Chapter 129: A Thousand Merits Undone by a Single Slander

Li Linfu coughed twice and waved his hand, signaling the maid to move the bronze mirror away.

Looking into the mirror was one of his least favorite things; every time he saw his increasingly graying face reflected there, he felt a surge of irritation.

He was reminded of a line from a poem by Li Bai, the Hanlin scholar currently the talk of the capital: "Three thousand zhang of white hair, born of such long sorrow; who would have guessed that in the bright mirror, autumn frost had settled."

Li Taibai had yet another line: "Do you not see, in the high hall, the bright mirror laments the white hair; morning like black silk, by evening turned to snow."

Li Linfu’s own poetic talent was mediocre at best. When He Zhizhang retired, he had been tasked by the Emperor to compose a farewell poem, but that had actually been ghostwritten by a staff member in his household. He had even misidentified a character, writing "the joy of holding a jade" (a congratulatory term for a son) as "the joy of holding a deer." Yet, he did possess the ability to appreciate poetry; whenever he read Li Taibai’s verses, he felt as though his mouth were filled with fragrance.

And so, this Li Taibai could not be allowed to remain in the capital for long.

Just like that fellow Ye Chang: if they could not be used for his own ends, and possessed talent besides, it was better to send them away early.

The maid retreated quietly, and Li Linfu closed his eyes to rest. It was not until his three sons entered the study together that he opened his eyes and swept a indifferent gaze over them.

None of the three were men of substance; Li Xiu was slightly better than the others, while the remaining two were merely there to enjoy their wealth.

"A memorial forwarded by Yang Shenming, the Magistrate of Luoyang. Take a look." He gestured toward it.

The memorial had been submitted by the Magistrate of Yanshi, under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Capital. It contained little filler, focusing on the disaster relief efforts following the Yellow River’s embankment breach. However, attached to the end was a small booklet; the truly useful information lay within those thousands of characters.

Li Linfu remained silent, letting his three sons take turns leafing through the booklet.

Titled "Questions and Answers on Post-Disaster Emergency Strategies," the booklet was written in the style of the dynasty’s military treatise, "Questions and Answers of Li Weigong," consisting of two questions for every one answer. The questioners were Magistrate Bai Quan of Yanshi and the County Assistant Jiang Qing, while the respondent was Ye Chang.

Li Linfu did not know how much of it his sons could comprehend. If they could master even half of the principles within, he would have no worries after he was gone.

"Ye Chang? Could this be the Ye Chang from Xiuwu, the one who has been so close to Han Chaozong recently?" Li Ru asked, looking surprised. He was well aware that his father held little affection for Han Chaozong.

This was because Han Chaozong was too close to Li Shizhi, and the conflict between Li Shizhi and his father was becoming increasingly apparent.

"It must be him. The ball-game market that created such a stir was also his doing—an annual profit of one or two hundred thousand strings of cash... tsk tsk." Li Yu said, his eyes gleaming.

Due to Li Linfu’s constraints, although he had coveted the ball-game market, he had not dared to reach out for it. Looking at it now, he was glad he hadn't. Had he tried to seize it, he would inevitably have fallen out with Princess Yuzhen.

Li Xiu had remained silent for a long time. When Li Linfu gestured for him to speak, he said slowly, "If Princess Yuzhen were to see this booklet, she would surely regret it."

This addressed the inherent value of the Q&A itself, rather than Ye Chang’s ability to generate wealth. Li Linfu nodded in approval and dismissed the three sons.

The brothers were left feeling bewildered. Once they were outside, Li Ru asked, "What did Father mean by that?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he wants us to study it?"

"It cannot be that simple. Besides, we are the sons of a Chancellor, always holding prestigious and clean positions. What use would learning these things be?" Li Xiu shook his head. He had a vague idea, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Perhaps, he thought, their father wanted to use this opportunity to win Ye Chang over?

Li Xiu then laughed at the notion. Although Ye Chang had some fleeting fame, he was merely a man of the marketplace, not even comparable to Li Taibai. Being so young, how could he be worthy of his father, a high Chancellor of the current court, reaching out to him? Perhaps their father simply wanted them to keep an eye on him.

A mere Magistrate of Yanshi was not worthy of Li Linfu’s attention, and as for the Luoyang Magistrate, Yang Shenming, Li Linfu did not care much for him either.

Yang Shenming’s brother, Yang Shenjin, was currently one of Li Linfu’s most important allies—though, known for being "honey-mouthed and sword-hearted," he did not trust Yang Shenjin completely.

He always kept a contingency plan.

"Ye Chang..." This name was now officially recorded in his mind.

"Present this to the Emperor. Let His Majesty have his joy." After much hesitation, Li Linfu made his decision.

