Chapter 156 The Third Prince and the Left Prime Minister
There had never been a precedent in the Jin Dynasty where an emperor or a prince would give a work of art to a commoner.
This calligraphy fundraising campaign brought the Xuzhou flood to the attention of all the wealthy merchants in Dajin.
Before Xiao Yuan set off, the news from various channels had spread throughout Dajin through the merchant's land and water pigeon messengers.
Whether it is a gem merchant traveling to the Western Regions or a horse merchant traveling to the northern desert.
All those with sufficient assets flocked to Jiangnan, bringing the economy of the entire Jiangnan region to a new level.
All major chambers of commerce also took action. Zhejiang merchants, Fujian merchants, Jin merchants, and Anhui merchants were all ready to go. If they could not get it with their personal abilities, the worst that could happen was that the chambers of commerce would raise funds.
No matter what, I must get a copy of the emperor's calligraphy and hang it in the Chamber of Commerce to make a name for myself.
No matter whether it is safe for Xiao Yuan to go to Xuzhou for disaster relief, he must be safe in the Jiangnan area until these calligraphy and paintings are sold.
If there is any mistake, the wealthy merchants who are waiting to get the pen will be furious.
Jiang Xinyu had anticipated this situation and that's why she was able to remain calm.
She knew that the real battle would begin when those calligraphy works were turned into food and shipped to the disaster areas.
The Left Prime Minister’s Mansion in the capital.
The third prince Jin Zexuan and the left prime minister Zhang Zhongyi were playing chess and chatting at the same time. The black and white pieces on the chessboard were fighting each other with their own unique styles.
An attendant came in with a letter delivered by flying pigeon. After reading it, the left prime minister handed it to the third prince and smiled slightly.
"Sure enough, none of the descendants of Feng and Long are ordinary people. Even the long-lost Prince An is amazing when he speaks out.
I heard that it was he who came up with the idea of raising funds through calligraphy and painting, and His Majesty praised him highly. "
Jin Zexuan smiled and dropped a piece, "So what? From the moment he was named Prince An, he has no chance of taking the throne.
Unless all of us brothers died without leaving any grandchildren, our father would not be so foolish as to violate the ancestral system and pass the throne to him.
Since he wants to pretend to be disabled to save his life, as his brother, I don't have to kill him immediately. As long as he doesn't interfere with my business, it's fine.
I heard that he fell ill again yesterday. The imperial physician said that he was weak and needed to be nourished. My father also gave him a lot of ginseng and deer antlers as a reward.
Regardless of whether it's true or not, since Xiao Si's status has been determined and she has no offspring, there's no need for us to worry about it.
We should pay more attention to the prince.
Although I, the good elder brother, am disliked by the emperor, my two nephews have been summoned frequently recently.
Don’t let the prince give birth to another good grandson before he is deposed.”
Zhang Zhongyi stroked his beard, smiled faintly and shook his head, "It's just a balance.
The Second Prince is in the limelight and has a good reputation, while Prince An's Fifth Prince is useless and cannot be helped.
The remaining little princes are not a big deal. If we don't raise the crown prince's lineage, our Majesty will not be able to sleep.
Your Highness need not worry.
There had been no precedent of passing the throne to the emperor's grandson for hundreds of years since the founding of the Jin Dynasty. Instead of paying attention to them, it would be better to focus on getting rid of the eunuchs.
The thought of a pair of eyes staring at me from somewhere keeps me awake at night."
Jin Zexuan nodded with a smile, "Teacher, you are right. The dog that my father raised is very alert.
Since it doesn't eat the food we give it, it's better to save us the worry of it biting us at any time.
But that little dog is really cunning, I wonder if the teacher has any good ideas."
"I can't say I have any good ideas, but I did find some interesting things."
The left minister's eyes sparkled with a mysterious smile.
"The girl from the Jiang family who was originally engaged to Zhao Chengye seemed to be very much in Xiao Yuan's favor, but the little wolf cub that Xiao Yuan raised favored a palace maid.
It was impossible to find out what was going on in that mansion.
But after Concubine Jin passed away, the maid moved into the Governor's Mansion with Ye Xiao. Later, Ye Xiao was injured and took leave and never went to the East Factory to work.
I guess that he probably had a conflict with the girl from the Jiang family and was taught a lesson by Xiao Yuan."
Jin Zexuan was a little puzzled, "A eunuch's backyard is quite interesting, but what's the use of it?"
Zhang Zhongyi narrowed his eyes slightly, "A dam thousands of miles long can be breached by an ant hole, especially if there is a crack inside a house, it is easier to conquer.
