Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 90 Shangguan Wan'er's Secret Letter

Li Xian was slightly embarrassed, of course he knew why his father trusted his mother so much.

Aside from the initial stirrings of romantic feelings, his father and mother were actually more like political allies. However, the matter of "deposing the emperor and establishing Wu" was a palace secret, and as the son of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu, it was not appropriate for him to interfere in this matter.

"Is there really some gossip?" Liu Jianjun asked curiously.

Li Xian reluctantly explained, "Didn't you mention before that Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang were Father's two regents? When Mother was vying for power with Empress Wang, Father took the opportunity to eliminate them..."

"Alright, this is a political alliance." Liu Jianjun understood immediately.

Then he sighed and said, "Actually, it's still your grandfather's fault for being power-hungry. He felt that if he gave power to your mother, he could take it back at any time, but if he gave it to you two, he couldn't take it back. If he had given power to you or Xianzi earlier, there wouldn't have been so many troubles."

Li Xian glared at him.

But then he could only sigh.

"How dare I presume to comment on the affairs of my father and mother?"

Having experienced so much, he was no longer the ignorant and deposed crown prince he once was, and naturally he could see that his father was not as perfect as he had imagined.

"Ugh, boring."

Liu Jianjun pursed his lips and refocused his attention on his shed project. "So, don't overthink it. Your grandfather willingly handed over power to your mother. Maybe before he died, he even thought your mother could be a good 'regent' and raise Xianzi to be a capable person before returning power to him!"

"Stop sighing and complaining."

Liu Jianjun dusted the sawdust off his hands, stood up, and said, “Instead of dwelling on things that are already settled and can’t be changed, let’s think about how we can lie low… uh, go into hiding. Come on, lend me a hand and help me secure this beam.”

Seeing his enthusiastic expression, Li Xian had no choice but to temporarily suppress his chaotic thoughts and get up to help.

The two worked together quite well, one giving instructions and the other carrying out the tasks.

Life seemed to have truly settled down into a peaceful routine.

Li Xian spends his days reading and practicing calligraphy, and occasionally visits his sons and Liu Neyan in Nanyuan.

The three boys, Guangshun, Guangren, and Guangyi, stopped digging and instead studied with Liu Neyan, but they had become much more composed.

With his still-black hair and beard, Liu Neyan meticulously taught them. Although he would occasionally be angered by Liu Jianjun's sudden and surprising words, the Pei Prince's Mansion was generally filled with an idyllic tranquility.

Liu Jianjun's pergola was finally completely set up.

He somehow obtained cucumber seeds and carefully planted them under each wooden stake, diligently watering them every day while muttering incantations, calling it "scientific germination techniques."

He actually had a small well dug next to the pergola, with the wellhead covered with a stone slab, leaving only a small hole for drawing water.

Liu Jianjun said he plans to build a "hand-cranked water pump" so that he won't have to work hard to turn the windlass to get water in the future.

Li Xian didn't understand; he just felt that Liu Jianjun's head was full of strange things.

The only strange thing is that Li Xian hasn't seen Wang Bo much lately.

According to Liu Jianjun, what Wang Bo is doing now seems to be related to the song he sang to those children back then.

On the thirty-second day after my father's passing.

News of Shangguan Wan'er has arrived.

This time, however, Shangguan Wan'er did not visit the Prince of Pei's residence. Instead, she sent a secret letter, suggesting that tensions were rising in the palace.

Although Shangguan Wan'er herself did not arrive, Liu Jianjun still called him over and handed him a letter made of light yellow bamboo paper used in the palace.

Li Xian accepted the letter and opened it.

[The new tree's roots are not yet firm, yet vines are hastily planted. The Wei family has already assumed the position of Empress Dowager; her father, Wei Xuanzhen, was promoted from a lowly state official to Governor of Yuzhou within ten days, in charge of the strategically important Central Plains. Wei Wen, a distant relative of the Wei family, was even granted a purple robe, entered the inner palace, and participated in state affairs.]

The rise of the Wei family to power was swift, like oil being poured on a raging fire. Xinmu's actions, however, destroyed his own defenses, causing a stir in the court and among the common people, drawing the attention of even the most virtuous officials. Yet, the inner palace remained silent as an abyss, showing no outward ripples, but a chilling coldness, more intense than the dead of winter, was palpable; even Liu Gong had closed his doors to visitors. These few words alone made Li Xian frown.

Li Xian's decision to make his Crown Princess Wei Empress was within Li Xian's expectations. After all, Li Xian had met Wei, his sister-in-law, and found her to be of good family background and well-educated.

But what Li Xian did next was somewhat incomprehensible.

He first promoted his father-in-law, Wei Xuanzhen, to the position of Governor of Yuzhou, and then directly promoted a distant relative of Empress Wei to the position of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Sanpin, making him the prime minister.

This is simply... an absurd and utterly foolish move!

"You find it unbelievable?" Liu Jianjun chuckled softly.

"A little," Li Xian nodded.

Li Xian considered this nepotistic approach to be somewhat foolish.

Liu Jianjun said without any surprise, "Now the court is full of your mother's people. The only one, Liu Rengui, even broke up with Xianzi because of our matter. Of course, he has to promote some of his own people."

Then he looked at Li Xian and said, "Don't find it unbelievable. It's just that you're smarter now. Think about what you would have done if you were in Xianzi's position back then?"

Li Xian thought for a moment and nodded: "I will also promote the embroiderer's family members."

But then she countered, "The embroiderer comes from the Fang family of Qinghe, and the old woman is a cousin of Fang Xuanling, who himself is the prefect of Songzhou. Even if I promote the embroiderer's family..."

"So you were implicated in a rebellion?" Liu Jianjun rolled his eyes and interrupted Li Xian.

Li Xian: "..."

Liu Jianjun: "Have you realized how far-sighted your mother is?"

Li Xian nodded in deep agreement.

Liu Jianjun continued, "Look at Empress Wei. In terms of family background, she's unmatched, but what help can she offer to Xianzi? If I remember correctly, Empress Wu chose this Crown Princess for Xianzi, right?"

Li Xian nodded: "Because of her beauty, Lady Wei is deeply favored by my younger brother."

"Tsk tsk, another old pervert."

Liu Jianjun chuckled and said, "So now the situation is very clear, Empress Wu has been working on this for today!"
"This is also why Empress Wu opposed your exoneration along with Liu Rengui. She had made too many backup plans, which made her chessboard very rigid. If one move affects the whole situation, she did not want to give up the piece that is Xianzi."

"But we're different. Those who have nothing to lose aren't afraid of those who have something to wear. We can adapt to any situation."

Liu Jianjun is a person who always manages to think of things in a positive light.

Li Xian was horrified when he heard about Empress Wu's gradually emerging plans, but Liu Jianjun was different; he was always so optimistic.

"Then what do we do now?"

“Once your mother gets rid of Xianzi, I estimate that he will do something even more outrageous in a few days, and then your mother will be able to depose the emperor without any problem.”

Liu Jianjun paused abruptly at this point.

Li Xian asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"No, I just feel sorry for your grandfather. It's too stifling to be an emperor."

Li Xian was puzzled.

"Think about it, his body hasn't even been buried yet, and his wife and children are already fighting tooth and nail for the throne."

"If this continues..."

……

(End of this chapter)