Chapter 27: Wuchuan's Shame

Yuwen Shu offered a glass of wine and said, "Your brothers have great achievements and reputations. The Duke of Yue has assisted the government for many years and has made outstanding contributions. However, it is difficult to satisfy the public opinion even if you are devoted to the public. There are many people in the court and the public who have been humiliated by your family."

Yang Yue smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise and trusts my brother so much that he has entrusted me with this task. These mere clowns are not worth mentioning."

Yuwen Shu laughed and said: "Although you have made an alliance with the Lord, there are many people who want to harm you. If the Lord abandons his ministers, how can you seek protection?
Before Yang Yue could say anything else, Yuwen Shu continued to advise: "If we ask to establish the King of Jin, it will be a great achievement if you speak up. The king will remember it in his bones. This will save the world from danger and bring peace to the world!"

Yang Yue remained silent. When Yuwen Shu saw that he did not refute, he knew that it was time to make an offer. He calmly stated the King of Jin's promises one by one. This was exactly what the two brothers had been seeking for many years.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiancheng knew that the great event had been accomplished and the day of changing the crown prince was not far away. The next step was to integrate forces and overthrow Gao Zuo.

Yu Wenzhi suddenly whispered, "Li Dalang, my family is the best at following the emperor. In the future, my father will definitely be more powerful than that old man Yang Su. You should think carefully about whether you will follow me or Yang Xuangan in the future."

Li Jiancheng smiled and bowed to him. Yu Wenzhi nodded with satisfaction: "You are sensible. Remember, stay away from their family in the future."

Seeing Li Jiancheng being so honest, Yu Wenzhi suddenly had an idea and said, "By the way, I heard that you have too much money to spend recently. How about I help you spend some money?"

Li Jiancheng's face turned cold. He had no intention of arguing with a fool like Yu Wenzhi, so he turned his face away and ignored him.

But Yu Wenzhi suddenly seemed to have suffered a great humiliation, and reached out to grab Li Jiancheng's collar, but he was directly grasped by the wrist.

Although Li Jiancheng is young, he began to practice archery with a special bow at the age of five. He still follows the rules set by Li Yuan and never gives up for a single day. As long as he is in the mansion, he must shoot at least two pots of arrows no matter how late it is.

His arm strength is of course far beyond that of ordinary people. There are so many heroes in the world that he dare not say anything, but compared with a loser like Yu Wenzhi, he is definitely a piece of cake.

"Shh." Yu Wenzhi's wrist was pinched in pain and he couldn't help but cry out, but Li Jiancheng didn't intend to stop. He clenched his fist with his other hand and hit the annoying big nose, and then he felt relieved.

I endured being bullied by Yang Jian, and I endured being bullied by Yang Su, but how come even Yu Wenzhi can come and step on me now?

"Ah!" Two streams of blood flowed down from the nose instantly. Yu Wenzhi's scream of pain made everyone inside quiet for a moment, but the conversation resumed immediately. The servants of Yu Wen's family were about to step forward, but were immediately stopped by the servants of Li's family. This was Li's family's property.

Yu Wenji covered his nose and half-knelt on the ground, looking at Li Jiancheng with a vicious look and muttering something harsh. But as Li Jiancheng raised his fist expressionlessly, he immediately smiled apologetically with clear eyes.

It was a good thing to let go of his hand and let him take out the silk to wipe the blood. There was no conflict at all. Yang Guang was also afraid that they would join forces to undermine him. Moreover, Li Jiancheng was too tolerant and wanted to be on good terms with everyone, which easily aroused suspicion.

After a while, Yuwen Shu came out first. He used his eyes to stop his son who was about to rush over to complain with a look of grievance on his face. He then looked at the blood-stained brocade that he had deliberately shown in his hand.

"Humph, Li Dalang is a bully who only fears the strong and bullies the weak."

Li Jiancheng bowed and said coldly: "Please go, Duke. I'm sorry I won't see you off."

Yuwen Shu finally suppressed his anger. The Li family was one of the Eight Pillars of the State in the past, but the Yuwen family was not a relative of Yuwen Tai. They were just followers of Yuwen Tai and were given the surname Yuwen for their meritorious service. Although they were a member of the Wuchuan noble family, they were not even one of the Twelve Generals, and were not considered a core. Even if the Li family was weak now, they could not be suppressed by the Yuwen family now. But when His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin ascended the throne in the future...

Yang Yue came out slowly and said, "Yuwen Shu is not a broad-minded person. Jiancheng, you must be careful in the future. After all, he is the trusted minister of the King of Jin."

Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "Yes, how could such a person be willing to be inferior to others? Shaoqing, today's Duke of Yue will be the Duke of Bao in the future. There is only one position for the Prime Minister."

"By the way, I wonder if you have heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has promised his only beloved daughter to Yuwen Shiji. Please be careful."

The smile on Yang Yue's face faded, and he immediately reached out and pulled Li Jiancheng, saying, "Jiancheng, yesterday I was talking with my brother about the young nobles in the capital, and it turned out that Jiancheng was the only one who was as bright as the moon, making the others look dim."

"Soon, the whole world will know that the Li family has produced a talented child, who will be praised by the left and right ministers of the Sui Dynasty as a young man of formidable potential!"

This is a custom left over from the Wei and Jin dynasties. The sons of prominent families would start to build up their reputation when they reached a certain age. Once their reputation was high enough, they would be able to rise to the top overnight.

Although we now have the imperial examination, only three or four people can pass it each year. People still mainly rely on recommendation and family influence to enter the officialdom, or on military service and military merit to enter the officialdom.

Li Jiancheng couldn't tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but he knew that this was a notice from the Yang family rather than a choice given to him. Maybe it was well-intentioned, to ease that insignificant conflict, or maybe it was malicious. Yang Yue had a deep mind, and not everyone could see through it.

After Li Jiancheng thanked Yang Yue, he left with satisfaction. Just as Li Jiancheng was looking at his receding back in deep thought, Zhao Da came up with a man who looked like a manager and saluted.

"My dear, several other shops have reported that someone went there to cause trouble and destroy things. They looked like servants from the Duke of Bao's mansion."

Li Jiancheng didn't know what to say for a moment. Yu Wenzhi was indeed the shame of Wuchuan.

"Where are the people? If they haven't escaped, arrest them and ask the Duke of Baoguo's Mansion to redeem them."

Zhao Da took the order and left. Li Jiancheng didn't care about this little thing and went straight to Xuandu Temple from Xishi. Now that Yang Su had finished his work, he had to give the prince a push.

Xuandu Temple is located in Chongyefang, facing the Daxingshan Temple to the east across Zhuque Street. The ridges on the pavilion are eight feet high, and the eaves on both sides are more than thirty feet above the ground. It is a magnificent royal Taoist temple.

The abbot of the temple was Wang Yan, with a courtesy name of Zixuan. He was from Shiping, Fufeng. He followed Mr. Chen Baochi, the master of Zhenyi, and lived in Louguan. He was very friendly with the immortal Li Shunxing, and also studied under the immortal Jiao Kuang of Mount Hua. They lived together in a stone chamber, ate pine food and drank spring water, in a secluded place.

He is the leader of Taoism in the world today. The emperor himself once went to Xuandu Temple as a believer to receive the great commandments of wisdom. Afterwards, officials and ministers all followed him. The prosperity of Xuandu Temple is beyond words.

Dukes, marquises, generals and ministers who came here had to dismount and burn incense, otherwise they would not even be allowed to enter the temple.

...............

(End of this chapter)