plotting to overturn the verdict
Meng Lie took the envelope, intending to open it, but Tang Feng tapped him on the head with his pen. "Don't open it! And don't peek on the way!" "Fine, I won't look then," Meng Lie said, tucking the letter into his robes and bowing to Tang Feng. "Then I'll take my leave. Rest assured, sir, I will deliver this letter to His Highness the day after tomorrow, the first day of the new year." Tang Feng frowned as he watched Meng Lie leave, then looked at Zhou Ziliang with concern. "His Highness the Ninth Prince is indeed in dire straits, without even a decent servant. General Meng, though loyal, is not attentive..." Zhou Ziliang explained helplessly, "His Highness's mother came from a humble background and didn't know how to please His Majesty, so it's normal that she has no one to serve her." Tang Feng rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the blooming magnolias outside, and murmured, "He's a pitiful man after all, born into an imperial family, yet he doesn't know how to survive. It's all because Li Yunrui protected him too well."
Li Yunye had been running around non-stop these past few days, practically running in circles. Wen Yunsheng, sitting at the table, watched a blurry figure darting around and joked, "Your Highness has been so busy these past few days, you don't even have time to sit down and have some tea?" Li Yunye rolled his eyes at the nonchalant Wen Yunsheng. He'd been anxious ever since Tang Feng rejected him at the Marquis's mansion that day. He thought that given their relationship, Tang Feng would readily agree, but he hadn't expected to be met with the same rebuff as Li Yunrui back then. "Is that person Your Highness is so eager to see so much powerful?" "What do you mean, 'eager to see so much'! Nonsense!" Li Yunye sat down, took a sip of tea, glared at Wen Yunsheng, then remembered he couldn't see clearly again. He sighed, "The person I met a few days ago is named Tang Feng. We studied together at Lishan Academy before."
"The young master of the Tang family! I heard he was quite capable in controlling the floods in Daze a few years ago." Wen Yunsheng stood up and groped his way to sit opposite Li Yunye, grinning mischievously at him. "I've heard that the young master of the Tang family has always been of a strong character and unwilling to get involved in officialdom. It seems Your Highness has been turned away this time." Li Yunye put down his teacup, somewhat surprised. "You actually know Tang Feng?"
“What’s so strange about that? The Luoxi River, a tributary of the Tengli River, floods every year, causing great suffering to the people of Daze. My father often led his medical apprentices to help. A few years ago, Tang Feng built a dike in Daze, and not only have the floods stopped, but the rice harvest has also improved significantly due to the reduction of silt in the water. My family lives in Changnan, which is very close to Daze, so it’s not surprising that we know this!” Although Wen Yunsheng had never met Tang Feng, he had long heard of his name. Back then, when Tang Feng had Fang Zihui build the dike, his name had already spread throughout Daze, and stories about him were even sung in teahouses. “Take me to see him sometime!” Li Yunye smiled bitterly after hearing this. “You already know that I was turned away by him, so how could I possibly take you to see him? Our friendship is over.”
“Not necessarily,” Wen Yunsheng said, leaning on the table and scribbling on it with his finger dipped in tea. “What if you two meet one day in a different capacity? Your Highness, you must introduce him to me then!” “You’re always talking nonsense. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Li Yunye said, setting up the chessboard and resuming the game he hadn’t finished the night before. “Want to play a game with me?” Wen Yunsheng sat up straight and pulled the box of white pieces in front of him. “It’s just chess, what’s wrong with that?” Li Yunye said seriously after setting up the chessboard. “I have a condition for this game. If I win, you have to do me a favor.” Wen Yunsheng frowned and closed the chess box he had just opened. "Your Highness, what era are we in that we're still betting? I won't gamble with you. You're probably asking me to go find Tang Feng, aren't you?" Li Yunye was startled, not expecting Wen Yunsheng to know his meaning. "I do want you to act as my intermediary. You just said you wanted to see Tang Feng, didn't you?" Wen Yunsheng shook his head, placed a white piece on the chessboard, and then said, "It's true that I want to see Tang Feng, but as I just said, Tang Feng is destined not to be by Your Highness's side. Please don't force it. Also, I won." Wen Yunsheng pointed to the white piece he had just placed and smiled, "It seems Your Highness's chess skills haven't improved at all! Before betting, at least consider your own abilities!"
Tang Feng leaned against the window, looking up at Zhou Ziliang, while Zhou Ziliang looked down at Tang Feng from outside the window, leaning against the frame. They stared at each other, wide-eyed. "Let's go out and have some fun! You said you'd take me horseback riding in the spring!" "No way! It's been windy these past few days. Do you want Old Wu to give you a few acupuncture treatments?" Tang Feng pouted, his attempt to negotiate today a failure. He tapped Zhou Ziliang's chest and said, "Do you know what this is called? Imprisonment! You weren't like this before we got married. Now that we're married, you've deceived my feelings, and you're doing whatever you want!" Zhou Ziliang watched Tang Feng's tantrum and flicked his forehead. "But Xiao Feng wasn't like this before we got married!"
