Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 516 Pursuit
After Huai'en met Zhang Luan, he immediately returned to the palace to report to Zhu Youtang.

"Huai Daban, are you saying that my father-in-law doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about joining the cabinet?" Zhu Youtang asked after listening to Huai En's story.

Huai En nodded. "This is what I think, but I don't know if my premonition is accurate."

Zhu Youtang was in a dilemma: "But... the Empress Dowager has been recommending that my father-in-law join the cabinet so that he can help me more. I think so too. My father-in-law is full of strategies and often has good ideas. If he is in the cabinet, it may relieve some pressure on your Silijian. What do you think?"

"This……"

Huai En didn't know how to respond and felt extremely embarrassed for a moment.

Is it just to relieve the work pressure of the eunuchs in our Imperial Household Department that you thought of letting Zhang Luan join the cabinet?
I’m afraid that after this person joins the cabinet, he will only bring us more troubles and pressure... After all, he is a newcomer who knows nothing.

Huai En quickly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, I don't know what the two cabinet ministers think, but if they can understand it clearly, perhaps they will bring up the matter of increasing the number of cabinet ministers at the court meeting in the near future."

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang nodded, "With the help of Huai Daban, I think it should be possible. Oh, by the way, have you mentioned the Liang Fang case to your father-in-law?"

"I have already mentioned it."

Huai En continued to report, "It's just... Minister Zhang seems a little absent-minded about this, or maybe it's because he has been too busy recently, plus his injury... He may be a little overwhelmed."

Zhu Youtang asked curiously, "Can't an injured person ask too many questions? I didn't think it through... My father-in-law is still injured, but he still has to help me do so many things. It's really hard. So, how about you help keep an eye on this matter?"

"Your servant...I can't do that..."

Huai En hurriedly declined.

Wei Tai, who was listening at the side, started to think, is there a time when you can't do it with Huai En?
Could it be that you felt that Liang Fang's case was too difficult, so you urged Zhang Luan to do the job while complaining that he was not efficient enough? Now that I ask you to do it, you are making excuses?
Zhu Youtang thought about it carefully, nodded slightly and said, "Yes, you have a lot of responsibilities, Huai Daban. Then let your wife handle it."

"Yes."

Qin Ji, who was absent-mindedly standing aside, quickly responded.

Zhu Youtang added: "My father-in-law is a very tolerant person. I believe that if he comes forward to try the case, it will let the world know that I do not want to change some of the decisions made by my father without authorization. In addition... return this memorial and tell those censors that I don't want to hear similar words again."

As he spoke, Zhu Youtang picked up a memorial and handed it to Huai'en.

After Huai En took it, he glanced at it and remembered that this was a memorial written a few days ago, in which someone called for a thorough investigation into the death of Zhu Youtang's mother, Concubine Ji, and for the Wan family to be held accountable.

A group of civil servants seemed to be speaking up for justice, but fundamentally they were trying to cater to and please the emperor, and were not truly considering the emperor's interests.

Zhu Youtang was just the kind of person who, after being hit with a stick, would speak well of the person who hit him... There was nothing he could do about it, it was determined by his growing environment. If he didn't have this good mentality... he would have died a hundred times already.

This mentality was the only way for Zhu Youtang to survive when he was the crown prince. However, after becoming emperor, it was a bit too foolish for him to still face the world with this mentality.

If you have power but don’t use it, you are a fool!

But Zhu Youtang is able to remain consistent. His personality has already been established, so you can just torture him!
"Is everything okay at my father-in-law's house?"

Zhu Youtang finished dealing with all the matters at hand and asked one more question. Then he said, "I don't have anything to give to the Zhang family recently. Some of the treasures left by my father are really useless to me, so I will send them to my father-in-law. Also, stop the tributes from all over the country for a while, so as not to waste people's money and time."

……

……

"Your Majesty's generosity is as clear as the sun and the moon. His concern for Zhang Guozhang is meticulous and touching."

After returning to the Imperial Household Department, Qin Chang couldn't help but say something with a smile.

At this time, Wei Tai, the nominal leader, was not there. Only Huai En and Qin Ji followed him into the duty room.

Huai En frowned slightly and asked, "Your Majesty, have you checked the storage items in the palace recently?"

"Yes."

Qin Chang nodded and said, "I went there with him. I saw a lot of treasures there. They were so flashy and useless. If they were brought to the market, they would probably be worth a fortune."

Qin Ji immediately reminded: "That may not be the case. During the time of the previous emperor, wasn't it still..."

When he said this, he suddenly saw Qin Changmeng giving him a look, so he quickly stopped talking.

Huai En frowned and asked, "What else?"

"Eunuch Huai, there's no need to ask so many questions."

Qin Chang wanted to broach the subject and covered it up by saying, "The late emperor is no longer with us. It is understandable that Your Majesty is sorting out the late emperor's belongings."

Huai En's words were very intense: "When a person becomes lazy in his work, it often starts with focusing on trivial matters or losing his ambition. Your Majesty must not be allowed the opportunity to sink."

"What you said..." Qin Chang was stunned and found it a little difficult to respond for a moment.

