I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 48 This child must not...

Zhao Ji was so excited about the conversation that out of politeness he asked Zhao Zicheng to have a drink with him later, but he just said it casually and he was not in a hurry.

Zhao Ji brought Li Shishi to the garden today. It was unreasonable for him to chat with someone he met by chance and then leave the beauty and the garden to go drinking directly.

Fortunately, Zhao Zicheng and Jia Dan had things to do, so after Zhao Ji left, they continued to tinker with exotic flowers and trees and cement-cast imitation stones.

When Zhao Ji and Li Shishi had enough fun, they would naturally come to call him before leaving. Zhao Zicheng would then avoid being a light bulb throughout the whole process and avoid being hated by others.

Just now, when Zhao Ji was chatting with other men, Li Shishi had been wearing a veil and admiring the scenery alone from a distance to avoid being seen by outsiders.

Since being targeted by Zhao Ji, Li Shishi paid great attention to these details, fearing that she would displease the emperor. Therefore, she was unable to hear the conversation between Zhao Ji and Zhao Zicheng.

Zhao Ji returned to the carriage and toured the garden with her. He said that he would go for a drink and see the people's sentiments in disguise. Only then did Li Shishi become curious:
"Why does Your Majesty value a minor official like the Chief of Works? Even if you want to have a drink together, you can do it in this garden, away from public view."

Zhao Ji waved his hand and said with a confident expression, "This is no ordinary clerk. He is quite capable and a member of the imperial family of the Song Dynasty. After chatting with him just now, I went to ask Shi Cheng. I heard that this man has made some achievements, both civil and military, and is currently waiting for a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel."

Li Shishi agreed with him and said, "So that's how it is. Your Majesty is truly respectful to the virtuous and humble, and supports the younger generation of the royal family."

Zhao Ji said with a smug smile, "She is just a woman after all, what can she see? I am not just promoting the younger generation. After all, he is a member of the royal family. I also want to know what his ambitions are.

Looking at his actions, whether it's studying stone imitation or man-made sculptures of exotic flowers and trees, he never said why, but I can tell he must be disgusted by Zhu Jie's collection of flowers and stones from Jiangnan—all his initiatives are aimed at reducing the court's reliance on them. A member of the imperial family, yet so concerned about the people, what is he really after?

Li Shishi was secretly shocked. She had never thought that the emperor would be curious about such a thing. Was he afraid of him? She did not dare to respond and could only say vaguely:
"Your Majesty has such farsightedness. I never thought of it."

It is true that Zhao Ji was incompetent, but he was very good at political struggles and was very adept at factional checks and balances among his ministers.

Otherwise, a treacherous prime minister like Cai Jing would not have been dismissed from his post three times and reinstated three times.

Zhao Ji essentially did not trust any civil or military officials, and he did not mind factional struggles among his subordinates, as long as his royal power was absolutely stable.

He not only distrusted his ministers, but also his own sons. He used checks and balances to manipulate Crown Prince Zhao Huan and the third son, Prince of Yun, Zhao Kai, for years, forcing them to compete for his favor.

Later, he abdicated the throne to Crown Prince Zhao Huan, who became the emperor emeritus and fled to the south of the Yangtze River. After discovering that the Jin soldiers had retreated, he became fickle and wanted to come back to seize power from his son. This led to the capture of both father and son during the Jingkang Incident.

If this guy had trusted his son a little more and allowed Zhao Huan to do whatever he wanted in Bian Jing, he could have escaped to the south of the Yangtze River and never returned, and his end would not have been so tragic.

So Zhao Ji brought his own death upon himself.

Such a scumbag, who doesn't even trust his own son, how could he possibly trust Zhao Zicheng, a distant nephew who is five or six generations away?
From the moment Zhao Zicheng showed his love for the people, Zhao Ji felt an urgent need in his heart to find out the real motives of this distant nephew, whether he truly loved the people or was just seeking fame and reputation.

If he found anything wrong, he would say, "This kid must not be reused."

But if after secret observation, it is found that there is no problem, it is natural to allow him to be sent to serve as an official in a remote place.

