Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 257 Pulling Down from the Altar (asking for monthly tickets)
East four.

The shop that Zhang Yanling had previously taken over was currently undergoing final renovations, and a brand new shop was ready to open.

Zhang Luan had just gone to the Honglu Temple to take up his new post that day. When he came back in the afternoon, he came here with his two sons to inspect their family business. They were accompanied by Qin Yun, Chai Meng and others.

Zhang Luan looked at the shop, then at the bustling crowd, and asked, "Son, is this where you do business? What do you sell?"

"Medicine."

Zhang Yanling smiled and replied, "I went to see Mrs. Qin and asked her to smooth things over. We bought the best medicinal herbs available on the market. They are so abundant and complete in variety that we can guarantee your request."

Zhang Luan couldn't help but frown after hearing this.

But he didn't say a word in front of others.

When they arrived at the backyard, they met the original owner, Lao Lin, who immediately called Zhang Yanling aside and whispered, "Second brother, the medicinal materials business is not easy to do."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to your opinion first."

Zhang Luan said sternly, "First of all, I am a court official, and a fourth-rank official in Beijing... In my current position, it is against the rules to come out and do business in public. Even if I am the prince's old man, if the news spreads, it will damage my reputation."

"It makes sense."

Zhang Yanling nodded in praise and said, "Dad, you actually started to pay attention to your reputation as an official. This is rare, rare."

Zhang Luan sighed, "It's not okay not to care. Civil officials value public opinion the most. As the saying goes, 'gossip can melt gold, and constant criticism can destroy a person.' If your reputation is ruined, you can't continue to be an official.

"Besides, doing business in medicinal materials requires a pair of discerning eyes, and the ability to distinguish the age and quality of medicinal materials. What if someone cheats you and gives you bad medicinal materials that have been soaked in water or moldy, or if someone deliberately comes to make trouble and says that your medicine has problems, it will be a hard responsibility to bear."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, to be honest, I really think the same as you."

Zhang Luan asked in astonishment, "You thought of this, and you want to do the medicinal materials business?"

Zhang Yanling raised his eyebrows and asked meaningfully, "Dad, do you know which of your current reputations is the most terrifying?"

"horrible?"

Zhang Luan frowned and thought for a long time before asking, "What do you want to say? Why am I so confused..."

"Alas! Dad, you still have no sense of crisis...Have you forgotten the big thing I mentioned half a year later?" Zhang Yanling shook his head and sighed.

"Ah... don't ever say this kind of thing in front of others again. What's the matter with half a year or not? You want to talk about my ability to cure diseases and save lives, right?" Zhang Luan said.

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling said seriously, "Dad, do you know why His Majesty wants to grant you an official position this time?"

Zhang Luan asked back: "Isn't it because Dad wrote good stories?"

"Haha, Dad, you are so naive. You exchanged a storybook for a fourth-rank position as the Minister of the Honglu Temple. Don't you think this position is too easy to get? You know, even a minister of imperial court has to follow the rules. Why did you make an exception for me?"

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile.

Zhang Luan thought about it carefully, and then asked tentatively: "Maybe it's because your father is the prince's father-in-law?"

Zhang Yanling continued to shake his head: "You are wrong, you are wrong... It's all because of your ability to cure diseases, Dad!"

"What!?"

Zhang Luan looked shocked.

Zhang Yanling patiently persuaded him: "Whenever you encounter something, you should think about the cause and effect behind it. What do you think was the first thing that came to His Majesty's mind when he saw the storybook that was said to be written by you and felt relieved and happy?"

Zhang Luan hesitated and asked, "Is it the prince's filial piety?"

"Wrong, it's your ability to cure heart disease, Dad." Zhang Yanling said firmly.

"what!?"

Zhang Luan continued to be surprised.

Zhang Yanling changed his tone and said, "When a person is seriously ill, the first thing he thinks about is how to relieve the pain in his body, or to worry about whether he will die. Dad, you have no doubts about this, right?"

Zhang Luan sneered: "You don't need to tell me, who in this world is really not afraid of death?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "In fact, those who hold high positions are more afraid of death than anyone else. You said that after reading the storybook, Your Majesty felt relieved and no longer afraid of death. Is this possible?"

