The prince is more stable

Chapter 517 Popular Prestige
The relationship between Zhang Dun and Zhao Xiaoqian was very complicated, and could barely be considered both enemies and friends.

As Zhao Xiaoqian's official rank gradually increased and his power grew, Zhang Dun inevitably had many interactions with Zhao Xiaoqian.

In addition to being the governor of the western route of Hebei and the prefect of Zhending, Zhao Xiaoqian also held the position of "signatory of the Privy Council" in Bianliang, not to mention a large number of honorary titles such as military governor and scholar.

Over the past six months, Zhao Xiaoqian has made great military achievements in Zhending Prefecture. As the prime minister, Zhang Dun is undoubtedly a beneficiary.

Therefore, Zhang Dun unknowingly let go of the tense and confrontational relationship he had with Zhao Xiaoqian as Zhao Xiaoqian's influence in the court grew.

To be honest, Zhang Dun did not want to offend Zhao Xiaoqian.

When Zhang Dun was prime minister, his main focus was to abolish old laws and promote new policies. Zhao Xiaoqian never interfered in this regard. Even with his help, it was not certain that everything could be accomplished, but if he became his enemy, he would definitely be able to ruin anything.

The prime minister Zhang Dun was not the kind of tyrant who held great power and killed people indiscriminately as one might imagine. Even though he was in the court and held a high position, he had to try his best to avoid making enemies, especially enemies like Zhao Xiaoqian.

The King of Chu sent gifts a few days ago, and today Zhao Xu praised them again. Zhang Dun finally understood something.

I am very curious about what kind of disaster Zhao Xiaoqian had caused that made the emperor and the King of Chu take it so seriously. Moreover, Zhao Xiaoqian also returned to the capital yesterday, which shows that the disaster was not small and forced him to return to the capital in person to solve it.

Zhang Dun hesitated.

Regardless of right or wrong, Zhao Xiaoqian got into trouble this time. As the prime minister, should he add insult to injury or provide timely assistance?

To be realistic, if this disaster was enough to cost Zhao Xiaoqian's life, Zhang Dun would definitely choose to stand idly by. Not adding fuel to the fire was already very kind of him.

But if Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't die this time, then Zhang Dun will have to consider whether to help him.

After all, the emperor values ​​Zhao Xiaoqian so much. As long as he is not dead, he will definitely regain power. Zhang Dun has long seen Zhao Xu's ambition. What he wants is to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

As for the emperor's ambition, only Zhao Xiaoqian in the court currently has the hope of fulfilling it. Zhao Xu would never give up on such an important meritorious official.

As long as Zhao Xiaoqian survives this disaster, he will still be entrusted with important tasks by Zhao Xu. If Zhang Dun chooses to add insult to injury, this enemy will be a constant enemy in the future.

Adults have a clear way of thinking when weighing the pros and cons. Judging from the emperor's actions today, he will definitely protect Zhao Xiaoqian to the death. For this reason alone, Zhang Dun cannot go against the emperor.

Regardless of whether he was willing or not, calling Zhang Dun into the palace today and listening to the emperor bragging about Zhao Xiaoqian meant that Zhang Dun had to get on board and could not escape.

Do you think the emperor summoned you to the palace for no reason, just to listen to him brag about Zhao Xiaoqian's achievements? He was implicitly asking you to take sides in advance. The brothels and theaters even offered tips after listening to storytelling, so was the emperor's boasting in vain?

Thinking of this, Zhang Dun sighed.

What are you hesitating about? It's like you have a choice.

Do I have a choice?

If I had a choice, I would be a good person and kill Zhao Xiaoqian, is that okay?

He boarded the carriage in a somewhat gloomy mood. Just as the carriage was about to start, Zhang Dun inside suddenly said, "Take my name card and send it to the Prince of Chu's mansion. Tell them that I will be visiting His Royal Highness the Prince of Hejian this afternoon."

…………

After returning to Beijing yesterday and spending the whole night with the wives, Zhao Xiaoqian hurriedly took a nap in the morning and then started to get busy.

The reason for being busy is social engagements.

His return to the capital yesterday was a bit high-profile. The whole Bianjing knew that Zhao Xiaoqian, the hero of the Song Dynasty, had returned, so countless common people and businessmen gathered at the Prince of Chu's Palace yesterday afternoon.

Outside the gate, groups of common people and merchants knelt down and kowtowed to the Chu Palace, silently offering their tokens of appreciation. Then they stood up and left, and then the next group of common people began to kneel down.

The gifts sent by the common people and merchants were of various values. The cheaper ones included eggs, Hu pancakes, a few pounds of pork with臊子, a bamboo basket of fruits, etc.

The more expensive ones were mostly given by merchants, some were standard camphorwood gift boxes, some were exquisite porcelain, some were silk cloth, and some were even more expensive, with a box of silver.

The imperial guards on duty at the Prince of Chu's Palace were at a loss and quickly reported to Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao was beaming with joy, even though the people's feelings had nothing to do with him, the person involved was his own son, his own biological son!

Isn’t the glory of a son the glory of his father?

Zhao Xiaoqian was not in the palace. He was in Fanglin Garden with his mother and three wives. So in front of the Chu Palace, Zhao Hao personally came forward to thank the elders of Bian Jing for their kindness on behalf of his son.

My son is only fulfilling his duty as an official. He doesn't deserve such favor from you elders. This is just a small contribution, and it is all thanks to the great blessing of the emperor. As for your kindness, the Chu Palace appreciates it. It's not easy for everyone. You should take the gift back. Living a good life is better than anything else.

