Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 158 Things are coming
Zhang Heling was ordered by Zhang Luan to go into the house to sober up, which actually meant going to sleep.

Hearing the snoring coming from the room, Zhang Luan muttered, "Why did the people from Uncle Zhou's family come to our house on their own initiative? They invited your brother to drink, what's their intention?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and asked, "Then... Dad, do you hope that the person they invite is you?"

"Nonsense!"

Zhang Luan's old face turned red, as if his son had hit the nail on the head.

"But you're right. In terms of seniority, my father is on the same level as Marquis Qingyun and Earl Changning. If they want to invite anyone, they should invite you. You've been chosen by mistake today." Zhang Yanling said.

Zhang Luan counted with his fingers and frowned, "No, you are wrong... They are the Queen Mother's brothers, one generation older than the current emperor, how can they be considered as my equals?"

One is the uncle of the current emperor, and the other is the emperor's father-in-law. They are really different in terms of seniority.

Zhang Yanling explained with a smile: "What I mean is that my father will be the father-in-law of the emperor in the future, and he can be considered a relative by marriage. His status can be equal to theirs. After all, my father will also be a man of nobility in the future. Let's talk about our own..."

Zhang Luan swallowed his saliva and shook his head, "I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it! Now your sister's marriage into the palace has not been settled yet, and you are actually thinking about my title? I'm afraid there are not so many benefits in the world."

Zhang Yanling said, "As long as the prince ascends the throne, my father's title will be settled. Of course, it also depends on my father's reputation among the scholars. The title of Earl, or even Marquis or Duke, passed down from generation to generation is a customary practice and it should not be broken in the short term."

"Yanling, why do you always think good things for your father? Besides, even if there is a title, it will be inherited by your elder brother, not you."

Zhang Luan's words seemed very frank and honest.

You said that you are the second child in the family, and although you are the apple of your father's eye, the problem is that you are only as good as your father. No matter how incompetent your eldest brother is, he is still the eldest in the family, and the family property will still have to be inherited by him in the future.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll figure it out myself. Anyway, everything will be fine."

"Hey, you figured it out on your own..."

Zhang Luan rolled his eyes and muttered, "What on earth do the Zhou family want to do?"

These words may seem like he is talking to himself, but they are actually hinting at something: Son, help your father analyze this: Does the Zhou family's attitude mean that there will be no problem for your sister to marry into the palace?

Zhang Yanling seemed not to hear it.

The relationship between the Zhou family and the Zhang family...

We used to be on two different paths and had nothing to do with each other.

But later.

That's a close relationship.

Zhang Heling and Zhou Shou fought over land, and the two sides fought each other... Zhou Yu and Zhang Yanling did business together, bullying and dominating the market, and ended up turning against each other, and the two families continued to fight...

If we talk about the most troublesome relatives by marriage during the Hongzhi period, the Zhou family can be ranked second, and only the Zhang family can be ranked first.

It was also because the old lady of the Zhou family lived longer and protected her two unfilial brothers for almost the entire Hongzhi period that the scene of the two major relatives competing with each other appeared.

Of course, this is just the beginning, and there will be a long time before the two companies cooperate and fight each other.

……

……

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

Tongzhengshisi Yamen.

Today is the first briefing held by the Ministry of Public Security after the New Year.

Shen Lu arrived at the yamen gate early and wanted to go in to meet Li Zisheng before everyone arrived and ask about his brother-in-law's family.

But he was blocked outside the door.

Not long after, Left Councillor Chen Wan, who heard the news, came out and invited Shen Lu to one side.

"I want to go in and pay my respects to Minister Li," Shen Lu explained.

In Shen Lu's opinion, Chen Wan came from the government office and should know whether Li Zisheng is free now and whether he has time to meet him.

Chen Wan said, "Minister Li is discussing something with Chen Tongzheng. It's related to urgent official business, so I'm afraid they'll have to talk for a while."