If you can't get into the mansion, you can use Jiang Huai's name to catch the Jiang family girl, and then you can borrow Master Yan's help."
Jin Zexuan suddenly frowned, "Teacher wants Yan Fei to seduce Xiao Yuan's wife and then let that woman poison Xiao Yuan.
Isn't this too roundabout?
The flood in Xuzhou is a good opportunity to get rid of that dead eunuch. Do we have to wait for him to return to Beijing?"
Zhang Zhongyi had never expected that his favorite student would have such a train of thought. He suddenly felt powerless facing his aunt, the Second Prince.
The old emperor's genes are indeed not very good. If he picked a slightly smarter general among the short men, his performance would be just like this.
If it weren't for the fact that his eldest daughter was plotted against and couldn't give birth to a little prince, he would have wanted to wipe out the entire Jin family and support his grandson to take the throne.
Jin Zexuan is much smarter than his brothers.
Seeing Zuo Xiang's embarrassed expression, he knew that he had guessed wrong, and immediately bowed his hands and looked guilty and asked for advice.
Zhang Zhongyi stroked his beard and coughed lightly, "If Xiao Yuan returns to Beijing, there will be too many variables, so it would be best to let him die in Xuzhou.
What I mean is to have the Thousand Faces Young Master Yan Fei disguise himself as a girl from the Jiang family and rush to Xuzhou to find a chance to get close to Xiao Yuan and wait for the opportunity to take action.
Xiao Yuan was suspicious by nature and would not hand over the mansion to the daughter of the Jiang family without going through Ye Xiao, the son he had raised for more than ten years.
As long as Master Yan plays the role of the girl of the Jiang family crying and complaining that Ye Xiao would not tolerate her after Xiao Yuan left the mansion, even if there is a letter from the mansion reporting that Xiao Yuan is safe, Xiao Yuan will just think that Ye Xiao deliberately concealed the disappearance of his stepmother.
It is not easy for outsiders to get close to Xiao Yuan, but if it is his frightened wife who is searching for her husband for thousands of miles, Xiao Yuan will surely not allow himself to be searched first.
The disaster area is short of medical care and medicine, so as long as Master Yan succeeds in his attack, everything will be fine."
"Teacher, you are so talented. I will let Yan Fei come over and obey your orders. I will trouble you to take care of the specific matters."
Zhang Zhongjin was very pleased with the Third Prince's flattery and continued to play chess with him in a casual manner until his little daughter came to bring him snacks. Then he said he was tired and gave the game to the young man.
Miss Zhang Si is not very good at chess but her fingers are really beautiful. Against the backdrop of her bright red nail polish, her fingers look as white and smooth as jade carvings.
He gently picked up a black piece and dropped it slowly. Jin Zexuan almost shouted "jump horse" to the Go board.
One of them was not good at chess while the other one's mind was focused on the beautiful woman's hands, so the game of chess was played in a mess.
Even though they surrounded each other's chess pieces, they forgot to collect them. Silent ambiguity flowed between them.
Zhang Zhongyi, who was watching this scene from afar, had contempt in his eyes. He called a trusted servant and asked him to deliver a letter to Zhao Chengye.
Zhao Chengye has had a rough time in the past six months.
I hurt myself and was forced to live a life of abstinence, feeling anxious every day.
My younger sister offended her younger sisters and received fewer and fewer invitations. Even her originally scheduled in-laws had some complaints about her and were about to cancel the engagement.
Her mother complained all day about the difficult family situation and criticized Li Mingyue for being unhelpful, stupid, dull and petty.
Li Mingyue knew she was guilty and tolerated it at first, but after a while, she was tortured too harshly by her mother and started to get angry.
Now that the inner house of the Ningguo Mansion is in chaos, Zhao Chengye can't help but think of the good things about the Jiang family.
Although Jiang Xinyu has a bad temper, she really likes him. For him, she would rather tolerate her mother and sister and be willing to spend a lot of money.
I heard that the glassware and mahjong that became popular a few days ago are both industries of Jiang Xinyu's uncle's family. Her aunt spent tens of thousands of taels on makeup and was very generous.
If I had married her, the house wouldn't be so tight-fisted and shabby now.
Even if I can't marry Jiang Xinyu, it would be fine to marry Sister Wanqiu.
With late autumn's gentleness and kindness, she would surely be able to make the house tidy, warm and harmonious, which is better than having a good-for-nothing troublemaker like Li Mingyue.
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