Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 402: The Kind Conspirator
The lecturers in the Eastern Palace were somewhat puzzled.

The Crown Prince was appointed as Regent for no reason, and then the news spread that the Emperor was seriously ill. Now we are called to the Wenhua Palace to discuss state affairs, but we are stopped before we even start?
"Liu Shi said, the prince said that when encountering problems, we should ask Zhang Laizhan... What does this mean?"

On the way out of the palace, someone came up to ask Liu Jian about the specific situation.

In their opinion, Liu Jian and Xie Qian each led a group of people to teach the prince, so they should know more about the situation, and if there is anything, they can verify it from them.

Liu Jian shook his head and said nothing.

Xie Qian said, "The Crown Prince is now the Regent, and Zhang Laizhan is currently treating Your Majesty. There is nothing wrong with asking Zhang Laizhan if you have any questions. Besides, the Crown Prince has already made it clear that this is the Queen Mother's opinion, so you should not think too much about it."

Obviously, this group of people are waiting for the crown prince to ascend the throne so that they can use their merits as the emperor's teachers to be promoted in the court in the future, or even take charge of government affairs.

Now a little-known Zhang Luan suddenly appears and is highly regarded by the prince, putting them under great pressure.

Because not many people have a deep friendship with Zhang Luan, at most they had just chatted with Zhang Luan a few times before, and their understanding of this person is far from in-depth.

Furthermore, Zhang Luan was a relative of the emperor, and there had been adverse effects of relatives of the emperor interfering in government affairs in all dynasties. This made them, as civil officials, feel that this person was very dangerous.

"Yu Qiao, do you have a chance to meet Lai Zhan?"

Before leaving the palace, Liu Jian asked this question specifically.

It was obvious that Liu Jian was not at ease with Zhang Luan either.

With Liu Jian's shrewdness, he naturally saw that the prince now had an inexplicable trust in Zhang Luan. This trust should have been bestowed on their group of lecturers, but now Zhang Luan also had a part in it. That was to say, Zhang Luan was no longer their partner, but a competitor.

Xie Qian said, "It depends on when he leaves the palace... But I heard that His Majesty is in a critical condition, and he may not be able to see him in the next few days. As for the matter of the regent... it's hard to say. It's best to stabilize the situation first, and we will go to meet more people from the six ministries."

Liu Jian nodded and said, "There are quite a few officials from the Imperial Academy here in the Central Government. You and I will decide who to meet. Make sure no one messes around at this time. Everything in the court must maintain a smooth transition."

In order to ensure the transfer of power, the Eastern Palace lecturers also took active action.

But unlike Zhang Luan who started directly from the upper level, they could only find ways from those officials who came from the Hanlin Academy. Most of them had no real power in the court and could only support the prince in public opinion.

If there really were someone with real power who wanted to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest, and support King Xing, they would have no better way to deal with it.

……

……

Zhu Jianshen is not dead yet.

For Zhang Luan, this was quite a headache. He sat tiredly on a temporary chair in the outer hall of the Qianqing Palace, thinking to himself, I have been running around day and night to treat the emperor, it would be better for me to kill him early, so that I can go back and rest with peace of mind.

"Zhang Taichang, are you tired? I've prepared a bed for you. It's just in the Maoqin Hall in front. Why don't you go over and take a nap?" Wei Tai walked up to Zhang Luan and whispered.

When Zhang Luan heard this, he was surprised! Is there such a good thing?

Then he thought of the entrustment of Empress Dowager Zhou. If he didn't keep an eye on this place all the time, what if Wei Tai teamed up with Concubine Shao to execute first and report later and get the imperial edict done? Then wouldn't his job be unfinished?

Besides, wouldn’t my future be ruined by the act of “taking a nap first”?
"Not tired."

Zhang Luan managed to hold himself together and said with a wry smile, "How can I be so tired of treating His Majesty? I have to hold on a little longer."

After saying that, Zhang Luan couldn't help but stand up and stretch.

Wei Tai didn't know what Zhang Luan was thinking. He was still thinking, this Zhang Taichang is really a loyal minister. Look at the people in the Imperial Hospital, they have already started to work in shifts, but he...

No wonder His Majesty and the Crown Prince trust him so much.

But even if we trust him, does he have the ability to get things done?
At this time, Li Zisheng walked into the hall without being summoned, and even ignored Wei Tai. It seemed that he now knew that if he really only obeyed Wei Tai's orders to see the emperor, he probably would never have the chance to set foot in the Qianqing Palace again in his life.

"Zhang Taichang, you are too tired. You should go and have a rest." Li Zisheng said, "I will help you keep an eye on this side. When His Majesty wakes up, I will send someone to call you immediately."

When Zhang Luan heard this, he was deeply moved.

I thought to myself, Li Zisheng still cares about me. I used to think he was a conspirator with ulterior motives, but now it seems that even if he is a conspirator, he is a kind one and is really good to me. I can't treat him badly in the future.

Wei Tai said: "Zhang Taichang said that he would personally treat Your Majesty, I'm afraid..."

Zhang Luan was originally ready to agree, but when he heard this, he felt like he was being put on the spot again and suddenly hesitated.

Li Zisheng sighed, "You two have been guarding for a whole day and night. If you don't take this opportunity to rest, when His Majesty wakes up and has something to tell you, I'm afraid you won't be able to concentrate.

"How about this, I'll let Doctor Wang keep an eye on this, and I'll stay outside the palace. Anyway, there's Eunuch Luo and the others watching. Are you still worried that I might do something treasonous, Eunuch Wei?"

