Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 240 Credibility

On the second day, the news that Liang Fang had taken the initiative to seek peace talks with Xie Qian spread among the lecturers in the Eastern Palace.

Originally, they were discussing submitting a joint memorial, but after this incident, they had to put their work on hold and wait and see what would happen.

It's not that they are not brave enough, it's just that the court is now dark. Even the leading figures of the Hanlin Academy, the two cabinet ministers Wan'an and Liu Ji, are foolish and incompetent fence-sitters who are used to changing their attitudes according to the wind. They feel that no one in the court can support them.

If you can avoid direct conflict with the powerful people of the time, you should exercise appropriate restraint and forbearance.

It was also on this day that Zhu Youtang did not study hard in class for the first time and started transcribing the lectures on his own.

Although Zhu Youtang himself felt that it was inappropriate to do so, when he thought of his wife's instructions and the great grief his old father suffered due to the death of his mother Wan and his health was getting worse day by day, he was desperate to free his old father from the sea of ​​suffering as soon as possible.

Even if it doesn't work, he would be happy to do his best.

When Liu Jian and his friends left the palace after school in the afternoon, Cheng Minzheng, a lecturer at the Imperial Academy who was also a lecturer at the Eastern Palace, hurried over to them. After they were walking side by side, he asked softly, "Brother Xixian, did you see what the Crown Prince was doing earlier?"

Cheng Minzheng had extremely high academic accomplishments in the Ming Dynasty literary world and was considered a unique figure in the Hanlin Academy. However, because his father-in-law was Li Xian, the chief minister designated by Emperor Yingzong to take care of Emperor Chenghua and the chief minister in the early years of Emperor Xianzong, and after Li Xian's death, he was ostracized and belittled by some later cabinet ministers in the court, Cheng Minzheng was also treated coldly in the Hanlin Academy.

Liu Jian glanced at him sideways, then shook his head: "I haven't noticed it."

Cheng Minzheng sighed, "The prince seems to be copying something. This is not good. I thought the prince's marriage would not have much impact on his studies, but now it seems..."

It's almost like saying that the prince is not doing his job properly now.

This change was most likely caused by marriage. After all, the child didn't have to do anything except studying before, so he was addicted to learning. The lecturers in the Eastern Palace, including Cheng Minzheng, liked this diligent and studious student very much.

But now the prince has a young wife at home, and she is newlywed. Can her study condition be the same?

Liu Jian said, "Keqin, no matter what, the prince has not been late for his studies. You don't have to be picky about everything. Besides, the prince is writing during class. Although I don't know what he is writing, he is not doing anything unorthodox, right? Listen to me, as long as the prince is sitting there and doing his homework, you don't have to worry about it, okay?"

"But, he wrote...Alas!"

Cheng Minzheng is a curious baby.

At that time, he saw that the prince was not listening carefully, but was buried in writing something. So he took the opportunity to go forward and take a look for a while. He found that what he wrote was not the writings of sages, but more like copying a storybook. Then he came to Liu Jian to report the problem.

Who would have thought that Liu Jian would give him a severe scolding, and of course he was very resentful.

But he didn't say much.

After all, the colleagues in the Hanlin Academy were not concerned about this matter at all that day. They also had to return to the Hanlin Academy as soon as possible after work to discuss countermeasures to rescue Yang Shouchen and Zheng Shi.

……

……

Liang Mansion.

The news Wei Xing brought to Liang Fang that day was still not good news.

"We have already sent people to check the workshop outside the city. People in the surrounding area don't know who rented the site. It is said that someone moved things there in the past few days. As for the materials, they can be used, but the soap made from them is not very good. It is almost like soap.

"And Deng Changen is even more outrageous. He kept saying that he could take care of this matter, but now when we ask him about it, he says that we need to give him some more time. We asked him to bring out a finished product, but... he didn't even have a semi-finished product. It's really hard to accept."

Liang Fang has heard so much bad news recently that she seems to be used to it by now.

He asked, "Did you call Deng Changen?"

Wei Xing asked curiously, "He hasn't even created anything yet, so why is he here? Isn't that embarrassing?"

"So... you didn't call anyone?"

Liang Fang's face looked a little ugly and she glared at Wei Xing fiercely.

"Call him, and he will come soon."

Wei Xing was also somewhat helpless at this time.