Chen Zheng, the Zuo Tongzhengshi, was the second-in-command of the Tongzhengshisi, second only to Li Zisheng.

Chen Wan brought up Chen Zheng, meaning to tell Shen Lu that you are just an experienced official in the Ministry of Public Security, your words carry little weight, and it is not your turn to speak up if there is anything.

"By the way, Ruxue, I heard that one of your brothers-in-law successfully selected his daughter as the Crown Princess, and is about to marry into the East Palace?"

Chen Wan suddenly asked with a smile.

Shen Lu was very curious, do you know all this?

Chen Wan noticed that Shen Lu looked a little strange, and explained with a smile: "I don't know who spread the news, but now everyone in the Yintai Division is talking about it. It seems that you have been planning a lot behind the scenes... If your niece becomes the Crown Princess, you will have a bright future and be extremely wealthy."

Shen Lu looked somewhat ashamed, and waved his hands, saying, "How dare I have such a fantasy? In fact, I just...went to apply for the selection, and who knew that I was selected without knowing it."

He didn't dare to mention that Li Zisheng was helping him behind the scenes.

But if he didn't say it, how could Chen Wan not know?
How could you, Shen Lu, arrange for your wife's niece to be the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace? Could it be that Li Zisheng was behind this?
Chen Wan sighed, "But I also heard that the wedding ceremony was supposed to be held in the East Palace in the past two days, but it was delayed for some reason. It seems that some things cannot be done with certainty. At this time, you are already the target of public criticism. It's okay in other places, but in the Silver Palace, you should keep a low profile."

"This……"

Shen Lu felt even more ashamed.

The other party was clearly issuing a warning: Li Zisheng doesn't want to see you now, so you'd better not go in and disturb him. Although I, Chen, don't know what connection you have behind the scenes, I can still understand a little bit of human relations.

"Tomorrow's grand sacrifice will be held outside the city, and Minister Li is worried about it... It is said that His Majesty has been asking the people of the Imperial Observatory these past two days whether there will be heavy fog tomorrow... It is really sad to talk about it. Will the fog really affect tomorrow's grand sacrifice?"

Chen Wan had a puzzled look on his face. He was also carefully observing Shen Lu's reaction, trying to find some clues from the subtle changes in Shen Lu's expression.

When Shen Lu heard this, he immediately understood.

Unlike the previous two times when the earthquake prophecies in Lizi Province were made public, the emperor did not publicize the prediction of the heavy fog on the ninth day of the first lunar month. The matter was only spread within a very small range, and everyone remained silent and did not dare to express their opinions casually.

It seems that a mere fog cannot compare to the impact of an earthquake, especially the Taishan earthquake. But from the emperor's perspective, Li Zisheng's prophecy about the fog was closely related to the life and death of his beloved concubine Wan Zhen'er. Even those who hated Li Zisheng to the core, after learning about the prophecy about the fog, did not dare to leak it casually, in order to put pressure on Li Zisheng.

If fog really did appear and Concubine Wan happened to die...when the emperor was sad and learned that people were spreading the matter, wouldn't he send someone to investigate it thoroughly?

If the source of the information leak is finally found, that person will have no need to live.

As one of the insiders, Shen Lu could only keep silent at this time, shaking his head and sighing: "Maybe the weather has not been very good recently, disasters have occurred frequently, and your majesty is worried... or maybe your majesty has caught a cold and can't stand the threat of the heavy fog."

"hehe."

Chen Wan had a mocking smile on her face, as if saying, your explanation is quite fresh.

Quite talented.

The key is to have someone believe it!
……

……

The eighth day, night falls.

Zhu Jianshen did not go into the palace to rest. All matters concerning the next day's patrol had been arranged.

Qin Chang went to Anxi Palace to help the emperor gather information and did not return until after the next shift.