"That……"

Wei Tai himself was actually very tired.

He then looked at Zhang Luan.

Zhang Luan took the opportunity to say, "Eunuch Wei, if you want to take a rest, I will go with you. Logically, nothing should happen at this time. When I went in to check on him earlier, I found that his majesty was breathing smoothly. It was just that due to his illness, he inevitably slept a little more, so his daily routine could not be guaranteed."

"it is good."

Wei Tai also needs someone to encourage him right now.

He never thought that he had actually been included in the list of dangerous elements by Queen Mother Zhou. All he wanted now was to take good care of the emperor's illness. As for enthroning Prince Xing?
I don’t have that intention at all!
But if the emperor suddenly had this idea before his death, he would stand firmly on the emperor's side, because he was only responsible to the emperor. This was also the reason why Empress Dowager Zhou was worried that he would betray her.

……

……

Zhang family’s new house.

The Zhang brothers were waiting here, while Zhang Heling was playing with the glass ball on the ground out of boredom. It was a "good treasure" given to him by Zhang Yanling.

Originally, Zhang Heling wanted to use the money to bribe the people around him. What was worthless in his brother's eyes was regarded as a treasure by ordinary people. Anyway, his group of followers had no knowledge. Some of them actually collected it as jewelry, and some even sent it to the pawn shop to exchange it for silver, making those who did not receive the reward very envious.

Scarce things will naturally become treasures, especially glass balls which are crystal clear. Women can collect them as jewelry, while men can use them as toys to play with in their hands.

In the capital city, there are many dignitaries and idle people, so the small glass balls are still rare and naturally very valuable.

"Second brother, I don't know what you are waiting for!"

Zhang Heling couldn't help but say, "You're just buried in writing. Is that interesting? I've never seen you study hard before... If you really studied hard, our family would rely on you to pass the imperial examination. Why would we let Dad become a father-in-law of the emperor?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Brother, if you find this boring, go ahead. I'll wait here."

Zhang Heling leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Second Brother, let me ask you, who are those women in the backyard?"

"It's the maids here, and... the female actors who sing operas." Zhang Yanling replied casually, "This is where my father hides his beautiful daughter. Do you know what it means to hide a beautiful daughter in a beautiful house?"

"I don't know. Tell me about it. Are those... Dad's women? They will all become our concubines in the future?" Zhang Heling seemed quite interested.

Zhang Yanling frowned, looked up and asked, "Aren't you bored? Why don't you do something else? Why are you talking about this?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? If I ask you, just answer me."

Zhang Heling said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't touch her... She's Dad's woman, I know men take this very seriously.

"Just like I will get married and have children, you should never think about your sister-in-law in the future."

Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes upon hearing this and asked, "Isn't it a little early for you to have this dream?"

"Not early, not early. I think it's about time. It would be great if I could take a nap during the day and daydream." Zhang Heling said with a smile.

Zhang Yanling said, "I mean at your age... Even if you want to get married, you'll probably have to wait two or three years. Why bother about this kind of thing so early? Or... You just can't help it and have wild thoughts when you see a woman?"

Zhang Heling said with emotion: "I didn't feel that way before, but now...who wouldn't like that beautiful girl? Second brother, answer my question."

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Will you tell mother about this?"

"I won't tell you."

Zhang Heling said, "If I tell Mom, not only will Dad break my legs, but Mom will also be displeased with me. Why should I cause trouble for myself?"

Just when Zhang Yanling thought that his elder brother was still a "good man", Zhang Heling suddenly smiled and said, "But if I have something on Dad, and I ask him for some pocket money, he will have to give it to me... Hey, I'm just kidding, go ahead."

Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and shook his head, then explained what it meant to hide a beautiful woman in a golden house.

After listening to this, Zhang Heling sighed and said, "This rich and powerful person does things in an extraordinary way. Don't you think it's better to keep a woman at home? Why does he have to find a house like this outside to settle her down?"

"Brother, you don't understand. When you get older and have a tigress at home, you will understand the trick." Zhang Yanling said with a smile, "I am not taking Father's side. It's just... this is his life goal. I can't stop him."

Zhang Heling said: "Then...will I have one too?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Everything depends on human effort... But first you have to be capable, be able to work for the court, and win the appreciation of the prince and sister, then you will receive many rewards in the future. Our family has money, power and influence, so we can..."

"Is it enough to be a captain of the Imperial Guard?"

Zhang Heling still remembered that he had a nominal official position.

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "With a salary of a thousand households, it is impossible for me to support a concubine. Brother, can you be more serious? You haven't even got married yet, but you are thinking about having three wives and four concubines?"

Zhang Heling smiled and said, "You are a man who can accomplish great things. I will follow you from now on and do whatever you ask me to do. I don't have to use my brain, so I can only figure out these things... You think we should wait here, right? Then I will wait here."

In order to realize his dream of "hiding a beautiful girl in a golden house" as soon as possible, Zhang Heling is now very knowledgeable and tactful, and actually takes the initiative to come over and accompany his younger brother.

"I'm hungry."

"I'm going to the toilet."

"I'll go into the inner courtyard to take a look at the beauty... Don't worry, I won't go in."

"Second brother, if I take one away, Dad won't know, right?"

"Second brother, don't look at me like that. I'm just saying it."

Zhang Heling was like a monkey that couldn't sit still, jumping around the yard, and finally cursing, "You are so heartless, you can only look but not touch, why did you bring me here?
"You are a wicked person, a heinous person who has committed the most heinous crimes. I am just standing here staring at you... I will go out and buy a roast chicken first, and give me some silver!"

(End of this chapter)