When Yang Fan had said to Gu Zhuting that he would wait for the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons to visit the thatched hut three times, he had only been joking. If he had really imitated Zhuge Liang and had the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons visit several times, it would have been too obvious.
The joint visit of the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons had already expressed their attitude. Yang Fan thus understood their intentions, and he also understood that they were aware of his true intentions in competing with Princess An Le in the eastern city of Chang'an. That was enough.
There were some things that he could not speak too bluntly, nor could he do too bluntly, so he needed a response. Only in this way would he know if they had understood and the two sides could work together tacitly. Now that the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons had responded, he naturally understood what he had to do.
On the morning of the next day, Yang Fan ordered someone to bring his visiting card to the Prince of Shouchun. When interacting with nobles, unless they were close friends who did not regard each other as outsiders, they would need to send a visiting card in advance to set up a meeting time. The Prince of Xiang's Five Sons had come without notice yesterday because Yang Fan had been recuperating on the island in the center of the lake. The Prince of Xiang's Five Sons had not expected him to leave the island. Now that Yang Fan wanted to visit the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons, he needed to make an appointment in advance.
The appointment between Yang Fan and the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons was on the morning of the next day.
On the next day, Yang Fan punctually paid a visit.
As a loyal general, Yang Fan's rank was not just one or two ranks lower than that of the Prince of Xiang. According to etiquette, the Prince of Xiang did not need to come out to welcome him. All he needed to do was send a steward to lead him into the drawing room. But the moment Yang Fan stepped through the door, he saw five youths standing by the door, smiling at him.
Yang Fan could not help but be somewhat surprised. He truly had not expected the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons to treat him with such courtesy. Yang Fan hurriedly quickened his steps and went forward. Before he reached the steps, he clasped his hands and bowed. "Yang Fan pays his respects to the Five Princes. I am greatly honored to have troubled the Princes to lower their ranks to welcome me."
Today, Yang Fan was dressed in casual clothes. He wore a soft-legged hat and a pair of black boots with white soles. He wore a white inner robe with a tight leather belt and a light blue open robe with a light gold embroidered border. Because his robe was not tied with a leather belt, his movements made the wide robe and his large sleeves flutter in the wind. Because his robe was not tied with a leather belt, his movements caused his wide robe and his large sleeves to flutter.
Li Chengqi laughed heartily and hurriedly came forward to support Yang Fan. He said, "General Yang is wearing a light robe today. You look very elegant. If I didn't know your identity, I would have thought that you were a scholar from the Imperial Academy. Just by looking at General Yang's graceful bearing, who would have thought that General Yang was actually a brave, skilled, and outstanding general! "
Li Chengqi was very good with words. The Imperial College was divided into three levels: Imperial College, Imperial College and Imperial College. The highest level was the Imperial College. Even the Xiucai were not the Xiucai of later generations. The Xiucai of the Tang Dynasty were all talented scholars who were picked out of ten thousand. They were even harder to pass than the Jinshi examination.
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Your Highness, you flatter me. I am only a martial artist. This way of dressing is just a facade. Haha!"
Li Chengqi's smile faded slightly. He asked with deep concern, "When I was in Chang 'an, I heard that General Yang was plotted against by thieves and thieves. I was very concerned. Yesterday, I came with several brothers to pay a visit. Unfortunately, General Yang was busy with military affairs and went to the Cavalry Camp. How is it? Has General Yang recovered?"
Yang Fan smiled and replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have been recuperating from my injuries for a few months and I have recovered. I will be able to return to the camp in another month or so. "
"That's good, that's good!" Li Chengqi held his arm and smiled as he introduced, "General Yang has met these brothers of mine before, so I will not introduce them one by one. I heard that General Yang is coming today. These brothers of mine are waiting at the residence. Look, my fifth brother is usually very playful and did not go out today. "
As Li Chengqi spoke, Yang Fan cupped his hands in greeting to Li Chengyi and the others. The four of them smiled and returned the greeting. Li Chengqi said enthusiastically, "Come, come, come. A banquet has been prepared in the hall and we are waiting for General Yang's arrival. Come, let us sit in the hall and drink while we talk."
Li Chengqi held Yang Fan's arm and walked in front. Someone led Ren Wei and the others to rest. Gu Zhuting was dressed in green and her hair was tied up with a cloth. She looked like a servant and followed closely behind Yang Fan. When Li Chengqi and the others saw her willowy eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and jade-like skin, they knew that she was a woman in disguise, so they did not ask any questions.
The residence that Liu Qietian had prepared for the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons was rather large. It had three entrances, four rooms, two halls, and a garden. It had a main gate, a ceremonial gate, and a middle gate. The windows in the hall were decorated with flower lattices, and the windows and doors were decorated with life-like images of monkeys, deer, fish, birds, and other animals.
