Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 507 You Are the Sky (asking for monthly tickets)
Zhang Luan understood that he could not put any gifts given by others into his own pocket; only gifts from the emperor were truly his.

If you can firmly grasp something that you claim as your own, of course you have to explore what it is.

Zhang Yanling stood up and held Zhang Luan, persuading him, "Dad, you don't have to look at them. They are not valuable. They are all things used by the royal court. They are displayed and passed down to future generations as heirlooms..."

"I rely on!"

Zhang Luan glared and muttered, "As an emperor, you can't be more generous. What's the use of worthless things?"

After learning that it was not worth much, Zhang Luan immediately sat down again, looking unhappy, "Wait, why would His Majesty allow someone to give something to our family?"

Zhang Yanling said, "They said they were thanking you, father, for your contribution to the court... From what I heard from Chen Gui who came to present the gift, I think the gift was probably sent by the Queen Mother..."

"What? You mean the Empress Dowager?"

Zhang Luan instantly felt goose bumps all over his body.

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "You are wrong. It is the real Queen Mother, Queen Mother Wang of the Cining Palace."

"Oh."

Zhang Luan felt relieved when he heard that it was Queen Mother Wang who asked the Emperor to send the gift.

Obviously he was most afraid of facing that aunt.

"Maybe they are thanking me for my help in bringing down Wan An, but that's just a coincidence. I didn't do anything. You are just a smart guy. You even predicted Wan An's incompetence in advance. That was all Wan An's own fault."

After Zhang Luan finished his evaluation, he said, "The last person to give a gift, wouldn't it be Li Zisheng?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head.

Zhang Luan asked in surprise: "Is he your uncle? Or maybe..."

"Don't guess, I'll tell you straight away."

Zhang Yanling said seriously, "It's Liang Fang."

"who!?"

Zhang Luan was slightly startled, then asked nervously, "Is... is it Liang Fang? Why... would he come to give a gift? Isn't he... imprisoned in death row?"

Zhang Yanling said, "He heard from somewhere that his case would be handed over to you and you would decide his life or death, so he started to have evil thoughts... To put it bluntly, although he is in prison, the power behind him is still very complex and he can pass messages freely inside and outside the prison... Hearing about your importance, he immediately asked someone to send you a gift, especially knowing your preferences...

"I heard from the people who came to give me gifts that they found a few opera troupes especially for you, and even brought them from Jiangnan specifically for you... Ahem, Dad, do you know what I'm talking about?"

Zhang Luan was dumbfounded. After a long while, he said, "Father is so careless. How could he know about this? Could it be that Li Zisheng deliberately leaked the news to him?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "I don't know about that... But, Dad, I reminded you early on that people must not have weaknesses, otherwise they will be targeted and used repeatedly. But it's good this way. Now others think you are hungry and don't choose your food, but in fact you are still very decent..."

"Bah, did you say that about your father? If I, as a father, don't even follow the most basic principles, how could we have come to this point today?"

Zhang Luan looked depressed and frowned as he said, "I either cannot accept the things sent by others, or they are not of much value even if I accept them.

"Alas, being an official in the court is really tiring. That little salary is really not enough to support people. The court has to rely on our family for support... I have to ask the emperor's son-in-law for money to be an official. What's the point of being an official?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Hey, you are very free and easy... This is good, at least those people will not threaten you with dismissal."

Zhang Luan snorted, "I am nothing but a man of integrity. It's just an official position, isn't it? People look down on me anyway, so I might as well not take it. Didn't you say that I can get a title later? Actually, it's not a bad idea to work in the Five Military Commander's Office!"

……

……

This afternoon.

At the gate of Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division.

Zhang Luan was standing there leaning on a cane, with his eldest son Zhang Heling, who was wearing the uniform of a captain of the Jinyiwei, next to him. Behind him were Zhang Yanling, who was dressed in a scholar's shirt, and Qin Yun, who was dressed in a flying fish costume.

"Hey, boy, stand back... Look at you, you look so sloppy, you don't look like an official even in your official uniform..." Zhang Luan didn't like his eldest son and started to teach him a lesson in front of everyone.

Zhang Heling's face was full of dissatisfaction. He protested, "Dad, I'm already this old, and now I'm a fifth-rank official. You're still criticizing me? Do you think you're an official? How can an official with a broken leg come to the government office to work? You look so miserable, just like those victims who go to the government office to seek justice from the great judge."

"Go...fuck you, don't you have any nice words to say?"

Zhang Luan cursed loudly.

Zhang Heling said disdainfully: "Isn't my mother your wife? Scolding me is the same as scolding the whole family, which is in disguise scolding yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Luan immediately picked up his crutch and hit his eldest son.

Zhang Yanling quickly grabbed Zhang Luan's hand and tried to dissuade him, "Alright, alright, Dad, big brother, we are here to do business, why are we arguing over our appearance? Can you please stop doing irrelevant things when we are outside? Dad, let's go in!"

