Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 101: Playing with People's Hearts (Subscription Request)

Zhang Luan has been busy these days with the task of choosing a concubine for his daughter.

The person he wanted to see most was naturally Li Zisheng.

But as an important official, Li Zisheng didn't have that much free time, so he could only travel around according to the situation through the Imperial College and the relationships of Shen Lu and others.

But in Zhang Yanling's words, his old father was purely possessed by a demon, and everything he did was a waste of effort and futile.

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The local primary election in Shuntian Prefecture is drawing to a close.

Tomorrow afternoon, Shuntian Prefecture will complete the primary election.

That day, Zhang Luan invited Cui Ru to his home, hoping that Cui Ru, the son of an official with a broad vision, could help him with some advice.

"Laizhan, I have never supported you letting your daughter participate in the selection of the Crown Princess. Nowadays, any family in the capital that has a girl of the right age will try to hide her as much as possible. How can anyone be as enthusiastic as you to participate in the selection?

"According to past practice, children who fail to be selected will not have a good ending. Your Majesty... Alas! Some things are really inconvenient to say."

Cui Ru was not deliberately singing a different tune, but was speaking based on the facts, and he did so with an attitude that favored Zhang Luan.

I won’t talk about the things before that, just take the three princesses who were selected as the crown princesses of Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty as an example, each of them had a more miserable end than the other, and even those who were not selected did not have a good result. In addition, the Eastern Palace is weak now, and no one even thinks that the crown prince can live to see the day he ascends the throne.

In this way, Cui Ru felt that Zhang Luan was pushing his daughter into the fire pit.

Zhang Luan said: "It's not difficult to be selected. At the very least, she will be a concubine... Didn't I tell you that there will be noble people to help her?"

He nominally asked for help, but refused to tell Cui Ru who was helping him.

Cui Ru was quite helpless and said, "Since you have a noble person to help you, why do you still need me? I don't know much about this kind of thing...

"You asked me to use my father's connections to help inquire in the capital, but from what I've learned, there aren't many of your age among our classmates. Even among the students who graduated from the Imperial Academy, if they have unmarried girls of the right age, most of them won't come out to apply for the selection."

"Ah? Are people really so resistant to this?"

Zhang Luan was full of confidence and felt that he had found a very good track that could change the fate of himself and his family.

But Cui Ru's words hit him hard.

Cui Ru shook his head: "You don't know how dangerous it is to marry into the royal family. Even if you are chosen, you will not end up well. If you are not chosen, it will be even more miserable... People would rather let their daughters live a normal life. Who would be willing to try to get close to a rich man and put the whole family in danger?"

At this time Zhang Yanling happened to be helping to deliver tea to the study. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but sneer, thinking that Cui Ru was insincere.

If we apply this to today's situation, there is nothing wrong with what Cui Ru said, but the key point is... Zhang Yanling really wants to ask: Uncle, do you know that according to the development of history, your son Cui Yuan will be the consort of Princess Yongkang in the future?

Your rhetoric about the dangers of marrying into the royal family doesn't seem to work on you?
"Yanling, come here quickly and serve tea to Mr. Cui."

Zhang Luan started promoting his son at the right time.

Just as Zhang Yanling was about to pour tea, Cui Ru smiled at him and said, "This child has a spiritual aura... Lai Zhan, I've made note of what you said before about finding a teacher for your two nephews. I'll have news after the New Year."

"I'm really troubling you."

Zhang Yanling thanked with a smile.

Cui Ru said: "But I still want to remind you here, don't let your daughter choose the Crown Princess, this path will not work.

"Remember this!"

……

……

Originally, Zhang Luan wanted to keep Cui Ru at his home for dinner, but Cui Ru didn't seem to like the home-cooked meals made by ordinary people. After drinking tea, he said goodbye and left.

After the people left, Zhang Luan looked at his son and sighed, "Son, this time you let your sister be selected as the Crown Princess, have we taken the wrong path?"

Zhang Yanling teased, "Dad, why are you backing down now? This is not like your usual style at all."

