Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 75: Prince Qi's Marriage
The next morning, after getting up, Zhang Dai looked towards the west attic as usual, but found that all the guards from Prince Qi's mansion who were waiting there had already evacuated.

"Has the ritual of fasting and offering sacrifices concluded?"

He came to the west attic and saw that all the magical instruments and items inside had been taken away and the layout inside the building had been restored to its original state, so he asked curiously.

"Uh, no, there were still a few days left. But, but King Qi passed away last night."

Zhang Yi came here and whispered after hearing the question.

"Dead?"

Zhang Dai was also taken aback when he heard this. He then sighed that this talisman to prolong his life had indeed failed. He then said to Zhang Yi, "Send a servant home to inform Grandfather."

When King Qi was alive, the two families tried to have as little contact as possible to avoid suspicion, but now that he is gone, it would be a bit cold-hearted to continue to avoid suspicion and distance themselves from each other.

Zhang Dai went up to the west pavilion and looked towards the pavilion on Qiwang Mountain. He saw that some of the bright and gorgeous furnishings in the garden had been removed, and the number of servants had also been drastically reduced. They all walked quickly with their heads down and rarely spoke.

Coming to the attic and standing still, the dreamlike scene of the night of the star-warding ceremony reappeared in Zhang Dai's mind. The beautiful and sad face of the girl became more vivid and lingering.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the Princess of Yunyang County had sacrificed her life to become a nun in order to pray for her father. She must have been a very filial person. Now that her father had passed away in his prime, he wondered how heartbroken she must be.

He went downstairs to freshen up a bit, wanting to go home to see his grandfather Zhang Shuo and see when he was going to attend the funeral, and he also wanted to go with him.

After washing up here, An Xiaochen, who brought the money to redeem people last night, came to the alley again. With him came a woman in her early twenties with a straw hairpin and a cloth skirt, and a Hu man in his thirties. These should be the concubines and servants he had pawned before.

The three of them each carried a small bag, but the skinny horse that An Xiaochen had ridden the day before was gone. He had borrowed it from a neighbor the day before, and he was so poor that he had to sell his servants, and he had no money left to keep a horse.

"If it weren't for the generous gift of money from my lord, the three of us would still be separated and unable to reunite. From now on, we will serve my lord together. I hope you will tolerate me and not abandon me!"

An Xiaochen brought the two of them in to pay their respects. Zhang Dai also knew that they were poor, so he asked Yingniang and Ding Cang to arrange accommodation in the house for the three of them to settle down.

Taking into account the increasing number of people in the house and the inconvenience of travel, he ordered Ding Cang and his son and An Xiaochen to go to the market to buy a few good horses and some clothes.

This would cost at least a hundred guan (approximately 100 strings of cash) more, and Zhang Dai couldn't help but lament how quickly money came and went. He had only just moved in for a few days, and already his money was flowing out like water. However, since he was new to the world and had to start all over again, it would be difficult to save money in such a short period of time.

After breakfast, someone came to the mansion and told Zhang Dai that his father Zhang Jun asked him to go home. Zhang Dai was planning to go back anyway, and when he heard his father calling him, he was curious about what his father was planning, so he went out with Aying and went home.

After moving out, Aying went out with Alang. Along the way, she chattered excitedly about the various things that happened after she arrived at the villa. Even the heavy feelings of life and death in Zhang Dai's heart were dispelled, and his mood became cheerful again.

When Zhang Dai returned home, the mansion was no different than usual. As soon as he entered the hall, he saw that his grandfather Zhang Shuo had changed into traveling clothes, probably going to the Qi Wang residence to pay his respects.

He was just about to ask for permission to follow when his father Zhang Jun came in from outside and waved to him to go out and talk. So he followed Zhang Jun out of the hall and came to Jicui Tower.

Walking into the room and seeing that Zhang Jun's bed was no longer there, Zhang Dai smiled and asked, "Has Father returned to his bed?"

Zhang Jun's face showed a hint of discomfort after hearing this. He did not answer the question, but motioned Zhang Dai to sit down. Then he sighed and said, "A sudden family change happened recently, disturbing everyone in the family. Even the name given by the saint and the character chosen by your grandfather were hastily skipped over.

You will be attending the Imperial Academy someday, and it would be proper to invite all your relatives and friends to your home to hold a ceremony to mark your coming of age. What are your thoughts on this? Although your mother passed away young, her relatives are still alive. Although we haven't been in close contact in recent years, we still have a blood connection. Would you like to invite them to join us?"

After hearing this, Zhang Dai became even more suspicious, wondering if he had misheard. How could his father actually speak human language?
He naturally wouldn't let his guard down. He shook his head and said, "Originally, I'd just respectfully follow Father's instructions. But now that the family crisis has subsided, it's not appropriate to invite too many guests and create a scene at my doorstep. Besides, I'm still young, so there's no rush to come of age."

Although ancient rituals stipulated that a man should be crowned at the age of twenty and given a courtesy name by his parents, in practice, the timing of the crowning and the courtesy name was determined by individual preference. Some princes were crowned at the age of twelve, and some even crowned their youngest sons at an earlier age in order to inherit the family title when their parents died young.

Therefore, when understanding the lives of the ancients, we must avoid dogmatism. Etiquette and rules are just a standard and do not have to be strictly followed.