Tang Feng rolled his eyes at Zhou Ziliang and ignored him. He counted the days and realized that today was the first day of the month. He wondered if Meng Lie had delivered the letter to the Ninth Prince. “It’s truly worrying that His Highness the Ninth Prince doesn’t even have a single capable person by his side!” Zhou Ziliang nodded in agreement. Although Meng Lie was loyal and righteous, his impetuousness might lead to well-intentioned but misguided actions in the future. “What does Xiao Feng think?” “No opinion, let nature take its course! My current position is awkward, and I can’t be too casual in arranging the people around His Highness the Ninth Prince. Although he is not well-liked in the palace, he is still a prince, and his daily life will naturally be clearly recorded. This person’s background not only needs to be clean, but also unrelated to us. If we look now, when will we find one? We’ll just have to wait! Although Meng Lie is impatient and careless, I suppose if we explain the pros and cons to him, he won’t be too reckless…” In the end, Tang Feng gradually lost confidence, sighed, and finally asked, “Do you see His Highness the Ninth Prince every day at court?” Zhou Ziliang shook his head. “His Highness the Ninth Prince never appears in court. I suppose His Majesty also deeply resents him.”
"Deeply hate? Please, they're father and son! Deeply hate... is it really necessary?" The phrase "deeply hate" stunned Tang Feng. He hadn't expected the relationship between father and son to be so strained. "You and Uncle Tang have already fallen out like this, so what if His Majesty deeply hates you? The Ninth Prince has contradicted His Majesty quite a bit in the past, and sometimes even disobeyed imperial decrees." Tang Feng buried his head in his arms, sighing deeply. What sins had he committed in his past life to be supporting such a rebellious young prince? He muttered a complaint, "Ziliang... did I choose the wrong side? The Ninth Prince doesn't seem very reliable..." "Whether you've chosen the wrong side or not is your own decision, isn't it?" Hopefully, Tang Feng propped his head up and looked out the window, hoping he'd won this gamble and wouldn't make another mistake. He didn't have time to be wrong. "Ziliang, put out the charcoal fire in the house tomorrow! It's spring now. Even if it's cold, as long as your heart isn't cold, your body won't be cold."
Li Yunyu received a letter from Tang Feng instructing him to go to the Wei River immediately. A pleasure boat was moored on the bank. After looking around and seeing no one, Li Yunyu boarded. Meng Lie originally wanted to follow closely, but Zhou Ziliang grabbed him. "General Meng, please wait with me on the shore! We shouldn't interfere in their affairs." Meng Lie looked at Zhou Ziliang, then at the pleasure boat receding into the distance, confused. "Why can't I go when they're talking..."
Li Yunyu entered the pleasure boat and saw Tang Feng sitting at a table. He approached and knelt down, supporting himself on the table. "Sir, is there something you need from me today?" Tang Feng poured Li Yunyu a cup of tea, but did not directly answer his question. He simply said, "It is not appropriate to meet His Highness so openly. I have no choice but to ask His Highness to stay in the cabin for a while."
"It's alright," Li Yunyu said, taking the teacup Tang Feng offered and placing it on the table. "If you want to achieve great things, you must endure hardship to rise above others. Isn't that what you taught me, sir?" Tang Feng was surprised to hear this. "Then let's not keep you in suspense any longer. A few days ago, Li Yunye came to see me." Tang Feng looked into Li Yunyu's eyes and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Your Highness, are you afraid?"
"What are you afraid of?" Li Yunyu wasn't afraid of Tang Feng's eyes and looked directly at him. "I swore an oath with you that day, with the wind and snow as my witness. I believe you won't betray me." Tang Feng laughed even more heartily upon hearing this, propping his head up with one hand and taking an apple from the fruit plate with the other to eat. "You may not understand me. I'm used to doing whatever I want, and I'm destined not to get along with royal children like you. My relationship with you is just a transaction. But Your Highness, rest assured, although I, Tang Feng, am capricious, I always keep my word. Since I promised you, I will naturally do my best to help you. As for Li Yunye's ambition to seize the throne, I imagine Your Highness is unaware of it due to your lack of information. He came to me asking for my help, but I refused."
"Did you call me here just to talk about this?" "Of course not." Tang Feng cleared his throat, seeing that Li Yunyu was a little angry, and continued, "Your Highness, aren't you curious about why your third brother wants to seize the throne? I've known your brothers since we were young at Lishan Academy. In my opinion, your third brother is a carefree prince who doesn't care about anything outside his studies and only focuses on reading the classics. For him to suddenly have the idea of seizing the throne, it can't just be about your mother or Li Yunrui. It seems that someone has been whispering in his ear for a long time, and over time, he inevitably developed wicked thoughts. If Your Highness wants to overturn the case, you might as well make a bold guess: who is it that is still Li Yunrui?"
Li Yunyu pondered for a moment and said, "This is what I think. Fourth Brother has been at odds with Eldest Brother for a long time, but Third Brother has also developed a rift with Eldest Brother. If Fourth Brother wanted to harm Eldest Brother, he would have done it long ago. Third Brother is eager for quick success, so it is possible that he would do it."
Li Yunyu guessed it was Li Yunye who did it, and got up to leave. "Where is Your Highness going!" "I'm going to find my third brother and ask him clearly. I'm going to Father Emperor to explain and clear my eldest brother's name." "Foolish! Does Your Highness think you're a favorite of His Majesty? Even if it was Li Yunye who did it, who will His Majesty believe more, him or you? You barge in without any evidence and spout nonsense, and then what? You'll be punished by being confined to your room to reflect on your actions?" Tang Feng got up and patted Li Yunyu's shoulder. "Your Highness, why don't you observe secretly and seize the opportunity?"
"What do you mean?" Li Yunyu didn't quite understand Tang Feng's meaning. Tang Feng tapped Li Yunyu's chest. "Your Highness, what do you think is the reason His Majesty dislikes you?"
"It's probably... because of my mother."
"Not only your mother, but you too. If you want to seize the throne, why not start by ensuring His Majesty never dislikes you?"
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