The hall was spacious and bright, hung with vertical paintings of pines, bamboos, plum blossoms, and orchids. The elegant and tranquil atmosphere made it seem like a large study. The moment they entered the reception hall, maids began to serve all sorts of delicacies like fluttering butterflies, but there were no musicians or dancers in the two rooms to liven things up.
In this way, the Prince of Xiang's Five Sons' regard and respect for Yang Fan could be seen, but it also did not give the impression that they were fawning on him and lowering their status. When Yang Fan saw this, he knew that the five brothers had put a lot of thought into this and couldn't help but silently praise them.
Speaking of which, ever since Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, the Li clan had produced many heroes. Alas, the demoness Wu Zetian had appeared out of nowhere. Now, any of the more astute and capable descendants of the Li clan had been killed by Wu Zetian, and even Wu Zetian's two most elegant sons had died a violent death. The current Crown Prince Li Xian and the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, could be said to be extremely mediocre. Unexpectedly, their juniors were so outstanding.
… …
In the side courtyard of Li Guo'er's estate, Du Wentian said to his family members with a gloomy expression, "Did you all hear what I said just now?"
The family members nodded and replied, "Young Master, be at ease. We understand."
Du Wentian waved his hand and said, "Go. Spread the news as quickly as possible through the streets and alleys. Be careful and don't expose your family's identity!"
The family members immediately left.
Du Wentian followed Li Guo'er's orders. The first step was to create a rumor and spread the news that Shanghai Wan'er was having an affair with someone and that she was pregnant. Li Guo'er ordered Du Wentian to 'cut the evidence' and give it to Yang Fan, having him spread the news that Shanghai Wan'er was pregnant with Yang Fan's child.
Even without Yang Fan, when Princess Anle learned that Shanghai Wan'er was pregnant and had been sent to Chang'an to await childbirth, she also wanted to find a chance to cause trouble and kill Shanghai Wan'er. She had no grudge against Shanghai Wan'er. The only reason she had this idea was because of jealousy. She was jealous that her imperial grandmother treated her unfairly.
She was pregnant out of wedlock, and her imperial grandmother treated her with disdain. Why was it that an outsider who was pregnant out of wedlock would shield her like this and treat her so harshly? She didn't understand. It was precisely because of the difference between the inside and the outside that Wu Zetian was so demanding of her. As an elder, even if he was unbearable, he still hoped that his child would have a noble character.
Li Guo'er, however, thought that this was her imperial grandmother's favoritism towards Shanghai Wan'er. She wanted to use her own method to seek justice! As an imperial daughter, her status was incomparably noble, but she was ridiculed because she was pregnant out of wedlock. Then, Shanghai Wan'er should die because of this. This was only fair. As for involving Yang Fan, it was just a flash of inspiration.
Li Guo'er already hated Yang Fan to the core. She wanted to use this opportunity to eradicate Yang Fan in one fell swoop. However, even if her father sat on the throne, a minister of the imperial court was not someone that a princess like her could touch as she pleased. She must have a sufficient reason. Now, she could use this opportunity to drag Yang Fan into it. She didn't expect that the accusation she made up for Yang Fan was actually infinitely close to the truth.
Unfortunately, she couldn't tell Du Wentian her real purpose. She only said that she needed a man to make this rumor more perfect. Yang Fan had many opportunities to get in touch with Shanghai Wan'er when he was in Luoyang. Now that he was living on the island in the middle of the lake, he was the best candidate. However, she didn't expect that Du Wentian also had a motive for telling her this secret.
The person Du Wentian hated to the core was Zhang Changzong. He was beaten up by Zhang Changzong in Xingjiao Temple. He wanted revenge. He thought that Princess Anle only involved Yang Fan because Yang Fan had humiliated her in Chang'an East City. This small matter was obviously not as serious as the pain he had suffered. Therefore, he made a small change to Li Guo'er's instructions. He changed Yang Fan to Zhang Changzong.
Yang Fan took his leave from the Fifth Prince's residence. He walked leisurely with a thoughtful expression on his face. Gu Zhuting walked beside him. Her sharp eyes scanned the crowd out of habit. After making sure that no dangerous people were approaching, she said to Yang Fan, "What are you thinking about, Ah Lang?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "I'm thinking about the Five Sons of the Prince of Xiang. These five young people are not simple. They just arrived in Chang'an two days ago. This is only the third day, but they have already found something that can buy people's hearts. Very impressive."
Gu Zhuting was surprised and said, "Ah Lang, are you talking about the Five Sons of the Prince of Xiang asking the Emperor to plough the sorrowful fields and build a clinic?"
