Chapter 26 Yuwen Shu

After two cups of tea, everyone stood up and left, and they all greeted Li Jiancheng in turn before leaving. Yang Guang saw them off to the gate of the mansion.

Li Jiancheng followed behind Yang Guang, so he finally had time to bow and greet him: "Uncle."

Yang Guang smiled and patted his shoulder: "I have read the letter delivered this morning. Yang Yue also went to see the Queen Mother specially. It seems that this matter has been basically completed. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard to serve my uncle."

The two returned to the main hall and sat down. Yang Guang said, "Yang Su intended to embarrass you at the banquet yesterday. I also heard about this."

Li Jiancheng stood up and said, "It's a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. Uncle, His Majesty is increasingly trusting the Duke of Yue, so we should win him over now. We must not lose the big picture because of the small one."

Yang Guang didn't show it on his face, but he was very satisfied in his heart. This kid has a sense of propriety and knows what is important and what is not.

"I called you here this time because I got a message that someone impeached your father for neglecting his duties and neglecting his responsibilities while in office. The emperor wants to order his recall."

Li Jiancheng was a little surprised. He was not surprised that his father neglected his duties, as he had known that for a long time. Instead, he was surprised that someone would offend the Li family because of such a small matter. No matter how negligent Li Yuan was in government affairs, he had his own retainers and servants to help deal with it, and it would not affect major matters and people's livelihood.

Moreover, this little thing can't shake the Duke Tang's Mansion at all, so why bother?

Yang Guang continued: "It's not a big deal, I'll tell someone..."

"Uncle, this is a good thing. It just so happens that your nephew also hopes that your father can return to Beijing."

"My nephew is still young, so my uncle's family can still make some comments. It may be difficult to persuade the other relatives and old friends. Although Duke Bao is going to Beijing, he will have to return to Jiangdu to guard the city soon. My father is the head of the Li family and has the title of Duke, so he is the most suitable person to stay in Beijing and work for my uncle."

Yang Guang nodded happily and said, "That's fine. It's just a prefectural governor's post, so there's no need to worry too much about it."

Li Jiancheng seemed to have realized something in his heart, but he didn't care. Everyone had their own goals. Calling him nephew and uncle were just the titles used during this period.

Before Li Jiancheng left, Yang Guang instructed him on one thing and then handed him several sets of keys. There were a lot of treasures piled up in these courtyards near Liming City, and he was free to use them to do his job.

After leaving the Prince of Jin's Mansion, Li Jiancheng went straight back home. After discussing with his mother Dou, he went to rest. Dou sent someone to Xuandu Temple to offer a hundred strings of incense money, and invited Wang Fuxian, a famous fortune teller from Bashu, to come to the mansion tomorrow to pray for the second son of the Li family and predict his fortune.

For the next half month, Li Jiancheng went to the yamen to guard the palace as usual. Occasionally, he invited Dou Dan, Yuan Shibin and others to banquets or to visit the East and West Markets, where he got to know many children of officials.

Li Jiancheng was generous. After all, Dou Dan, Yang Jishan and others were not the eldest sons in their families. Although they had enough food and clothing and a lot of monthly allowance, it was still not enough to invite people to have fun in lavish wine shops in the capital every day.

During this period of time, Wang Fuxian's reputation in Beijing soared, and it became difficult for ordinary officials and aristocratic families to make an appointment with him.

At the court meeting on this day, Li Jiancheng finally met Duke Baoguo Yuwen Shu, who came to Beijing to meet the emperor. He was tall and strong with an honest appearance, and judging from his words and actions when answering questions, he seemed like a pure military general.

After the court was dismissed, Li Jiancheng ordered his servant to deliver a letter to the Duke of Yue's Mansion, and he went directly to the Prince of Jin's Mansion. Although he had no obstruction this time, it could be found that there were guards with swords standing in front of the gate and on both sides of the main hall.

