Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 568 Second Merit and First Merit

At noon.

As expected, Zhu Youtang came with Huai'en.

This time, he directly held Huai En's hand and walked side by side, as if he was holding on to him and would not let go.

"Is the relationship so good?"

Zhang Luan took the time to get closer to his daughter and asked the questions in his mind.

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes at his old father, as if blaming him for being too talkative.

After entering the Duanjing Hall together, Zhu Youtang bowed and said, "Father-in-law, thank you for diagnosing Huai Daban's illness... Thank you very much..."

Zhang Luan said: "Your Majesty, you are too polite... This is what I should do."

After saying that, he walked over and sat down on the chair that had been prepared in advance.

Huai En sat down opposite him and stretched out his arm.

Zhang Luan was too nervous and afraid of making a fool of himself, so he took the pulse in the wrong place. It took him a long while to find the pulse. He then felt it seriously for a while, and finally shook his head helplessly.

"Father-in-law, what's going on?"

Zhu Youtang asked nervously.

Zhang Luan said, "Eunuch Huai has diagnosed my son Yanling before, and it's pretty much the same... This is a lung disease. Although it's not terminal, I'm afraid it can't be cured. I can only treat it slowly."

Zhang Luan simply copied his son's previous rhetoric almost verbatim.

Huai En and Qin Chang next to him both thought it sounded familiar.

When Zhu Youtang heard this for the first time, he asked a lot of questions, almost leaving his old father-in-law speechless. Fortunately, Zhang Luan was quite good at handling situations and did not show any weakness.

Zhang Luan was thinking, it’s a good thing I knew early on that my son-in-law is a quiet and taciturn person, and I also knew that he is introverted and dull, just like a grown-up girl.

Fortunately, I already have experience in entering the palace to deal with the emperor, otherwise I would have been stumped by your questions today.

"His Majesty."

Seeing Zhu Youtang couldn't help wiping away tears, Huai'en quickly persuaded him, "Birth, aging, illness and death are the normal state of life. I have never been afraid of life and death. I will die without regrets if I can see Your Majesty revitalize the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Youtang cried and said, "I have just inherited my father's legacy and have not yet achieved anything. I really hope that you can stay with me forever and teach me for a few more years!"

Seeing her husband sad, Zhang Yu hurried over and held his hand to comfort him.

Zhang Luan looked at the atmosphere at the scene and suddenly felt awkward.

He thought to himself, how come Huai'en is sick and dying, but the one who is most sad is the Emperor, my son-in-law?

Is his relationship with Huai En so good?
When I die, will he cry for me?

What a kind child!

Much cuter than my two sons.

……

……

This was followed by lunch.

Zhu Youtang was feeling sad and had no appetite, so he asked Qin Chang and Huai En to sit down and eat together. In this way, there were five people sitting around the table.

Zhang Luan sat opposite, watching Zhang Yu put food into Zhu Youtang's bowl, trying to dissuade him with his eyes.

But the young couple didn't think anything of it. Instead, Zhang Yu glared at his father and advised him not to meddle in other people's business.

"Father-in-law, do you have any solution for Otomo's illness?"

Zhu Youtang did not notice the little tricks between father and daughter, and was still obsessed with asking his father-in-law to cure his father-in-law's illness.

Zhang Luan said: "I will try my best to help... However, I don't want to give Eunuch Huai too much unnecessary hope and distract him from this matter, but at least I can guarantee that Eunuch Huai can live a few more months."

Huai En felt very strange when he heard this.

This sounds like a good thing to say, but why... there is always an indescribable feeling of alienation?

"If my father-in-law needs any precious Chinese medicinal materials, just tell the people in the palace."

Zhu Youtang instructed, "We can also find people to go to famous mountains and rivers to search for natural treasures, such as thousand-year-old ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, and rare medicines such as Polygonum multiflorum. Even if we can't make Huai Daban recover immediately, at least he should be like a normal person and stay with me for a longer time."

Huai En thought, why does this sound even more awkward?

What.

I'm just a tool, responsible for solving problems for you. Even if I only have a year or two left to live, you still have to treat me like a beast of burden, right?
But then she thought, this was the emperor's expression of concern for her, as a servant, what more could she ask for? She could only express her gratitude in person: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness! I will do my best to live up to your respect and kindness!"

…………

After lunch, Zhang Luan took the initiative to resign.

Zhang Yu wanted to keep him, but Zhang Luan was determined to leave, so Zhu Youtang had no choice but to send Tan Chang to escort Zhang Luan out of the palace.

Zhang Luan remembered Li Zisheng's words clearly and didn't say anything to Qin Chang along the way, as if Qin Chang was already a bad guy.

"Life, aging, illness and death are so unpredictable." Qin Chang sighed as he walked, "It was only a few months ago that I saw Eunuch Huai again. How come he suddenly... Alas!"

Zhang Luan followed up with another sentence: "Yes, Eunuch Huai is indeed very important to the Ming Dynasty. It would be better if he didn't die so early and make room for someone else in vain."

"This……"

Qin Chang was a little surprised when he heard this. He felt that Zhang Luan's attitude towards him today seemed a little abnormal, but he didn't know the specific reason. He immediately glanced at Zhang Luan and continued:
"Your Majesty, you are so young, first you lost the late emperor, and now even the eunuch Huai who loves you is leaving you, you must be very sad... If Mr. Zhang has time, you might as well take care of your Majesty's body, so that he won't be depressed and hurt his body."

