Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 131 Taking advantage of the situation
After more than ten days of hard work, Zhang Yunxiu finally returned to Beijing.

As soon as he entered his own mansion, Zhang Fu came forward in a panic and said carefully: "The master asked you to go see him immediately after you come back. I see that the master looks very bad, and it is probably not a good thing."

Zhang Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat, but he had to hold on and walk in.

When I arrived at the study, I saw You Qi from afar, jumping back and forth and circling outside like a yellow bird.

Zhang Yunxiu guessed that it was probably because of the incident in Liaodong.

He gathered his composure and stepped forward.

You Qi also saw Zhang Yunxiu and hurried over to him, grabbing his arm and saying with a bitter face, "Fifth Master, you are finally back. You have no idea how much trouble you have caused this time."

"What disaster?" Zhang Yunxiu asked him back.

"What else could it be? You actually dared to go to Liaodong privately and mobilize a large army to conquer the Jurchen tribe. This is a capital crime." You Qi said, his eyes already filled with mist.

"No, no."

Zhang Yunxiu looked hesitant and asked tentatively, trying to find some clues from You Qi's face.

You Qi looked very sad, but he still refused to change his words. He pointed at the study and said, "Go in quickly. The master has been waiting for you inside."

"Oh, okay." Zhang Yunxiu nodded and pushed the door open in a daze.

In the study, Zhang Juzheng had a dark face and was leaning on the armchair, motionless.

If it weren't for his wide-open eyes moving around, Zhang Yunxiu would have thought he was asleep.

"Father." Zhang Yunxiu called timidly as he bowed and saluted.

"Zhang Sicheng, you are so arrogant. It's not enough for you to give orders in the capital, but now you are going to Liaodong to show off your power." Zhang Juzheng had a sneer on his face, and his tone was very gloomy as soon as he opened his mouth. "According to me, your current title of Hanlin Academy Bachelor and Shangbaosi Sicheng is not enough to accommodate a big Buddha like you."

"Tomorrow I will write a letter to resign from the position of Prime Minister and let you be the Prime Minister."

"Really?!" Zhang Yunxiu answered without hesitation.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he regretted it.

I kept saying in my heart, I was careless, I was careless!!
Looking up, Zhang Juzheng was furious, even though he tried his best to suppress it. He slammed the table and shouted, "Rebellious son, you are such a rebellious son, and now you are coveting the position of Prime Minister."

"You Qi, get someone to take this beast out, give him fifty lashes with a stick, and confine him to his home for five months."

"Father." Zhang Yunxiu frowned and stepped forward and shouted anxiously.

"Seventy strokes of the cane, and you are not allowed to go out for the whole month of July!"

Zhang Juzheng shouted again, and soon four or five servants rushed in from outside, grabbed Zhang Yunxiu and walked out.

Zhang Yunxiu struggled but could not, so he could only shout, "Father, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."

"It's no use knowing you're wrong, beat him hard!" Zhang Juzheng roared with a ruthless look on his face, still furious.

After a while, Zhang Yunxiu's voice gradually faded away.

Zhang Juzheng pinched his nose, took a deep breath, and slumped back in the armchair.

His wrinkled forehead was already covered with thick beads of sweat.

You Qi, who was standing by, brought a towel to wipe Zhang Juzheng's sweat, and brought him a cup of jasmine tea, and whispered, "Master, we've beaten this young master, and we've scared him, so we should let this matter rest."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at You Qi, took a sip of jasmine tea, and said, biting his cheek, "It's like walking on thin ice when I'm the Prime Minister. Even I don't dare to bypass the cabinet and give orders directly to the border generals."

"This kid is so stupid that he went to Liaodong. Does he really think that the censors are blind?"

"Master." After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, You Qi called him respectfully and continued, "Master, you have always been like this since you came to Beijing two years ago. Although you are a little reckless, you would not do such an inappropriate thing for no reason."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Juzheng became alert.

"I heard from Zhang Fu that the young master was planning to kill a barbarian leader named Nurhaci. Later, for some reason, he changed his mind and went to Liaodong in person, where he found an excuse to wipe out the entire Jianzhou Guard." You Qi explained the whole story in a low voice without haste.

"Nurhaci?" Zhang Juzheng murmured. In his impression, this man should be quite respectful to the Ming Dynasty.

But now that their tribe has been destroyed, there is no point in saying these things.

Even if his son denies his wrongdoings, others will blame him. He is now covered in mud, and it is shit anyway, so he cannot make any excuses.

As a father, he was repeatedly ordered around by his son, which made him quite unhappy.

After being unhappy, it is natural to vent your anger.

So this family rule came into being.

After a moment's silence, Zhang Juzheng resumed his stern-faced prime minister's demeanor and said, "Well, you should immediately send Liu Xuan to Liaodong to verify the results of the battle reported by Li Rusong. Then report it to the cabinet, and I will personally ask for a reward for Li Rusong."

"As for that brat, Li Chengliang said he went to Liaodong to look for an eagle for the emperor. Whether it's true or not, just stick to that."

"Yes."

You Qi replied respectfully and turned to leave.

In Zhang Yunxiu's bedroom, Zhang Yunxiu was lying on the bed with a bloody buttock. Zheng Xier, with her big belly, applied ointment on him out of concern.

Almost every time he applied it, Zhang Yunxiu's body would tremble.

Then a large bead of sweat oozed out of the smooth head.

"Master, those servants were too cruel. They beat you like this." Zheng Xier looked at Zhang Yunxiu's miserable appearance, her eyes turned red, and she couldn't help sobbing.

