r18novel Page 498
Page 498
"The night watchmen are Father's men. Father can just tell the outside world that he gave them a secret decree..." Biao Biao suggested in a soft voice.
"Nonsense! How can the Emperor's decree be treated so lightly!"
Emperor Yuanjing was angry, so Biao Biao stopped talking. She knew very well that she couldn't talk back at this time. She could act coquettishly, but she must never offend the emperor's dignity.
Two lines of clear tears flowed from Lin'an's beautiful eyes, making her look extremely pitiful.
Emperor Yuanjing couldn't help but say angrily, "I know about your desire to make Li Chang'an your son-in-law. There's no such thing as a son-in-law taking a concubine in this world, so you should stop thinking about it."
Princess Lin'an said in a low voice, "But... there has never been a consort in the world who excelled in all three areas, was talented in literature and art, and was also a master of calligraphy and painting. Li Chang'an is so special, can't we make an exception?"
Emperor Yuanjing was slightly taken aback, and suddenly felt that there was some truth to what he said.
"You may leave. I have my own plan for this matter."
Lin'an wiped away his tears and said, "Yes, Father."
Not long after the second daughter left, the eldest daughter arrived, which annoyed Emperor Yuanjing. Both daughters had a good relationship with Li Chang'an, and Huaiqing must have come to plead for him as well.
However, even Emperor Yuanjing did not think of Huaiqing and Li Chang'an as having romantic feelings for each other, since Huaiqing was always aloof and did not have the demeanor of a young girl.
"Greetings to my father."
Huaiqing bowed gracefully, and Emperor Yuanjing snorted coldly, "You're here to plead for Li Chang'an too? If so, then shut up."
"Father, you misunderstand. I have come for the sake of the current political situation." Huaiqing spoke with neither arrogance nor servility, her words inspiring conviction in all who heard them.
She was indeed very shocked when she learned that Li Chang'an had executed Vice Minister Zhou and his son without an imperial edict.
However, upon learning that Zhou Xianping had embezzled six million taels of silver, Huaiqing was furious.
That despicable Zhou Xianping is undermining the foundation of the Great Feng Dynasty!
Emperor Yuanjing remained calm and said, "Huaiqing, tell me."
“Father, most of the civil officials in the court are graduates of the Imperial Academy and believers in Neo-Confucianism. They all hate Li Chang’an to the bone.”
“My father is like a wise ruler of the past, who has always ruled by doing nothing, and all the court officials are in awe of him. Keeping Li Chang’an around is a deterrent to all the court officials.”
“Li Chang’an is the night watchman, and he is the Emperor’s man. Keeping Li Chang’an around can intimidate the court officials, but what intimidates the court officials is not Li Chang’an, but the authority that the Emperor has given to the night watchman.”
Emperor Yuanjing was also pondering in his heart that Huaiqing and Lin'an were saying the same thing: the night watchman was one of his men. The court officials were all suspecting that Li Chang'an and Wei Yuan's actions were secretly instructed by the emperor.
The swift handling of the Zhou family by Li Chang'an indeed made the court officials more fearful of the emperor's authority and strengthened the eunuch faction.
The court officials feared the emperor, but were unable to attack him; they could only vent their resentment on Wei Yuan.
With the eunuch faction gaining strength, the power struggle in the court will intensify, a prospect that Emperor Yuanjing is pleased to see.
Just like now, in the memorials before us, quite a few people are impeaching the night watchmen's office for having too much power.
"Huaiqing, what do you suggest we do?"
Princess Huaiqing felt that she had spoken to Emperor Yuanjing's mind, because Emperor Yuanjing wanted fierce infighting among the various factions in the court.
"Father, Wei Yuan and Li Chang'an are to be fined three years' salary and demoted!"
This is just a symbolic gesture; Li Chang'an doesn't have a noble title, and the demotion only applies to Wei Yuan.
Emperor Yuanjing then changed the subject, saying, "Huaiqing, do you also see me as a tyrant?"
"Zhou Xianping is incredibly audacious! He actually embezzled six million taels of my silver! That's my money!"
"If we punish Wei Yuan and Li Chang'an, wouldn't it make it seem like my watchmen's office was completely unaware of this matter beforehand!"
"I told you not to plead for Li Chang'an because I never intended to punish the night watchman."
Huaiqing breathed a sigh of relief. She could roughly guess that Emperor Yuanjing did not punish the night watchmen in order to intensify the factional struggle.
Although the two had different motives, Li Chang'an was finally alright.
To Huaiqing's surprise, Emperor Yuanjing's next topic was completely unexpected.
"Huaiqing... I know about your recruitment of Li Chang'an. What do you think about making him the son-in-law of the emperor in Lin'an?"
Huaiqing was greatly alarmed. Of course it wasn't good!
Why is it that when the emperor talks about finding a son-in-law, the first person he thinks of is Lin'an, even though I'm not married yet!
However, she thought that because she had insisted on not marrying for so many years, Emperor Yuanjing and the Empress had long since given up on her.
"Father, this is not appropriate!"
"Your Majesty recruited Li Chang'an because of his talent, but he is dissolute and has a concubine and a mistress. If we were to make him our son-in-law, the royal family would lose face."