"Uh……"

Zhang Luan was speechless.

"Your Majesty's illness is a liver disease. As the saying goes, depression is in the liver. After reading your storybook, your Majesty's depression was immediately reduced by more than half... Your Majesty was not pleased with how good your storybook was, but felt that you were truly a miracle doctor. You were able to accurately find the cause of his inner disease and cure his heart disease, which made him feel better and relieved his pain. Naturally, he included you in his list of key concerns."

Zhang Yanling continued.

"Hey, you sound quite mysterious."

"Otherwise, Dad, do you think that a storybook can be exchanged for the position of Minister of the Honglu Temple?"

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile.

Zhang Luan waved his hand: "I think what you said is too ridiculous. Even if it is true as you said, His Majesty really thought that I could treat illnesses and arranged an official position for me, then why didn't he just let me work in the Imperial Hospital?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "The Imperial Hospital... has been a place to treat illnesses and save lives in every dynasty, but in this dynasty... Alas! What a pity..."

"What's going on? What happened to the Imperial Hospital? Is the medical practice not correct?"

Zhang Luan frowned.

Zhang Yanling said, "You are right, Dad... If you were admitted to the Imperial Hospital and His Majesty summoned you to treat a patient, would you listen to the instructions of the hospital director or judge, or would you follow your true thoughts and diagnose the Majesty?

"When the time comes, father, you will have to follow the crowd and treat His Majesty again according to the process of treating Concubine Wan? Do you think His Majesty will not think of this and dare to rashly transfer you to the Imperial Hospital?"

"Uh……"

Zhang Luan was silent again.

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Dad, now you should know the purpose of my opening a medicine shop, right?"

Zhang Luan shook his head.

Zhang Yanling said: "I just want to pull your ability to cure diseases and save lives down from the altar... We will beat someone up first to establish our authority, and then open a high-profile medicine shop to arouse the resentment of our colleagues in the capital and the Peng family. Then they will definitely find someone to make trouble, saying that our medicine is not good, and they will even find patients to come and make trouble out of nothing.

"By then, people will no longer think that you are some miracle doctor, and when His Majesty is terminally ill, they will not think of asking your father to treat him. This will avoid the possibility of your father being punished for failing to treat His Majesty!"

"Cough cough cough...you kid! Cough cough cough..."

Perhaps Zhang Luan could not accept his son's insidious method of defiling himself, and he coughed for a while, not knowing whether he was angry or choked.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, you have to calm down! In the eyes of the world, you are a peerless doctor who can prevent and treat smallpox; in the eyes of the prince, you are a national hero who can make plans and win battles thousands of miles away; in Li Zisheng's eyes, you are a hermit who can tell the secrets of heaven and is a true half-immortal. But in fact, you are just a student who has been in Beiyong for a few days, a mere scholar."

"Bah, why do I hate what you say? What do you mean by a mere scholar?" Zhang Luan said angrily, "Do you think it's easy to pass the exam to become a scholar?"

Zhang Yanling continued in a mocking tone, "Divine doctor, state scholar, half-immortal, which one is not the target of public criticism at the moment? Which one will not want to kill you?
"We have raised your reputation high before, but now we have to find a reason to quickly lower it and keep a low profile for the next six months. When the prince is truly in charge, even if you don't want to be a half-immortal and want to be a living immortal on land, you can do it."

The more Zhang Luan listened, the more he was shocked. The more he listened, the more he felt that his son's words made sense. He said unconsciously: "Then... let me, your father, do this with my tail between my legs for the next six months... hm?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "That's about right. Li Zisheng hasn't asked you about the secrets of heaven recently, which means he doesn't need to take risks with this for the time being, and the prince won't rely on you too much. Therefore, your status as a national scholar and a semi-immortal is still safe for the time being, but you must find a way to get rid of the impression of a miracle doctor, especially at this critical juncture."

"Oh... Yanling, I don't think you are a child at all. Where did you learn all these things in your head? Someone taught you, right?"

When Zhang Luan said this, he actually acknowledged that what his son said was right.

Zhang Yanling said: "If you, Dad, had the same experience as me, you might also be so scheming... But, I have never harmed my family, right?"

