Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 248: Hitting the muzzle
Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Jianshen did nothing all morning and just read a book.

At first he was very engrossed in reading, but then he began to feel tired and sometimes needed to get up and adjust himself a little. However, before he could take a few steps he would sit back down and continue reading. He read from morning to noon, and by the time lunch came he had finished reading the manuscript.

"Ah! It describes all kinds of officialdom."

Zhu Jianshen said this with emotion, and saw Qin Chang still standing there, as if he wanted to share his thoughts with others.

"I never knew that being an official involves so many tricks. I can't help but wonder, who in real life are the characters in this book based on? Is it about the events of the previous dynasty or the events of this dynasty... It seems that the imperial examination and everything else happened in this dynasty, but it also vaguely reveals that they did not happen in this dynasty..."

Qin Chang said with a smile: "Your Majesty, that is just something made up in a storybook, don't take it seriously. Perhaps the author of this book was a frustrated scholar, so he used his pen to criticize the officialdom."

"is it?"

Zhu Jianshen did not seem to accept Tan Chang's statement.

As soon as Qin Chang finished speaking, he stretched out his hands and placed a neatly bound book in front of Zhu Jianshen.

Zhu Jianshen asked with a hint of surprise: "Did you collect it from the people?"

"No."

Qin Chang smiled with relief and said, "The prince specially sent someone to deliver it... The East Palace didn't have many manuscripts left, so the prince sent Qin Ji out of the palace to look for it. Qin Ji finally lived up to the prince's trust and brought this book back from outside the palace...

"This time, the Crown Prince asked the writer to write the book as neatly as possible and also use some punctuation marks. This way, the Crown Prince does not need to edit it again and can directly hand it over to Your Majesty for your inspection."

"This……"

Zhu Jianshen felt a little embarrassed when he heard this. He scratched his head and smiled in praise: "The prince is really thoughtful to mobilize such a large army."

As he spoke, Zhu Jianshen picked up the book and flipped through a few pages. He found that it was not written from the beginning, and frowned and said, "It seems that it doesn't connect. Is there a missing page in the middle?"

Tan Chang took out a few pages of manuscripts and said, "This is what the prince and others copied down this morning."

Zhu Jianshen nodded, looking reluctant, and asked, "Prince, you haven't had a rest these two days, right?"

"Yes."

After Qin Chang gave an affirmative answer, he told the situation he had learned, "I heard that the Crown Princess, Qin Ji and others were busy day and night, and dared not close their eyes, for fear of delaying His Majesty's viewing."

"Ah."

Zhu Jianshen said with relief, "This child may not be good at other things, but he is definitely rare in the world in terms of filial piety... The most valuable thing is that he doesn't pretend, nor does he make excuses for himself. He is what he should be, unlike some people who are hypocritical."

Qin Chang thought, you feel the goodness of the prince, so you think he is a good person?
If it were in the past, no matter what the prince did, he would not be recognized by you.

"Have you asked him who wrote this manuscript? Could it be that someone... Yao Tian's work was the result of someone's painstaking efforts, but he said that he found it among the people?"

Zhu Youtang asked.

Tan Chang smiled bitterly.

Our Majesty seems to be very familiar with the tactics of Liang Fang and others. Isn't it the same with the telescope and other things?

"Why, you don't dare to say it?"

Zhu Jianshen was very dissatisfied when he saw that Qin Chang did not answer. "I had people distribute the batch of soap Liang Fang presented to me earlier to the concubines in the inner palace. The reaction was that it was not as good as the batch presented by the crown prince. And you still say it is his credit... It's really... Alas!"

Tan Chang smiled and said, "Such a situation should not occur. Although the Crown Prince did not let Tan Ji say it explicitly, as far as I know, the manuscript was written by the Crown Princess's father."

"is it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianshen couldn't help but ask curiously, "I vaguely remember that the Crown Princess's father was a student in the Imperial Academy?"

"Yes, I am over 40 years old, but I have not been able to pass the imperial examination. Maybe that's why I wrote this story." Qin Chang said with a smile.

Zhu Jianshen smiled and said, "No wonder I asked you about the content of this story. You said it was written by a frustrated scholar... Think about Zhang Jiansheng. He failed the imperial examinations repeatedly before marrying his daughter. He was over 40 years old before he was recognized by the government for his medical skills and entered the Imperial Academy to study. The credibility of the officialdom he wrote about is not that high."

Tan Chang hesitated: "But..."

"But what?"

Zhu Jianshen asked curiously.

"As far as I know, the Zhang family once had a governor of Liaodong, and they are quite famous among the officials in Xingji. Even the former Minister of War Chen Yue had a deep relationship with them."

