Chapter 100 Chapter 100
After Cao Da received the news, he couldn't get angry in front of Dan Feng, but as soon as the people left, he smashed the set of Yue porcelain tea set on the table to pieces.
But Empress Dowager Zhaoyu had said so before.
This book is compiled exclusively for you by the LK team. Cao Da naturally didn't dare to do anything behind anyone's back.
It was not the time to fall out yet, and Cao Da naturally did not want to be attacked from all sides, so he could only swallow his anger for the time being.
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let the girl from the Xu family marry Xie Qingya!" Cao Da was really regretful. He regretted that he had made such a bad move just for the sake of momentary pleasure.
If Xie Qingya had not married the girl from the Xu family, the one in Shoukang Palace wouldn't have been so indecisive.
But it's no use regretting now, I can only be angry in secret, it's really infuriating!
Chen Li was picking up the debris on the ground, thinking about how to comfort his godfather so as not to be scolded, when he suddenly heard a cold voice coming from the front: "The one from Shoukang Palace is taking me less and less seriously now..."
At this point, he could not help but get angry again: "It's all because of Wang Shi's uselessness. I paved the way for her, but she still managed to reveal her flaws and be discovered by others! If not for this, I should have had the final say in this palace by now."
"Fuck daddy!"
Chen Li's face changed and he shouted softly.
As he shouted, he ran outside to look, fearing that some ignorant person might have heard what happened.
Make sure no one is there.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief, came over with a handful of broken porcelain pieces, looked at Cao Da with a pale face and said, "Why did you suddenly bring up this matter? If anyone hears this, the master of Shoukang Palace will definitely not forgive us!"
Cao Da saw that he looked worried and panicked.
Although he knew that he was worried about him getting into trouble, Cao Da couldn't help but felt annoyed.
This is what it feels like to be oppressed by someone above you.
If there was no one in Shoukang Palace, what would he be afraid of that greenhorn in Qianqing Palace?
At first, he wanted to use Wang to kill the man in Shoukang Palace.
After the incident happened, Wang would be pushed out.
From then on, he had the Jinyiwei outside the palace, which he had built up, and the East Factory in the inner court, and everyone was under his control.
So what if he's a eunuch?
So what if you don't have children of your own?
This book is exclusively compiled for you by the LK team. He can still stand at the pinnacle of power, making others bow down to him and even let the emperor call him "Ya Fu" in person!
Looking back at the past dynasties, there were times when eunuchs were in power.
There are many records in history books about the eunuchs' tremendous power. Shouting "nine thousand years old" was nothing.
"Holding the title of king in hand and speaking the law of heaven", this is the life he should have!
Unfortunately, Wang was useless. It was useless for him to pave the way for others. Instead, he made the person in Shoukang Palace become alert.
Over the years, he has never been able to find the right opportunity and can only maintain a superficial balance with others.
Instead, I am now forced to retreat again and again.
Cao Da endured for a while, but in the end he did not scold Chen Li, but just turned his face away impatiently.
Chen Li didn't dare to say anything more.
After quickly packing up the things, he poured another cup of tea for the guest.
After taking a sip, Cao Da calmed down a lot. He asked, "Is there any news in Zhuzhou recently?"
Chen Li knew what he was asking about and shook his head.
Cao Da's expression was difficult to discern.
Chen Li carefully observed his expression and saw that he was not very angry at the moment. However, he was still worried and whispered to others, "Father, aren't you afraid that the people in Jizhou will tell the person in Shoukang Palace? Prince An is the best at changing his attitude according to the situation."
"Moreover, the imperial court has never restricted Jizhou in recent years. I don't think Prince An has this intention."
"What do you know?"
Cao Da glanced at him.
After hearing this, Chen Li dared not say anything more and could only concentrate on listening.
"How do you think our late emperor's brothers died? The Emperor Ming gave birth to so many princes, but only three survived. One is Prince Xin, who was born to the same mother as our late emperor and raised by him. The other is our Prince An."
After all, Chen Li is not very old.
When he entered the palace, Prince An was already in his fiefdom in Jizhou, so there were some things he was naturally unaware of.
But Cao Da was clear about it.
