Chapter 279 The Guilty Emperor's Thoughts

In the afternoon, Yang Wenyuan left the Hanlin Academy.

Covered in an indigo cloak, he returned home in the snow and wind, and was greeted by the cold gaze of his aunt, Mrs. Chen.

Yang Wenyuan felt uneasy and dared not look directly at him, so he could only cover his face and walk away.

The dinner table.

Madam Chen again vaguely mentioned some of the young masters of the Duke of Lingguo's Mansion and some "unfaithful men", and told Yang Ruijin face to face that she must stay away from these people in the future. However, Yang Wenyuan, who was standing next to her, felt a chill down his spine when he heard this.

Yang Rujin nodded in confusion, while Hualan smiled sweetly beside her.

After meal.

Zi Ze was in the bedroom.

"Well, now my aunt has found out my weakness." Yang Wenyuan finished his meal with a grin on his face. As soon as he hid in his room, he began to "complain" to Hualan.

Of course, it's just complaints.

Hua Lan immediately rolled her eyes at Yang Wenyuan, and Yang Wenyuan could only chuckle a few times.

Then he said:
"In another half month, it will be the new year. You don't need to worry too much about such trivial matters. Just take care of yourself."

Hualan nodded slightly and said "OK".

"correct."

Yang Wenyuan seemed to remember something at this time, and immediately walked to the small study in the side room. After a while, he came back with a thin account book in his hand.

He walked up to Hualan and handed the booklet to her.

When Hua Lan was flipping through it, Yang Wenyuan said proudly:

"Now the fireworks workshop has also made quite a bit of money."

"But what about those styles I brought from my hometown before?" Hua Lan asked while flipping through the account books.

She still remembered the novel fireworks at Changwu's wedding, which were very colorful and dazzling.

"Yes, those are the ones."

Yang Wenyuan nodded and replied:
"These new styles are quite novel and very popular among dignitaries. Even the palace has purchased a lot of them, but the supply cannot meet the demand."

The family has invested a huge amount of money in the fireworks workshop, and always wants to come up with something new for people to see.

So Yang Wenyuan asked some craftsmen to make new fireworks based on his suggestions in their spare time and then bring them to Bian Jing to sell.

As expected, once it was released, it became a complete seller's market with a constant stream of buyers and sellers.

There were countless dignitaries and wealthy businessmen in Bianliang, and they were all wealthy.

Since this can bring some festivity and splendor, people will not hesitate to pay for it.

"Hmm~!"

Hua Lan nodded and looked through the earnings in the account book with a smile on her face.

She was not happy about the money that the fireworks workshop could make. After all, this money was not as much as the paddy field outside the city, but she was happy that Yang Wenyuan's "hard work" finally paid off.

That’s right. In Hualan’s opinion, Yang Wenyuan paid so much attention to the fireworks workshop and spent so much effort on it. Now he finally had a “harvest”. Just like a fruit farmer who gets the fruits after all the hard work, he must be very happy.

Yang Wenyuan was a little worried that Hualan would mistakenly think that he was not doing his job properly...

Well, considering Yang Wenyuan's status, making money is indeed not a proper job.

But no matter what, Yang Wenyuan didn't want Hualan to think that he was doing useless work.

Looking at the smiles on each other's faces, the joy in their hearts was the same.

"But there seems to be a quota for the daily buying and selling quantities?" Hua Lan looked for a while, suddenly opened her cherry lips and asked a question.

"Ah."

Yang Wenyuan nodded and replied:

"We don't produce a lot of this kind of novelty fireworks, and we didn't expect it to be so popular, so we had to raise the price and sell a fixed amount."

This is not because Yang Wenyuan wants to engage in hunger marketing, but because he really doesn't want to give more, and he can't give more.

After all, making money is secondary to him.

"Oh." Hua Lan nodded.

She didn't know much about this business, so she didn't say much.

Soon, the fireworks brought by Yang Wenyuan were sold out.

As these fireworks entered every household, the smell of gunpowder in the air seemed to become thicker.

Not only is the New Year atmosphere getting closer, but also the controversy over who will be the crown prince is getting more intense.

Ever since the emperor agreed to appoint a crown prince last time, it seems that he has come to terms with it and has become more and more relaxed about appointing an heir.

By now, this matter can almost be brought to the table for discussion.

While the famous officials in the court breathed a sigh of relief, they were troubled by a more important matter.

Which prince does the emperor want to make the crown prince?

Prince Yong was old and had many sons.

King Yan was strong but had only one son.

How to take sides is also a major problem at present.