Even if he did not present it, the booklet would eventually find its way to Li Longji. Rather than being questioned by the Emperor later, it was better to handle it himself.

As Li Linfu had anticipated, Li Longji was indeed very satisfied when he saw the booklet. However, when he discovered that the author was Ye Chang, his expression became somewhat complicated.

"This Ye the Eleventh, he caused such a ruckus at the market tournament a few days ago, causing Wang Yuanbao to lose both face and a great treasure. Who would have thought that not even ten days after leaving Chang'an, he would come up with something like this?"

Tossing the booklet onto the desk, Li Longji muttered to himself.

Hearing this, Li Linfu knew that the Emperor was not angry with Ye Chang; on the contrary, he was quite pleased with him.

But there were others nearby.

Zhang Pei was not as skilled as Li Linfu at gauging the Emperor’s intentions. He felt he was deeply trusted by Li Longji, and as his son-in-law, he believed that since Li Longji had criticized Ye Chang, this was a rare opportunity to whisper into the Emperor's ear.

"Your Majesty is right. This Ye Chang is accustomed to pandering to the public. Your Majesty ordered him to return to his hometown, yet he treated the imperial decree as if it were nothing, sneaking into the capital. One can only wonder what treachery he harbors. Now that the world is at peace, he churns out these 'Questions and Answers on Post-Disaster Emergency Strategies.' It is clearly a sign of resentment."

This accusation was so severe that even Li Linfu glanced at him in surprise, thinking to himself that while others called him "honey-mouthed and sword-hearted," Zhang Pei was certainly no slouch when it came to backstabbing.

This wasn't just wanting to make life difficult for Ye Chang; it was a desire to take his life.

Li Linfu recalled that he had been in power for quite some time and had eyes and ears across the court. According to the reports, although Zhang Pei had some conflicts with Ye Chang, there was no hatred deep enough to warrant such a bloodthirsty move.

This made Li Linfu wary. Zhang Pei was a typical turncoat, and as the Emperor’s beloved son-in-law, he had to be treated with caution.

"What does Chancellor Li think?" Li Longji looked at Li Linfu, wondering why his son-in-law was so dissatisfied with Ye Chang.

"Your servant believes that it is better to be prepared for a rainy day."

Li Linfu did not say more. With that single sentence, Li Longji nodded. "True, better to be prepared. The Tang Empire is vast, and disasters are inevitable in some regions... Have it copied and distributed. Every county magistrate and above must have a copy."

Zhang Pei’s expression turned somewhat ugly.

As a Hanlin scholar, he was by the Emperor’s side, and hearing that Ye Chang was about to gain such prestige made him feel nauseated. Knowing it was the Emperor’s will, he still could not help but chime in once more.

"Your Majesty, I fear this is merely empty talk on paper..."

"My dear son-in-law, have you not read the court reports these past few days? The Eastern Capital has been hit by heavy rains; Mengjin, Yanshi, and Gong County have all suffered. After a month of drought, the embankments were in disrepair," Li Longji said with some dissatisfaction. "These questions and answers are the result of the dialogue between the Yanshi Magistrate and Ye the Eleventh."

Zhang Pei naturally knew of the situation. He kowtowed and said, "Your servant is aware, but to issue this nationwide is a grave matter. How can we not be cautious? If his responses are flawed, the damage will not be limited to just one or two people!"

Upon hearing this, Li Linfu sneered.

He kept his head low, hiding the sneer so that neither Li Longji nor Zhang Pei could see it. Despite Zhang Pei’s grand and righteous tone, how could Li Longji not see through his personal vendetta?

Li Longji’s brow furrowed for a moment, then smoothed out.

Ye Chang was an outsider, while Zhang Pei was his son-in-law. Ye Chang was a commoner, while Zhang Pei was a scholar.

Moreover, as he aged, Li Longji had become increasingly immersed in wine, women, and entertainment, tiring of state affairs. He saw no need to argue with his son-in-law and high-ranking scholar over a brat who had previously displeased him.

He waved his hand. "My son-in-law has a point... Let us see the results in Yanshi first."

Li Linfu, who had been looking down, suddenly lifted his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. But as if he had anticipated his reaction, Li Longji turned his face and looked at him exactly at that moment.

Li Linfu’s body trembled slightly, and he lowered his head again.

Although the Emperor now appeared muddled, in his youth, his spirit had been indomitable. The two major palace coups that eliminated Empress Wei and Princess Taiping had been planned and controlled by him alone.

Li Linfu never believed he could hide his little schemes from Li Longji. He only held the position of Chancellor because he was useful to the Emperor.

He would have to wait—wait for Li Longji to grow older and even more muddled.

