On the way from the Northern Group to the Ling Family Old Mansion, Ling Ruonan instructed the driver, Wuyue, "Look into Hu Jianbo’s situation!"
Hu Jianbo was the vice president who had just reported to Ling Ruonan and Luo Ziling.
Hearing Ling Ruonan give such an order, Luo Ziling couldn’t help being very surprised.
"Mom, what’s wrong?" He turned his head to look at Ling Ruonan and said in puzzlement, "Is there something wrong with this man?"
"Just now, when you said that line about ’not being fooled by anyone,’ his expression clearly changed!" Ling Ruonan said calmly. "If he had nothing to hide, he wouldn’t have changed his expression at a casual joke of yours."
"No way?" Luo Ziling was even more surprised. "Just based on that, you think there’s a problem with him?"
"If there’s no problem, it’s fine; we can still let him suffer a bit of a lesson!" Ling Ruonan didn’t take it too seriously. "Who knows, once we investigate, we might actually find something!"
"Then let’s look into him!" Luo Ziling believed that Ling Ruonan wouldn’t investigate a company vice president on a whim; either this person had some prior issues, or Ling Ruonan had long harbored suspicions about him, and today’s incident was merely a catalyst.
"The people who stay by your side must be completely trustworthy. If they harbor divided loyalties, they can only be let go!" Ling Ruonan said solemnly. "I don’t want anyone around us to have a second agenda toward us, let alone harm us. People like that, we must get rid of as early as possible!"
When Ling Ruonan said this, even Wuyue, who was concentrating on driving, couldn’t help looking at her through the rearview mirror.
Luo Ziling knew that Ling Ruonan was deliberately saying this for Wuyue to hear.
It also counted as a kind of warning to Wuyue!
Luo Ziling suddenly thought of Jin Yan. He felt that since Ling Ruonan had this mindset, he should tell her about Jin Yan.
With that thought, after hesitating a little, Luo Ziling told Ling Ruonan about his suspicions regarding Jin Yan.
After listening, Ling Ruonan was not surprised.
"There are indeed some suspicious points about Jin Yan, so I’ve never dared to entrust her with any confidential matters, and I’ve even had others keep an eye on her. Since you’ve also noticed abnormal behavior from her, that means there’s definitely something wrong with this person, and she needs to be thoroughly investigated." Speaking to this point, Ling Ruonan let out a few cold chuckles. "It’s no surprise that our opponents try every possible way to buy off people around us, or plant people they’ve carefully groomed by our side. When it comes to choosing and using people, we must be extremely cautious."
As she spoke, she gave Wuyue another instruction: "In this period, you’ve been the one helping Ziling recruit usable people. You must remember that the vetting of subordinates has to be extremely strict; it’s better to have too few than the wrong ones. If you discover any problem with someone, you must deal with it as quickly as possible and never show mercy. Otherwise, the consequences will be endless!"
"Yes!" Ling Ruonan’s instructions made Wuyue’s heart give a sudden thump.
She faintly felt that something wasn’t quite right.
However, since Ling Ruonan didn’t say more, she didn’t dare ask.
For some things, it was safer to ask Luo Ziling; at least Luo Ziling wouldn’t pull a long face at her.
Soon, the car arrived near the Ling Family Old Mansion.
After strict security checks, the car drove into that mysterious area.
Wuyue drove straight to the entrance of the old mansion to drop off Luo Ziling and Ling Ruonan before stopping.
Seeing that it was Ling Ruonan and Luo Ziling’s car, the staff at the old mansion immediately came up and opened the car door for Ling Ruonan.
"The Chief has long been thinking about you two, mother and son." This staff member, who was always by Ling Jinhua’s side, said with a smile to Ling Ruonan as she got out of the car, "It’s been quite a while since Eldest Miss last came. And Mr. Luo hasn’t come to see the Chief for several months; the Chief’s already been complaining."
The staff around Ling Jinhua had always had a good relationship with Ling Ruonan.
Although Huang Chen had gone to take up a post in the military region, the other staff members continued to play the role of Ling Ruonan’s "comrades-in-arms."
