Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 729 What is Mind?
By the time Zhang Yanling was summoned from the Duanjing Palace to the Kunning Palace, it was not yet noon.

"Greetings to the Queen."

Zhang Yanling walked into the rear hall and saluted Zhang Yu from a distance, but he just stood at the door and refused to go any further inside.

Zhang Yu waved his hand angrily: "Come in, kid!"

Zhang Yanling had no choice but to move forward. After taking a few steps, he saw Qin Ji standing hunched over beside the screen, and his sister had a ferocious look on her face.

Zhang Yanling asked in confusion: "Empress, did I do something wrong?"

"Humph!"

Zhang Yu pointed to a seat nearby and said, "Sit down. I have something to tell you in detail later! But before that, what did you do when you left the city today?"

Zhang Yanling blinked his lovely big eyes and shook his head, saying, "I have never been out of the city. I was just wandering around the city today. Before entering the palace, I went to the other courtyard at home and gave my father medicine. Because His Majesty asked me to enter the palace before noon, saying that there would be a celebration banquet, I came here first."

"Celebration party?"

Zhang Yu frowned and asked in confusion, "That's not right. Weren't you the one who presided over today's military exercise on behalf of your father? How is it possible that you didn't leave the city?"

"Oh, everything has been rehearsed in advance. The scene can still go smoothly without me... I am just a child, and I am not an official in the court. Why should I show up and attract criticism from others? Besides, aren't the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Horse Administration presiding over the scene?"

Zhang Yanling seemed relaxed and at ease, and said casually: "It's just a military exercise and firing a cannon. Everything has been arranged properly, so it shouldn't be a big deal."

Zhang Yu glanced at Tan Ji and asked, "Mr. Tan, didn't you say that today's matter cannot be handled without Yanling?"

Zhang Yanling turned to Qin Ji and said with a smile, "Eunuch Qin, are you well? Didn't you say before that you were seriously ill and bedridden and unable to work these days? I told my father that I would come to your house on his behalf to treat you."

Compared with Zhang Yu’s previous thoughtful words, what Zhang Yanling said seemed very insincere, as if he was deliberately mocking Qin Ji.

Qin Ji was embarrassed for a moment, but could only stammer, "My Queen, my uncle, I am almost fully recovered. I just caught a little cold. It's not worth your worry. It's a pity that I couldn't help my uncle today. I am so ashamed."

Zhang Yanling said quickly: "How can you blame Eunuch Tan? It was Eunuch Huai who took the initiative to take over the job, wasn't it?"

"what!?"

Qin Ji thought, is it so obvious that Eunuch Huai is targeting me?

It seems that Huai En was taking things for granted in order to conceal the truth from the Zhang family and cause trouble for them in secret.

Even if there is a sick person at home, the adults can rest and recuperate at home, but with this little uncle around, nothing can be hidden.

Zhang Yu asked, "Do you know that someone is deliberately targeting your father and you? You really don't care at all... Since His Majesty has made the decision and asked you to be in charge of this matter, you should be there to keep an eye on it. This is a serious and responsible attitude! You came to the palace... What can I say about you? Are you heartless?"

Zhang Yanling looked helpless: "Queen, please calm down. Aren't there many people in the court who have been targeting our Zhang family for a long time? Didn't my father fall ill because of this?"

"what?"

Zhang Yu asked in confusion, "Did father become ill because of anger?"

"Oh, it's not entirely due to this reason, but it is always a factor."

Zhang Yanling said, "Eunuch Qin, please don't take my words to heart. I am not speaking up for my father. For a period of time before, my father was indeed pretending to be sick because he didn't want to get involved in the disputes in the court. But this time he is really sick and needs to rest for some time."

"Understood, understood."

Qin Ji thought, whatever you say now is right.

I have come here today to apologize to Her Majesty the Queen, which is equivalent to indirectly bowing to your in-laws, the Zhang family.

You guys in the Zhang family are all the bosses now, do you know that?
Zhang Yu seemed very impatient and asked, "What is the situation outside the city now?"

Zhang Yanling said, "Please be patient, Queen. Wouldn't it be better to wait until His Majesty comes back to ask about it? I have never been out of the city, so I don't know the details."

"You little bastard, you really want to piss me off, right?"

Zhang Yu said angrily, "Mr. Qin, tell him now who is targeting our Zhang family! I'm afraid he has been plotted against and is still counting money."

Qin Ji thought, do you really want me to speak frankly?
Now that I say it, the situation is different from before.

It is equivalent to informing on your political enemies.

I told the mistress that I was loyal, honest and reliable. After all, what servant would hide the truth from his master?
But if I tell either of the Zhang family father and son, the nature of the situation will change.

"Sister, please don't embarrass Eunuch Tan."

Zhang Yanling persuaded, "Eunuch Tan must have told you something, but I think that what Eunuch Tan told you may not be told to me and my father. This is a matter of principle."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Yu frowned.

Zhang Yanling said, "Who in the court is targeting father? Is father deaf and blind? It's just that there are some things he doesn't want to ask about."

