Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 286 Sense of Presence

After the worship, the father and his two sons returned to the city and home an hour later.

Zhang Luan did not go to the main house to report the situation to his wife. He took his youngest son directly into the study and asked, "Yanling, didn't you say you would tell me something after returning to the city? Tell me now!"

Zhang Yanling asked, "Dad, what do you think of this trip to Wanhe Temple?"

"Nothing."

Zhang Luan shook his head, then remembered something and asked in surprise, "No, are you asking me or am I asking you?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, don't you think it's easy to make money from this Buddhist temple?"

"That's right. There are so many ways to make money in Buddhist temples. Even burning incense has so many different ways. People without money can only stand at the door to worship Buddha. Not to mention that they can collect donations from believers at any time... Oh, right, who got the money from the imperial court to rebuild the Buddhist temple you mentioned?"

Zhang Luan's eyes lit up when he said this, but then dimmed. "Do you want me to work in the Buddhist temple business in the future? Yes, it is indeed easy to make money in this business, but I don't want to become a monk... Or do you want me to take over the job of building the Buddhist temple? But I don't have any connections, and I don't have any subordinates. These all sound unreliable..."

Zhang Yanling said, "Even if you want to do this, you don't have the chance for now. Do you know who is in charge of everything behind the scenes at Wanhe Temple?"

Zhang Luan shook his head.

"It's Liang Fang."

Zhang Yanling said solemnly.

"Hiss... why is it this guy again?"

Zhang Luan glared at first, then smiled bitterly, "The court, the capital, and the outside world, cannot do without Liang Fang, right?"

Zhang Yanling said: "The third day of next month is the day when the Queen Mother will be given the title of Emperor. The eighth day is the Buddha's Bathing Festival. The Queen Mother will go to Wanhe Temple to burn incense. You should know that the Queen Mother is the most respectful of Buddhist affairs..."

Zhang Luan interrupted his son and asked, "So what? What does it have to do with me?"

Zhang Yanling continued, "Liang Fang was in charge of the reconstruction of Wanhe Temple, but he enriched himself. I heard that he directly allocated the purchase of wood and stone materials to Peng Mianfu, the eldest son of the Peng family. Peng Mianfu then transported batches of low-quality wood to the capital. Many of them were old materials discarded from local houses and Buddhist temples."

"what?"

Zhang Luan was surprised and asked, "Is the surname Peng so bold?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "If there is money to be made, of course some people will take risks. Besides, with Liang Fang and Wei Xing backing him up, he is not afraid of anything. Finally, his father is a cabinet minister, with a high position and power. Who would dare to provoke him?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "But this is too deceptive... What will happen if someone finds out about this?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Not many people know about this. Even if someone knows the inside story, they dare not report it. Besides, the wood is painted with a layer of paint. Who can tell whether the material is new or old? If you report it rashly, it will be equivalent to offending Liang Fang. How can you live in the future?"

"My son, do you have any plans? I think you know that Liang Fang is not easy to deal with. You won't ask your father to impeach him again, right? Can we be quiet for a while and live a peaceful life for a few days?"

Zhang Luan swallowed his saliva, looking dejected, appearing powerless.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Don't worry, this time we won't be the ones to file a petition to impeach him. Instead, we will ask the Crown Prince to take action and sweep away all the evildoers in the court!"

Zhang Luan was shocked again: "The Crown Prince impeached? You...you really dare to think and act!"

"Father, this is what I think... The reason why Your Majesty has always wanted to change the crown prince is not only because of the instigation of Concubine Wan and Liang Fang, but also because he feels that the crown prince is not worthy of him. The crown prince usually behaves too well and is too honest. In general, he does not have the demeanor of an emperor. In the previous tribute case, the crown prince seemed to have offended Liang Fang, but in fact, he has made Your Majesty look at him with new eyes.

"But this is far from enough. After all, it was Liang Fang who took the initiative to provoke the dispute. The prince was forced to fight, and the ones who rushed to the front were the East Palace attendant Tan Ji and others. Your Majesty does not think that the prince has much courage.

"But if the Crown Prince impeaches Liang Fang, the situation will be different. This will show that the Crown Prince is courageous and enterprising, and dares to fight against those ignorant villains. The bad impression in Your Majesty's mind will also be greatly improved."

Zhang Yanling briefly explained his reasons.

Zhang Luan shook his head repeatedly: "Not right, not right. If Liang Fang knew that you were playing tricks behind our back, it would have a huge impact on our family. Actually, what I want now is for you to spend a few days in peace and comfort in the Hanlin Academy."

Zhang Yanling mocked, "You are now the father-in-law of the prince, and you can live a carefree and comfortable life. But if the prince is deposed one day, we will have nothing. Everything we have now will be gone, and we can only return to Xingji in disgrace to live a hard life."

"That...that..."

Zhang Luan was a little overwhelmed.

"So, we should act decisively when the time comes. If Dad is worried that it's hard to find an excuse, then it will be easier..." Zhang Yanling continued, "It was because the Queen Mother wanted to go to Wanhe Temple that the temple was rebuilt, and worshiping Buddha requires piety. If the prince knew that the current Wanhe Temple is a rotten rag on the inside, which seriously affects the Queen Mother's Buddhist cultivation and Taoism, he came forward in the name of filial piety to expose the matter. Doesn't this just reflect the prince's loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness?"

