn't Emperor Chenghua be furious when he heard about this, and then severely punish those who withheld the tribute and caused its loss?

how come……

Is this the reaction?

This is too weird!

Zhu Jianshen said with a dark face: "I am upset today and have no mood to argue with you about those trivial matters. Let me ask you, if I put some things in front of you, can you recognize which ones are the lost tributes and which ones are not?"

Liang Fang felt relieved when she heard this and nodded heavily: "Yes."

"Here comes someone!"

Zhu Jianshen suddenly shouted loudly, which scared Liang Fang.

But Zhu Jianshen said, "Call Tan Chang and have him bring me all the things the crown prince presented yesterday... Let the dog carefully identify whether it is a tribute!"

When Liang Fang heard this, she was a little confused.

What the prince presented?
Maybe a tribute?
It’s broken, it’s broken!
Could it be that my conspiracy has been discovered by some court officials, and they decisively handed the tribute to the prince, who then presented it to the emperor?

If this is true, then it would be far-fetched to hold them accountable for colluding with Zheng Shi to detain the tribute, or to falsely accuse them of being involved in the loss of the tribute.

Oops, that's not right!
I have a backup plan. I can say that the tribute was deliberately handed over to the prince by Zheng Shi through his connections, so that the prince could show his filial piety. In fact, it is a shameless act. This will prove that the prince has no honest character and is in cahoots with a group of officials in the East Palace. They want to cover up everything and deceive Your Majesty!

Liang Fang was no ordinary person after all. Before he saw what the prince presented, he had already begun to consider various possibilities, and quickly made a plan in his mind, and was thinking about what to say later.

Waited for a long time.

Tan Changcai, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, hurried into the hall with dozens of young eunuchs. Each of these young eunuchs was holding something in their hands, which was so dazzling that it was hard to see.

"See Your Majesty."

Qin Chang bowed respectfully, and the young eunuchs placed the things on the ground in front of them, then knelt down and kowtowed.

Liang Fang glared at Qin Chang fiercely, as if questioning, "You knew about this before, but you didn't remind me, and you deliberately made me look bad, right?"
Qin Chang looked at him, smiled bitterly, and looked innocent.

You said you wanted to see His Majesty, but how would I know why you came?

You didn't explain it yourself, and now you're blaming me?
Is that a problem?
Tan Chang signaled the eunuchs to leave immediately. After they had all left the hall, Zhu Jianshen asked, "Take a closer look. Are these the ones?"

After saying that, he turned around, with his back to Qin Chang and Liang Fang, and picked up the telescope in his hand to play with it.

Liang Fang quickly took out the list, compared it briefly and said in a hurry: "That's right. Your Majesty, I don't know why this batch of tribute would... appear here... I... I deserve to die."

Qin Chang reminded him, "Eunuch Liang, you have to look carefully. Are these all there? Could you have made a mistake?"

"you!"

Liang Fang pointed at Qin Chang, her eyes spitting fire, and she almost wanted to step forward and attack him.

He wanted to say, you old man, you wouldn't play tricks on me by bringing here some of the things that were not presented by the prince yesterday, are you trying to deceive me on purpose?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianshen turned around and asked with a frown, "Are these all? Are you sure?" Liang Fang was afraid that Qin Chang was deliberately setting a trap for him to fall into, so he quickly took out the list and compared it in detail for a long time.

Fortunately, there were not many things at the scene, and in order to make his "physical evidence" more realistic, he drew sketches of many exotic flowers and plants, which made it easier for him to identify them.

"Your Majesty, all of them."

Liang Fang replied respectfully.

Zhu Jianshen frowned and asked, "You mean, your subordinates bought a batch of tribute from the south, but they were seized by local officials on the way to Beijing. This batch of tribute was not in the government treasury, and some of it ended up in the capital, and was even obtained by the crown prince, who presented it to me... Is that right?"

"This slave deserves to die!"

Liang Fang knew that she couldn't directly sow discord between the emperor and the prince at this moment. She had to at least show that she knew nothing about it and was even willing to take responsibility.

