readytorunbook Chapter 212 Schemes Against the Grand Secretary
Chapter 212 Schemes Against the Grand Secretary
Caiyun happened to come out of the house to fetch water. When she saw Shen Li with her back to her, she wanted to greet her.
"Gu Chang'an, what did you promise me this morning?" Shen Li asked coolly.
Caiyun only felt the chill, and then silently covered her mouth, thankfully she didn't speak.
"I did rest. I was lying down all morning and got up to sit up because I was tired. If you don't believe me, you can ask Chunsheng." Gu Chang'an explained weakly, "I also took my medicine and ate on time. How could I not listen to what you told me to do?"
Shen Li knew he wouldn't lie to her, and although she was satisfied, her expression remained serious: "That's more like it, but until you recover, leave less important matters to your subordinates."
"Okay, Ah Li, come in and have some melon. It's hot outside." Gu Chang'an's expression was both obedient and concerned.
Shen Li gave a cool reply before walking back through the corridor.
Caiyun witnessed all of this and found it unbelievable. How could this high-ranking official be so easy to talk to?
Shen Li summoned the family doctor to examine Gu Chang'an's pulse. Only after hearing the doctor say that Gu Chang'an was recovering very well did she feel relieved enough to eat the iced watermelon.
“It’s all different since Madam came back; the master’s illness has healed much faster.” Chunsheng said to Shaoyao in the corridor.
Peony looked proud; her young lady was the best at everything she did.
"My lord, there is something I want to tell you." After finishing her meal, Shen Li ordered the doors and windows to be closed and lowered her voice.
"What is it?" Gu Chang'an was also curious about what needed to be discussed so privately.
So Shen Li recounted what she had seen and heard in the palace that day, focusing on Li Che.
“I have never had any contact with this prince, but Ah Li said so. He is indeed much smarter than Li Heng,” Gu Chang’an analyzed.
His Ah Li is a good judge of character.
Shen Li nodded: "I think we can observe it for a while."
"I will."
The two men tacitly understood that the world needed a wise ruler to be revitalized, but a wise ruler meant not being controlled by others, which was also a danger to important officials.
But compared to their personal safety, they chose those who could benefit the nation.
As for one's life and fortune, that is for one to decide. The saying goes, "To retire gracefully after achieving success is difficult, but to retire unscathed is even more difficult."
It's important to prepare in advance.
"Ah Li, I have a good place to go, would you like to hear about it?" Gu Chang'an whispered in her ear.
"Yes." Shen Li nodded seriously.
Gu Chang'an then took out a map, pointed out a location to her, and said, "The tax reform is underway and will yield results in the next few years. Once the court has money and soldiers, the port here can be opened to other countries."
"If the trading location is set up here, then this place will become the economic lifeline of Dazhao in the future."
Upon hearing his words, Shen Li's mind immediately became active, and a clear blueprint appeared before her eyes.
The trajectory of her previous life was almost the same, only things were progressing faster in this life, and she felt it could be even faster.
"Has my husband been in contact with Commander Zhao recently?" she asked.
Gu Chang'an knew what she was thinking from her question. After thinking for a moment, he said, "He stayed in the capital and wrote to me the other day asking for my help."
"Oh? What did you say?"
“Our Grand Secretary is meticulous in his work, and there aren’t many things we can find to hold against him, but if he wanted to do something, he could do it.” Gu Chang’an calmly repeated, “He doesn’t know how to strike the right balance.”
"Should we uproot it completely or stop short of complete destruction?" Shen Li asked.
Gu Chang'an took the silver fork with his slender fingers, held a slice of watermelon to Shen Li's lips, and said softly, "Listen to A-Li."
In his previous life, with their help, Zhou Zhen only resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown. However, after Li Heng ascended the throne, he was reinstated and instead ruthlessly exterminated the Shen family and Gu Chang'an.
In this life, with the knife in her hand, there's no reason for her to hold back.
She ate the melon and looked at Gu Chang'an with loving eyes: "It's sweet, I want more."
"Eat less, it's cold." Gu Chang'an held the next piece to her lips: "This is the last one."
"Alright." Shen Li licked her lips, still wanting more, and then said, "The Zhou family's power is essentially the Crown Prince's power. Keeping them around will only bring trouble sooner or later. What do you think, my husband?"
"His Majesty would surely be pleased to see this happen, so I will go with the flow and push this boat forward a little further." Gu Chang'an understood; he knew what to do.
Shen Li smiled slightly. Li Heng relied on his legitimate status and influence in the imperial court, half of which came from the Zhou family and half from the Shen family.
If the Zhou family is completely eradicated, Li Heng won't just lose one leg, but both legs.
But this did not satisfy her completely. After all, the Zhou family was just the Zhou family. She needed to find a way to direct the fire as far as possible toward the Eastern Palace.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Recently, Crown Prince Li Heng has been quite pleased with himself. The case of corruption by the Henan Provincial Governor has implicated Prince Yi. Although the Emperor did not allow Gu Chang'an to investigate further, there is considerable dissatisfaction among the court and the public regarding Prince Yi.
Prince Yi originally wanted to take advantage of the momentum from his recent suppression of the Crown Prince to build some prestige, and he had always wanted to take over the Ministry of Revenue. Even the Emperor was somewhat wavering.
There is no precedent in this dynasty for a prince to be in charge of the Six Ministries, but tax reform is currently underway, and once all the regulations and rules are clarified, it will be a tremendous achievement.
With this achievement, Prince Yi would have enough leverage to openly compete with the Crown Prince, and could even bring up the matter of succession in court.
But after this incident, Yi Wang had no choice but to avoid the limelight, let alone gain attention.
Even so, many officials from the capital still submitted memorials to the imperial palace, requesting the emperor to allow Prince Yi to return to his fiefdom.
Li Heng launched numerous impeachments, which caused considerable trouble for the Prince of Yi, and it can be said that he did not gain any real benefit.
Within two days of arriving at the imperial palace, Shen Li had a clear understanding of the situation in the area she was leaving behind. Various memorials were piled up on her desk, and she needed to choose whether to collect them or copy them for future reference.
Not many Hanlin scholars accompanied her to the imperial palace, but the memorials that were sent there were carefully selected. Shen Li had very little to do each day and was quite idle.
There weren't many rules in the garden, and when she didn't need to be on duty, she would often return to her residence after noon.
Gu Chang'an's illness was cured on the third day after Shen Li returned, which made the imperial physicians somewhat incredulous, and they repeatedly said that Gu Chang'an had a good constitution.
Shen Li returned early that day. After changing out of her court robes, she leaned against the window to read. The window was open, and the fragrance of flowers in the courtyard wafted into the room with the wind. Occasionally, a petal would fall onto the yellowed pages of the book.
Caiyun was embroidering a new pattern on the table below, in the shape of a heron, which would be used on Shen Li's official robes in the future.
"Miss, Miss Biao has arrived and says she wants to see you," Lian Qiao announced as she entered.
Shen Li thought about it carefully and realized that this person hadn't appeared since she came back, so she put down her book and said, "Let her in."
Liu Yue was much more respectful this time. As soon as she entered, she said, "Sister-in-law, I've come to apologize to you. It was my fault for not taking good care of my cousin."