Zhao Ji also didn't want all the royal family members to be viewed very rigidly. The Song Dynasty had no tradition of strictly restricting the royal family since ancient times. If he could establish a few positive role models that he could trust, it would make the current emperor seem less mean and ungrateful.

Rather than showing grace to those you don’t know, it’s better to show grace to those who know the inside story.

In particular, Zhao Zi said that after all, the generation gap was very far, and among all the royal family members, he had the lowest theoretical threat.

……

Li Shishi didn't dare to say much the whole time. She accompanied Zhao Ji on the garden tour for half a day, like accompanying the emperor like accompanying a tiger. Seeing that it was already past noon, both of them were a little hungry, so Zhao Ji put away his desire to wander around and prepared to have someone drive to Fanlou for a banquet.

If he held a banquet directly in Genyue, his identity would be exposed. Zhao Zicheng could tell at a glance that he was the emperor. Because other close relatives of the royal family who were descendants of Prince Pu would not be eligible to request a temporary banquet in Genyue.

Fortunately, there was no risk in going to Fanlou. Fanlou had three floors. Zhao Ji wanted to go there, so he asked someone to cover up in advance and go directly to the third floor. Only the top dignitaries could go there, and he would not be disturbed by outsiders, so his whereabouts would not be exposed.

When leaving Genyue, Zhao Ji called Zhao Zicheng to go with him, but did not call Jia Dan. Jia Dan did not care and did not dare to associate with the dukes of the Pu Wang lineage, so he said goodbye to Zhao Zicheng directly.

Zhao Zicheng remained silent, treating it as an ordinary greeting between uncle and nephew, and left Genyue together.

When they arrived outside the door, Zhao Ji and Li Shishi got on a car. There was another ordinary small car next to them, which should have been temporarily prepared for Zhao Zicheng. Zhao Zicheng planned to get on.

At this moment, a man appeared from the corner of the long street outside Genyue and ran towards him with brisk steps: "Brother Zhao..., why are you so late today?"

Zhao Zicheng took a look and saw that it was Murong Yan who had secretly escorted people out of the city that morning. She must have completed her mission of escorting the Lin family out of the city and returned to report to him. Yang Zhi and others could not return after leaving the city. They were officially returning to Suzhou to take up their posts. Only Murong Yan's status was not sensitive, so she, her steward, and her servants were able to return to the city.

They had originally agreed to meet at the inn, but Zhao Zi said that he was caught up in something unexpected on his way to Genyue in the morning and didn't get back in time. Zhao Zi said that he thought Murong Yan would be waiting for him at the inn, but he didn't expect her to come to Genyue to find him in such a hurry.

Zhao Zicheng was still thinking about how to solve the problem. Zhao Ji and Li Shishi in the car in front had already noticed Murong Yan's presence and asked him who she was.

Zhao Zicheng's brain raced, and he gritted his teeth as he introduced, "This is my younger sister. My younger sister is young and has never been here before, so she came along. I'm so worried about you coming back late today. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, uncle."

Murong Yan's attire at the moment was relatively neutral, and she didn't try too hard to hide it. Even an old hand who had seen countless women could still spot the flaws if he looked carefully.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, it was common for women to go out alone, and it was not surprising that they occasionally wore clothes similar to men's for convenience.

Zhao Zi said that he didn't dare to bet whether Zhao Ji, a veteran in the world of women who changed women every week, would notice the flaw, so he just introduced the women openly.

He deliberately introduced her as his "sister", which means that Murong Yan also had the surname Zhao. In ancient times, there was a taboo against having the same surname, so there was no need to worry about being favored by Zhao Ji and causing any unexpected trouble.

When Zhao Ji heard that this person was a woman, he took a closer look and found that she really looked like a woman. Although she was not dressed up, if she was wearing women's clothes, her beauty would probably be far superior to Li Shishi.

"He is actually a member of our Zhao family. What a pity." Zhao Ji thought to himself without having any other thoughts.

He thought so in his heart, but said: "Since she is my niece, let's go to Fanlou for a few drinks together. When the time comes, the women can sit in the same room."

Murong Yan looked confused, but Zhao Zicheng signaled her with his eyes not to ask any more questions, and then the two got in the car.

