Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 452: A Home-loving Man (asking for monthly tickets)
Zhang Luan returned home with the gifts given by his daughter, accompanied by a group of palace guards.

As soon as the two boxes were put down, Zhang Heling was seen jumping out from the moon gate.

"Dad, what's the good stuff?"

Zhang Heling walked around the two boxes, turned his head and asked, "Did I search for the loot from Li Hua's house?"

Zhang Luan said angrily, "You're just daydreaming... It's true that you led people to search the Li Mansion, but the things they seized all belong to the court. What does it have to do with you? Go and call your mother and aunt out."

"Oh."

Zhang Heling walked towards the inner courtyard reluctantly.

He kept mumbling, "I am a captain of the Imperial Guards, and I am actually running errands for you?"

Then Jin and Tang came out and were extremely happy to see the silks, satins, rouge and powder given by their daughter, the future queen.

Jin had mixed feelings. Although her family had suddenly become rich, her husband was obviously unreliable and spent his days in debauchery. For everything, she still had to rely on her daughter, who had become a successful womanizer.

Even Mrs. Tang felt that her young lady was very considerate, after all, she had even prepared a gift for her daughter.

The women in the family were happy, while the two men sat in each corner, sighing.

Not long after.

When Zhang Yanling came back, he was immediately pulled to the study by Zhang Luan.

"Your sister asked me to prepare some things and send them to the palace, saying that she wanted to remind people of someone when she saw the things... Who does she want to think of? Sun Bojian?" Zhang Luan seemed very annoyed and started to make dirty jokes.

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he immediately guessed that the old father might have been angry with his daughter, and he actually used this kind of thing to make fun of himself?

Zhang Yanling cautiously glanced at the door, then went to the window to look at the ground and the surroundings, and came back to warn: "Dad, do you know what you are saying? Even if you are unhappy, don't get angry about your own and your family's future and destiny..."

Zhang Luan said with a bitter face: "I have been in a bad state these past two days. Not to mention you scolding me, even your sister scolded me, saying that I am not a decent person...

"Humph, why am I so unruly? Do you think I don't want to join the cabinet? It's you who has been saying that as long as I have the emperor's favor and have real power, it doesn't matter if I don't join the cabinet."

"Dad, do my sister and I care whether you join the cabinet or not? You are unhappy because Li Zisheng complained and refused to see you, right? If someone else were to be punished, they would be happy, but you are so depressed that you can't even eat or drink?"

At this point, Zhang Yanling turned his head away, as if to say, you have the identity and status you have today, and you shouldn’t cherish it enough, so why don’t you know what’s good for you?
It's simply that you are lustful when you are well fed and well clothed, and your depravity has no limit... You have lost all the ambition you had when you were down and out.

However, Zhang Yanling also knew that his cheap father was just such a person, and he had done nothing in history, leaving no achievements for future generations to comment on. It was useless to persuade such a person, so he expressed his views on state affairs instead, saying, "Dad, do you know what the people in the court are most concerned about these days?"

Zhang Luan said disdainfully: "Isn't it the late emperor's funeral? Almost everyone in the court is busy with this... Oh, and there is also the selection of new cabinet ministers... He is vying to become a Grand Secretary, but I, your father, can only watch helplessly."

"Not these!"

Zhang Yanling shook his head and said, "Dad, you really should pay attention to the affairs of the court. In the past few days, even I have heard in the market that a Jinshi named Li Wenxiang was sent to the imperial prison by His Majesty for interrogation because he impeached the eunuchs and impeached you and Li Zisheng and others, and proposed to reuse Wang Shu, Wang Xuan and other officials. Let's see who ordered him to do so."

Zhang Luan frowned at first, then said disdainfully: "What's so strange about this? Your brother-in-law had already had someone announce at the court meeting that no more impeachments or other matters should be added. If Li Wenxiang insists on stepping forward at this time, isn't that asking for trouble?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and shook his head, saying, "Dad, it seems that you don't know the specific situation... He submitted a memorial to impeach before His Majesty officially issued the decree, but the arrest happened after His Majesty issued the decree... Now someone wants to use Li Wenxiang as an example to intimidate those officials who still want to speak out... Now you should understand, right?"

