Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 148: Keep an eye on the King of Wei and make contributions at a critical moment (Part )

Under the night sky, in the backyard of Princess Gaoyang’s mansion.

The lotus leaves are gone, and the dead branches are lying on the ice.

Fang Yiai walked past the side of the rockery and into the wooden pavilion. He asked Chai Lingwu to sit down, then asked the maid in the mansion to put on a hot stove and boil some rice wine. Then he waved his hand to let the maid go down.

After stirring the charcoal, Fang Yiai looked up at Chai Lingwu and said, "Originally, I didn't intend to meet you in private this time. It's only because Aye has fallen asleep that I can see you secretly."

"This is Princess Gaoyang's residence, not the Duke's residence. How can Prime Minister Fang still care about you like this?" Chai Lingwu looked at the wine glass on the stone table without looking up.

"You know it in your heart, so why say more?" Fang Yiai shook his head and sighed.

Chai Lingwu finally looked up, frowned, and asked, "So, you really don't plan to get involved in the King of Wei's affairs anymore?"

"It's not that I don't want to intervene, it's that my father won't let me." Fang Yiai shook his head and said, "You are well aware of the current situation. The Crown Prince is extremely favored by His Majesty. Take today's incident as an example. His Majesty has deliberately built up momentum for the Crown Prince to make the kings and ministers fear him. He even didn't reveal the fact that Crown Prince Liangti happened to be pregnant."

"So you figured it out too." Chai Lingwu sighed and said, "That's a problem. Although many court officials can see the deliberate nature of this, who would reveal it? Including Zheng Liangti, the Crown Prince already has four children, and there may be even more in the future."

"The daughter of Prime Minister Wei." Fang Yiai nodded silently and said, "Your Majesty, as well as Emperor Gaozu, both had many sons and daughters. The Crown Prince now has the potential to inherit the throne, but none of the other kings can compare to him."

"The Prince of Wei only has one heir." Chai Lingwu smiled bitterly and said, "Many people have already stopped contacting the Prince of Wei's Palace."

"The fundamental reason is that Your Majesty dislikes the King of Wei, even to the point of disgust." Fang Yiai looked at Chai Lingwu and asked in confusion, "What on earth has happened recently that has caused such a change?"

"The King of Wei did some things himself." Chai Lingwu didn't say much, just waved his hand and smiled bitterly.

Fang Yiai nodded slightly. He understood that this was Li Tai's own decision, and the consequences were not ideal.

"Things have already come to this." Chai Lingwu's expression calmed down. He looked at Fang Yiai and said, "Do you have any solution?"

"What can I do? Even my father-in-law told me not to interfere in the affairs of the Prince of Wei's Mansion, and the princess as well." After a brief pause, Fang Yiai looked towards the main courtyard and said, "At the end of the year, the crown prince gave the princess double the annual gift. The princess was happy, and so was my father-in-law. However, the Prince of Wei's Mansion's preparations this year were not very good."

"King of Wei!" Chai Lingwu could only sigh again, not knowing what to say.

Li Tai was suddenly assassinated at the end of the year and was placed under house arrest in the palace.

Chai Lingwu and Su Xu are trying their best to do many things. It is not easy to complete them as usual without any mistakes. They have no time to deliberately please anyone.

But it’s different for the prince. His status is different. Any princess would be happy if he receives double the annual gift.

Princess Gaoyang was no exception.

"Wait." Fang Yiai picked up the wine pot and poured a glass for Chai Lingwu, then said, "In the current situation, the Crown Prince is so favored, and His Majesty is deliberately establishing the Crown Prince's authority. At this time, no matter who encounters him, they will be beaten to a bloody pulp by His Majesty."

"I think so too, but I just feel unwilling to give in. Is there no other way?" Chai Lingwu drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and gritted his teeth.

"It's not completely hopeless." Fang Yiai poured Chai Lingwu another glass, then said, "The Crown Prince is gradually turning over. His strong character is one factor, but on the other hand, the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince Liang Ti's frequent pregnancy are also of great help... So, either ask Master Sun to take a look on behalf of the King of Wei and the Princess, or ask Master Sun to take a look on behalf of the King of Wei..."

"Don't say that." Chai Lingwu quickly waved his hand.

Yan Wan was a virtuous princess in many aspects, but she was very strict when it came to the matter of the Prince of Wei taking a concubine.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have only had one child after ten years of marriage.

You know, the King of Wei got married three years earlier than the Crown Prince.

"Then let's find Master Sun." After a brief pause, Fang Yiai said seriously, "We must hurry up on this matter. Right now, the King of Wei is still young, and others won't say or think too much about it. But if, in a few years, the King of Wei still has only one heir, and the Crown Prince has children around him, then the only one who will have second thoughts is Your Majesty, and he will never choose the King of Wei."

The issue of offspring is never just about offspring, there is also the issue of the harem.

The harem is the emperor's best weapon to win over the world's aristocratic families. If Li Tai voluntarily gave up this advantage, then not many people from the world's aristocratic families would stand on his side.

But that was later.

Chai Lingwu nodded slightly, picked up the wine glass, looked at Fang Yiai, squinted his eyes and asked, "I heard that Master Sun is planning to treat the prince's leg this year. Do you have any news?"

"It's wrong for you to come to me for this matter. You should go to Sima?" Fang Yiai knocked lightly on the stone table.

Chai Lingwu was slightly stunned, then immediately reacted.

Although Su Xu is the Sima of King Wei, he is the uncle of the Crown Princess. If he can find out the news of the Eastern Palace through the Su family, it will be more convenient than any of them.

After finishing the pot of wine, Chai Lingwu stood up and said goodbye.

