Chapter 70: Seriously Ill

Zhangsun Wuji was dumbfounded. Isn't the Crown Prince your son? Even if he isn't, shouldn't he be asking me? Why go find my uncle?

If you're looking for my uncle, shouldn't you be saying that the Gao family's bloodline is poisonous?

"What is all this! Truly annoying!"

Zhangsun Wuji couldn't help but complain: "Lord Fang, I watched the Crown Prince grow up, and he wasn't like this before!"

"He was such a polite person when he was little; how did he become more sinister and cunning than me now?"

"Confucian skin, Daoist bones!"

Fang Xuanling looked toward the direction of the Eastern Palace: "Originally, the position of Crown Prince was secure; there was no need to engage in schemes and tricks."

"Now that the position of Crown Prince is unstable, for the sake of his own life, he naturally cannot continue to hide."

"Perhaps, the matter of the Prince of Bohai might still be useful one day; after all, there isn't only one Prince of Bohai in the Imperial family."

Just as Fang Xuanling thought, the Prince of Bohai was specifically chosen by Li Chengqian, just so that he could be used one day in the future.

"Big Brother! Big Brother! Wait for me!"

On the way back to the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian heard a familiar voice and slowly turned around:

"It's Qingque! What do you want with me?"

"Nothing! I just haven't seen Big Brother in a long time and missed you a bit!"

Li Tai revealed a silly smile: "Big Brother, how have you been in the Eastern Palace lately?"

"Very well! Reading books and fishing every day, quite happy."

"Seeing Big Brother in such a relaxed mood, I am relieved!"

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes: "Enough! If you have something to say, say it; I know you well enough."

"Big Brother, I won't take to heart that you tricked me into taking on the authority to compile books last time, but you have to do me a favor!"

Li Chengqian grinned: "Qingque, you still dare to ask me for a favor? Aren't you afraid I'll dig a pit for you to jump into?"

"If I have to jump, then I'll jump! This time, for the sake of the Imperial Concubine, I have to jump regardless."

Li Chengqian turned his body away from Li Tai and slowly waved his hand as he left:

"My uncle has already submitted the memorial for you, and the Emperor will issue an Imperial Edict in a few days."

"La la la, la la la, I am a little expert at selling newspapers, I don't wait for dawn to go deliver papers..."

Li Tai touched the back of his head, his face full of suspicion:

"Big Brother is seriously ill! How could my uncle help me? And selling newspapers—what is a newspaper, he didn't even say?"

"Forget it, I'll go find the Emperor first!"

Saying this, Li Tai hurried toward Ganlu Hall in a rush. Just as he arrived at Ganlu Hall, he heard an attendant say:

"The Emperor has gone to the Shen Guogong Fu. He told this servant to tell the Prince of Wei that he has already had someone draft the Imperial Edict, and you can begin preparations."

Li Tai's eyes widened: "How did the Emperor know I was looking for him? And he even knew what I was looking for him about?"

"The Emperor said, there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world, and the same goes for public proclamations."

？？？？？

Li Tai's head was full of question marks, and he even asked aloud:

"What is going on? When did the Emperor become a deity? He actually knew I came for the public proclamation."

"No, did Big Brother and my uncle also become deities? Can they divine the future?"

"This servant does not know!"

Li Tai didn't care whether the other party knew or not, and returned to the Literature Pavilion with all sorts of doubts.

As soon as he returned to the Literature Pavilion, Li Tai told Su Xu everything he had seen and heard today:

"Uncle-in-law, I always feel something is strange, as if this rumor was spread by the Emperor himself."

"And that old guy Zhangsun Wuji, how could he possibly help me?"

Su Xu lowered his head in thought; he also felt something was wrong, but he had no clue.

After a long while, he sighed: "As long as it is not the work of the Crown Prince, there is no need to worry too much."

"But Big Brother also entered the palace this time!"

Su Xu shook his head: "If it were truly the Crown Prince's doing, the Emperor would certainly stop it."

"Now that the Emperor has already developed a sense of wariness toward the Crown Prince, and with the Liang State Duke on the side, unless the Crown Prince has truly become a deity, he cannot make the Emperor endure the grievance and be forced to help him."

"We were just too impatient regarding the authority to compile books; the Liang State Duke would not be impatient."