"What do I understand?"

Zhang Luan's eyes widened. "Is this man... related to me? No, there is a little connection. He is impeaching me! Are you asking me to help him overturn the verdict?"

"I am now in a difficult position, I have offended even Li Zisheng, and I don't seem to have any real power... They say I have all the power, I am just an idler... As for the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I don't even know what he does, it's really... Alas!"

"Dad, now is the time for you to come out and win over the people."

Zhang Yanling looked at Zhang Luan with encouragement, "Of course, I'm not asking you to help Li Wenxiang out of trouble, but it's time to show off your side as a powerful official."

Zhang Luan looked at his son in confusion for a few times, then slowly sat down, looking exhausted: "Let me be clear, your brain is not good enough... It's because I'm not serious that I can't understand what you are saying at all."

"hehe."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Dad, you are not in this state... You feel that you can't do anything without Li Zisheng's help, right? Next, you have to complete one thing independently without relying on Li Zisheng's power."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Luan seemed to have understood something and instantly perked up.

"It's very simple!"

Zhang Yanling said, "Li Zisheng is now a fallen man. What he can do can actually be done by many people in the court. You don't think that Li Zisheng can control the relatives of the criminals only because he has people in the Jinyiwei and even the people in the Ministry of Justice obey his orders, right?"

Zhang Luan was suddenly awakened, just like a wake-up call. He stood up suddenly, his eyes shining, and said, "Yes, why should I listen to his arrangements for everything? Wouldn't it be better if I could do it myself? But my father... my family is not as wealthy as his, and I don't have as many connections in the court. I don't know who to turn to."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Isn't this just for you to build up your network? Once you inquire about the Li Wenxiang case, you will soon come into contact with the Jinyiwei people. If His Majesty transfers the case to the Three Judicial Departments, you will be able to come into contact with people from the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple. If you go around the entire judicial system, won't you know everyone? The next time you have trouble, do you still need to ask for help?"

"Hiss, that makes sense, that makes sense!"

Zhang Luan pulled himself together and said, "Then I will go meet this Li Wenxiang... Where does this person come from?"

Zhang Yanling introduced: "He is a Jinshi of this subject, and is currently observing the government in the six ministries. He is a straightforward person, and he likes to take risks... To put it bluntly, he looks upright, but he is actually a fool. He wants to show his loyalty through this kind of direct criticism, and then quickly rise to power."

"Such people……"

Zhang Luan shook his head, obviously looking down on him.

Zhang Yanling sighed, "There are many people like this in the court... In the eyes of others, there is no essential difference between you and him."

"Haha."

Zhang Luan suddenly raised his head and laughed, twisting his beard and said, "My father is very different from him, because my father succeeded, but he became a prisoner. Do you think everyone can be like my father, rise to the top overnight, and call the shots in the court within half a year? Who do they think they are?"

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, you are really an unstable monster. Just now you looked like you wanted to quit, but in the blink of an eye you turned into a fighting cock. You are really unique.

……

……

Zhang Luan turned around and happily took the things from his daughter's boudoir and personally delivered them to the palace.

If someone else did this, not to mention the powerful eunuchs in the palace, even an ordinary guard would drive him away.

But now Zhang Luan’s identity and status are very different.

He is not only the future father-in-law of the emperor, but also the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, and also the President of the Hanlin Academy...

In addition, Zhang Luan was sending things to the palace under the Queen's order, so they had to take it seriously. Someone immediately went to notify the people in the Eastern Palace.

Qin Ji and Jiang Cong felt that the situation was of great importance, so they personally brought people to the palace gate to greet them.

"Minister Zhang, why did you come here in person? You could have just let someone know, why did you have to do this?"

Tan Ji was speechless.

Zhang Luan, you really don't consider yourself an outsider. You actually came to the palace to deliver things?
Zhang Luan said, "As a father, I am concerned about my daughter. Since this is something that our noble master has ordered, how can I not pay attention to it? Oh, by the way, can I come in?"

