Yang Heshu said nothing, but Manbao still learned of his difficult situation. Chongwen Pavilion was no utopia; the disputes within the palace and court naturally beca topics of discussion here.
Now that Director Xiao and the others had returned to the Imperial Hospital to work on writings, only Manbao remained at Chongwen Pavilion.
After all, she ate and lived here, and with such a wealth of resources available, she naturally preferred it here.
So in the afternoon, when she returned from her lessons at the Imperial dical Office, she heard several of the editors in the pavilion gossiping about Yang Heshu before she even entered the door. One said, "I heard Lord Yang has submitted his resignation. Now that he’s out of the Imperial dical Office and the Ministry of Revenue, I wonder where he’ll be transferred to."
"No matter where he goes, his bright future is gone. The Emperor had valued him, and in another three to five years, once the Imperial dical Office trained its first batch of physicians and dical offices were established in various regions, he would have been a top rit-holder. He would have been transferred back to the Ministry of Revenue, and a position as Assistant Minister would be inevitable."
"Exactly, once he’s an Assistant Minister, with his talents, in seven or eight years at most, he could take over the Ministry of Revenue from Minister Liu. At such a pace, he might well beco the youngest Pri Minister since the founding of Great Jin."
"Surely not that fast, the two current assistant ministers in the Ministry of Revenue are quite good as well."
"Their family backgrounds aren’t strong enough. To gain experience, they must be posted elsewhere. I’ve heard the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is already considering an external posting."
"Yes, among the entire court, those with a family background better than Yang Heshu’s lack his talents, and those with talents equal to his lack the family background," that editor shook his head, "What a pity, what a pity."
"This case is being investigated by Tang He, it used to be that they were inseparable, but now they hardly greet each other even face to face."
"Ah, it’s all about profit, isn’t it?"
"The Yang family has produced a prince, after all. If the Fifth Prince gets lucky, Ms.Yang would beco an imperial relative through marriage."
"What’s the advantage of being an imperial relative through marriage? A son’s not as close as a grandson, after all. One emperor can at best ensure two generations of glory, but a Pri Minister can ensure three generations of prosperity. If you ask , Marquis Yang missed the point on this one, and this isn’t even his biological grandson."
"Now the Crown Prince has had his eldest son, his position is solidified. Perhaps they’ve all miscalculated."
Manbao turned and left, heading to the front to find Yang Heshu, only to be told that the diligent Yang Heshu had already left the palace for ho.
That was rare. He often had to stay at the Imperial dical Office until sunset, rarely leaving work on ti.
Manbao stood at the front for a while, then turned to go to the classroom to find Bai Shan, coincidentally encountering Libationer Kong teaching them about "Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi."
School was about to dismiss anyway, so Manbao only caught the tail end.
But she’d heard the story of Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi before, even though teachers in every era emphasized different aspects, so things never change.
For example, Guan Zhong was the greatest Pri Minister of the world.
Libationer Kong packed his books and stepped outside, pausing when he saw Zhou Man standing against the wall with her head down. "Are you here to attend class?"
Manbao shook her head, thought for a mont, then nodded, asking, "Libationer Kong, if Duke Huan of Qi hadn’t listened to Bao Shuya’s advice, hadn’t employed or even killed Guan Zhong, could the Qi Kingdom still convene at Juán?"
Libationer Kong thought for a mont and replied, "It would be difficult. Talents like Guan Zhong’s are rare in the world. Confucius himself said, ’But for Guan Zhong, we might all wear our hair unbound and our robes folded to the left.’
The Crown Prince originally intended to leave after Libationer Kong was gone, but seeing the two of them chatting outside the window without leaving, he got up, hands behind his back, and walked to the door to watch them.
He heard Zhou Man ask, "Libationer Kong, if you knew soone with talents like Guan Zhong’s, would you recomnd him to His Majesty?"
Libationer Kong proudly replied, "Of course, that would be the country’s fortune."
