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Youyan King Zheng Rong had returned to Guangyang seven days ago. Qiu Yizhi was responsible for reviewing the Tianzun Sect's scriptures, so except for the day when Youyan King arrived in Guangyang City, she went out of the city to greet him according to the rules, and never saw Zheng Rong again.
On this day, the Tianzun Sect's scriptures were finally reviewed one by one. Coincidentally, Yiran came to the house to play, so Qiu Yizi went with her to the Prince of Youyan's Mansion to pay respects to her adoptive father and to complete the task.
The two of them each held a dozen or so copies of the summary, and walked through the rooms very familiarly until they came to Zheng Rong's study. Just as they were about to report loudly, Zhang Long, who was guarding on the side, raised his hand to stop them and said, "The prince is talking to Mr. Zhongli, and he has ordered that no one should disturb him. Your Highness Yi and Princess Yiran, please come back another day, and I will inform the prince myself."
Since it was his adoptive father's order, Qiu Yizi had no choice but to kneel down and kowtow to the door of the study room as a greeting, but he heard Zheng Rong's voice from inside the room: "Is that Yizi? Come in... Oh, and Yiran, you don't have to come in, go down and rest."
Qiu Yizhi thought that his adoptive father and his master must be discussing confidential matters, so it was only natural that the princess of a foreign country could not be there to listen. He turned his head to look at Princess Yiran beside him, but saw that she pouted her lips, put the book she was holding on the ground hard, and without saying a word, she jumped to the house where the women of the palace were.
Qiu Yizi carefully picked up the book that was thrown on the ground, and stood up. However, he had no time to tidy up his clothes, so he stood on tiptoe twice, shook off the dust on his knees, and said loudly: "Qiu Yizi is here to pay his respects to my adoptive father." Zhang Long, who was standing nearby, was also smart and quickly helped to push open the door of the study so that the adopted son of King Youyan could enter the room.
As soon as Qiu Yizi entered the room, the door behind her slammed shut. The study room had windows all around it, and today was sunny, so the room was quite bright and airy, but the windows and doors were tightly closed, with no ventilation, so it was extremely stuffy.
Yizhi quickly glanced around the study room and saw that in the huge room, apart from his adoptive father Zheng Rong, his master Zhongli Kuang and himself, there was no other person. He thought, "They are indeed discussing important matters. Although I was severely reprimanded in Bozhou that day, my adoptive father still did not show any hostility."
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizhi felt somewhat elated and was about to bow down to pay respect to his adoptive father and master, but he heard Zheng Rong say, "Forget it, Yizhi, just stand and talk."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi immediately exerted force on his knees and managed to straighten his body. However, he was holding 20 or 30 volumes of abridgements in his hands, and his center of gravity was unstable, so he stumbled forward, causing Zheng Rong and Zhong Likuang to smile, and the tense and serious atmosphere was slightly eased. Qiu Yizhi took the opportunity to say, "I have completed the review of the cult's collection under the guidance of Master Zhongli, on the order of my foster father, and I have come to report to you." After that, he stepped forward and placed the books in his hands neatly on Zheng Rong's desk, and then returned to his original place.
Zheng Rong's face had long since regained its solemnity. He took the book on top, flipped through a few pages, and put it back in its place. He said nonchalantly, "Okay, you did this very attentively."
The task of reviewing the Tianzun Sect's collection of books and classics was something Qiu Yizi had strongly advocated for, and he had worked hard for nearly a month in the scorching heat, but all he got in return was such a lukewarm praise from his adoptive father, which made Qiu Yizi feel quite discouraged.
Zheng Rong continued, "These summaries you made are very good. Mr. Zhongli and I will study them in detail when we have time. But there is something else important today..." He picked up a few thin pages of paper on the table and handed them to Qiu Yizi, and continued, "Take these things down and have a look."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly stepped forward and took it with both hands respectfully. At first glance, it was just a report issued by the court to all prefectures and counties across the country every month. But the report in Yizhi's hand was wrinkled, obviously because Youyan King Zheng Rong had rolled it up in anger and then flattened it again. Qiu Yizhi knew that his adoptive father was the most deep and calm, so what could make him so angry? So he read it carefully with a little curiosity and a little uneasiness.