Emperor Yuanjing nodded heavily, "You and I are on the same page. This Li Chang'an is indeed not very proper."
Huaiqing immediately felt relieved. She never expected that Li Chang'an's philandering, which had been making her secretly unhappy, would now play such a big role.
If Li Chang'an hadn't had these romantic entanglements, perhaps his father would have actually issued an imperial decree to grant him marriage.
"Huaiqing, I have always trusted you to handle things. I'll leave this matter to you."
Huaiqing looked puzzled. What was the emperor trying to do? Hadn't he just said that Li Chang'an was indecent?
"I actually know Li Chang'an's abilities. If it weren't for that courtesan and concubine, it wouldn't be a bad thing to pair him with Lin'an."
Most importantly, I will only feel at ease if a prodigy like Li Chang'an becomes a member of the royal family.
“You are also familiar with Li Chang’an. You should find a way to make Li Chang’an break up with that courtesan completely and send the concubine back. That way, he can be matched with Lin’an in a more respectable way, right?”
Huaiqing was utterly devastated; he never imagined the emperor would think this way.
"Father..."
Before she could speak, Emperor Yuanjing said, “I know you hope your consort is devoted to you, but Lin’an is different. She is deeply in love with Li Chang’an and has already quarreled with Consort Chen many times. Li Chang’an is indeed a talented person.”
"You can be demanding of yourself, but don't be so demanding of others. As long as Lin'an doesn't mind, that's fine. Don't say any more, go."
Huaiqing had never taken on such a troublesome task before. It's true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease; even the imperial son-in-law is assigned based on how much he makes a fuss.
She felt frustrated and aggrieved because her sensible child had no milk to drink.
Jiaofang Division.
In the Plum Blossom Pavilion, Li Chang'an lay comfortably in the fragrant boudoir.
The soft, boneless body in his arms spoke with a tone full of resentment, "Young master, how long has it been since you last came? Is your little vixen at home that alluring?"
Li Chang'an couldn't help but roll his eyes. "No, don't you know who's the vixen between you two?"
Fu Xiang chuckled and said sweetly, "I think your little concubine's skills are probably no worse than our fox spirits', she's so coy and alluring."
"How about I redeem you from your servitude, and you come back with me? Then the two of you can have a proper sparring match."
Fu Xiang snorted lightly, "You have night watchmen and princesses around, it's inconvenient for me to do things."
Li Chang'an had already said that he was too lazy to interfere with whatever the demon race was plotting.
He and Fu Xiang, also known as Ye Ji, each got what they needed and did not interfere with each other's lives.
Li Chang'an is a gentleman; although he entered Fu Xiang's body, he did not enter her life.
"See? I asked you to come, but you didn't. So don't complain."
Fu Xiang said softly, "Once I have completed the important task for my clan, I will definitely stay with you forever."
The two engaged in another intense exchange, leaving the fox demon exhausted and fast asleep. Only then did Li Chang'an take out a small jade mirror to observe the situation.
[Number 3: Gentlemen, my name is Chen Jinnan. Please give me your guidance!]
Li Chang'an smiled. It seemed that Xu Qi'an had recovered. Master Jinlian had also seen him and probably told him about the Heaven and Earth Society.
Because Li Chang'an killed the old Taoist priest Zilian in advance, Xu Qi'an was able to successfully obtain the jade mirror without any of those messy crises.
[Number Nine: I recently took advantage of the Daoist Master's slumber to secretly return to the Earth Sect on business, but unexpectedly encountered an ambush and had to recuperate for quite some time. This young brother Chen Jinnan, who is traveling in the capital, is a new member of our Heaven and Earth Society.]
After Master Jinlian gave her introduction, the chat group of the Heaven and Earth Society immediately became lively.
[Number Two: Yet another one in Beijing!]
[Number 5: Number 1 and Number 7 are also in Beijing!]
[Number Six: I've also been to Beijing before, and I might have met Brother Chen.]
Xu Qi'an, standing in front of the mirror, was delighted to see the message that suddenly popped up. It was just a chat group, complete with a notification function that shook the window with divine sense.
"Da Lang, it's time to take your medicine."
Xu Qi'an obediently opened his mouth, and the maid, Lü'e, fed him the medicine. The two worked together seamlessly.
Xu Qi'an now somewhat enjoys being waited on and no longer rejects the treatment of Da Lang drinking medicine.
It turns out that Number One and Number Three are both in the capital.
[Number Three: I wonder which government department Number One and Number Seven work for. Could you please take care of me in the future?]
[Number Five: To be honest, most people in Beijing are quite frank and introduced themselves.]
[Number Three: Oh? Number One and Number Seven, may I ask how I should address you? I am your humble servant!]
[Number 5: Number 7 is called Ling Lingqi, Number 1 is stingy and never says his name.]
"puff!"
Xu Qi'an sprayed a mouthful of medicine onto Green Goose's face, making the little maid both embarrassed and worried. "Big Brother, what's wrong? Has your injury worsened?"
Feeling apologetic, Xu Qi'an picked up Green Goose's head and wiped the medicine off her face with his sleeve, making the little maid blush with embarrassment.