Chapter 75: Beating Fang Xuanling into Submission

Li Tai shouted in exasperation: "You are shameless, actually asking your father-in-law for help."

"You could also ask your father-in-law! It's not like you don't have one?"

Li Chengqian said with a cheeky grin: "Oh! I forgot, Master Craftsman Yan is a painter, not a master of poetry and literature.

My father-in-law is different; not only is his writing excellent, but his moral character is also publicly recognized as good, and his administrative achievements in Taizhou are among the best. Most importantly, he is also the biological older brother of Su Guzhang."

"Qingque, Big Brother gave you a chance too, but it's a pity you were afraid!"

"If you had acted earlier and used the opportunity of compiling books to take the memorial, wouldn't it have been easy?"

"But you were afraid of being tricked by Big Brother, so you can't blame Big Brother for that."

"Bastard! Did you ever give me a chance? You win either way, but I won't give up this time."

"Just you wait. Isn't it just about the candidates? The Literature Pavilion has plenty, and if those don't work, there's still Chu Xueshi and Chu Suiliang. I'd rather give it to Zhinu than to you."

"How naive! Truly naive!"

Li Chengqian glanced in the direction of Zhangsun Wuji: "Qingque, just now it was Uncle who kept cooperating with me. Aren't you afraid of falling into Uncle's trap?"

Li Tai was dumbfounded. Only then did he realize that Zhangsun Wuji's initial suggestion was Du Zhenglun, but Du Zhenglun was clearly unsuitable; there was indeed a conspiracy involved.

"You two insidious and cunning scoundrels, colluding together! I will definitely defeat you to prevent you from harming the Great Tang in the future."

After saying this, Li Tai flicked his sleeves and left directly.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian shouted loudly at Li Tai's retreating back:

"Qingque, Big Brother will wait for you to thank me!"

"Get lost!"

Li Chengqian grinned: "Qingque is truly too cute, Uncle, don't you think so?"

"I've done so much for you, I shouldn't need to take action for the next part, right?"

Zhangsun Wuji feigned an expression of ignorance:

"What is the Crown Prince saying? Why can't this subject understand?"

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. I can send the memorial to Chu Daifu Chu Suiliang; I believe he would be very willing."

Zhangsun Wuji let out a bitter laugh: "The Crown Prince is truly far-sighted. This subject understands!"

"Ahem!"

Fang Xuanling coughed twice: "Crown Prince, this subject is still present. Could you give this subject some face and not toy with the Prince of Wei like this?"

"With so many memorials today, the Prince of Wei was angered away by you; shouldn't his share be taken on by you?"

??????

Looking at the mountain-like pile of memorials belonging to Li Tai, Li Chengqian decided to act like a rogue:

"What does that have to do with me? That was for Father to train Qingque. Just send someone to deliver the memorials to Hongwen Hall later."

"Can memorials be taken out of the palace at will?"

"If there's a problem, Qingque can take responsibility. What does it have to do with us?"

"The Crown Prince's thick-skinned nature is unrivaled in the world. This subject sighs at his own inferiority."

"To receive praise from Lord Fang, it is a great honor."

Fang Xuanling was somewhat worried about Li Tai's situation. Facing an opponent with deep schemes and a thick skin, even with Li Shimin's support, Li Tai would appear inadequate, not to mention that Li Shimin was not in Chang'an right now.

From that conversation just now, Fang Xuanling had already understood that Li Chengqian was still giving a gift to Li Tai, exactly the same as the book-compiling authority last time.

The difference was that Li Chengqian was afraid Li Tai would discover it, so this time he pulled Su Dan into it, making Li Tai and Su Xu and the others firmly believe that Li Chengqian also wanted to seize the memorial.

'Hongwen Hall for Confucianism, the Prince of Jin and Xuanzang for Buddha; it's still missing Daoism. How does the Crown Prince plan to pull that in?'

Suddenly, Fang Xuanling's eyes narrowed. He thought of yesterday's events, and he couldn't help but gasp in his heart.

"Crown Prince, with the Emperor away, are you not being a bit too hasty in taking action? Won't it be unstable?"

Li Chengqian was a bit confused: "Take what action? It doesn't know how long it will take for Qingque to send people to Anzhou; how could it be decided so quickly?"

"This subject is referring to the Prince of Bohai!"

