Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 427 Resignation
The funeral was going on in the palace and the prince was not concerned about state affairs.

Under such circumstances, people in the court were in panic. Everyone was worried that they would be the one to be replaced. At the same time, people like Li Zisheng were running around in the hope of gaining some support to prevent themselves from following in the footsteps of Deng Changen and Zhao Yuzhi.

"Master Dao, I just got the news that Deng Changen is in a miserable state in the imperial prison. He was tortured and forced to confess to whom he gave gifts. He was also asked whether he was involved with anyone else."

Pang Qing said nervously, "In my opinion, the target is likely to be you... The commander of the Jinyiwei, Zhu Ji, has never been on good terms with you before, and he might drag you into this time."

Li Zisheng frowned and shouted, "Zhu Ji is so bold. He was two-faced before. He has obviously received favors from me, but now he wants to turn against me?"

Pang Qing asked curiously: "What favor do you have for Commander Zhu? If you really have one, you must tell him immediately so that he knows it. The Jinyiwei now represents the imperial power and bites people everywhere outside. It's easy to be careless..."

"Of course I understand..."

Li Zisheng said this, suddenly turned his head to look at Pang Qing, and asked, "Bingkun, you are not worried about yourself, are you? As for the gift-giving matter, you helped me take care of a lot of it outside. Is it possible that you are worried that he will bite you because you have dealings with Deng Changen?"

Pang Qing said helplessly: "It is impossible to say that we had no contact with Deng Changen in the first few years. But since the end of last year, our two families have completely cut off contact. You know this. It depends on when it can be traced back..."

Li Zisheng said, "Who told me to find Lai Zhan, this indifferent and weakling? He is so good that he has been hiding away. I haven't seen him doing anything recently. He just hides away, as if nothing in the court has anything to do with him. I even suspect that he is setting a trap for me on purpose."

Pang Qing said, "It shouldn't be that serious. Judging from the feedback so far, the upright officials in the court have also complained about Minister Zhang's promotion. It's only because he is the father-in-law of the crown prince that this matter has not fermented. But if it triggers public opinion, I'm afraid that not only will he not be able to join the cabinet, but he may even lose his current position."

Li Zisheng asked curiously, "So he hid for a long time and finally got himself into trouble?"

Pang Qing sighed, "The main reason is that many of the things that Minister Zhang did for the Crown Prince were done in secret and not shown in public. Can you say that the matter of defeating Liang Fang can be brought out and said publicly? In addition, regarding the treatment of His Majesty in the palace... Do you think that a doctor can be qualified to serve as a prime minister for curing diseases and saving lives? Unless..."

Li Zisheng nodded and said, "I understand. Unless Zhang Laizhan has made great contributions in assisting the crown prince to ascend the throne and can make it public, if curing your majesty's illness is also considered a great contribution, then it can only be an act of regicide that is lawless and unchaste. If this is the case, Zhang Laizhan will only die without a burial place, and there will be no way to help him enter the cabinet."

Speaking of this, Li Zisheng felt relieved for some reason.

It seems to be saying that although Zhang Laizhan looks extremely relaxed, he actually suffers from the same problem as me.

I am a flatterer, so I was appointed to an official position.

Aren't you the same?

You are talking now as if you don't care about anything and intend to avoid it, but do you know that if you don't make progress, you will even lose your official position?
"Give Laizhan a gift."

Li Zisheng said, "As you said before, give him whatever he likes. Just force him to move forward... This guy is born in the year of the donkey. I have figured it out. Sometimes he will only take action if you force him into a corner. Once he takes action, someone in the court will definitely be in trouble."

……

……

Zhang Mansion Villa.

The "gift" sent by Li Zisheng was a large carriage with luxurious exterior decoration.

When the carriage stopped at the back door of the villa, four women got off. They were all stunningly beautiful ladies from noble families, no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and were gentle women from the south of the Yangtze River.

The person was sent directly to the hospital.

After hearing the news, Zhang Luan was so anxious that he scratched his head and cheeks, but he was a timid man and did not dare to step into the backyard. He insisted on waiting until his son Zhang Yanling came in from the front yard before he went to ask for advice anxiously.

"Dad, I'm afraid it's not a good idea for you to tell your son this. I feel bad for your mother." Zhang Yanling looked very mature, as if he was teaching his son a lesson.

Zhang Luan smiled flatteringly and said, "I know this, my father. At this critical moment, Li Zisheng sent me a woman. He must have bad intentions. But I have read the letter he sent me. It seems to be nothing... How about you take a look too?"

As he spoke, Zhang Luan handed Li Zisheng's handwritten letter to Zhang Yanling.

Zhang Yanling frowned after reading it and asked, "Why don't you burn this letter immediately? What are you waiting for? If someone finds out that you are secretly colluding with Li Zisheng and even trying to influence the government, how will you prove your innocence?"

"what?"

Zhang Luan was a little surprised and hurriedly explained, "Aren't we planning to wait for you to come and discuss with you before making a decision?"

"If you tell me again, the effect will be similar." Zhang Yanling said.

Zhang Luan immediately tore the letter into pieces and threw them on the ground. When he saw his son rolling his eyes, he squatted down and reluctantly picked up some of the pieces on the ground, stuffed them directly into his mouth, chewed them and swallowed them.

