interrogation

Seeing that his ministers had agreed, Emperor Yun said nothing more. However, listening to the old ministers rambling on about the Luohe Bridge flood, he grew increasingly annoyed. He waved his hand, "The Luohe Bridge flood matter can be discussed another day. The Ministry of Revenue should prepare the funds for disaster relief. That's all for today! If there's nothing else, the court may adjourn!" Tang Feng, seeing Emperor Yun's annoyance, made a plan. Now that he had an official position, he could legitimately stay by Li Yunyu's side. If that were the case, the Luohe Bridge would be his pledge of allegiance! Seeing the ministers leave, Tang Feng followed behind them. Hearing them gossiping about him privately, he couldn't resist joining them for a listen, but someone grabbed his arm from behind. "Young Master Tang, no... Grand Tutor Tang, please wait!" Tang Feng turned around and saw Li Yunheng and Li Yunye. He quickly returned the greeting, "No, no, Your Highnesses, you are too kind to this humble subject."

"What wouldn't I dare?" Li Yunheng smiled, looking at Tang Feng. He seemed unchanged from his time at Lishan Academy, yet also subtly different. Tang Feng was inherently capable, but fortunately, he had no interest in court affairs. Even as Grand Tutor, he chose the powerless Ninth Prince. "It's just that my Ninth Brother is born dull-witted; nine out of ten of his sentences are annoying. As his Grand Tutor, you'll have to pay him a lot of attention." Tang Feng lowered his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, and replied softly, "Paying attention is natural, but the Ninth Prince's workload isn't light, nor is it heavy. I heard he won't be sent to Lishan Academy, so he's naturally fallen behind in many subjects. However, since His Majesty doesn't value him, it seems I can at least steal a moment of leisure."

"Then I'll leave the ninth brother to you, Grand Tutor Tang." Tang Feng heard the disdain and sarcasm in Li Yunheng's last words, but didn't care. He cupped his hands in greeting, indicating he would naturally take it to heart. Li Yunheng didn't waste any more time, glancing at Li Yunye. Seeing he didn't intend to leave, he went back alone. Only after Li Yunheng had gone quite a distance did Li Yunye question Tang Feng in a deep voice, "Tang Feng...did you participate in the succession struggle?" Tang Feng looked at Li Yunye with a smile. "What made you think I was going to compete for the throne, Your Highness?" Seeing Li Yunye staring at him without speaking, Tang Feng revealed an amused smile. "You wouldn't suspect me of vying for the throne just because His Majesty appointed me to an official position, would you? Your Highness has no evidence; don't wrong an innocent person. The official position was His Majesty's insistence, and the selection of the official post was done by Your Highness during his audience with His Majesty. How could I, Tang Feng, have any say in this matter?" "I want to ask you, why did you choose my ninth brother?"

"So, which one does Your Highness think is suitable, young man?" Tang Feng turned his head and saw Zhang Mobai standing beside him at some point. Zhang Mobai stepped forward, shielding Tang Feng behind him, and then said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has so many princes around him. Would Your Highness suspect any of the young man's choices? Or is Your Highness only targeting the Ninth Prince?" Li Yunye ignored Zhang Mobai, simply walking to Tang Feng's side and coldly saying, "I don't care what your motives are for helping the Ninth Prince, but Tang Feng, I remember telling you that this throne is mine, and it can only be mine. You don't have to help me, but I hope you won't hinder me either. Otherwise, don't blame me for disregarding our years of friendship." Tang Feng didn't feel threatened after hearing this, his expression remaining unchanged. "Your Highness's words are too kind. The dragon has nine sons, each different. I chose the Ninth Prince simply because of fate. If you insist on pinning this 'succession struggle' on me, I have nothing to say. But I must remind you one last thing: no one knows who will ultimately win. Sometimes, the more you force something, the less you get it. What's yours will be yours, and what's not yours, you can't force it, right?" Tang Feng didn't answer Li Yunye's question, but changed the subject. Although Li Yunye was displeased, what he was doing was already beneath the table, so he dared not speak too bluntly. He gave a cold snort and turned to leave.

At this moment, Tang Feng looked at Zhang Mobai, his expression softening slightly. He seemed to be playfully shaking Zhang Mobai's sleeve, "Mobai... are you still angry?" Zhang Mobai glanced at Tang Feng and snorted, "If it weren't for your Ziliang begging me on his knees, I wouldn't care." Tang Feng knew Zhang Mobai's anger had subsided, so he tried to ingratiate himself by moving closer. Then, Zhang Mobai suddenly said, "Little brother... are we now considered to be in cahoots?" Tang Feng almost choked on his words, suppressing a laugh as he finished speaking haltingly, "I think 'sharing weal and woe' would sound a little better." "Your neck's practically on the edge, and you call that a little better? You!" Zhang Mobai tapped Tang Feng's forehead hard, scolding him, "You've never given anyone a moment's peace. I'm just pathetic, I have to worry about you. Zhou Ziliang doesn't worry about you, but I do... what kind of nonsense is this!"

"Mo Bai... thank you." Tang Feng knew that Zhang Mo Bai had been angry with him that morning because of him, and that he was helping him now also for his sake. He was momentarily speechless; normally quick-witted, he was at a loss for words. Zhang Mo Bai turned back to look at the embarrassed Tang Feng, then pulled him along, saying, "Why say such things between us? What are you planning to do next?"

"I was worried that His Highness, living in the deep palace for so long, would have difficulty communicating, but I didn't expect him to be granted an official position. That makes things much easier for him. By the way, what's the situation with the flood at Luohe Bridge?"

