Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 100 Everyone has their own agenda
They left the main hall.

Zhang Jiuling was still completely bewildered, and quickly said to Zhang, "Your Excellency, His Majesty's question just now seemed to have a hidden meaning, but I can't quite put my finger on what it was. In short, this matter is full of strange occurrences!"

Zhang chuckled.

Zhang Jiuling asked curiously, "Why is Your Excellency laughing?"

Zhang gave another wry smile. "Actually, the reason is very simple: His Majesty also wants to hear about Dream of the Red Chamber."

"what?"

Zhang Jiuling exclaimed in surprise, "That's...that's highly unlikely."

You've made such a big fuss, only to find out you wanted to hear "Dream of the Red Chamber"? Is it really necessary? This is practically a miniature version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," folks.

Moreover, the story of the man lighting the beacon fires to amuse his concubine was entirely unnecessary if you wanted to listen to "Dream of the Red Chamber"!
Zhang Shuo sighed and said, "Perhaps we have been pressing too hard these past few days, which is why His Majesty has resorted to such a desperate measure."

Zhang Jiuling, still puzzled, said, "This humble official is dull-witted and does not understand what Your Excellency means."

Zhang explained, "Do you still remember the story of capturing and releasing Cao Cao?"

Zhang Jiuling nodded and said, "Of course I remember."

Zhang said, "At the time, no one knew why His Majesty made such a hasty judgment. It wasn't until later that they realized His Majesty simply liked the opera."

The ministers are worried that His Majesty will neglect state affairs as a result, so the censors have been monitoring His Majesty every day, and we have been discussing matters with His Majesty until late at night every day.

If His Majesty were to directly summon the nameless academy to discuss the Dream of the Red Chamber, it would surely attract the attention of the Imperial Censor.

Moreover, since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has always been frugal and set an example by not allowing palace courtesans to perform at his banquets.

Perhaps in the end, His Majesty will not only miss hearing "Dream of the Red Chamber," but will also set fire to the Nameless Academy. Your memorial, however, provides His Majesty with an excellent reason!
Whether it's decadent music or not, we'll only know after we've seen it; then the censors won't be able to say much.

At this point, he sighed again, "Looking back, we may have gone a bit too far. Things always go to extremes, and we need to think things through more carefully in the future."

The incident of capturing and releasing Cao Cao infuriated the ministers, so they intensified their efforts, keeping a close eye on the emperor every day. Whenever the emperor had free time, someone would immediately seek him out for a meeting.

At this point, Li Longji's request to listen to "Dream of the Red Chamber" would absolutely harm the Wuming Academy.

Zhang Jiuling was dumbfounded.

This was something he never expected.

But then everything that happened in the hall just now makes sense. The emperor was trying to sow discord, making each of you have your own version of events, and then I would make the judgment.

First, I need to hear about "Dream of the Red Chamber," otherwise I won't be able to make a fair judgment.

It is perfectly reasonable and without any flaws.

Zhang Shuo suddenly glanced at Zhang Jiuling and chuckled, "Jiuling! You're really not suited for this kind of thing. Don't try to be a hero next time."

Zhang Jiuling looked embarrassed. He knew how badly he had performed, and said awkwardly, "This humble official was also..."

"It was also for my sake."

Zhang said gratefully, "I must say, we really owe you a lot this time. If I had stepped in myself, I'm afraid it would have been like last time when we watched the opera, where I lost inexplicably and became a laughingstock. It was a case of losing more than I gained. In the future, I should be more cautious when dealing with these kinds of small matters."

Before this, he never imagined that the emperor had already set his sights on Dream of the Red Chamber and wanted to read it as soon as possible. If he were to personally intervene, both he and the emperor would be in a difficult position, and if not handled properly, it might damage his relationship with the emperor.

He was still shaken.

Zhang Jiuling hurriedly replied, "What Your Excellency says is very true."

