Li Tai has been very angry in recent days because he has been regarded as a fool and a tool.
Li Tai, who prides himself on being smart, had long seen Zheng Shicai's tricks, but he didn't pay too much attention, thinking he could control everything.
But I didn't expect that the rumors coming out of Chang'an in recent days not only pointed at Zhang San, but also partly pointed at the Wei Palace.
It even divided King Wei and Zhang San into two opposites.
"That's unreasonable. If my father didn't want me to get involved in this matter, I would definitely make Zheng Shicai look good." Thinking of the day when he entered the palace, his father rarely expressed disappointment to him, which made Li Tai furious.
"Liu Zheng, do you think I really did something wrong that day?" Li Tai asked Liu Zheng beside him.
"Of course Your Highness is not wrong, he was just taken advantage of by the villain." Liu Zheng replied in a low voice.
Hearing Liu Zheng's answer, Li Tai squinted his eyes and didn't know what he was thinking.
"Let's go find Zhang San. I want to come and apologize." Li Tai thought for a long time and said suddenly.
Liu Zheng was not surprised by this. There were rumors that King Wei Li Tai was narrow-minded, but in fact this was not the case. King Wei was really "broadhearted and fat".
…
"Father, the public opinion in Chang'an has been controlled by us now. Except for some people from poor families who have spoken out, no one else has stood up to speak for Zhang San." Zheng Shicai said to Zheng Xuan.
"Didn't Prince Wei do anything in the palace?" Zheng Xuan tapped his fingers on the table alternately and asked after thinking for a while.
"No, Zhang San didn't make any excuses, and Zhang San even had his shop in Chang'an closed."
Zheng Xuan was silent for a while, and then sighed: "What a talent! Let people pay close attention to the movements of Prince Wei's palace. Since they don't move, we won't be polite."
Zheng Shicai didn't understand what his father's first words meant. Now everything was progressing as expected. Zhang San had also become the target of public criticism, and his reputation was in ruins. I don't know why his father still praised him.
"Father, why is there no movement from the Fang Mansion? Zhang San is now infamous, and it is not a glorious thing for the Fang Mansion, right?" Zheng Shicai asked again.
"Notorious? You think so?" Zheng Xuan asked without answering.
"Isn't it?" Zheng Shicai said confused.
"Alas! Your view of things is still too one-sided! Don't those poor men support him as always? For this reason, they went to the streets to lobby the people and tried to defend Zhang San." Zheng Xuan sighed and decided to simply explain the situation to Zheng Shicai.
Down.
"What do those people have to be afraid of? Even if they support Zhang San, after all, they speak lightly, so how much effect can they have?"
Hearing Zheng Shicai's answer, Zheng Xuan shook his head and said, "You said we tried every means to taint Zhang San's reputation. What is the purpose?"
"I don't want him to lose..." Before he finished speaking, Zheng Shicai also realized that the people were ignorant. When this fresh energy passed, they would do whatever they had to do. The most important thing was the poor people.
Li Shimin wanted to let Zhang San set an example for the people from a poor family, and take the opportunity to weaken or even eliminate the power of the family. Now the news is spreading among the people, but the people from the poor family still support Zhang San.
"Do you understand?" Zheng Xuan said in a deep voice.
"I understand, father, what should we do next?" Zheng Shicai asked.
"What else can we do? Continue to use this opportunity to establish Zhang San's reputation and corruption of personal ethics." Zheng Xuan said angrily.
"Yes! Father!" Zheng Shicai replied in a deep voice. He thought that this time it would go smoothly and Zhang San would become notorious now, but he didn't expect that he was just happy in vain.
…
"The King of Wei is here?" Zhang San said in surprise after hearing what Mrs. Li said in the study.
"Yes, I am waiting for you, Sir, in the front hall, saying I came to apologize to you?" Sister-in-law Li replied.
"Apologise?" Zhang San was even more puzzled, but he couldn't ignore it. This time he introduced himself as his own family, and the little Earl's Mansion didn't dare to ignore him behind closed doors.
Zhang San came to the front hall and saw Li Tai dressed up for the first time. He quickly saluted and said, "I don't know that His Highness the King of Wei is here. I am sorry for the delay in welcoming you from afar. I hope you will forgive me."
"Uncle Zhang was joking. This time I came here to apologize to you. I caused Uncle Zhang to be criticized that day. Although this was not my intention, it was also my fault. I am really sorry.
Already." Although Li Tai was still sitting there, his words were very sincere.
"I don't dare to take it seriously. His Highness the King of Wei is joking. It's me who should apologize to the King of Wei for what happened last time. I didn't know the identity of His Highness the King of Wei that day, so..."
Li Tai interrupted what Zhang San wanted to say, "Uncle Zhang, it was indeed my fault that day. Those who don't know are not guilty. How about we just let it go and make peace?"
"Of course it's great. It's an honor for me to get to know His Royal Highness the King of Wei." Zhang San thought to himself that this fat man Li Si was really not that simple.
As the king of Wei and Li Shimin's favorite son, he could condescend to apologize to a county magistrate. How generous this is.
"Uncle Zhang, we are similar in age. I heard that you and Changsun Chong are brothers, so how can we be like this?" Li Tai asked with a smile.
"His Royal Highness the King of Wei is joking, how could I dare to reach such a high level with your status?" Upon hearing this, Zhang San politely refused and said, "What a joke, who can be my brother with you? I still want to stay away from you princes and grandsons."
Unexpectedly, Li Tai said: "What? Is it because County Uncle Zhang looks down on me, or does it mean that County Uncle Zhang has no intention of making peace with me at all?"
Zhang San sighed inwardly, it seems that he is relying on me, "How dare you, being able to be friends with His Highness the King of Wei is a blessing that I have cultivated in my eight hundred lifetimes."
"In that case, don't call me His Highness or King Wei, just call me by my name."
Zhang San had no respect for the bullshit imperial power. Since he knew that he could no longer escape, he simply let it go, "Li... I'd better call you His Highness Li Si? It feels more cordial this way."
"Haha, that's great. Your name is Zhang San and my name is Li Si. If we can't be friends, who will be?" Li Tai laughed.
Zhang San was also amused by this sentence, "That is, Your Highness... Oh, no, Li Si, you are here by chance. We are going to have hot pot at home for noon. Do you want to try it together?"
"Hot pot?" Li Tai heard this term for the first time and was very unfamiliar.
"A new way of eating I came up with. It's very enjoyable to eat hot pot in this weather." Zhang San replied.
"Okay, I'll also try how delicious this hot pot is." Although Li Tai said this, he didn't have any hope for the hot pot in his heart. It was just a way to get close to people.
Liu Zheng was very happy when he saw Li Tai and Zhang San shaking hands and having a pleasant conversation. Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the worse and the two finally came together.