Chapter 006: Eloquence and Argumentation (3)

  Zhang Ning turned back with a scowl and glanced at Liu, seeing that she was standing there in a daze without immediately speaking up to "persuade" Zhang Xuan out of the hall. Adding to this, thinking about her brother Zhang Huan's life or death, the anger and resentment that had been suppressed for so long suddenly surged up.

  "Zhang Xuan, aren't you going to back down?" Zhang Ning's face was extremely ugly, with a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. He gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the flames in his chest, scolding word by word, "Shameless, ignorant, rude, truly losing face for the Zhang family!"

  Zhang Xuan furrowed his brow. He slowly turned around to look at Zhang Ning, whose face had become distorted with anger and anxiety, and said calmly, "Second brother, since the elder brother is in prison, my heart is also heavy with worry. At this critical moment, we cannot afford to be disorganized! Everything should still be carefully considered."

  Zhang Ning sneered, "Think in the long term? You'd better say it yourself, what's your way of thinking in the long term?"

  "This is obvious. Li Linfu's instruction to Ji Wen to falsely accuse his brother was just a pretext. Their real target is the Crown Prince, not us Zhangs."

  Zhang Xuan took a step forward, seemingly to converse with Zhang Ning, but her clear eyes were fixed on Zhang Jiuyi and Zhang Jiu'ao, the two elders. "It's precisely because of this that we can't act rashly. At this critical moment, any move we make will arouse the Emperor's suspicion, leading our entire family and clan to fall into an abyss from which there is no return!"

  "For now, let's just wait and see how things develop. The Emperor is a wise ruler, and since this case involves the Eastern Palace, he will surely order a thorough investigation to get to the bottom of it, and won't hastily assign blame!"

  "Let someone go to the temple first to gather information... then take action slowly."

  It must be said that Zhang Huan's analysis and judgment are reasonable. Li Linfu is a powerful minister who has dominated the court for a generation, how could he look down on Zhang Huan, a young and low-ranking official, and instruct Ji Wen to falsely accuse Zhang Huan, ultimately still trying to shift the blame to Crown Prince Li Hen.

  When the authorities are confused, they are in chaos. Zhang Jiuyin and Zhang Jiu'gao, as well as Zhang Ning, were all panicked due to the crisis, but Zhang Xuan, as an onlooker, remained extremely calm and saw through everything clearly.

  He cannot "elaborate" on the reason why Zhang's family must have had a great disaster at this time, but he can point out the deep-seated interests and benefits among them. With Zhang Jiuyi and Zhang Jiugao's many years of political wisdom as officials, it is not difficult to understand the connections between them.

  Zhang Jiuyin and Zhang Jiu'ao exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

  "Just watch and wait? Gradually plan for it? This is purely absurd talk! Such a serious crime, the Emperor will be enraged, punishment is imminent, if we don't take action to rescue him, my brother will surely suffer a terrible injustice! Uncle, I'll go prepare the gifts, please uncle, you must step forward..."

  Zhang Ning was furious, glaring at Zhang Xuan. If it weren't for the presence of two elders, he would have rushed forward and slapped Zhang Xuan with a loud slap!

  Zhang Xuan sighed and looked at Zhang Ning helplessly, saying in a low voice, "Second brother, you're too impulsive!"

  "In the fifth year of Tianbao, Huáng Fǔ Wěi Míng, the military governor of Longyou, concurrently took charge of Hexi. In January, Huáng Fǔ Wěi Míng met with Wei Jian and the Crown Prince in secret at Jinglong Temple. Li Linfu ordered Yang Shenqin, an imperial censor, to frame the Crown Prince... But what was the outcome? Although the Emperor punished Wei Jian and Huáng Fǔ Wěi Míng, he did not touch the Crown Prince."

  "Huangfu Weiming's military power was transferred to Wang Zhongyi, the Jiedushi of Shuofang and Hedong circuits. Wang Zhongyi had a close relationship with Crown Prince Heng, which everyone in the court knew about. The Crown Prince was safe and sound, and Li Linfu could do nothing."