Qin Chang added.

"Oh. A family of officials and scholars... That's right, the various aspects of officialdom described in this book may really reflect his family." Zhu Jianshen seemed to go with the flow and analyzed from another direction.

Qin Chang was also thinking, after all, Your Majesty, whatever you say makes sense, right?
Zhu Jianshen smiled and asked, "I wonder what position Zhang Jiansheng holds now?"

"Your Majesty, he is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but he has not been given an actual position." Tan Chang said.

Zhu Jianshen said, "Let Li Zisheng think about it later and see what kind of official position to give him, so that he can have a real chance to gain experience in the officialdom. Wouldn't what he writes be more convincing?"

Tan Chang said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, for him... this position is not easy to grant."

"Um!?"

Zhu Jianshen was stunned at first, then thought about it and nodded, "That's right, he already has a rank of fourth grade. If he is given a lower rank, it will be difficult for him to perform his duties, and if he is given a higher rank, it will be difficult to convince the public. He is neither high nor low... Forget it, I don't want to worry about this matter, let Li Qing worry about it. Tell him what I want, and he will do it for me."

After saying this, Zhu Jianshen became a little impatient. He deliberately looked outside the hall, then at Qin Chang, as if to indicate that the other party's presence had disturbed his reading, and if he was sensible, he should leave on his own.

Qin Chang pretended not to notice and bowed, "Your Majesty, it's time for lunch... Shall we wait until after lunch?"

"This... is okay too."

Zhu Jianshen wanted to refuse and said he wanted to continue reading, but his stomach growled at an inopportune moment. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, I'll take advantage of the meal time to rest... To be honest, I'm much less energetic than before. I can't even finish the whole morning without putting the book down."

Qin Chang smiled and helped Zhu Jianshen up, comforting him: "Your Majesty, perhaps it's because you haven't sat like this for a long time... As your body recovers, your spirit will only get better and better. Oh, by the way, Your Majesty, when Qin Ji came over, he mentioned that the prince has another book called "Journey to the West", which records myths and legends. I wonder if you want to present it to him?"

Zhu Jianshen smiled and said, "If you have any, send them to me. I can take a look at them. If they are not good, just return them to him. And tell the prince not to delay his studies because of these books."

"I was just about to say this..."

At this point, Qin Chang seemed to have finally made up his mind and spilled the secret that he had originally intended to keep buried deep in his heart.

Seeing Qin Chang's embarrassment, Zhu Jianshen frowned and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Qin Chang quickly took out a memorial from his bosom and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know who leaked the news that the Crown Prince has not been concentrating on his studies in the Wenhua Palace these past two days. Not only has he privately kept idle books and stayed up late to read them, but he has also been distracted during his daily classes. Now someone has submitted a memorial saying... Please, Your Majesty, regulate the Crown Prince's behavior."

"Oh?" Zhu Jianshen took it and looked at it. It turned out to be a memorial submitted by Zhang Shanji, saying that it was a request to the Holy Emperor to persuade the Crown Prince. In fact, it was almost the same as impeaching the Crown Prince.

Zhu Jianshen was annoyed after reading it: "These censors are in charge of everything, and they even control the Eastern Palace? They are so bold!"

Tan Chang said, "I also think that they are taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. The prince has been transcribing the script for your majesty day and night, and his filial piety is truly a touching act."

At this moment, Wei Tai just brought in a memorial. When he heard what Qin Chang said, his eyes widened instantly, obviously very surprised.

When it comes to being a fence-sitter, you, Eunuch Tan, are the better one.

When have you ever flattered the prince like this before?

Zhu Jianshen said angrily: "Send the Jinyiwei to arrest and interrogate who is fanning the flames behind the scenes! Didn't he say that someone in the East Palace told him? I just want to ask, who is willing to take the prince's affairs out of the palace and talk nonsense!"

"Yes."

When Qin Chang heard this, he knew that his political speculation was successful.

Who can blame the prince for really being so devoted to helping the emperor copy books?

I can only say that you, Zhang Shanji, just walked into the trap, and you deserve it!

Seeing that the emperor was angry, Wei Tai instinctively decided to retreat and take revenge another day.

Zhu Jianshen turned his head, stared at Wei Tai and asked, "What's the matter?"

Qin Chang quickly winked at Wei Tai, meaning that it was better not to mention bad things now, so as not to make himself unhappy.

"Say!"

Zhu Jianshen asked again.

Wei Tai looked down at the memorial in his hand, knowing that he could not back down even if he was in danger, so he immediately reported, "Your Majesty, Ni Yue, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, has submitted a memorial requesting that the Crown Prince hold court in the Wenhua Palace to reassure the officials and assist the Holy Lord."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jianshen grabbed the memorial, glanced at it briefly, and then threw it to the ground.

