Chapter 273 The Crisis Caused by the Crown Prince's Marriage
I don't know when it started, but the tender buds on the trees along the streets of the capital gradually grew bigger.
In Xin'an Lane, a branch protruded from the wall of Bo's mansion. A bird was perched on the branch, with its head tilted, staring intently at the worldly life in the alley.
The East family yelled at their children to get up, the West family's eldest son stamped his feet outside the toilet, urging his father to come out quickly, and the North family's little girl was crying because she couldn't find her beloved hairpin...
A cat approached quietly.
The bird remained at a loss.
"Duoduo!"
A call was heard and the birds flew away in fright.
"Meow!"
The cat made an annoyed grab.
"Come down quickly."
Huang Yan'er stood under the tree and looked up and said, "My wife is looking for you."
Duoduo looked at the bird that flew to the other side of the wall with annoyance, and then climbed down the tree.
Huang Yaner held it and said, "Look at you, the bird sings beautifully, but you want to burn the piano and cook the crane."
"Meow!"
Li Tian is having breakfast.
Huang Yan'er put Duoduo on the ground and said, "Madam, Jia Qian will be here later. The account books have been sorted out."
"No hurry." Li Tian ate a piece of mutton and praised: "It's really delicious."
After dinner, Li Tian went to the front yard.
The room was blocked by a screen and Fucheng was receiving guests outside.
Jia Qian bowed respectfully and said, "Meet my lady."
"I looked at the account books. I made a lot more money in the first three months of this year than last year."
Jia Qian was secretly pleased, but pretended to be modest, "It was all thanks to my uncle's advice and my wife's encouragement."
"I have only one rule here." Li Tian's voice came from behind the screen, "You have to do business honestly. The Bofu cannot get involved in any business that goes against one's conscience. If you violate this rule, you will be severely punished and handed over to the government!"
Jia Qian was awed, "Yes."
"In addition, His Majesty is very kind to my husband, but the more so, the more cautious everyone in the Earl's Mansion should be. If someone is out there using the name of my husband and the Earl's Mansion to act arrogantly..." Li Tian's voice gradually became colder.
Ever since they were reported for smuggling last time, the Jiang family's smuggled beef business has grown bigger and bigger. Jia Qian is now considered a top figure in the Beijing business community. Although he is surrounded by a large crowd of people wherever he goes, he is also quite ostentatious.
Being hit by Li Tian at this moment, Jia Qian's back was soaked with cold sweat, "I...will follow your orders, my lady."
"It's not my order. Every country has its own rules, and every family has its own rules. Don't look at other people acting recklessly and wonder why I can't do the same. Then let me ask you, should we follow others in their pursuit of death?"
"Yes."
"We did a good job this year. We made a good start." Li Tian suddenly praised: "Fucheng."
"Madam!" Fu Cheng stood with his hands behind his back.
"The kitchen has prepared some stew. You can have a drink with him."
"Yes."
The two of them left. Jia Qian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile, "My lady is so majestic."
Fu Cheng smiled and said, "If you don't do anything wrong, what are you afraid of?"
The stews were ready. The cook said that his wife had asked him to prepare these stews separately in the morning. She also said that eating something hot in this weather and basking in the sun would make one feel refreshed.
"Thank you, madam!" Jia Qian was quite moved.
After he left, the tipsy Fu Cheng sighed, "One hand beats, the other hand comforts, the uncle married a good wife!"
He suddenly said somewhat dejectedly: "But what else can we do?"
"Butler, butler!"
Jiang Qingzhi took most of the guards away, and the one guard who stayed behind rushed in and said, "The prince is getting married."
Fu Cheng was stunned, "Didn't His Majesty refuse?"
The guard said, "This is what someone from the Duke's Mansion said. Duke Cheng has already entered the palace and said he wants to stop the Crown Prince from getting married."
Fu Cheng was depressed for a long time, and then went to see Li Tian.
