Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 431 The Devil in the Heart

Three poles in the sun.

Zhang Luan rubbed his sleepy eyes and appeared in front of Li Zisheng, while Li Zisheng was still smiling at him.

"Lai Zhan, did you sleep well last night?"

Li Zisheng asked with a smile.

Zhang Luan's face turned red, and he lowered his head slightly, looking very ashamed: "But I can't bear it."

Li Zisheng was startled at first, then he said sternly: "Laizhan, this is your fault... You are just acting according to circumstances. At this time, you should show some of the momentum of a superior and intimidate those women!

"If you still care about their previous status and protect their dignity and face as they ask you to do, then you are not a good person, but a fool."

Zhang Luan was surprised.

I meant well and took care of their reputation when we were together in private, especially that young lady who was said to be the legal wife of a prefect whose property was confiscated. How come I am the fool for allowing her to get a little respect from me?
Li Zisheng sighed, "It seems that there are some things that I need to teach you little by little... The officialdom has always been like this. Once you enter, there is no room for retreat. Once you retreat one step, it means you have to retreat every step."

Zhang Luan said: "Minister Li, but... I didn't say anything."

I haven't even explained the specific situation to you, but you already know everything. And you're still here lecturing me?

"Although I don't know what's going on inside, I can roughly guess."

Li Zisheng looked like an experienced person and said ambiguously, "Think about it, how could the wives of officials be willing to embarrass themselves in front of others? They would definitely beg you to give them a fig leaf to maintain their dignity. It would be best if you could send them to a secluded place for resettlement. But is that the case?"

"This one……"

Zhang Luan thought to himself, you are indeed an experienced person and you really know everything.

Li Zisheng sighed again, "Based on your personality, I know that you would usually save face at this time. After all, it has come to this point, so why not take care of him a little? However, you saved his face but you can't enjoy yourself. What's the point?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan looked extremely embarrassed.

I feel so embarrassed after hearing what you said, and I feel like you are the fortune teller who can guess everything about me.

"Lai Zhan, let's not talk about yesterday first."

Li Zisheng took something out from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Take a look first."

Zhang Luan thought so too.

I don't know who told me yesterday that what happened last night was over, and why didn't you mention it today? But you, Li Zisheng, broke your promise first and deliberately brought it up in front of me to embarrass me!

"This is……?"

Zhang Luan asked curiously.

Li Zisheng said, "It was you who wrote the memorial impeaching Ni Yue and Li Hua."

"what?"

Zhang Luan's face was filled with shock.

These two were ordered by the Emperor to discuss the location of the late Emperor's mausoleum with me. Although they came together, they have never had a formal meeting until now, and haven't even had a single discussion. And you want me to impeach them?

Is there anything so outrageous?
Li Zisheng said: "Look, it is clearly written here that the two of them were stubborn and self-willed after arriving at the place. They discussed on their own and ignored your choice. They ignored the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty in order to pursue their own interests, and deliberately chose a place with bad feng shui as the location of your mausoleum.

"Oh, by the way, look, there is a space left for you at the end. You can fill in the location you think is most suitable for the imperial mausoleum. Just report it."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, this is really thoughtful and considerate.

It's like everything has been arranged for me, and I just have to fill in the blanks, copy it and hand it in?
"oops."

Zhang Luan recalled his son's instructions and sighed, "Minister Li, you see, the situation is like this. Ni Yue, Li Hua and I haven't said anything specific, and we haven't even had the most basic communication. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to submit an impeachment petition like this... Why don't you let me contact them and see what they think?"

"hehe."

Li Zisheng was not in a hurry. He smiled and said jokingly, "Then you can try to look for them and see if you can find them. I'm going to say this here. If you can find them, I lose."

Zhang Luan asked in surprise: "Aren't they in these mountains and forests? Are they hiding from me?"

Li Zisheng said, "Believe it or not, they are planning how to impeach you right now... I have even thought of their excuses. They will definitely say that you were ordered to come out on a mission, but deliberately separated from them, and then decided on the location of the mausoleum on your own, offending the emperor's will... They will even list your previous crimes and say that the reason His Majesty's illness worsened was because of your reckless diagnosis and treatment..."

"This……"

Zhang Luan seemed very nervous and was speechless.

But in fact, he had already given up struggling in his heart at this moment.

At least what Li Zisheng said was exactly the same as what his son analyzed.

The political struggle of the Ming Dynasty had already begun the moment Emperor Chenghua passed away. Although Zhang Luan was trusted by Empress Dowager Zhou and the Crown Prince, he had no reputation in the court, and others had long regarded him as a potential competitor.

The so-called loyal ministers in the court, not understanding Zhang Luan's repeated contributions in protecting the crown prince's position as the Eastern Palace crown prince, and even less aware of his good reputation in the Imperial Medical Service system, all believed that he had greatly extended the emperor's life span. They all regarded Zhang Luan as a thorn in their eyes and were determined to sweep him out of the court and prevent him from harming the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, the treacherous ministers, such as Wan'an and Li Zisheng, vaguely knew some of the inside story. In order to protect themselves, they tried their best to get close to Zhang Luan and follow his lead.

Li Zisheng leaned close to Zhang Luan's ear and whispered, "Laizhan, have you forgotten what I told you? What is Ni Yue's background? He was so close to Deng Changen, and he had secretly plotted to frame the prince. It was just that His Majesty took advantage of the situation and promoted the prince, agreeing to hear the case in Wenhua Hall... It was indirectly saving him.

"But would you dare to entrust such a sinister person with important tasks, or even make him your confidant?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "Of course not."

"Yes. Why would you feel sorry for a guy who treats you as an enemy, is not upright, and is full of conspiracy and deception?

