Cheng Sheng and Min Jia followed their gaze and saw Qing Feng and Mr. Wu. However, Cheng Sheng was still not in the mood, and smiled and said to Zhou Shaojin: "Are there another guest?"
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what was going on, so he smiled vaguely and said, "Maybe!"
Min Jia grew up in an official family, and was the eldest daughter. She grew up under her great-grandmother's lap and was trained as a clan woman. She immediately noticed something was wrong. Cheng Sheng's initiative today made her grateful, and she couldn't help but feel closer to him. Hearing this, she quietly pulled Cheng Sheng's sleeve and whispered, "Something is wrong. Let's not go out for the time being and see what happens."
Cheng Sheng was touched and stood on tiptoe to look over. He saw the gentleman brought by the breeze entered the pavilion. Soon everyone in the pavilion stood up. Then Cheng Chi sent Cheng Shao and the gentleman out of the pavilion and hurried out of the garden.
"Is there something wrong, Second Uncle?" she murmured.
Everyone's interest faded a bit.
Only the children, ignorant of the world, were chattering loudly on the boat.
I don’t know what happened to my second uncle, but no one is happy anymore. This can’t go on!
Zhou Shaojin immediately smiled and said, "I'll ask someone to find out what happened to my second uncle."
Cheng Zheng nodded hurriedly.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly called Nanny Shang over and gave her instructions.
Nanny Shang immediately went to the pavilion and quickly came back, saying, "Someone from the palace came and said that the Seventh Prince had displeased the Emperor, so the Emperor summoned the Second Old Master to the palace to play chess."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The lake then returned to its previous bustle.
The people in the pavilion were not as cheerful as the women.
Yuan Ming said, "… How to deal with the Seventh Prince? Even the people of the Metropolitan Censorate can't impeach him. If you go deeper, it can be called treason; if you go shallow, it can be called corruption. Now everyone in the court and the public is watching the emperor's face to make a move. Brother, you said that it would be okay for the second uncle to come to the palace to play chess with the emperor? Who knows what the emperor will ask at this time? If you answer inappropriately, your family may be confiscated and your clan may be exterminated!"
They were originally brothers-in-law, but because the three Cheng Zheng sisters had been close in the past, they were considered brothers according to the ranking among the sisters to show their closeness.
Gu Xu laughed when he heard this and said, "How could there be so many cases of family confiscation and extermination? Throughout this dynasty, apart from the famous families who passed down poetry, literature and etiquette from generation to generation when Emperor Taizong founded the country, have the emperors since then ever taken action against the aristocratic families of the literati?"
Yuan Ming is a descendant of the Yuan family, a cousin of Yuan, and is not yet three generations older than Yuan Weichang. His father was also a scholar, but because of his weak body, he did not take the imperial examination. In terms of knowledge, he was one of the best in the Yuan family. Yuan Ming had been studying with his father before. Even Yuan Weichang's sons were all taught by his father, and he was a person of influence in the Yuan family. His mother was born in a wealthy family in Chengdu, and only because of her favor to the Yuan family could she get this marriage. The dowry at that time was as much as ten ships. After marrying into the Yuan family, she only gave birth to Yuan Ming, a son. In addition, his parents loved him and he was smart when he was young. In the Yuan family, even Yuan Weichang treated him differently, which cultivated his straightforward character.
Hearing Gu Xu's answer, he smiled and said, "Aren't rules always meant to be broken? Emperor Taizong said that he would never increase taxes. Look at how many times the taxes have been raised compared to when the country was founded? Anyway, I never believe in these things. I think Fourth Uncle is the best. He does business when he wants to, and becomes an official when he wants to... So the person I admire the most is Uncle Chi. I also want to learn from him..."
Gu Xu, Peng Zao and others burst into laughter.
Cheng Xu lowered his head, slowly drank a sip of tea, and when he looked up again, his gaze lingered on the lake for a long time.
Everyone here is older than Cheng Rang. Cheng Rang thinks what Yuan Ming said is interesting, but he doesn't dare to joke with them. He just grins and pours tea for Gu Xu and others.
Peng Zao's grandfather and father were both Jinshi in the imperial examinations, but his family, like Zhou Shaojin's family, only had a little wealth before his grandfather. He was able to marry Cheng Sheng because his grandfather and father were both upright and decent gentlemen. He was the best among his peers in terms of appearance and knowledge. Compared with the three sons-in-law of the Cheng family, he did not have the success and fame of Gu Xu, nor the prominent family background of Peng Ming. He spoke more cautiously and did not speak easily, but when he did, he would definitely speak with a strong voice. But this kind of character is not only liked by Cheng Jing, but also admired by Cheng Wei and Cheng Chi.
He laughed and said, "Isn't my great uncle at my grandmother's place? I'll come back and ask him later!"
Yuan Ming chuckled and said, "I just called you the king because the elder is not here."
Now, not to mention Gu Xu, even Cheng Rang started laughing.
Cheng Chi turned back amid their laughter.
Yuan Ming hurriedly asked, "Fourth Uncle, did Second Uncle say anything? Does the Censorate have any news about the Seventh Prince?"
Just now when Cheng Shao was here, several people were restrained and didn't dare to say anything nonsense. Now there was only Cheng Chi, who was of the same age as them. They didn't know each other before they met, but since he came to Kyoto, he didn't talk much but treated people kindly. Naturally, Yuan Ming had no scruples when speaking, too.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "Second Uncle was with us just now. He certainly doesn't know what we don't know, so what can we say? As for the matter of the Seventh Prince, I have been ordered to check the old accounts of the River Governor's Office in the Ministry of Works these days, and I really didn't pay attention to it."
