Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 199: Join the Game (asking for guaranteed monthly ticket)

Zhang family.

Inner house.

While Zhang Yu was trying on new jewelry, Zhang Yanling went straight into the house. Zhang Yu was not surprised and continued to put on makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

"Sister, I think it's really unnecessary for you to dress like this... maybe the prince likes you when you are like a lotus flower emerging from water, without any makeup?"

Zhang Yanling sat there, crossed his legs, and didn't consider himself an outsider at all.

Zhang Yu's delicate hands were still adjusting her crown. She smiled and said, "I didn't have the conditions before, but now I have all kinds of rouge and powder. Is it not possible for me to dress up a little, sister?"

Zhang Yanling said: "Those powders, especially blush, look weird on the face...Sister, it's better to wear a natural makeup."

"What is natural makeup?"

Zhang Yu twisted his buttocks, but did not stand up. He turned around on the stool and looked at his brother.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Su Yan, as the name suggests, means a plain face, which is simply washed with water without applying anything on the face. The so-called plain makeup means that you have already put on makeup, but it is not visible on the surface, which invisibly improves your appearance and temperament by several levels."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "You've already said that it's the same whether you put it on or not, so why put it on?"

Zhang Yanling had an unfathomable look on his face: "That's very different... After applying it, it will cover up the minor flaws on your face, making your facial features look more three-dimensional, your skin more moist and fair, and reflecting light under the sun, giving people a sense of beauty as if it were carved out of clear water."

Zhang Yu was stunned and said, "What a weird thing to say."

Zhang Yanling grinned and asked, "Sister, do you want to give it a try later?"

"Okay."

Zhang Yu pursed his lips and said, "Why wouldn't I dare to try? I'm just afraid that you don't have the ability... now?"

"No, no, no. I'm still preparing that special cosmetics, which is different from the rouge and powder you have on hand. I think it will be ready tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I will make sure it's ready before my sister enters the palace." Zhang Yanling said.

"Tsk, you're not ready yet and you're still teasing me. You're really asking for a beating." Zhang Yu said he wanted to be beaten, but he still had a smile on his face and asked, "Why didn't you go out to play? And where's your father?"

"Dad went to the Imperial College. I heard someone invited him to dinner. Maybe they wanted to curry favor with him. Sigh! Dad has been a real worry to me lately."

Zhang Yanling said, and couldn't help but sigh.

That's so helpless!
The Zhang family's sudden wealth also brought a lot of trouble. Zhang Yanling was afraid that his old father, who had been poor for half his life, would lose his composure and cause trouble.

Zhang Yu turned around and continued to put on makeup, saying faintly, "I think this kind of makeup is pretty good... It's a pity that I have no experience. Look at the ladies from noble families who participated in the competition at the same time. Their makeup was much more natural."

"Sister, why don't you understand? My future brother-in-law likes plain clothes and light-colored shirts. If you wear heavy makeup, he may not like you." Zhang Yanling said.

"What should we do? With so many good things, wouldn't it be a waste if we don't use them?" Zhang Yu said worriedly.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Give it to mother and aunt. They are old and need this kind of thing. You are still young and your face is full of collagen. Using these will only humiliate your outstanding appearance and temperament. When I give you the good things, you will no longer want to use these."

Zhang Yu turned his head and looked very arrogant: "Just deliver it first, don't just keep fooling me... If it doesn't arrive by then, my things will be gone, who can I cry to?"

"Cheapskate."

Zhang Yanling laughed and scolded.

"Aren't you stingy? Dad has given you a lot of pocket money recently, right? I haven't seen you share any with your eldest brother." Zhang Yu said.

"Brother is used to spending money lavishly, what can I do for him? I can give you some... Sister, are you short of money?"

"It doesn't work."

"Sister, maybe you'll need it when you get to the palace... I've been really busy lately and don't have time to chat with you. I'll buy some good things for you later."

……

……

After noon, Zhang Luan came back drunk and brought back a small wooden box.

