Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 488: Party
On this day, Zhang Yu was officially crowned as queen.

Because it was the mourning period, according to the rules, the ceremony of enthroning the empress was not too grand and solemn. To outsiders, it was just a matter of course and not worth making a fuss about. After all, in this day and age, the status of the legitimate wife was still very stable, and the current emperor did not even have a concubine, and no one thought that Zhang Yu should not become the mother of the Ming Dynasty.

As the direct beneficiary, the Zhang family did not hold any celebration today.

Even because the head of the Zhang family, Zhang Luan, was recovering from an injury and could not go out for fun, he lay in bed all day sighing, and the whole Zhang family seemed gloomy.

Just after noon, Shen Lu came uninvited, under the pretext of visiting Zhang Luan's condition. He stayed in Zhang Luan's room and refused to leave, insisting that he wanted to have dinner together.

"Ruxue, if you have something to say, just say it. You're hesitating and making me feel uncomfortable..."

Zhang Luan finally couldn't help it, and after complaining, he asked, "You are not here to seek an official position, are you?"

Shen Lu seemed extremely terrified and quickly defended himself: "I have no such intention. Please do not misunderstand me. Previously, thanks to my relationship with you, I was promoted to Right Councillor in the Ministry of Public Administration... This is a position that many Jinshi scholars cannot get even after retiring. I am a mere Juren, and I am very satisfied to be able to sit in this position."

Zhang Luan blinked his eyes, his mind was blank, and after a long while he asked, "Is the Right Councillor very important?"

When Shen Lu heard this question, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

I thought to myself, Zhang Laizhan, you really are outspoken.

You are already a third-rank official in the imperial court, but you still don't understand the ranks of officials in the central government offices?
Have you ever put any thought into court affairs?

In addition, officials must talk about contributions!
The higher the official rank, the more and heavier the tasks for the court, and the more enthusiasm one needs to devote to the great cause of seeking welfare for the people...

"Dad, are you looking for me?"

At this time, Zhang Yanling's childish voice came from outside the door, which finally eased the embarrassment for the two.

Zhang Luan waved excitedly when he saw his youngest son coming over: "Glad that you're here, I've been looking for you everywhere. Your uncle is here as a guest, and we're going to have a drink here tonight, so you can keep him company."

"Hi uncle!"

Zhang Yanling greeted him politely at first, then asked, "Dad, why did you ask me to accompany you? Am I old enough to drink? Did you find the wrong person?"

"If you don't accompany the guests, who will? Your elder brother, or your father?" Zhang Luan pointed at his injured foot, "Look at your father in this state, can you accompany the guests to drink?"

When Shen Lu heard this, it was clear that they were trying to drive me away!
He immediately said, "Oh, I saw you were recovering from your injuries, how could I be so tactless as to insist on staying to have dinner with you? Then, after we finish talking about things, I won't bother you any more... What do you think?"

Zhang Luan said unhappily, "You are such a fool. You are the one who wants to stay and drink, and you are also the one who wants to leave. Are you going to eat this meal or not?"
"My son, quickly ask the kitchen to prepare some good wine and delicious food... Oh, the food at home is not good enough, how about this, let's go to another place... I'll have someone carry me to another place on a sedan chair..."

"Dad, don't bother yourself. I think it's fine for us to eat at home when my uncle comes."

Zhang Yanling immediately spoke out to dispel his old father's evil intentions.

You old thing, do you think I can't see?

Using Shen Lu as a cover is actually just an excuse to go out with him, to his own villa in the city or outside the city, and bring back some "dew"?
Zhang Luan rolled his eyes at his son and then explained, "The conditions at home are never as good as those outside. I hired a few cooks for the villa outside the city..."

"Why don't you bring him back?"

Shen Lu asked this question on behalf of Zhang Yanling.

Zhang Luan frowned and said seriously, "Ruxue, this is what you did wrong. It's different outside than at home... Don't you feel this way normally?"