"That's true! A trick is only good if used once; can it be used a second time? Whose family can keep giving gifts?"

It wasn't just Li Chengqian who was giving gifts; Zhangsun Wuji was also giving one, and this gift was Chu Suiliang.

With the end of the year approaching, Zhangsun Wuji used the excuse of Chu Liang being old and sickly to suggest to Li Shimin that Chu Suiliang be allowed to return to Chang'an to serve Chu Liang.

And Chu Suiliang did not fail expectations; on the very day he returned to Chang'an, he praised Su Jun highly at the morning court:

"Emperor, among the many granaries visited this time, the one in Qianzhou of the Jiangnan Circuit is the best; the grain inside is enough to support the commoners of Qianzhou for five years."

"Prefect Su is upright in character; there are few unjust cases under his rule, and he never shows leniency to anyone who violates the law."

"Every winter, he also distributes alms at major Buddhist temples so that the commoners of Qianzhou do not starve or freeze to death."

"He even invites people from Buddhism from time to time to preach the way of good and evil to the people, and the local customs have greatly improved."

"Su Jun? My sharp-tongued nephew Su Jun?"

Li Shimin's face was full of disbelief: "Lord Chu, you didn't see wrong, did you! His mouth is sharper than Wang Apo's; can he achieve so many political accomplishments?"

"Princess Nanchang is learned and profound, and the Imperial Concubine's husband is from the Wugong Su Clan; Prefect Su is their eldest son, so he is naturally excellent."

"Coupled with the Emperor's earnest teachings, it is only natural that he has achieved such political accomplishments."

"In this subject's opinion, Prefect Su has the talent of a Prime Minister."

Once these words were spoken, Ma Zhou and others also chimed in to agree:

"Emperor, although Prefect Su has a reputation for a sharp tongue, he is nonetheless a good official, and his talent and learning have long been recognized by the scholars of Chang'an."

"Emperor, administrative achievements can be verified; if the Emperor does not believe it, why not find someone to ask?"

"Dharma Master Daolin in my residence comes from Qianzhou and has only been away from Qianzhou for one year; I imagine he must have heard of Prefect Su's affairs long ago."

Li Shimin swept a glance at Zhangsun Wuji and sighed inwardly:

'I am being used again, but for the sake of Qingque, I must be used.'

'Gaoming, if only you hadn't written those plans!'

"Granted! If Su Jun truly has such administrative achievements, he shall be promoted vigorously!"

Seeing Li Shimin agree, Li Tai was anxious, but since Su Xu was not there, he could only pin his hopes on Xiao Yu and the others.

However, his eye signals to Xiao Yu and the others only received responses of head-shaking.

He also knew he could not be impatient at this time, but he could not control himself; Chu Suiliang definitely had a conspiracy, for who would gift administrative achievements to their own enemy?

'How come these petty people are all learning from Big Brother, sending gifts non-stop! Can you stop sending them? I'm terrified!'

No one could hear Li Tai's inner voice, and amidst Li Tai's anxious waiting, Daolin finally arrived.

"This poor monk Daolin pays respects to the Emperor!"

"Dharma Master, please rise!"

Ever since the death of Zhangsun Huanghou, Li Shimin had always been gentle toward people of Buddhism, and this moment was no different:

"Dharma Master, may I ask how Prefect Su Jun is in Qianzhou? Minister Chu says he has the talent of a Prime Minister."

"I know that those who have left the secular life do not tell lies, which is why I summoned the Dharma Master to inquire."

"He is considered mediocre!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai was overjoyed; mediocre is good! At this time, what he feared most was for Su Jun to be too good or too bad.

However, he had not been happy for long before he heard Daolin continue:

"He can only ensure the Commoners do not starve to death or freeze to death and are single-mindedly devoted to goodness, yet he cannot make the lives of the Commoners prosperous or free them from worrying about firewood, rice, oil, and salt."

"Although he is upright and strives to reduce unjust cases, he cannot achieve a state where no one picks up lost items on the road; he truly does not have the talent of a Prime Minister."

"Hiss..."

Everyone gasped; are you even human? To ensure people don't starve or freeze to death is considered mediocre—are people like them all just occupying positions without doing work?

Li Tai was dumbfounded; how is this mediocre? Is this what mediocrity looks like in the eyes of the Buddha?