During these days, the emperor ordered the scholars of the Hanlin Academy to begin studying the matter of conferring the title on the emperor, but at the same time he did not release any information to the outside world.

The choice of Shujishi rather than officials from the Ministry of Rites is also something worthy of consideration.

After all, Shujishi did not have the right to discuss state affairs, they only had the right to observe politics.

This move put the matter of enthroning the crown prince on this group of people who did not hold official positions, which did not put the process of establishing a crown prince on the right track. But at the same time, it sent a signal to the outside world that the government was already preparing to establish a crown prince.

Now, the two major factions of Prince Yong and Prince Yan were like hungry wolves, both wanting to take the crown prince position that was hanging over their heads.

And now it is New Year's Eve, which is the day when high-ranking officials will go to the palace to pay homage.

I'm afraid that will be the time when the person the official family favors will be determined.

Therefore, in the first half month of this year, the clashes between factions in the court became more and more fierce, and both sides wanted to show their talents and abilities in front of the emperor in order to win his favor.

Therefore, in this cold and snowy winter, there was no sign of desolation in front of the Prince of Yong's Mansion and the Prince of Yan's Mansion. Instead, people often sang and danced all night long.

The wheel tracks in front of the gate reflected the snow and mud clearly. Even if snowflakes flew all night, they could not cover the surface. Eventually, it turned into a quagmire that appeared between the officials coming and going.

But no one cared.

As the current head of the Yang family and Marquis of Pingyang, Yang Wenyuan was naturally invited as well.

Last time, at the banquet at the Pingyang Marquis's residence, Yang Wenyuan did not invite the Yan Wang family because he was resentful of the Yan Wang family for sending people to instigate Chang Feng.

At this moment, Prince Yan also "let bygones be bygones" and sent a letter to Yang Wenyuan.

Regardless of whether it was just a show or he sincerely wanted the help, the title of "wise king" for Prince Yan became more appropriate.

However, Yang Wenyuan declined the offer respectfully, as he did not want to have anything to do with Prince Yan.

But a direct rejection without any reason is not a good look, and it will only attract more attention.

It just so happened that Yang Wenyuan used Hualan's pregnancy as an excuse to shirk responsibility.

As Hualan gradually became pregnant, the news gradually spread.

The Yang family does not have many direct descendants, so it is reasonable for Yang Wenyuan to pay more attention to the first direct descendant of the next generation. Even the King of Yan can come and invite him.

Then, as Prince Yong had attended the banquet at the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion last time, he naturally also sent an invitation.

Yang Wenyuan also refused for the same reason, indicating that he did not want to get involved in these turmoil.

I, Yang Wenyuan, am a staunch royalist!
However, no one knew what Prince Yong was thinking. Perhaps he felt that he had more face in front of Yang Wenyuan than Prince Yan, or he felt that his position as crown prince was already a foregone conclusion and Yang Wenyuan should learn to obey. After his invitation was rejected, he actually handed in a visiting card.

Yang Wenyuan naturally didn't tolerate it, so he ignored it.

royal palace.

Royal study room.

The emperor was sitting at his desk, wearing a thin moon-white silk robe.

The floor heating in the hall was constantly burning, making the room very hot. Because the emperor was old and frail and could not stand the cold, the heating was burning more vigorously than usual.

"Haha, this kid from the Yang family doesn't get the best of both worlds."

The emperor flipped through the intelligence reports handed over by the Imperial City Bureau and said to Empress Cao, who was sitting next to him, with a smile:
"This kid is also smart. He just wants to stay out of it and doesn't want to take any risks."

Empress Cao naturally understood that the emperor was talking about Yang Wenyuan.

This year, the Yang family and her natal family, the Cao family, have become closer, and Hualan has come to the palace to pay her respects from time to time. Therefore, Empress Cao's impression of Yang Wenyuan is as good as usual, so she smiled and said:

"This monkey is always like this."

The emperor glanced at Empress Cao, then looked down at the intelligence report in his hand. His smile faded slightly, and he said in a calm tone:
"It was good before, but now it's not so good."

Ever since the emperor had the idea of ​​compromising and choosing a crown prince, the Yang family, who had previously benefited from his support, no longer needed them.

If you lose the favor of the Holy Spirit and your effectiveness, then the grace that was originally given to you will naturally be taken back.

However, the emperor was not a cruel and ungrateful king, but a kind-hearted person.

therefore.

As for Yang Wenyuan, the emperor only ranked him fourth and did not allow him to become an official after the palace examination. Instead, he stayed in the Hanlin Academy for a few years.

As for the future of Yang Wenyuan, the emperor left it to his successor.