"...Before leaving, Lord Earl said that it would be best to postpone the Crown Prince's marriage, the later the better. Lord Earl should have discussed this matter with Duke Cheng. Now that Duke Cheng has entered the palace, I am worried that he is alone and unable to stop this..."
Li Tian was stunned. She had never experienced such a political struggle before. "Tell me about this in detail."
"My Lord said that the prince's marriage means he has become an adult and will have his own team. Once he has a team...My Lord said that those people are all civil servants, but the civil servants have been fighting against His Majesty for many years and their hearts are not in harmony. If these people gather around the prince, they will definitely cause trouble..."
Li Tian suddenly woke up, "They will bewitch the prince."
"Madam, your opinion is great." Fucheng was afraid that this lady was not sensitive to politics. If Jiang Qingzhi went out in the future and something big happened in the capital, the Bo Mansion would have no one to take charge.
"Once your majesty and the crown prince become enemies, the whole court will change its direction."
Li Tian frowned, "What should I do now?"
Jiang Qingzhi left Beijing for the north when they got married. Li Tian had no idea about his team or how they operated.
Fu Cheng said, "I think we should ask Xiao Zhuo and others to submit a memorial to oppose this matter."
Li Tian suddenly asked, "Where is Mr. Xia?" Fu Cheng suddenly realized, "I was confused. How could I forget Mr. Xia?"
Fu Cheng hurried to ask for help. Huang Yan'er said admiringly, "Madam is really wise. You thought of something that even Butler Fu didn't think of."
Li Tian said, "Do you think Fucheng didn't think of inviting Mr. Xia?"
"..."
"He just wanted me to speak out about this matter." Li Tian sighed, "My husband once said that Fucheng was used to intrigues and deceptions when he was in the palace. If such a person had not thought of asking Lord Xia for advice, he would have become a skeleton in a dry well in the palace."
"Then why doesn't he say it?" Huang Yan'er was puzzled.
“Only those who keep a low profile can live longer.” Li Tian thought of his father Li Huan. Isn’t he the model of a person who keeps a low profile?
After Xia Yan was invited, Li Tian did not use the screen and bowed, saying, "This matter is of great importance. Please advise me on how to deal with it, Mr. Xia."
Xia Yan had already learned about this, and his face was a little solemn. "The prince is fourteen years old, and it is reasonable for him to go out to study, but Your Majesty is worried..."
"Please have some tea." Li Tian served the tea personally. Xia Yan took it and couldn't help but praise the new daughter-in-law more. He felt that Jiang Qingzhi was a lucky guy.
The old man took a sip of tea and squinted his eyes and said, "But the ministers refused to give up and submitted petitions one after another requesting that the prince be allowed to leave the palace. Here... ah!"
Li Tian was not in a hurry and just looked at him gently.
Good bearing... Xia Yan secretly praised, "After the Zuo Shunmen Incident, your majesty broke with the literati, and then there was a palace coup, and your majesty was almost strangled to death. Some people say that this is the retribution for your majesty's cruelty..."
Li Tian said gently: "If that's the case, how could there be only one case of regicide?"
Xia Yan laughed, "Your Majesty retreating to the West Garden was a means of easing the tension. But now it seems that the wind does not stop even though the tree wants to be still! Who said this? It must have been Qingzhi! This kid has not returned from his trip north, so Your Majesty has lost an important figure by his side."
"You mean, those people put their hopes on the prince?" Li Tian asked tentatively... She suddenly felt like a father-in-law was testing his daughter-in-law.
Xia Yan stroked his beard and nodded, "That's right. Your Majesty has never bowed to those people in the past twenty years. It seems that you have let go of power, but when I was the Prime Minister, the final decision-making power was still in your Majesty's hands.
Yan Song is even more so. He dared not go west when His Majesty pointed east. Those people were eyeing him covetously, but there was no opportunity. The power was right in front of him, but he could not get it. "
Li Tian understood, "Thank you Lord Xia for clearing up my doubts. Now those people want to seize power by influencing the prince. But Your Majesty refuses to agree, so a stalemate has formed..."
