Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 435: The Honest Liar

Zhang Luan was on vacation for four days and had fun every night.

With his small body, he even found it a bit too much to handle.

But after Li Zisheng's "tips", he seemed to have understood it all and finally mastered some tricks. At least the happiest thing every day was to hurry to the evening and then go into the big house to enjoy himself after nightfall.

He did not come out until noon, saying that he was going to inspect the imperial mausoleum, but in fact he had no intention of doing so.

I was sleeping soundly that morning when a maid came in and reported, "Master, there are officials outside who are here to tell you that you have to go back."

Zhang Luan was very unhappy.

I haven't had enough fun yet.

Return to Beijing to be an official?

Sorry, that's not what my life is about!
The life goal I was pursuing had been accomplished in the previous four days.

When he came out, he saw Li Zisheng talking to Pang Qing in front of the carriage, and hurried over to ask, "Minister Li, what's going on? Mr. Pang is here too?"

"You are too polite, Minister Zhang." Pang Qing quickly smiled and said, "I am just here to inform you of some matters and to accompany my Taoist master back to the capital."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Laizhan, that's right. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order for you and me to return to the capital... The Crown Prince's coronation ceremony will be held soon. Because it is the mourning period for the late emperor, everything will be kept simple. You and I should not be too rigid about the formalities. We can discuss it on the way back."

"Leaving now?"

Zhang Luan was a little reluctant.

Over the past few days, he has developed a deep relationship with the "outside house woman". How can he let go of her all of a sudden?

Li Zisheng rolled his eyes at him, but sent Pang Qing away first. It seemed that there was something that was not good for Pang Qing to hear.

"Laizhan, you too, do you still expect to live with the women in there?" Li Zisheng complained.

Zhang Luan said gloomily, "If I leave like this, I will always seem heartless and disloyal."

Li Zisheng smiled and said, "Then I will send her to the capital for you. However, after that, you will have to pay for her support. I will not be responsible for supporting you."

"This one……"

Zhang Luan seemed to be a little hesitant, but finally nodded, "Then I'll trouble Minister Li to help me with the operation."

Li Zisheng rolled his eyes at him again and said, "Laizhan, I have to say something about you... You are a man who is destined to do great things, but you must not be attracted by the things in front of you, such as wine, sex, money, and anger. If you do this, it will be easy for others to use it as a weakness to attack you."

Zhang Luan thought to himself, listen, is this what you say?

You talk as if you're not trying to bribe me with your beauty!
The woman inside was not sent by you, right?
"These women are all convicted women of the imperial court. They seem to be of noble birth, unlike the women in the market. They appear to be gentle and well-educated. But then again, the aura they carry is not something you can control."

Li Zisheng taught with the tone of an experienced person.

Zhang Luan asked curiously, "What does this mean?"

Li Zisheng said: "It's hard to say specifically. In short, it's okay to be a casual couple with them. If you really want to keep them as concubines for daily entertainment, it's more appropriate to choose those from small families. These women of criminal origin are simply not the material for you to live with for a long time."

"what?"

Zhang Luan was very surprised.
He thought to himself, these women once had good family backgrounds and were well-spoken, but now they are down and out, so I am actually saving them from dire straits.

During these few days of getting along with me, they were extremely fawning on me, even condescending to the point of treating me like an ancestor, which is why I developed feelings for them.

But you tell me that these women have ulterior motives?

"Laizhan, if you don't understand, you can put your doubts in your heart for now, eat and drink as you should, and you will understand later."

Li Zisheng said, "I won't talk to you about this. Let's talk about our return to the capital first... It's like this. The prince listened to the advice of Eunuch Huai En and sent people to investigate the site selection of the imperial mausoleum."

Zhang Luan frowned and asked, "I don't know what you mean?"

Li Zisheng said, "To put it bluntly, the conflict has become public. Not only have you impeached Ni Yue and Li Hua, but they have also impeached you. Now the prince has sent someone to see who has chosen the better site, which is equivalent to who has the upper hand. When you go back, keep a low profile and try your best to act as if you are not competing with others. After a few days, there will be a result."

Zhang Luan asked, "Ni Yue and Li Hua also impeached me?"

Originally, Zhang Luan thought that his son and Li Zisheng were exaggerating.

Only now did he realize that the officialdom was really a life-and-death struggle.

Even if we are doing the same thing, as long as the positions are inconsistent and there is no possibility of even sitting down and discussing peacefully, the only option is to choose one of the two.

"gone."

Li Zisheng said, "We can go back faster, we can arrive in two or three hours. After returning to the capital, you should have a good rest and spend more time with your family. You will be busy again in the ceremony of the crown prince's enthronement in two days."

……

……

Zhang Luan returned to Beijing.

When we came back, it was already getting late.

After arriving in the capital, he immediately went to his outer residence, but his son Zhang Yanling was not there.

Because of the bizarre experience a few days ago, the women he kept in the outer house were no longer attractive to him. All he could think about were the miserable wives of officials living at the foot of Tianshou Mountain. All he could think about was helping them get rid of their fate as soon as possible. He was almost going crazy.

Someone was sent to look for him, and Zhang Yanling finally showed up at the outer residence when it was dark. "Son, your father is away from Beijing these days, what have you been doing?"