Zhang Shuo glanced at Zhang Jiuling and laughed, but then said seriously, "However, that nameless gentleman is no ordinary person. We should be careful in the future."

Zhang Jiuling frowned and said, "You mean, Your Excellency, this was premeditated?"

Zhang said, "Otherwise, why would he dare to be so fearless? And right now, the only one in the court who can truly keep me in check is His Majesty."

Zhang Jiuling nodded and added, "Perhaps they weren't after the Prime Minister either."

Zhang smiled and nodded: "You've finally realized it, which is why I didn't hold it against you earlier."

Zhang Jiuling was taken aback, glanced at Zhang Shuo, and thought to himself, "So that's how it is."

Judging from Li Qiao's suggestion just now, it's clear that his real intention was not what it seemed, because it involved the return of hidden households to their original residence.

This was a suggestion made by Yuwen Rong, and he will inevitably be in charge of the overall situation in the future.

Zhang Shuo didn't like Yuwen Rong, nor did he like some of Yuwen Rong's radical policies. Therefore, in this case of the snipe and the clam fighting, the fisherman benefits.

This explains why, after leaving the main hall, he was not angry at all, but rather acted more like an observer, because he was happy to see it happen.

He even hoped that Li Qiao could get his wish.

It is evident that those who occupy this position are by no means incompetent, as they are able to calculate the most advantageous outcome for themselves within such a short period of time.

As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly.

Moreover, Li Qiao, that bookworm, failed to see through the emperor's thoughts. He was in a panic. After leaving the capital, he immediately headed for Wuming Academy. However, halfway there, he suddenly remembered that Master Wuming did not like to get involved in politics. So he changed course and returned home. Then he ordered someone to call Wang Xi and Li Jieman home.

When the two boys returned, Li Qiao roared at them, "You two really ruined me! I was so stupid to fall for your tricks again!"

Li Jieman asked in great alarm, "Father, what's wrong now?"

His fear stemmed not from Li Qiao's outburst, but from Li Qiao's claim that he had been tricked.

Has it been seen through?

Wang Xi gently tugged at Li Jieman's sleeve, hinting that he shouldn't confess without being asked, and then timidly said, "Uncle, don't scare us, how could we harm you?"

Li Qiao said, "Do you know that His Majesty doesn't care about how to acquire property for the people at all, but is more concerned about whether Dream of the Red Chamber will affect the court's policies?"

Wang Xi asked, "So what exactly did His Majesty say?"

Li Qiao said, "Now that Zhang Yuanwailang believes that Dream of the Red Chamber is decadent music, although I have tried my best to defend you, His Majesty still does not believe it. He said that he would send someone from Wuming Academy to the palace to talk about Dream of the Red Chamber, and then determine whether Dream of the Red Chamber belongs to decadent music."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xi was overjoyed, but said aloud, "Then we'll go. We believe His Majesty will clear our names." "Now we have no choice but to go."

Li Qiao said, “Now some people think that your charity performance is just a pretext for seeking personal gain, and they include me in it. If Dream of the Red Chamber is really labeled as decadent, I will also be implicated.”

Wang Xi said, "Uncle, you've also heard of Dream of the Red Chamber. How can that be considered decadent music?"

Li Qiao said, "I am afraid precisely because I have heard it. If we take it seriously, wouldn't it be considered decadent music? When the ministers attend, it would be very easy to label Dream of the Red Chamber as decadent music."

Li Jie asked, "Father, what do we do now?"

Li Qiao said, "I have no choice now. You need to go find the teacher as soon as possible and figure out a solution. This matter could be a big or small one."

"Yes."

"Then why don't you hurry up and go?"

"Yes, yes, we'll go right away."

The two boys ran out in a panic.

Li Qiao slapped his forehead. "Oh dear! How could I have made such a foolish mistake again? Damn it, damn it, I really deserve to die!"

