The prince is more stable

Chapter 522 Before the Incident
Zhao Ji has always been a thorn in Zhao Xiaoqian's side.

There is no way to get rid of this worry at the moment. It is too big a matter. I have tried to assassinate him before, but failed.

This fragile prince is as hard to kill as the innocent college student.

This made Zhao Xiaoqian, the shameful mastermind behind the scenes, almost lose his confidence.

But he didn't expect that Zhang Xiaoyi actually arranged people to infiltrate Zhao Ji's mansion. This was an unexpected surprise.

Before Zhao Xiaoqian took office in Zhending Prefecture, he actually did not give any explanation to Zhang Xiaoyi. This matter was entirely Zhang Xiaoyi's personal decision.

Therefore, it is very important to have a friend who is trustworthy and capable.

This is also the difference between "friends" and "subordinates".

Subordinates are like beads on an abacus, they only move when you push them.

Friends can see your predicament and quietly take care of things for you without you having to say anything.

"Good brother!" Zhao Xiaoqian patted his shoulder with emotion and said, "You've done a good job. Tell your brothers about this as well. I'll also give you some money to pass on to them as a token of my appreciation."

Zhang Xiaoyi calmly shook his head. "They are what they should be. They are currently just menial servants in the Prince's Mansion, and they have a staff member who is not given important positions. If they are too well-off, it will inevitably arouse suspicion, which is not appropriate."

"That makes sense. Then tell them that there will be a generous reward after the task is completed. By the way, I will solve their future problems and let them eat the emperor's food for generations."

The few chess pieces that were accidentally placed right under Zhao Ji's nose gave Zhao Xiaoqian a big surprise.

After they drank a cup together, Zhang Xiaoyi asked again, "Your Highness, did you suddenly return to the capital this time? Is there something wrong?"

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "Something happened. I got into trouble in Zhending Prefecture and came back to solve the problem."

Zhang Xiaoyi suddenly became serious: "What do you need me to do?"

"...You should take good care of your skin, whiten that dark, bumpy face of yours, exercise, and be in top shape for the wedding. Otherwise, on the wedding day, the guests will glance over and say, 'Hey, how come the bride is married to a monkey? This doesn't make sense...'"

Zhang Xiaoyi laughed heartily, touched his cheek, and said, "It's not that exaggerated. Even if it's just a monkey, as long as she likes it, it's fine."

Then Zhang Xiaoyi said seriously: "It's okay, His Highness's affairs are more important. I can get married after I solve the problem. Xiao'e doesn't need these few days."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed: "I dare not. If I delay your marriage because of your affairs, after you get married, your wife will nag you every day, looking at what kind of bad friends you have made, haha."

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled, a hint of happiness on his face. "She won't. Xiao'e is very considerate. Especially, she knows that His Highness is a benefactor to our family. If she doesn't even have this little bit of gratitude, I won't marry her."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him expressionlessly. Although he hadn't eaten anything, he still burped, and a strong smell of dog food filled his mouth.

I have six wives at home, and you're showing off your affection in front of me? Who gave you the courage?
"You should first practice in the grave of your marriage for a few more years. If you and your wife are still as loving as ever after seven years, then you will be completely locked up."

"Every word of love you express during the passionate period of love may become the black box of your future love crash."

Zhang Xiaoyi didn't understand what he was saying at all and just smiled innocently.

"Speaking of which, there is a small matter that I do need your help with. It's very simple and won't delay your marriage."

Zhang Xiaoyi immediately sat up straight: "Your Highness, please give your orders."

…………

It is indeed a small matter, and only Zhang Xiaoyi is the most suitable person to handle it.

That night, after Zhao Xiaoqian said goodbye, Zhang Xiaoyi followed him out.

Arriving at Zhou Bridge, Zhang Xiaoyi put his fingers to his mouth and whistled, and the idlers and hooligans nearby gathered together.

An hour later, all the storytellers from the brothels and theaters in the area from Zhouqiao East and West Streets to Jiaomen were invited over by the idle men. They looked at Zhang Xiaoyi sitting on the bank of the Bian River with a confused look on their faces.

Zhang Xiaoyi gazed at the river with a calm expression. In the past few years following Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhang Xiaoyi has also grown up. He has seen a wider world and developed a faint temperament of a superior.

Turning around, he saw dozens of storytellers standing in a row behind him with nervous expressions. Zhang Xiaoyi stood up, smiled politely at the storytellers, and then asked his idle men to give each of them a silver ingot.

"I'm truly sorry to trouble you all to come here so late at night. Please accept this small token of my gratitude."

"Also, there's a small matter I need to trouble you with. Starting tomorrow night, you'll be telling stories in the theaters, and you might need to change your stories."

A storyteller smiled and said, "I wonder what story Brother Xiaoyi needs me and others to tell you?"

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled and said, "Let's talk about the story of the Prince of Hejian fighting against the Liao army in Zhending Prefecture, eliminating treacherous officials, and redressing grievances for the people..."

The gentlemen looked at each other.

They naturally knew about the Prince of Hejian. He was now a popular figure in the Song Dynasty, and his story of fighting against the Liao army was widely circulated. Even if Zhang Xiaoyi did not mention it, many of them were still telling his story with great enthusiasm in the brothels.

But what about "eliminating the treacherous and corrupt officials and redressing grievances for the people"? There's no material for this! How can we teach them to say it?
Zhang Xiaoyi smiled and said, "I will tell you this story in detail later, and I guarantee it's true. Timing is very important. Starting tomorrow night, please give me some courtesy and tell it every day without interruption so that everyone in Bianjing can hear it."