Maybe Liang Fang encountered too many setbacks, which caused her mental disorder. Is she doing things upside down and unable to distinguish cause from effect?

Liang Fang let out a long breath, and then said calmly: "I have already gone to see Concubine Shao today."

"Princess Shao? She..."

Wei Xing thought, what do we urgently need to do right now, how much does it have to do with Concubine Shao in the Forbidden Palace?
Liang Fang said, "According to Concubine Shao's spy, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess did not fall asleep until late at night after they got the two books. They even wanted to forget about food and sleep to read."

"what!?"

Wei Xing asked in astonishment, "So there are spies hiding in the East Palace?"

"Humph, otherwise how can we gain a foothold in the palace?"

Liang Fang stood up, put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth for a few steps, and then said sinisterly, "For now, we need to find someone to report to His Majesty as soon as possible, saying that the prince does not study hard and only does those absurd and pleasure-filled things... It's best to report the matter as soon as possible."

Wei Xing asked: "Who will report it? It won't be us, will it?"

Liang Fang said angrily, "After what happened before, will His Majesty easily believe what I said? We stumbled over the tribute, and our mistake was that we personally went to His Majesty to expose the matter, leaving no way out for ourselves! Haven't we learned a lesson this time? Let Deng Changen find someone!"

"Oh, yes, yes, that Immortal Master Deng and Taoist Priest Zhao have some connections among the six censors. Hey, no wonder you asked me to call him here, it turns out it's for this matter."

Wei Xing seemed to have gotten wiser after the fact, and almost slapped his thigh and cheered, but he said, "But..."

Liang Fang got angry when she heard this and said angrily, "What are you going to do?"

Wei Xing said aggrievedly: "Don't get excited, I'm just expressing some superficial opinions... I want to say that even if we find a censor who dares to make suggestions, how can the censor know what the prince does on a daily basis? Or should we directly ask the spies left by Concubine Shao in the Eastern Palace to come out and testify? Otherwise, the reason for this revelation is completely unreasonable..."

Liang Fang smiled maliciously and said, "Let's say that the lecturer of the Eastern Palace found that the prince has not been studying hard recently, but has focused on things other than the books of sages, so he reported that the prince is not focusing on his studies. Will Your Majesty send people to verify it one by one?"

Wei Xing asked: "What if we really go to verify it?"

Liang Fang angrily asked, "Isn't the idle book proof? What other evidence do you need?"

When Wei Xing found out that Liang Fang had a bad attitude, he knew that he had said too much and made many mistakes, so he smiled and said, "Please calm down first. We will go to the door and wait for Master Deng. When he comes, we can discuss something big..."

……

……

Deng Chang'en didn't want to come to Liang's house.

Since the job was not done, it would be a waste of time for him to come here. However, since the other party kept urging him, he knew that the time had come and he could not avoid it. He could only come patiently. However, he was left at the door. It took a long time for Wei Xing to come out and invite him in.

"Eunuch Wei, are you saying that the main purpose of your visit this time is not to question Liuli, but to find someone to impeach the Crown Prince?"

Deng Changen had originally intended to use his eloquent words to argue with Liang Fang, explaining that it was not his fault that the telescope was not built, but that the technical challenges were too difficult and the time was too tight. He would definitely live up to his expectations if he was given a relatively relaxed environment. However, after hearing Wei Xing's words, his steps suddenly became hesitant. If he failed to help Liang Fang well, at most Liang Fang would bear a grudge against him, which was not a big problem.

But if I offend the prince, my life will be in danger in the future.

Wei Xing pulled Deng Changen and shouted at him with a stern face: "I'm not asking you to submit an impeachment petition yourself. Besides, when you submit a petition, are you sure that your words will have more credibility than those of us? Don't dawdle... Let's go!"

In the end, Deng Changen was almost forcibly dragged in front of Liang Fang.

Liang Fang repeated his plan in front of Deng Chang'en, which roughly meant that he wanted Deng Chang'en to find a censor who was familiar with the Ministry of Justice to report the matter.

Deng Chang'en's focus was on another matter, and he asked curiously, "Then...Eunuch Liang, about the telescope..."

What he meant was, you are now busy impeaching the prince, have you already completed the task entrusted by the emperor to manufacture the telescope?

"We have finally found a telescope through various channels, and we will present it to Your Majesty in the palace in the next two days," said Liang Fang.

