Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 457 It’s really him
As the news of Liang Fang's arrest spread quickly, many people in the capital became worried about it.

As the chief minister, Wan'an had a deep connection with Liang Fang in the past, but on the surface he pretended to be honest and self-disciplined, saying that he never made friends with eunuchs, but in fact he was more panicked than anyone else.

After the morning court session ended, as the ministers were leaving the palace, Wan An could not help but stop Zhang Luan and asked, "Laizhan, let me ask you, how is the investigation of Eunuch Liang's case going?"

"oh!?"

Zhang Luan was very surprised.

Under such circumstances, you actually still call Liang Fang "eunuch", which is really unique.

Zhang Luan smiled and said tactfully: "We are still investigating... On the surface, we must find out those who colluded with him to promote the change of crown prince... Our Ming Dynasty has always been a system of inheritance by the eldest son. Anyone who has strange thoughts has bad intentions and must be held accountable, that's all."

"is it?"

Wan'an swallowed and thought, who are you scolding?
Although I once thought about changing the crown prince, that was after Liang Fang was sent away by the late emperor, okay?

Before that, it was just a collusion between money and power at most!
"Then Lai Zhan, who do you think is more suspicious?" Wan An leaned over and asked in a low voice, "To be honest, there is actually someone in the cabinet who might have that idea..."

Zhang Luan thought, are you exposing yourself? Are you planning to report yourself?
"It's Liu Ji."

Wan An said directly.

Zhang Luan shook his head: "Your Majesty doesn't want the case to involve too many people... If the fire is brought to the cabinet ministers, it will be a heinous case... Is there really no need for that?"

"No."

Wan An's eyes were sharp and he spoke righteously, "We must investigate as we must, and we must not tolerate it.

"Changing the crown prince is an act that violates social order, and I am sure that the late emperor never authorized this. Because whenever the late emperor summoned the ministers, he always praised the prince's filial piety and ability. At that time, the prince did not have your assistance...

"Since the late emperor never had any intention to do so, it must be that the people below him have ulterior motives for personal gain."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, you are quite good at scolding.

Do you think I don’t know that it was you who previously joined forces with Liu Ji to depose the crown prince?
My son said it clearly, in addition to you two cabinet ministers, Jinyiwei commander Zhu Ji was also involved, but he did not succeed.

"You need to check carefully."

Wan An asked with a serious face, "If there is any progress, it is best to inform me in time. I hate those people with ulterior motives. I will work with you to maintain the integrity and law of the court. I will never allow such a thing to happen again."

Zhang Luan frowned.

I thought, are you hinting that someone in my future grandson will want to dethrone him? Are you doing all this for my grandson's sake?
……

……

After Wan'an left, Zhang Luan left the palace with mixed feelings. He was about to get on the carriage to go to the Hanlin Academy when Li Zisheng approached him quietly.

"Minister Li."

Zhang Luan was still a little angry with Li Zisheng, but considering that he sent him a woman overnight, he put his anger aside for the time being.

Li Zisheng asked, "Did the person who sent it receive it?"

"Yes." Zhang Luan nodded and said with a smile, "But now is an extraordinary period. I have relocated everyone to other places first. I'll talk about it later..."

Li Zisheng smiled and said jokingly, "Laizhan, when did you become so cautious? Is it because you were ordered by the emperor to investigate the Liang Fang case that you have become so cautious in your words and actions?"

"what?"

Zhang Luan was stunned at first, then shook his head and said, "I feel guilty... Yesterday, Mr. Pang came to my house, and I didn't give him an accurate explanation. I am really sorry."

Li Zisheng said, "You can just call him Bingkun... Why call him Mr. Pang? That's giving him face! Yesterday I told you again and again not to bother you too much after he passed by, and to leave him there and go. Who knew he would mention the Liang Fang incident to you... Do you think I'm afraid that the Liang Fang case will implicate me?"

"Yes."

Zhang Luan followed up the conversation and said, "I was also thinking that when Shangshu Li defeated Liang Fang, he put in a lot of effort, and many people in the court saw it. How come Liang Fang was involved in the matter after he came back from a trip abroad? It doesn't make sense..."

"hehe."

Li Zisheng smiled.

Facing Zhang Luan, who was either pretending to be confused or really confused, Li Zisheng didn't know how to respond... He was recommended to the late emperor by Liang Fang. It was impossible to say that the two had no connection at all. The key depended on how the current emperor defined him.

Zhang Luan added: "But I also told my son Yanling that Liang Fang is nothing. Even if there was no Minister Li and no me, how could he, a mere slave of the royal family, really succeed in pushing for a change of crown prince? The late emperor stood on the side of the crown prince."

Li Zisheng asked meaningfully, "Did Wan'an tell you this? He said the late emperor never intended to change the crown prince?"

"what!?"

Zhang Luan was very surprised.

I thought, how do you know Wan'an talked to me?

Li Zisheng came forward and whispered, "Laizhan, let me tell you, there are some tricks to this Liang Fang case. Why did the court give you this task? In fact, they want to eliminate the remnants of Liang Fang in the court, and warn those who have had close contacts with Liang Fang that it doesn't matter what they have done, but they must be loyal to His Majesty in the future."

"Who?"

Zhang Luan asked.

Li Zisheng said: "Look at you, you are pretending to be confused again, aren't you?"

"I...I really don't know who they are."

Zhang Luan made a bitter face and shook his head, "I only know that Wan'an and Liu Ji should be involved. As for other people... they said they wanted to push for a change of crown prince, but I never saw anyone really rushing to the front... Minister Li, how about you remind me?"

Li Zisheng shook his head and said, "You have to find out who it is yourself, but there is one person I can give you some advice on. The former censor Zhang Shanji is the one who used to hang around Deng Changen. Do you remember him?"

