Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 400: Not a eunuch, but better than a eunuch

Zhang Luan became the "regent" in this way.

Although he was born in a humble family, had been in the court for a short time, had little experience, and even had no connections in the court, and was careless in his work... he was able to handle the overall situation. Even the Queen Mother Zhou felt that this "eldest nephew" was extremely capable and would definitely be able to assist her grandson well.

The key point is that at this time, apart from Zhang Luan, it is hard to think of anyone else who would wholeheartedly help the prince.

Rely on Li Zisheng?
Or is he Wan'an, a fence-sitter?

Queen Mother Zhou decided to let Zhang Luan take the throne, mainly because she had a good relationship with Zhang Luan and was wholeheartedly helping the crown prince. Also, Queen Mother Zhou thought highly of Zhang Yu and felt that since she had chosen the crown princess herself, she would definitely stand firmly on her side on major issues.

The Queen Mother will soon become the Grand Queen Mother, so she has to plan for her future. If the new Queen's family is too petty and takes advantage of the Crown Prince, they might throw her, the Empress Dowager, over the wall. So she has to be careful about everything and do things to win people's hearts in advance.

……

……

Everyone left the hall.

Li Zisheng came up to Zhang Luan with an excited look on his face: "Laizhan, I've said you can do it. You are not in the cabinet yet, but I think you will be there soon..."

"How is this possible?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "I just helped His Majesty treat his illness and gave advice to the Crown Prince. To say that I can join the cabinet... is too unrealistic."

Li Zisheng nodded and said, "I know what you are worried about. You must be worried about the officials in the court talking about you, right? Especially the so-called clean officials.

"Laizhan, look at that Li today... I mean the Minister of Personnel Li Yu. He seems to be against you, but I know that he is actually on your side."

"what!?"

Zhang Luan was surprised.

He really wanted to ask, how did you know he was on my side?

Just because he openly opposed my becoming regent?
"Your Majesty's condition..."

Li Zisheng did not answer Zhang Luan's question and continued to ask, "Now there is absolutely no way, right?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Li Zisheng wanted to laugh, but he held back and reminded carefully: "You stay here, the Duke of Baoguo and the Duke of Yingguo will be here soon, and you will definitely have to deal with them skillfully.

"Our queen mother is not a pushover, so you'd better be careful."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, you don't need to remind me, I have long seen that the old lady is a ruthless character.

At a time like this, a woman took the initiative to step forward to stabilize the situation. It is absolutely impossible to say that she has no ambition.

But why was it my daughter who notified her?
Didn’t she have any spies in the Qianqing Palace?

"Come here, come here..."

At this time, Queen Mother Zhou had just walked out of the palace gate and turned back to wave to Zhang Luan.

Zhang Luan asked in a questioning tone: "What do you think...?"

Li Zisheng said, "Go quickly. Don't worry about this. I'm not going anywhere today. I'll stay here. Unless someone carries me out!"

After saying that, the sleepy Li Zisheng yawned, and hurriedly ran to find Wei Tai, asking Wei Tai to find him a place to rest for a while.

……

……

Empress Dowager Zhou called Zhang Luan and Zhu Youtang out of the gate of Qianqing Palace.

"Grandson, I don't have to make decisions for you, but you are the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, and you should take on some important responsibilities." Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Did you know that before you came, Concubine Shao also came? She wanted to make plans for her son."

Zhu Youtang replied: "My grandson knows."

Queen Mother Zhou asked: "Do you know what the current situation is?"

"know."

Zhu Youtang said.

Queen Mother Zhou rolled her eyes at her grandson and said, "I'm afraid you don't know... I asked Lai Zhan to tell you that he is your father-in-law. Now, in the court, there should be no one else who sincerely helps you except your father-in-law. Of course, there is also an old man like me, but I have no say in the court."

Zhu Youtang glanced at Zhang Luan, as if asking, it seems that my father-in-law has no say either, right?

Queen Mother Zhou seemed to be able to see through her grandson's heart and said, "Your father-in-law has only been in the court for a few days, but he has one good thing, that is, he has extensive connections in the court... Look at Wan'an and Li Zisheng, they are very supportive of him now. It's not that he and the two are in the same party, but he relies on his own abilities to convince them and make them obey him."

When Zhang Luan heard this, he said to himself, “Oh shit.”

Aunt, you really trust and respect me, your nephew. I feel ashamed when I hear what you say.

Are you sure I'm as good as you say?

Queen Mother Zhou said: "And your father-in-law can do one thing... that no one else can do at the moment."

Zhu Youtang asked, "Grandmother, are you saying...?"

"He can always stay by your father's side."

Empress Dowager Zhou said sternly, "Because Lai Zhan is the only one who is responsible for treating your father these days. No matter if it is the ministers in the court, the eunuchs, or Concubine Shao, they all have to acknowledge this... Lai Zhan is the chief physician appointed by your father, and no one dares to disobey his opinion!"

Zhu Youtang nodded, agreeing with this statement.

But he was still very confused inside.

"Grandmother, doesn't that mean that when I am governing the country in Wenhua Palace, my father-in-law cannot always make plans for me...I can't come and ask him if I have something?" Zhu Youtang said.

Queen Mother Zhou said, "Silly child, don't you know what you should do most now? That is to keep a close eye on your father." "Ah?"

Zhu Youtang was shocked.

Zhang Luan was secretly dissatisfied. As a grandmother, how can you teach your grandson like this?

What does it mean to keep a close eye on something?

Zhang Luan said, "My Queen Mother, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Humph."