Zhang Luan held the wooden box in his hands. When he saw his wife coming over, he looked very proud:
"Madam, wherever I go now, I am respected by everyone... This lofty status was not achieved in one day. It is the result of my long-term perseverance. Congratulations..."

Zhang Yanling saw this and shook his head secretly.

If you succeed, you think it's because of your own ability, and if you fail, you blame it on bad luck!
Even if you, your cheap dad, were to go back in time and try again, I'm afraid it would be difficult for you to replicate your achievements today.

"Dad, what did you bring back?"

Zhang Yanling asked.

"A gift from someone else."

Zhang Luan's face flushed as he said excitedly, "This is something you have never seen before... If you take this treasure out, who wouldn't be envious?"

"Who sent it?"

Zhang Yanling felt something was wrong when he heard it.

Zhang Luan said, "That's quite impressive... It's a gift from the elders, isn't it? This is just a preliminary gift for me. They will give me something even more impressive later. Wherever I go in the future, I can hold my head high and be proud. They are just a group of students, while I am already an official. They can't even look up to me, hehe!"

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he instantly sensed a conspiracy and asked, "Was it sent by the Peng family?"

Zhang Luan was still bragging, but he was stunned when he heard this and asked, "How do you know?"

Zhang Yanling explained: "Now the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, Wan'an and Liu Ji, have come to your house and have had contact with you. If they want to give you gifts, they won't do so when you go to drink with your classmates in the Imperial College. You have only not met the one from the Peng family, and they happen to have children studying in the Imperial College, so it is not unusual for them to give you gifts."

In the 23rd year of Chenghua, on the surface there were only Wan'an and Liu Ji left in the cabinet, but in fact there was also Peng Hua among them.

Peng Hua was a native of Anfu County, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. He became a Jinshi in the fifth year of Jingtai's reign and entered the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi. Two years later, he was awarded the position of editor in the Hanlin Academy for his contribution in compiling "Universal Records". From then on, he rose rapidly and served as a reader, lecturer, scholar, and secretary of the Zhanshi Palace in the Hanlin Academy.

Peng Hua joined the cabinet in December of the previous year. In June last year, he resigned from his post and recuperated at home due to hemiplegia caused by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, he has never resigned from his official position.

Historically, it was not until March this year that he finally stepped down and returned home after repeatedly resigning.

Peng Hua was famous for hosting the imperial examinations and participating in the palace examinations during the Chenghua period. He was much more capable than Wan An and Liu Ji, but he was also known for being jealous of talented people and being sinister and cunning. Peng Hua was particularly good at plotting against people. He repeatedly slandered and framed Li Xian, the chief minister who promoted him. The resignation of Wang Ao, the Minister of Personnel, was suggested by Peng Hua to Chen Wen, the then chief minister of the cabinet. Xiao Yanzhuang, the imperial secretary, impeached Li Bing, the Minister of Personnel, Qiu Ling, the governor, and others, which was also the result of Peng Hua's instigation behind the scenes.

Peng Hua would try every means to bring down any official who was his enemy, which was also an important reason why he was cursed after his death.

"Uh... you kid... you have some skills, so what?"

Zhang Luan is no longer as arrogant as before.

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Dad, what is your status now? How dare you accept gifts from others just because you go out? Aren't you afraid it's a trap?"

"It's just a gift. What's the scam? This is the consultation fee paid to me in advance by the Peng family for asking me to treat their illness... Isn't it that Elder Peng is bedridden? The young master of the Peng family knew that I could treat illnesses, so he specially invited me to his house to treat his old man at the dinner table, and also said that he had prepared a thank-you gift for me to accept.

"He is a seventh-rank official of the prime minister's family, not to mention the son of a cabinet minister? The young master of the Peng family is an important figure that I could never get in touch with before. Do you think I can refuse him at this time?"

The person mentioned here is Peng Hua's eldest son Peng Mianfu. In the 21st year of Chenghua, he was admitted to the Imperial Academy to study. Now, three years later, he is still a student. In other words, this person can really be regarded as Zhang Luan's classmate.

As Zhang Luan said this, he was about to take the wooden box to the warehouse in the backyard.