Yang Fan nodded and said, "That's right!"
During the banquet, Gu Zhuting had heard Li Longji mention that there was a Zen Master Hong Fang of the Longhua Temple who built a clinic and took in hundreds of poor and sick people. In the end, because the Emperor was about to move the capital, in order to clean up the city, the Chang'an prefectural magistrate Liu Qiaotian actually wanted to drive these people away from Chang'an so that they would not be an eyesore.
When Li Chengqi and his brothers learned about this, they were moved and planned to write a petition to the Imperial Court, asking the Emperor to commend the Zen Master Hong Fang of the Longhua Temple for his kind and righteous deeds. The Imperial Court would also allocate funds to support the clinic. The five of them were willing to donate fifty mu of land each to be used as the sorrowful fields of the Longhua Temple to help the poor and sick people.
Li Chengqi also warmly invited Yang Fan to join him in this righteous cause and was willing to take the lead in writing a petition with Yang Fan. Yang Fan generously agreed and agreed to write a petition together with them. He also donated fifty mu of land. At that time, Gu Zhuting felt that it was very rare for these princes to be so considerate of the people. Now that Ah Lang mentioned it, could it be that they had other motives?
Yang Fan smiled and replied, "Nothing else. They are just trying to buy people's hearts."
Gu Zhuting resentfully said, "So that's how it is. Your servant thought they were good people!"
Yang Fan laughed and said, "How are they not good people? If everyone in the world is willing to buy people's hearts like this, how many good people would there be? Good people, some do it out of pity, some do it for peace of mind, some do it to accumulate virtue, and some do it for fame. What their motive is is not important. What is important is that they have done a good deed! "
Gu Zhuting said, "Your servant is not saying that it is not good for them to do good deeds, but once the Imperial Court approves this matter, even though Ah Lang is the one taking the lead, there are five Jun Wang who are asking for help at the same time. The common people will only remember those officials' favors and who will remember Ah Lang? Ah Lang has done a good deed, but the good reputation has been earned by them. How can your servant be happy?"
Yang Fan laughed and said, "You! Actually, they are not trying to take advantage of me. The reason why they invited me to join them in this righteous cause is because they are in a difficult situation and really have no other choice. Moreover, they are also testing me to see if I really have the intention to help the Li family. "
Gu Zhuting blinked her eyes, not quite understanding what Yang Fan meant.
Yang Fan explained further, "Although the Li family has somewhat recovered its strength, it is still far from being able to compete with the Wu family. Moreover, the current crown prince has been under house arrest in Fangzhou for many years and has not had any major conflicts with the Wu family. But now, the Prince of Xiang has been repeatedly attacked by the Wu family, and the two sides have long since formed an irreconcilable grudge.
Under these circumstances, the Prince of Xiang's branch cannot steal the spotlight and steal the crown prince's limelight, nor can they directly confront the Wu family. Now that the Emperor is about to move the capital, Er Zhang and the Wu family have come to Chang'an to buy people's hearts and rope in the nobles and officials. If the Prince of Xiang's branch wants to do something, they must avoid conflict with them, so they can only find another way. Er Zhang and the Wu family are both trying to rope in people from above, so they can only look down. "
Gu Zhuting said, "But … why did they pull Ah Lang along?"
Yang Fan said, "Because I am not on good terms with the Wu family, and because I once saved the crown prince. Because of these two reasons, they pulled me along. Although the common people cannot see the storm in the court, the people in the court know it very well. With me, they will not be under too much pressure.
You must know that the current crown prince was once emperor, and so was the Prince of Xiang. Both of them have the right to continue to rule the Tang dynasty. So, they want to accumulate popularity, but they can't make the Emperor, the Wu Clan, the Second Zhang Clan, and the Crown Prince, who is in the same boat as them, fear them. It's very difficult. "
Gu Zhuting felt a headache after listening to Ah Lang's explanation. What Ah Lang said was more complicated and troublesome than sneaking into an army of millions to assassinate a General. Gu Zhuting shook her head and said, "I don't want to listen anymore. It's too complicated. I don't understand it at all."
Yang Fan couldn't help but laugh when he heard what she said. At this time, they passed by a brothel in front of them and heard cheers. Yang Fan turned around and saw Mo Guan and his circus troupe performing illusions.
Yang Fan smiled and said, "We are really fated to meet them. We did not support them yesterday and have nothing to do today. Let's go and see if they have any new illusions."
Yang Fan said as he dismounted. Gu Zhuting also dismounted and stood in front of him to protect him. Among the crowd watching the illusions, a member of the Du family was talking about the "gossip" of the most talented woman in the court, Wan'er. He did not notice that Yang Fan was walking towards him.
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