After saying that, he winked at his brother-in-law, meaning that you kid should be more sensible, unless you don't want to talk business with me.

Shen Lu immediately understood and said with a smile: "How about this, since you have been recuperating at home recently and have not been out for a long time, how about I treat you to a banquet outside? It is just in time to celebrate our niece's coronation as queen, and the Zhang family will officially become a family of relatives from the emperor's wife."

"Good good."

Zhang Luan smiled and nodded.

He seemed very satisfied with Shen Lu's answer.

Zhang Yanling tried to dissuade him again: "Dad, you'd better not go anywhere these days... After ten days or so, no one will care where you want to go."

Zhang Luan frowned and asked, "What's going on? Is there someone in the court watching me and not letting me go out? Or do I have to give an explanation to His Majesty... He has come to visit me at home, so I have to continue pretending? I am using a cane now, can I walk like a normal person?"

Zhang Yanling said unhappily: "Who are you now? You are the father-in-law of the emperor. Who in the court dares to send someone to keep an eye on you... It's your own problem..."

Seeing Zhang Luan's bewildered face, Zhang Yanling explained, "Oh, Dad, don't you know how to take care of your injury? Just these ten days? If you don't take good care of it, you may end up with uneven legs in the future, or even feel excruciating pain when it rains or blows...

"You can say that you have exchanged ten days of hard work for a safe life in the second half of your life. It is worth it no matter how you look at it! If you don't listen and insist on going out, don't blame others for the suffering you will suffer in the future... Take care of your own body."

"what?"

When Zhang Luan heard this, he was instantly deflated.

Shen Lu was listening and was also stunned.

What kind of child would teach his old father a lesson like this, or even threaten him verbally? He had seen and only seen this father and son in front of him.

The key point is that the power structure within the Zhang family seems to be quite different from that of other families. Although Zhang Luan is now holding higher and higher positions in the court and has even become the father-in-law of the emperor, he still listens to his youngest son. Even Shen Lu has to marvel at this.

Shen Lu asked curiously: "Then...are we still going out?"

"What's going on?"

Zhang Luan said helplessly, "To be a good person and do things, you must have a good body first. If your body is broken, you can't do anything... Don't you think this is the truth?"

Shen Lu thought, do I need you to remind me?
You are such a bad old man!
Are you telling me this to make fun of my poor health?
Obviously Shen Lu would not associate the matter with the woman. In his opinion, this father-in-law Zhang was a model of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, who took care of his wife and children and was considerate of the weak. He never imagined that the other party was just a facade.

"Then just deal with it at home." Zhang Luan said in a vicious tone, "You little brat, since you won't let me treat your uncle properly, then you can do it yourself. I will continue to lie here...

"Oh, by the way, ask your mother to boil a few more kettles of water tonight. I need to take a good shower! Even if it's cold outside, I'll still sweat when I lie here."

Shen Lu didn't know what was going on, so he just agreed: "It looks like you are indeed a little weak, you need to take good care of yourself."

……

……

A simple family dinner.

Zhang Luan originally said he couldn't come out, but he finally went to the table with a cane. However, his family didn't allow him to drink alcohol, so he drank tea instead.

Shen Lu felt embarrassed to drink alone, and was afraid of causing trouble, so the two of them toasted each other with tea.

During the meal, Zhang Yanling left the table on the pretext of having something to do. When he came back, Zhang Luan had returned to the room and was sitting there, sighing while letting the maid massage his waist and legs.

"Finished?"

Zhang Yanling asked.

Zhang Luan opened his eyes, looked at his son, and then closed them again, as if he was resting. He shook his head and said, "He's gone."

Zhang Yanling asked, "What did my uncle say?"

"Nothing said."

Zhang Luan explained the situation, "In fact, he just came to congratulate your sister on becoming the queen, and said that there are many people out there who want to make friends with me through him... Maybe he knew that my status was awkward and I couldn't just casually interact with court officials, so he tried to mediate."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "That's good. Uncle is very suitable for doing this kind of thing."