Qin Chang glared at Wei Tai with a stern look, meaning, you are saying this now, why didn't you discuss it with me in advance? Are you here just to cause trouble?
Zhu Jianshen had originally planned to go for lunch, but he was angered by the memorial in front of him. He sat back in his chair, making a buzzing sound in his throat, as if he was ready to kill someone at any time.

Just when Tan Chang and Wei Tai thought that the emperor was going to vent his anger on Ni Yue again, Zhu Jianshen asked: "Do the officials in the court think that I am an unjust and incompetent ruler?"

This question was too sharp. Qin Chang and Wei Tai fell to their knees with a plop. Qin Chang cried and said, "Your Majesty, you are a wise ruler, there is no doubt about that!"

Zhu Jianshen shook his head slightly and smiled bitterly, "A holy monarch should hold court every day, rain or shine, winter or summer, and I should personally write down my comments on every matter in the court. I should be fully aware of every matter in the world, ensure that the government is clean and honest, and that the people live and work in peace and contentment... In short, I work hard and love the people, and I am loved by them."

Now even Qin Chang was speechless.

A wise emperor should indeed do these things, but the question is, how many emperors throughout history have been able to do so?

The Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizu of Song, and Taizong of our dynasty?

Anyone who can achieve “being honest in big matters and not being too strict in small matters” can probably be considered wise, right?

"Tell me, just now someone impeached the Crown Prince for neglecting his studies, and then someone immediately submitted a petition to hold court in the Crown Prince's Wenhua Palace. What is the connection between the two?"

Zhu Jianshen asked again seriously.

Tan Chang was extremely terrified and said, "I don't know."

"I see you know, but you just don't say it on purpose."

Zhu Jianshen said, "If the prince is not writing a manuscript for me, I will be furious. If someone asks me to hold court in Wenhua Palace again, I will be furious and put the prince under house arrest or even bring up the issue of changing the crown prince again."

Qin Chang and Wei Tai were both a little surprised.

It seems that our emperor is not easy to fool. Even such a hidden and cruel method can be easily analyzed.

"In other words, Zhang Shanji and Ni Yue are in the same group?" Zhu Jianshen asked.

Tan Chang still knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "As far as I know, they are not close friends."

"Yes."

Zhu Jianshen said, "The censors are strictly prohibited from having close contact with court officials. They are not allowed to have private contact except for official business. But why are their memorials so coincidental? It's like they are always staring at my weak spot and deliberately touching my reverse scale? What is their intention?"

Another fatal question.

Naturally, Qin Chang and Wei Tai didn't dare to respond.

Zhu Jianshen said, "Recently, I have indeed been unable to attend court due to my poor health, and I have been somewhat lax in handling court affairs. But didn't I ask the Cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, and then Li Qing to help me handle the matter? Without my supervision, the six ministries will not be able to do their work?"

Qin Chang said: "Your Majesty is ill, and the ministers understand very well. Now the affairs of the court are in good order, and there are no deviations. The weather in all parts of Ming Dynasty is good, and it looks like it will be another bumper year."

"Ah."

Zhu Jianshen was quite satisfied when he heard such flattering words.

Wei Tai tried his best to make amends, saying, "Your Majesty, you don't have to take the words of some villains to heart."

Zhu Jianshen smiled coldly and asked, "Can a minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official, be considered a villain? Is Ni Yue still serving as a daily lecturer?"

"Not yet."

Wei Tai shook his head and said, "He resigned as the lecturer of the Eastern Palace two years ago. He has not been to the palace for a long time, let alone the Eastern Palace or Wenhua Palace. I don't know why he made the memorial."

Zhu Jianshen sneered and said, "So, I should reward him for his selfless loyalty to the court?"

Neither Qin Chang nor Wei Tai dared to respond.

They couldn't make an accurate judgment on whether the emperor was speaking in a serious or sarcastic way. If he was wrong, it might bring about a storm. It would be better for them to wait for what happened next.

"Order."

Zhu Jianshen ordered, "On the third, sixth, and ninth days of every ten days, the Crown Prince will be in the Wenhua Palace to handle affairs. All matters in the court can be disclosed to him, and nothing can be concealed. Also... let Ni Yue serve as the daily lecturer. Doesn't he like to ask the Crown Prince questions? Let him personally lecture and listen. I want to see what he can say!"

"Yes."

When Qin Chang heard this, he was thinking.

Does this mean that you lose the rice while trying to steal the chicken?
Some people had bad intentions, but indirectly helped the prince. Who can we go to for justice?
(End of this chapter)