Chapter 153: The Backer of Huachun Tower

When Wei Renshi sent Han Yu off, he was in a quite pleasant mood.

Unexpectedly, Ju Wenzhen had sent Han Yu to see Wei Renshi, and what they discussed was not matters of the imperial court at all.

It seemed that Ju Wenzhen was indeed still unaware of the plans harbored by the Crown Prince and Wang Shuwen at this point.

And understandably so; given his immense power, Wang Shuwen would never have caught his eye.

In history, it was not until Wang Shuwen prepared to seize military power from the eunuchs and reached into the Shence Army that Ju Wenzhen finally recognized the true objective of the reform. He then secretly ordered the eunuchs serving as generals in the Shence Army to refuse obedience, preventing the eunuchs' military authority from being stripped away.

Only at that juncture did Ju Wenzhen make his move against the reform faction. Prior to that, he had taken no action whatsoever against them.

Yet once he acted, he acted decisively: without the Emperor's knowledge, he issued an imperial edict removing Wang Shuwen's title of Hanlin Academician and stripping him of his post in participating in state affairs.

Only after persistent efforts by Wang Pi was Wang Shuwen permitted to visit the Hanlin Academy once every three or four days, but his official title as Hanlin Academician was never restored, inflicting severe obstacles upon the reform.

Subsequently, Ju Wenzhen gathered aristocratic bureaucrats such as Wei Cigong, Zheng Yin, Li Cheng, and Wang Ya to rewrite the reform decrees. He also united regional warlords to submit memorials, coercing Emperor Shunzhong—who had suffered a stroke and was entirely immobilized—to abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince, Li Chun.

Left with no alternative, Shunzhong yielded the throne to Li Chun. Li Chun ascended as Emperor, known historically as Emperor Xianzong, while Shunzhong was honored as the Retired Emperor.

Following this, under the orchestration of Ju Wenzhen and the aristocratic bureaucrats, the reform leader Wang Shuwen was demoted to the post of a minor official in Yuzhou, and by the following year, was executed at his place of exile. Wang Pi was demoted to Kaizhou, and soon died in exile as well. Han Tai, Han Ye, Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Chen Jian, Ling Zhun, Cheng Sheng, and Wei Zhiyi were all driven out of the capital and demoted to minor provincial posts in remote border regions.

In one fell swoop, the reform faction led by Wang Shuwen was thoroughly crushed.

That was why Wei Renshi believed Wang Shuwen had failed to read the political landscape clearly and had been far too conceited.

Defeating Ju Wenzhen and seizing control of the Shence Army from his hands ought to have been the prerequisite for reform, not its content.

Ju Wenzhen's power was already too vast; defeating him required reliance upon a strong and resolute emperor.

Clearly, Li Song on his sickbed was not sufficiently strong.

Thus, Wei Renshi had chosen firmly not to entangle himself in their struggles at present.

Fortunately, however, the reason Ju Wenzhen had sent Han Yu to find him concerned the river dikes of Luoyang.

And even more unexpectedly, the power standing behind the Huachun Pavilion turned out to be none other than Ju Wenzhen himself!

No wonder the Huachun Pavilion had grown to such a massive scale in both Luoyang and Chang'an; no wonder it had previously reigned as the head of Luoyang's tavern and restaurant guild; and no wonder the local officials of Luoyang prefecture had cooperated so eagerly with them to suppress the Yimeng Pavilion.

The chief manager of the Luoyang Huachun Pavilion was named Liu Zhenqi.

According to Han Yu, Ju Wenzhen's original name was Liu Zhenliang.

"The Luoyang Huachun Pavilion is the property of Inner Attendant Ju's sworn brother, Liu Zhenqi. Inner Attendant Ju was entirely unaware of the actions he took." These were the words Han Yu had spoken to him just moments before: "Now that you have attained a noble title, Liu Zhenqi recalls past grievances and fears your retaliation. He has therefore requested Inner Attendant Ju to step forward and offer you an apology. He states that the Huachun Pavilion is willing to bear half the cost of constructing the river dikes, asking for nothing in return, simply hoping to clear away past animosity and reconcile."

