Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 126: Let go and hang up again (Subscription required)
"Brother Sun, you too, you only visited me once when you first arrived in Beijing. How come you haven't been here since then?"

Taking advantage of his free time, Zhang Luan pulled Sun You aside and chatted with him.

Sun You said helplessly: "Brother Lai Zhan, I really went there, but the yard is now empty."

“Ah!? Sorry…”

Zhang Luan slapped his forehead and said in annoyance, "Look at my stupid brain. I forgot to inform you when I moved. Oh, by the way, my new house was specially given to me by Minister Li."

"Which Minister Li?"

Sun You looked confused, then seemed to think of something and asked with wide eyes.

Zhang Luan smiled and said, "Who else could it be? It was none other than the famous Li Shilang of the Yintai Division, the one that people call Li Guoshi... After arriving in the capital, I had some interactions with him, and with the help of my brother-in-law Shen Ruxue, we became familiar with each other, and even received quite a few rewards from him."

Perhaps because he felt that the selection of the Crown Princess had reached the final stage and he was no longer afraid of Sun You coming to ask for help, Zhang Luan no longer concealed the truth from his old friend and spoke directly as if to show off.

Sun You was naturally shocked when he heard this: "Brother Lai Zhan actually has such a wonderful fate? Then... then..."

"Ugh!"

Zhang Luan shook his head and sighed, "Minister Li said he would help my daughter choose the Crown Princess, but how can an outsider make the decision on such a matter as the palace selection? Just like you, without anyone to help you, didn't you get through the previous rounds of selection like this?
"You and I are both scholars with honors. With our backgrounds and family education, in such a mixed place, it shouldn't be too difficult for us to send our children to the palace to choose concubines!"

When Sun You heard this, he felt helpless, but he still nodded in agreement.

He thought to himself, you are clearly a full man who doesn't know the hunger of a hungry man!
You have a strong backing, but I don't!

Those who have this relationship can naturally say without shame that it is due to their family background, their own efforts and so on, but have you ever considered the feelings of others?
Zhang Luan lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "I heard that families around the capital, especially those with a little status and background, are unwilling to let their daughters run for the crown princess. You know, this Crown Prince of the East Palace is not in power now. Not to mention that he won't be elected, even if he is elected, he may suffer in the future."

Sun You hurriedly advised: "Brother Lai Zhan, some things should not be said casually, or they will cause a big mess..."

"I can only say this to our own people. If you say this again outside of this place, I won't admit it." Zhang Luan also realized that he had said something wrong. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he changed the subject and asked, "Oh, by the way, why haven't I seen you recently? Did you send in the last two elections?"

"Who said there is no ..."

Sun You looked at Zhang Yanling.

It seems to be saying, I have seen your son before, but I have never seen you.

Zhang Luan suddenly remembered that he had never gone to the election before, and it was only today when the time came that he remembered to care about his daughter's future. After all, when the re-election was held yesterday, he would rather visit the teachers and classmates of the Imperial College than accompany his daughter.

"Look, there seems to be news ahead."

Zhang Luan pointed in the direction of the left gate of Chang'an.

Another group of people gathered around, and then someone who was also a family member of the candidate said, "I just asked the adults in the court, and there are probably six or seven ladies left. I guess the final three names are among these people."

"is it?"

Everyone became excited.

It turns out that the ladies who came out early were really those who had been eliminated, rather than those who had no problem and could just go home and wait.

Zhang Luan smiled and said, "Brother Sun, congratulations first. It seems that our two families are about the same. We both have the hope of entering the final round. Maybe in the future our two families... can still..."

Originally, Zhang Luan wanted to get to know them better, meaning that the children from both families would go to the Eastern Palace to serve as concubines for the prince. Although there would be a difference between the principal wife and the concubine, it could be considered as "working under the same roof."

But then he became confused. How should people in this relationship address each other?
Sun You said modestly: "My daughter comes from a humble background, so naturally I cannot compare to your prominent family background, Brother Lai Zhan. I just came here to try my luck. After all, I have a stubborn personality and have helped my family with business before. I have a sense of gangsterism. I have never been engaged since I was a child, so..."

