I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 11 Zhao Ji was wronged

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Qian Zongguan, the chief steward of Prince Shen's Mansion, is an old man in the palace of the original owner's mother, Concubine Lin Xianfei. In terms of loyalty and ability, he has no outstanding qualities. He just has a long history and always likes to take advantage of his seniority.

Zhao Ya didn't like to use such people, but he kept him because there was no suitable replacement before.

Now that he had Huang Jingchen, Liang Shicheng and Li Yan, Zhao Ya directly promoted Huang Jingchen to deputy general manager. Liang Shicheng and Li Yan were also promoted to key positions in Prince Shen's Mansion. He planned to gradually replace the incompetent people in his mansion one by one to prevent them from delaying his important affairs.

Huang Jingchen and the other two thought that Zhao Ya would honor them, but they did not expect that Zhao Ya would use them so much.

The three of them were very excited.

Huang Jingchen was the first to express his stance: "Thanks to your Highness's kindness, I will do my utmost to repay your kindness. Even if there are thousands of difficulties and dangers, I will follow you until my death!!!"

Liang Shicheng and Li Yan also hurriedly echoed, their words full of loyalty and determination.

"I've placed you in key positions, not just for internal affairs. The situation is volatile both inside and outside the palace, with various forces lurking like hungry wolves. Concubine Liu is even using the birth of a prince to target the Empress Dowager, threatening the foundation of the Great Song Dynasty. Although I'm the Emperor's younger brother, I must tread carefully in this game of power."

Afraid that saying this would scare Huang Jingchen and the other two, and would backfire, Zhao Ya changed his tone:
"The Empress Dowager is the backbone of the Song Dynasty. She will not sit idly by and watch Concubine Liu act recklessly and disrupt the government. Furthermore, although Concubine Liu may appear powerful, she colluded with foreign ministers to interfere in government affairs, fabricated a witchcraft case to frame the Empress, and resorted to unscrupulous means to suppress dissidents. I foresee that she will suffer backlash and be abandoned by Your Majesty."

Huang Jingchen and the other two were not new to the palace, so how could they not understand:

Politics is about taking sides.

Whenever a political turmoil occurs, every member involved must express their stance in a timely manner, choose their own team, and express their loyalty to their superiors in a timely manner.

For those in power, all politicians who do not stand on their side, including those who are vague and neutral, will be classified as the enemy side.

Political enemies are naturally targets that need to be eliminated and attacked.

Therefore, being able to stand in line in a timely manner and stand on the right side is an essential ability for politicians of this era. It is also a skill that concerns future development and even life and property.

Huang Jingchen was a loyal and righteous man.

Liang Shicheng and Li Yan were both extremely cunning people.

Naturally, they expressed their loyalty to Zhao Ya without hesitation until death.

"Your Highness, please tell us clearly what we should do now?" Huang Jingchen quickly got into the situation and asked about his duties as the deputy general manager.

"A fortress is most easily breached from the inside. I want you to clear out all hidden dangers in the mansion and not give the enemy any chance to take advantage." Zhao Ya said.

"Also, I don't want to be blind or deaf. You should try your best to collect intelligence for me, including intelligence in the palace." Zhao Ya said again.

"Yes." The three responded in unison.

"Your Highness, I wonder if we can recruit some people?" Liang Shicheng asked.

"You can decide based on the situation." Zhao Ya decisively and directly caught the big one and let the small one go.

The three of them are overjoyed!

Li Yan rushed to say, "When selecting talented people, we should not avoid relatives. I have several brothers, nephews, and grandchildren who are quite obedient. Moreover, when I was working in the palace, I met some loyal people. I am willing to bring them all into the Prince Shen's palace."

At this stage, Zhao Ya simply couldn't care less about his subordinates forming cliques and engaging in self-interest. He wanted to strengthen his forces as quickly as possible and gain the strength to compete with Zhao Ji for the throne. So he said decisively: "Bring them here for me to see. If they are truly capable, I will make the best use of their talents and reward them generously."

Zhao Ya looked at Huang Jingchen and Liang Shicheng again: "You two can also recommend talents to me, the more the better..."