Fang Yiai personally escorted him to the gate of the mansion and hesitantly bowed, saying, "Although you and I have known the King of Wei for a long time, there are some things he may not listen to us. Perhaps sometimes you need to think for yourself."

Chai Lingwu paused slightly, looked at Fang Yiai in great surprise, and then slowed down and nodded slightly.

They knew Li Tai's character better than anyone else. He was usually gentle and polite, but when it came to matters concerning the crown prince, he would immediately become impulsive. Many things were not notified to them until after they were done. For example, in this incident, Chai Lingwu could not understand why Li Tai actually listened to Qi Zhixuan and went to the emperor to falsely accuse the crown prince of sending someone to assassinate him.

If Li Tai had just consulted Chai Lingwu and Su Xu about this matter, things would not have come to that point.

Some people get dizzy when they talk about money.

Some people become dizzy and insane when they think of the position of crown prince.

The reason why Chai Lingwu was still working for Li Tai was because Li Tai knew too much. If one day, Li Tai found out that betraying him could better help Li Tai seize the position of crown prince, Chai Lingwu believed that Li Tai would definitely do so.

That's why he needed to kick Li Tai into the abyss and pull himself out at the same time.

……

Chai Lingwu rode away from Princess Gaoyang's mansion on horseback, but Fang Yiai did not return to the princess's mansion. Instead, he turned around and went to the Duke of Liang's mansion next door.

He had no idea that there was a pair of eyes staring at him closely from behind.

There are no restrictions in Chang'an on New Year's Day.

There is no curfew, so the gates will naturally not be closed, so even where Princess Leilei's mansion is located, there are people coming and going.

Duke Liang's Mansion, study in the backyard.

"He's gone?" Fang Xuanling, who was lying on the couch, opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of alcohol.

"Yes!" Fang Yiai cupped his hands and said, "He wants father to help the King of Wei."

"No help." Fang Xuanling shook his head and said, "Your Majesty is already somewhat fed up with the King of Wei. He is unfilial, unkind, and most importantly, he is too stupid."

"The King of Wei is not stupid, right?" Fang Yiai couldn't help but retort.

"It just looks like he's not stupid." Fang Xuanling waved his hand and said, "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. The prince has gradually understood this, but the King of Wei is still far behind. Often, he can't help but overturn the plate.
There were many such princes during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and many of them ended up dead and their countries were destroyed."

"Yes!" Fang Yiai nodded solemnly. After a brief pause, Fang Yiai asked carefully, "Father, does the Crown Prince really not care about what happened before? After all, my son did many things that were not in his favor before."

Fang Xuanling gave Fang Yiai a strange look, then shook his head and said, "No, the Crown Prince is a smart man. He knows that before he ascends the throne, he needs to reduce his enemies as much as possible, so he won't do anything to you before he ascends the throne."

"So what happens after he ascends the throne?" Fang Yiai couldn't help but look nervous.

"What are you afraid of? You're the princess's consort." Fang Xuanling glanced at Fang Yiai unhappily and said, "If the prince takes the throne and does something bad to you, you can ask the princess to come to the palace and cry. The prince will at most annoy you, but he won't do anything to you."

Yes, he has a princess.

Princess Gaoyang is his amulet.

Fang Yiai breathed a sigh of relief, but then his expression tightened: "What about my son's future?"

Fang Xuanling was speechless, but he had to say: "With the princess here, you can at least get a position as a provincial governor. Even if you take the initiative to ease the relationship with the crown prince and live longer, you may be able to get the position of the Minister of Zongzheng Temple."

"Just the Minister of Zongzheng Temple?" Fang Yiai's face suddenly became uncomfortable.

"What else do you want? The Minister of Zongzheng Temple is already the highest position that a prince consort can achieve in the future." Fang Xuanling sighed and said, "The Tang Dynasty has been established for many years. It will no longer have the situation of a prince consort or a prime minister as the prime minister as before.

So you can either be a minister of the Imperial Clan Affairs Bureau in the imperial court, or be transferred to a provincial governor or governor-general."

"If it's just the position of Minister of the Imperial Clan, my son would still like to go there." Fang Yiai has gradually understood that if there is anything he is not satisfied with, he will let the princess go to the palace to make a scene, and in the end the emperor will always satisfy him.

"Just think it through." After a brief pause, Fang Xuanling said, "I plan to send Silang to the Eastern Palace in a few years, when Your Majesty returns from the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo... At least the relationship between my Fang family and the Crown Prince won't be too strained."

Fang Yiai nodded, then asked, "Why did you come back from the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo?"

"That will happen at least a few years from now. If the Crown Prince is still the Crown Prince then..." Fang Xuanling glanced at Fang Yiai, who looked slightly startled. Fang Xuanling then smiled and said, "Your Majesty is still in his prime. Who knows when His Majesty might change his mind? Two years ago, he was the King of Wei, now he's the Crown Prince. Maybe in two years, he'll be the King of Jin, or even the King of Wu..."

"Duke Zhao?" Fang Yiai looked up in surprise.

"Things are unpredictable. Perhaps he passed away first, or perhaps it was my father who passed away first. Who knows?" Fang Xuanling suddenly calmed down and looked at Fang Yiai. He said, "You should also pay attention to the King of Wei. If there is any opportunity to make meritorious contributions, don't miss it."

"An opportunity to make meritorious service, what opportunity to make meritorious service?" Fang Yiai asked subconsciously.

Fang Xuanling smiled, then lay back on the bed, turned over and fell asleep.

Fang Yiai stood there, and suddenly, his face changed and became extremely ugly in an instant.

(End of this chapter)