Zhang Yanling tried to stop him, saying, "If someone is being nice to you for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief... Dad, bring it here, let me see what's inside."

"You kid, you still understand this?"

"Dad, you've had too much to drink! Stop dawdling and show it to me!"

"Oh."

Zhang Luan was angry but didn't dare to vent it on his son. He looked at his wife and angrily shouted, "Silly woman, what are you looking at? I'm fine here. Go get a wet cloth so I can wipe my face."

"I don't know what you two are doing. What can be considered a treasure?"

Although Jin expressed her dissatisfaction, she still went into the backyard and asked the servants to boil water.

……

……

Zhang's father and son arrived at the main hall, and Zhang Luan opened the gift.

When the things were presented to Zhang Yanling, Zhang Luan did not forget to brag: "Look, this is a good thing. Can you find it among the common people? It is so precious that my classmates all say it is hard to find in the world."

Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "This is yellow coral."

"What?"

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "You know this?"

"Dad, are you sure it was given to you by the Peng family?"

Zhang Yanling asked doubtfully.

"If not him, who else?"

Zhang Luan replied as a matter of course.

"Did he give it to you in front of everyone? Did he tell everyone what it was?"

"This……"

Zhang Luan frowned. He didn't understand why Zhang Yanling asked this question, so he asked curiously, "What's the difference between delivering it in person or not?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Let me put it this way, Dad. This thing is extremely rare among the common people. Even if there are corals left in the world, most of them are red corals, which are usually inlaid on the imperial crown. Yellow corals are produced in very small quantities and are very precious... Basically, only the royal family can use them."

Zhang Luan was shocked when he heard this. He suddenly stood up and shouted, "This is nonsense! How could something belonging to the royal family appear in my hands?"

Zhang Yanling asked, "Can you speak clearly now?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan seemed to be sobered up by the shock at this time. He tried hard to recall and said, "At that time... it seemed that someone wanted to give me a gift. When I went to the toilet, someone stuffed this thing into my hand. I even brought it to the table and showed it to my classmates. They all praised it as a rare thing in the world, but I have forgotten what they said specifically.

"Son, don't look at me like that. No one told me from the beginning to the end that this was a royal thing!"

Zhang Yanling looked helpless: "Dad, believe it or not, if you go to the Peng family and return this thing to them, they won't admit that this thing has anything to do with them..."

Zhang Luan was shocked: "Why? This thing is so valuable, why do you give it to me?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head and sighed, "Although I don't know where this yellow coral came from, I can make an assumption... If this thing is stolen goods that flowed out of the palace and finally fell into your hands, and the Jinyiwei came to search our mansion and found this thing... What crime do you think should be charged?"

"Humph, don't try to scare me."

Zhang Luan said disdainfully, "My classmates saw the Peng family send gifts with their own eyes. If you insist on falsely accusing them of being stolen goods, no one would believe it even if you beat them to death, right?"

Zhang Yanling was also confused, frowning and saying, "This is exactly what I can't understand... If it was stolen goods, they shouldn't have sent it to my house, especially in front of so many people. Do you want to accuse me of stealing treasures from the palace based on this? It's too far-fetched, isn't it?

"In this case, it means that the source of this thing is not just stolen goods, but what on earth could make someone go to such lengths to set up a trap for you?"

Zhang Luan looked confused and asked, "What on earth are you talking about? Inviting me to drink and begging me to cure illnesses and save lives is a carefully set up trap by others?"

As they were talking, Jin came in with a basin of water and stuffed the cloth into Zhang Luan's hands.

Zhang Luan waved his hand impatiently: "Take it off, take it off. You don't need to apply a facial mask to sober me up. I was almost scared to death by your son. I am more sober now than ever before!"

"Humph."

Jin went out of the room again with the basin of water in her hand in a bad mood.

Zhang Luan then hurriedly said, "Son, analyze what happened quickly. Is there anything serious going on? Otherwise, I should take the things to Peng's house to ask?"

"What if this is a gift from the Peng family? As a noble family, isn't it okay for them to have something bestowed by the emperor?"

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(End of this chapter)