nycdaug Chapter 469 Joy of Life 25
Chapter 469 Joy of Life 25
Having served in the Prince Jing's residence for many years, the Chief Secretary naturally cared deeply for the Prince's residence, and every word he spoke at this moment came from the bottom of his heart.
Although Li Hongcheng knew that the chief clerk was right, he still couldn't swallow his anger: "Fan Xian is going too far. Am I supposed to just swallow this humiliation?"
Seeing this, the chief clerk patiently advised, "Your Highness, why not inform the Prince about this matter? If the Prince..."
"Absolutely not!"
Before the chief clerk could finish speaking, Li Hongcheng waved his hand to interrupt him, his attitude very firm.
To avoid arousing the Emperor's suspicion, his father lived a life of leisure, spending half the year in a secluded villa in the suburbs. Consequently, even he, the heir apparent of Prince Jing, dared not easily interfere in court affairs.
Even now that we've chosen sides, all we can do is use the poetry gathering to discover some talented individuals for the Second Prince, offering our meager assistance.
Fan Xian is the emperor's handpicked son-in-law and the hidden successor of the inner treasury. If his father were to rashly offer advice to the emperor, the emperor might become suspicious and think that his father had designs on the court.
At that time, the current peace of Prince Jing's mansion will be shattered, and the consequences will be unimaginable.
"Sigh!" Li Hongcheng sighed angrily, sat down in a chair, and hated his own powerlessness.
Sure enough, without access to the imperial court and without power in hand, even a prince could be humiliated at will by these petty people!
Seeing his gloomy expression, the chief clerk dared not say anything more.
After a while, Li Hongcheng's emotions gradually calmed down. He instructed, "Prepare some gifts. I haven't yet paid a visit to congratulate His Highness on his recovery."
Since I have already chosen to stand on the Second Prince's side, now that I am in trouble, I might as well seek the Second Prince's help.
I don't expect him to do anything to Fan Xian. As long as he can embarrass Fan Xian in front of everyone and vent his anger, that would be good enough.
After such an incident that night, Li Hongcheng naturally had no desire to sleep. He waited until the next morning, estimating that Li Chengze should have finished his court session, before hurriedly bringing gifts to his door.
Li Chengze was somewhat surprised to hear that Fan Xian dared to sneak into Prince Jing's residence at night.
"Fan Xian is so audacious? He actually dared to break into the inner quarters of the Prince's mansion and spy on the women?"
Li Hongcheng came to ask Li Chengze for a favor, so he adopted a very humble posture and stood respectfully at the lower end of the table.
Upon hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "That Fan Xian dared to do such a thing, he clearly doesn't take my Prince Jing's Mansion seriously! It's just a pity that the guards in the mansion are incompetent, and they actually watched him run away!"
"It's a pity that, although Fan Xian was clearly the one who was rude first, my Prince Jing's Mansion dares not publicize this matter for the sake of the reputation of the women in the manor. Moreover..."
Seeing that Li Chengze's expression remained calm, Li Hongcheng gritted his teeth and hardened his heart: "Your Highness, let me speak frankly. Fan Xian is the next head of the Imperial Treasury appointed by His Majesty, and you are well aware of the situation of my Prince Jing's residence. If this matter is blown out of proportion, damaging the reputation of the women is secondary; what's more serious is that it could arouse His Majesty's suspicion..."
At this point, Li Hongcheng turned his gaze to Li Chengze: "But if Fan Xian is let go like this, I will be unwilling to do so. I can only come here to beg Your Highness to uphold justice for me."
Li Chengze neither immediately agreed nor directly refused. Instead, he looked intently at the grief-stricken Li Hongcheng and asked, "How do you want me to make decisions for you?"
The king?
This self-proclaimed...
Li Hongcheng's heart trembled suddenly, as if he realized something. A struggle flashed across his face, and finally he slowly uttered eight words: "Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace."
"Very well!" Li Chengze sat upright, a smile playing on his lips, his hand resting lightly on the armchair beside him: "I will make the decision for you. You may go back and wait!"
He had gotten the result he wanted, but Li Hongcheng's feelings were extremely complicated. Just as he turned to leave, he heard Li Chengze slowly say:
"Uncle Wang has been out of the public eye for a long time, so you've been in charge of all the affairs of the Wang residence. If you're satisfied with this, then you don't need to bother organizing any more poetry gatherings in the future. It's really too much work."
Li Hongcheng stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening suddenly: "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
"I heard you really like Fan Ruoruo?" Li Chengze said with a smile. "And Fan Ruoruo's greatest idol is her brother Fan Xian. If I were to really harm Fan Xian, Fan Ruoruo would be heartbroken. Wouldn't you feel sorry for her?"
It is common knowledge that Li Hongcheng sided with Li Chengze, but in reality, apart from the monthly poetry gatherings, Li Hongcheng did not provide any substantial assistance to Li Chengze.
With the added reminder from Prince Jing, Li Hongcheng acted with great discretion. On the surface, he put on a good show, but in reality, he secretly prepared a way out for himself. Once Li Chengze lost power, he could withdraw from Li Chengze's camp at any time.
More importantly, Li Hongcheng liked Fan Ruoruo very much, so after Fan Xian entered the capital, he intended to befriend him in order to get closer to Fan Ruoruo.
The recent coldness towards Fan Xian might have been an act intended to impress Li Chengze.
Is his current request for help from Li Chengze truly due to his inability to help?
of course not!
Even though Prince Jing lives a carefree life and doesn't get involved in court affairs, he has cultivated deep connections in the capital over many years. Even if eliminating Fan Xian might arouse Emperor Qing's suspicion, he is more than capable of causing Fan Xian some trouble.
Now, Li Hongcheng neither seeks Emperor Qing's intervention nor asks Prince Jing to intervene, simply because he doesn't want Fan Ruoruo to resent him.
Li Chengze, on the other hand, is different. He is the son of Emperor Qing and the Second Prince of the court. He is the only force in the court that can rival the Crown Prince. He has no intention of recruiting Fan Xian, so a conflict between them is only a matter of time.
If Li Chengze were to attack Fan Xian at this moment, no one would suspect anything; they would only think that Li Chengze was angry because he had failed to win Fan Xian over.
All the blame will be directed at Li Chengze, and the Jingwang Mansion can remain uninvolved. Even Fan Ruoruo will only resent Li Chengze and will not associate Li Hongcheng with this matter.
This is Li Hongcheng's true thought.
His scheming was practically written all over his face, so how could Li Chengze not see it?
When the original owner is caught up in the situation, they are easily influenced by their existing perceptions and emotions, which can change their opinion of a person.
Li Hongcheng had a deep friendship with the original owner since childhood, and after growing up, he openly supported the original owner, thus gaining the original owner's deep trust.
However, Li Chengze was able to examine everyone around him from a more objective and calm perspective, and naturally he was able to easily perceive Li Hongcheng's inner reservations and those subtle thoughts.
Li Hongcheng's expression turned somewhat awkward after Li Chengze exposed his thoughts, but he couldn't hide his panic even more.
Seeing his appearance, Li Chengze shook his head slightly, said nothing more, and had him escorted out.