"You don't have to explain this to me."

Zhang Luan said, "Your family was able to cancel the engagement with my daughter and allow her to come to the capital to participate in the selection of the Crown Princess. I understand and appreciate this kindness. Then let's make an agreement here. No matter which of our two families becomes successful in the future, we should not forget each other, okay?"

Sun You hurriedly said, "I couldn't ask for more, I couldn't ask for more, how can I compare with you?"

Zhang Luan smiled.

If he had said this a month ago, he would have thought that Sun You was not being sincere. After all, what kind of family background does the Sun family have?
Hundreds of acres of fertile land!
Rich!

He is a wealthy man in Xingji!
By the time Zhang Laizhan came to this branch of the Zhang family, they had long since become a poor and impoverished family. If he had not suddenly gotten some good luck in recent months, his whole family might have starved after the beginning of this spring because of insufficient food reserves.

"Out!"

The palace gate opened and another woman came out. The crowd was noisy and someone shouted loudly.

However, the atmosphere this time was much calmer than before. The family members who had previously spent money to buy the information from the "gossip-monger" hurried to the palace gate.

Before the group could get forward, they were stopped by several Jinyiwei.

A Jinyiwei leader stepped forward and shouted, "This is the last batch. Pick up the people and leave quickly. If you don't leave, don't blame me for arresting you!"

After the Jinyiwei spoke, everyone present became obedient.

At this moment, a group of Jinyiwei came over from a distance, and the leader said from a distance: "You can't say that... Among you, there may be a future nobleman. You are so negligent and rude. Do you think you can't even keep your job in the future?"

The person who spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly was Qin Yun, who was wearing the official uniform of a hundred households of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhang Luan didn't expect to meet an acquaintance at the palace gate, and he was happy. However, he didn't want to make friends with Qin Yun at this time, because he was still observing whether his daughter Zhang Yu was among the women.

After searching around, I still couldn't find it.

Among those who came out was Sun You’s daughter Sun Chengying.

But Sun Chengying had a gloomy face, as if someone owed her a few hundred dollars. She was led to the palace gate by the palace maid, and after looking for Sun You in the crowd, she walked towards Sun You.

"I'm coming."

Everyone rushed forward.

Tan Yun climbed up the mountain and said in a loud voice: "Everyone, go back first. Today's matter has come to an end. The court will send someone to send you a gift of money for your return home."

By saying this, she was actually telling everyone present in disguise that after the first few steps of the selection, all the ladies who left the palace were not selected.

Zhang Luan finally felt relieved. With someone in front of him who could communicate, he hurried over and said, "Captain Qin, do you still remember me? I am Zhang Laizhan."

"Mr. Zhang, are you still waiting?"

Qin Yun walked over, nodded to Zhang Luan with a smile, and asked, "Why, haven't you received a call from Ling'er yet?"

Zhang Luan said with a bitter face: "Is it true that we didn't receive the call... Is the person left in the palace?"

A hint of disappointment appeared on Qin Yun's face, which was fleeting but did not escape Zhang Yanling's eyes.

Then, Qin Yun smiled and explained, "Congratulations first. I heard that three nobles stayed in Qingning Palace. They will learn etiquette in Qingning Palace today. In the next two days, they will go to the East Palace to meet the prince and accept the final step of selection. Maybe you will be the father of the prince's consort in the future. Congratulations!"

"is it?"

Zhang Luan’s anxious heart was finally at ease.

At the same time, it seemed as if someone was hanging him up from another direction.

Although the previous steps of the selection ended without any major problems, the selection of concubines has entered the most critical step, which is the final "select three" stage. Li Zisheng and Shen Lu have told him more than once that at this step, the room for maneuver is very limited. If he could still convey a message to the Queen Mother and ask her for help before, how can he communicate with the Crown Prince?
"Then... can we go back and wait for news?" Zhang Luan asked.

"Yes."

Qin Yun smiled and asked, "Do you have a car to take you back? Have you asked someone to prepare one for you?"

"No, no, I have a carriage here. Thank you for your help, Captain Qin. I will leave right away, right away!"

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(End of this chapter)