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, then thought of Dou Dan and instantly understood Fang Xuanling's meaning. His eyes narrowed slightly:

"Lord Fang, the hardest thing to achieve in this world is to be muddled. Don't just read Confucian classics every day; read more Zhuangzi."

"Uncle has always wanted to form a marriage alliance with Lord Fang. If Gaoyang gives birth to a girl this time, I might just have to do my best to facilitate this."

Zhangsun Wuji's eyes lit up. Before, Fang Jun was a scoundrel, but now it was different. Plus, with Li Shimin's doting on Gaoyang, if he could form a marriage alliance with the Fang family, it would inevitably become a major boost for seizing the succession.

"Liang State Duke, why don't you consider it? You know the character of my eldest son and the Princess; the children they raise will certainly not be bad."

"I also believe in the family style of the Liang Guogong Fu. If our two families form a marriage alliance, it could be called a perfect match."

'What a poisonous scheme!'

Fang Xuanling did not expect that he would fall into a dilemma just by asking a casual question.

Agreeing would mean joining the Prince of Jin's faction, and not agreeing would be failing to give Zhangsun Wuji face. He did not want to offend Zhangsun Wuji at all right now.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Fang Xuanling's face:

"I am naturally willing to form a marriage alliance with the Zhangsun Shi, however, I am only the Grand Ancestor; this matter still requires the Princess to nod."

"Changle Gongzhu and Gaoyang Princess are sisters; why not let them discuss it themselves?"

"Besides, it is not yet known whether it is a boy or a girl; it is truly a bit too hasty to talk about this now."

"That is true! After all, it is the Emperor's grandson; it must also be approved by the Emperor."

Zhangsun Wuji calmly sized up Li Chengqian. He couldn't figure out why Li Chengqian wanted to take action against Fang Xuanling—was it just because of the Prince of Bohai?

Zhangsun Wuji was no less intelligent than Fang Xuanling, but there were some things he had forgotten, or rather, had not taken to heart at all.

It wasn't until he returned to his residence and heard the report from his spy that he reacted:

"What did you just say? The Minister of the Imperial Clan Court Dou Dan took the Prince of Bohai to see the Crown Prince this morning?"

"Yes! The Prince of Bohai left the Eastern Palace first, and Minister Dou waited for half an hour before walking out of the Eastern Palace."

"So that's it! So that's it! No wonder the Crown Prince wanted to warn Fang Xuanling."

Zhangsun Chong waved his hand at the scout, then immediately poured a cup of water for Zhangsun Wuji:

"Father, what is wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Seeing a ghost would be better!"

Zhangsun Wuji stared blankly at Zhangsun Chong:

"Do you know why the Crown Prince met with Dou Dan?"

"Wasn't it discussed at the morning court session yesterday? About the matter of entering the Bohai King's heir into the Genealogy; the Bohai King even brought a large group of people to the Eastern Palace this morning.

I went to ask as well; as soon as Imperial Clan Court Official Dou returned to the Imperial Clan Court, he went to check the Genealogy!"

"Then do you know what other responsibilities the Imperial Clan Court has besides managing the imperial family and relatives by marriage?"

"None!"

"There are!"

Zhangsun Wuji spoke in a deep voice: "It also manages Taoist temples and Taoist priests; this is a power granted to the Imperial Clan Court by Gaozu Huangdi.

It is just that because of certain reasons, the Emperor has always let Taoism be, so this power has never been noticed.

Most people only see that the Court of State Ceremonial manages Buddhism, but they haven't noticed who manages Taoism.

It is also because the population and land occupied by Taoism are not large, so court officials naturally have no need to pay too much attention to it."

"Does Father mean that His Highness the Crown Prince wants to make use of Taoism?"

"Certainly! He wants to..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence; there were some things he did not want Zhangsun Chong to know. These matters were too dangerous, and he did not want Zhangsun Chong to get involved.

Thinking of this, Zhangsun Wuji changed the subject: "You just said you had something to find me for; what is it?"

Hearing this, Zhangsun Chong's face showed joy, and he cast the previous topic to the back of his mind:

"News came from the Eastern Palace saying that the Prince of Qi has found Medicine King Sun in Luzhou.

Once the epidemic ends, the Prince of Qi will bring Medicine King Sun back to Chang'an, and Medicine King Sun has also promised to come and take a look at Dalang."

"Good, good, good! Although the Crown Prince is shameless, he has never broken his word."