Chapter 454: Each According to Their Own Ability

The banquet continued; after a few people had eaten and drunk their fill, they were then conscripted as laborers.

All day long, they were busy receiving guests, running here and there; even Li Lizhi was helping.

Gao Yang escaped a calamity by taking the child with him.

By nightfall it was even livelier than daytime; Chen Yan felt this damn thing was more exhausting than his own wedding.

After finally enduring until the wedding ended, Chen Yan returned home, washed up, lay on the bed, and didn't want to move at all.

Not long after, Li Lizhi and Gao Yang also came, lying on his left and right.

Li Lizhi was equally exhausted and wanted to rest, but Gao Yang was full of energy and suggested to Chen Yan, "Didn't you say last time that the Crown Prince was poisoned? Why don't we go see him tomorrow?"

Hearing this, Li Lizhi, who had originally closed her eyes to sleep, nodded and said, "Indeed we should go see him; otherwise it wouldn't be proper."

"By the way, husband, you haven't said yet how long we'll stay in Chang'an."

"How long...?" Chen Yan sighed, recalling that Cui Xuan had come to see him today, thought for a moment, and replied, "Let's see; I estimate a few days. Today at the banquet, people from the aristocratic families came to see me."

"They said they wanted to cooperate with me; I've arranged to meet him the day after tomorrow at Zui Xian Lou. Just now you were talking about going to see the Crown Prince—who knows what else might come up? Let's wait until all the affairs in Chang'an are settled before heading back."

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang couldn't help but laugh, "No, did I hear you right? Aristocratic families? Wanting to cooperate with you?"

"You even made an appointment to discuss details with them the day after tomorrow?"

"Are they sick, or are you sick?"

Li Lizhi's face showed a strange expression.

Others may not know, but surely you lot aren't unaware?

Li Shimin's relations with the aristocratic families grew increasingly tense, all stemming from Chen Yan, this dog-headed strategist.

It can be said that more than half of the current situation was created by Chen Yan.

Now Chen Yan actually wants to cooperate with the aristocratic families?

Who would believe that?

Chen Yan was truly exhausted, didn't want to say more, turned and embraced Li Lizhi, intending to sleep.

Gao Yang dissatisfiedly poked him, "Speak up—what's the situation?"

"You wouldn't be coming up with some bad idea to harm the aristocratic families again, would you?"

"Don't worry about all that, kid; the adult world is complicated, beyond your comprehension." Chen Yan casually brushed off with two sentences, then closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Gao Yang pushed him twice, feeling a bit frustrated, but upon seeing the fatigue in Chen Yan's brow, he couldn't bear to disturb him. He then moved over himself, leaning against him and closed his eyes.

"......"

What he didn't know was that, in another private residence in Chang'an, seven or eight middle-aged people had been arguing all day because of his attitude, and they still hadn't stopped.

Some thought Chen Yan was feigning cooperation, playing along with them, while secretly plotting something unknown.

Likewise, some thought this was a good opportunity to win over Chen Yan.

If they could bring Chen Yan over to their side, it would be tantamount to cutting off one of Li Shimin's arms.

It's just a matter of first cooperating to plant a few fields—what's the big deal?

The representative of the Qinghe Cui Clan who came today, Cui Han, spoke in a low voice: "Don't forget what our original purpose was in sending Cui Xuan to make contact with Chen Yan."

"Everyone knows cooperation is secondary; our main goal is to win over Chen Yan and figure out all his miraculous traits!"

"Have you forgotten the fine salt that suddenly appeared last year, the unbelievable output of silk production, and those white sugar, white wax, cotton, as well as the water wheel and curved-shaft plow that Li Shimin recently brought out?"

"One by one, item by item, I suspect they all come from Chen Yan! If these things were produced by us, I couldn't even believe how high our reputation could rise!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

These things are too miraculous, and also too important.

No one can ignore them, not even these aristocratic families that have been passed down for a thousand years!

The next moment, everyone's gazes, without prior agreement, turned to the several elders seated above them who had never spoken before.

One of them was an old acquaintance of Chen Yan—Wang Gui.

Zheng Zhili of the Yingyang Zheng Clan clasped his hands and said, "Esteemed clan elders, the situation is now as such; continuing to argue is pointless. Please, esteemed clan elders, make a decision!"

"Whether it's cooperation, or......"

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood his meaning, and they all furrowed their brows.

Wang Gui calmly scanned the crowd below, finally fixing his gaze on the sole youngster at the lowest position.

"Cui Xuan, I recall you once said that when you made contact with Chen Yan, he was accompanied by a three- or four-year-old child?"

Cui Xuan didn't understand why Wang Gui asked that, but he answered honestly: "Yes, Chen Yan indeed brought a three- or four-year-old child; she calls him Chen Yan's older brother."

Wang Gui gave a slight nod, "I previously heard a piece of news: Princess Jinyang of the palace fell seriously ill last year, then seemed to have been cured, but ever since she has basically disappeared from the palace, rarely showing her face."

"Then, an additional little girl appeared by Chen Yan's side."

Having said that, he paused; the clan representatives reflected for a moment and already understood what Wang Gui meant to convey.

According to Wang Gui's words, that little girl by Chen Yan's side is very likely Princess Jinyang; if so, Chen Yan's entourage would include at least three princesses and one legitimate imperial son.

Moreover, his medical skills are quite superb; even the stubborn ailments that the imperial physicians could not handle were cured by him.

To act against Chen Yan, assassination is basically impossible; with so many princesses attending him, there must be guards watching around, making poisoning likewise unlikely.

However, aside from these two, other methods are hardly worth mentioning.

Therefore, the difficulty of moving against Chen Yan is too great; it's not worth their taking the risk.

Wang Gui gave them time to think, then continued: "Does Chen Yan intend to feign cooperation, playing along with us—is that really important?"

"Or are we truly seeking cooperation just to earn some trivial gains?"

"Everyone has their own reasons and plans; why can't we cooperate? Let each rely on their own abilities."

"If Chen Yan could stab us in the back at some point, we would accept defeat willingly!"

"But if we surpass him by a notch, first uncovering Chen Yan's secrets, obtaining those key technologies, or truly winning him over, then wouldn't we be able to gain even more?"

"Given the current situation, we are already forced to sit at the gambling table; otherwise we will only be swallowed by history."

After the words were spoken, the courtyard fell silent for a long while.

The Wang Yanzhi of the Taiyuan Wang clan was the first to stand up and show support, saying, "I personally think that Lord Wang's words are reasonable; we have gathered the strength of all families, and I don't believe we can't handle a boy under twenty!"

Cui Han mused, "I recall that Chen Yan's two wives are both of top-notch beauty in the present age, and they are both daughters of Li Shimin; formerly Chen Yan also followed a merchant's daughter who was no less than the two..."

"......"