Empress Dowager Zhou glanced at Zhang Yuan and said, "Laizhan, there is no need to pretend to be confused in front of me now. In fact, you know it best in your heart. The only thing we need to guard against now is that Wei Tai and Concubine Shao will collude and take advantage of the absence of others to trick the emperor into leaving a will and suddenly announce it when all the ministers gather.

"Others won't care how this will was obtained. As long as there is such a thing, there may be a major change in the succession of the throne."

After hearing this, not only Zhang Luan, but also Zhu Youtang showed a bit of nervousness on their faces.

Empress Dowager Zhou said, "But you can relax. I will call Wei Tai and the others over and give them a proper warning... The eunuch Luo Xiang from the Imperial Horse Administration and the palace guards will not dare to act recklessly... But if we have the emperor's order, everything will be different!"

Now Zhang Luan completely understood what Queen Mother Zhou meant.

If it was Wei Tai, Luo Xiang, Zhu Ji, or even the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Baoguo who wanted to rebel, they would have been suppressed given the political structure of the Ming Dynasty at that time. It would also be impossible for Concubine Shao to change the crown prince and push her son to the throne. Empress Dowager Zhou would come forward to stabilize the situation for Zhu Youtang.

The fear is that the emperor will suddenly wake up and hand over a will to Concubine Shao and her son. Once this will is proven to be authentic and valid, even Empress Dowager Zhou herself will find it difficult to say anything.

Who will inherit the throne will then become a big problem.

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "Laizhan, you did a great job. You made preparations in advance and calmed Wan'an and Li Zisheng down in no time... The attitudes of these two people are crucial, especially Wan'an. After all, he is the chief minister of the cabinet. As long as he stands firmly on the side of the crown prince, most ministers in the court will not dare to say anything."

Zhu Youtang said: "Grandmother, we still need to treat my father as soon as possible. As long as my father is well, there will be no problem!"

"Silly boy."

Queen Mother Zhou shook her head and sighed, "Don't you understand the situation yet? Your father... Alas! He probably won't have many days left to live! It's fate, you don't have to be too sad, you have to look forward. The one who is really sad is me, an old man sending off a young man."

Zhang Luan thought, you look like you're rolling up your sleeves to get something done, how can you look sad?

How come your son is about to pass away, but you are so excited and even want to jump up and down?

Queen Mother Zhou said, "I will have Chen Gui keep an eye on this place at all times... Lai Zhan, you are familiar with him, if there is anything, just have him go to Qingning Palace to pass on the message. Especially if Concubine Shao and Wei Tai want to cause trouble, you have to pass it on immediately, understand?"

"I know, I know." Zhang Luan nodded.

Queen Mother Zhou then said with satisfaction: "If the emperor wakes up, there are some things he is confused about, you may not be able to persuade him, but as long as you tell me, I will definitely protect the prince from the wind and rain."

"Grandma..."

When Zhu Youtang heard this, he was deeply moved.

Empress Dowager Zhou said: "I also asked the Queen to gather all the people from the six palaces, and she will tell them to behave themselves.

"After all, many of the emperor's grandchildren are still young, and none of them have yet been enfeoffed. Nothing can go wrong at this time... Lai Zhan, luckily you are here. Even I think you can accomplish great things. Prince, you can distrust anyone, but you must trust your father-in-law!"

"My grandson understands."

Zhu Youtang was not stupid this time and nodded quickly.

It was not for any other reason, but because he had always listened to his wife at home, and now his father-in-law was working hard to help him become emperor smoothly, so how could he not listen?
Moreover, in Zhu Youtang's view, the court was full of jackals and tigers, and he could not handle them at all. It was really great to have his father-in-law rushing forward for him.

……

……

"What did the Empress Dowager say to Zhang Taichang before she left?"

After Empress Dowager Zhou took Zhu Youtang away from the Qianqing Palace, Zhang Luan returned to the main hall and was just about to find a place to sit down and take a nap when Wei Tai hurried over to ask.

Zhang Luan said, "Nothing."

Wei Tai smiled bitterly and said, "Zhang Taichang, you are in an extraordinary position now. Whenever there is something in the palace, they will ask for your opinion, but you should not hide it from us."

Luo Xiang on the side was also looking over here.

"The Queen Mother is afraid that someone might come out and disrupt the situation."

Zhang Luan made up his mind and spoke frankly.

"Spoiler?"

Wei Tai was startled at first, then realized something and quickly shook his head, "No, Your Majesty is in a critical situation now, who dares to act rashly?"

Zhang Luan thought, isn’t this a coincidence?
In the eyes of the Queen Mother, you are the most dangerous one.

I am talking about you!
At this time, a eunuch came in and reported: "Eunuch Wei, the imperial concubine requests to bring the prince to see her."

"This……"

Wei Tai frowned, and he seemed to realize that he now had too much power.

The emperor was seriously ill. Although he was not in a coma, it was actually not much different from being in a coma.

As the eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department, he must step forward and preside over everything, and the most important right to see the emperor is decided by him.

Zhang Luan was also looking at Wei Tai, as if to say, now it depends on whether you really want to jump out and disrupt the situation! If you agree to Concubine Shao's proposal, I will immediately send someone to complain to the Queen Mother.

Wei Tai said, "His Majesty is resting and will not see anyone. Besides, anyone who wants to see him must first ask for permission from His Majesty... He will only let anyone go if His Majesty says they can see him. Otherwise... there is no otherwise, everyone has to wait! Unless it is Zhang Taichang, because he... needs to diagnose His Majesty's pulse and treat his illness."

(End of this chapter)