Zheng Rong was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "I have to do both of these things, it's just a matter of order, what's the big deal?"
"Your Highness is wrong!" Shi Liangzhi said with his chest straightened.
As soon as he said this, those present, including Heluo King Zheng Hua, Zheng Rong's three sons Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Zheng Miao, as well as other court officials, were all shocked: they thought, Shi Liangzhi actually questioned Youyan King in person at this critical juncture, is he really going to give up and not care about his life
Shi Liangzhi was no longer nervous and frightened, and said fluently: "The difference between the two cannot be ignored. Your Highness is the true dragon emperor, and he will ascend to the ninth heaven sooner or later. If you go to pay homage to the late emperor's body first, then your enthronement will be 'the younger brother succeeds the elder brother'. A hundred years later, there will naturally be foolish people who ask: 'Why didn't the late emperor pass the throne to his descendants?' However, if Your Highness goes to pay homage to the ancestral tablets first, then when you ascend to the throne, it will be 'the son inherits the father's business', and who dares to make a fuss?"
After Shi Liangzhi finished speaking, he kowtowed again and said, "This is just a humble opinion of mine. Your Majesty, please accept my advice!"
Although Zheng Rong was well-read, he was not very familiar with these red tapes, so he turned around and asked Zhong Likuang beside him softly: "Sir, do you think this man surnamed Shi is speaking reasonably?"
Zhongli Kuang twirled his beard and said, "Although Lord Shi's behavior is not commendable, he has learned etiquette very well. What he said does make sense. Please think about it, Your Majesty."
Zheng Rong nodded, pointed his whip at Shi Liangzhi who was kneeling on the ground and said, "I have always been magnanimous and willing to accept advice. Let me ask you: As the Minister of Rites, I am going to pay homage to the ancestors. Can you arrange the ceremony properly?"
Shi Liangzhi kowtowed hurriedly and said, "The emperor's ceremonial instruments such as the flag, axe, and halberd used have been burned by Zheng Yao, but the Ministry of Rites still has two spare sets; other ceremonial instruments, Huangzhong and Dalu, etc. are all ready. If the prince can allocate 500 elite soldiers to me, I will definitely be able to get this done."
Zheng Rong asked again: "Although I have received the 'Nine Gifts', I am still only a prince. You use the etiquette of the emperor everywhere, aren't you afraid of usurping the throne?"
Shi Liangzhi kowtowed and said, "Extraordinary events should be handled in an extraordinary manner. When Emperor Taizu of our dynasty came to Beijing, before he ascended the throne, he also worshipped the heaven and earth with the etiquette of the Son of Heaven. Although the treatment of this guilty minister is controversial, it is not completely unprecedented."
Shi Liangzhi cited this precedent, openly to find an allusion for his own adoption of such etiquette, but secretly to praise Zheng Rongde's talent as comparable to that of Emperor Taizu. This ability to flatter is like "sneaking into the night like the wind, moistening things silently."
Zheng Rong was naturally happy to hear this, and said, "Okay! In that case, you don't have to kneel here. I have plenty of elite soldiers under my command, so I will allocate 1,000 to you. If you can't accomplish this before noon, don't come to see me, just find a rope and hang yourself!"
When Shi Liangzhi heard the hope of "life", he kowtowed countless times on the ground and thanked the emperor countless times. Then he led his elite soldiers and trotted to the Ministry of Rites.
Zheng Rong watched Shi Liangzhi leave, but heard Qiu Yizi approach him without him noticing, and asked softly, "Father, are you going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pay tribute to our ancestors of the Han Dynasty?"
Zheng Rong nodded and said "yes".
Qiu Yizhi added: "Yizhi is not on the jade plate nameplate, so it is inconvenient for me to go with my adoptive father and brothers. I think..."
Zheng Rong knew that his adopted son was very thoughtful, so he asked with a smile: "Where do you want to go to play now?"
"I want to meet Yang Yuanzhi, the old Prime Minister Yang." Qiu Yizi replied.
Zheng Rong heard this and immediately stopped smiling: "Why are you going to see this old man?"
Qiu Yizi bowed and said, "Yang Yuanzhi is a dying man. When he pointed out my adoptive father in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, he might have been coerced by Zheng Yao. Since my adoptive father could forgive the shameless villain Shi Liangzhi, why not forgive Yang Yuanzhi as well?"
"This old man talks about the teachings of saints every day, but he can't do the 'unyielding under might'. He is truly a hypocrite!" Zheng Rong said angrily, and sighed, "Alas! Considering that he and I have a teacher-student relationship, killing him will not benefit me. You should tell him to spend his old age in the capital and not to interfere in government affairs!"
Qiu Yizi was happy to get Zheng Rong's approval, but she did not dare to show it on her face. She bowed and said goodbye immediately, and went to Yang Yuanzhi's residence alone without waiting for Yuchi Lianghong and Zhao Chengxiao.
Qiu Yizhi had been to Yang's Mansion countless times, and found the alley where Yang's Mansion was located with ease. He saw that heavy soldiers had been deployed in front and behind the alley to prevent idle people from approaching Yang's Mansion.
Qiu Yizi was not an idle person, so after exchanging a few words with the garrison leader, he calmly walked to the gate of Yang's mansion. The gate of Yang's mansion was not very wide, and it was still the same as it was a few months ago, but the pair of "Thirteen Guardians" stone lions that were originally placed on both sides had been moved to an unknown place.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizi sighed inwardly and reached out to knock gently on the wooden door of Yang's mansion a few times.
Not long after, the wooden door was pushed open a crack, and a child's face peeked out. It was Yang Yuanzhi's grandson Yang Jin.
When he saw that the person who came was Qiu Yizi, whom he had visited a few days ago, his eyes widened with surprise and he asked, "Huh? Why is my brother here?"