……

Zhao Ji knew that yesterday when Empress Dowager Xiang needed him the most, he chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, which would definitely cause Empress Dowager Xiang's dissatisfaction with him.

Zhao Ji felt very wronged about this.

Those are the emperor and the future queen. Only a fool looking for death would make an enemy of them, okay?

Zhao Ji believed his choice at the time was perfectly reasonable. Didn't everyone else make the same choice? He even felt that if Zhao Ya, a conspicuous figure, hadn't suddenly appeared and insisted on protecting his mother, he would have definitely gotten through this ordeal unscathed.

There is no doubt that Zhao Ji hated Zhao Ya to death. It was Zhao Ya who put him on the fire and caused him to lose Empress Dowager Xiang, his biggest political backer.

The account with Zhao Ya can be settled later. The most urgent thing is that Zhao Ji must quickly regain the trust of Empress Dowager Xiang.

For this reason, as soon as the sun rose, Zhao Ji rushed to Cide Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.

What a coincidence, Li Lin happened to be cleaning the entrance of Cide Palace today.

Li Lin was exceptionally beautiful. Her figure was graceful, and her gait was as light as a willow branch dancing in the wind. Every gesture exuded a unique charm. Her eyebrows, slightly raised, seemed to contain a clear spring, limpid and bright, yet concealing a hint of coolness and aloofness. A casual glance at her could captivate anyone.

Even among the many beautiful palace maids, Li Lin still looks like a shining pearl.

At this moment, Li Lin waved the broom lightly with graceful and capable movements, and it seemed that her every move was just right.

Li Lin, who was so unique, immediately attracted Zhao Ji's attention.

Zhao Ji walked towards Li Lin with a smile and said, "I have never seen you before. Are you new here?"

Li Lin had seen Zhao Ji a long time ago, and also learned from the palace maid beside him that this young man with a good appearance was Prince Duan, also known as Song Huizong, one of the most incompetent emperors in history.

Li Lin had always looked down on Zhao Ji, and when he saw that Zhao Ji was indeed as frivolous and dissolute as recorded in history, he looked down on him even more.

Li Lin did not like beating around the bush, especially when it came to Zhao Ji. She said bluntly, "I'm not a messenger. If you want to see the Queen Mother, please go find Steward He."

After saying this, Li Lin flicked her pigtail and left, not caring at all about offending Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji was very embarrassed after being frustrated.

However, this did not make Zhao Ji hate Li Lin, but made Zhao Ji more interested in Li Lin.

But this is Cide Palace after all, not his Prince Duan's Mansion. How could Zhao Ji dare to be so presumptuous?

After taking a deep look at Li Lin's back, Zhao Ji waved to the eunuch named He who was guarding the gate and asked him to go in and report.

But what made Zhao Ji's heart sink was that the eunuch surnamed He came out shortly after he went in and replied: "The Queen Mother will not see guests today. Your Majesty, please return."

Seeing that Empress Dowager Xiang was unwilling to see him, Zhao Ji felt nervous and quickly made a compromise: "Then Zheng Yaban or Wang Yaban can be in the palace, and I can meet with them."

Zhao Ji already knew that Empress Dowager Xiang intended to give Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu to him, and he also wanted to take these two talented, beautiful and extremely intelligent women as concubines.

Now that the originally good relationship between Zhao Ji and Empress Dowager Xiang has been broken, Zhao Ji naturally hopes that Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu can help him mend this rift.

But what made Zhao Ji even more upset was that the eunuch surnamed He brought back the news: "The two guards are serving the Queen Mother and have no time to come out to see the king."

When Zhao Ji heard this, he knew that this was definitely an excuse.

However, for a moment, Zhao Ji did not know whether this was the intention of Empress Dowager Xiang or the intention of Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu.

"Whichever it is, it's not good news for me."

"It seems that the impact of yesterday's incident is far greater than I imagined."

Zhao Ji did not dare to argue too much, but said sincerely: "In this case, I will come to see the Queen Mother tomorrow."

After saying this, Zhao Ji left gracefully.

But this is only superficial.

Deep down, Zhao Ji was actually roaring: "Zhao Ya, everything that happened today is all thanks to you!!!"

……

(End of this chapter)