After getting in the car, Zhao Zicheng took the opportunity to lower his voice and explain, "That old man is very mysterious. At least he is a prince from the royal family. His status is extremely noble. That's why I introduced you as a member of the Zhao family. It will be more convenient this way. Just remember that you are my sister. Don't say anything else.

The woman next to the old man should be his favorite concubine. She has a very sharp eye. Don't be fooled by her. I will take care of everything. When the time comes, whatever I say is what I will say. Don't argue with me."

Murong Yan hastily wrote down Brother Zhao's confession, feeling deeply irritated and secretly resolving to speak less. She simply went over Zhao Zicheng's confession, discussing his family, the names of his parents' closest relatives, and where he lived, without saying anything else.

……

The group soon arrived at Fanlou. Zhao Ji and Li Shishi quietly went up to the second floor from the side stairs, and then went to the third floor. Because no one knew Zhao Ji, and Li Shishi was wearing a veil hat, and there were guards secretly clearing the way, naturally no one blocked their way.

But Zhao Zicheng was different. He had spent two and a half years at the Imperial College and had made many friends in Bianjing, especially many students from the Imperial College and his classmates who had taken the same entrance exams and were waiting for vacancies in the capital. As soon as he entered Fanlou, in the first-floor lobby, before he could even climb the stairs, he was recognized.

"Isn't this Brother Zhao? I heard that you ran out of money and went back to your hometown to wait for a vacancy. Why are you back again? And you can even afford to come to Fanlou? Could it be that you met a noble person who helped you and helped you to jump the queue?"

Zhao Zicheng looked up and saw that they were classmates he had met a few times at the Imperial College. They weren't close friends, just acquaintances. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been so sour in their words.

Zhao Zi claimed to be of noble descent, but his family was originally poor. During the two and a half years he studied in Bian Jing, he never came to Fanlou once. Now he suddenly appeared and was seen by his old classmates, so of course they would make a fuss.

Zhao Zi said he was too lazy to explain further, so he just said, "I am indeed invited by the elders of our family today. I'm sorry I can't accompany you. We'll talk again when there's a chance."

At this moment, a few more community leaders stepped out from the group of students feasting on the first floor. One of them spoke up to help Zhao Zicheng out of the predicament: "Brother Zhao has always been frugal. Don't make any rash assumptions."

Zhao Zicheng looked again and quickly recognized that the person who spoke was Chen Dong, a big shot who was much lower than him in the Imperial College but had a wide network of contacts.

Chen Dong was considered a top student during Huizong's reign. After all, before the Jingkang Incident, he was the leader of the joint petition impeaching the Six Traitors. He was known for his taunting, and Cai Jing was wary of him. Consequently, he was unable to advance to the upper school and take the examinations for many years. Unlike Zhao Zicheng, who came from a clean background and was a member of the imperial family, he had more opportunities to take the examinations.

Of course, Zhao Zi said that he got two excellent grades in two exams in Shangshe before he traveled through time, which was the result of his real ability. Even though he had preferential treatment for promotion, he did not cheat in the exams and copied the answers under a false name. In terms of knowledge, he was not inferior to Chen Dong.

It is precisely because of his super social status that it is not a coincidence that he is easily seen at gatherings where many students gather.

Zhao Zi said he didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he said a few words to Chen Dong and went upstairs.

Unfortunately, this scene was seen by Zhao Ji who had already gone up to the second floor and turned around.

Zhao Ji quickly asked his confidants and learned that the student who was chatting with Zhao Zicheng was actually a rebellious and arrogant person. Zhao Ji had an idea:
"Anyway, the women will be sitting alone in a room later, so we don't have to worry about being discovered by these people. That man called Chen Dong is a reckless person, so I can use him to test my nephew Zicheng's attitude. When the time comes, I just need to take the initiative and turn the topic to 'reducing the flower and stone tax to save the people.' Chen Dong will definitely make a fuss. Let's see how Zhao Zicheng responds."

After thinking of this, Zhao Ji immediately transformed into a kind old man and said in a loud voice: "Since you are my nephew's classmate, you can also go upstairs to drink and feast with us, but not too many people."

(End of this chapter)