Chapter 56: The Minister is Powerful and the Ruler is Weak

  Xiao Fan walked out of the Chen mansion with a heavy heart.

  Was refusing to marry wrong? No! It's not wrong! In life, there may be many things that require compromise and concession, but feelings are not one of them. That is the softest and most sacred corner of a person's heart, and any compromise or concession would be a desecration of it.

  It's been more than two months since I arrived in the Ming Dynasty, and I've almost gotten used to life here. Xiao Fan feels like he has fully integrated himself into this unfamiliar environment. So, is it time to leave the Chen family?

  To be honest, Xiao Fan still has a grateful heart towards the Chen family. After all, Chen Si Liu raised him for four years. To Xiao Fan, the Chen family is his foster family and has a familial relationship with him as his in-laws. Unfortunately, the Chen family is not his real home.

  But what to do after leaving Chen's house? Asking Zhu Yunwen or Yan Wang for an official position might not be difficult, but it's not a good time to be an official now.

  Xiao Fan was perplexed, always thinking before acting. After leaving the Chen family, he would eventually have to find a way to make a living. Xiao Fan thought about it with a headache, but then stopped thinking about it. He secretly calculated that over the past two months, he had saved up quite a bit of silver, including the ten taels of savings from his previous life, the forty or so taels of silver he had extorted from Huang Nei, and the twenty or so taels of silver he had embezzled as the manager of Zui Xian Lou. Adding it all up, his total assets now were around seventy taels of silver.

  More than 70 taels, it doesn't seem like a lot, but in this era, it's already equivalent to the assets of a middle-class family. Having money in hand and being at peace in heart, no matter what you do, you won't starve to death.

  After calculating, Xiao Fan smiled contentedly. He still understood the principle of not revealing his wealth, so he decided to hide the more than 70 taels of silver before leaving the Chen family. Later, he would rely on it for a living, and it would be best to hide it in his own residence within the Chen estate. On the day he left the Chen family, he could simply take the silver and leave, which was both convenient and elegant.

  The majestic and magnificent Ming Dynasty is beckoning to him, Xiao Fan is not a fish in the pond, how can the nest of swallows hold onto a swan?

  Xiao Fan returned to Zui Xian Lou when it was almost dusk.

  The atmosphere of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was a bit strange. The main hall, which should have been filled with guests, was empty and deserted. Outside, several yamen runners stood in twos and threes, holding iron rulers and waist knives, daring anyone to approach.

  Two warriors in casual attire, with long swords at their waists, stood solemnly at the gate, scanning the surroundings with cold and stern expressions, their eyes as vigilant as two loyal hunting dogs. When Xiao Fan entered, they slightly relaxed their guard and bowed slightly to him.

  Lao Cai and Dogzi stood at the stairs with a frightened expression, their manner humble and reverent.

  Xiao Fan frowned and walked forward, asking Old Cai: "The guest has been driven out again?"

  Old Cai shrunk back a bit and said in a low voice: "With those two fierce deities standing at the door, who dares to enter..."

  "These two aren't that scary, why do I feel like you're being held hostage by bandits..."

  Old Cai mysteriously pointed upstairs and whispered: "That... Ta Sun, the Crown Prince, has come again today and is waiting for you in the elegant pavilion upstairs..."

  At the table by the staircase in the main hall, Huang Zhixian and Cao Xiang were standing still with their bodies half-bowed, not moving. When Xiao Fan entered, Huang Zhixian hummed a low, discontented sound, his eyes filled with venomous resentment that could kill people.

  Cao Yi gave Xiao Fan a seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling glance, the meaning in his eyes was very ambiguous, it couldn't be told whether he was happy or resentful.

  Xiao Fan sighed, ever since Zhu Yunwen's imperial procession came to Jiangpu for a show of force, he had been coming back every few days, three or four times already. Each time, he would sneak out in disguise and come to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to find him. One was born into a noble royal family, while the other was from a humble merchant background; they really didn't have much common ground for conversation. Xiao Fan himself had a loose tongue, and with nothing better to do, he told Zhu Yunwen a story about Journey to the West. Now, Zhu Yunwen was completely enthralled, like an addict, and every day would sneak out of the capital on horseback, riding for half a day at high speed under the escort of his personal guards, arriving at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in grand style to listen to Xiao Fan's latest updates - two chapters each time. If there were fewer than that, he wouldn't be satisfied. Listening to stories was one thing, but he didn't even give him a recommendation vote...