At this time, he said to Chen Li: "The second prince, Prince An, has been smart since he was young and is very much loved by the Emperor Ming. If it were not for the relationship between the Xiao family and Prince Wen Zhao, the throne would not have been our late emperor's turn to sit on it."
"After the birth of Crown Prince Wen Zhao, our Prince An suddenly fell seriously ill and was on the verge of death. After he got better, he asked to go to his fiefdom. Not long after he left, our late emperor was named crown prince."
"Was it the late emperor who murdered him?" Chen Li asked in a low voice.
Cao Da glanced at him.
Then he looked mysterious, retracted his gaze, held the teacup, looked ahead, and continued indifferently: "Once upon a time, we all thought so."
This "we" naturally refers to many people, such as him and the one in Shoukang Palace.
"But later I discovered that during the years when the late emperor was alive, he sent many people to Jizhou to inquire."
"At first I thought the late emperor was just worried about Prince An, until one day I heard him chatting with Prince Xin about this matter, and the late emperor said that he didn't have time to take action against Prince An at the time."
"This..."
Chen Li's expression changed slightly.
"Then Prince An's illness..." He murmured quietly, and his thoughts were almost drifting to the person in Shoukang Palace.
But then I heard another voice coming from the front: "What if he did it himself?"
"What?"
Chen Li was stunned at first.
When he reacted, his face changed drastically.
He subconsciously felt that it was impossible, but he also felt that it made sense.
Since you know you are in a dead end, it is better to retreat while the tide is flowing, so that you can still save your life.
But if this is true, then it is too different from the way Prince An usually behaves.
When the young emperor ascended the throne in his early years, Prince An was recalled once.
That was also the first and only time Chen Li met His Royal Highness Prince An.
Prince An is almost fifty years old this year. He is white and plump. He looks very kind but a little timid.
The man in Shoukang Palace at that time wanted to test Prince An's abilities, so he deliberately asked his godfather to arrange an assassination.
Unexpectedly, Prince An was so frightened that he peed his pants in front of everyone.
It was also because of this reason that he returned to Jizhou the next day and has not been back for many years.
There is still a nickname circulating among the people, "The Fat Prince Who Wets in His Pants", which refers to this Prince An.
"But if this is really the case, then His Royal Highness Prince An is too patient and too unfathomable. Is it really okay for my godfather to conspire with such a person?" Chen Li was very worried.
He knew the reason why his godfather wanted to cooperate with Prince An was that he didn't want to be inferior to the one in Shoukang Palace anymore.
But as he listened, he felt that this Prince An was even more terrifying than the one in Shoukang Palace.
Isn't it like conspiring with a tiger to do this?
"When Prince An came to Beijing, Doctor Yu took his pulse." Cao Da suddenly said this.
Just when Chen Li was still puzzled as to why he suddenly changed the subject, he suddenly heard someone say, "Doctor Yu said he doesn't have much time left."
"Put yourself in a desperate situation and then survive. In order to leave, King An took a ruthless drug on himself."
Cao Da took another sip of tea, and then continued to speak calmly, "The three generations of Prince An's family, he himself is about to die, and his son has been weak and sick since childhood, and it seems that he will not live long... This is why the one in our Shoukang Palace can be so confident in their family."
"But she forgot that a dying tiger can still bite."
Cao Da narrowed his eyes and revealed an ambiguous smile on his face: "If I can support Prince An's family to ascend the throne, even if I have suffered some injustice in the past few years, when he and his son pass away, what should I be afraid of with just a baby?"
Movement returns to mountains and seas, breath turns into frost and dew.
One day, he will stand at the top of everyone and make everyone submit to him!
In recent years, he seemed to be controlled by the man in Shoukang Palace, but he was secretly looking for other ways out.
And this Prince An was another way out he planned for himself.
Originally, if the young emperor had been more obedient, he could have allowed him to be the emperor. However, as the young emperor grew up, he became more and more thoughtful. Moreover, there was an uncontrollable existence like Xie Qingya. He did not want to become a wedding dress for others in vain and end up with his head and body separated.
"Send another trustworthy person to deliver a letter to Jizhou, attach the name of my house in Jizhou, and tell him that under the osmanthus tree behind the house, I have written my letter of surrender to His Royal Highness Prince An."