"I still held back. I didn't break any bones, it just looked painful." Zhang Yunxiu replied weakly. If they really wanted to kill me, I would be dead after twenty sticks, not to mention seventy.

"As the saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. The master is too cruel." Zheng Xier still didn't believe it. She bit her cheek and snorted angrily, "How come you are also his son? How could you let a servant do such a cruel thing to you?"

"Stop talking, hurry up and finish applying the medicine so we can rest early."

"Oh, then lie down and don't move, or I'll hurt you again."

Zheng Xier replied softly and gently applied the ointment to Zhang Yunxiu again.

About a quarter of an hour later, the burning sensation on Zhang Yunxiu's butt had subsided, replaced by a cool feeling.

"Xier, you are so nice." He looked at the chubby Zheng Xier, tilted his head and smiled.

"You're still laughing. I think the master didn't hit you lightly." Zheng Xier said in a low voice.

"Didn't you just say that even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs? Why are you changing your mind now?"

"I just said that because I felt sorry for you. Now that your butt doesn't hurt anymore, there's naturally no need to coax you." Zheng Xier gathered the hair behind her ears and pouted, saying, "I think the master wants to teach you a big lesson this time, so that you won't fail to follow the rules and cause trouble again in the future."

"You don't understand. We don't want to do this unless it's absolutely necessary." Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and turned his head to the other side.

Zheng Xier got angry, put her hands on her hips, and groaned, "Yes, Xier is a woman, and I don't understand Mr. Zhang's ways. But Xier knows that as the son of the Prime Minister, your every word and action is watched by countless people."

"What you say and do not only represents yourself, but also represents the Prime Minister."

"Just like Xier herself, why do others respect me? Isn't it because I represent you, Mr. Zhang? Otherwise, a pregnant woman like me would be looked at in the street without anyone even looking at me."

"Xier." Zhang Yunxiu turned his head and looked at Zheng Xier blankly.

He didn't expect that she could see the situation so clearly.

Both he and his father are taking advantage of the "momentum".

Only by taking advantage of the situation and going with the flow can you achieve twice the result with half the effort.

His father was borrowing the emperor's "power". Whenever the cabinet had a discussion, the emperor would issue an order. He was able to be the prime minister so smoothly because he borrowed the emperor's power.

He borrowed his father's power and used the emperor's name as a banner.

It is precisely because of this that Li Chengliang and his son, as well as Wang Zuan, would all give him some face.

While Zhang Yunxiu was thinking, Zheng Xier called out softly, walked to his bedside, held his hands with a distressed look on her face, and said, "Sir, don't dare to do such a bold thing again in the future. What if I hurt you, what will Xier do?"

"He's hitting my butt, not my penis. What are you afraid of?" Zhang Yunxiu grinned and started talking nonsense to Zheng Xier.

The two of them had been close for a long time. Zheng Xier was not embarrassed by this teasing. Instead, she tilted her neck and snorted, "Who knows if it's broken? Just don't complain about being tired when you have sex with me."

"Okay, okay, wait until you get better, and then I'll show you how I'll deal with you."

Zhang Yunxiu said something else, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Zheng Xier, who was standing by, raised her jade hand and gently covered her lover's body with a brocade quilt. Then she sat at a small table beside her, supported her chin with one hand, and stared straight at her lover's cheek.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is July.

There was a muffled thunder, and from Zhang Yunxiu's private residence, the sound of a baby crying could be heard.

Outside the house, Zhang Yunxiu, who was pacing back and forth with an anxious look on his face, was immediately overjoyed. He hugged Zhang Jianxiu and shouted, "It's born, it's born. Xier is born, hahahaha."

"Okay, stop standing here, let's go in and take a look." Zhang Jianxiu was happy and pushed Zhang Yunxiu inside.

At this time, the wooden door opened with a click, and a woman came out holding a baby in her arms, and said with a forced smile, "Sir, the young lady gave birth to a daughter."

"My daughter is fine. My daughter is fine."

Zhang Yunxiu snatched the swaddling clothes and looked down at his sleeping daughter.

But seeing that her skin was wrinkled and she looked like a little old person, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

The old woman at the side covered her lips with her hands and smiled, patiently explaining: "All babies look like this when they are born. After a few days, they will naturally look better. Madam and the young master are a match made in heaven, so the child they give birth to will naturally be good."

Oh, I see.

"Zhang Fu, take these people down. Each of them will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand generously and walked in holding his daughter.

The old woman thanked him profusely and then followed Zhang Fu to receive the reward.

When I came to the inner room, there was a faint smell of blood in the air.

Zheng Xier's face was covered in sweat, her messy hair was stuck to her sweaty neck, her mouth was pale, her face was bloodless, and she was extremely weak.

Zhang Yunxiu's face was full of heartache. He walked quickly forward and sat down at the head of the bed.

He handed the baby to Zheng Xier and said excitedly: "Xier, look, this is our daughter."

"So ugly." Zheng Xier frowned and murmured.

"All children are like this. When they grow up, they won't be ugly anymore. They will definitely be a great beauty like their mother." Zhang Yunxiu said, leaning over and kissing Zheng Xier on the forehead.

"Young master, your wife has just given birth and is very weak. She needs to rest." An elderly woman reminded in a low voice.

Zhang Yunxiu slapped his forehead, glanced at Zheng Xier reluctantly, and whispered softly: "Then you have a good rest. I'll be in the room next to you. If there is anything, just send someone to call me."

"Yeah." Zheng Xier looked at Zhang Yunxiu and replied softly.

(End of this chapter)