Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 22 Misunderstanding
After seeing off the father and son of the Sun family, Zhang Luan was very proud. He twirled his beard and said to his youngest son, "Son, you must make a name for yourself. Look at the world. As long as you have real ability, others will take the initiative to curry favor with you. But when you don't have the ability, even if you go to seek an audience, no one will open the door."

Zhang Yanling suddenly understood why his old father was not tempted by the olive branch thrown by the Sun family this time.

Feelings still hold grudges.

At that time, the father and son went to the Sun family to cancel the engagement, but were treated coldly, which made Zhang Luan feel uncomfortable.

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, didn't I tell you? At the end of this year or the beginning of next year, the court will select a concubine for the crown prince. With sister's looks and character, it would be a natural thing for her to participate in the selection and be successfully shortlisted, right?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "My child, I think you have made progress, but don't always dream about those grand dreams in broad daylight. The prince's selection of a concubine... How dare you think about it? I have no background, no connections, and no money to smooth things over. How can I be selected? People should be more realistic!"

"Dad, doesn't our uncle serve as the president of the Hanlin Academy in Nanjing? Why don't we use his connections?" Zhang Yanling suggested.

Zhang Luan frowned, then shook his head: "It's not that your father hasn't thought about it, but that scholar Xu is very arrogant. Besides, your aunt is just married into the Xu family as a concubine. Do you think they will easily pay attention to us?"

"It's a different time, Dad."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "If you, father, become famous for curing smallpox and become a student of the Imperial Academy, then won't Xu Hanlin look up to me?
"Besides, my sister should be chosen as the Crown Princess. If she is chosen, our Zhang family will be royal relatives. Wouldn't that be a great benefit to him?

"I think you should write the letter now, Dad. Otherwise, it will take a long time to send it back and forth. It will be bad if it delays my sister's marriage."

Zhang Luan waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Your uncle is not in the capital. Can officials from Nanjing influence the court?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "It's hard to deny his strong connections... Officials from the Hanlin Academy have always been close to each other and have always looked after each other. Besides, Concubine Wan is now in charge of the palace, and the matter of the Crown Prince's selection of a concubine has not received enough attention from His Majesty to the court, so there won't be many candidates when the time comes."

"Ah...how...did you know?"

Zhang Luan looked surprised.

His son has changed a lot recently. Everything he says makes him feel that it is something a child of his age should not know.

Even if I knew, I couldn't say it out loud.

The logic is too strong.

Zhang Yanling said, "Father, don't worry about how I got the information. Just think about it and you will know that Concubine Wan has always had a grudge against the Crown Prince. How could she be at ease choosing a concubine for the Crown Prince? And His Majesty trusts Concubine Wan very much... There must be many loopholes to exploit..."

"So... you still insist on letting your sister participate in the election?" Zhang Luan frowned. "You won't be satisfied until I push your sister into the fire pit, right?"

"Dad, even if my sister only becomes a princess, it would be considered a great success for our family background, right? The Ming Dynasty has always been a system of primogeniture. As long as the prince does not commit any major faults, as the crown prince, he will definitely be the emperor in the future. In this case, my sister will be the empress. What will happen to our Zhang family then? Have you ever thought about it, Dad?" Zhang Yanling said.

"You little brat, how dare you say such a thing? But think about it, since the crown prince is not valued, the selection of the crown princess in the palace will be much more sloppy. If Xu Xueshi can really pass on the message, the chances will be greatly increased... It's easy to be selected, but I'm afraid that your sister will be bullied in the palace in the future."

Zhang Luan pondered carefully, weighing the pros and cons, and finally shook his head, "The palace is a secluded place, not like the mortal world."

Zhang Yanling thought to himself that his old father was truly a contradiction.

How can you achieve great things if you want to speculate but are hesitant?

Your son has to give you a push.

Zhang Yanling said, "Father, don't worry about this. I have always believed that the prince's blessing will come soon. If you don't believe it, we will just wait and see. The most important thing for you now is to write a letter to your uncle in Nanjing and ask him for help. Don't delay."

"Okay, I'll listen to you this time. I don't have much to do here anyway. Isn't it just a waste of ink, paper and inkstone?"

Zhang Luan was an open-minded man who did what he said. This was probably what he had done in history, except that he learned about the prince's selection of a concubine from other channels, prepared for a rainy day, and finally succeeded in his speculation.

However, this time, due to Zhang Yanling's interference, the course of history was changed. Zhang Luan ran into the city to treat someone's illness, which delayed his contact with Xu Qiong. Fortunately, everything is back on track now.

……

……

Zhang Mansion in the city.

Zhang Yin met Shopkeeper Qin and received gifts from him. He felt a little confused and didn't understand what was going on.

Zhang Yin's wife, Zhang Ning, and his second son, Zhang Yue, walked into the room. Zhang Ning asked, "Master, isn't this Qin Dangjia a big merchant in Huizhou? Why did she come to our house in person? Is she here to discuss business with our family?"

Zhang Yue said, "Yes, father, I heard that they are doing quite a good business. Wherever the Hui merchants go now, they will make a lot of money as long as they do business with them."

"The views of women and children."

Zhang Yin sat there with a gloomy face. "This person came to my house and said some inexplicable things, mentioning my Zhang family's background in the court and so on. He also paid attention to the whereabouts of the grain in the water warehouses along the canal. I still don't know why."

As he was talking, the butler of the Zhang Mansion rushed in and said breathlessly, "Master, I have checked it out."

"Say it."

Zhang Yin stood up suddenly.

The housekeeper said, "I heard that the Hui merchants made a serious mistake in their grain business with the Sun family in the city. Now the word has spread in the city that the court is going to investigate the whereabouts of the grain and recover the losses, but the Sun family got to know the inside story in advance and managed to get out of it... The Sun family stopped doing business with the Hui merchants in the first twenty days or so. Although they lost a large sum of money, they also escaped a disaster."

"The Sun family? Haven't they already been weak? Besides, where did they hear the news from the court? How could they know it 20 days in advance?"

Zhang Yin found it incredible.

The housekeeper seemed a little hesitant: "It seems that the second master outside the city said so."

"What does he know?"

Zhang Yin sneered.

The housekeeper said, "Everyone in the Sun Mansion is saying the same thing. They also say that our master has great abilities and has established connections with the dignitaries in the court."

Zhang Yin's expression froze for a moment, and then he said nervously, "Oh no, oh no, could it be that he has bypassed us and arranged a marriage with a noble in the court?"

Zhang Ning asked, "Master, what do you mean by this?"

"You do not understand."

Zhang Yin said with a dark face, "Zhang Laizhan has always been competing with me for the position of head of the Zhang family. Now, relying on his status as a student, he is even more unscrupulous. I thought he did not agree with the marriage I proposed to him before, but now it seems that he may want to negotiate on his own so that he will not be constrained by me."

"Humph, he's clearly trying to stir up a quarrel between the two factions. How annoying and hateful!"

Second update, please continue to read! Thank you!
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(End of this chapter)