You are so bold to speak out, even the current emperor dares to make such an evaluation. After all, you are awesome. I will just pretend that I didn't hear it and will not take the initiative to impeach you.

Of course, whether Qin Ji wants to report it is none of my business.

Huai En immediately glared at Tan Ji and asked, "What do you think of the late emperor...?"

Qin Ji was embarrassed by the question, but since he was the one who started the topic, he could only bite the bullet and say, "In the last years of the previous emperor's reign, he asked Li Zisheng and others to sell some of the palace's treasures, especially the tributes purchased from various places, for cash, but few people bought them, let alone the priceless items."

Huai En asked in surprise: "Why didn't I know about this?"

Qin Chang said helplessly: "Haven't I already said that it happened during the time of the previous emperor? You were not in the capital at that time, so how could you know so much about it?
"Besides, the sale of the tribute from the palace must be done in secret. Is it possible that someone would publicize it? After the death of the previous emperor, no one mentioned this matter anymore."

"Did Li Zisheng sell it?"

Wynn asked, frowning.

Qin Chang was displeased now: "Do you really want to get to the bottom of this? What good will this do you?"

Huai En frowned and said, "Isn't it right to ask clearly?"

"This……"

Qin Chang hesitated for a moment, and then patiently explained, "At that time, Li Zisheng was nominally responsible for the sale, but it was actually sold by our father-in-law Zhang. He even made friends with buyers such as the Duke of Ying, which created relatively stable external conditions for your majesty to ascend the throne later."

Huai En asked in surprise, "Are you saying that Zhang Guozhang has had dealings with the nobles who hold military power in the capital?"

Qin Chang said indifferently: "It is a task assigned by the late emperor. How can we, the eunuchs, interfere? No one would dare to sell the tribute from the palace easily, right? Even if everyone knows that it is a tribute, if the late emperor insists on investigating, he can just say that it was stolen. Who can do anything about it? In the end, Zhang Guozhang sold it, and all parties were very satisfied. The late emperor even rewarded the Zhang family for this..."

Huai En quickly asked again: "How much did Zhang Guozhang sell at that time? How did he hand in the proceeds?"

"This...we don't know, and we can't control it."

Qin Chang said helplessly, "It's been a while since the incident happened. Almost half a year, right?"

Tan Ji said: "Not that long, only four or five months."

Huai En frowned and asked, "Don't you two think there's anything wrong with this?"

Qin Chang sighed, "Eunuch Huai, you don't know the situation at that time. At that time, no one dared to object to the saying that Li Zisheng was all-powerful. Those who could survive under the pressure of Li Zisheng were either shameless people like Wan An and Liu Ji, or Zhang Guozhang who could play both sides... Don't you think the political environment at that time was not dangerous enough?"

"No wonder!"

Huai En expressed his sincere emotion.

Qin Chang asked curiously, "What's the wonder?"

After asking, I regretted it. If I asked this question, would Huai En be able to answer it? Don't make yourself look bad!
Unexpectedly, Huai En was very frank and answered directly: "No wonder Zhang Guozhang was so extraordinary. He moved big figures like Liang Fang and Peng Hua, but only showed mercy to Li Zisheng and didn't even mention Li Zisheng. It seems that in addition to their official dealings, they also have a close personal relationship."

Qin Chang smiled and said, "You just found out about this. Isn't there a rumor that when the Crown Princess entered the palace for selection, she also received help from Li Zisheng?"

Huai En questioned dissatisfiedly: "Just because of this, Li Zisheng, a court official who controls the government and does evil, can be put aside and ignored?"

"This……"

Tan Chang was a little speechless.

I was thinking, are you being too righteous?
Those civil officials said that Li Zisheng was in control of the government, so why did you join in the fun? We are all eunuchs, and we know exactly what the court was like at that time, especially who Li Zisheng obeyed.

Without the strong support of the late emperor, Lizi Province would be nothing.

Just like now, Li Zisheng's official position and job have not changed, but without the emperor's support, who would still regard Li Zisheng as a powerful official?
Qin Ji listened for a while and when he saw the two of them suddenly fell silent, he couldn't help but lean over and ask, "What's going on?"

Huai En said: "I have to remind your majesty...Now that so many people have impeached Li Zisheng and exposed his past misdeeds, if your majesty ignores his crimes because of the insignificant good things Li Zisheng did in the past, where is the dignity of the court?"

"This...isn't...completely necessary, right?"

When Qin Chang heard this, he looked evasive.

Obviously, his character is closer to those traditional eunuchs in the palace. They are afraid of causing trouble, like to keep a low profile, and prefer not to get involved in other people's business.

But Huai En was like a powder keg that could explode at any time... He was unwilling to be manipulated by others.

Huai En seemed very persistent and said loudly: "Liang Fang and others were involved in such a big case, and they handled it smoothly. Do you still care about the extra Li Zisheng? How powerful was Liang Fang back then? What about Wan An and Yin Zhi? Or Peng Hua? We shouldn't let a small rat ruin the whole pot of porridge."

(End of this chapter)