Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 430: Don’t Set a Bad Example
Qingning Palace.

Zhu Youtang came over again to pay his respects to Queen Mother Zhou.

It seems that as a grandson, he was very afraid that his grandmother would lose her son and be sad after his death, which led to health problems.

Therefore, coming to pay respects frequently became a way for Zhu Youtang to show his filial piety.

At this time, Zhu Youtang really thought about what others were thinking and was concerned about what others were concerned about, and he had a humble attitude and was very considerate of others.

But it was obvious that Zhu Youtang did not know his grandmother's mentality. Queen Mother Zhou did not seem very sad at the moment. She wanted to use her grandson's filial piety to brainwash him, so she always acted sad in front of her grandson so that he would listen to her more.

"Prince, how can you let your father-in-law go on a business trip outside the city? You don't have any helpers around you right now. If even your father-in-law is not around, and someone is plotting something bad, who are you going to rely on?"

Queen Mother Zhou constantly instilled a sense of crisis in her grandson, making him feel that he was surrounded by enemies and needed someone to help him.

It's almost like saying, your father-in-law is not here, you have to listen to me, this is the only way to ensure that you can become emperor smoothly.

Zhu Youtang said, "Grandmother, choosing a mausoleum for our father is the most important thing to do right now. If my father-in-law goes, I will feel more at ease... Isn't this what you said before, that we should entrust important matters to my father-in-law?"

"Ah."

Queen Mother Zhou nodded.

I thought to myself, my grandson and I really don't care about the same things. Maybe in his eyes, filial piety and righteousness are the most important things in the world, and maintaining the stability of the court is not that important.

"By the way, didn't you say that you would let your brother-in-law come to the palace to meet the Crown Princess? Did he come or not?" Queen Mother Zhou suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but ask.

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "It seems that I have been here before, but my grandson was not in Duanjing Hall at that time, so I don't know the details."

Queen Mother Zhou asked, "How old is the child?"

Zhu Youtang thought for a moment and replied, "About 11 or 12 years old."

"You are only eleven or twelve years old. The most you came to the palace to do was to see your sister and chat about family matters...but other than that, you didn't say anything else?"

Queen Mother Zhou asked with concern.

Zhu Youtang shook his head.

At this time, Zhu Youtang was very puzzled. Why was the Empress Dowager's current focus so strange?

Queen Mother Zhou asked Chen Gui who was standing by her side, "Didn't they say that the child was quite clever? Why didn't you tell me about him after he entered the palace? I wanted to meet him, give him some candy, and chat with him."

"This one……"

Chen Gui looked embarrassed.

You, old lady, really do whatever you want.

If you hadn't mentioned it at that time, would we, as servants, have dared to let the Crown Princess's brother come to see you so casually?
It doesn't make sense. Whoever brings this up to you is asking for trouble.
Who would be so unwise?

"Next time you come, remember that I want to meet this smart child."

Queen Mother Zhou said, "Laizhan has a way of dealing with people, and I think the children he taught will not be bad either. Prince, have you remembered it?"

Zhu Youtang seemed nonchalant and replied casually, "Yes. When Yanling enters the palace, I will let him come to see you."

"Ah."

Queen Mother Zhou nodded happily, as if she was finally satisfied.

……

……

Zhu Youtang was about to return to Fengxian Hall to stand guard over the casket.

But at this moment, Wei Tai hurried over to pay a visit, and at the same time, he took the opportunity to report the pending memorial from the Imperial Household Department to Zhu Youtang.

"Your Highness, there have been many memorials impeaching Li Zisheng in recent days, all of which say that he abused his power and interfered in the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel as a envoy. As a result, local officials could not get a position unless they bribed him with enough money. Even those who were promoted normally had to pay money to his house.

"Moreover, he has many spies and followers in the court. Deng Changen and others who are now in prison are also very close to him, and they secretly discussed murdering the crown prince. And there is..."

Wei Tai now knew that he couldn't deal with Zhang Luan directly.

After all, that gentleman is the prince's father-in-law, and the prince and the princess have a very good relationship. There is no precedent for a servant to directly attack the master's relatives. This is not in line with human ethics.

But to attack Lizi Province...that would be too easy!
Without Zhu Jianshen's support, Li Zisheng was nothing at this time. Anyone could dare to submit a memorial to impeach him. After all, everyone knew that the new emperor relied on the lecturers in the Eastern Palace. Even if there were other flatterers in the future, it would be unlikely to be Li Zisheng.

Zhu Youtang asked, "Wei Daban, have these matters been thoroughly investigated?"

"This one……"

Wei Tai was startled, and first pondered the intention of the prince's question, and then said, "I haven't checked it in detail, but some things... are actually known to everyone in the court and the country.

"Li Zisheng was indeed too arbitrary in his actions, and there has been constant criticism of him in the court. It was only because of Your Majesty's protection that he was not held accountable."

Zhu Youtang shook his head and said, "Since my father didn't hold him accountable when he was alive and entrusted him with important tasks, now that I have just come up, I want to punish him. Isn't it a bit too disrespectful to my father? Let's put this matter aside for now."

Wei Tai thought to himself, is the prince so flexible?
Young emperor, didn't you give people the impression that you always enforced the law impartially and were a simple-minded person?

Now I am reporting Li Zisheng's illegal behavior to you. Even if you don't cut the Gordian knot and put him in jail immediately, you should at least send someone to investigate, right?
With just a sentence like "the late emperor didn't ask", and you don't want to ask either, you just let the matter go?

