Master Liu hurried into the courtyard of the Liu family and told the servant to borrow a carriage.
"Get a spacious one, the Madam will come with me."
The Liu family had recently gained the emperor's favor, and Master Liu had been promoted too quickly, so they didn't have their own carriage and had to rent one.
"What's going on?" Old Madam of Liu Family saw her husband's agitated state for the first time.
The last time he was like this, it was because their granddaughter called him foolish.
"I don't need to eat those bamboo shoots, I want to eat them, and I won't go to the market to buy them? Do I have to go dig them from someone else's house, is that shameless?" Although the Old Madam came from a village, she was the daughter of a village teacher and had been educated, so she had insights.
She could never do something so embarrassing just for the sake of eating.
"And you want to go dig them from Ritual Master Xu's house? Why don't you just let me go to the Imperial Garden and dig them!" The Old Madam refused.
Master Liu clicked his tongue and winked.
The Old Madam immediately realized, "It's our granddaughter..."
Master Liu looked around and nodded.
The Old Madam hurried to the inner chamber, gave the servant the money for the rented carriage.
Just as she was about to grab Master Liu and ask for an explanation, they heard a loud laughter from the outside.
"Is Master Liu home? What are you resting for today, old friend? I've come to visit you."
Master Liu frowned quickly, exchanged a glance with the Old Madam, and lowered his voice, "I'll go check the front, you go prepare the congratulatory gift for Ritual Master Xu's great-grandson's one-month celebration."
With that, he went to the front.
The one welcomed in by the gatekeeper was none other than Hong Xing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Supervising Office, with whom Master Liu currently worked.
Master Liu was temporarily serving as the Right Censor-in-Chief, and although he and Hong Xing were both Fourth Rank officials, the Left Censor-in-Chief had more power in the Supervising Office.
"Master Hong, what wind has blown you here?" Master Liu was somewhat anxious.
What trick was this?
The intelligence boost from his granddaughter only lasted a day.
He had to go catch that bribery criminal, Ritual Master Xu!
Hong Xing chuckled, "Of course I've come to see you. You just returned from the Liao Prince's fief, are you well?"
Master Liu, now shrewd, "Mm, His Majesty was considerate, he let me go to the palace to see my daughter, and then sent me back, giving me three days of rest."
The implication was that he wanted Hong Xing to leave quickly, as he needed to rest.
Hong Xing raised an eyebrow, picked up the tea cup, pretending not to understand, and sighed, "Ah, the Fifth Prince is still too young."
Master Liu glared.
With his doubled intelligence, his memory had also greatly improved.
He suddenly remembered that when he was at the Imperial Academy, he had heard someone say that Hong Xing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Supervising Office, was a student of the Empress's father.
Hong Xing was a member of the Empress's faction.
What did this mean?
The Fifth Prince was young, so the Eldest Prince was just the right age!? The Empress wanted the Liu family to see the situation clearly, the Fifth Prince had no chance of succeeding to the throne, it would be better to support the Eldest Prince's ascension?
Master Liu immediately puffed out his chest and glared.
Hong Xing smiled, "Master Liu, the current Emperor may seem mild, but he is very shrewd. And since ancient times, the imperial princes' maternal families, especially the Crown Prince's maternal family, have been very difficult to be favored."
"Master Liu is now in the spotlight, but do you know that twenty years ago, the Prime Minister Chancellor Tong held great power and presided over three imperial examinations, being the former Emperor's most trusted minister."
Master Liu narrowed his eyes.
The former Prime Minister Chancellor Tong was the Empress's father, the current Eldest Prince's maternal grandfather!
"But after the Eldest Prince was born," Hong Xing put down his teacup, "Chancellor Tong resigned and went home to recuperate."
"Now the Tong family, except for the eldest son, the rest are all great scholars in Jinzhou, without any of them serving in the court."
The Eldest Prince's maternal family had been distanced from the court.
It was to gain the Emperor's trust and show an attitude.
Even if the Eldest Prince ascended the throne in the future, the Tong family would only wholeheartedly assist, never monopolizing the court and becoming the power behind the throne, letting the Xiao family's royal authority become nominal.
"Master Liu, do you understand?" Hong Xing looked at Master Liu, "You can't have both the fish and the bear's paw."
"If you want the Liu family to be remembered for generations and accomplish great things, then the Fifth Prince is too small, too small."