"Humph! We are all family, what's the harm? Your eldest brother, that dishonest fellow, has never been disloyal. Do you think your father's tutoring was in vain?"

Zhang Luan became proud when he said this.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "That's because others haven't offered any conditions that would tempt Big Brother... If we offer a huge temptation, do you think he will move his elbow inward or outward?"

"Bah! If he dares to betray his ancestors, I will kill him!"

As they were talking, Zhang Heling's voice came from outside: "Dad, I'm going out with someone... Tell the second son not to go out with him today."

"Why are you going?"

Zhang Luan asked loudly.

"Something's up. I've recruited a few new men, so I'm taking them out for a walk... Let's not talk about it now, I'm going!"

As the voices faded away, Zhang Luan seemed to realize that his eldest son was indeed a little unreliable, and hurriedly reminded Zhang Yanling: "Son, your eldest brother...you must give him good guidance and regulate his behavior from time to time, so that he won't go astray."

……

……

A tavern in the city.

Peng Mianfu set up a table full of food and wine and invited Wei Xing over.

After Wei Xing arrived, Peng Mianfu took out a box of silver and handed it over.

"Master Peng, why are you doing this?"

Wei Xing smiled and talked as he took the wooden box, weighing it before putting it next to him.

Peng Mianfu said: "My father originally wanted me to stay in the Imperial College for a few more years and have a bright future. Thanks to the support of Eunuch Liang and Eunuch Wei, I now have the opportunity to serve as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat."

Wei Xing said with a smile: "Hey, being an official now is different from before... It's rare that Young Master Peng is so thoughtful, so we will accept it on behalf of Eunuch Liang." "This is dedicated to you."

Peng Mianfu said attentively, "Eunuch Liang has another generous gift, and my father has sent it to his house."

"In that case, we will accept it... Oh, by the way, do you have anything to tell us?"

Wei Xing picked up the wine glass and looked at Peng Mianfu with a smile.

There was money to be collected and wine to be feasted at, so he was in a pretty good mood.

Peng Mianfu said bitterly: "It's all because of the last time the two children of the Zhang family made trouble out of nothing..."

Wei Xing asked in surprise: "Why? It's not over yet? Isn't it all over?"

"Ugh!"

Peng Mianfu sighed, "I suffered a great loss, but I just swallowed my anger. I really don't want to accept it! My Peng family is the family of the elders. It can be regarded as a model of civil officials, right? My father has a good relationship with eunuch Liang and eunuch Wei. They came to provoke me so unscrupulously. Are they hitting my face? They are hitting..."

"Okay, okay."

As soon as Wei Xing heard this, he knew that Peng Mianfu wanted to sow discord, so he waved his hand and said, "I understand the general situation. Tell me what you want."

Peng Mianfu said: "I want to borrow some manpower from you, Eunuch Wei, and use your influence to teach him a painful lesson."

"Fight back?"

Wei Xing shouted, "Master Peng, I don't mean to be a traitor. They are relatives of the Eastern Palace after all. They will be seen everywhere in the capital. They are new here and don't know the rules. You are a local resident of the capital, so how can you not know the ins and outs? It's better to avoid this trouble!"

Peng Mianfu said hurriedly: "We are not going to knock on their door, but we want to hide in the dark and cause trouble for them."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard that Zhang Laizhan is going to use his reputation as a miracle doctor to open a medicine shop in the north of the city, and even invite the famous Huizhou doctor Wang Ji to be the chief doctor. I don't know whether the rumor is true or not. But now the news in the north of the city is spreading like wildfire, and all the wealthy families want to invite him to treat them... It seems... that the medicine business in the capital is going to be monopolized by him alone."

Peng Mianfu gritted his teeth and said.

"Huh? Is there such a thing?"

Wei Xing frowned when he heard this.

"Not only that, I heard that Zhang Laizhan has become the Minister of the Honglu Temple. As a fourth-rank official, he openly opened a medicine shop for personal gain, which is a taboo in the court. When will it be the Zhang family's turn to get involved in the capital's medicine business? Even if you, Eunuch Wei, don't care, Eunuch Liang can't let him go, right?"