"Huh, you know everything now? Then tell me, who are they?"

Zhang Yu also became furious at this moment.

You know it in your mind but you don't tell me?

Don’t you know that I like pillow talk the most?

Now that I know who those people are who have offended my Zhang family, can I not report them and let my husband punish them?
Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Please relax, sister. Those who slander us will surely realize their mistakes and gradually find that the Zhang family has no ill will towards the court, and that my father and I have no desire for fame or gain. We just want to do something practical for the court. As for who is better or worse... why bother so much?"

When Qin Ji heard this, he felt even more impressed.

I originally thought that the young prince-in-law was a bit petty, and liked to make fun of others in front of others and not give them any way out.

Now it seems that the tutor is there.

Even if they knew who was doing the bad things in secret, they would not say it out loud, let alone file a complaint and make things difficult for those officials who were targeting the Zhang family.

Zhang Yu glared at Zhang Yanling and shouted, "Then tell me who they are!"

"From the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet to the lower temples and government offices, count them all!"

Zhang Yanling said bitterly, "After all, anyone who is loyal to the Ming Dynasty does not want foreign relatives to mess up the government. This is human nature, especially for those who are sick and dying. They are even more afraid that after they are buried, the Ming Dynasty will decline.

"In general, the more people care about Your Majesty and the fate of the Ming Dynasty, the more they like to target us. Of course, except for Eunuch Tan."

When Qin Ji heard this, he wondered what you mean by this?
Excluding me?

Does that mean I don’t care about Your Majesty or the fate of the Ming Dynasty?
Zhang Yu asked, "So, you knew everything, but you watched them target my father and didn't step in to stop them?"

"Oh, sister, my father doesn't care, so why do you want me to care? Besides, they are targeting me for a reason." Zhang Yanling said, "As long as the doubts are reasonable and legitimate, they can be forgiven. My father didn't come from a legitimate imperial examination, but now he is in a high position, so it's normal for him to be criticized."

Zhang Yu said angrily: "How can this be called normal? How can a father-in-law harm his own son-in-law who is the emperor..."

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "We can learn from the past to understand the rise and fall of nations. In history, foreign relatives did a lot of evil things. It is understandable that the court officials questioned him. After all, my father sometimes did very radical things, which inevitably made people think that he had other intentions. Time will prove everything..."

"you!"

Zhang Yu was so angry that he could hardly speak.

Qin Ji said quickly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Actually, what the young uncle said makes sense. Justice is in the hearts of the people. I was deceived by some worldly opinions before and failed to wake up early."

"Mr. Qin, you don't have to speak for him. This is not your fault." Zhang Yu said with a dark face.

When Qin Ji heard this, he was even more moved.

How come it seems that I, who was slow to realize the truth and even helped the evildoers, have become the good guy, while the queen has regarded her own brother as the bad guy? And she is comforting me like this?
Zhang Yanling said: "Sister, I got up this morning and was busy all day. I only drank a few sips of tea. Now I am hungry. I think my brother-in-law will be back soon. Should I make some arrangements..."

"If you're hungry, get it yourself."

Zhang Yu rolled her eyes and said, "When your brother-in-law comes back, there are some things you must explain to him. If you don't listen to me, don't come to the palace anymore."

"This... Father said it was perfectly normal. If we say this... it will affect the harmony in the court..."

Zhang Yanling asked with difficulty.

Zhang Yu said angrily, "I don't care. Now that they have been bullied to the point of being overwhelmed, if I remain so tolerant and generous, I'm afraid that will only make them worse... My dear, what do you think?"

Qin Ji thought, what can I say?
From the moment I informed on you, didn't I already make the decision to stand on your side?

……

……

The three of them waited for Zhu Youtang to come back.

It didn't take too long.

After Zhu Youtang returned to the palace, he came to Kunning Palace excitedly. Especially when he heard that Zhang Yanling had entered the palace and Qin Ji seemed to have recovered from his illness, he was extremely happy and wished he could fly to these people who were closest to him immediately.

As soon as the messenger came in to deliver the message, the emperor had already entered the inner hall of Kunning Palace. Zhu Youtang walked so briskly that he almost bumped into Qin Ji, who came over to help him take off his cloak.

"My dear, are you well now? Why don't you stay at home and rest for a few days? There's nothing serious going on in the court, so you can relax."

Zhu Youtang couldn't hide his joy. He threw his clothes to Qin Ji and hurried forward to his wife, "Yu'er, I'm back. You don't know, the cannons outside the city were so lively today... Yanling, those two cannons you made were so powerful that they shocked the Tatar envoys on the opposite platform to the extreme. It made our Ming Dynasty proud."

Zhang Yanling thought, although I didn’t go to the scene, I know that the viewing position arranged for you is far away from the guest area where Batu Mongke is.

You said that the Tatars were deeply shocked. Is that something you made up in your imagination?

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

Zhang Yanling bowed respectfully.

"Don't be polite... Yu'er, it's a pity that you didn't go, otherwise you could also see that spectacular scene." Zhu Youtang wanted to share with Zhang Yu everything he had seen and heard today.

