Fang Shihu
"Not bad?" Shen Qinghang still vividly remembered the slap Tang Feng gave Zhou Ziliang in the corridor, and shuddered at the thought. "I didn't see that at all. I thought Tang Feng had violent tendencies."
"Let's not talk about them for now. Anyway, we have to persuade Zhou Ziliang to join our ranks. Fourth Brother is keeping a close eye on me right now, and he's probably involved in this pawnshop incident." Li Yunrui crumpled a corner of the book. "The academy is full of talented people. I originally wanted to come earlier, but I didn't expect to be held up by the pawnshop incident. If it weren't for the Governor's Office, I probably wouldn't be able to get away now."
"Don't be discouraged. I believe the innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will remain guilty. Your wisdom and magnanimity are renowned throughout the court and the country, and I'm sure there will be virtuous people who will lend you a helping hand."
Li Yunrui shook his head. "No, it's different. Striving for the position of Crown Prince is unlike anything else. No one knows the outcome until the very last moment. Besides, what use are there if there are many wise men? The important thing is what Father Emperor thinks. If one day Father Emperor no longer trusts me, then the wise men will eventually scatter like monkeys when the tree falls." Li Yunrui looked out the window, where the cold wind made the branches of the trees outside the courtyard sway wildly. "I wrote you a letter several months ago, asking you to persuade Zhou Ziliang. Now it seems that he is still not very willing!"
"Your Highness, please forgive me," Shen Qinghang said, kneeling on the ground. "I am incompetent. I have repeatedly tried to subtly persuade Zhou Ziliang, but he has no intention of assisting me. I have no other choice."
"Alright, alright," Li Yunrui stood up and helped Shen Qinghang to his feet. Then, standing at the doorway, watching the dust swirling in the wind, he sighed. "He's just like his father, stubborn and inflexible. But I think you could start with Tang Feng."
"Tang Feng? He's just a scholar..." Shen Qinghang was a little confused. After all, winning over Zhou Ziliang was for military power, so what did it mean to start with Tang Feng? "Your Highness, if I may be so bold, I know you value talent, but... but Tang Feng is an untamed wild horse. Besides, he has no ambition and no interest in politics. How can he be of any use to us? Not to mention us, I don't think even Zhou Ziliang can handle him right now."
Li Yunrui smiled. "Of course not now, the time isn't right yet. Have you heard anything from the fourth brother lately?"
Shen Qinghang pondered for a moment and shook his head. "I can't quite put my finger on it. There haven't been any major moves, but Xu Chang'an often causes trouble for Tang Feng. However, Tang Feng is kind of asking for it. Normally, given Xu Chang'an's personality, he wouldn't bother with an unknown scholar like Tang Feng. But Tang Feng isn't one to stay quiet either; he always wants to get involved. I suppose..."
"Brother! What confidential matters are you discussing behind closed doors again?" Before Shen Qinghang could finish speaking, he was interrupted. The newcomer was dressed in a flying fish robe with a white eagle embroidered on the chest, a black gold and jade belt around his waist, and his hair was tied up in a bun with two tassels tied on either side of his crown, hanging down to his chest. "Is there anything that we brothers can't just say?"
Li Yunrui frowned, then relaxed, opened the door and smiled, "Yunheng, you're joking. What confidential matter could there be? I'm new to the academy and there are many things I don't understand, so I'm asking Qinghang for guidance."
“The eldest brother is indeed the eldest brother; even when faced with a matter, he still consults with his ministers.” Li Yunheng looked up at Li Yunrui, his eyes hiding a smile and a hint of mockery. “If this matter were to reach Xiling, the ministers would surely petition Father Emperor again, praising the eldest son’s virtue and foresight, predicting that he will become a wise ruler, one in a hundred years.”
"Fourth brother is joking. Father will decide the position of Crown Prince. How can you make such wild guesses?" Li Yunrui stepped down from the platform and looked at Li Yunheng. "Or... is it that fourth brother has long harbored treacherous intentions about this?" Li Yunrui's face darkened. In earlier years, he had never noticed that his fourth brother coveted the throne. Back then, he followed him around, softly calling him "elder brother." Perhaps it was the ruthless imperial family, and the loneliness of being at the top. He knew that one day he would turn against his brother, just like his father.