After hearing Peng Mianfu's instigation, Wei Xing was not angry at all, and a smile like an old fox was on his face.

Peng Mianfu's face was grim, and he said, "As long as you agree, Eunuch Wei, I will borrow your power a little, and I will take care of the rest."

"Master Peng."

Wei Xing frowned and said seriously, "I have made it clear that if you want to do this, we will not interfere, but please do not involve us and Eunuch Liang. Now Eunuch Liang wants to establish a certain relationship with the father of the Crown Princess. Who made him appreciated by His Majesty and promoted him?"

"what?"

Peng Mianfu originally thought that Liang Fang and Wei Xing would stand firmly on his side, but after hearing these words he realized that they were not on his side at all.

Wei Xing stood up and said with a fake smile: "We know that Eunuch Liang had met you and had told you about your plan to frame the Zhang family... You messed it up yourself, who can you blame?

"Eunuch Liang has been cultivating himself recently and doesn't want to get too involved in the disputes in the capital, so please forgive us for not being able to help. Please forgive me, please forgive me!"

"Eunuch Wei, I am not seeking revenge. I am just being unwilling to give up."

When Peng Mianfu saw that Wei Xing wanted to leave after taking the silver, he stood up and defended himself.

"pretty good!"

Wei Xing nodded and said, "You have suffered a great loss at the hands of the two young masters of the Zhang family. Even if you seek revenge, others will not be able to say anything. But if anyone helps you, it will be against the Crown Prince and His Majesty. Do you understand?
"Unless you have the ability to prevent the Crown Prince and His Majesty from personally getting involved, my family and Eunuch Liang can only watch from the sidelines. After all, we are all nominally slaves of the royal family...

"In addition, if you fight back in person, it will be justified regardless of the outcome, and the impact on your family will be relatively limited. However, you should listen to my advice. A real man can bend and stretch. Under the current situation, it's okay if you lose, but if you win, who can withstand the wrath of His Majesty?

"Finally, all the relatives by marriage are stinking shit. Who do you think among the civil and military officials in the court would care whether the Crown Princess's two brothers have ever beaten someone?"

"Ok?"

Peng Mianfu was a little confused. Was it really that difficult for him to fight back?
Then he thought again. Liang Fang was determined to deal with the prince, but Liang Fang had no interest in targeting the prince's brother-in-law, because in the normal perception of people, the prince's brother-in-law should be a troublemaker.

Think about what the three uncles of the Wan family did, and you can roughly know the future direction of the Zhang family's relatives. The more presumptuous the two little uncles are, the more reassured the emperor and his ministers will be.

Peng Mianfu organized his words a little and said solemnly: "That Zhang Laizhan is now the Minister of the Honglu Temple. This family is not simple. The two boys of the Zhang family are not rookies. They have great ambitions...Eunuch Liang must be on guard!"

"is it?"

Wei Xing smiled and said jokingly, "If you have great ambitions, would you fight with Master Peng for a shop, and put yourself in the spotlight just to run a medicine shop? Haha.

"It would be best if Young Master Peng could prove this, otherwise Eunuch Liang won't listen to such words...Okay, okay, just do your job well, I'll go home first!"

"How do you do it?"

Peng Mianfu asked further.

"Don't you want revenge? Since you've made up your mind, then go for it. If you can expose the Zhang family's true colors, then you have the ability. Otherwise... then you'll have to fight back. If you can't win, don't beg for mercy or complain to others. It's useless..."

After saying this, Wei Xing left, leaving Peng Mianfu stamping his feet there.

……

……

Peng Mianfu met with a cold shoulder from Wei Xing, so he went home and complained to his old father.

Peng Hua just took leave to recuperate at home, he is not bedridden.

His illness was not fatal in the short term, and he hid at home more to avoid being involved in court disputes.

Unlike Wan'an and Liu Ji, Peng Hua had an exceptionally sophisticated political mind and had seen the disputes within the court and the trends of future developments. He thought that staying in the court would be disadvantageous to him, so it would be better for him to step down and wait and see.

"Father, have you submitted your resignation letter again?"

When Peng Mianfu returned home, he heard the servants talking about Peng Hua's memorial. As soon as they met, he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Peng Hua sat on a chair in the study, his face pale as a flash. He shook his head and said, "Father is tired of court affairs. It's time to step down and stay out of the spotlight."