But the problem is... you weren't so free and easy when dealing with Deng Chang'en, Zhao Yuzhi and others!
Or do you also know that the power behind Li Zisheng is very powerful and cannot be eliminated all at once, but must be done step by step and slowly?

"Wei Daban."

Zhu Youtang seemed very humble, "I don't understand many things in the court. My father didn't give me many opportunities to practice before, so I don't know if I can handle many things well. If there is anything, you should discuss it more with the people in the cabinet, and don't make any mistakes during this period." Wei Tai originally felt that he could not stay in the Silijian for a few more days.

After all, when Huai En comes back, he has nothing to do.

Hearing this, he suddenly felt that the prince still trusted him very much and even gave him the power to deal with important affairs of the court.

The emperor’s grace is truly immense!
"I will do my best to live up to the trust of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Wei Tai was very moved.

At this time, a casual statement from the prince was enough to make Wei Tai feel that he was being favored.

But then Wei Tai felt something was wrong.

I can discuss and resolve any matter with the cabinet...but didn't I come here specifically to ask for your advice on how to deal with Li Zisheng? Don't you agree?

You are just kidding me!
Zhu Youtang said with emotion: "I don't want to see the peaceful world that my father worked so hard to preserve destroyed in my hands. I just hope that everything will be as peaceful as it was when my father was alive... I think my father should be the most wise king in history, and I have a lot to learn from him."

Wei Tai thought to himself, you think too highly of our Majesty.

If someone who ended up like him could still be considered a wise ruler, then there have been no wise rulers since ancient times.

However, it is true that during the Chenghua period, there was no major chaos in the thirteen provincial governments in the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty.

"Wei Daban."

Zhu Youtang said, "I asked my father-in-law and Mr. Ni to choose the mausoleum for my father. Please keep an eye on this matter and send me the news as soon as possible, okay?"

"This one……"

Wei Tai said, "Normally, they will come up with a conclusion in the next two days. By then... I will deliver it to the Crown Prince as soon as possible."

"it is good."

Zhu Youtang said, "I have to go to mourn for my father. You should go back to work first. Thank you for your hard work."

……

……

Wei Tai returned to the duty room of the Imperial Household Department with some confusion in his heart, only to see Tan Chang reviewing memorials there.

"Eunuch Tan."

Qin Chang in front of him was his senior after all, so Wei Tai hurried over to pay his respects.

Qin Chang said quickly, "You are too polite, Eunuch Wei. Now the inner court respects you as the most respected person. If you have anything to say, just tell me."

Wei Tai said: "It's time to prepare for the coronation ceremony... I may need to consult the Queen Mother on this matter. What do you think?"

"The Queen?"

Qin Chang shook his head and said, "It must be approved by the Empress Dowager."

"That's how it should be..."

Wei Tai said, "But if the Queen Mother has any special requests, it's not easy for us to make the decision. Should we discuss it with the cabinet in advance?"

Obviously Wei Tai also thought of an extreme situation.

That is, Queen Mother Zhou proposed to rule the country from behind the curtain, or to interfere in state affairs in some other way.

In fact, Queen Dowager Zhou had already done so. She recognized Zhang Luan as her nephew, and then constantly recommended Zhang Luan to the crown prince. She even planned to let Zhang Luan join the cabinet, which was a concrete manifestation of interfering in state affairs.

Qin Chang said: "The decision on the appointment of a crown prince and the enthronement should be made by the mother. If she is not around, the ministers will make the decision on her behalf. Now that we have your Majesty's will, what else do we have to worry about? Instead, we should worry about...someone in the court stealing a high position, attacking each other in a short period of time, and bringing chaos to the government."

Wei Tai was a little confused and asked, "What does this mean?"

Qin Chang sighed, "You should know that many people in the court have their current status and position because of the protection of Wan'an, Li Zisheng and others. Their reputation in the court seems to be very high, but in fact it is just a castle in the air. Once mutual denunciation and revelation become a trend, everyone in the court will definitely follow suit, using the name of clean stream to carry out the false accusation. It is estimated that many so-called treacherous people will appear at that time..."

Wei Tai said: "Is this a treacherous act... It's hard to say, right?"

"The issue is……"

Qin Chang said, "Are all officials in the court upright and without any bad deeds? Just like the previous Ministry of Revenue case, before the investigation, who would have known that a seemingly honest left vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue would be involved in such a huge deficit? So, don't make a conclusion too early."

Wei Tai sighed, "No wonder the prince didn't let me continue investigating."

"Eunuch Wei, what are you talking about?"

Qin Chang asked curiously.

"No...no..."

Wei Tai would never tell the truth to Qin Chang.

The man in front of him was once his old boss and is now his subordinate. If he reveals everything, it would be very disadvantageous to him.

Of course he would not say that the prince seemed to be very clear that the court should not be in chaos, and he only took down officials like Deng Chang'en and Zhao Yuzhi who seemed to be in high positions but actually had insignificant duties, while he ignored all the critical memorials against people like Li Zisheng who really held power.

This fully demonstrates that the prince knew that he should not start a trend of impeaching each other.

Qin Chang said: "Eunuch Huai will be back soon. I have submitted my resignation. I hope that Eunuch Wei can assist the new emperor in the future. I am sorry to have troubled you during this transition period."

(End of this chapter)