"Damn, have you thought of everything in advance?"

Zhang Luan rolled his eyes and asked, "My son, why do you think the prince listens to you? Do you have the nerve to do that?"

Zhang Yanling sat there, with his head turned to the side, with a look of disdain on his face: "Dad, it doesn't matter whether you listen to me or not, as long as the prince listens to my sister."

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhang Luan started coughing violently.

Zhang Yanling stood up immediately and patted Zhang Luan on the back, saying softly, "Dad, don't get excited... Think about it, hasn't Liang Fang made any moves recently? A person like him who is vindictive, how can he not seek revenge after being wronged? If you want to stop, he will think you are cowardly and will suddenly become bolder and rush over with his teeth and claws bared. As the saying goes, when the enemy advances, we retreat. Now we have no way to retreat behind us."

Zhang Luan pursed his lips and said, "It's not that mysterious, is it? Is it worth planning for a guy who has no balls in the palace? Is it really as you said before, after half a year, when the crown prince takes the throne, it will be easy to deal with him?"

Zhang Yanling said coldly: "I'm afraid that the next six months will be difficult. And can you be sure that when that incident happens six months later, Liang Fang will not join forces with someone in the palace to... turn against Tiangang?"

"..."

Zhang Luan sat there with his eyes wide open and a dull look on his face, like a puppet.

It is true that what Zhang Yanling said has never happened in history, but this does not mean that it will not happen in the future. After all, history has changed. Who knows how strong the wind created by the wings of a butterfly can be?

Zhang Yanling advised, "Dad, the biggest purpose of doing this is actually to let the prince know that our Zhang family has always been helping him behind the scenes. Whenever he might encounter a crisis of changing the crown prince, we have contributed manpower and strength time and time again, and have done our best to help him. Only in this way will he be grateful to us in the future and think about how to repay us at any time and anywhere."

"Ah."

Zhang Luan nodded and said nothing.

"If I do nothing, the crown prince will most likely be fine and ascend the throne smoothly. But do you think the crown prince will treat me as a top figure at that time? Do you just want to be a Hanlin editor and don't want to go further and become a tutor, lecturer or even a bachelor?"

Zhang Yanling almost said that what we are doing now is just to make our presence felt.

"Rather than waiting for the crown prince to ascend the throne and then protect us, and for us to passively accept the reward, it is better to let the crown prince feel that it is us who helped him plan everything, helped him ascend the throne, and achieved his empire. Only in this way will he truly trust us...

"You should know that since Taizu founded the country, no family of the Ming Dynasty's relatives has had the opportunity to call the shots in the court. As the father-in-law of the emperor, you are not thinking of becoming a rich and idle person in the future, noble on the surface, but actually having no power at all, right?"

Zhang Yanling continued to exaggerate.

Zhang Luan said, "Okay, okay, okay, if you want to do it, just do it, don't tell me. Sometimes I wonder if you are also scheming against me and your sister in the same way."

"Pooh."

Zhang Yanling spat and asked coldly, "Dad, you must know what our family was like in the past, right? If it weren't for my planning, would my sister have become the Crown Princess? Would the Zhang family have made it to the top and become extremely wealthy? Others may not have expected this, but don't you?"

When Old Zhang heard this, he immediately wilted.

Thinking about how he used to live in his hometown in Xingji, with nothing but bare walls and not even enough food for the winter, and how he lived a miserable life, it was under the "guidance" of his son that he was able to step by step go from being a student of the local tribute to becoming the father-in-law of the crown prince... If he does not acknowledge his son's contribution, how can he have the face to see his ancestors in the future?

Ever since.

No matter what his son says, he has to listen to it, even if he thinks it is outrageous and nonsense.

Otherwise, would you listen to your incompetent boss and follow him to ruin your family?
"My son, whatever you want to do, just tell me and I will help you."

Zhang Luan finally came to his senses now. He had such an awesome son at home, it would be a shame not to make full use of his potential. Why would he bother thinking about it?
Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Okay, Dad, this matter will be carried out in your name. After listening to your and sister's opinions, the prince will completely break off relations with Liang Fang, so that Your Majesty can see his perseverance and how he is a high-quality crown prince who is shrewd, responsible and enterprising."

"..."

Zhang Luan was speechless for a while, then asked, "Why me? Why not you?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "I am helping you seek a political future. You are only a Hanlin editor now, which is too low a rank. Even if the great event is accomplished in a few months, you will not have much say in the court. You should accumulate some merits now. Then I will at least promote you to a position of imperial tutor or imperial lecturer."

Zhang Luan was cheered up after hearing this and said, "Hey, you dare to say that, tutor, lecturer... I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it! Just do it according to your own ideas. Just tell me roughly what happened later, don't discuss it! Anyway, I can't understand it even if you tell me... You kid, you will definitely be able to make the Ming Dynasty court miserable in the future, if you don't believe me, just wait and see."

(End of this chapter)