Zhang Yu said with a straight face: "Your Majesty, my father and brother have done so much for the court, but some people do not appreciate it and are deliberately making things difficult for our Zhang family."

As expected, given Zhang Yu's unwillingness to suffer any loss, he would naturally complain to the emperor after hearing this.

And I want to take advantage of the emperor's good mood to make a fierce complaint and let those bastards know that I, the queen, am not someone who can be easily messed with.

Zhu Youtang asked in surprise: "What happened?"

Zhang Yanling said quickly, "Brother-in-law, it's nothing. I heard some bad rumors about our Zhang family. You don't have to take it too seriously. The reason why I didn't follow the main force out of the city today was mainly because I had to treat my father's illness at that time and couldn't get away. Later, I felt that there was no point in leaving the city, so I went to the palace in advance to wait... Is there any trouble outside?"

"No, everything went smoothly. Yanling, you have your father's demeanor. You are able to plan and strategize when things happen. It's really not easy... You have achieved success at such a young age!"

Zhu Youtang first praised her, then looked at his wife with concern and said, "Yu'er, I know some people in the court are targeting the Zhang family, but they just said a few words and did not do anything presumptuous... This incident also taught them a lesson. They finally realized that your father and Yanling can help the Ming Dynasty every time they take action... You must not take it to heart."

"Humph!"

Zhang Yu showed a little girl's slightly angry and coquettish attitude, and glared at Qin Ji beside her, "Your Majesty, don't you want to ask Mrs. Qin what's going on?"

"This……"

Zhu Youtang turned his head, looked at Qin Ji, and asked, "My dear, what happened?"

"This slave deserves to die."

Qin Ji started crying again and fell to his knees with a plop.

At this time he also realized that since he had already told the Queen about the matter, it would be impossible to hide it from the Emperor.

If you have decided to inform on someone, then do it twice.

It would be more convincing if the words came out of my own mouth. After all, I was the one who had the most contact with Huai En and knew the inside story.

……

……

While crying, Qin Ji told Zhu Youtang exactly what he had said to Zhang Yu before.

Zhu Youtang looked very unhappy.

However, he did not get angry immediately. After all, in his opinion, Huai En was an old minister who was worthy of respect and had made outstanding contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang believed that safeguarding the interests of old ministers was extremely important.

As long as these old ministers who had contributed to the enthronement of the emperor had not done anything that would anger God and the people, he would forgive them even if they had offended or targeted him in the past, such as the Wan family, Liang Fang and the former Prime Minister Wan An.

As for targeting the Zhang family...

Maybe it was just a moment of righteous indignation, but it cannot be said to be a big sin.

Because even Qin Ji himself said when he was reporting the incident that the eunuch Huai had made a series of small moves under the banner of long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty court. It sounded like he was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, but he just used his strength in the wrong direction.

"Why would you do this, my dear?"

Zhu Youtang pondered for a while, shook his head and sighed, "My dear, this matter has nothing to do with you, you don't have to blame yourself. Even if there is a fault, it is Huai Daban's fault."

Zhang Yanling stood by without saying a word, and even turned his head away several times.

Your servant is complaining to his master, and I, an outsider, am listening. Don't you feel awkward?
Besides, as the person involved and the one being targeted, it was definitely the right decision for me not to leave the city today. Otherwise, I don’t know how I would have been maliciously slandered.

The military parade of the Ming Dynasty had to be coordinated by a teenager. It was really laughable. The dignity of the Ming Dynasty court was gone...

Qin Ji wiped her tears and said, "It is my fault that I failed to inform Your Majesty of this matter in time."

Zhang Yu said, "Your Majesty, should we call Huai En over and ask him about this in person?"

"This……"

Zhu Youtang seemed very embarrassed. He looked at Zhang Yanling for help and asked, "Yanling, what do you think?"

Zhang Yanling understood immediately and said quickly, "I don't think it's a big deal... Eunuch Huai is seriously ill now. He must have learned from the experience of the chaos caused by relatives of the emperor in previous dynasties. In addition, my father's official position has been promoted too quickly in the past two years, which made Eunuch Huai feel uneasy and did these things. Moreover, he was just taking precautions and did not actually hurt my father. In fact, it's not bad."

Zhang Yu angrily said, "You are still speaking for others in front of your brother-in-law? Where do you want to go? I am helping you and your father, but am I wrong to do so?"

Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly when he heard this.

I thought to myself, my dear sister, I know you are very good at controlling your husband, but don’t you know that your husband’s personality is actually the same as that of the good old man Qin Jinai who was crying next to you?
Qin Ji was afraid of trouble, so he didn't dare to report it.

But your husband is an autistic patient. He has been timid and fearful since childhood and never dares to compete with others. What's more, the object of his love is Huai En, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, whom he has admired since childhood?
You may not know that when your husband was the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, Huai En helped him many times, and he was even exiled to Zhongdu by the late emperor because of this and almost lost his life. Do you want your husband to repay you with evil?
Your husband has none of the imperial mentality or the emperor's majesty.

(End of this chapter)