"But the public sentiment is surging!" Xia Yan smiled bitterly, "The court, which used to be as quiet as a stagnant pool of water, has been very lively recently. This shows how many people are waiting for Your Majesty to make a mistake."
"Then I won't agree..." Li Tian was suddenly startled, "It's legitimate!"
"Yes, it's legitimate." Xia Yan said, "Qingzhi once said that the Confucian school used ancestral rules and so-called etiquette to put everyone in the world into this big cage, including the emperor, and no one is free.
The fourteenth prince is going out to study, this is the rule, and it is also a name! It is legitimate... The emperor is the biggest beneficiary. If Your Majesty opposes this, it is opposing the rule that you benefit from, so Your Majesty is in a dilemma at the moment. "
Li Tian sighed, "In that case, Lord Xia, are you willing to preside over this matter?"
She was a woman, and it was impossible for her to come forward and gather Jiang Qingzhi's men to make plans. Otherwise, those people would hear the news and impeach her for being a hen that crowed at dawn, and the reputation of the Li family and the Bo family would be ruined in an instant.
Only Xia Yan has this prestige, and he and Jiang Qingzhi are friends for life and death, so he is the most suitable person to preside over this matter.
Xia Yan nodded and accepted the responsibility.
That evening, Zhu Xizhong and others came to the Bo's Mansion.
Xia Yan sat at the top, with a screen beside him.
It wasn't Li Tian who wanted to rule the country from behind the scenes, but Xia Yan insisted on doing so.
The old man was aloof and arrogant, which showed that he had no ambition to interfere with Jiang Qingzhi's power.
"Lord Xia." Zhu Xizhong sat down, took the tea handed to him by the servant, and said, "Today, the officials have been more and more aggressive in their petitions, saying that the prince is the crown prince and cannot be hidden in the deep palace and raised in the hands of women..."
Xiao Zhuo sat down, feeling a little frustrated. "The people at the Ministry of Rites were very excited. They quoted scriptures and classics. I listened for a long time, but I couldn't refute them at all."
"Madam, someone is coming from your family."
Li Tian was startled, "Who?"
The person who came was her brother Li Dun.
"Father said that he had heard about this. The prince's leaving the palace to study is a very serious matter. I wonder what the rules are at the Earl's Mansion."
Li Tian couldn't help but have tears in her eyes behind the screen.
Li Huan was a more Buddhist official who knew how to seek benefits and avoid harm. The prince's departure to study triggered a secret struggle between the emperor and his ministers. At this moment, the most important thing for him to do was to lie low and not get involved with either side.
But for the sake of his son-in-law, no, for the sake of his daughter, Li Huan resolutely took side.
"Father said that no matter what the rules are at the Bo's Mansion, just send a message home. Although the Taichang Temple Secretary is not in a high position, he can still write a memorial to cheer for His Majesty and his son-in-law!"
Li Dun glanced at the screen and said, "Little sister, don't panic. If you need anything, just send someone home. I've asked for leave for you these few days and you can come over anytime."
Li Dun is gone.
After a long while, Xia Yan stood up and said, "No matter what, it is your Majesty who is at the center of the storm. You can submit a petition tomorrow! By the way, Duke Cheng, you have a wide network of contacts, so use them more."
Zhu Xizhong nodded and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. Qingzhi is not here. If there is anything, just send someone to the Duke's Mansion."
"it is good."
Zhu Xizhong arrived outside the door and Xia Yan was waiting for him.
"Does Mr. Xia have anything to tell you?"
Xia Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the night sky. "Some people say that the emperor is a star that has descended to earth. How many people are thinking of pulling this star down at this moment?"
"Your Majesty is stubborn and will definitely not do as they wish." Zhu Xizhong is well aware of Emperor Jiajing's style of doing things.
"Do you know why I said that since Qingzhi is not in the capital right now, Your Majesty is like losing an arm?"
Zhu Xizhong: “…”
Xia Yan's voice was low, "Many times, if literature fails, what about martial arts?"
(End of this chapter)