"As long as Prince An can allow me to continue to enjoy my current wealth and splendor after ascending the throne, I still have a lot of 'thoughts' to contribute to Prince An."
Chen Li no longer had any doubts at this point, and he agreed immediately. Seeing someone coming outside, he also stopped talking.
Although those who came were all my godfather's confidants.
But for things like this, the fewer people know about it, the better.
"Ancestor, Lord Quan is here again." After the man came in and greeted Cao Da, he said to others with a helpless look on his face.
When Cao Da heard this, his previously calm expression suddenly became extremely ugly.
"Isn't it enough for this money-hungry guy? He's still not satisfied!" Cao Da was furious.
How could he not know what his stupid brother was here for?
It's all because of Xun Yan's history!
He said with a cold face, without thinking, "No, get him out!"
The visitor looked at Chen Li hesitantly, unsure whether it would be feasible for him to go like this.
After Chen Li caught Cao Da's attention, he said, "Fuck dad, I'll go talk to him."
Cao Da glanced at him impatiently, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.
After sending the man away, Chen Lixian lowered his voice and said to him, "Even if you don't want to do it for the sake of the adults, at least think about the young master first. Aren't you still thinking about bringing the young master to live with you next year? You can't really disgrace the adults like this."
"Your son will talk to the adults on your behalf and will not let him bother you about this matter again."
"How can he still have the face to save himself?" Although he said this, Cao Da did not object in the end and waved his hand to let the people leave.
Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to the other person, and then left.
…
Quan Fangtong is in his thirties this year, one generation younger than Cao Da. He was not born when Cao Da was sold.
Perhaps because they don't have the same mother, the two brothers don't actually look alike.
This is why others have never guessed that they are brothers.
At this time, he was invited by Chen Li to a duty room of the Imperial Household Department, which was used by Chen Li for work and rest.
As Cao Da's most trusted godson and the person with the most say in the Imperial Household Department besides Cao Da, Chen Li's duty position would naturally be good.
Cakes and tea have been placed on the table.
But Quan Fangtong's eyes were always lingering on the paintings and calligraphy by famous artists in the house, as well as the porcelain vases that were obviously worth a lot of money at first glance.
When Chen Li came in, he saw Quan Fangtong standing in front of those porcelain bottles, touching here and there. His greed could be seen just from his back.
There was a flash of disgust in his eyes, but he still had a smile on his face.
"You have kept me waiting."
Quan Fangyi turned around immediately when he heard his voice.
"Eunuch Chen." He was very polite to Chen Li, and it was obvious that he was aware of his position in the Imperial Household Department and his place in his brother's heart.
"Where is my brother? He still refuses to see me?" Quan Fangtong was a little unhappy.
Chen Li did not give a direct answer. He just gestured to the person to sit down. After the person sat down, he sat down opposite Quan Fangtong.
Then he poured himself a cup of tea and said to others, "My father is busy right now."
This was clearly an excuse, how could Quan Fangtong believe it? His face darkened at first, but after realizing who was sitting opposite him, he forced himself to hold back.
"Eunuch Chen, please talk to my brother for me. I want to do this for him. He has so many people under him, I have to be more considerate of him."
"My brother is really something. He doesn't even know the principle of keeping the wealth within the family."
"Besides me, who else in this world would treat him so wholeheartedly?" Having said this, when he saw Chen Li's glance towards him, he added shamelessly, "Of course, you, Eunuch Chen, are an exception. Everyone knows that my brother trusts you the most."
"Your Excellency, you are so complimentary."
Chen Li smiled at others and did not take the compliment to heart.
"Actually, Daddy doesn't let you do this because it's for your own good."
Seeing that everyone looked unconvinced, Chen Li suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Sir, do you know why my godfather is so angry today?"
"My brother is angry?" Quan Fang was stunned.
He didn't know about this, and at this moment he was puzzled and asked, "Who is so bold as to make him angry?" His voice became much softer because of Chen Li's words.
Obviously, he was afraid that the fire would burn him.
"My Lord, do you know the current situation of King Xiaonan'an in Yutian?" Chen Li asked instead of answering.
