Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 66 Aye carries a heavy burden
The reason why Zhang Dai acted like this was not to scare Liu Gui, but because he was truly fearless.

If Liu Gui had threatened him like this before Tonggui submitted the petition, he would have been really at a loss and worried that the situation would be out of control.

But now this kind of trivial matter is not a big deal at all, especially when it is certain that the officials of Henan Prefecture have slandered Zhou Liang. Even if Cui Yinfu knew about this matter, it would be meaningless to dig deeper. It will only reveal more personnel problems in Henan Prefecture.

As for Zhang Dai, he had submitted Zhou Liang's legacy to the emperor and had received the emperor's praise. He had also forgotten about the letter and bronze box that falsely accused his grandfather. Why would he still pursue this little matter?

Moreover, he did not reveal Concubine Wu Huifei despite the pressure from the Saint. It was not a big deal to use his influence outside the palace. On the contrary, whoever makes this matter public has ulterior motives!

Cui Yinfu's handling of Zhang Shuo was already a bit of a hindrance, and now he wanted to target Wu Huifei. Even if he dared to do so, Yuan Qianyao, Yuwen Rong and others would have to back off. This was simply making enemies everywhere without any purpose, and it was also a foolish act to disrupt the sage's inner palace!

So Liu Gui has no idea about the situation of the struggle and is talking nonsense here.

Although there have been incidents in history where small figures have caused great turmoil, those were all triggered by an opportunity when the political situation was already highly tense and sensitive, and conflicts and contradictions among all parties were brewing. Now that the high-pressure valves have been released, it is naturally difficult to make a fuss about it.

Zhang Dai hadn't originally intended to take any severe revenge on Liu Gui, but this guy treated him like a fool and fooled him, which was a bit of a shame.

Hearing the guy's pitiful cries, he glared and shouted, "Shut up! If you dare to cry like that again, I'll kick you out! We have no grudges against each other. It was just a small financial transaction. According to this contract, I'll pay the money and goods, and we'll have nothing to do with each other from now on! Beyond that, there's no need to say anything more."

"But, but, what I have received is..."

Liu Gui was about to argue, but Zhang Dai's eyes turned cold again. He quickly lowered his head and said sadly, "I know that I was greedy and asked for goods recently, so I should be severely punished. Otherwise, Master Zhang will be very upset.

It’s just that I don’t receive much in my job, and my family is poor. Even if I give everything I have, it’s hard to make up for it! If I had any, I would do my best to compensate you, but I really don’t have any now, and it’s really difficult for you to force me to do so..."

Zhang Dai saw his distressed expression and believed what he said to be true. Take his colleague Xu Shen, a military officer of Cao, for example. He spent a hundred strings of cash on a tombstone, which was already most of his official purse.

The difference between Zhang Dai's package of light goods and the amount on the list was as much as two or three hundred strings of cash. If he were to make up the difference, it would indeed bankrupt this guy. Otherwise, he would not have fallen into the trap so easily.

But what does this have to do with Zhang Dai? A life for a life. You say you only have one life, no extras, and you really can't afford it. So, should I let you go? Did you consider the consequences before you reached out?
However, through the incident with Liu Gui, Zhang Dai thought of the light goods he had deposited at the Zhou family that were confiscated by the Henan Prefecture. After all the trouble, it was hard to say how much was left. Even if the case was settled later, it was not certain how much of these light goods could be returned.

Liu Gui himself dared to take out light goods worth hundreds of strings of cash without permission. Are the hands of others so clean?

Although he had recently received a gift from his grandmother and had some financial resources, who would complain about having too much money?

What's more, the money originally belonged to him. He earned it through his hard work in writing and selling his articles. He didn't know how his grandfather would deal with him when he found out about this in the future. How could he tolerate this money being embezzled by others!

After a brief pause, he sat back down, looked at the tearful Liu Gui, and said in a deep voice, "Do you remember the list of goods confiscated from Mr. Zhou's house?"

"I am in the government office, serving as the Warehouse Officer. All stolen goods involved are stored in the Law Office. I don't know the details. Doctor Cui is only asking about the slander against Mr. Zhou in the government office. Regarding his private affairs, we have not yet filed a complaint. After questioning him, I will come and report to you immediately!"

Liu Gui quickly bowed his head and said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai's eyes lit up before the matter was even reviewed. He then said, "You don't need to find out for me. I've deposited all the light goods with the Zhou family. I have the list here and can hand it over to you.

When Doctor Cui interrogates you tomorrow about this matter, you will present this and simply say that you found it during your investigation. Don't say you can't do it. You were the only one on duty when we entered the palace that day, and you dared to take hundreds of strings of goods. Wasn't it your job to count the stolen goods?

"This, this... This matter has been handled by several people, and I don't know how much of the stolen goods will eventually be put into the treasury. If I really do this, I am afraid I will offend my colleagues who handled it..."

After hearing this, Liu Gui immediately said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Zhang Dai sneered again after hearing this: "So I'm just too kind to you, so you're not afraid of offending me?"

"I dare not, I dare not! I am willing to do this. It is my honor to have you use me. I will not refuse!"

Liu Gui quickly bowed his head again and spoke in a rapid voice.

Zhang Dai didn't say any more nonsense. He asked someone to bring pen, ink and paper, and wrote a list of goods with a wave of his hand.

He hadn't been extorting money, and the price was generally reasonable, only about four or five hundred strings of cash higher than the actual value of the goods. He'd left his money sitting in the Henan Prefecture warehouse for so long, causing him so much anxiety. He should at least give him some interest and compensation for the damage.

