"A criminal?"
Hearing him say this, Han Mo looked at Zhe Yourong with some curiosity.
"Sir once offended Cai Jing, was stripped of his title, and exiled to Fuzhou. Although my father rushed to rescue him as soon as he heard about it, it was still too late. That's why sir endured fifty heavy blows. His right leg was permanently crippled..."
Since they were not outsiders, Zhe Yourong spoke quite casually. With a few simple sentences, she highlighted the enmity between Mr. Yuan and Cai Jing.
"That was my fault, to bring up Mr.'s sad past. I apologize!"
Hearing this, Han Mo felt relieved. With this kind of feud, the task ahead would be much simpler.
"You are too kind, Master. If it weren't for the General's rescue that day, I would probably be a pile of white bones by the roadside by now!"
Mr. Yuan said with a bitter smile.
"You two chat, I'll go see what we're having for lunch today!"
Zhe Yourong knew that Han Mo must have important matters to discuss with Mr. Yuan since he had invited him. Not wanting to disturb them at this moment, she found an excuse and left.
"Since Mr. is not an outsider, I'll speak my mind directly..."
Given that Mr. Yuan had such a grievance with Cai Jing, Han Mo saved himself a lot of pleasantries.
"Please speak, Master. As long as I can do it, I will do my best!"
Han Mo did not stand on ceremony. He lowered his voice and began to explain his general plan to Yuan Xingchi.
"This, this can work..."
After hearing Han Mo's plan, Yuan Xingchi's eyes widened.
This was too crazy!
Han Mo was just a mere county magistrate, a tiny official. Now, he was thinking of challenging the Prime Minister...
"Rest assured, Mr. You just need to act according to my plan. The rest will be handled by others!"
Han Mo smiled and said casually.
"Master trusts me that much?"
"I don't trust Mr., I trust my father-in-law!"
"Hahaha! I've heard that Master is extraordinary, and today I see it's true!"
"You flatter me, sir!"
"If that's the case, then I will depart early tomorrow morning. If anything comes up, we can contact each other by carrier pigeon!"
"Then I shall trouble you, Mr.!"
Han Mo said, standing up and bowing respectfully to Mr. Yuan.
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"Useless, a bunch of good-for-nothings. They can't even handle such a small matter. What else can I expect from them?"
In Wang Fu's mansion, after hearing Wang Chao'an's report, he flew into a rage.
He even overturned his favorite Ru porcelain vase onto the ground.
As the Prime Minister of the country, he couldn't even deal with a mere county magistrate. His resentment was evident.
"My lord, this matter, it's not entirely..."
Wang Chao'an was also frustrated. Who would have thought that such a simple errand would turn into this...
If it were just about dealing with Han Mo, things wouldn't have become so complicated. But unfortunately, they had also provoked Xu Churen in their muddle.
"What? Are you saying this isn't your fault, but mine? You've messed up such a simple matter, and now you expect me to clean up the mess? Are they helping? They're clearly shifting the blame!"
Looking at the letter submitted by Wang Chao'an, Wang Fu was at his wit's end.
Originally, this matter had little to do with him. But unfortunately, at this critical juncture, he had used the personnel of the Transport Department to deal with Han Mo.
Li Jixian, the Transport Commissioner of Hebei East Circuit, who was on the verge of ruin, was now using the letters in his possession as leverage, demanding twenty thousand strings of cash from Wang Fu to help him out of his predicament.
"But my lord, twenty thousand strings of cash is not a small amount. It's just for a Grand Marshal of Daming, isn't it?"
Wang Chao'an muttered softly.
To a subordinate like him, the position of Grand Marshal of Daming was not important at all.
When Cai Jing and Liang Shicheng were at their peak, a position like Grand Marshal of Daming was only worth fifty thousand strings of copper coins.
Now, these people were offering twenty thousand strings of cash just to replace someone in that position. In Wang Chao'an's view, this money was essentially a gift.
Therefore, he had accepted this business without hesitation. He had thought that this income would cover up his poor performance. However, to his surprise, Wang Fu not only wasn't happy but was even more furious.
"Why do I have such useless people like you? You know nothing!"
The more he spoke, the angrier Wang Fu became.
As he spoke, he grabbed the remaining inkstone on the table and viciously smashed it towards Wang Chao'an's forehead.
Wang Chao'an, kneeling on the ground, dared not move. He could only close his eyes in pain. The inkstone then shattered on his head.
Seeing the blood flowing from his head like cheap tap water, Wang Fu's anger finally subsided a little.
"You speak too easily. Do you think it's still like before? Is this Grand Marshal of Daming still those good-for-nothings from before?"
With Xu Churen's appointment and the gradual clarification of the situation, any discerning person could now see the future direction of the political landscape.
Just yesterday, for some reason, the Daoist Emperor, ignoring the obstruction of the ministers, insisted on posthumously conferring the title of Empress Mingda upon the deceased Consort Liu.
Although this might seem like a minor matter to others, as the emperor posthumously conferring a title upon a consort was unprecedented, it was ultimately the emperor's family affair and seemed like no big deal.
However, the problem was that times were different now.
In the past, among the children of Consort Liu, except for Princess Maode, who was favored by Emperor Huizong, the other sons were not favored.
But now, for some reason, the Emperor had taken a liking to Prince Xin and, breaking the ancestral system, had him stationed in Nanjing as the Grand Marshal of Nanjing.
Furthermore, he had appointed Prince Xin's enlightenment teacher, Xu Churen, as the Grand Marshal of Daming, concurrently serving as the Commissioner of Hebei East Circuit and Hebei West Circuit.
As a result, Prince Xin's status had transformed from an obscure prince to one of the most favored princes.
Even, except for a slight disadvantage in support among mid-to-high-ranking officials, he was almost on par with the Crown Prince and Prince Yun!
At this juncture, the Emperor posthumously conferring his mother the title of Empress meant that through his mother's favor, he had also gained the status of a legitimate son!