Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 203: Father’s Kindness and Son’s Filial Piety (asking for monthly ticket)

When Zhang Yanling came out of the alley outside the Qin Mansion, Zhang Luan hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"Father, let's go home."

Zhang Yanling waved his hand.

Zhang Luan said, "Tell me about the situation in the Qin Mansion first. There is some noodles on the table over there that your father ordered for you. He specially added two servings of meat. It smells really good."

Zhang Yanling stopped and looked at his old father with innocent eyes: "Actually... Dad, I don't really like eating noodles."

"You don't like it, but you still ask me to order it every time?"

Zhang Luan was stunned when he heard this and asked in confusion.

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "I know you like to eat this, don't I? I usually just follow your wishes."

Zhang Luan felt a little ashamed and said, "This is my fault. I never asked you two brothers what you wanted to eat before... But you can't blame me. You seldom went out with me in the past few years. You only went out more frequently since the end of last year. Tell me what you want to eat. I'll treat you today."

Zhang Yanling sneered, "Dad, you feel that you have caused trouble, so you want to treat me to something to ease your guilt, right?"

"You bastard..."

Zhang Luan was about to lose his temper, but then he seemed to have thought of something, stomped his feet helplessly, and said with a bitter face, "Just take it as what you said was right."

When Zhang Yanling saw the down-to-earth old father in front of him, he immediately felt much closer to him.

At least Zhang Luan is not like those feudal, old-fashioned and strict fathers who require their sons to follow the rules and not overstep the line. In the end, he is reasonable and open-minded.

But in this era, this kind of open-minded character cannot raise a good son.

As the saying goes, a strict teacher produces an excellent student, and a strict father produces a filial son. Just look at the moral character of the Zhang brothers in history and you will know that Zhang Luan was actually a failure in educating his son.

But to say that he loved his son, he really did. I'm afraid no one could dote on his son as much as he did. Even his son-in-law Zhu Youtang was infected, which directly led to the tragedy of his grandson Zhu Houzhao later, causing the Zhang family to lose their support and dig their own grave.

"Dad, pack up the noodles and go home to eat."

"What? Packing?"

"Ah...it seems a little difficult, then sit down and eat...but I have to tell you first, you have to go to the Minister's Mansion to meet Li Zisheng early tomorrow morning."

Zhang Yanling finally couldn't resist his father's invitation and sat down to eat noodles.

Anyway, I have to eat when I get home later, so eating noodles made by a professional ramen chef here is much better than the bland noodles I usually eat at home.

Zhang Luan asked in confusion: "Go see him? Didn't you say that Li Zisheng might be an accomplice in this matter?"

Zhang Yanling explained: "Li Zisheng is relying on you now, and you also need him to stand in front of you. The alliance is temporarily unbreakable. Now we have a countermeasure. If we don't inform him, he will find out later and it will definitely make him feel resentful and cause unnecessary trouble. Even so... he will blame you for not informing him immediately."

Zhang Luan sighed: "You really have a lot on your mind."

Zhang Yanling looked up at the gradually darkening sky and said, "Now we have to force Li Zisheng to choose sides. Perhaps Li Zisheng's previous attitude on the issue of changing the crown prince was not clear enough, and he might be used by Liang Fang and others. But if he still holds this idea after seeing the ability of the crown prince, then he deserves to die, and can't blame me for cheating him!"

Zhang Luan asked bluntly: "Then...what should I say when I see him?"

Zhang Yanling said: "Just tell the truth... Eunuch Tan will return to the palace soon, and the Crown Prince may go to see His Majesty tomorrow morning. We are racing against time now...

"When you went to see Li Zisheng, he could no longer change anything. You can use Li Zisheng's reaction to this matter to infer how much he knew and whether he was an accomplice of Liang Fang."

……

……

Early the next morning.

Li House.

Li Zisheng had just woken up. He was bleary-eyed and yawning. He was still grouchy from waking up, let alone washing up and having breakfast, when Pang Qing came to report that Zhang Luan had come to visit.

"What is he here for?"

Li Zisheng frowned.

Pang Qing said in amazement, "It is said that someone gave him a gift, a yellow coral, which seemed to be something used by the royal family in the palace. He thought it was something special, so he gave it to the East Palace attendant, Eunuch Tan Ji Tan, and asked him to pass it on to the crown prince and present it to His Majesty."

"Pfft...what did you say?"

Li Zisheng was drinking sobering tea... He drank a little too much last night and his head was still a little fuzzy. When he heard this, he spat out all the tea.

He didn't expect Zhang Luan to say that, and Pang Qing's ability to summarize is also very strong.

"Master Dao, are you okay?"