"If the stolen goods in the warehouse are less than this amount, how should they be handled?"

After handing the list to Liu Gui, Zhang Dai casually asked another question. Liu Gui quickly replied respectfully, "Then the officials who handled the matter will need to compensate. If the number is insufficient, there will be severe punishment."

Zhang Dai was happy again after hearing this. This meant that none of the Henan officials who handled his money and goods could escape. These people were also the ones who participated in the search and arrest of Zhou Liang's family. Maybe their crimes did not deserve the death penalty, but it was worth making them lose money.

Zhang Dai didn't even glance at the things Liu Gui placed on the table. He waved his hand and said, "Take these things with you. Since my property has entered Henan Prefecture, I will ask for it from Henan Prefecture and not from anywhere else. As for the receipt for Niu Neipu, you can take it with you as well. You can keep it as a souvenir or use it to report to the authorities. It's all up to you."

"I dare not, I dare not! This matter ends here. If anyone else in the world knows about this, I am willing to die as an apology!"

Liu Gui naturally didn't dare to threaten Zhang Dai with this anymore. He picked up the receipt and stuffed it directly into his mouth, chewed it hard and swallowed it in front of Zhang Dai. When his eyes fell on the package, his expression became hesitant again.

"Take it. You've bravely exposed your colleagues' wrongdoings, so you're bound to be ostracized. Having this money and other goods will give you more confidence!"

Zhang Dai deliberately excluded these light goods from his list and replaced them with other goods. Since all his losses would be paid for by Henan Prefecture anyway, there was no need to display these valuables in public, leaving Liu Gui no room to go back on his word.

"Thank you very much, sir. Thank you very much, sir! I will always remember your kindness. If I am still useful to you in the future, I will respectfully await your orders!"

Liu Gui was originally uneasy, but he didn't expect that after all the twists and turns, the money and goods would return to his hands.

Although this would offend some of his colleagues, he had no scruples when he thought about the unknown personnel direction of Henan Prefecture after this incident, and even whether he could stay and serve as an official. It was more cost-effective to put the money in his pocket.

After sending Liu Gui away, Zhang Dai walked back into the house. Just as he reached the Jicui Building, he saw his father Zhang Jun looking around anxiously. So he went in and called out, "Aye."

"Where have you been so early this morning? I drafted a new thank you letter and was looking for you to see it, but I couldn't find you!"

When Zhang Jun saw his son coming, he immediately waved his hands to signal him to go back to the room with him.

"My grandfather gave me the Huixunfang annex to live in, so I just went in to take a look and tidy up."

Zhang Dai followed behind Zhang Jun and answered casually.

"Is this really true? That villa is a beautiful residence. Your uncle had asked for it before but was never given it. Your grandfather actually gave it to you."

Zhang Jun was surprised at first, then envious. However, he quickly put on a serious face and said in a deep voice, "The villa's neighbor is King Qi's villa. Don't visit it when you have free time. King Qi has been feeling unwell recently, so don't ask about it!"

Seeing that the Zhang family members were all frightened and fearful when facing the issue of King Qi, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh in his heart about the great psychological pressure caused by the emperor's previous actions.

If even these officials were like this, one can imagine how the Prince of Qi and others, who bore the brunt of the pain, felt. No wonder Xuanzong was the one who lived the longest among his brothers. Under such heavy psychological pressure, even if he were living a life of luxury, he would inevitably become depressed and sick.

But we can't say that Tang Xuanzong's precautions were unreasonable. We must remember that in history, during the reign of Tang Suzong, the King of Qi had no descendants, and the son of a brother who was adopted ended up plotting a rebellion. It can only be said that the bloodline of the Li family is also poisonous, and it runs from the root.

When the father and son returned to their room, Zhang Jun took out the thank-you letter he had been drafting from the previous night and handed it to Zhang Dai. Zhang Dai took it and glanced at it. Wow, there were thousands of words of Zhang Jun bragging about his good upbringing, and very few words about Zhang Dai.

"Read it carefully. You may not know many of the allusions. I'll explain them in detail!"

Zhang Jun was very proud of his article. Seeing that Zhang Dai read it carelessly, he frowned unhappily and said, "It's very much like the online writers in later generations who complained that readers were of low quality and could not understand the true meaning of their literature."

Zhang Dai cursed this guy for being so sensitive, but he still forced himself to study it carefully. Then he looked up and said, "I know that my father's teachings are complicated and his writing is simple. However, the sage is busy with many things every day. I am afraid he will not be able to read such a long article in such detail and will not be able to appreciate the subtleties of my father's teachings. If you can reduce some of the complicated words and highlight the key points, it will be more appropriate."

"Then I'll change it again."

Zhang Jun probably had the same idea. He nodded at first, then said, "The art of writing is my family's business. It is broad and profound. You have only dabbled in it a little, so you still need to work hard!"

At this moment, Zhang Chang came running in. Seeing Zhang Dai in the room, he instinctively shrank his head, but still stood by the door and whispered, "Aye, my mother asked me to ask if you'll be home tonight?"

Zhang Dai watched Zhang Jun coldly from the sidelines, showing signs of agitation. He immediately slammed the table, stood up, pointed at Zhang Zheng, and shouted angrily, "How dare you! You want me to arrange my daily life? I'm just a lazy man in this house. Do you know that if I didn't provide for your food and clothing, I wouldn't have to worry so much and carry such a heavy burden!"

Zhang Jun had originally planned to take advantage of the situation and move back to the east wing, but upon hearing what Zhang Dai said, he immediately became furious. He glared at Zhang Cheng and angrily said, "No!"

(End of this chapter)