  This Prince Taisun is particularly good at picking times, every time he comes it's exactly during the peak hours of dusk when the Drunken Immortal Pavilion is most crowded. As soon as the prince arrives, the pavilion becomes deserted, and the imperial guards in brocade uniforms clear out all the guests without any courtesy, forcing them to leave completely. The two big shots from the county government have to attend to the prince's side, while the outer perimeter security is handled by the county government's bailiffs, and the inner area is taken over by the imperial guards. This level of security is so tight that it can be said that not even a needle can get in or a drop of water can be splashed in.

  As for those guests who were eating, it was even more impossible for them to get in.

  Xiao Fan really wanted to slap himself in the face, what a cheap mouth! After eating his fill, he had the nerve to tell him stories. If you're going to tell stories, then tell stories, why not choose a short one? But instead, he picked out "Journey to the West" ...

  At this rate, Master Tang and his disciples haven't even arrived at Leiyin Temple yet, and the Drunken Immortal Pavilion will probably go bankrupt first...

  A few dozen taels of silver in business, can't be delayed by this ignorant grandson, Chen Si Liu's profit or loss is none of his concern, what he worries about is that the Drunken Immortal Pavilion will have no income, how can he embezzle then.

  Xiao Fan nodded and smiled slightly, ignoring Huang Zhixian's angry gaze, lifted the hem of his robe and waited to go upstairs to pay respects to the Crown Prince.

  Just as I had climbed one step, someone came down from upstairs.

  Zhu Yunwen wore a pale blue silk changshan, fiddling with the jade pendant hanging from his waist, with a faint smile on his face, slowly walking down the stairs, looking every inch the elegant and refined young master.

  Xiao Fan hastily retreated two steps, lifted his hem, and knelt down to kowtow loudly: "Humble subject Xiao Fan pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince."

  Zhu Yunwen still had a warm and gentle smile on his face, and he casually waved his hand, saying: "Get up, we've known each other for so long, don't be too polite."

  As they spoke, Zhu Yunfan had already walked down the stairs, then hurriedly pulled Xiao Fan up and rushed him to a table, urging: "You mentioned last time that the monkey made a big fuss at the Queen Mother's peach banquet, and then stole the elixir of the Supreme Elder Lord. Ha ha, that monkey really has a lot of guts! What happened next? How did it end? Hurry up and continue..."

  Xiao Fan looked at him with a smile, and as they met more times, Xiao Fan gradually lost his fear of him. In fact, people in the imperial family were just like ordinary people, with joys and sorrows, births and deaths, some had strong personalities, while others had weak ones.

  Apart from the time when Zhu Yunwen used his imperial authority to intimidate Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan didn't have much fear for Zhu Yunwen. This is something that Zhu Yunwen should reflect on himself - in front of Xiao Fan, he had no airs about him at all and acted like a very simple and naive child, being curious about everything, especially enthusiastic when it came to topics related to the common people. It's no wonder Xiao Fan didn't fear him - the Crown Prince who was beaten by Xiao Fan until he cried out loud, what could he expect from Xiao Fan?

  Facing Zhu Yun's eager gaze, Xiao Fan slowly said: "That monkey..."

  "What happened to that monkey later?" Zhu Yunwen was more anxious than the monkey.

  "Cough, that monkey died later......" Xiao Fan looked as if he had lost a loved one.

  "What? Dead... dead?" Zhu Yunfeng's eyes widened in shock, his face filled with grief: "How could it have died?"

  Xiao Fan's expressionless face said: "He died by his own hand."

  "From... self-sufficiency?"

  "After stealing the elixir, he descended to the mortal world and opened a wine shop..."

  Zhu Yunwen was bewildered and scratched his hair: "Monkey... opening a wine shop?"

  Xiao Fan nodded solemnly: "Yes! Open a wine house! Later, there was no business coming in, the wine house went bankrupt and closed down, the monkey owed employees a lot of wages, and under desperation, jumped off the building to kill himself..."