Pang Qing thought, fortunately I was prepared and dodged in time.

When I first heard Mr. Zhang say this, my reaction was similar to yours.

Li Zisheng sorted himself out for a moment, waved his hand and said, "What are you waiting for? Call Zhang Laizhan in right away! Really... I think I understand why Eunuch Liang informed me in advance. This matter is really fucking weird."

……

……

Li family, main hall.

Zhang Luan spoke slowly for quite a while, using a rhythmic tone that even made Li Zisheng and Pang Qing anxious, before he roughly explained the whole story.

Li Zisheng asked with a dark face: "Laizhan, why didn't you have any doubts when you received the gift? Did you figure it out after returning home? Or did you... count on your fingers to come to the conclusion?"

"I drank too much at the time and my mind was not very clear. I felt something was wrong when I returned home. I took it out and observed it carefully, then I suddenly realized it." Zhang Luan said with a wry smile.

Li Zisheng couldn't say that this matter had anything to do with Liang Fang, so he pretended to be confused and said, "Who would give you a gift? And a royal gift? Have you figured it out carefully?"

"This... human affairs are unpredictable!"

Zhang Luan continued to use the rhetoric his son taught him to deal with the situation skillfully. "I only vaguely sensed that it might be related to the great event of the Heavenly Family, but I dare not speculate any further."

Pang Qing was puzzled and asked, "You can even diagnose Lady Wan's illness, but you don't dare to do this?"

"Ah."

Zhang Luan nodded seriously.

Just when Pang Qing wanted to ask further questions, Li Zisheng pushed him hard, and then he said nothing.

Li Zisheng said, "What Lai Zhan said is true... If someone really dares to be so bold, they must be targeting the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace... But, isn't it a bit far-fetched for the other party to use you, Lai Zhan, to shift the blame to the Eastern Palace?"

Zhang Luan said, "What if... it wasn't just my family that received the gift? According to my calculations, this gift didn't come from the palace, but was a tribute purchased from the people... The tribute was lost inexplicably, but happened to appear in the homes of me and some people in the East Palace. Isn't it... hard to explain?"

Pang Qing asked curiously, "This thing... no one would dare to accept it casually, right?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "If it wasn't given to me by the son of Peng, how could I have easily accepted the gift without any suspicion? I think others would have similar situations, and they would have given it in an inconspicuous way... Yesterday when I went to Eunuch Tan's house to hand over the things, I learned that Eunuch Tan also received a pot of pine in the shape of a strange stone dragon, which is really precious."

"You and I……"

Li Zisheng was a little speechless. "If you have something to say, why don't you tell me first?"

"I'm afraid."

Zhang Luan was a little annoyed and shook his head, "I felt a chill all over my body after just a casual measurement, and it felt like a disaster was about to happen. The only way to survive was to inform the Crown Prince before nightfall. How could I care about so much else? Why didn't I come to inform you, Minister Li, so that you could be prepared?"

After hearing this, Pang Qing was speechless.

Your reason is far-fetched!

You suddenly encountered a big event, but you knew where the East Palace attendant Qin Ji lived? You even knew when he would return home? Could there be...some connection between you two?
Li Zisheng sighed, "Laizhan, you didn't do anything wrong... I had no idea about this matter, and even if you told me, I wouldn't be able to help. Considering that someone deliberately framed the East Palace, it would be right for the Crown Prince to solve the problem."

Pang Qing was even more surprised when he heard this.

Master Dao, you are actually speaking for Zhang Laizhan now?
Facing the puzzled expressions on his aide's faces, Li Zisheng glared at Pang Qing fiercely.

It seems to be reminding you to be honest.

Don't bother me with emoticons here.

What else can I do now except accept Zhang Laizhan's words? Should I tell him that I was also involved in harming him, even though I didn't do it openly?
Li Zisheng asked tentatively, "Laizhan, besides the yellow coral, what else did you mention to Eunuch Tan?"

"I didn't say much. I just took two daily items from the mansion and gave them to him, asking him to pass them on to the prince and let the prince take a look at them as a tribute or something. Then I asked the prince to report to His Majesty as soon as possible in exchange for His Majesty's forgiveness." Zhang Luan said casually.

Pang Qing smiled bitterly: "Mr. Zhang, you are giving gifts to the prince, and you also want him to use them as tribute? Is this method... feasible?"

"Shut up!"

Li Zisheng shouted impatiently.

It's like you're saying, I don't allow you to use emoticons, so you just speak out against me, right?

Can I get you?

Zhang Luan said: "The things are indeed good, but they are not worth much money. In the past, my family kept them as treasures and were reluctant to use them."

"Oh? I don't know what it is?"

Li Zisheng asked curiously.