"I... didn't know there was such a person."

Zhang Luan thought, how would I know who Zhang Shanji is?

Li Zisheng said: "Catch him and interrogate him thoroughly, maybe you will get the answer. Okay, I have to stay away... After all, now people say that Liang Fang and I are so close that we are almost wearing the same pants. I am really wronged... I am leaving!"

"Don't..." Zhang Luan wanted to keep him and ask Li Zisheng to give him some advice, but when he saw the other party leaving without looking back, he suddenly felt a little desolate and lonely.

"He was once the most powerful minister in the Ming Dynasty, but he has ended up like this? It seems that my son was right when he told me not to get too close to him... Who could have thought that Li Zisheng would fall so quickly?"

……

……

Zhang Luan got on the carriage.

As a result, the car was stopped again after driving only a few steps.

This time it was Jinyiwei commander Zhu Ji.

After Zhu Ji and Zhang Luan got off the car, he hurried forward and saluted respectfully: "Eunuch Huai En is already waiting at the Beizhenfusi Yamen."

"Do I...have to go to trial today?"

Zhang Luan asked.

"This...it's up to you to decide."

Zhu Ji reminded, "Didn't His Majesty order you to supervise the Liang Fang case?"

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "Even if we were to interrogate the prisoners today, we should go to where Liang Fang and Wei Xing were being held. Why would we go to the Northern Pacification Office first?"

Zhu Ji shook his head and said, "This... I don't know."

"Okay, Commander Zhu, please lead the way."

Zhang Luan could only calm down and have the carriage go to the Northern Pacification Office to meet Huai En.

……

……

Huai En met Zhang Luan in the hall of the Northern Pacification Office and seemed very solemn.

As soon as they met, Huai En expressed his gratitude to Zhang Luan... Of course, he was not thanking Zhang Luan for helping him return to Beijing. If he said that, it would seem that they were engaging in a private transaction, which was obviously against the rules.

Even though Zhang Luan didn't know the boundary between inner and outer officials, Huai'en was very good at getting along with people.

"Thanks to Mr. Zhang, the prince was able to overcome the difficulties smoothly. When I was exiled from the capital, I thought the position of the crown prince was in jeopardy." Huai En said with emotion, "A marriage can bring in a capable minister like Mr. Zhang to help. It is really unexpected."

Zhang Luan said modestly: "Eunuch Huai, please don't flatter me. I am just an ordinary person, not even a juren."

Huai En smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, you are joking. If you were really a juren, or even a jinshi, then the matter of choosing the crown princess might have nothing to do with your family."

"Huh? Yes, yes."

Zhang Luan thought so too.

It is precisely because I am only a scholar that I am qualified to send my daughter to the government to be selected as the Crown Princess. The cause and effect in between... makes people sigh at the wonder of fate.

Huai En said: "But it is probably because Mr. Zhang was depressed and frustrated in the first half of his life that he never expected that you are a great talent in governing the country. It is also because of this that people like Liang Fang and Wei Xing misjudged the situation and ended up falling into your hands."

"Do not."

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "You didn't lose to me, you lost to the truth. Deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son has always been a way to bring disaster. Moreover, the prince is so kind and filial, he is no less than the sages of the past. He is truly the best choice for a wise ruler, and he will be protected by God."

Huai En smiled and said, "You are His Majesty now."

"Yes, yes, I am talking about His Majesty."

Zhang Luan quickly changed his words.

Huai En bowed again: "So I have to thank Mr. Zhang for helping the prince through the difficulties, and also giving us the opportunity to finally make the new emperor do something. Oh, by the way, Mr. Zhang, how do you think people like Liang Fang should be dealt with?"

Zhang Luan asked, "Did His Majesty ask Eunuch Huai to come and ask about this?"

"Yes and no."

Huai En explained, "I previously proposed to Your Majesty that this matter should be handed over to Mr. Zhang for full handling."

"No, I told Eunuch Tan that someone in the palace had committed a crime, and I don't know much about it. I even asked Eunuch Tan to do the report to His Majesty. How can I overstep my authority now?" At this point, Zhang Luan shook his head repeatedly and said helplessly, "I don't understand. I really don't understand!"

Huai En smiled and said, "If even you don't understand, who else in the court knows better? Just feel free to deal with it. Whether it's killing or releasing, you will be in charge of it yourself, and finally submit the memorial... I believe that His Majesty and the court officials will accept your judgment."

"This? That's not good!"

Zhang Luan said reluctantly.

Huai En said: "In fact, your majesty did not want Mr. Zhang to be too involved before, but sometimes, as a minister, shouldn't we take the initiative to share your majesty's worries?"

Zhang Luan frowned when he heard this.

Your master doesn't intend to let me work hard, but you want me to be the first to take action?

You Huai En are really not a good person!
Huai En said again: "There are several people here who are very close to Liang Fang... When Concubine Wan was here, they had secretly planned to promote the change of crown prince. Although I knew about it at the time, I was powerless to do anything about it. Today I finally got the chance, and I should let them know the consequences."

"oh!?"

Zhang Luan's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, "You know everything?"

"I don't know everything. I only know a few."

Huai En said seriously, "This includes Li Zi Province."

Zhang Luan frowned upon hearing this and questioned, "Li Zisheng? He...has put a lot of effort into bringing down Liang Fang...could he have made a mistake?"

Huai En shook his head and said, "If this person stays in the court for one day, it will bring huge hidden dangers to the stability of the court. Why not take this opportunity to take him down?
"Besides, I didn't wrongly accuse him! He was indeed the most determined person to push for the change of crown prince in the beginning. He was even the one who secretly made plans for some things. We can't deny the fact that he was a traitor just because of his little contribution later. Mr. Zhang, we have to stand firm."

(End of this chapter)