Qiu Yizi raised her hand and pushed the wooden door a little further inwards, then replied with a smile: "Why? Little brother, don't you welcome me?"
Yang Jin scratched his head and said, "My grandfather has not been in good health these days and has closed the door to visitors. He originally didn't want to see anyone. But since you are my brother... then you are my friend. If my grandfather doesn't want to see you, I must." After that, he pushed open the door and led Qiu Yizi in.
Qiu Yizi saw that the courtyard of Yang Mansion was covered with fallen leaves, and the moss growing in the dark places had not been cleaned up by anyone, making the place look a bit desolate and messy.
Seeing this scene, Qiu Yizhi sighed inwardly and said to Yang Jin, "People of advanced age are bound to have minor health problems from time to time. Prime Minister Yang has always been in good health and spirits, so I believe he will recover soon."
"Thank you, brother. But in my opinion, Grandpa's illness is mostly caused by worrying. The situation in the court has been turbulent in the past few days, and Grandpa often locks himself in the study for a whole day. How can he not get sick?" Yang Jin said, "As a grandson, I am also very worried. I want to pay my respects more often, but I am afraid of annoying Grandpa. Alas..."
Qiu Yizhi felt a pang in her heart after hearing Yang Jin's sincere and filial words, but she could not tell Yang Jin the real reason for Yang Yuanzhi's illness. She only said softly, "In just a few days, my little brother has become so sensible..."
The two of them chatted word by word, and before they knew it, they had gone deep into the Yang residence and arrived at the door of Yang Yuanzhi's study.
The door of the study was not closed. Qiu Yizi saw an old man with a hunched back, holding a brush and writing something on rice paper - it was the old Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi himself, but he looked at least ten years older than when he first met him.
When Qiu Yizhi saw this, her heart ached again, and she called out softly, "Old Prime Minister, I'm here to visit you!"
When Yang Yuanzhi heard this familiar call, his hand holding the brush shook violently, and a bean-sized drop of ink fell from the tip of the brush. He hurriedly took a crumpled piece of waste paper to wipe it, but it made a bigger stain. So he finally gave up cleaning it, sighed, looked up and said to Qiu Yizi: "It turns out that the prince has come. I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar!"
Qiu Yizi hurriedly stepped forward and said, "How can I bear the words of the old prime minister? I have been in the city for many days, but I have been busy with worldly affairs. I have only come to pay my respects to the old prime minister today. It is extremely rude!"
After saying that, Qiu Yizi bowed deeply, and when she looked up, she saw Yang Yuanzhi's eyes, deep in her eye sockets, staring at her closely. It was these eyes that had witnessed countless hardships over the past few decades, but today they were filled with sadness and confusion.
Qiu Yizi couldn't look into such a gaze, and quickly shifted her sight to the rice paper on the desk.
However, what Yang Yuanzhi had just written were just some ordinary ancient poems such as "I sleep so soundly in spring that I don't feel the dawn, and I hear birds singing everywhere"; "The window contains the eternal snow on the Western Hills, and the door is moored with ships from Dongwu that have traveled thousands of miles"; "The boundless fallen leaves rustle down, and the endless Yangtze River rolls on" - but his calligraphy includes regular script, running script, and cursive script, and each character is written with both spirit and form.
Qiu Yizhi then forced a smile and said, "Prime Minister Yang's calligraphy is truly the best. My master, Mr. Zhongli, is also a master in calligraphy, but he is still inferior to Prime Minister Yang's calligraphy! Would it be possible for me to take a few pieces back?"
Yang Yuanzhi did not answer, but said: "When Your Highness came to my humble abode, I invited Your Highness to go boating on the lake. I wonder if Your Highness is still interested in rowing for my dead bones in the grave today?"
Qiu Yizi couldn't think of any reason to refuse, so he agreed immediately. He helped Yang Yuanzhi board a small boat moored by the lake, and after paddling a few times, they reached the center of the lake.
A gust of cold wind blew, bringing a cool breeze from the lake, causing the elderly Yang Yuanzhi to cough a few times, but he asked, "Your Highness, have you seen those dead leaves on the lake?"
Qiu Yi looked up and saw countless fallen leaves of unknown species floating on the lake. They were red, yellow, and purple, drifting with the waves, sinking and floating on their own. He nodded and said, "I see."
Yang Yuanzhi said, "I used to be very particular about my appearance. Whether it was the lake or the path, I would order people to clean up any fallen leaves or mud. But I became so pretentious that I lost my natural charm and fell into the trap of vulgarity. I just realized this truth these days. It shows that 'learning has no limit, but life has a limit'. The ancients were right."
Qiu Yizhi didn't expect Yang Yuanzhi to bring up such a long story, and felt that there was a deeper meaning in it. He didn't know how to respond, so he just said, "Junior, I appreciate your advice."
"Take me for example." Yang Yuanzhi nodded and continued, "I have lived for several dozen years. If you count the second prince, I have served four emperors in total. I always thought I was well versed in classics and human nature. But I didn't even understand the principle of 'the country is the most important, the people are second, and the emperor is the least important'. With only a little bit of blind loyalty, I stopped the second prince's instigation and slandered the Prince of Youyan. Alas! The quotations of the saints are really read into the dog's stomach!"
Qiu Yizhi heard this highly respected man who had served three dynasties and twice as prime minister actually belittled himself like this, and he didn't know how to respond. He rowed the oars silently twice, and then said: "Why do you have to be like this, old prime minister? This is all Zheng Yao's fault, and my adoptive father knows it in his heart. Look, he just came into the city and sent me here to inform the old prime minister: Please enjoy your remaining years and don't take this matter to heart." (To be continued)