"The Luohe Bridge flood? Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Zhang Mobai had heard about it at the Ministry of Revenue, but he didn't get involved much. "His Highness the Ninth Prince has been overlooked. I want to use this flood to help him quickly gain His Majesty's favor. We don't have much time to be slow and hesitant." After listening, Zhang Mobai thought for a moment and then said, "That's true. Prince Yu has been making a lot of moves lately. If we lose the initiative, it will be difficult to deal with later." Tang Feng shook his head. "I don't care about Prince Yu's actions. The bigger his moves are now, the more advantageous it is for us."

"What do you mean by that?"

“Think about it,” Zhang Mobai said, “how did Li Yunrui die? Perhaps he was framed, but His Majesty has been on the throne for so long, wielding so much power. What he fears most is someone committing a crime right under his nose. Let them fight their battles, we’ll do ours. When they’re both exhausted, His Majesty will naturally remember the Ninth Prince’s goodness.” Zhang Mobai thought this made sense, so he said to Tang Feng, “Then don’t worry. I’ll go and inquire about the Luohe Bridge matter. I heard His Majesty is allocating 100,000 taels of silver to the disaster area.”

"Ten thousand taels of silver... Sigh? I wonder if there are any corrupt officials in Yan Yun." Tang Feng smiled, a hint of cunning in his eyes. Zhang Mobai immediately understood Tang Feng's meaning: "Everyone has a greedy side. I heard that the prefect of Liangzhou has been embezzling the people's rations. Now that there's a flood at Luohe Bridge, not only have the disaster relief grains not been replenished, but not even a soup kitchen has been built."

"The Prefect of Liangzhou? Very well, then let our upright Ninth Prince go and see what human suffering is like, let him see in advance what kind of people the imperial court is supporting."

The two chatted idly until they reached the palace gate. Tang Feng saw Zhou Ziliang already waiting for him outside. He waved to the sky and then said to Zhang Mobai, "I might have to move back to the Tang residence for a while. My father's funeral is nearing its end, and as his only child, I should stay at the residence to keep vigil. If you have any news, come find me at the Tang residence." "Okay... then take care of yourself. I know I can't persuade you, so I won't anymore. Go back and apologize to Ziliang for me. Just say I acted impulsively today." Tang Feng was stunned by Zhang Mobai's words. He wanted to ask more questions, but Zhang Mobai had already boarded the carriage. He could only tell Zhang Mobai to be careful on the road, then walked to Zhou Ziliang's side, looked up, and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "What happened to your cheek? Why is it swollen?"

"nothing..."

Tang Feng was incredibly clever. He'd been confused when Zhang Mobai asked him to apologize before leaving, but now it all made sense. Looking up at Zhou Ziliang, he suppressed a laugh and asked, "Did Mobai hit you?" He then tapped Zhou Ziliang's swollen cheek. Zhou Ziliang winced in pain and turned his head away. "Little Feng, are you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

"I just found out too... Let's go home, let's go home." Tang Feng said, turning to leave, but Zhou Ziliang grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him close. "Just found out? So, Xiao Feng, aren't you going to say anything?"

"What did I say? Who told you not to try and persuade me properly, but instead make Mo Bai worry? Who else would he hit if not you! Besides, he said he wanted to apologize to you, why are you so petty!" Zhou Ziliang was both amused and exasperated by Tang Feng's words. Who had been so stubborn from beginning to end, and now it was his fault? "Okay, okay, it's my fault. I accept Brother Mo Bai's apology, and I also accept Xiao Feng's criticism."

"Your Highness comes back looking so worried. Who upset you?" Wen Yunsheng and Li Yunye were playing chess in the backyard. Hearing the sound of Wen Yunsheng placing a piece, it seemed like he was venting his anger. "You can see my worried face?" Li Yunye met Wen Yunsheng's gray eyes and found it somewhat amusing. "I can't see it, but I can hear it. If you use any more force, the piece will break. How come you got upset at court today?"

"It's Tang Feng... He's been granted an official position." Wen Yunsheng paused in his chess game, then asked, "Granted an official position? Is this His Majesty's intention?"

"I don't know... With Tang Feng's talent, it's quite normal for him to be granted an official position, but... Tang Feng has always deeply abhorred officialdom, so why would he agree so readily?"

"It's because His Majesty forced us! Who can refuse the decree of a sovereign?"

"No... he did it voluntarily; he became my ninth brother's tutor."

"Ninth Prince?" Wen Yunsheng put the chess piece on the table after hearing this, looked up and said, "Then Your Highness should be careful. The Ninth Prince is the Crown Prince's younger brother who was raised by his side. Could it be that you didn't handle things properly back then, and the young prince overheard something?"

"What do you mean I didn't do a good job?!" These words seemed to have touched a raw nerve with Li Yunye. He abruptly stood up, knocking over the chair behind him. "Didn't Li Yunrui do anything wrong? I did trip him up behind his back, but it was all for my mother's sake. What about the Fourth Prince? Didn't the Fourth Prince have any responsibility in framing Li Yunrui?" Wen Yunsheng looked at the angry Li Yunye and gestured for him to calm down. "Your Highness, please calm down! Why get angry over a single sentence? Are you worried about the Ninth Prince?"

"Why would I worry about the Ninth Prince? He's usually incompetent and doesn't please the Emperor. It's just that Tang Feng... I'm worried that Tang Feng will take this opportunity to assist the Ninth Prince. Although the Ninth Prince isn't popular, he's loyal and righteous. Although he doesn't care about the throne, I don't think he'll let the death of his elder brother go unpunished... The Ninth Prince can't handle big things on his own, but with Tang Feng by his side, it's different. He's someone Li Yunrui has been trying to get for years, and now he's the Ninth Prince's tutor..."

"You don't need to worry too much. You can ask someone who Tang Feng is in this position for. I remember Lord Shen mentioned this to you before. In my opinion, Your Highness can put aside past grievances and go to the Shen residence to invite him over."