Zhang Pei felt smug for having successfully dissuaded Li Longji, failing to notice the contemptuous glances shared between the Emperor and Li Linfu. Although Li Longji had not ordered the manual to be distributed nationwide, many interested parties had copied the thousands-of-characters booklet.

Thus, just two days later, Princess Yuzhen saw the booklet at her private estate.

It was Wang Wei who brought it to her.

Originally, as Wang Wei started a family and had a daughter, their interactions had lessened. Wang Wei had even taken a provincial post, but unable to bear the hardship of life away from the capital, and with both of them getting older and nostalgic for their past friendship, they had begun to see more of each other again.

It was with Princess Yuzhen's help that he had been transferred back to the capital.

"Was it Zhang Pei who suppressed it, preventing it from being distributed nationwide?" Princess Yuzhen asked after putting the booklet down.

"That is what I heard." Wang Wei offered a bitter smile. "I acted carelessly and failed you, Priestess. Such a rare talent could have been used by you..."

"Haha, Mojie, you are too formal. No matter how great a talent in the world, what use is he to me? Even if he had the talent of Kongming or the wisdom of Zhang Liang, he could not compare to you, Mojie," Princess Yuzhen said with a smile.

Their gazes met, and the Princess’s eyes were like water.

Wang Wei sighed inwardly and bowed deeply. "That may be true, but such a talent could have been your right-hand man. It was only because of my own selfishness..."

"It was not your fault. You share a deep bond with your brother, and it was only after inviting Xia Qing to see me that he persuaded me to suppress Ye the Eleventh’s ball-game market." Princess Yuzhen lifted her head proudly. "I took it, so I took it. Do you expect me, a Princess of the Great Tang, to go and apologize to that young lad?"

She paused and smiled. "Did Xia Qing see this booklet?"

"He did."

"What was his reaction?"

"Great shame. He says he dare not step outside."

Princess Yuzhen nodded. If Wang Jin felt ashamed, that was well and good. She had originally thought Ye Chang only possessed clever tricks, which was why she had shown no mercy. Now she realized that this man had the ability to handle emergencies. Even though they had already held him in higher regard, she hadn't expected it to still be far from enough.

Seeing Wang Wei still looking troubled, Yuzhen smiled. "Why be so upset? Speaking of Ye the Eleventh, he understands the greater situation and knows when to advance or retreat; he is not the type to hold petty grudges. Although I took advantage of him in the ball-game market, there was a price to pay. Not to mention the eighty thousand strings of cash I asked for him, even the permission to build ships required me to beg for favors from the Emperor. Moreover, I still have new collaborations with him... It is strange, knowing I swallowed the profits from the ball-game market, why would he still dare to collaborate with me?"

Princess Yuzhen had originally thought Ye Chang had no choice, but thinking about it now, the collaboration regarding cotton cloth was still sought by Ye Chang. There might be even more far-reaching considerations.

She didn't dwell on it. As long as she held the status of a Princess, she didn't fear Ye Chang playing any tricks. The only thing she regretted was that the booklet had not been issued nationwide.

What a pity.

Ye Chang did not know that he had nearly become famous throughout the world. If he had, although he might have appeared indifferent on the surface, he would have been quite pleased inside.

In this era, reputation was a form of power. If he had truly become a famous scholar, not to mention Yuan Zai, even Wang Jin would have to think twice before trying to seize his interests again.

Because of Princess Yuzhen’s promise, he could openly recruit workers for the shipyard he was building in Wuzhi. The shipbuilding craftsmen were currently led by the Silla man Cui Xiujing, but the management was in the hands of Ye Chang’s clansman, Uncle Ye Cheng—an unsuccessful carpenter who lacked talent but could manage a dozen people without issue.

For this reason, Ye Chang stayed in Wuzhi for ten days. Only when everything was on track according to his plan did he return to Xiuwu.

Compared to when he left, there was an extra inn at Wuze Pi. As more travelers passed through and kept seeking lodging at local homes, someone with a sharp mind had built an inn by the road. The owner was currently welcoming guests at the entrance. Seeing Ye Chang, he happily rushed over. "Young Master Eleven, you’ve returned!"

"Ah, Uncle Cheng, so you’ve opened your inn?"

Nowadays in Wuze Pi, people consulted Ye Chang before doing anything, including Ye Cheng opening this inn. When he had originally asked Ye Chang, Ye Chang told him to go ahead, as business would surely be good. With that judgment, he had dared to clear out half the courtyard of his home.

"I originally wanted to invite you for a drink, but you returned late... Oh my, look at me, forgetting the main point. Young Master Eleven, your sister has already given birth! A big, healthy boy! Her husband’s family, the Liu family, came to spread the news a long time ago!"

Hearing this, Ye Chang was overjoyed.