When dealing with Yang Yuqing, the most important thing for the emperor was to take back the military power of the Central Imperial Guards from him.

This is the best excuse to send Yang Yuqing south to quell the rebellion.

Now that the Nung rebels in the south have been defeated, Yang Yuqing's triumphant return to the capital is just around the corner.

By then, when he is favored and honored, whether he is sent to garrison in the south or promoted to the cabinet, he can remove the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Western Wing.

Without the military power of the Central Imperial Guard, the now powerful Yang family will become weak and will not become a problem for the successors.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

Empress Cao naturally understood the meaning of the emperor's tone and looked a little surprised for a moment.

Could it be that the emperor is dissatisfied with the current Yang family?

Obviously, I had someone I could rely on before...

"It's nothing. When people get old, they just say things that don't matter..."

A smile appeared on the emperor's gray-bearded face again.

Then he waved his hand, his expression showing indifference:

"By the way, Queen, I heard that the Yang family has been in close contact with your family recently?"

Although Empress Cao believed that she and the Emperor had a very close relationship, she was surprised to see that the Emperor's attitude towards the Yang family had changed.

"Your Majesty, where did you hear this? It's not good at all. It's just official flattery."

At the same time, Empress Cao was secretly wondering whether she should warn her family members and sever ties with the Yang family in the future.

The emperor's expression remained unchanged, he nodded and said:
"Since you said so, I guess I heard it wrongly."

After saying this, the emperor thought for a moment, then whispered to Empress Cao:
"There is an order of seniority, and you should treat the Yang family as usual. There is no need to be shy about anything."

Empress Cao understood that the emperor had his own considerations in mind and did not want his plans to be ruined by her sudden change of attitude, so she nodded in agreement.

but……

Empress Cao's heart suddenly skipped a beat and she immediately turned around to look at the emperor.

Just treat the Yang family as usual, why add the order of seniority in front of it?

The phrase "elders and younger ones should be respected" was what Empress Cao heard most often when it came to the issue of establishing a crown prince.

Empress Cao now knew that the Emperor was planning to appoint a crown prince, but like the other court officials, she had no idea who the Emperor wanted to appoint as the crown prince.

Combined with the current phrase "older and younger people should be respected"...

"Could it be that the emperor has already set his sights on Prince Yong?" Empress Cao was shocked.

I immediately began to think about what the official would say next.

And treating the Yang family as usual, does it mean treating Prince Yong as usual, without letting outsiders see it?

As for "no need to be shy"...

In order to reassure herself, she implied that this was the escape route the emperor left for her as the queen.

Empress Cao had a lot of thoughts in her mind for a moment, and she immediately looked up to confirm with the emperor. However, when she looked around, she saw that the emperor had lowered his head again and was looking carefully at the memorials or spy secrets on the desk.

After searching in vain, Empress Cao did not dare to ask any more questions. She just frowned, lowered her head and began to think silently.

After a while.

The emperor finally took his eyes off the desk and said to Empress Cao:

"Queen, if there is nothing urgent, please go back to the palace first."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Empress Cao didn't know whether her guess was right or not. She just looked towards the emperor, but what she saw was only a pair of eyes as calm as a pool of water.

Without getting any answer, Empress Cao had to stand up and leave.

Looking at Empress Cao's departing back, the emperor casually threw the memorial in his hand on the desk and sighed imperceptibly.

He suddenly revealed so much to Empress Cao today because he was really worried about her and was concerned about how she would cope after his death.

If it were another emperor, he probably wouldn't tell anyone else a word until the matter was confirmed.

Thinking of this, the emperor picked up the intelligence about the Yang family again. While he favored the Yang family in previous years, the emperor also paid unprecedented attention to the Yang family.

It lists in detail the recent events of the Yang family - "The wife of the Marquis of Pingyang is confirmed to be pregnant", "The eldest lady of the Sheng family came to visit with her children", "She is still in contact with the second son of the Ningyuan Marquis's Gu family", and "The new style of fireworks comes from the Yang family"...

Every single thing and every single thing is detailed information from the Yang family.

Looking at the "novel fireworks pattern" above, the official's gray brows slightly wrinkled, and he whispered to himself:
"Hide your strength and bide your time? Or do you just do it when you feel like it?"

If he was trying to keep a low profile, this would be too obvious. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see it, not to mention that Yang Wenyuan made such a big fuss about it.

But when the mood strikes...

It's also a bit unreasonable.

After all, no matter how much you like fireworks, there should be a limit and a time limit. However, Yang Wenyuan has not gotten tired of fireworks for such a long time.

It's really strange.

(End of this chapter)