Zhu Jianshen said with a straight face: "I don't want to comment too much on whether you should die or not. I just want the truth."

Liang Fang immediately changed her expression to one of sorrow and said in a tearful voice, "I really deserve to die... If I knew that this batch of things had been presented to Your Majesty by the Crown Prince, I would never mention it to Your Majesty again. After all, it is presented to Your Majesty, so it doesn't matter who presents it. Please forgive my rudeness and disrespect."

Qin Chang, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh secretly when he saw this scene.

Liang Fang, you are really good at pretending. If people don't know the inside story, they would think you are a kind-hearted person who is loyal to the emperor and the country.

But to me, who knows you well, all you did was just a loss. You wanted to frame the Eastern Palace, but someone outsmarted you. In the end, you had to make up a reason full of loopholes in an attempt to make His Majesty believe it.

Now it depends on your Majesty's reaction.

Zhu Jianshen's face turned red and his whole body was shaking.

But neither Liang Fang nor Qin Chang figured out why the emperor was angry.

Qin Chang was surprised and said quickly, "Your Majesty, after being reminded by Eunuch Liang, I seem to remember... When the Crown Prince presented this batch of tribute yesterday, he said that these tributes were accidentally obtained by the lecturers of the Eastern Palace outside the palace. It seems that they didn't know where these things came from. Under the strange circumstances, they handed them all over to the Crown Prince for his decision.

"And the prince, out of filial piety, handed it over to Your Majesty as soon as he received it, without any intention to conceal it."

These words sounded like they were both speaking up for Liang Fang and for the prince.

Don’t touch either!
Zhu Jianshen asked sternly, "Then... why were these things given to officials in Beijing? Don't they know that they are tribute?"

Seeing this, Liang Fang was secretly pleased with herself. It seemed that the emperor was really angry this time. She knelt down and kowtowed: "This servant deserves death."

"I've said before that we'll discuss whether you should die or not later. Now I just want to hear the truth from you! Just tell me what you're thinking right now. If you keep talking around in circles and saying some confusing nonsense, I'll let you die right now!"

Zhu Jianshen was extremely furious.

Liang Fang said tremblingly: "I think... it's... someone thinks that this batch of tribute is a waste of money and labor, and they don't want me to... take advantage of the huge achievements, so they use the officials in Beijing to present this batch of things to the prince, and let the prince present it... in exchange for your majesty's recognition of the prince's filial piety.

"I...I don't know the specific reason, so I can only speculate. Your Majesty, please calm down and don't hurt the dragon's body."

Liang Fang couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when she said this.

Originally, this incident could have been used to bring down dozens of high-ranking officials in the court who were related to the Eastern Palace at one time, but now they can only be charged with the crime of helping the prince to take credit. After the emperor sends people to investigate, he may still think that the prince and this group of officials were unaware of it, and the crime will be much lighter when it comes to punishment, and he may even only hold Zheng Shi accountable.

Even after experiencing this incident, those court officials would still be irreconcilable with him after knowing the whole story... He originally wanted to force these people to resign from their posts, and silence them, so that they would never dare to plead for the prince on the issue of a succession of crown princes again, and completely cut off the prince's wings.

Now, it seems like... it has backfired.

Zhu Jianshen was still very angry and raised the object in his hand: "I ask you again, is this also one of your tributes?"

Liang Fang was very confused.

He was still wondering, His Majesty was so angry about the loss of the tribute, why didn't he question it? For example, the yellow coral had a lot to say, why was he so concerned about a seemingly ordinary object?

He also asked me whether this item was included in the tribute?
There are so many items listed on the tribute list that I can’t even remember if there was such an item. Could it be that the people below sent the wrong item when they were framing me?
Or... is the emperor deliberately testing me?

If I say "yes", but this thing is not actually, and it has its own origin, wouldn't that be slapping myself in the face?
So should I answer "yes" or "no"?