The cold wind outside made the doors and windows whistle. One could easily imagine how cold it was, but when Zhu Jianshen heard the sound, he immediately got up and walked to the door without hesitation.

When Qin Chang saw the emperor coming to greet him personally, he immediately bowed with great respect and trepidation.

"how's it going?"

Zhu Jianshen asked.

"Everything is fine." Tan Chang replied respectfully, "The queen has rested. The imperial physician diagnosed that her condition has stabilized and there are no signs of worsening."

Zhu Jianshen frowned: "Li Qing always predicts things accurately, could it be that he failed this time?"

Having said that, Zhu Jianshen actually showed a relaxed smile on his face.

When it comes to the life and death of his beloved concubine, he would rather Li Zisheng not know the secret.

Qin Chang said: "Didn't Mr. Li say that as long as there is no fog tomorrow, God will bless the Queen."

"tomorrow……"

Zhu Jianshen hesitated and said distressedly, "I don't even know whether I should attend this grand sacrifice... Oh, by the way, has the crown prince been notified?"

Tan Chang said quickly, "We have already sent someone to the East Palace to inform them. The Crown Prince will leave the city with the imperial carriage tomorrow morning and head to the suburbs."

Because the outer city of Beijing had not yet been built during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, going to the southern suburbs to worship was considered leaving the capital.

Generally speaking, in this situation the emperor would go alone and rarely would he bring the crown prince along… As the saying goes, to keep a double insurance, it is best for the father and son not to appear at the same occasion outside the city at the same time, to avoid a bad outcome.

But this time Zhu Jianshen insisted on letting the prince go with him, which was puzzling.

Zhu Jianshen sighed, "Although the prince is weak and sickly, he has a strong life and has survived many crises. This time, he should just follow me out of the palace."

What he meant was that if I were not in the palace, I was afraid that the prince, who had a tough life, would cause some harm to my beloved concubine.

When Qin Chang heard this, he was a little dazed.

As a father, you really think from a different perspective.

However, when I think about the fact that the current emperor believes in those mysterious words of destiny and highly respects Taoist techniques, it seems to make sense.

As the emperor, holding a high position, he does not believe in destiny, ghosts or gods. So what should he find as spiritual sustenance?

……

……

into the night.

At Li Zisheng's mansion, Pang Qing was accompanying Li Zisheng.

In Pang Qing's eyes, no matter how normal Li Zisheng behaved, he could not hide his inner panic, because he had just received news from the palace that there was no change in Concubine Wan's condition.

"Master, we have believed Zhang Jiansheng twice. Now that the time has come, there is no need to question the accuracy of his prophecy."

Pang Qing said with a serious face.

"Ah."

Li Zisheng just nodded slightly.

At this time, Li Zisheng was standing at the window, completely ignoring the cold weather. He opened the window and faced the night sky in the cold wind.

Pang Qing knew that this "all-powerful" Taoist priest Li was studying astronomy, trying to find out from the changes in the stars whether there would be fog tomorrow.

Pang Qing asked, "Master Dao, if there is fog tomorrow, what if the queen is fine?"

Li Zisheng turned around and looked at Pang Qing, and asked, "If there is fog, Zhang Laizhan has been hit three times in a row, will he fail the fourth time?
"Besides, as long as there is this fog, others will know that I can accurately predict the future. If Wan Fei can turn danger into safety, there must be another wonderful fate."

Pang Qing thought, you are really open-minded.

Then he said, "But now no one in the world knows that there is an evil fog that concerns the life and death of the queen."

"They will know."

Li Zisheng finally turned around at this time. Perhaps it was too cold, his body was shaking constantly. He walked slowly to the desk and picked up something.

Pang Qing walked over to take it, but unexpectedly Li Zisheng put it into his arms.

"Let him know tomorrow morning. Even if the sky falls, he won't have to worry. With or without this fog, he and I are in the same boat."

(Two updates today, the next one will be updated at 6pm, thank you!)
(End of this chapter)