Zhang Luan looked a little embarrassed: "They are all from Huizhou merchants... I have been in contact with them since I was in Xingji, and we have established a friendship. We have exchanged gifts more frequently... I heard that one of them was obtained from the strange peak of Huangshan..."

Pang Qing rolled his eyes at Li Zisheng.

It was as if he was saying, listen, this nonsense is about to burst the sky, you still believe this nonsense? Li Zisheng listened very seriously, nodded and said: "Then I must see it carefully when I have the chance. This matter is of great importance, I..."

Zhang Luan asked quickly, "Is Minister Li going to the palace to remind His Majesty?"

"I can't enter the palace for the time being."

Li Zisheng decisively refused and acted like a coward.

Zhang Luan understood and said, "This is a serious matter. It is indeed difficult for ordinary people to interfere. Maybe we can only let the prince... face it on his own."

"Yes, yes, yes. Lai Zhan, you are thoughtful. Telling me the situation is not a good idea. On the contrary, it will implicate me. Letting the prince solve it himself is the best option at the moment."

Li Zisheng seemed to agree very much with Zhang Luan's decision.

You didn't tell me, or even discuss it with me. Does that mean you have a grudge against me?
Definitely not!

Zhang Laizhan is helping me!

I think he must have guessed that this matter was related to me. If I reported this to the emperor, wouldn't Liang Fang eat me alive?
Zhang Luan said, "I think so too. Whoever caused the incident should face and solve it. It is difficult for outsiders to get involved. On the contrary, I almost missed a big event because I didn't investigate it at the time. I am embarrassed to come here today, for fear that you, Minister Li, would blame me for being greedy and losing the big picture."

Li Zisheng sighed, "Laizhan, why are you still so distant? If anything happens to you, I will go through fire and water and not stand idly by. You and I are one."

Pang Qing pondered in his mind, can "going through fire and water" and "standing idly by" be used together? Is there a missing transition link in between?

……

……

Zhang Luan didn't stay in Li's house for too long and left.

Zhang Yanling was guarding beside the carriage, and when he saw his father, he hurried over to greet him.

"how's it going?"

Zhang Yanling asked.

"Li Zisheng really refused to enter the palace to see the emperor. It's obvious that he wants to watch the fire from the other side of the river."

Zhang Luan said helplessly.

Zhang Yanling smiled and nodded: "If he takes action in this matter, Liang Fang and other eunuchs will definitely not let him go. Even if Li Zisheng is favored by the emperor, he must guard against these people's hidden attacks. In terms of power in the palace, those eunuchs are the ceiling."

"Then...are we not afraid?"

Zhang Luan asked in surprise.

Zhang Yanling's eyes widened as he replied, "That's why I won't let you, Dad, lead the charge...Hasn't everyone been notified to let the Crown Prince handle it personally? I hope that Eunuch Tan can tell the Crown Prince exactly what I mean...For the Crown Prince, this is also a hurdle. It depends on whether he can overcome it smoothly."

……

……

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Jianshen was standing at the entrance of the hall at this moment, holding a strange-shaped long tube in his hand. One eye was closed and the other was staring into the tube. As the mouth of the tube turned, he seemed to be observing the scene inside. Behind him stood Tan Chang and Zhu Youtang.

"His Majesty?"

Qin Chang waited for a long time and saw that Zhu Jianshen seemed to be immobilized by magic, so he hurried forward to inquire.

Zhu Jianshen was very interested and was reluctant to put down the thing in his hand. He asked casually while looking at it, "Prince, where did you get this thing?"

Zhu Youtang said: "In reply to your Majesty, Tan Ji accidentally found this item among the common people. After I got it, I thought that this rare item should be presented to your Majesty."

"Ah."

After hearing this, Zhu Jianshen put down the long tube in his hand, turned around and looked at his son with a somewhat gentle look in his eyes, "It is indeed a rare item."

When Qin Chang saw this, he was surprised to see that the emperor actually had a hint of a smile on his face.

So rare!

Since the death of Concubine Wan, the emperor has never looked as relaxed and happy as he is today, which fully proves that... this thing is really magical.

Tan Chang said in a playful way: "I don't know what kind of magical thing it is... Your Majesty, I want to take a look too..."

"I haven't seen enough yet, how can I easily give it to you?"

Zhu Jianshen smiled calmly and said, "Speaking of which, this thing can bring distant scenery closer, as if it were right in front of you."

Qin Chang was greatly surprised and asked, "Is it so magical?"

He didn't know whether it was magical or not, but seeing that the emperor and the prince got along well with each other and the atmosphere was relaxed, the emperor seemed to be in a much better mood. Of course, he had to flatter them at the right time and play the role of the supporting actor.