Zhang Luan asked with a smile.

Zhang Yanling glanced at him and asked, "Dad, if you have something to say, just say it... Do you really care about what I'm doing?"

Zhang Luan said: "Just tell me, are you planning something?"

Zhang Yanling saw Zhang Luan's flattering look and knew that the old man had bad intentions, but he still said truthfully: "These few days, I have been discussing with the Huizhou merchants about the implementation of the industry... Now several workshops have begun to produce finished products and have taken them to the market to test the reaction."

"pretty good."

Zhang Luan said, "Now we can see the cash."

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, tell me about yourself."

"I?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "These past few days, I have experienced the ups and downs of life... Just as you said, Ni Yue is really not a good guy. He regards me as a thorn in his side. I impeached him, and he also impeached me behind my back. I didn't understand it. It's just to choose a location for the late emperor's mausoleum. Is it necessary to go to the point of life and death?"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Dad, kindness can't accomplish anything!"

Zhang Luan asked, "Tell me, what exactly does he want to do?"

"He also wants to be promoted to a higher position." Zhang Yanling explained, "Now that the new emperor is about to ascend the throne, the court is about to be reshuffled. Who wouldn't want to soar to the top?
"Some old ministers, such as Wan An and Liu Ji, are fighting over who can stay in the court. Doesn't Ni Yue want to fight for himself?"

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "If he wants to fight for it, he shouldn't fight for it on me."

Zhang Yanling said: "This man is an opportunist, and he can't see the situation clearly. In order to get him to the throne, he even harmed the prince without knowing right or wrong... On the surface, he was trying to win the prince a chance to attend court in Wenhua Palace, but secretly he wanted to anger the late emperor and put the prince in an irretrievable situation...

"This kind of person is too cunning. If you hadn't been prepared, you might have died without knowing how. You were sold out, and you're still counting money for him."

Zhang Luan said, "I didn't believe it before, but now I really believe it... Li Zisheng also said the same thing as you. He told me that Ni Yue is indeed not a good person."

"Pretty good."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Now that you understand everything, do you still have any doubts?"

"The prince has sent people to investigate the two locations of the imperial mausoleums we reported to see if they are suitable." Zhang Luan asked, "I know the place you chose must be very good, but I want to ask, if I win this time...how will the court deal with Ni Yue?"

Zhang Yanling frowned and asked, "Dad, why are you so concerned about Ni Yue's future? Something is wrong... Tell me why you care so much about him?"

"I...what can I do?"

Zhang Luan's eyes flickered, and it was obvious that he didn't want to answer such a sensitive question from his son.

If his son knew what he had done during the past few days when he was away on business, or even if his son knew that Li Zisheng's plan for him was to bring down Ni Yue and Li Hua and then bring over all the women in their families, how would his son look at him?
No matter how miserable I am inside, I cannot show it in front of my son.

Zhang Yanling saw Zhang Luan's face turn green and red, and he knew there must be something hidden. Thinking of Ni Yue's daughter's reputation, he couldn't help but frown and said:
"Dad, let me put it this way. If you expect him to be convicted and his family to be exiled and confiscated as slaves, you can forget about it."

"what?"

Zhang Luan was surprised.

This is obviously different from what Li Zisheng told him.

Zhang Yanling sighed, "Of course it's not absolute. It depends on whether Ni Yue is involved in real corruption and whether he has financial connections with Deng Changen and others. I think the most likely scenario is that you win, and Ni Yue is ordered to retire and return home. His family can be protected, and he won't even go back as a criminal."

"That's right."

Zhang Luan was obviously disappointed when he heard this.

Between what his son said and what Li Zisheng said, he believed his son more.

Because he knew that his son would never harm him.

But Li Zisheng is different. It is very likely that the guy deceived him in order to achieve a certain purpose and let him work hard towards a certain goal, but in fact he was just painting a pie in the sky for him.

"Dad, don't you think your behavior has been a little inappropriate recently?" Zhang Yanling asked.

Zhang Luan frowned and asked, "What do you know now?"

Zhang Yanling pointed to the inner courtyard and said, "Even my eldest brother knows about the mess in this courtyard. Do you think I can turn a blind eye? You have been poor for a long time and now want to live a life of wine and women. No one can stop you, but I am afraid that you will be deceived and used by others because of your greed for these two things."

"I rely on."

Zhang Luan said, "Your tone of voice is a bit like Li Zisheng... He advised me the same way."

Zhang Yanling said helplessly: "Li Zisheng now depends on you to keep his current status and position, so his mind is on your side... I won't comment on how Li Zisheng is as an official, but at least he is an open-minded person and didn't trick you to the point where you can't even find your home."

"hehe."

Zhang Luan could only shake his head and smile bitterly.

It turns out that I am so unbearable.

Fortunately, Li Zisheng did not cheat me. If that guy had deliberately deceived me, I would have been sold out and was counting money for others.

"Dad, I'm telling you this because I know what Li Zisheng means."

Zhang Yanling said, "His starting point is not wrong, but the method he used seems a bit extreme. But because of this, you still have to be on guard against him... He is now doing his utmost to help you, but in order to survive, he may change his mind. In the end... you have to rely on your brother-in-law, not on others."

(End of this chapter)