"As for Li Hua, although he has some abilities, he got to his position by relying on connections. He also wants to treat you as your rival. Why don't you...eliminate them all at once?" Li Zisheng was like the godfather of the underworld, instigating Zhang Luan on how to be a ruthless man and bring down his rival.

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "Minister Li, they seemed to be very close to you in the past. Why..."

Li Zisheng shook his head and said, "You also said that, that was in the past... Speaking of these two, when I was in power, they both came to curry favor with me, which was also an important reason why I could remotely control the Imperial Observatory for a period of time.

"But what's the result? Didn't they part ways with me at the slightest sign of trouble? I didn't deliberately set up a plan to frame them, I just couldn't stand their behavior."

"What kind of behavior?"

Zhang Luan asked tentatively.

Li Zisheng gnashed his teeth and said, "They are the culprits who harmed the prince. They never do good things and almost harmed the prince. Now they want to take advantage of the opportunity to reap the fruits of victory and put those of us who really assisted the prince in ascending the throne into the ranks of treacherous ministers. Such people are really hateful."

Zhang Luan nodded and said, "That's true... Ni Yue had a sinister intention when he petitioned the Crown Prince to hold court in Wenhua Palace. If you and I hadn't done those things, His Majesty would probably have been furious and deposed my son-in-law from the position of Crown Prince... Just thinking about it makes me scared!"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Come, now I want to ask you another question, how was your time last night?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan's eyes widened immediately after hearing this.

I thought to myself, you guys are never going to stop, right?

You just scolded me, even taught me how to do things, criticized me as worthless, and said I was a stupid person. Now you are using this matter to make fun of me?
"Laizhan, please answer me seriously. If it happens in the future, would you like to relive what happened last night?" Li Zisheng asked in a persuasive manner.

Zhang Luan said: "Such a thing is not what a gentleman does, and it is not worth pursuing."

"Haha."

Li Zisheng laughed loudly, "What a gentleman does? The family members of officials who are convicted of crimes are supposed to be exiled to the Jiaofangsi or demoted to slavery or even sent to the frontier. In fact, many officials now have convicted family members who have been rewarded by the court or redeemed by themselves. I dare to ask, who is not a gentleman?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan was speechless for a moment.

Li Zisheng asked again: "If those people who are eyeing you covetously and treating you like an enemy are found out about their crimes and their families are also convicted, would you like to..."

"what!?"

Only then did Zhang Luan understand why Li Zisheng was still harping on yesterday's incident.

In other words, he finally understood why Li Zisheng arranged all this.

This is simply a kind of "catering to the person's taste"!

Knowing that Zhang Laizhan had no political ambitions at the moment and just wanted to live a carefree life for a few days, and knowing that he was not greedy for money but lustful, he made this arrangement to let him know the truth that the winners are kings and the losers are bandits, and also to let him understand the tragic end after failure in political struggle.

Li Zisheng said: "That Minister Ni seems to be upright, but from what I know, he is not an honest person. Since he passed the imperial examination, he has done all kinds of dirty things such as corruption and bribery, and even repeatedly framed his colleagues...

"This person is very smart and never leaves any traces. He harms people but still wants people to think he is a good person. If I didn't have special channels, I would really have no idea what kind of person he is."

Zhang Luan nodded and said, "Judging from the incident of framing the crown prince, he is indeed that kind of person."

"So."

Li Zisheng said, "Since he has a long history of bad deeds, why should you be polite to him? And Li Hua, as the director of the Imperial Observatory, has done a lot of flattering in the past two years. If they are convicted because of your impeachment, I guarantee that they will be held accountable by the court."

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "That is to say..."

Li Zisheng smiled meaningfully and said, "I won't hide it either. As long as they go to jail, their families will be convicted after a while. By then, you don't need to do anything. I will find someone to secretly smooth things over and send them to such a place. By then, you won't..."

The little devil in Zhang Luan's heart was ready to act, but he was also a little scared. He asked with a trembling voice: "Minister Li, if something happens to me, will I be the same as them?"

"How can this be?"

Li Zisheng said unhappily, "You are the father of the Crown Princess. In a few days, you will be the father-in-law of the Ming Dynasty. Do you need to worry about this?

"If you fail, the most you can do is leave the East Class of Civil Officials and go to the West Class to be an idle military hero. You will definitely get the title of Duke or Marquis. Moreover, the titles of heroes and officials in the Ming Dynasty can be inherited... In other words, no matter what, you will definitely get wealth and glory."

"Oh……"

Zhang Luan felt relieved after hearing this.

If you win, you can reach the highest position in the country and firmly reap the fruits of victory.

Even if he failed, he could still be a duke, go home and live a leisurely life, and continue to be a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty.

I'm not at a disadvantage either way, so why don't I just take a step forward?

Are we just going to stay here and wait to be beaten?

"Laizhan, why are you asking so many questions?"

Li Zisheng asked angrily, "How did you spend last night?"

"very good."

Zhang Luan also made up his mind. He looked very motivated, staring at Li Zisheng and said resolutely, "I have to study it carefully according to what is said above, and explain the location of the mausoleum selected for Your Majesty. When the time comes, I will explain in detail the reasons for my calculations, and try my best to make sure that no one can find fault with it..."

"Good good!"

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "But you have to be quick... I have prepared a fast horse here, and after you finish writing, it will be delivered to His Majesty within two or three hours.

"For the next two days, we can continue to flatter Ni Yue and Li Hua, and come back here to enjoy ourselves after nightfall... Hehe. Since we feel so satisfied, we might as well linger on for a few more days."

(End of this chapter)