Faced with Li Yunrui's questioning, Li Yunheng showed little surprise on the surface, still greeting him with a smile. "Brother, are you questioning Yunheng? Since ancient times, imperial families have established meritocracy and seniority. How could it be my turn in terms of both sentiment and reason? But brother, I also have something to remind you: the closer you get to the top, the easier it is to get burned. Although even tigers don't eat their cubs, who can fathom the ruthlessness of an emperor!"
"That's none of your business!" Li Yunrui frowned.
"I really shouldn't be meddling in my elder brother's affairs. Since this is the academy, we still need your help in everything."
Seeing Li Yunheng turn and leave, Li Yunrui slowly walked into the house. "Although I had long expected this day to come, I still find it hard to bring myself to do it."
"Your Highness, we've already come this far, you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted!" Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghang knew things were going badly. Prince Duan was kind-hearted, but Prince Cheng was no pushover. They were currently locked in a fierce struggle, how could they not bring themselves to act? He quickly knelt on the ground, "Your Highness, please reconsider!"
"I know, I was just expressing my feelings! Everyone has done so much for me, how can I just give up?" Li Yunrui quickly helped Shen Qinghang up. "My third brother only knows how to read books and hasn't accomplished anything else. Why don't you go and see him on your way?"
Having served Li Yunrui for many years, Shen Qinghang was well aware of his intentions. If he cultivated a good relationship with him now, he could speak favorably of him to the emperor later. If Li Yunrui became the new emperor, he would inevitably have to give Prince Yu a title, making the reduction of the princes' status less troublesome. "I believe Prince Yu should get along with Tang Feng," Shen Qinghang said, picking up the poems copied by Master Chen from the table. "I will now present these poems from the 'Flying Flowers' game to Prince Yu."
Meanwhile, on Tang Feng's side, because he had knelt to welcome the prince in the morning, the academy was closed for the afternoon. Zhang Mobai was dragged by Yang Fei to the Xiong Hu hunting grounds for horseback riding. Originally, Zhang Mobai wanted to take Tang Feng with him, but because of Hongdou's kick, which had completely traumatized Tang Feng's childhood, he refused. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to wander around privately. Zhou Ziliang followed behind Tang Feng, ostensibly to prevent him from running into Xu Chang'an again and causing trouble. Tang Feng shrugged, not thinking much of it. After spending more than half a year with Zhou Ziliang, Tang Feng no longer harbored as much hostility towards him as before, especially after Zhou Ziliang took the blame for him. Tang Feng had been there for so long, and of the eighty-eight pavilions and towers in the academy, the only one he hadn't visited was the Wanjuan Pavilion on the mountaintop. "Zhou Ziliang, have you been to the Wanjuan Pavilion?"
“No, but I’ve heard of it,” Zhou Ziliang shook his head. “What? You want to go there?”
"I've never been there before, I'm just a little curious."
Zhou Ziliang nodded in agreement, "It's not like it's a place you can't go. If you really want to go, I'll go with you." The two walked for about an hour before reaching the summit. The mountain where Lishan Academy was located was called Yunding Mountain, which was much higher than the other mountains. Tang Feng looked up at Wanjuan Pavilion, which seemed pretty much the same as the other pavilions in the academy, nothing different. Tang Feng stepped forward and knocked on the door. Seeing no response, he pushed the door open and went in. "Is anyone home?"
“This place has always been used to store books. There might be no one inside. Let’s go in!” Zhou Ziliang walked straight inside. “I’ve heard my father say before that this place houses many precious books. Look,” Zhou Ziliang casually picked up a book from the bookshelf and placed it in Tang Feng’s hand, “Look, this is the Hengshui Illustrated Gazetteer. Even the Imperial Palace Library doesn’t have it.”
Tang Feng took the book from Zhou Ziliang, flipped through it casually, and then looked at the bookshelf next to him. "Why are there so many books about flood control... Shuiqiao's handwritten book, 'Jingyun Flood Control'."
"This is because the parallel flow of the three rivers in Daze has always been a major concern for Yanyun. Every year during the flood season, when the tide rises, the three rivers flow into the Tengli River. The water volume is too large, and the river rises too high. Ordinary dikes simply cannot hold it back, and floods occur frequently. Local officials have written to the emperor many times about this issue. However, although many solutions have been proposed, none of them have been successfully implemented."