Zhao Hao spoke fluently and fluently with warm and humble courtesy, which made the people gathered outside the gate stand in awe. They felt more and more that the Chu Palace had a strict style and extraordinary cultivation. No wonder it could cultivate such an outstanding young hero like Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Hao's unintentional polite words unexpectedly caused the reputation of the Chu Palace in Bianliang to inexplicably soar, which was an unexpected gain.

The grand scene of people kneeling and worshipping continued until the next day.

During this period, Zhao Hao came forward many times to thank the elders of Bian Jing on behalf of his son. He said polite words over and over again, and almost ran out of nice words.

However, there was still an endless stream of common people and merchants coming to express their gratitude. Zhao Hao was not impatient at all, but rather enjoyed coming forward to thank the people.

After sending the common people away, Zhao Hao turned around and returned to the front yard of the palace. His humble and elegant expression suddenly changed. In the front yard of the Chu Palace, bursts of crazy laughter like a sick person were heard.

"Haha, haha, hoho, wow hahaha..." Zhao Hao was so happy. The scenery of the Prince of Chu's Mansion in the past two days was something he had never experienced in his entire life.

What's the point of studying hard and making great achievements? Only fools would do such hard work. Nothing is better than giving birth to a promising son.

"Where is Qian'er? Why hasn't he come back yet?" Zhao Hao suddenly asked after feeling proud.

Li Yizhong, the chief official of the palace, said cautiously, "The prince is still serving the master in Fanglin Garden."

"Tangzun" means biological mother.

Zhao Hao's smug expression immediately disappeared, revealing an expression of disgust and even hatred. Of course, this expression was directed at Feng.

The once loving couple has now become almost sworn enemies.

What does marriage bring to men? It makes them shiver and feel cold...

"Send someone to Fanglin Garden and tell Qian'er that enough is enough. Let him return to the palace quickly. His mother has already visited him, so he doesn't want his father anymore?" Zhao Hao said dissatisfiedly.

Li Yizhong hurried away, and a servant from the palace came running over.

"Your Highness, hundreds of people have gathered outside..."

Zhao Hao immediately displayed a warm and gentle expression. He turned around very smoothly and walked quickly towards the main door. Before he even walked out of the side door, Zhao Hao said exaggeratedly: "Oh, no, no! I can't do this! How can my son Xiaoqian do this? How can he do this? Elders, please stand up quickly..."

…………

At noon, Zhao Xiaoqian finally returned to the palace.

The servants of the palace informed him in advance that many people had gathered outside the gate, so Zhao Xiaoqian came in through the back door very low-key.

As soon as he arrived at Yin'an Hall and sat down, Li Yizhong approached with a bitter look on his face, holding a pile of visiting cards.

"Your Highness returned to the capital yesterday. Since last night, the palace has been receiving invitations to visit. Please review them, Your Highness."

Zhao Xiaoqian took the stack of visiting cards in astonishment, flipped through a few, and murmured, "When did I become so popular? Back when I was in Bianjing, I wasn't a good person either..."

Li Yizhong paused: "......"

The prince is very clear about his own positioning!

The visiting cards came from various people in Bian Jing, most of them were powerful people and relatives. The tone of the visiting cards was very respectful, and they all said that a banquet would be held on a certain day to welcome Brother Zi'an.

There were a few uneducated guys who were very straightforward in their visiting cards. They simply stated that there was a banquet at a certain brothel on a certain day of a certain month, and the top courtesan there had big breasts, a slim waist and long legs, and they wanted to invite Brother Zi'an to sleep with them.

Zhao Xiaoqian was very pleased with the visiting cards from these uneducated guys, as he liked honest people.

"It's hard to refuse such a kind offer. I must give you this favor." Zhao Xiaoqian picked out the invitations, his eyes shining brightly as he murmured, "I'm always too soft-hearted and not good at saying no..."

While he continued to look through the rest of the visiting cards, a servant came hurriedly with another visiting card in his hand.

"Sir, please take a look at this name card."

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even look up: "Go line up at the back. Don't you see there are so many people in front?"

The servant looked embarrassed and said, "Sir, this is Mr. Zhang's name card."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked up in surprise and subconsciously took the business card.

There is no way. Mr. Zhang has a different status and should enjoy the VIP queue-jumping privilege.

"Mr. Zhang said he would come to visit us this afternoon. Please spare some time to meet him, Your Highness."

A look of understanding flashed across Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes.

Zhang Dun would not come to see me for no reason. Regardless of his official rank or status, just talking about age, Zhang Dun is the elder. It is not right for an elder to take the initiative to visit a younger person. It is not polite.

The fact that the prime minister came in person meant that there was something important going on. It seemed that Zhao Xu had already paved the way for him in front of Zhang Dun today. Next, Zhao Xiaoqian wanted to solve his own troubles, and Zhang Dun had to do something.

Of course, it was not in vain. Zhao Xiaoqian knew that his father had given Zhang Dun a gift of 200,000 taels, which was a very grand gift.

"Please tell Mr. Zhang that I will be waiting for you at the palace this afternoon." Zhao Xiaoqian said.

In the afternoon, Zhang Dun arrived as expected.

When the carriage arrived at the palace gate, countless people gathered and knelt before the palace. The scene was like burning incense and worshiping gods and Buddhas in a temple. Zhang Dun was confused for a moment. He thought that a family member of the Chu Palace had suddenly been admitted to the immortal class, and they hadn't received any notification...

Looking at the people in front of the gate who were sincerely grateful, Zhang Dun's eyes suddenly became complicated.

He seemed to have underestimated Zhao Xiaoqian's current prestige among the people.

The value of resisting foreign aggression and defeating the Liao Kingdom several times is still increasing.

(End of this chapter)