Yuan Ming got excited when he heard this and said with a smile, "Uncle Chi, I heard that Elder Qu's family even confiscated more than a thousand kilograms of pepper. Is that true?"
Cheng Chi coughed and was about to send Yuan Ming away with a small amount of money, but Cheng Jing's voice rang out from the pavilion: "Your uncle Chi is an official of the Censorate. If he said something that the court has not officially written, it would be dereliction of duty. You are not a child anymore, you should know what to say and what not to say."
Yuan Ming was scolded severely.
Yuan Ming blushed and nodded in embarrassment.
Gu Xu and Peng Zao had no choice but to pretend they didn't hear anything.
Cheng Chi interrupted Cheng Jing and said, "Has mother gone to bed? Second uncle was called to the palace by the emperor, who said he was not feeling well and wanted to play chess with second uncle. I wonder if the emperor will tell second uncle about the seventh prince?"
Cheng Jing understood what Cheng Chi meant and said, "Don't worry! Second Uncle has always been cautious. Elder Li just asked about the Seventh Prince a few days ago. The Emperor was vague, so he must not want to deal with the Seventh Prince. What I know, Second Uncle must know too."
Cheng Chi smiled and nodded.
Cheng Rang helped Cheng Jing make tea.
The atmosphere suddenly became depressing.
Cheng Jing looked a little discouraged. Seeing Cheng Chi drinking tea leisurely, thinking of what Madam Guo had just said to him, he couldn't help but ask, "Zichuan, tell me, what exactly is the emperor going to do about this matter?"
When it comes to court affairs, whoever has the ability to think three steps ahead can at least be appointed as prime minister or join the cabinet.
Cheng Chi was a little surprised that Cheng Jing would keep circling around this topic. Although this was a matter of the imperial court, it was also a private matter of the royal family.
He smiled and said, "Aren't you all waiting to see what the emperor means?"
Cheng Jing smiled and said, "It's just a private conversation!"
When did big brother become so frivolous
Others may talk about it in private, but he is a senior cabinet member, and what he says in private may be misinterpreted.
Cheng Chi originally wanted to say a few words to get the matter over with, but then he thought of Cheng Jing's strange behavior, and also remembered that his mother had just called his eldest brother over for a long time, and he immediately sneered in his heart.
I don’t know what my eldest brother has done to my mother and he wants to vent his anger somewhere.
But he is not the second brother. He is friendly and filial. He has been patient with Yuan for a long time... He simply said, "I don't know what you are waiting for. The emperor doesn't want to punish the seventh prince. But the emperor is also a rare and famous monarch. If he doesn't punish the seventh prince, it will only cause the ethics to collapse, and anyone can ignore the imperial power in the future. The emperor is dragging it out now, just to save the seventh prince's life, and also to test the crown prince. I think the crown prince should be the one who is having the hardest time now. He wrote a letter to request to punish the seventh prince, but he is afraid that the emperor will think he has no brotherly love. If he doesn't write a letter to punish the seventh prince, he is afraid that the emperor will think he is not capable of being the crown prince. Even if he does nothing, the emperor will think he is cunning in the end..."
Cheng Chi could see it, and Cheng Jing could naturally see it as well. Cheng Jing asked Cheng Chi, but he didn't know whether Cheng Chi could see it or not.
Cheng Jing smiled bitterly and said, "It would have been better if you had participated in the selection of Shujishi in the first place!"
Cheng Chi said disapprovingly: "Knowledge is the understanding of everything, and writing is the understanding of human nature. I don't think there is anything wrong with me being this way."
As the two were talking, Gu Xu, who was standing beside them, had already looked at Cheng Chi with sharp eyes, and suddenly asked, "Uncle Chi, do you have any good ideas about the Crown Prince's matter?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Gu Xu.
Gu Xu looked at Cheng Chi without dodging or avoiding.
Everyone then remembered that Gu Xu was a minister of the Eastern Palace.
Cheng Chi originally wanted to talk to Gu Xu and pull Gu Xu onto his boat, so when he asked this question, Cheng Chi would not hide his shortcomings.
"I think the Crown Prince should write to the Emperor now. First, he should recall the brotherhood between him and the Seventh Prince, and second, he should denounce the Seventh Prince's actions. As a brother, he feels sad for the mistakes made by the Seventh Prince. As the crown prince, he cannot bend the law out of favoritism. Finally, he should suggest that the Emperor demote the Seventh Prince to a commoner or something like that, and just spare his life."
Gu Xu's eyes brightened as he listened. He said, "Uncle Chi and I have the same idea. But I don't know whether to submit this memorial or not. The Emperor has been in a bad mood these days."
"Let's go for it!" Cheng Chi felt that if the Crown Prince died because of this incident, the Fourth Prince might deal with the Emperor's eldest grandson. In this way, the water would definitely be muddy, and he could take advantage of it.
Gu Xu nodded thoughtfully.
Yuan Ming looked at Cheng Chi with admiration.
But everyone was also preoccupied with their own concerns, so they barely managed to hold on until dinner and then went their separate ways.
The next day, the emperor did not attend the morning court, and Cheng Shao did not leave the palace.
Gu Xu sent his confidant to tell Cheng Chi that the Crown Prince and the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace had also entered the palace early yesterday morning and have not returned yet.
Cheng Chi’s expression became solemn.
In the afternoon, the bell announcing the death was rang in the palace.
The Crown Prince suddenly fell ill in the Cining Palace.
The Emperor did not approve the Ministry of Rites and issued an order that the Crown Prince's funeral be conducted according to the rites for an Emperor.
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Hey guys, today's update.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)