HLnovel Chapter 921 Reinforcements
Chapter 921 Reinforcements
“I have a nodding acquaintance with Zheng Ping. This man is indeed unlike ordinary eunuchs. He is quite knowledgeable and speaks eloquently. However, it is a pity that he has no ambition. Otherwise, when the late emperor was alive, he could have easily risen to a higher position by virtue of the late emperor’s favor,” Zhang Ping’an said.
Green-eyed man, however, felt that this was precisely Zheng Ping's brilliance. "The previous dynasty, Great Xia, already had the example of Eunuch Wei. Although Zheng Ping is valued by the late emperor, if he were to rise any higher, it might arouse the late emperor's suspicion. Staying in his current position is just right. He is neither too weak nor too strong, thus not blocking others' path. Moreover, just as you said, he is quite loyal to the royal family and can be of great help at this critical juncture."
"Well, now that he's agreed, things are much easier. We need to schedule a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the specific plan."
Green-eyed waved his hand, "You don't need to worry about that. Zheng Ping said he would take charge of the rescue of His Majesty at the Great Xiangguo Temple. The main thing now is to see how to control the palace and minimize the impact of the Second Prince's disguise as His Majesty."
After all, the case of the Second Prince's rebellion had just been quelled, and the proclamation had been posted. The late emperor had not yet been buried, and his body was still warm. Now, the Second Prince had come back to life. If this were to spread, it would likely damage the dignity of His Majesty and his ministers, and make the people of the world laugh at him. It would be best to handle this quietly.
Once you and Cui Ling have discussed it, just send him a message, and he will cooperate with you.
With the other party working so efficiently, Zhang Ping'an felt much more at ease.
"Okay, I'll contact him when I've finalized my plans."
After discussing the matter with the man with the beady eyes, Zhang Ping'an took a car back.
Things had made significant progress, which brought him much relief.
On the way back to the city, at the city gate, he suddenly saw a familiar face. He was carrying an old bow on his back, riding a big blue mule, with his head down, seemingly lost in thought.
Zhang Ping'an hadn't planned to greet him, but Li Chengye had inadvertently seen him through the carriage curtain, then bent down and dismounted from the big blue mule, leading it over.
It was obvious that she wanted to greet him.
"Lord Zhang, what a coincidence, did you also leave the city just now?" Li Chengye said respectfully, bowing with his hands clasped.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping'an raised his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities, his expression remaining unchanged: "Yes, after finishing my shift just now, I arranged to meet my colleagues outside the city to brew tea and chat."
After saying that, he looked at the old bow behind Li Chengye and subtly threw the topic back: "What is this...?"
Li Chengye followed the gaze to the bow on his back and explained, "Oh, this bow was given to me by my former master. It's a bit old, so I took it out today to have it repaired. I also took advantage of my free time this afternoon to test it out in the suburbs. That way, if there are any shortcomings, I can take it to the shop for repairs as soon as possible."
Zhang Ping'an nodded in understanding and praised, "I see. Then your archery skills must be quite good. Just then, I heard Heming say yesterday that he wanted to invite you and Young Master Wen to go winter hunting in the suburbs. This bow will definitely come in handy."
Li Chengye replied very modestly, "You flatter me, sir!"
At this moment, the line in front slowly began to move forward.
After reading it, Li Chengye politely cupped his hands and said, "Please go first, sir!"
Zhang Ping'an was far superior to Li Chengye in both seniority and official rank, and was fully deserving of such politeness.
So he didn't stand on ceremony with him, nodded goodbye, and told the driver to ride off.
After standing still for a moment, Li Chengye led the big blue mule slowly toward the city gate.
When I got home, my family had already eaten dinner.
Mrs. Xu complained, but also said with concern, "Son, you've been leaving early and coming home late every day lately, and you haven't even had time to eat dinner with the family. Don't overwork yourself. There's no end to the work, but your health is the most important thing!"
Before Zhang Ping'an could say anything, Xiaoyuer explained, "Oh, Grandma, Dad is dealing with important national affairs. Right now, we're still in mourning for the late Emperor. As a first-rank minister, Dad is naturally very busy. Please don't keep asking questions. Just stay and enjoy fishing and gardening with Grandpa."
Hearing this, Xu couldn't help but pat her grandson's arm, saying irritably, "Who am I worrying about every day for? And you all don't appreciate it. Fine, fine, I won't say anything more. I'm going back to my room to rest!"
After saying that, he walked away with his cane and the help of his maid.
After everyone in the main room was gone, Xiaoyuer stepped forward and whispered, "Father, a letter has arrived from over there. It's in your study."
"Okay, I understand," Zhang Ping'an nodded.
Then she couldn't help but give her son a few words of advice: "Your grandma is old. Whatever she says, we younger generation should just listen to her. She's like a child. You can't reason with her. Just coax her."
"But Grandma is really a bit of a nag. Now even Grandpa avoids her. Only you, Dad, have a good temper and can listen to her," Xiaoyuer complained helplessly.
“You,” Zhang Pingan shook his head.
He then turned to the incident at the city gate, saying, "I just ran into Li Chengye at the city gate. He said he went to repair a bow today. This guy is a bit hard to figure out. I always feel like he has a lot of secrets."
"What a coincidence?" Xiaoyuer was slightly surprised. "But Father, you are the Privy Councilor. Investigating him is a piece of cake. If you feel that something is wrong, just send someone to investigate and you will know."
“You think I didn’t check?” Zhang Ping’an rolled his eyes at his son. “I’ve had him checked twice. Apart from the fact that he has some kinship with our family, which is a bit special, his background in Xiangxi is very clean, and he has a smooth path in the imperial examinations.”
At this point, Zhang Ping'an paused, "However, I haven't sensed any malice from him towards our family. In short, you should be careful around him."
"Okay, I know, I will," Little Fish nodded.
When the father and son arrived at the study together, the boy had already finished eating and was waiting.
Zhang Ping'an picked up the letter, carefully checked the sealing wax to make sure it was correct, and then opened it.
"How is it, Dad?" Little Fish couldn't help but look up and ask.
“They’re all ready over there,” Zhang Ping’an said, unable to suppress a smile.
Little Fish clapped his hands excitedly, "Great!"
After reading the letter, Zhang Ping'an placed it on the candle flame, watching it slowly burn to ashes before finally crumbling it into pieces, at which point he felt relieved.
"Don't be too happy yet, this is only the first step. But with reinforcements coming, I feel much more at ease! The next step depends on what Zheng Ping does!"
"Father, what should I do?"
"You? You don't need to do anything. Just continue as usual for now, act as if nothing is amiss, and don't let anyone notice anything unusual!" Zhang Ping'an instructed.