As soon as he stepped out of the house, Li Jieman collapsed into Wang Xi's arms, his voice barely audible, "Brother Que, it's best if we do this kind of thing less often in the future!"

"Get off."

Wang Xi shoved Li Jieman aside and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? This is our only homework. How can we skip it? We have to do it every day from now on so that our father can improve."

"Do it every day?"

Li Jieman closed his eyes and said, "I choose death."

Wu Mansion.

"Brother Yuwen, please sit down, please sit down quickly."

Wu Xin warmly welcomed Yuwen Rong into the house, and said, "These days I've been planning to invite Brother Yuwen to play polo."

Yuwen Rong was someone he tried hard to win over in the outer court.

After Yuwen Rong sat down, he said, "The matter of Dream of the Red Chamber is also related to Wu Jijiu, isn't it?"

Wu Xin was taken aback and asked, "Brother Yuwen, what makes you say that?"

Yuwen Rong remained silent.

Wu Xin hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "It is indeed related to me. But I am also worried about the singing competition. Nowadays, everyone is talking about Dream of the Red Chamber, and the singing competition has become a topic of no interest."

Yuwen Rong said, "But the other party may not necessarily be trying to steal the limelight from the singing competition."

Wu Xin was startled and asked, "Why is that?"

Yuwen Rong said, "Their goal might be reform and change."

"what?"

Wu Xin was shocked and exclaimed, "Reform and change?"

Yuwen Rong nodded and then told Wu Xin what had happened in the palace that day.

Wu Xin gasped and said, "So, they want to use Dream of the Red Chamber to get involved in the matter of the return of hidden households to their original residences."

Yuwen Rong nodded.

Although he favored Consort Wu, he never publicly expressed his opinion. He knew that the emperor's purpose in employing him was for financial gain, so he focused on that and was unwilling to publicly intervene in the palace intrigues.

However, Li Qiao's actions today have led him to decide to side with the Wu family.

You're trying to steal my job, so why should I be polite to you?

For the Wu family, the hope was to gain the support of the outer court; for the Wang family, the hope was naturally to return to the center of power.

Wu Xin asked, "Brother Yuwen, do you think they can succeed?"

Yuwen Rong sighed, "It's almost certainly true. Based on my observation, His Majesty seems to have a great interest in Dream of the Red Chamber. If it's true, they will be in an invincible position."

Wu Xin opened his eyes wide and said, "Brother Yuwen, are you just going to let them succeed so easily?"

Yuwen Rong sneered, "I don't take Prince Sipu seriously. He's just a poet and writer; what does he know about governing a country?"

The problem now is that His Majesty favors both opera and storytelling. If this isn't reversed, it will be very difficult for the Grand Master of Ceremonies to defeat them.

In terms of governing the country, I am not inferior to him, but the problem is that they intend to rise to power by pandering to the people, which is an unorthodox approach, and you have to thwart them.

Wu Xin then understood Yuwen Rong's purpose in coming here, and was secretly delighted. At least in this way, Yuwen Rong had completely sided with him.

No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win situation!
An unnamed academy.

"Old Tao, we're going to see the Emperor, why aren't you flustered at all?"

Li Jie looked at Tao Mo with great curiosity.

Tao Mo sighed, "This old man is already used to it."

“We still need to be careful. If something goes wrong, my father will be gone.” Li Jie glared at Tao Mo, then said to Wang Xi, “Brother Que, we need to think this over.”

Wang Xifeng said casually, "What's there to discuss? Just say whatever you want. Anyway, His Majesty will definitely agree with whatever we say."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded and said, "When it comes to reasoning, even a hundred old Taos couldn't out-argue Mr. Qujiang. We're betting that His Majesty will definitely like Dream of the Red Chamber."

"Wrong. This isn't gambling."

Wang Xi chuckled and said, "This is called catering to their preferences. We can't possibly lose. I'm already considering how to help our father get this hidden household registration sorted out."

(End of this chapter)