Zhang Luan finally couldn't help but ask, "Eunuch Tan, I want to ask, did your Majesty have much contact with Eunuch Huai before? Do you have a deep...feeling for each other?"

"We had a lot of contact, but the relationship wasn't that deep." Tan Chang told the truth, "Eunuch Huai had always worked for the late emperor and had basically never set foot in the Eastern Palace."

"Then... why is Your Majesty so sad?"

Zhang Luan asked in confusion.

Qin Chang looked around and found that no one was staring at him, so he whispered: "Mr. Zhang, please don't say such nonsense... His Majesty has pity on us old people in the palace and has given us extra relief. Are you saying this because you are upset or something?"

"Oh, I didn't mean that. I am just like this, I speak my mind and if I don't understand something, I just ask. After all, I don't know what the relationship between Your Majesty and Eunuch Huai is like... This time I finally saw it. They have a really good relationship." Zhang Luan sighed sincerely.

Tan Chang sighed, "Speaking of which, what makes Eunuch Huai most favored by Your Majesty is that in this dispute over the throne and the new emperor's ascension to the throne, Eunuch Huai played a major role, which can be said to be a great favor to Your Majesty."

"Second achievement?"

Zhang Luan frowned when he heard this and asked.

"Yes, the second merit... When your majesty was young, he fell into danger several times, and Huai En took care of him and saved him. How powerful was Concubine Wan in the palace in her early years? It was thanks to Huai En's repeated efforts to protect her. Otherwise, it is hard to say whether she could have survived until the prince grew up and finally ascended the throne successfully."

Qin Chang said with certainty.

Zhang Luan thought, even Huai'en can only be credited with secondary merit, so you, Qin Chang, wouldn't mean to say that you are the primary contributor to the current emperor's successful ascension to the throne, right?

Zhang Luan asked, "How come someone would say there is a distinction between first and second merit in your majesty's ascension to the throne? Why haven't I heard anyone talk about this before?"

Tan Chang smiled and said, "There will be some discussion in the court, especially among the people in the Hanlin Academy and the six ministries... In fact, Your Majesty can clearly distinguish the priorities... After all, you, the father-in-law, are the minister who made the greatest contribution."

"What!? I am the first to achieve this?"

Zhang Luan didn't even have the courage to ask who was the main contributor. When he heard that he was the person who was said to be more important than Huai En, he instantly lost his composure.

"If not you, then who else?"

Qin Chang's smile faded a little, but he said enthusiastically, "Liang Fang threatened the position of crown prince, but you and Li Zisheng came forward to stop him, and you also nipped Liang Fang's plots in the bud, secretly helped the crown prince, and let him gradually build up his prestige.

"Later, when the late emperor was on his deathbed, it was you who calmed people's hearts and finally ensured that the prince ascended the throne smoothly. No one would admit that this achievement was not yours!"

"Oops..."

Zhang Luan was so happy that he even liked Qin Chang. He thought that this man was not a traitor but a loyal minister. However, he did not dare to show off in front of the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. He deliberately said modestly, "I am not qualified. Just treat it as a joke..."

Seeing that Qin Chang was about to speak to explain, Zhang Luan raised his hands, smiled and shook his head: "Eunuch Qin, please stop complimenting me. I can't stand praise. I'm almost floating...hahaha..."

Qin Chang laughed along with Zhang Luan. When Zhang Luan's laughter subsided, he continued in a serious tone, "It is precisely because you are the most meritorious minister that His Majesty relies on you so much. He often consults you and seeks your opinions on matters in and outside the palace... Don't you think so?"

Zhang Luan thought to himself, that’s what I was going to say, I, a minister who made great contributions, am not that important.

Until now, I am just an insignificant Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who works for three days and rests for two days. If I were said to be the chief meritorious minister and also the minister of state, wouldn't I be so awesome?
But now...

I am like an idle person in the court. Apart from doing some odd jobs, I don't take care of anything!
It turns out that I am close to the emperor. He always likes to ask me for my opinion, and I try my best to answer him... Does this mean that my position is very important?
Isn't it just that the father-in-law and the son-in-law have nothing to do and chat about family matters? What's so strange about that?

Of course, this family belongs to my son-in-law, that is, the country and people of the Ming Dynasty. The strategies I offered were mediocre and mostly just idleness.

Tan Chang continued, "Eunuch Huai has always respected you. Everyone in the palace knows that you, Mr. Zhang, are indifferent to fame and fortune, have high moral character, and never like to compete with others."

"is it?"

Zhang Luan seemed very embarrassed and said helplessly, "Eunuch Qin, if you have anything to say, just tell me... I will do my best to help you if I can."

"No, no, I dare not trouble you easily... This time I am sending you out of the palace, and I mentioned it when I had nothing to do on the way. I have no intention of flattering you, because this is the truth!"

Qin Chang bowed and said sincerely.

Zhang Luan waved his hands repeatedly: "Oh, why do you need to see me off in person? Don't I know where the palace gate is? I don't even know how many times I've been here..."

"Yes, yes. Your Majesty's order cannot be disobeyed. Besides, important ministers must be escorted to the palace. This will make it look more solemn and formal. Otherwise..."

"Oh, I see. Wouldn't that seem too casual? That's right. Even if I'm the Queen's father, I still have to abide by the palace rules. Please..."

(End of this chapter)