When he was led into the hall by the steward, he saw Yang Guang sitting high up and Yuwen Shu talking loudly, and several officials dressed as scholars echoed him. "The Crown Prince has been disowned for a long time, and his virtues are not known to the world. Your Majesty is known for his benevolence and filial piety, and has unparalleled talents. He has served as a general several times and has made great contributions. The Lord and the inner palace all love him. The hope of the world belongs to Your Majesty!"

"That's right. When we talk to court officials in private, they all sigh and keep silent when we mention the Crown Prince, but when we talk about His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, they all praise him."

"The Crown Prince is a man of few virtues, not like a ruler or father. How can he be called the ruler of the world? We have made an agreement with our close friends and relatives to take turns to advise the Crown Prince on his mistakes. Over time, His Majesty will surely become tired of us."

Seeing Li Jiancheng arrive, Yang Guang, who had been silent all this time, said, "Jiancheng, have you made an appointment?"

Li Jiancheng bowed and said, "Tomorrow at twilight hour, Yunhe Tower."

Yunhelou is one of the best restaurants in West City and is owned by the Li family.

Yang Guang nodded and said to Yuwen Shu: "Let's do as we have agreed. I can help Yang Su get the position of Shang Shu Zuo Pushe, and in the future he can be promoted to Shang Shu Ling. As for Yang Yue, he can be promoted to the first rank and become Nei Shi Ling tomorrow."

Yuwen Shu bowed and agreed, and then continued to discuss the subsequent arrangements, especially those regarding the crown prince and Gao Zuo.

Li Jiancheng did not speak on his own initiative. He had already done what he was supposed to do. He was indispensable in this achievement of following the emperor. No matter how much more or less he contributed later, it would not matter much. Given his age and qualifications, it was impossible for him to be promoted very high.

If it is just a nominal promotion, even if it is raised to the same level as Yang Xuangan, it will be of no use.

After finishing his shift the next day, Li Jiancheng turned down the banquet at Canxia Tower and went straight to his own Yunhe Tower. Soon, Yuwen Shu arrived with his eldest son Yuwen Huaji.

Yu Wenzhi is a few years older than Yang Xuangan, and is currently a fourth-rank official in the Prince of Jin's Palace. He is tall and thin, with thin hair and beard, a hooked nose, and narrow eyes. He pretends to be unrestrained and holds his head high, looking quite proud.

But this man has always been a joke in Chang'an. He is neither good at literature nor martial arts, and he can't even play as well as others. He will fall when riding a horse and will shoot arrows crookedly. He will be chased by a tiger when an eagle abandons him and a dog runs away. In the early years, the two brothers attacked each other together, but Yang Xuangan beat them with one hand and made them kneel down and beg for mercy.

Li Jiancheng went forward to greet him, but for some reason, Yuwen Shu obviously didn't like him and had no intention of talking to him. Yuwen Huaji remembered that Li Jiancheng was playing with Yang Xuangan and the others, so he snorted and turned his head away.

Li Jiancheng had no objection, but Yuwen Shu was obviously not happy to see his son in such a shameless state, and he slapped him on the head. If the servant had not been prepared and stepped forward to hold him up, Yuwen Huaji would have rolled downstairs.

Li Jiancheng suppressed his laughter and said, "Duke Bao, please take a seat first. I will go and greet Yang Shaoqing."

Soon Yang Yue also arrived. After a polite greeting, he went upstairs and took a seat. Li Jiancheng and Yu Wenzhi stood guard at the door, but they could still faintly hear the conversation inside.

After some simple courtesies, they got straight to the point. Although the Yang family had already decided to join the King of Jin, they still had to be reserved, otherwise how could they have the nerve to ask for benefits?

If there were no practical benefits, Yang Su had already reached this point, so why bother to fight for the throne of Prince Jin? Whoever became emperor would inevitably have to use him and his disciples and generals.

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(End of this chapter)