Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 438: Court affairs are court affairs, family affairs are family affairs

After meeting Zhu Ji, Qin Chang immediately returned to the palace.

When he returned to the duty room of the Imperial Household Department, he happened to see Huai En who had just returned from meeting Zhu Youtang.

After Huai'en returned to the capital, although he ranked third in the Imperial Household Department, he often saw the crown prince. Whenever the crown prince did not understand something, he would explain it in detail to the crown prince, and gradually gained Zhu Youtang's trust.

Qin Chang and Wei Tai saw it all and were worried, but there was nothing they could do.

One reason is that Huai En has a lot of experience and knows a lot.

The second is that there are too few people who can compete with Huai En at this moment. Perhaps only Zhang Luan is qualified to challenge Huai En. Others, including the lecturer of the Eastern Palace, can only live in peace with Huai En.

"I have already advised the Crown Prince that before he officially ascends the throne, he should dismiss the Dharma Kings, Taoists and other monks in Beijing in accordance with the late emperor's will, send them out of the capital and resettle them in various places." Huai En has always been very disciplined and explained the situation directly to Tan Chang to avoid being thought of as overstepping his authority.

Tan Chang said: "Just a monk?"

Huai En smiled and nodded: "There are still some officials who are sent to the court, especially monks and Taoists, most of them are from the Daolusi and other government offices. Among them, there are also Taoists who are in the position of ministers and halls, and they must also be dismissed...but the prince is still considering this matter. However, there are a few people who must be investigated."

Qin Chang frowned and said, "You don't mean Liang Fang, do you?"

"Ah."

Huai En nodded directly and said, "From what I learned after returning to the capital, Liang Fang, Wei Xing and others actually talked about changing the crown prince after the death of Concubine Wan, which disrupted the moral principles of the ministers. They must be severely punished. Even though the late emperor has punished them, it is obvious that they did not get the punishment they deserved, and they must be punished."

When Qin Chang heard this, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

He was thinking, could it be that Huai En was planning to take revenge after being assassinated by Liang Fang before?
Others did not know about this matter, but I was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department at the time, and I knew it very well.

I didn't do you justice at that time. You won't hold a grudge against me for that and seek revenge on me later, right?

Huai En continued, "In addition, the prince has decided to capture the evil monk Ji Xiao who has returned to his hometown and bring him back to the capital for questioning! People will be sent to the south to arrest him soon... As the eunuch in charge of the East Factory, you should obey the emperor's wishes and not shirk your responsibilities with excuses."

"This one……"

Qin Chang thought about it and nodded, "I'll make arrangements later and we'll set off as soon as the imperial edict arrives."

Ji Xiao, they are from Liang Fang’s faction.

He is both a friend and a competitor of Li Zisheng.

However, Jixiao had been away from the capital for a long time, and people in the court could hardly remember what he had done. The main reason was that after Jixiao, Li Zisheng made even bigger noises in the court, and the degree of interference in the government by those treacherous officials who came from monks and Taoist priests might not be as great as that by Li Zisheng alone.

Huai En said: "You have to keep a close eye on the factory guards... The position of Jinyiwei Commander Zhu Ji is questionable, and he may not be entrusted with such an important task."

"what!?"

Qin Chang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "Zhu Ji is mature and prudent in his work, and he has never made any mistakes before. Are you going to replace him without even an excuse? Or even punish him?"

"When the prince issues an order, you will know how to arrange it."

Huai En seemed nonchalant and shook his head, "I'm just telling you in advance so that you can be mentally prepared. There are too many memorials piled up these days. I have reviewed them. You and Wei Tai can review them when you have time and distribute them when appropriate. The affairs of the court cannot be suspended because of the national mourning."

After hearing this, Qin Chang felt very uncomfortable.

You're not even the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, so why do you speak and act like a superior?
We respect you, so we treat you as an equal. You can't be so rude, right?

……

……

really.