  "Why doesn't business come to our door?"

  Xiao Fan let out a serious sigh: "Because of Jin Yi's strict door policy, no guests dare to come..."

  "Bang!" Zhu Yunfeng slammed his hand on the table, furious: "What did Monkey provoke? These Imperial Guards are too detestable!"

  Xiao Fan nodded vigorously, showing great agreement: "Exactly! Your Highness has summarized it perfectly! What's wrong with Monkey opening a wine shop and inviting whoever he wants?"

  Zhu Yunwen isn't a fool, he touched his mouth a few times and immediately realized what was going on. He glared at Xiao Fan with dissatisfaction: "Are you cursing me in a roundabout way?"

  "A humble person... is terrified!"

  Zhu Yunwen showed a stubborn expression like a child, humming: "I don't care, I want to hear the story of the monkey, you are not allowed to fool me again, it must be wonderful, with ups and downs, I will withdraw the Jin Yiwei army, we only occupy one elegant pavilion on the upper floor, is that okay?"

  Xiao Fan smiled and cupped his hands: "Your Highness is wise."

  Zuixian Building lifted its gate ban, Xiao Fan led Zhu Yunwen up to the third floor, Huang Zhixian and Cao Yi continued to wait in the main hall, while the Imperial Guards sealed off the third floor, with defenses still tight.

  The decoration of the pavilion is very elegant, each room is carefully arranged by Xiao Fan, with landscape paintings, potted landscapes, ink paintings, and ancient furniture that exudes a sense of elegance without being too flashy. In order to emphasize the "elegance" of the pavilion, Xiao Fan even placed two antique qins on the altar on the east wall of the pavilion. The qins have a wutong wood surface and are coated with deep purple lacquer, reflecting the crimson sunset that shines through the window lattice, giving off a rich oil sheen, as if telling a story of a long and storied history.

  Zhu Yunwen was immediately interested in the two guqins as soon as he entered, and looked at them with great enthusiasm for a while. He turned his head to Xiao Fan and said, "Are these really ancient guqins? Are they from the Song or Tang dynasty?"

  Xiao Fan coughed uncomfortably: "This dynasty's..."

  Zhu Yunwen said incredulously: "From this dynasty? How is that possible? These two qins are at least 200 years old..."

  Xiao Fan sighed inwardly, what a simple-minded young man. This Drunken Immortal Pavilion is a place to eat, not a shop selling antiques. We just display a few items to add some elegance, how could we possibly spend a lot of money buying genuine articles? With Zhu Yunwen's eyesight, if he were in the previous life and walked around Panjiayuan in Beijing, he would definitely lose his pants.

  "Are these two zithers really from the Song Dynasty?" Zhu Yunwen still couldn't believe that these two ancient zithers were fake.

  Xiao Fan smiled and said: "This is the handwriting of Zhou Zhanggui, the owner of Mo Lin Xuan in this county. The retail price is two taels of silver, and the wholesale price is one tael and five mace. If Your Highness is interested, I am willing to give it to you for free, along with a pair of qin boxes..."

  Zhu Yunwen: "………"

  Zhu Yunfeng's interest was suddenly dampened, and he casually found a chair to sit down on. He waved his hand and had the Jin Yiwei guards who were attending him driven out. The elegant pavilion was empty except for him and Xiao Fan.

  Everyone left, and Zhu Yun's handsome face suddenly fell.

  His expression was sparse, and his eyebrows seemed to be filled with deep sorrow. He looked at Xiao Fan and said in a somewhat dispirited tone: "Xiao Fan, let's not tell stories today. I'm really feeling a bit frustrated and can't muster up the enthusiasm."

  Xiao Fan was naturally delighted and hastily replied: "Yes."

  Zhu Yunwen sighed and said, "Today, Mr. Huang told me something that made me very unhappy, but I don't know what to do about it. This matter cannot be told to my imperial grandfather, I'm afraid he will get angry. In the Eastern Palace, I also have no friends to talk to..."

  Raising her eyes to look at Xiao Fan, Zhu Yun's gaze had a few hints of longing.

