Li Hong handed the damaged portrait to Li Zhi and complained, "Look, Grandfather Emperor has ruined the portrait. It was indeed my son's mistake to buy the glass. The original price was set to maintain the rarity of the glass. As the saying goes, things are more valuable because they are rare."
"Then tell me, what does this have to do with why it is 10% more expensive when sold to the palace?" Li Zhi put the ruined portrait aside and asked leisurely.
Li Hong laughed awkwardly and said, "When the price was set, I didn't have much money, so I wanted to ask father for help..."
"Hmph, you're sensible. It's easy to ask for money, but what do you want so much money for? Also, where did all the money you earned over the years go? Don't tell me you built that Taiyi City without walls and then spent all the money." Wu Mei also asked on behalf of her husband from behind.
It turned out that the couple teamed up to bully others. Li Hong said dissatisfiedly: "Mother, you have taken a lot of money from me in the past few years, and it seems that the expenses of your harem have been paid by me in the past two years."
"You deserve it. You accidentally burned down Sujie and Shangjin's palace. Shouldn't you pay for it?" Wu Mei said righteously.
"That's right. I haven't settled the score with you yet. If you hadn't burned down their palace, I would have wanted to rebuild the Daming Palace in two years." Li Zhi followed his wife's lead.
"Okay, okay, I can't argue with you. You are powerful and you are right. But I am also thinking about you, Father. You want to rebuild in two years, isn't it because there are too many voices of opposition in the court? I will increase the price of glass by 10% now, and I will return this 10% to you. In this way, won't you save some money from the Ministry of Revenue? And the Ministry of Personnel will definitely not reject you or keep it in the court, right? When you think about it this way, don't you suddenly feel that I am foresighted?"
"Thirty percent. I won't do it for even 10 percent less. The palace your mother wants costs too much..." Li Zhi bargained.
...
...
"Twenty percent, no more. If you build a Daming Palace, it is equivalent to me building several Taiyi Cities!" Li Hong argued.
"Okay, twenty percent is twenty percent, but you have to pay for the two burned palaces. I'm tired too, Your Majesty, you and Hong'er continue painting." Wu Mei felt relieved when she saw that the last payment for the Daming Palace had been settled.
And she could also see that because of her presence, the father and son had many things they couldn't say to each other in person. When she left, they would be more willing to talk.
"Your son respectfully bids farewell to you, mother." Li Hong walked up to Wu Mei and helped her up, saying with a playful smile, "Mother, you see that your son has grown taller, but you haven't changed at all, you are still as beautiful as before."
Wu Mei rolled her eyes at him and said, "Don't just say nice things. Li Xian and Li Zhe (Li Xian's former name, Li Zhe is used in the novel to distinguish it from Li Xian) have been much more obedient than you recently. If you dare to instigate them to do bad things again, be careful and I will let your father beat you."
Li Zhi turned his head and looked at the two people supporting each other, and said cheerfully: "If the queen wants to beat him up, just tell me. I am itching to do it too, but I just can't find any evidence against him, so he has been at large."
Wu Mei didn't even look at Li Zhi. After she walked to the door, she shook off Li Hong's arm and said lightly, "Alas... What's the use of just saying nice things? I don't know who was bribed by a worthless crystal plaque worth twenty yuan."
Li Zhi was frustrated, and the old past was brought up again. He touched his nose speechlessly and continued to look at the portraits painted by Li Hong.
Li Hong did not dare to laugh out loud, because he was the one who started it all. Whenever he mentioned this matter, his father wanted to beat him up.
After seeing Wu Mei off, Li Hong returned to the room again and sat down next to Li Zhi. Without waiting for Li Zhi to describe further, the charcoal pencil in his hand danced quickly on the white paper. After a short while, the image of a mighty and domineering middle-aged man appeared on the white paper.
"Yes, this one looks like your royal grandfather, so let's use this one." Li Zhi took it and looked at it admiringly, staring at the person in the painting for a long time without moving.
After his mother passed away, he was raised by his father. Even when his father went to court, he would sometimes take him with him. It can be said that the father and son depended on each other.
"How do you plan to deal with the matter of Li Yifu?" Li Zhi put down the portrait in his hand. The palace maid took it carefully and kept it properly. In the future, a bronze statue would be made with this portrait.
"What else can we do? Dismiss him from office and exile him to Taiyi City. I have reminded you of this a long time ago, but you thought he was an honest official." Li Hong muttered.
"Your Majesty is wrong in this matter. Li Yifu has relied on your mother's support over the years, causing complaints in the court. But simply dismissing him from office may not be enough to quell the resentment in the court. However, he has done a lot in the Secretariat over the years." Li Zhi shook his head and sighed, and began to become indecisive again.
Li Hong thought to himself, "If I hadn't been holding him back for the past few years, the court would probably be ten times more chaotic than it is now."
Since my father became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he has never been able to gain power in the court. Over the years, it was my mother who helped him make plans in the harem, and it was because of this that Li Yifu gradually became more powerful.