Less than two hours after Huai'en informed Tan Chang of the matter, the Crown Prince sent Wei Tai to deliver a handwritten order and sent people to Ji Xiao's hometown, Jiangxia, to bring him back for questioning.

At the same time, Liang Fang, Wei Xing and others were to be brought back to the capital, but the prince did not say that they must be punished. He only said that they should be brought back and interrogated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Perhaps the prince was suspicious of Liang Fang's involvement in promoting the change of crown prince.

"Eunuch Wei, what do you think this means?"

Qin Chang looked around, then approached Wei Tai and asked in a low voice.

Wei Tai smiled bitterly and said, "The evidence that Liang Fang was making false claims about the succession is irrefutable... I was just about to ask Eunuch Tan what your majesty's intention was."

Qin Chang seemed a little helpless, and said: "Perhaps the prince felt that if there was no instruction from His Majesty, how could Liang Fang, a mere eunuch, dare to act rashly? So the prince brought him back to ask clearly. If everything was the late emperor's intention, then perhaps..."

"Ugh!"

Wei Tai was also sighing.

When people leave, the tea is cool.

After Zhu Jianshen's death, the inner palace system almost collapsed, and many people faced the fate of being replaced.

Both Wei and Qin Chang had a strong sense of crisis, but Qin Chang had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom, so he was relatively better off. However, Wei Tai was very unwilling to accept this.

I have only been the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department for a few days. Why did they replace me as soon as the emperor died? I did not make any principled mistakes, so why should I give way to others?

"These past few days..."

Wei Tai asked cautiously, "Is there any movement from Zhang Hanlin?"

Qin Chang shook his head and said, "I haven't seen him jumping around... Since he came back from Tianshou Mountain, he has been very low-key. He occasionally goes to the Hanlin Academy, but there are very few officials willing to communicate with him. Although some people visit his house, he basically doesn't see them."

Wei Tai said, "You said that the newly promoted president of the Hanlin Academy has really given up on joining the cabinet?"

Qin Chang analyzed: "In fact, whether or not to enter the cabinet does not have a big impact. Is it really that important who is the cabinet minister? Just like Wan An and Liu Ji, they are cabinet ministers now, right? But the prince will not listen to them when he has something to do. Besides, who do you think is in power in the Silijian now..."

When Wei Tai heard this, he couldn't help feeling emotional.

The two of us, one is the eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department, and the other is the eunuch who is the chief scribe and the commander of the Eastern Depot, are not as useful as Huai En below.

This shows that an official position is just a title, and the most important thing is who the prince listens to.

It's like when the emperor was alive, he only listened to Li Zisheng, and when did he ever consult Wan'an and Liu Ji? This is also the fundamental reason why the Qingliu in the court are calling for Li Zisheng to be killed. The purpose is to maintain political rules. The existing rules cannot be abolished just because of the emperor's preferences! ...

……

Zhu Youtang's enthronement ceremony is imminent.

At this time, the censors in the court were the busiest.

During the Chenghua period, they suffered too much from the treacherous officials in the court. The emperor at that time did not listen to them, or simply put the censors aside and never took them seriously.

Now that he has finally got the chance, the prince is willing to listen to advice, and naturally he will impeach some of the ministers in the court or those who have retired.

The treatment of those in the court was better, after all, the censors were cautious and feared that it would be difficult to get along with them if they broke up. Those who had left the court, such as Peng Hua, who even Zhu Jianshen disliked before, instantly became their main target.

At sunset that afternoon, Huai En went to Duanjing Hall to meet the prince with several impeachment memorials.

Because the crown prince's coronation ceremony would be held in two days, Huai En himself hoped that the crown prince could restore order. In his opinion, Wei Tai and Qin Chang were the source of the unrest in the court and needed to be replaced as soon as possible, so now he basically bypassed those two and was only responsible to the crown prince.

"Eunuch Huai, you can't go in."

Qin Ji stopped Huai En in front of the palace gate.

"Why?"