"You... please."

Qin Ji thought, what else can I do?
It is extremely difficult for others to enter this palace, but you... are not "others" at all. As long as you enter the palace under the pretext of visiting your daughter, no one can do anything to you.

……

……

Zhang Luan excitedly followed Tan Ji and others to the Duanjing Hall.

Zhang Yu had just finished her nap and did some simple tidying up when she saw her old father coming towards her with a smile on his face. She immediately felt that something was wrong, so she asked someone to put aside the things her father brought and invited him to sit down in the small living room.

"Father, what's the matter with you? When you left in the morning, you looked unhappy. Why did you come back so suddenly?" Zhang Yu asked.

Zhang Luan now regained his shameless nature.

Because he began to strive for his goal of taking sole control of the government.

This was also the positive feedback brought about by Li Zisheng's quarrel with him.

I was really depressed before, thinking that I was abandoned by my "only friend" and would never be able to play those fancy things again. Now that I think I have the ability to dump Li Zisheng and have fun on my own, shouldn't I hurry up?
How could I, Zhang, be controlled by others?

Zhang Luan said, "Your father must first apologize... I was in a bad mood when I left... So I brought back the things you gave me. Your mother, your aunt, and your sister were so happy that they all asked me to bring you something. Your mother even made some snacks for you, saying that you liked them."

Even though Zhang Yu knew that his father had bad intentions, tears welled up in his eyes when he heard this.

Then Zhang Luan took out the snacks himself and placed them in front of Zhang Yu, whose eyes were slightly red.

Zhang Yu wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "Father, please don't say anymore... I miss my mother more and more now."

"After you get married, you should think more about how to support your husband and raise your children. For now, you should think about how to give birth to a little prince as soon as possible... You don't need to worry too much about the family affairs."

Zhang Luan gave her a warning, but worried that his daughter would be upset, he urged her, "Hurry up, eat it while it's hot. I was in a hurry on the way, so I was afraid it would get cold. If you can't finish it right away, ask someone to heat it up for you later, so don't overeat."

Zhang Yu picked it up and started eating.

After taking a bite, he smiled and nodded, "It still tastes the same as before, so delicious!"

Zhang Luan said: "I can tell from the condition here that it's not very good, but it's true, you always eat a lot of meat and fish, and you get fat quickly. As the saying goes, women don't look good when they are fat!

"I'm telling you, no matter how good the food is, you can't eat too much, otherwise your figure will soon be out of shape! I told your mother not to bring too much, for fear that you would eat it all when you were greedy and your body couldn't handle it. But she was not happy about it, saying that it was not easy to send you something, so I must make more.

"Oh, I can't get rid of her!"

"Mom still loves me so much."

Zhang Yu pursed his lips and smiled, as if he and his old father had reconciled.

"When will Your Majesty come back? By the way, Your Majesty... will you come back here?" Zhang Luan asked.

Zhang Yu said, "He just came back from lunch and left not long ago. Father, do you have something to do with him? I knew you didn't come here just for me."

"Look what you said."

Zhang Luan looked around and lowered his voice, "If not for you, who else would I do this for? The others are just incidental... Alas, it was your second brother. He said that I am not doing well in the court now, so he asked me to do more things to accumulate reputation and pointed out a clear path for me... Isn't it that I want to ask for your Majesty's opinion while sending you something?"

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes at him and said, "He will definitely be back before dinner, probably in another hour."

"Ah, Your Majesty...are you so...homesick?"

Zhang Luan was also surprised.

He knew that his son-in-law loved his daughter, but he didn't expect him to love her so much.

Can't we separate for a moment?
I just left after the lunch break. Look at the sky. It is now Wei time. After Shen time, it will be You time. That means I have to come back before it gets dark in the afternoon!

The life you two live... is incomprehensible.

Zhang Yu said, "It's okay for a husband to go home and reunite with his wife after finishing his work. Dad, if you have something to say, just tell me. I can help you pass it on."

(Continue to ask for monthly ticket support! Thank you!)
(End of this chapter)