Peng Mianfu said dissatisfiedly, "But... Father, you are now a cabinet minister. Are you willing to retire just like that? Why don't you wait for a few years and become the Prime Minister before retiring? By then, your family and your students and friends in the court will be of a higher level than they are now. Even if you retire, you can still call the shots in the court."

Peng Hua scolded, "You know what the situation is like in the court right now, and you dare to say this to your father? In the eyes of the world, evil people are in power now, and this group of evil people are on the decline. If they fall from power and also destroy our Peng family, what future can we have?"

"Father, you are really..."

Peng Mianfu felt that his old father was a hopeless person. The opportunity to get promoted was right in front of him, but he was useless!

Peng Hua asked, "Didn't you go to see Wei Xing and ask him to help you deal with Zhang's people? What did he say?"

Peng Mianfu gnashed his teeth and said, "The collector surnamed Wei is not doing his job. He said that Eunuch Liang needs to build a good relationship with Zhang and can't cause any trouble. I heard from Wei that Eunuch Liang knows that Zhang Laizhan has been promoted to the Minister of the Honglu Temple and is highly valued by His Majesty, so he dare not confront him head-on."

"There is indeed something strange about this matter."

Peng Hua frowned and said, "It is said that Zhang Laizhan presented a storybook to the prince, and the prince transcribed it and presented it to His Majesty. After reading it, His Majesty was very impressed and granted him an official position."

"That's exactly what's being said outside," said Peng Mianfu.

Peng Hua shook his head: "Although the current emperor often bypasses the Ministry of Personnel to appoint officials, he would never casually give a position like the Minister of the Honglu Temple to a relative who was a student of the Imperial Academy... Your Majesty's move clearly has a deep meaning... Why is it?"

Peng Mianfu asked, "Isn't he just a scholar? What is your majesty's intention?"

Peng Hua suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and he asked, "Didn't you say he could cure diseases? Even the smallpox epidemic in the capital was suppressed by his method of growing medicine. Is that true?"

"Uh...yeah."

Although Peng Mianfu didn't want to admit it, he still nodded.

"This is it."

Peng Hua smiled and twirled his beard, "This is the same reason why I temporarily avoided the disputes in the court. It's all because of the disease that Your Majesty is suffering from. This disease usually looks mild and not dangerous at all, but once it breaks out, it may take a short time for the death. Concubine Wan died of this disease. Your Majesty is leaving a backup plan for the future."

Peng Mianfu said in surprise: "But... Zhang Laizhan is a relative of the Eastern Palace. If His Majesty is seriously ill, would he look for him? Impossible!"

Peng Hua said, "Do you know what it means to try any possible means when one is desperate? When Concubine Wan was seriously ill, His Majesty had ordered Tan Chang to find a good doctor among the people to treat her. However, before he could decide on the right person, Concubine Wan collapsed. In the end, people said it was fate and Li Zisheng was taking advantage of her. His Majesty obviously did not trust the people in the Imperial Hospital and had a backup plan."

"That makes no sense."

Peng Mianfu clenched his fists and said in hatred, "Zhang Laizhan is just a poor scholar from Hejian Prefecture. How could he cheat people in the capital under the name of practicing medicine to save people? Even Your Majesty was deceived by him? How unfair is God?"

Peng Hua frowned when he heard this.

This son is obviously not someone who can accomplish great things.

"Have you ever thought that a charlatan could suppress the smallpox that no one has been able to cure for thousands of years? Do you think that His Majesty doesn't even have the most basic ability to distinguish right from wrong? His Majesty suddenly values ​​Zhang Laizhan, and you still don't know why? Use your pig brain to think about it!"

There was some disappointment in Peng Hua's words.

Peng Mianfu said in a hateful voice: "Then I will smash his outer shell to pieces and let people know that he is a fraud. How dare he go against our Peng family in the capital and open a medicine shop with great fanfare?

"Even if Wei Xing doesn't cooperate with us, the people in the Imperial Hospital will not let him do whatever he wants. I will use your power to bring the Zhang family into disgrace."

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(End of this chapter)