  At the end of the fifth year of Tianbao, Liu Xuan accused Du Younei of treason and plotting against the Eastern Palace, pointing fingers at the imperial carriage. Li Linfu seized the opportunity to make a big deal out of it again, intending to overthrow the Crown Prince. This case implicated many people, and both Du Younei and Liu Xuan died under heavy sticks, their bodies piled up in the Temple of Great Justice, their wives and children exiled to distant lands. Li Yang, the governor of Beihai Commandery, was also beaten to death. However, the Crown Prince remained unscathed.

  "What does this mean?" Zhang Xuan's expression was agitated, waving his arms, and his words were powerful. "It means that the Emperor will absolutely not abolish the current Crown Prince. Any case involving the framing of the Eastern Palace will be thoroughly investigated. And as for Li Linfu's sinister intentions, the Emperor is also well aware. If so, then this time when brother was falsely accused, if brother acted with integrity, he would certainly be safe and sound."

  Zhang Xuan's eyes were bright and clear, with a radiant complexion, sweeping away the decadence and incompetence of the rogue, and his words were even more logical and incisive.

  Zhang Jiuyin and Zhang Jiu'gao stared at Zhang Xuan in shock, unable to utter a word for a long time.

  Is this the same Zhang Huan who, having lost his parents at a young age and lacking family education, spent his days calling out to friends and lingering in the brothels of Chang'an?

  Zhang Jiuyin hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "Xu'er, although it's true that the Crown Prince will be fine, it doesn't mean that Li Cheng will be fine. The current Emperor..."

  "Whether it was Huangfu Weiming, Wei Jian, or later Liu Xuan, Du Youlin, Li Yang, and even the current case of Wang Kuo being executed... all can illustrate that when dealing with such serious cases of treason, the Emperor often uses severe measures, fearing to mistakenly kill rather than letting them off!"

  "Uncle, my brother is just a minor civil official, not comparable to the powerful ministers like Huangfu Wei and Wei Jian. And Liu Xuan is just a petty person, Li Yong has a reputation for literature but is greedy and corrupt...". Zhang Xuan stepped forward and spoke loudly, "To take a step back, from my nephew's perspective, my brother's case, even if it's urgent, can't be rushed, still need to wait for the emperor's attitude to decide the next move... Please, uncle, think deeply about this!"

  Zhang Jiuyin and Zhang Jiu'ao exchanged a glance, both reading a hint of shock followed by admiration in each other's eyes.

  No matter how Zhang Xuan, this prodigal nephew, was in the past, but today he is calm and composed, neither arrogant nor humble, polite and dignified. He judges the situation directly and gets to the point - just based on this, not to mention Zhang Ning, even Zhang Huan can't compare.

  "Hmm. Zhang Xuan's words make sense. In that case, let's observe for a day or two before deciding what to do." After some thought, Zhang Jiuyi still felt that Zhang Xuan's judgment was reasonable, and finally spoke out to settle the matter.

  His views represent Zhang Jiugao's views.

  However, Zhang Jiugao still added a sentence from the side, "The gift of money should also be prepared properly. Once the news from the palace comes out, we will have to immediately go to Li Linfu for help and seek a way to survive for both Li's and Zhang's families."

  "It's not suitable to delay, the two of us will go and gather information first, you wait at home, it's not suitable for you to go out these two days." Zhang Jiuyin finished speaking, and together with Zhang Jiu'gao, they nodded to Liu Shi as a courtesy, then left in big strides.

  Zhang Xuan let out a breath of relief, and the tight strings in his heart finally relaxed.

  The crisis has not been truly lifted, and Zhang Xuan understands that once the news from the palace comes out, Zhang Jiuyi and Zhang Jiu are afraid they will still have to bring gifts to Li Linfu's house to "apologize" and "seek help". However, this gave Zhang Xuan a few days' time, and with this buffer, he still had the opportunity to save the Zhang family from the brink of disaster.