Deng Chang'en was shocked and asked in a choked voice, "Why can't I make one even after trying so hard, but you have something ready-made here?"

Wei Xing complained, "Can your channels compare to those of Eunuch Liang? Master Deng, let's talk about something serious...Eunuch Liang doesn't blame you for not having achieved anything until now, but you should also...earn some performance to show to Eunuch Liang, right? Otherwise, what is your value?"

"This……"

Deng Chang'en seemed very unhappy.

Liang Fang continued, "When we present the telescope and soap, we will also present the elixir you made... This should be acceptable to you, right?"

"hehe."

Deng Chang'en smiled bitterly.

I thought to myself, the reason I asked you to offer me the elixir was to show off my own merits.

But now that you can't accomplish your telescope business, if you rashly offer the elixir, it will become like using the elixir I offered you to make up for your own mistake.

Can the effect be the same?

I'm the one helping you in this relationship, and you don't have to give anything, right?
"Master Deng, Eunuch Liang is asking you a question... Have you seen the emperor recently?" Wei Xing was also a shrewd man. Seeing Deng Chang'en's expression, he couldn't help but give him a friendly reminder.

Deng Changen was stunned for a moment, then his eyes became clear, as if he had just realized the current situation, and said respectfully: "No."

"Isn't that what it is?"

Wei Xing struck while the iron was hot and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. It's very easy for our eunuch Liang to see the emperor. In the future, if you have anything to offer, or if you have anything to report to His Majesty alone, just come and inform him directly... This is a channel that others have been unable to find."

"understand."

Deng Chang'en finally compromised and asked, "When will we report the prince's lack of concentration on his studies?"

"Wait a couple of days... Just don't connect it to the matter of our tribute telescope. Besides, the matter will take a few days to ferment. If someone reports this as soon as Xianshu arrives at the palace, it will seem too deliberate. Your Majesty will also suspect that someone is behind this. Too much is as bad as too little."

Liang Fang seems to have a comprehensive plan.

Deng Chang'en was thinking, you are quite scheming in targeting the prince, but why haven't you succeeded before?
Could it be that the prince is your nemesis, Liang?

"Delay brings change."

Deng Changen reminded.

Liang Fang said: "Master Deng has always been far-sighted, and I admire him, but we still have to do things step by step. We can't get fat in one breath. Tomorrow I will go to the palace to see the emperor, so wait."

……

……

noon the next day.

Before the emperor had lunch, Liang Fang took his "tribute" to the Qianqing Palace to see him.

Wei Xing followed him closely, his whole body trembling, his breathing heavy, and cold sweat on his forehead. After walking for a while, he stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Is it okay?"

Liang Fang glanced at him and asked, "Why, you don't dare to meet the emperor with us?"

"I……"

Wei Xing was really nervous.

He was thinking, you might be held responsible now, but you insisted on dragging me along to meet the emperor. Do you want me to take the blame with you?
Liang Fang said confidently, "I believe we can get through this smoothly. I heard that Li Zisheng had been summoned to the palace before this, and he is probably still in the Qianqing Palace."

"You mean, Lord Li will say a few good words for us?"

After hearing this, Wei Xing finally felt a little relieved.

"Yeah." Liang Fang nodded with a smile.

In any case, it was he who recommended Li Zisheng to the emperor. According to people of that era, he was very kind to Li Zisheng. No matter what mistakes he made, Li Zisheng had to speak for him, otherwise it would be unkind and unjust, and even the emperor would look down on him. No one dared to take the risk.

In view of this, Liang Fang's steps became faster and Wei Xing had to speed up to keep up.

Wei Xing asked, "Then...Eunuch Liang, besides the telescope, soap, and elixir, what other treasures do we have to offer?"

Liang Fang said: "To be honest, I have a book called "The Art of Sex" here, which was compiled by a rare master."

"what?"

When Wei Xing heard this, he immediately felt embarrassed.

Don't you think there is something wrong with a eunuch presenting you with a booklet on sexual techniques?

“There are drawings.”

Liang Fang explained in a low voice, "Do you think it's just a few random sketches, something out of place, like what Wan An usually offers?"

Wei Xing asked in surprise, "Does Lord Wan like to present these?"

Liang Fang shouted, "Don't ask nonsense. Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask!"

"Yes Yes."

Wei Xing wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and said casually, "With you here, there's no need to worry too much. I hope everything goes smoothly today."

(End of this chapter)