Manbao nodded, stepped back, and bowed, thanking Libationer Kong for his answers.
Libationer Kong couldn’t help but take a closer look at her, and seeing that she had nothing more to ask, he turned to leave. Before leaving, he glanced subtly at the Crown Prince.
Once he left, the classmates who had been suppressed imdiately stood up en masse, though they were eager to stretch, they didn’t dare act out with the Crown Prince standing at the door.
Bai Shan was anxious, and after saluting the Crown Prince, he carefully slipped out beside him to run to Manbao, asking, "I forgot to ask, did anything happen at the morning court today?"
They hadn’t seen each other over lunch because Manbao had gone to the Imperial dical Office.
Manbao replied, "Nothing happened, I just sat there listening to them talk." Then she accidentally dozed through one session of the morning court.
The Crown Prince approached, hands behind his back, and asked her, "Who’s this person with Guan Zhong’s talents?"
Manbao replied without hesitation, "It’s Lord Yang, Yang Heshu."
The Crown Prince turned and left.
Yang Heshu’s talents are indeed impressive, but to say he possesses Guan Zhong’s talents is an exaggeration, isn’t it?
Manbao noticed his abrupt departure, pursed her lips, and turned to ask Bai Shan, "Don’t you think Scholarly Senior Brother Yang is quite remarkable?"
Bai Shan nodded, "He is indeed remarkable."
Recalling Yang’s hands-on approach and affability in Luojiang County, Bai Shan asked, "What happened to Scholarly Senior Brother Yang?"
Manbao sighed, glanced around, and ultimately decided not to bring it up in such a public setting. So they moved to the viewing pavilion, sending Ma Fuming to fetch al boxes, and discussed what she knew while sitting upstairs.
"Scholarly Senior Brother Yang seems to be in a tough spot right now."
Liu Huan, who had co along to join the fun, listened in amazent and, completely baffled, asked, "From what you’re saying, it seems like the one targeting Manbao and the Crown Princess is soone from the Yang family, and the evidence Xu Yu presented was obtained by Manbao. So should we still sympathize with Lord Yang now?"
Everyone gave him a disdainful look.
Bai Erlang said, "You’re too superficial, this has nothing to do with Scholarly Senior Brother Yang. Scholarly Senior Brother Yang has always been a person of integrity and virtue; this is obviously a case of being implicated."
Bai Shan also nodded, "Manbao is innocent too; even Xu Yu isn’t terribly wrong. The truly guilty are those who trained and threatened her. Why shouldn’t we sympathize with Scholarly Senior Brother Yang?"
Yin Huo said, "But there’s really nothing we can do about it. I think there were already quite a few people in the court who were envious of Scholarly Senior Brother Yang, and whether or not he was involved this ti, he’s going to be implicated."
Bai Shan felt distressed as well, furrowing his brow tightly, he said, "So it’s better that Scholarly Senior Brother Yang resigns from his position at the Eastern Palace now."
Manbao, feeling troubled, said, "But if that happens, won’t Scholarly Senior Brother Yang’s prospects be cut off?"
Bai Shan just smiled, "Not so easily cut off; you’re underestimating Scholarly Senior Brother Yang."
He said, "If you don’t believe it, you can ask Scholarly Senior Brother Yang yourself."
Manbao indeed wanted to ask, but for the next seven days, she had no opportunity to see him, not even Tang He.
Firstly, she was busy, and secondly, Tang He was also busy.
The Emperor was truly angry, Yang Rong was thrown into the Ministry of Justice prison, and a significant number of ministers who were summoned for questioning, many of whom were from side branches of aristocratic families, were implicated.
It’s said the patriarchs of the Cui clan, Langya’s Wang clan, and the Lu clan have all arrived in the capital to plead for leniency. Of course, they aren’t here to confess; they think it’s the fault of improper supervision that allowed their clan mbers to commit such a grave mistake, and hence it’s their fault.
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