Savoring these words, Wei Renshi smiled slightly.

Would Liu Zhenqi and the Huachun Pavilion fear retaliation from a mere County Baron of Weinan, backed by Ju Wenzhen's current towering authority?

Absurd.

There was only one reason: because Ju Wenzhen enjoyed the deep favor of Emperor Dezong, he might have caught wind of certain news concerning Wei Renshi in advance.

And that intelligence had convinced Ju Wenzhen that it was imperative for the Huachun Pavilion to make amends with Wei Renshi and the Yimeng Pavilion.

Upon reflection, it was not difficult to guess.

Profiting from the construction of river dikes was a scheme Wei Renshi had offered to Emperor Dezong to expand the inner court's revenues. Naturally, implementing this plan required Wei Renshi's direct involvement.

From this perspective, Emperor Dezong must have placed great value on the idea and was preparing to put it into practice.

Ju Wenzhen must have deduced from this that Wei Renshi would wield significant influence before the Emperor in the future, and consequently sought to mend the ties between the Huachun Pavilion and the Yimeng Pavilion beforehand.

If that was indeed the case, then once the Luoyang river dikes were completed come next spring and Emperor Dezong witnessed the results, he would undoubtedly replicate the undertaking elsewhere.

That would present a golden opportunity. If Ju Wenzhen or the Huachun Pavilion possessed such foresight, the Huachun Pavilion must have already begun making preparations right now.

And repairing relations with him was merely the first step.

It seemed the Yimeng Pavilion also needed to start preparing early, striving to secure the construction rights so as to acquire commercial frontage along the streets once the project was finished.

A sudden gust of cold wind swept past. Wei Renshi shivered slightly, dismissing these thoughts from his mind. Deciding that he ought to find time for a trip to Luoyang, he turned and walked back inside.

Early the next morning, he headed to the Chongwen Academy as usual.

The moment Fan Zhiyi caught sight of Wei Renshi, he scurried over.

With an air of great mystery, Fan Zhiyi pulled Wei Renshi into a secluded corner, furtively produced a palm-sized small box, handed it over, and whispered, "Brother Renshi, I tried making these again after I went back last night. Have a look and see how they turned out!"

Wei Renshi could not help but sigh inwardly: Youth is truly wonderful! To dare do anything for the person one loves.

Picturing the grandson of the Grand General of the Jinwu Guards huddled in his family kitchen trying to fry chicken popcorn, Wei Renshi felt a sudden surge of sympathy for his household servants, who must have been utterly terrified the previous night.

Opening the box, he picked out a piece and tasted it. Surprisingly, it tasted remarkably authentic!

"Not bad! Brother Zhiyi, you truly astonish me!" Wei Renshi was genuinely impressed. "After just a single night, what you've made is already quite delicious! Rest assured, giving these to Miss Du will definitely not disgrace you!"

"Really? Hehehe..." Fan Zhiyi broke into a silly grin, lost in some pleasant daydream.

Noticing the burn marks on Fan Zhiyi's hands, Wei Renshi figured he must have practiced making them countless times last night to achieve this flavor.

He therefore said to him, "Brother Zhiyi, do you trust your younger brother?"

"Of course I do!" Fan Zhiyi nodded emphatically without a moment's hesitation.

"Then don't wait any longer. Go straight home after classes end today, make another batch, and deliver them directly to Miss Du, placing them into her own hands," Wei Renshi advised.

Fan Zhiyi blinked in surprise. "Ah? Go today? I was planning to practice for a few more days and get them even better before going."

"Listen to me, go today," Wei Renshi said with absolute conviction. "Miss Du will be deeply moved."

*Give it a few more days and the burn marks on his hands won't be as obvious,* Wei Renshi thought to himself, though he chose not to remind Fan Zhiyi. Otherwise, it might look too deliberate.

"This... since Brother Renshi says so—very well then!" Fan Zhiyi nodded. "I'll listen to Brother Renshi!"