Huai En frowned and looked at Tan Ji in confusion.

He and Qin Ji were both senior officials in the palace. Of course, in terms of status, Huai En was much higher than Qin Ji.

But now that Qin Ji is the prince's long-time attendant, it is very likely that he will symbolically enter the Imperial Household Department or the Imperial Stables to serve as the eunuch in charge, so Huai En naturally has to pay more attention to him.

At least Qin Ji does not do evil, and he can persuade the prince to be good. Huai En can't find any fault with this man.

Tan Ji sighed, "The Crown Princess's father came to the palace today and was invited to dine inside. A family banquet has just begun. The Crown Prince has ordered that no one is allowed to go in and disturb him."

"Oh?"

When Huai En heard this, he nodded.

It is undeniable that Huai En was extremely wary of Zhang Luan.

But the problem is that Zhang Luan did not show hostility towards Huai En. On the contrary, Zhang Luan made great efforts in Huai En's return to the court. In addition, Zhang Luan had previously helped the prince clear the obstacles to ascending the throne, and stepped forward to treat Zhu Jianshen when the emperor was dying, without avoiding suspicion...

In all aspects, Zhang Luan has fulfilled his duties as a benevolent minister!
"Then I'll wait."

Huai En didn't mind at all.

My return to Beijing this time is like a chance I picked up for free. It is a rare opportunity for me to have the chance to restore order in the government before I am buried. I can help the prince eliminate the evil and maintain the integrity of the court. What is the value of my old life?
Not to mention standing here for an hour or two, waiting patiently for the banquet to end.

"Ah."

Qin Ji did not stop him and made an inviting gesture, saying, "Please go to the side hall and wait. There are chairs and tea there. You can wait slowly. It won't be very hard."

"Good work."

Afterwards, Huai'en went to the side hall with Tan Ji.

……

……

Inside the Duanjing Hall.

Zhang Luan was having dinner with his daughter and son-in-law. There was also someone accompanying them, who was Zhang Yanling, who was also invited to the palace.

For Ni Yue, Li Hua, and even Huai En, meeting with the prince must be about court affairs.

But Zhang’s family is different.

Even though Zhang Luan is currently involved in some controversial events in the court and is still waiting for the final outcome, this does not prevent him from bringing his son to visit his daughter and son-in-law.

Court affairs come and go, and it does not affect family reunions.

"Father-in-law, it's not convenient at this time. I'm sorry I can't offer you a drink."

When saying this, Zhu Youtang scratched his head, acting a little embarrassed, without any imperial airs at all.

Zhang Luan said quickly, "Your Highness, you are so polite... It is a great honor for me to come to the palace and dine with you. What does it matter if I don't drink?"

Zhu Youtang smiled and changed the subject, saying, "I really troubled you with the selection of the imperial tomb at Tianshou Mountain."

"It's not difficult."

Zhang Luan said, "Perhaps I did something wrong, which is why Minister Ni impeached me. In some matters, I was just being impartial."

Zhang Yu rolled her eyes at the two most important men in her life and said, "Why are you talking about that? Let's eat first."

"Yes, let's eat first."

Zhu Youtang smiled and looked at Zhang Yanling and said, "Yanling, pick up your chopsticks...eat more if you like, and don't be polite to your brother-in-law."

Zhang Yanling said, "Your Highness, you will soon be the emperor, and you will be so noble... Is it appropriate for a little kid like me to start eating first?"

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes at his brother and scolded him, "All these delicious foods and drinks can't stop you from talking too much? Don't learn from your brother, who talks too much during meals."

Zhu Youtang said: "Father-in-law, I just received a secret memorial from Li Zisheng... He reported to me alone, saying that the prophecy about the earthquake last year came from you, especially the words about the east court, which were also asked by you to advise father.

"In fact, you are a real expert in the evolution of the universe. You are no problem at all when it comes to geomancy or choosing a mausoleum for your father."

(End of this chapter)