The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 1718 - 1693: Deep and Profound

The two old men were invited to the Kong Residence to read a letter, and Minister Guo complimented, "It’s well written, but the matter of impeaching Wang Ji isn’t that urgent. His reputation in the court hasn’t been good since he punished his nephew with a flogging. The twenty positions at the Imperial Medical Bureau generate only two thousand taels of silver. We don’t fear his accusations. I’ll have an official from the Office of Palace Affairs write a rebuttal. There’s no need for Libationer Kong to worry."

Libationer Kong raised his eyebrows and glanced at him, "Didn’t you see the signature at the end of it?"

Minister Guo nodded, "I did, and that’s why I think there’s no need."

He said, "Although Manbao is the Prince’s person, she is favored by His Majesty and the Empress. A good sword should be used on the blade; there’s no need to involve her in such trivial matters."

Libationer Kong immediately felt a sense of "summer insects can’t talk about ice." At that moment, he truly felt sorry for Zhou Man.

Though Zhou Man hadn’t explicitly said anything, Libationer Kong, who daily entered the Chongwen Pavilion, overheard her private conversations with Director Xiao. He could tell Zhou Man wasn’t the Prince’s person and probably not the Emperor’s and Empress’s person either.

The child is still young and ambitious, likely not paying much attention to those in the palace. To know, she has repeatedly refused to enter the palace as an imperial doctor.

Everyone only sees her getting along well with the Prince, being very close, and assumes she’s the Prince’s person.

Libationer Kong shook his head slightly, "The letter has already been sent to the Imperial Secretariat and delivered to His Majesty, who specifically had it sent to me."

Minister Guo instantly went silent, pausing for a while before asking, "What does His Majesty intend by this?"

The State Duke Zhao, being more familiar with the Emperor, pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does His Majesty want to clear obstacles for His Highness?"

Minister Guo perked up, eyes bright as he stared at the two inquiringly, "What does this mean? Why is His Majesty suddenly so fond of the Prince?"

Libationer Kong and State Duke Zhao both glanced at Minister Guo. What else could it be?

It’s because Prince Gong was exposed and is now detained in the palace, leaving him no more opportunities to trouble His Highness the Prince, and the voices in the court impeaching the Prince decreased by half overnight.

Plus, the Prince is about to become a father.

The Prince’s temperament has been alright these past few months, handling affairs steadily, seemingly returning to his former self.

The Emperor has always been reluctant to depose the Prince. Even when the Prince was reckless and self-destructive, he bore the pressure and refused to depose him. Now that the Prince is improving, he naturally wants to pave the way for him.

Wang Ji evidently became the scapegoat, and Zhou Man’s letter was chosen by the Emperor as the initiator. These people, of course, are the knives.

Strike fear into the monkeys by killing the chicken; if the monkeys still won’t behave, there’ll be more disputes ahead.

Libationer Kong sighed inwardly, but didn’t show it on his face. He handed the letter back to Minister Guo, "In the past two days of rest, this letter was selected by the Imperial Secretariat last night. Currently, not many people know about it. So, you have two days to prepare."

Minister Guo took the letter and re-examined it, pondering where to start.

Libationer Kong sat back in the chair, picked up a cup of tea, and said, "Actually, this letter is well written. Although the use of historical references and the literary style are slightly lacking, the accusations are precise, and the crimes are listed for you—being idle while drawing a salary is a major taboo for an official."

Minister Guo still didn’t quite understand, "Anyone could write this letter. Why have Zhou Man write it herself? The Princess Consort is about to give birth, isn’t it inappropriate for her to participate in these matters at this time?"

He still thought it was Libationer Kong and the Emperor who instructed Zhou Man to do it.

Libationer Kong glanced at him and pointed out, "Minister Guo, this letter was written by Zhou Man herself, with no one guiding her."

The State Duke Zhao was secretly drinking with the Emperor yesterday afternoon, and he was sure the Emperor hadn’t yet intended to deal with Wang Ji and his people.

He curiously flipped through the letter and chuckled, "For a woman to have such insight, it’s quite remarkable."

Being his subordinates, Libationer Kong said with slight pride, "She has been well-read in Confucian classics from a young age, and although a woman, she’s been cultivated as a scholar, naturally not bad."

Minister Guo glanced at him. Although unfamiliar with Zhou Man, they both served in the Eastern Palace, and because she was the only female official there, his subordinates often discussed Zhou Man.

He knew that, compared to Confucianism, Zhou Man believed more in Taoism. It was rumored that when an steward in the Eastern Palace was punished and lamented their background, she taught them to pray to Taishang Laojun.

Moreover, her teacher also served as an Assistant Lecturer in the Eastern Palace. Although they’ve only met a few times and haven’t talked much, Minister Guo had heard that in governmental strategy, Zhuang Xun advocated Taoism and Legalism more.

However, this was not the time to compete for credit. Understanding the Emperor’s intention and aligning it with his own position, it was necessary to discuss what to do.

After the discussion, Minister Guo couldn’t help but discreetly ask Libationer Kong out of State Duke Zhao’s hearing, "Is this truly the Emperor’s intention? If he has other intentions, what should we do?"

Implicitly suggesting that if the Emperor intends to fish, trying to expose the Prince’s power, the Prince would find it hard to escape a charge of forming cliques and engaging in private dealings.

As the Office of Palace Affairs, Minister Guo had to consider the possibility of such a situation.

Upon hearing this, Libationer Kong raised his eyebrows at him and said, "Lord Guo is overthinking. The Emperor has had plenty of opportunities to depose the Prince over the past couple of years; why choose now to act against the Prince? Moreover, doesn’t the Emperor know exactly how many people the Prince has?"

In recent years, in his struggle with Prince Gong, the Prince has almost played all his cards, and due to his lack of offspring and unpredictable temperament, he’s lost the loyalty of many ministers and subordinates.

While he believes Prince Gong and other princes have clandestine forces, he truly doesn’t believe the same is true for the Prince.

"If you’re truly worried, have your obvious people take action, and keep your covert ones reserved." Libationer Kong couldn’t help but ask, "But, does the Eastern Palace have covert forces?"

Minister Guo: ...

Libationer Kong snorted inwardly, seemingly, there are none.

Minister Guo lowered his eyes. There are some, just not under his control. They’re in the Prince’s hands.

Even he doesn’t know much about them.

Despite his many grievances against the Prince, Libationer Kong remained his teacher. If the Prince fares poorly, it wouldn’t affect him too much, but if the Prince fares well, he might benefit a little.

Moreover, among a group of dwarfs, he would choose the tallest. Although the Prince has many shortcomings, as long as there is room for improvement, he is indeed much better than Prince Gong.

So Libationer Kong diligently helps the Prince relentlessly. Consequently, during these two days of leave, many officials couldn’t spend their time properly, all locked in their studies, composing letters.

Meanwhile, Manbao, believing she handed in the letter, thought her part was temporarily over, happily left the palace, ate a bowl of noodle soup, then was invited by the State Duke Zhao’s residence to check on Miss Zhao.

As she left the Zhao Residence, she coincidentally encountered the returning State Duke Zhao. He stopped her, looked her up and down for a while, then smiled as he patted her shoulder, "A woman comparable to any man."

Just as he finished speaking, his youngest son, Zhao Liulang, returned from outside, holding a horsewhip while a Xiaos behind him was carrying quite a few things.

State Duke Zhao’s face immediately changed, turning back to Zhou Man, "How can a man compare to you."

Manbao was baffled, looking at State Duke Zhao while Zhao Liulang, seemingly inexplicably glared at, thought: ...