What a headache!
Liang Fang obviously couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts, so he could only look at Qin Chang for help. After all, only Qin Chang knew the details of this matter. If Qin Chang was willing to help him... then the relationship between the two would not be so awkward.

Qin Chang understood Liang Fang's meaning and spoke at the right time: "Eunuch Liang, just tell me the truth and ask whether the item is a tribute or not.

"It is said that this thing is called a telescope, and it is an extremely magical thing that can bring distant scenery right in front of you. Your Majesty said at the time that we could buy more of this thing and bring it back, or it could be used in the northwest battlefield.

"The prince presented it to your majesty yesterday. Your majesty was very puzzled at the time. How could the prince get such a good thing without leaving the East Palace? If it was really a tribute from the local area, it was accidentally lost, and then the prince got it by chance, then everything can be explained."

Liang Fang understood immediately after hearing it.

The reason why the emperor cared so much about the origin of this thing was because the prince had claimed credit that he did not deserve.

Generally, tributes are just toys, with only form, and can be thrown aside after being admired.

Now the emperor has seen the great strategic value of this thing called "telescope".

Liang Fang thought, how could such a good thing be possessed by the isolated Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace?
It must be something from my batch of tribute!
Liang Fang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I remember that this thing seemed to be among the tribute. But I have not checked in detail whether it is among the lost items...

"Who would have thought that there was such a good thing in the world? It could have been used on the battlefield, but it was seized and even... secretly transferred to others."

Qin Chang laughed and said, "Eunuch Liang is wrong... The prince presented it to His Majesty immediately after receiving it, so how could it be stolen goods?

"Besides, if His Royal Highness knew that this was stolen property, how could he present it to His Majesty? Isn't he afraid that His Majesty will hold him accountable? There must be a misunderstanding!"

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Jianshen's face was unusually grim.

At this time, he had returned to his old ways, believing that his son had taken credit for other people's work. He had just felt a little more admiration for his son's filial piety, but now all that admiration was gone.

Qin Chang quickly bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the prince may have been used by someone... But after seeing the extraordinary value of this item, the prince immediately thought of presenting it to Your Majesty, which shows that the prince has a pure heart."

Zhu Jianshen was breathing heavily, and it was obvious that he was still angry with his son.

But thinking about what his son said yesterday, he felt somewhat relieved. After all, his son did not say that he had sent people to find this thing, and he also emphasized that it was the lecturer of the East Palace and others who found it by accident...

If we think further, if someone deliberately gave something to the lecturer of the Eastern Palace, should we blame the person who received the gift or the person who gave the gift?

Zhu Jianshen said: "Since this item has great strategic value, then you can have another batch made. Once it is made, I will not hold you accountable for losing the tribute."

When Liang Fang heard this, she was surprised.
Haven't I made it clear enough?
The tribute was seized and the items were secretly sent to officials in Beijing by treacherous people. Why should I be held responsible for the loss of the tribute?
Or has Your Majesty thought of something but just didn't tell me directly?
Qin Chang took the opportunity to say, "If we can make more of this kind of thing, it will be of great significance. In addition... among the gifts presented by the prince yesterday, there was something called soap. Your Majesty has already rewarded it to the ladies in the harem yesterday, and even sent a piece to the Queen Mother... It is said that even our ancestors praised it after using it."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianshen immediately asked, "So, the soap must be one of the tributes you lost... Send another batch to the palace."

Qin Chang sighed, "Yes, it's not enough. The quantity is too small. Many of them have not been sent to the palace yet... Your Majesty doesn't want to favor one over the other."

Liang Fang couldn't help but look at Qin Chang with an angry look, as if to say, can you please just shut up?

Now he's asking me for a telescope and some soap. I don't even know what those things are, let alone where they came from. As for whether they can be made... I have no idea.

Qin Chang, you are sincerely giving me a difficult problem.

"I will do my best to live up to your grace."

Liang Fang was helpless, but facing Zhu Jianshen's ferocious eyes that were ready to devour anyone, she could only kneel down and kowtow to accept his orders.

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(End of this chapter)