Zhang Yanling looked at it for a while without saying anything, and asked, "Is it delicious?"

"roll!"

Zhang Luan scolded, "You little brat, you scare your father all the time. Let me ask you, what choice will you make now? Some people in the court have begun to impeach me. It is very likely that I will follow in Deng Changen's footsteps... Think about it, many officials in the Taichang Temple have been imprisoned and questioned. I am the one with the highest official title among them, and I am also a messenger. Can I stay out of it?"

Zhang Yanling asked, "How about... Dad stay in the Imperial Prison for a few days?"

Zhang Luan widened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "The prince is about to ascend the throne, and I still have to move in?" That innocent look seemed to be saying, wasn't it agreed that I could live a good life once the prince ascended the throne?

How is this completely different from what you described before?

"Dad, let me ask you... do you want to join the cabinet?" Zhang Yanling asked.

Zhang Luan sighed, "What kind of a ministry do I want to join... I know my background, my level and qualifications are not good enough, so I don't even have that idea.

"You and the Queen Mother have been telling me to do something practical and help the Crown Prince secure his throne. But... do you think I am capable of doing big things? What can I do after I join the cabinet?
"Take the example of me now in charge of the Hanlin Academy. In name, I am the highest-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy, but do you think any of my subordinates care about me? I can't do anything in the Hanlin Academy. I am just a puppet in name only."

Zhang Yanling said: "That's easy. Take the initiative to submit your resignation and say that your mission has been completed and you can return home."

"What? Retire and return home? Is your father very old?"

Zhang Luan looked very surprised.

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, you are immortal, but according to history, you will die of old age in a few years.

Do you really think you are so healthy that you can live to be seventy years old and enjoy a few decades of good life?

I'm sorry, even for your son, I, normally, would only have thirty years of good life left... and even the next ten years were not very good... I even spent a few years counting the days in a prison cell waiting to lose my head... I would rather die early and be reborn soon than live in that kind of dark and miserable life.

Zhang Yanling said: "Retreating in order to advance is your best option at the moment."

Zhang Luan said, "I'm afraid you'll force me to rush forward. Well, I'll write a petition and resign immediately."

Speaking of this, Zhang Luan seemed particularly relaxed for some reason, as if this was something he had been thinking about but had not been able to put into action.

He seemed to be afraid that his son was speaking in a sarcastic way, and after he finished speaking, he deliberately observed his son's reaction. When he was sure that Zhang Yanling had indeed designed it this way, he became a little uneasy.

Forcing me to take so many steps forward, only to have me back to square one overnight?
Zhang Yanling smiled and asked, "Why? Didn't Dad just want to leave the court? Can't bear to do so?"

Zhang Luan said, "My son, let me ask you, if I write this resignation letter, does that mean that woman in the backyard must be sent back to Li Zisheng?"

"Yes."

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "You have no power and influence, and you can no longer help Li Zisheng. Why should you accept his gift? Are you still planning to tie yourself to the same boat with Li Zisheng and wait for you to sink together?"

Zhang Luan said with some regret: "But... your father wants to accept the gift before leaving the court, you see..."

Zhang Yanling was surprised and said, "Dad, you are going to throw away the fruitful results you have worked so hard to harvest for a few women, and even plan to give up your own reputation? Can I say this... You do all this just to have a few more women in the backyard?"

"this and that……"

Zhang Luan was at a loss for words for a moment.

Obviously he was a man without great ambitions. For someone like him who had been poor for almost half his life, he was already very satisfied with the wealth and glory he had today.

If he were really allowed to hold all the power, he would be worried because that is beyond his ability.

Zhang Yanling said: "You must have the attitude of resigning. You can temporarily not send the person back, but you can't just..."

"understand."

Zhang Luan heard that he could resign first, but he would not return the woman to Li Zisheng. He instantly felt that he had found his direction. Whatever his son said was the golden rule and he had to do it. "Go on, what else do you want me to do?"

Zhang Yanling said, "If you resign, the prince will definitely try to keep you. At that time, some people who originally had a lot of complaints about you, such as the lecturers in the Eastern Palace, will have to come forward to try to keep you in order to appease the prince. They will retain a certain official position for you, but they will definitely not tolerate you joining the cabinet."

"What pavilion do I want to join... I've never thought about this." Zhang Luan said with a smile.

As long as I can have women, I don’t have to be an official. Why should I join the cabinet?

Zhang Yanling continued, "The next step is to discuss a candidate for the cabinet. One of Wan'an and Liu Ji must leave, and that person can only be Wan'an. After Wan'an leaves, someone will have to fill the vacant position... You can help the prince with his advice, and even help with recommendations."

"Who... is more suitable?"

Zhang Luan asked, "I told you the candidates, is it useful?"

"Of course it will be useful. This person can be Xu Pu or Liu Jian, but it must not be you."

Zhang Yanling explained, "Dad, you can also join the cabinet, but obviously you won't be the prime minister. You must understand this clearly. If you join the cabinet before Xu Pu and Liu Jian, aiming for the position of prime minister, then others will definitely not agree. But as long as you recommend these two people, and they join the cabinet before you, then you will have a chance to join the cabinet, and the opposition from the civil officials in the court will be much reduced."

(End of this chapter)