"Didn't they say there was a plague in Yutian? How is he? Is he dead?" Quan Fangtong became somewhat excited when he heard him talk about Xie Qingya.
The day he arrived in Beijing, he heard about what happened in Yutian.
I was feeling sad and wondering who was the unlucky one who had such bad luck that I went to Yutian at this time, and then I heard people say that the official who went there was the kid from the Xie family.
When he learned about this, he was very excited.
I wish the kid from the Xie family would die in Yutian.
To be honest, he didn't take the kid from the Xie family seriously. He had handled the matter very cleanly at the time, unless someone had informed him of it.
Otherwise, there is no way that kid from the Xie family would know about this.
But his brother refused to let him stay in the capital and insisted on sending him out.
Facts have proved that he was right. The kid from the Xie family has been living a life neither human nor ghost these years, living a life of drunkenness and dreaming every day. Although he relied on Princess Jiashun to get the job of Shuntian Prefecture Governor, not many people believed in him.
Thinking back to when he returned to Beijing a few days ago, his brother gave him some advice.
He was very upset.
But no matter how upset he was, he didn't dare show it in front of his brother.
However, in front of Chen Li, his attitude was much more relaxed. When he heard someone ask him this, he just casually asked, "What's the situation?"
Chen Li did not hide anything and told everyone about how Xie Qingya was praised in Yutian and how many people knelt before him.
After listening to this, Quan Fangtong couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Unexpectedly, the reputation of the Prince of Nannan changed immediately after he went to Yutian, but he still didn't take it too seriously in his heart.
Chen Li didn't know what he was thinking, so he just continued to talk to the others, "Father originally wanted to deal with the Prince of Nan'an secretly, but the one in Shoukang Palace refused, so Father didn't let you do that, and it was also for your own good, so that you wouldn't always appear in front of the Prince of Nan'an and make him think of something, which would be bad, don't you agree?"
"After all, it was his father and brother who died in that battle. If you knew that this matter was related to you, would you think you..." Seeing Quan Fangtong's face turn pale in an instant, Chen Li continued to stare at him and continued to speak to him word by word, "Is he still alive?"
Quan Fangtong was so moved by what the other person said that he tried to grab the teacup, but he accidentally knocked over the teacup in front of him.
It was not until his hand touched the hot water that he came to his senses.
He wiped his hands with a handkerchief in an unruly manner, and at the same time he spoke, his voice unconsciously becoming hoarse: "... Not really, wasn't it well concealed back then?"
Chen Li said calmly: "Who knows? But you wouldn't want to try it, would you?"
Quan Fangtong naturally didn't dare.
Chen Li also saw it, so he continued to speak to the others in a gentle voice: "This position of patrol officer of the salt and salt protection is not just for this year. When the storm is over, if you still want to do it, I will definitely talk to my godfather on your behalf."
After hearing what he said, Quan Fangtong's expression looked better.
He forced a smile and said, "Thank you very much, Eunuch Chen."
Chen Li smiled and said it was not necessary.
"Then sir, would you like to go back first today?" he asked Quan Fangtong.
Quan Fangtong naturally had no objection.
He originally came here for the job of inspector of the salt and earth departments, and thought that if he could really get this appointment, he would just accept being scolded.
But now that the duck in his mouth has flown away, why should he get scolded again?
Gains do not compensate for losses.
So Quan Fangtong didn't say anything, just nodded, and prepared to get up and leave.
Chen Li, on the other hand, asked people to stay for a while.
He personally got up and installed two calligraphy and paintings and gave them to Quan Fangtong.
I saw that his complexion had obviously improved a lot.
Chen Li continued to speak softly, "Your Excellency is here alone, so you can't bring too many things. I'll have someone deliver these vases directly to your residence later."
"I'm so sorry."
Quan Fangtong looked reserved for a moment, but his eyes had already been greedily fixed on her and couldn't be moved away.
Chen Li smiled and said, "You are a refined person, you can understand these things, but I am a crude person with dull eyes, it is useless to me."
Quan Fangtong knew that he was deliberately belittling himself in order to elevate him. Although he was very proud and complacent in his heart, he was not so stupid as to show everything.