The court reports were an important way to inform the whole country of major events in the court and other places. Any interested official could easily figure out the situation in the court by reading them carefully. However, since the current emperor Zheng Yong became addicted to elixirs and ignored government affairs, the reports gradually became a barometer of droughts and floods in various places, and each one became more boring than the last.
Qiu Yizhi flipped through the first two pages, which were just ordinary information about the promotion and retirement of ministers in the court or the weather in various places, without any interesting information. When he turned to the third page, he was so scared that his legs went weak and he almost sat down on the ground - what was written on it was nothing else but the title of the memorial impeached by the imperial censors of the court against the Prince of Youyan. Qiu Yizhi did not dare to look closely, and hurriedly flipped through a few more pages, which were also densely packed with titles of various impeachment memorials. It turned out that half of this thin six-page report was used to list these impeachment articles.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi was sweating all over his face. He turned back to the previous page and scanned a few titles, which were: "Impeach Zheng Rong for his self-reliance and unquestionable heart", "Impeach Zheng Rong for privately moving refugees with the intention of treason", "Impeach Zheng Rong for twenty things that violated etiquette and usurped power", "Impeach Zheng Rong for sixteen things that were rebellious and lawless, indulged his son and abused officials", "Impeach Zheng Rong for colluding with evil cults and raising thieves for his own benefit", etc. The titles of the first few articles were relatively decent, but the ones after them were even more disgusting, and even used dirty words such as "great traitor", "treacherous villain", and "heartless".
Qiu Yizhi held the report in his hands, his eyes wide open as he quickly scanned it. A bean-sized bead of sweat fell on the paper. He reached out to wipe it, but it melted into a large pool of ink. Finally, he didn't dare to look down anymore, and handed the report back to Zheng Rong with trembling hands. Then he knelt on the ground and said, "These are just the barking of mad dogs by some cunning officials. I hope you will just treat them as a passing wind and don't take it to heart!"
Zheng Rong sighed, still sitting behind the desk, raised his hand to support it, and said, "This is your filial piety, and I am very pleased to hear it. But even if it is a mad dog, if you don't beat it immediately, it will think that people are afraid of it over time, and then it will take advantage of it and bite you back, which will not be worth it."
Qiu Yizhi stood up and replied, "What my foster father has taught me is true. But I just can't understand it. My foster father has great power in the court and is popular with people. Why did he come up with so many nonsense impeachment memorials in just one month?"
"I am at a loss as to what to do about this. Why do so many censors want to impeach me for no reason?" Zheng Rong sighed again.
Zhongli Kuang sat aside and laughed, "How can it be without reason? The strength of Youyan's army has long been well-known throughout the Han Dynasty. However, this time, they were ordered to go south to suppress the rebellion, and they easily wiped out the evil cult rebels. Your Majesty, don't forget that just one month ago, the official army in Henan was defeated by the evil cult rebels. So those who are interested should ask themselves: 'If the King of Youyan has a rebellious heart and leads his army south to cause chaos, who in the country can resist?' Your Majesty's crime is only this."
Zheng Rong stroked his forehead and sighed, "I am only doing things for the court and helping His Majesty, but I didn't expect to be criticized like this. However, all the officials in the court and the public are attacking me in unison. There must be someone behind this!"
"Your Highness, what you said hits the nail on the head." Zhongli Kuang was sitting on the side, fanning himself with a folding fan, and said leisurely, "Although these imperial censors in the court are all upright and outspoken, most of them are mean and cowardly in their hearts. Who is Your Highness? He is the pillar of the country, second only to the emperor, and is deeply trusted by the emperor. If there is no one behind them, how dare they risk their lives to impeach Your Highness?"
"Well~ I have the same idea, but I don't know who is the mastermind behind it?" Zheng Rong listened very seriously and asked while stroking the beautiful beard under his chin.
"If my guess is correct, the mastermind is undoubtedly the current emperor." Zhongli Kuang and Zheng Rong have known each other for nearly twenty years. They have long been both teachers and friends. They never shy away from speaking and always speak directly from their hearts.