Although he had tried his best to limit Li Yifu's misbehavior, he was helpless because his father insisted on doing it. Now, Li Yifu was so arrogant that he bought and sold official positions, and even his own daughter and son-in-law were involved.
"Father, I think it would be better to dismiss Li Yi from his post as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and then you can promote him from the Prince's Attendant to the Prince's Guardian, and promote the Minister of the Central Secretariat from the second rank to the first rank. This way, he can stay away from the court, and you can also give an explanation to our mother." Li Hong said, looking at Li Zhi's confused expression.
"The Prince's Guardian?" Li Zhi asked in surprise.
"Yes, my son's Grand Tutor is Shangguan Yi, his Grand Preceptor is Xu Jingzong, and his Grand Protector is Yang Sijian. Li Yifu has always hoped to be promoted to 'Third Master' or 'Third Young Master'. Wouldn't this also be in line with his wishes?"
Li Zhi thought about Li Hong's proposal, and it would indeed be possible to restore peace to the court. But he was a little hesitant. Xu Jingzong was poached by Li Hong a few years ago, and was relieved of all court positions and served as the prince's tutor. If Li Yifu was brought to the East Palace, did the prince have any plans?
Li Zhi was startled when he thought of this, and then said calmly: "Father, please think about this matter again. If Li Yifu is dismissed, Du Zhenglun alone may not be able to support all the political affairs of the Secretariat."
As he grew older, Li Hong understood Li Zhi more and more thoroughly. His father was an extremely contradictory person. Sometimes he was indecisive and had difficulty making decisions on political affairs.
He often needs others to help him make decisions. In recent years, six out of ten times, it was his mother who made the decisions on some important matters in the court.
And now, he obviously realized that his mother was getting too close to the court from the harem, so he wanted to get rid of this dependence.
Just like when he wanted to get rid of the constraints of the Guanlong Group headed by Zhangsun Wuji in the court. But the problem is that he had his mother, Xu Jingzong and others to help him deal with Zhangsun Wuji and other old ministers, but now he lacks a sinister person like Xu Jingzong.
The only person who could give him such hope was Li Yifu, so he indulged Li Yifu's misdeeds in private in recent years, and even helped Li Yifu eliminate those who impeached Li Yifu.
But after a few years, he didn't see the slightest sign that Li Yifu was inclined towards him. Instead, Li Yifu was getting closer and closer to his mother.
If he hadn't restrained Li Yifu, Li Yifu would have replaced Xu Jingzong. At this time, he was already in a position similar to a close minister in front of his mother.
The palace now seemed peaceful and quiet, but this situation was actually a three-way game. That was himself, his father, and his mother. The three of them were involuntarily pushed by the undercurrents in the court, step by step, to this delicate situation.
Relying on his young age and "innocence", as well as the fact that Xu Jingzong had not received special attention from his mother and before his mother became interested in the court, he fought hard to win him away from her.
Another reason is that Xu Jingzong is older than Li Yifu, making it easier for his mother to let go.
Li Yifu originally thought that he could have taken it all together back then, but he didn't expect that he would be unanimously opposed by his father and mother.
So a compromise was finally adopted. Li Yifu was appointed as the Prince's attendant and the Minister of the Secretariat, and he presided over the Secretariat together with another Minister of the Secretariat, Du Zhenglun.
As the saying goes, "one rotten apple can spoil the whole pot of soup", it is conceivable that if Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong were in the court, it would become a mess. The direction of history is probably still as recorded in history books, forming a situation of "Emperor and Empress Consort" between the father and the mother.
Li Hong also knew that even if Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong were dealt with, Ma Yifu, Liu Jingzong, and others would still appear in the court. But at this time, no matter who appeared in the court, the damage caused to the government and the people of the Tang Dynasty could not be equated with the harm caused by Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong.
Li Hong looked at his father's hesitant expression. He knew very well that the abilities of Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong had brought real benefits to his father and mother, and they would not let go of these two people easily.
In the matter of Zhangsun Wuji, my father had gained unimaginable benefits. The same was true for my mother. At least, the throne of the empress was largely due to the efforts of Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong. As for my position as the crown prince, the shadows of Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong were also the most eye-catching.
And if he were to bring these two people to the Eastern Palace together, it was understandable that it would be hard for his father and mother not to be shocked and suspicious.
But fortunately, Li Hong's actions so far can be exposed to the sun, and there is nothing that Li Zhi and Wu Mei don't know about. And it is precisely because of this that he is likely to eventually control Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong.
"Father, I know you value Li Yifu's talent, but it doesn't have to be used in the court. You have given me full authority to govern Taiyi City, but I am young and inexperienced, so I need a minister like Li Yifu to help me govern. Moreover, it will become the foundation of our Tang Dynasty in the future, and Li Yifu can still make contributions there, which may even be more important than in the court."
Li Zhi didn't know whether he listened to Li Hong's advice or not, he just nodded thoughtfully without saying anything. As for whether Taiyi City was as important as Li Hong said, at least he still had some doubts.
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