Zhu Jianshen said: "If I have this item in my hands, it will only be used as a pastime. If I use it somewhere else, such as at the northwest border pass, I may be able to find out the movements of the Tatars in advance and deploy troops in time. It can be regarded as a wonderful item that can influence the outcome of the war."

Zhu Youtang said quickly, "I had the same idea, so I told my husband... Tan Ji to find a way to make some more."

"Very good, very good."

Zhu Jianshen nodded with satisfaction and said, "Son, you are filial... By the way, what are these?"

When Zhu Youtang heard his father call him "son", his heart was suddenly filled with warmth and his eyes turned red.

Finally seeing his old father's kind side again was like a long-awaited rain, and he almost cried.

He hurriedly replied, "Father, these were also sent to me by Tan Ji... but these things were recently frequently given as gifts to people related to the Eastern Palace by people outside. My lecturers didn't understand what they were, but they thought they were very rare, so they decided to give them to me. I brought them all to honor you, Father."

Qin Ji is very efficient in his work.

In one night, he visited more than a dozen ministers related to the Eastern Palace, mainly the Eastern Palace lecturers and the imperial censors who had previously submitted petitions to protect the prince in the court.

Of course, Qin Ji was not the only one who did these things. It was mainly him and Jiang Cong who were responsible. No matter how late it was, they would knock on the ministers' doors, go in to explain the situation, and find out some suspicious things. They would bring them to the palace early in the morning and have Zhu Youtang give them to Zhu Jianshen as a gift.

Zhu Jianshen's eyes were immediately attracted by the yellow coral. He walked over and touched it, and said thoughtfully: "This thing... looks a little familiar."

Tan Chang said, "Your Majesty, this is yellow coral, which is very precious. I don't know who collected it from where. But look at the prince... he is really filial."

Among all the eunuchs in the palace, Qin Chang is relatively mediocre in ability. The biggest difference between him and Huai En is that he will never stand on the side of the prince. This kind of person knows how to change with the times.

In general……

Your Majesty, it's fine if you want to change the crown prince, but I can also accept it if you don't.

Seeing that what the current prince did was appreciated by the emperor, he, as a fence-sitter, naturally knew which direction to lean towards.

Zhu Jianshen frowned slightly, obviously he also had some doubts about the origin of this thing. After all, the prince lived in the palace for a long time and had no power. Who would give the prince so many good things?

Besides, is yellow coral something that ordinary people can own?
Even if it's for the prince...

That is also a big taboo.

But with Zhu Youtang giving him gifts as a prerequisite, as a father he couldn't be completely unmoved. Seeing such an obedient and yet incompetent son... he would never think that the prince would have any ulterior motives.

"What is this?"

Zhu Jianshen picked up the soap next to him and asked.

Zhu Youtang replied: "Father, I heard from Tan Ji that this thing is called soap. When washing the skin, it will remove dirt and dead skin, and it can clean the skin for a long time. After bathing, the body will have a slight fragrance, which is very comfortable."

"hehe."

Zhu Jianshen finally showed an obvious smile, pointed at his son and said teasingly: "This is almost a woman's thing, and you can get it?"

Zhu Youtang hurriedly explained: "These were all collected by my wife... I sent them to you before I used them."

"Ah."

Zhu Jianshen seemed very satisfied with this answer and nodded, "I'm afraid I won't be able to use it, but if your mother Wan was still alive..."

Zhu Jianshen was a man who doted on his wife, so when he saw such a good thing, he naturally wanted to give it to Concubine Wan first.

But when he thought that his beloved concubine had passed away, he felt lost and depressed, and his face quickly became gloomy and sad.

Zhu Youtang hurriedly said, "Father, please don't be sad. When you are sad, I feel...uncomfortable too..."

After saying this, he choked up.

"He's a good kid."

Zhu Jianshen grabbed Zhu Youtang's hand, patted it vigorously, and said, "Over the years, you have been able to be knowledgeable, polite and chaste, which is already precious, and what is even more precious is that your mind remains consistent.

"I know you are not a child who is good at pretending. You have a pure heart. I am very pleased. Keep it up!"

I cannot praise you for your ability, but I can recognize you for your character.

"I will do my best to do everything."

Zhu Youtang said excitedly.

"You must work hard. When the weather warms up, I will try to let you go to Wenhua Palace to inquire about court affairs and gain experience... Go down."

Zhu Jianshen thought that his beloved wife had passed away, and there were not many people around him he could cherish. He did not have any deep hatred with his son. In addition, no one was forcing him to change the crown prince, so his attitude towards Zhu Youtang improved a lot.

(End of this chapter)