The words were polite, saying "give face", but the gentlemen knew very well that this face had to be given, otherwise they would not be able to survive in the brothels of Bianjing.

This is the power that Zhang Xiaoyi has developed now. Of course, he has no say in the court, but among the people in the market, Zhang Xiaoyi is now a real "Brother Xiaoyi". The most prosperous Zhouqiao area in Bianliang has been completely unified by him.

What he said had such weight that people had to obey him obediently, and those who did not obey should consider the consequences themselves.

…………

On a highway more than 200 miles away from Bianjing, a man and a horse were galloping.

A black box was hung diagonally on his back. It was the messenger who had traveled day and night from Zhending Prefecture.

At the same time, just as the sky was getting light, the ministers had gathered outside the Yanfu Palace in Bianjing, waiting for the palace gate to open. The court officials entered the palace and entered the Daqing Hall to attend the court meeting held every three days.

When there was still an incense stick's hour left before the palace gate opened, all the ministers had already lined up for court and stood honestly in two rows outside the palace gate. The discussions in the crowd gradually became quieter. The Supervisory Censor next to the court team had a stern expression on his face, his eyes scanning the court team.

If anyone was still whispering or chatting, the censor would immediately write it down in his small notebook. A bad review would affect the annual assessment of the Ministry of Personnel, and they might even be impeached in court, so no one in the team dared to speak.

At this time, a carriage drove in from outside the palace gate, with a group of armored guards guarding the front and back of the carriage.

The carriage stopped outside the palace gate, immediately attracting the attention of all the ministers.

Zhao Xiaoqian, dressed in formal purple court robes and a double-winged official hat, got off the carriage. Seeing the ministers looking at him in astonishment, Zhao Xiaoqian looked up at the sky with a look of surprise: "Hey? Am I late? The palace gate is closed."

Zhao Xiaoqian then stepped forward with a smile and greeted the ministers in the court, "Junior Zhao Xiaoqian greets you gentlemen. It's been a long time since we last met."

The ministers stared at him and immediately started talking. Those who were close to him, such as Cai Jing, General Xu, Zeng Bu and others, all greeted him with smiles.

Zhang Dun, who was at the head of the court, snorted unhappily and immediately turned his head away with an expression of disgust.

When the palace gate was about to open, Zhao Xiaoqian was not only late, but also noisy and undisciplined, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of several supervisory censors, so one of the censors came forward with a stern face.

"The court meeting is about to begin, and all ministers are prohibited from making any noise!"

Zhao Xiaoqian was enthusiastically greeting his colleagues whom he hadn't seen for a long time, but he didn't expect someone to jump out and spoil his fun. Zhao Xiaoqian immediately frowned.

"who are you?"

"Supervise discipline and correct mistakes. The Censorate supervises the Censors."

Zhao Xiaoqian widened his eyes.

I'm a freaking Duke, a noble and dignified man, and you, a mere seventh-rank Imperial Censor, dare to dictate to him? Who the freaking time allowed you to do this? Is this right?
Holding military power on the frontier and having personally experienced the blood and gore on the battlefield, Zhao Xiaoqian has now developed a murderous aura and his temper seems to be much more irritable than before.

He immediately raised his hand and slapped the top of the censor's long-winged official hat hard.

There was a dull thud, and not only the censor was stunned, but also the ministers in the court were stunned.

This prince, who just returned from border defense, has a bad temper.

Zhao Xiaoqian slapped the censor's official hat hard and cursed.

"I'm yelling, your mother, yelling! I haven't been back to Beijing for half a year. I'm saying hello to my long-lost colleagues. Are you digging up your family's ancestral graves? Do you really need to jump out and show off your presence?"

"What's your status? What's my status? Are you blind? Is it easy for me to attend a court meeting? Why the hell do you want to ruin my fun? Get out of here right now!"

The censor's face turned the color of liver, and he pointed at Zhao Xiaoqian tremblingly: "You, you, you! How dare you! I, I will record this and ask the Censorate to question you!"

Zhao Xiaoqian glared at him coldly. "Hurry up and remember this. You can deduct my salary or demote me, it's up to you. You useless bastard, you were like this when you were in school, right? Why weren't you beaten to death by your classmates?"

Too lazy to pay attention to the censor who was about to faint from anger, Zhao Xiaoqian looked around, a little confused. Seeing that the ministers were looking at him in amazement, Zhao Xiaoqian was not shy and waved enthusiastically to the Minister of Revenue Cai Jing.

"Minister Cai, given my official rank, where should I stand in the court?"

When Cai Jing was named, he felt a little depressed. He raised his sleeves to cover his face and silently pointed to a position behind important officials such as Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu and An Tao.

Zhao Xiaoqian seemed oblivious and smiled at Cai Jing: "Thank you for your advice. I will come to visit you later."

Cai Jing stared straight ahead with a stiff expression that said, "I don't know this guy."

Zhao Xiaoqian walked quickly to the back of Privy Councilor An Tao. The courtier behind him was also wearing purple court robes. Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian standing outside the line and staring at him silently with a death stare, the courtier felt a chill on his back. He made way for him and gestured with a forced smile to His Royal Highness the Prince to cut in line.

Zhao Xiaoqian had just stood in the court when the bells and drums on the palace tower rang, the heavy palace gate slowly opened, and all the officials went to court.

(End of this chapter)