"Eunuch Chen is right. If you are a crude person with white eyes, there are not many smart people in this world."
After the two of them chatted and complimented each other, Chen Li personally saw Quan Fangtong out.
Just at this time, another well-dressed eunuch came from the Imperial Household Department.
When people passing by saw him, they respectfully called him "Eunuch Qiao".
This eunuch Qiao is the Qiao Zhong that Xu Duanyi asked Shi Yu to find.
There are twenty-four government offices in the palace.
The Silijian is actually one of the twenty-four yamen. This book is compiled exclusively for you by the LK team. However, because Cao Da is the current seal holder of the Silijian, the status of the Silijian is naturally higher than the other twenty-three yamen, and it has a leading attitude.
The eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department were naturally superior to those in other government offices.
And this Qiao Zhong is now under the command of Eunuch Huang of the Needlework Bureau.
The Needlework Bureau was in charge of making clothes for the palace. It seemed that they had no high status, but they were actually very important. From the masters to the servants in the palace, all the clothes for the four seasons had to come from their hands.
The lower the status of a person, the more he hopes to have a nice piece of clothing.
Especially in winter, a piece of clothing that can keep out the cold is very important to them.
Therefore, although Qiao Zhong did not have a high status, he was very popular in the palace.
He came today to deliver clothes for this summer, and everyone was very happy when he arrived. Some people even wanted to pull Qiao Zhong out for a few drinks.
Qiao Zhong did not refuse. He smiled and said yes to them, but his eyes were looking somewhere else.
When he saw Chen Li leading a man in official uniform out of his duty room, he couldn't help but look over there again.
At this time, those surrounding Qiao Zhong were all grassroots eunuchs.
They have no status, so naturally they don't know Quan Fangtong's true identity, but they have eyes and ears, so they can naturally listen and see.
When Qiao Zhong saw him, he thought he was wondering about Quan Fangtong's identity, so he said to him, "That's Mr. Quan from the Jiangning Textile Bureau. He is now a disciple of our ancestor. He probably came to see the ancestor again today, but the ancestor was in a bad mood today and didn't see him."
When Qiao Zhong heard this, he calmly turned his gaze away, but asked casually, "Does he come here often?"
The person who was speaking had a good relationship with Qiao Zhong.
Of course, he did not hide anything and answered truthfully: "Whenever this Lord Quan returns to the capital, he will come to pay homage to our ancestors. But this is not surprising. There are many people who want to pay homage to our ancestors."
The man's tone was very proud.
"But——"
The man suddenly changed the subject. He looked around first, then lowered his voice and continued to say to Qiao Zhong: "When you see this Lord Quan in the future, remember not to offend him."
"Why would I offend these adults for no reason?" Qiao Zhong said with a smile.
Seeing that he looked like nothing had happened, the man couldn't help but look around again, then he pulled his arm and continued, "I'm doing this for your own good. Mr. Quan is still highly regarded by our ancestors. His job as the Jiangning Textile Factory was actually arranged by our ancestors."
"Eunuch Chen also reminded us privately to be polite to this gentleman and remember not to offend him."
Qiao Zhong's heart was slightly moved.
In fact, he had just noticed the difference in Chen Li's attitude towards people.
He pretended not to know and continued to ask with a puzzled look on his face: "Why is this? Is there something extraordinary about this Master Quan?"
"Whether I can live with others or not, I don't know. It's probably because we gave too much money to our ancestors as a tribute."
That's what they speculated privately.
So at this moment, the words came out without thinking, and when he saw Qiao Zhong's eyes, he became scared: "Don't tell anyone else."
Qiao Zhong comforted her kindly, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."
Although Qiao Zhong is highly valued by Eunuch Huang and is now the second-in-command in the Needlework Bureau, because he is young and has a gentle temperament, the young eunuchs in the palace all like to talk to him.
Hearing him say this, the man breathed a sigh of relief.
He just continued talking about other topics with Qiao Zhong.
Qiao Zhong listened with a smile on his face, but in his heart he was thinking about what Miss Shi Yu had just said to him.
I don't know why Your Highness wants to know about Cao Da's situation.
But since it was His Highness' order, he would naturally go through fire and water and would not refuse even if it meant death.
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