Master Liu closed his eyes.
Was this making him choose between being a high official or letting his grandson become emperor?
"You are now doing so much for the Emperor, do you understand His Majesty's intention?" Hong Xing lowered his voice.
"The name behind the plaque, the Fifth Prince's chance may be too low."
Master Liu barely restrained himself from looking at Hong Xing like he was an idiot.
"The wise know the opportune time, Master Liu, you'd better start planning for the Fifth Prince, find him a future support."
Hong Xing smiled mysteriously.
The "support" was naturally the Eldest Prince and the Empress!
Master Liu couldn't bear to listen anymore.
He didn't want to argue with a fool.
Please, just get the situation straight first!
His granddaughter had already said that the Eldest Prince was not even on the Emperor's list of potential successors!
"Master, the rented carriage has arrived, shall we depart now?" The servant came in and interrupted.
Master Liu seized the opportunity to stand up, "Master Hong, I'm in a hurry to go congratulate Ritual Master Xu on his great-grandson, so I won't keep you company."
Hong Xing's face darkened, "Is Master Liu rejecting my goodwill?"
Master Liu chuckled, "Hm? What did Master Hong just suggest to me?"
"Ah the carriage company, charge me for the time as scheduled, I can only discuss this further with Master Hong another day."
Hong Xing angrily swept his sleeve and left.
The Old Madam finally came out from the hall, worriedly had the servant carry the congratulatory gift, and got into the carriage with Master Liu.
"Are you alright, Master? We have offended them, will it create enemies for our grandson?" The Old Madam was full of concern, "What he said also made sense, if the Eldest Prince... ascends the throne..."
Master Liu raised his hand to stop her.
He pulled down the carriage curtain, and leaning close to his wife's ear, said amid the noisy sound of the carriage wheels on the stone path, "Our granddaughter said, our little Fifth is the Crown Prince."
"!!"
The Old Madam of the Liu family almost threw the teacup on the carriage!
What?
She, a village teacher's daughter, had suddenly become the future Crown Prince's grandmother.
In the future, she would be the Empress Dowager's grandmother!
Oh my goodness!
Her daughter Chao'er would become the Empress in the future!
Master Liu saw his wife's wide-eyed, unsettled expression, and shook his head, "Look at you, so lacking in composure."
"I... For such a joyous event, when you heard it, why weren't you excited?" The Old Madam pinched Master Liu hard.
But Master Liu immediately told her, "Don't be too happy too early, ah."
He looked at the direction in front of the carriage, "Our little Fifth is taking over a court that is about to perish."
"...!!"
The Old Madam also remembered what their granddaughter had said when she visited the palace for the one-month celebration.
How worrying!
"Now the treasury has no money, natural disasters are constant, the land yields are poor, several foreign tribes are eyeing us hungrily, and our army is a mess, there's no money to support the troops."
The Old Madam's eyebrows rose high.
It was as if she had finally taken over the family's management from her mother-in-law, only to find the house not only out of rice, but also deeply in debt - this family leadership was really not worth taking.
"Then what are we to do, old man?"
"Don't rush, we're just taking it step by step now? The first step is, you go dig some bamboo shoots."
"!!"
*
Ritual Master Xu's house in the Imperial Academy was more upright-looking than Master Liu's, a three-section house.
This house exuded frugality everywhere, ordinary gray bricks, a wooden door, even the plaque with "Xu's Mansion" written on it was slightly faded.
The gatekeeper was an old man with white hair, obviously the cheapest kind of servant.
"Master Wen-chang, Lady Liu, please come in quickly."
Ritual Master Xu, upon receiving the news, came out to welcome them with a joyous expression, wearing a patched ordinary cloth robe, and his black shoes also had cotton peeking out.
Master Liu's mouth twitched.
This person really knew how to act! If he hadn't heard his granddaughter's voice, he would never have guessed that this kind of person had a million taels!
"I have long wanted to come and see Master Xu's bamboo garden, as it must surely possess the steadfast resilience of a literary man."
After exchanging pleasantries, Master Liu and his wife accompanied Ritual Master Xu into his regular reception garden.
However, as soon as Master Liu stepped into the garden, he felt something was amiss!
My goodness, the ground of this bamboo garden seemed to be constantly dug and turned over? How loose it was!
There must be something beneath the surface!