Zheng Rong was surprised when he heard this and asked, "What do you mean, sir?"
Zhongli Kuang put away the folding fan in his hand, stood up and paced while saying, "Several years ago, the emperor summoned you to the capital to discuss matters. At that time, I had a discussion with you in the carriage. I wonder if you still remember?" Seeing Zheng Rong nodded, he continued, "What happened on that day and what happened today are one and the same. What the emperor wanted back then was just a word from you to support the second prince. However, you did not listen to me and went against my advice, which finally led to today's disaster."
Zheng Rong was listening intently. Seeing Zhongli Kuang stop, he asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhongli Kuang smiled and said, "Your Highness has read a lot of history books and is well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge. How could he not know this little trick? He just doesn't want to think the worst. I am a corrupt scholar with a mean heart, so I might as well speak frankly." He paused and continued, "Your Highness has a strong army and guards the northern border. If he can be loyal to the country, he will be a shield for the country; if he rebels, he will be a serious threat. The current emperor is your elder brother and can still be restrained; once he dies, the successor will have to call you 'uncle'. With such an uncle who has a strong army, how can he sit firmly on the throne? Alas~ It's a pity that your Highness didn't listen to me and express his support for the emperor's favorite second son. Otherwise, although this disaster will come sooner or later, the incident of the brothers fighting against each other will not happen!"
After hearing this, Zheng Rong stood up and said, "The order of seniority is the foundation of the country, and it is the duty of a minister to give honest advice. How can I..." At this point, Zheng Rong suddenly remembered that he was also thinking of deposing the eldest and enthroning the youngest. He immediately became discouraged, sat back in the armchair, and asked, "What countermeasures do I have now? I hope you can teach me."
Zhongli Kuang said "I dare not", but smiled and said: "Since this is the will of His Majesty, and with your loyalty to the country, why not go with the flow, hand over the military and political power of Youyan, follow the example of the King of Heluo, and return to the capital to be a rich man in peace!"
Zheng Rong shook his hand and said, "If I surrender my military power, I will be like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others..." He suddenly thought of how smart Zhongli Kuang was, how could he not know such a simple truth, so he smiled and said, "Sir, you are joking." Then he saw Qiu Yizhi standing there in a daze for a long time, so he asked, "Yizhi, what do you think we should do?"
Qiu Yizhi heard his adoptive father ask this, and hesitated to say: "Since my adoptive father asked, I dare not hide anything, but... forget it, I'd better not say it, so as not to be scolded again..."
Qiu Yizhi's words made Zheng Rong burst out laughing and said, "I didn't expect that there are things in this world that you, Qiu Yizhi, dare not say. This king forgives you, you can say it as you please."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi cleared his throat and said, "In ancient times, the throne was passed down to the eldest son, not only the heir or the eldest son, but also the most capable one. Moreover, in the three ancient dynasties, it was not unprecedented for the younger brother to succeed the elder brother..." As he spoke, he glanced at Zheng Rong's face, and seeing that he had no expression on his face, he simply plucked up his courage and said, "Foster father, why don't you just follow the trend..."
"How dare you!" Before Qiu Yizi could finish his words, Zheng Rong slammed the desk with all his strength. The pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the desk were all shaken, and even the neatly stacked excerpts from the Tianzun Sect's collection of books were scattered all over the floor.
Qiu Yizi was so frightened by Zheng Rong's attack that he forgot to kneel down and apologize. He stood there motionless, his legs shaking constantly.
However, Zhong Likuang, who was sitting upright, slowly said, "What Yizhi said is exactly what I want to say. The current emperor is incompetent, and the two princes are also incompetent. If the prince is determined to ascend the throne, it will be a blessing for the world, the country, and the people! If the prince has such a great ambition, I will do my best to serve you!"
After hearing this, Zheng Rong sighed and said, "I have never had such an intention. You two should not put me in a position of disloyalty or injustice. Let's forget about it today, but please don't mention it again from now on. I have sent Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Zheng Miao back by express horse. We will discuss it again then!" (To be continued)