  "Xiao Fan, you are a commoner and have nothing to do with court politics. I'll tell you about this unhappy thing, and after you've heard it, just forget it. It will make me feel better too, okay?"

  Xiao Fan bowed and said: "Your humble servant is all ears..."

  Zhu Yun's handsome face suddenly showed a joyful expression, and his eyes even became more lively. It was unclear whether he was delighted because he could finally express his feelings or because he had gained another friend who would listen to him.

  "In fact... Mr. Huang said this matter is also a kind intention, he is the arm-bone minister left by my imperial grandfather, his loyalty, I still trust."

  "May I ask your lordship, who is this Mr. Huang?"

  "Mr. Huang, didn't you know? Oh, you are a commoner and it's understandable that you wouldn't know. Mr. Huang's full name is Huang Zicheng, he was the top scorer in the imperial examination of the 18th year of the Hongwu era, currently serving as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, lecturer at the Spring Pavilion, and reader to the Eastern Palace. He taught me all my lessons, so I address him as 'Mr.'"

  Xiao Fan nodded, Huang Zicheng, this is a very famous figure. After Zhu Yunwen ascended to the throne, he became the vanguard of the strategy to reduce the power of the princes. His learning was extremely profound, but unfortunately his IQ and knowledge were inversely proportional. Zhu Yunwen was defeated by the King of Yan, causing the King of Yan to attack Nanjing, resulting in Zhu Yunwen losing the kingdom. The failure of Jianwen was largely related to Huang Zicheng.

  "Your Highness, what did Mr. Huang say to you?"

  Zhu Yunwei sighed, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Let me make a simple analogy... For example, there is a large family, the head of which is my grandfather. He loves me very much, so he has handed over the entire family business to me. However, what Grandfather doesn't know is that this move made my elder uncles unhappy. The inheritance of the family business has always been from father to son, and then from son to son. It's rare for a grandfather to pass it directly to his grandson, skipping over his sons. My uncles don't say anything openly, but they still have some resentment in their hearts..."

  Xiao Fan's heart skipped a beat, what was bound to happen would eventually happen. It seemed that Zhu Yunwen and Huang Zicheng had already realized the necessity of reducing the power of the princes. This topic was indeed deadly, and couldn't be mentioned to anyone, including Zhu Yuanzhang.

  "...Now that my grandfather is still alive, even if my uncles have great grievances in their hearts, they dare not speak out. Mr. Huang told me that he fears that once my grandfather passes away, my uncles will no longer be able to hold back and will plot to take over the family business that rightfully belongs to me. At that time, I will be young and weak, and whether it's in terms of reputation or generation, I won't be a match for my uncles. The minister is strong while the ruler is weak, a sign of a country on the verge of collapse..."

  At this point, Zhu Yunwen let out a deep sigh, his eyebrows furrowed into a "川" shape.

  Xiao Fan remained silent, regardless of his identity or stance, he couldn't say anything, this was politics, bloody politics, what could he say? One careless move and he might end up risking his own life, now that he hadn't yet pledged allegiance to Zhu Yunwen, he didn't have a position to strategize for him.

  The two men sat opposite each other in silence for a long time. Then, Zhu Yunfeng raised his head and looked at Xiao Fan, saying: "What do you have to say?"

  "What? This... Your Highness's story is even more vivid than the commoner's Journey to the West. The commoner seems to see that magnificent and majestic imperial court..."

  "Stop talking nonsense! I'm only asking you, what's your excuse? There are only two of us here, the law doesn't spread to six ears, what are you afraid of!"

  Xiao Fan thought for half a day before hesitantly speaking up: "Your Highness's uncles plotting to seize the family property is truly despicable..."

  "Let's get to the point!"

  Xiao Fan looked at Zhu Yunwen with a difficult expression and tentatively said: "Or... think of a way to trick the emperor's uncles into entering the capital, have them line up together, then the emperor can strangle them one by one..."

  Zhu Yunwen nodded solemnly after thinking for a moment: "Not bad, it's a good method... Can you help me get rid of them?"

  Xiao Fan was shocked and pale: "N... what? Your Highness, it has nothing to do with me..."