Three rivers flowing in parallel? Tang Feng was engrossed in his book when he heard something fall from the attic. Startled, he threw the book into Zhou Ziliang's arms. "Wh...what was that?" Tang Feng looked at Zhou Ziliang. "Didn't you say there was no one in there?"
Zhou Ziliang shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. He led Tang Feng behind him and quietly walked to the top of the stairs to the attic. "It's a wine pot." Zhou Ziliang squatted down, picked up the object, stood up, and looked at the attic. "Excuse me, is anyone upstairs?"
"It's not like we don't have legs, we can just go up there, why ask so many questions?" Tang Feng rolled his eyes, snatched the wine jug from Zhou Ziliang's hand, and climbed up, lifting his robes. "Hey! Come up here!" Tang Feng squatted on the upper floor and waved to Zhou Ziliang below. "There's someone up there, seems to be asleep." Zhou Ziliang heard the voice and followed. He had just climbed to the upper floor and was still catching his breath when he saw Tang Feng sitting next to the man, tugging at his mustache. Zhou Ziliang quickly pulled Tang Feng's hand away and said in a low voice, "What are you doing!"
"I noticed a few white hairs in his beard, so I thought I'd pluck them for him. White hairs are contagious; if I don't pluck them quickly, they might all turn white in a couple of days," Tang Feng said, handing the few white hairs to Zhou Ziliang.
Zhou Ziliang sighed, took the few whiskers, and threw them on the ground. At that moment, the man lying on the couch suddenly sat up. "Drink! I have to drink another pot!" he exclaimed, then lay back down, muttering, "Oh dear! This is so boring. No one's here to share a drink with this old man." Tang Feng, for some reason, felt a bit like Uncle Li about this unkempt, drunken old man on the couch, so he took the wine from the old man's hand and said, "Drinking alone is indeed boring. I'll keep you company." Zhou Ziliang was about to stop him when the old man brushed aside his messy hair. "Kid! You'll keep me company? Okay! Okay!" he said, then climbed onto the ground and pulled out a jar of wine from the corner, saying, "See this? Daughter's Red!" He was about to hand it to Tang Feng when Zhou Ziliang snatched the wine from the old man's hand.
“Sir, please leave your wine here for now! According to the academy rules, I really cannot drink alcohol.” Zhou Ziliang walked to the water vat, scooped up a ladle of water and splashed it on the old man’s face. “I have been rude, please sober up, sir!”
The old man was splashed with water, which he used to wash his face. He looked up and met Zhou Ziliang's eyes. "Mr. Fang?"
"Do you know this old man?" Tang Feng asked, standing up as he approached Zhou Ziliang upon seeing his reaction. Zhou Ziliang nodded and said, "Mr. Fang has always been an important official in the imperial court, but what is he doing here?"
Fang Zihui sneered, "Who do we have here! It's the young master of the Zhou Wuhai family. Oh dear! A high-ranking official of the court!" Fang Zihui swayed to the bedside and slowly sat down, gazing out the window in a daze. "A high-ranking official of the court, hahaha, don't call me that, this old man can't bear such an honor!" Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng exchanged a glance, then slowly walked over and squatted down beside Fang Zihui. "Mr. Fang, I heard from my father that you went to Daze for disaster relief, what brings you to the academy now?"
"The flood was merciless. I exhausted all my knowledge, yet I was ultimately defeated by the Tengli River. Countless corpses floated in the river, and cries echoed from the banks." Fang Zihui covered his face with one hand, and cloudy tears streamed from his eyes. "Three months, a full three months! The death toll only increased, the rice fields yielded no harvest, and the people suffered terribly. I resigned as governor and returned to Xiling to report to the Emperor." Fang Zihui looked up at Zhou Ziliang and Tang Feng, his face still streaked with tears, and suddenly burst into laughter. "The court officials not only failed to offer any advice, but they also said, they said that this happens every year and not many people die. If many people really die, it will relieve the burden of food rations, which would be a great blessing for Yanyun. Hahahaha, truly... truly, the rich feast while the poor freeze to death on the streets! Hahahaha!" Fang Zihui laughed until tears streamed down his face, bending over. "You tell me, if Yanyun ever follows in the footsteps of the previous dynasty, that will be retribution! Hahahaha, retribution!"
"So you brought so many books related to flood control?" Tang Feng sat to the side, frowning, feeling a strange unease in his heart.
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