What is not like, Zhang Yanling thought, this is exactly my father's character! The temperament of ordinary people, wanting to get close to the rich and powerful, but afraid of taking risks, a typical small farmer's mentality, if you want to live your own life behind closed doors, don't be ambitious.

Zhang Luan said, "It's not that I changed my mind at the last minute, but in recent days, I have asked many of my classmates and friends, even some people I don't know very well, and they all agree that running for the Crown Princess is like jumping into a fire pit."

"Hey, they are just jealous that their father has a good daughter, and they don't have one in their own family."

Zhang Yanling spoke without hesitation.

"It would be fine if that were the case, but what they said does make sense."

Zhang Luan said with a bitter face, "Your Majesty is now in the prime of life, just over 40 years old, let's talk about it in private, at least you have 20 years to live, right?
“During these twenty years, has the prince been able to maintain his position?

"There is also Concubine Wan in the palace, who is eyeing us covetously. I heard that the prince is not doing well, he is weak and sickly, and he is isolated and helpless. Do you think... relying on your sister to become the crown princess can really make our family prosperous?"

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, if he kept looking back and forth, he would definitely not be able to accomplish anything!
In another twenty years, even your son-in-law will be dead, and your nephew will have ascended the throne...

Of course, you won’t be able to see all of this, because according to historical developments, you won’t have many years left to live.

Of course, because I am here in this life, I may be able to change the short lives of my cheap father and future brother-in-law, and maybe they can live normally to their seventies or eighties.

Zhang Luan continued, "You can still be chosen. If you can't be chosen, it will be even more troublesome... Your father rejected the marriage proposal of the Sun family and insisted that your sister come to the capital to choose the Crown Princess. If you can't be chosen, you really can't face going back to see your fellow countrymen and friends, and even your second master... I heard that he has been looking for me recently."

"Dad, don't we have Minister Li to help us?"

Zhang Yanling continued to cheer Zhang Luan up.

Zhang Luan said, "Minister Li said he would help, but there has been no movement in the past two days. Tomorrow is the day of the primary election in Shuntian Prefecture, and the primary elections in various places will be completed before the New Year. I heard that the re-election will be held on the second day of the New Year, and the candidates will be sent to the palace for selection on the third or fourth day of the New Year. This step by step... It's like forcing a duck to climb a tree. It seems that the palace doesn't take the selection of the Crown Princess seriously at all."

Zhang Yanling patiently explained: "Dad, didn't I tell you that the reason we chose the Crown Princess so hastily this time was to give Concubine Wan a happy marriage...

"The medical record you saw earlier was that of Concubine Wan. She doesn't have many days left to live."

Zhang Luan looked unhappy: "You don't mean to say that this is also calculated by someone, right? God's will is unpredictable, and human affairs are also unpredictable. Could it be that the person behind you can even predict a person's life and death? Even if Concubine Wan is really dead, the prince still cannot be favored by His Majesty. Your sister will probably suffer a lot when she marries into the East Palace."

Zhang Yanling said mysteriously, "I will tell you something confidential... Father must keep this a secret."

"Say!"

Zhang Luan glared at his son and said, "It's better not to talk nonsense. If it makes sense, I can still listen to it... I am a scholar, so I am the most reasonable one."

Zhang Yanling felt uncomfortable when he heard this. Dad, why are you still bragging here?

"According to fate, your Majesty may only live for less than a year."

Zhang Yanling's face turned extremely serious.

"You...what nonsense are you talking about? How dare you say such a thing? Who else did you tell it to? And...who told you? He wants to hurt you, right?"

When Zhang Luan heard this, he was terrified.

Anyone who makes irresponsible remarks about the emperor's life span will be beheaded in any dynasty.

Zhang Yanling shrugged. "How about you go out and help me spread the word that your son is a traitor? You can even accurately predict the earthquake at Mount Tai. Do you really think you can't predict human affairs? Do you really know whether His Majesty is ill or not?"

"This……"

Zhang Luan was speechless for a moment.

Zhang Yanling said, "I will only say this once, and I will not mention it again in the future... If it is true as he said, the court will change within a year. What do you think the father of the Crown Princess is?"

"Father-in-law!"

Zhang Luan almost blurted it out, and then a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

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(End of this chapter)