As soon as he saw Ling Ruonan, this "comrade-in-arms" of hers immediately conveyed to her what he considered relatively important information.
After listening, Ling Ruonan lightly nodded, then smiled and said, "Ziling went out of town and only got back a couple of days ago, and he came here right away to see the old man. I’ll explain it to him in a bit; Grandpa shouldn’t mind."
"Eldest Young Master came by yesterday!" The staff member lowered his voice and said, "He kept the Chief company and chatted for over an hour, but I don’t know what they talked about. Eldest Young Master didn’t look too good when he left, while the old man looked all cheerful."
Ling Ruonan gave a slight nod and didn’t ask anything.
The staff member also didn’t say more and led Ling Ruonan and Luo Ziling into the courtyard.
The weather in late November was neither cold nor hot.
On sunny days, the early evening still felt quite comfortable.
Although it was almost dinnertime, Ling Jinhua, who didn’t like staying in his room for long, was still sitting in the courtyard resting.
Several books were placed beside his recliner, with the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance lying on top, opened.
After greeting Ling Jinhua, Ling Ruonan and Luo Ziling sat down beside him.
Luo Ziling picked up the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, glanced at the cover, and said with a smile to Ling Jinhua, "Great Grandfather, you’re studying history?"
"I’m just idly flipping through the Comprehensive Mirror; how can that be called studying history?" Ling Jinhua looked at Luo Ziling with his eyes half closed.
Luo Ziling glanced at the open page and found it was the section "Annals of Tang, Book Ten: Emperor Taizong, the Sagacious and Martial, the Great and Filial, Part One and Two." He immediately asked, "Great Grandfather, do you also like Tang Dynasty history?"
"I know that both you and your grandfather really like history!" Ling Jinhua didn’t answer Luo Ziling’s question but continued squinting at him. "I suppose you’ve already read the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance thoroughly, haven’t you?"
"I also like Tang Dynasty history. I’ve read most of the Chapters of the Tang Annals in the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance." Luo Ziling picked up the open volume, glanced at the content, and then, as if discovering a "new continent," asked, "Great Grandfather, what do you think of Wei Zheng and Ma Zhou?"
The earlier part of "Annals of Tang, Book Ten" tells of Ma Zhou, then serving as a Censorate official, proposing to Emperor Taizong that he build a palace for the Retired Emperor Li Yuan, and of Wei Zheng opposing Emperor Taizong’s overly generous dowry for Princess Changle.
Ma Zhou’s proposal that Emperor Taizong build a summer palace for Li Yuan was an important reason that the Daming Palace was built.
Emperor Taizong doted greatly on Princess Changle. When she married, he prepared a very lavish dowry for her, exceeding the established rules. Wei Zheng was displeased when he saw this and directly remonstrated, criticizing Emperor Taizong in open court.
Wei Zheng’s blunt remonstrance angered Emperor Taizong. After court, when he returned to his chambers, he furiously cursed Wei Zheng as a "country bumpkin" and said he wanted to kill him. When Empress Zhangsun asked why, Emperor Taizong indignantly said that Wei Zheng had insulted him. After hearing this, Empress Zhangsun immediately changed into court robes, knelt before Emperor Taizong, and congratulated him: "I have heard that when the ruler is enlightened, his ministers speak frankly. Now that Wei Zheng speaks frankly, it is because Your Majesty is enlightened. How could I not offer congratulations!"
This story appears even in history textbooks.
Ma Zhou and Wei Zheng were both famous ministers of the Zhenguan era, and both later served as Prime Minister.
Both men were renowned for their blunt temperaments and were even called "remonstrating ministers" by later generations.
Seeing that Ling Jinhua was reading "Annals of Tang, Book Ten," Luo Ziling had a sudden inspiration and wanted to discuss this topic with him.
By using a discussion of history, he could bring up some very real issues directly and demand an explanation from Ling Jinhua.
When Luo Ziling asked how he evaluated these two men, a sharp light flashed in Ling Jinhua’s eyes; he had guessed Luo Ziling’s intention.