"What kind of thing?"

Zhang Luan had to take it seriously now. He looked at his son and said, "Didn't you tell me to stay away from officials in the court? It's not time for us to form a clique yet. If we allow others to come and get close to us, once they are exposed, the crime will be serious. Even if we are innocent, we will be criticized."

Zhang Yanling explained: "I don't allow you to form a clique because I don't want you to get too close to the people in Li Zisheng's faction. Otherwise, it will easily lead to a situation where the tail is too big to be removed.

"But if they are middle or lower-level officials in the court, especially those who are Jinshi graduates, you can get to know them and even help them in the future."

"what!?"

Zhang Luan asked in surprise: "What do you mean? Can I form a party again?"

"Dad, why are you pretending?"

Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes at his father and said, "You were openly flirting with Li Zisheng before, and everyone knows that you two are so close that you are almost wearing the same pants. How come you can even make friends with the biggest traitor in the court, but you are afraid of those middle and lower-level officials like tigers?"

"This... the situation is different... son, think about it, Li Zisheng was already the most prominent and powerful official in the court before he met me. If I interact with him, I will be at a disadvantage and cannot command him. But the officials in the government offices in the capital are different. If I interact with them, it is clear that I want to cultivate my own power, which will easily lead to criticism."

Zhang Luan looked serious.

It seemed that he had thought about this problem a long time ago, and even considered the pros and cons.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "It's good that you can think of this step. Next, you don't have to go into battle yourself. Let Uncle Shen help you to contact the middle. In this way, even if there are censors impeaching you, it can only mean that someone has privately made friends with Uncle Shen and has no direct relationship with you."

"Is this okay?"

Zhang Luan was surprised.

Zhang Yanling said: "Although father has reached a high position now, he is still looked down upon by others. Do you know why?"

"What?"

Zhang Luan asked expectantly, as if this was also a question that had been bothering him for a long time.

"That's because, in the eyes of outsiders, my father got to the position by opportunism. He first married his daughter to become a royal relative, then treated the late emperor's illness, and now he has become the father-in-law of the emperor. He has gained the absolute trust of the royal family and has risen to become a top civil official... Maybe some people recognize your ability, but they still think that you are alone and have no one to rely on. You will not achieve much in the officialdom in the future."

Zhang Yanling analyzed.

Zhang Luan frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, "I admit what you said. So... you want me to form a party?"

Zhang Yanling said disdainfully, "I want you to have more people to help you. If the Ministry of Revenue has something to do and needs someone to do something, who do you think will work hard for you right now? Not to mention doing the job... there are also big differences in the degree of enthusiasm for doing the job. You also know that many of the officials in the capital are the type who just eat and wait for death. If you ask them to do something, they will mostly shirk their responsibilities and not work hard."

Zhang Luan said with relief: "I understand. It's not enough to be a marshal or a general without any troops. You need people to work for you. Of course, in order to motivate them to work, I will promise them benefits in advance. In this way... it will be convenient for me to do things in the future. Is that what you mean?"

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling continued to nod, "Those middle and high-level officials in the court have long been affiliated with different factions, and you can't pry them apart. But those who have just entered the court, especially those who have been officials for less than three years, and even this year's new Jinshi, they are in urgent need of someone to speak for them in the court and help them improve. You are the ideal person for them to turn to."

"Can I?"

Zhang Luan hesitated, pointed at himself and said, "I am just a father-in-law of the emperor. I still seem to be a little short of that..."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, don't underestimate yourself. Even my uncle has come to you personally to talk to you. This is enough to show that many people in the court are trying to get close to you.

"Dad, you must be brave enough to take up the responsibility and stand out from the crowd... You are now a capable person in the court, and even Li Zisheng has a lot of people trying to curry favor with you. What's more, you are the father-in-law of the emperor and a scholar of orthodox origin... Besides, Li Zisheng will have to rely on you for survival in the future!"

(End of this chapter)