"Next time you go out, don't bring your big brother with you."

Zhang Luan said with a dark face, "Going out with this unruly son will be embarrassing wherever we go! Let's go!" After saying that, he led the three of them to the gate, followed by dozens of Jinyiwei.

Even though Mr. Zhang has weak legs and feet, he still likes to show off when he goes out. After all, Mr. Zhang Luan is known as the man who only handles big things.

……

……

Northern Pacification Office.

Zhu Ji, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally went out to receive Zhang Luan. This time there were no stewards from the palace, only the Embroidered Uniform Guards to collaborate on the case.

After inviting the Zhang family to the back hall, Zhu Ji quickly had someone bring the case file and presented it to Zhang Luan.

Zhang Luan asked directly: "Who am I here to deal with today?"

Zhu Ji looked very embarrassed when he heard this.

You, Zhang Guofu, are now a powerful figure in the court. Even the case of Liang Fang, the treacherous minister and chief criminal during the reign of the previous emperor, was assigned to you. Don’t you even know what case you are here to handle today?

Zhu Ji could only complain in his heart, but he did not dare to show it on the surface. He said respectfully: "There are quite a few people involved in the case. Zhang Butang can choose for himself."

Zhang Luan closed the documents in his hand and asked, "Then I have to ask you... Commander Zhu, has the case been handed over to me now? Don't we really need to go through the procedures of the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple? I am only the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue now, so it seems that this case should not be my responsibility, right?"

"This one……"

Facing Zhang Luan's three soul-searching questions, Zhu Ji hesitated for a moment, and finally answered carefully, "I heard that yesterday and today, the court discussed the matter involving several criminals. Your Majesty believes that there are still many points worth discussing, so it was not handed over to the Ministry of Justice, but entrusted to you with full authority.

"Your Majesty is waiting for your summary and report on this case... Perhaps after you submit the case, His Majesty will hand it over to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple for review."

Zhang Luan said in embarrassment: "The problem is, I have never worked in the Ministry of Justice, so I don't know much about prison adjudication."

Zhang Heling laughed and said jokingly, "Dad, I have to blame you again. The Ministry of Justice is the Ministry of Justice, and the Imperial Guard is the Imperial Guard. The procedures here are different from those in the Ministry of Justice. Whoever you say is guilty, he is guilty."

"what!?"

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "Don't talk nonsense if you don't know."

Zhu Ji didn't expect that the eldest son of the Zhang family was such a "straightforward" person.

I roughly guessed in my heart that Zhang Heling had been in office in the Jinyiwei for some time. Although he had always been working three days on and two days off and was rarely seen in the yamen, there were quite a few people in the Jinyiwei who tried to curry favor with Zhang Heling.

Someone must have secretly "gave" Zhang Heling some advice and summarized for him what the Jinyiwei actually did.

That is why Zhang Heling is explaining things to his father like an experienced person.

Zhu Ji smiled and said, "Although Captain Zhang's words are a bit exaggerated, they are basically true. The Jinyiwei do their work and many cases do not need to be brought to court. If you want to interrogate someone, just give them a call."

"Then... we can't break the rules, right?"

Zhang Luan was very excited.

I have heard in the past that the imperial court had to go through certain judicial procedures to try a case, but with him, he could just arrest someone for interrogation, and even use torture, and even force a confession out of them... Just thinking about it makes me feel like... I am no longer an official, but a local tyrant who has the final say on everything.

Zhang Luan tapped the table with his fingers and hesitated, "Who should I start with?"

Zhang Yanling pointed to a file and said, "Let's take him as the leader."

Zhang Luan glanced at him casually and asked curiously, "Li Hua? Isn't he the director of the Imperial Observatory? Is he still in prison?"

As soon as he said this, he suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but glance at Qin Yun beside him.

Because he remembered that Qin Yun had come to him to plead a case and asked him to help Li Hua get rid of the crime. At that time, his son Zhang Yanling also said that he wanted to do a favor for Qin Yun, and it seemed that it was related to Qin Yun's marriage.

Zhu Ji didn't understand what was going on, so he asked, "Minister Zhang, did you first bring up all the people involved in Li Hua's case? Can you tell me the evidence?"

"Where is Li Hua himself?"

Zhang Yanling asked.

"In prison."

Zhu Ji introduced, "Recently, the higher-ups have issued a strict order that no one is allowed to visit... The conditions in the imperial prison have become a bit harsh recently. Winter is about to come, and every family is trying to get things in."

Zhang Luan said, "Then just call him over... I'll take a look and ask him a few questions... Is that okay?"

Zhu Ji smiled and bowed, "It's OK if you say so, and it's OK if you don't. Anyway, here, you, Zhang Butang, are the boss, and you can decide the life and death of these criminals!"

…………

These are the last five hours of this month. If you don’t vote for the monthly ticket, it will be wasted. Thank you!
(End of this chapter)