In later generations, Zhang Dai also came into contact with some people who had only a superficial understanding of ancient etiquette and rules, and who blindly and rigidly believed in dogma. Their cognition was even more feudal and pedantic than that of the ancients, giving people a feeling of suffocation as if their cerebellum was wrapped.

"It's good that you have this awareness. You haven't relied on your elders' favor to become spoiled and difficult to manage. In the past, I was busy with official duties and neglected to discipline you, which caused a slight rift between us father and son.

This time, it was my wife who reminded me that I should give you some compensation. But since you don't feel it's a loss, I'll wait until the hype has died down before preparing your coming-of-age ceremony."

Zhang Jun nodded after hearing this, and then said, "If that's the case, then you should move back. You have your own place in the east wing, so why stay outside the house? Besides, your parents are still alive. Having other family backgrounds and property is not only unethical, but also unacceptable under the household laws. There's no point in being ridiculed!"

After hearing this, Zhang Dai also understood that the couple must have reconciled and reconsidered the matter. They felt that they could not let him develop outside, and had to bring him back home and control him with ethics.

Unlike some social concepts in later generations, ancient laws and regulations, including social ethics, were very protective of clan and human order.

What Zhang Jun meant by "separate household registration and separate property" was that even brothers from the same clan would be subject to legal restrictions and morally condemned if they set up their own households. Even the Zhang family still lived together in the same mansion, and Zhang Jun didn't dare to set up a separate residence. It was indeed unacceptable both ethically and legally for Zhang Dai to move out at such a young age.

"Others may not know this, but my father-in-law doesn't know it. My parents are all here, how can I dare to set up my own household? My grandfather gave me the villa so that I could enjoy the banquets there in my spare time. I spend most of my time at home. Besides, the villa only has a few servants, a little food and money, and no private property."

Zhang Dai glared and said, "I only have one property now, which is what my late mother left me. Is there anyone in the house saying that I'm hiding some of my wealth? Father, you can lure them here. I'm not afraid to confront them!"

The "wealth" in "biecai" refers to fixed assets such as houses, fields, residences and shops. Floating assets such as gold, silver, money and silk do not fall into the category of "biecai".

If he had purchased any property outside the family without telling his parents, this would have been unfilial and against the family law. However, his late mother's estate did not belong to the Zhang family and could be used by him, so it did not count as separate property.

Zhang Jun knew that this guy was the type who would resort to violence if he got angry, and since he had his father's support, he didn't dare to push him too hard.

Seeing that he was unwilling to go home, Zhang Jun quickly waved his hand and said, "You are gradually understanding the ways of the world and have your own opinions on things. But you must also remember to abide by the rules of human relations and don't be slow to greet others when you are at home."

"I will go to visit the lady now."

Zhang Dai stood up and started to walk out, but Zhang Jun was startled. He quickly stood up and grabbed him, saying quickly, "It's neither early nor late now. There's no need to go in and disturb others."

Zhang Dai snorted again after hearing this. He felt that the couple was really unruly and he had to teach them a lesson from time to time.

When the father and son finished their conversation and came out, Zhang Shuo had already left. Zhang Dai was also in a bad mood, so he called Aying and left the mansion.

When Zhang Jun saw the boy walking away, his expression changed, and finally he lowered his head and returned to the east wing.

His wife, Madam Zheng, who had reconciled with him, was waiting in the courtyard. Seeing him walk back dejectedly, she hurried over to him and whispered, "Liu Lang still refuses to go home?"

"He hasn't moved away, he's just been meeting friends and socializing outside. He's also been disciplining his servants not to gossip. Anyone who dares to gossip will be severely punished!"

Although he was a little upset by his son, Zhang Jun now recognized his son's value and did not allow his servants to speak nonsense and tarnish his reputation.

Zheng, unusually, didn't argue. She simply sighed, "After the recent family change, Liu Lang dared to enter the Forbidden Palace, demonstrating his strong character. Now, he's even more favored by Grandfather. He's clever and fierce, and refuses to be taught. This does put my husband and I in a difficult position. But we can't blame him. He's been without instruction for years, and forcing him to change is bound to make him unhappy."

"No matter how smart he is, he is still my son!"

After hearing this, Zhang Jun felt unhappy and immediately glared and snorted coldly.

"My husband has the confidence to discipline his son. After I was taught a lesson, I will only keep my distance from him from now on. I don't blame myself for being bullied in this house. I just hope that the son I gave birth to can become a useful person."

At this point, Zheng sighed again, and then continued, "Since the opportunity to study at the National Academy has been given to Liu Lang, I dare not complain anymore. He is smart and agile, and he deserves to be respected by others.

"Now the Qi Wang family is holding a funeral and recruiting mourners. I hope my husband will find a place for my son. This child has been bullied at home and has no talent to compete with others. I only hope that he can first serve for a few years, slowly but surely, and rise to the highest rank."

Zheng had been extremely angry for the past few days, deeply hating herself for not having dealt with the boy sooner due to her soft-heartedness. Now she was suffering the consequences. Now that Prince Qi had passed away, she saw a new opportunity: to get her son to be Prince Qi's mourning groom.

While attending the Hongwen Academy offered a better education and the opportunity to network, one still had to pass an examination before being accepted into officialdom. Zhang Shuo's youngest son, Zhang Yi, was still a student at the Hongwen Academy in Chang'an and had not yet graduated to become an official.

As for her own son Zhang Meng, Zheng felt complicated when she thought about it.

She was very dedicated in disciplining her son. She was somewhat satisfied with her education results before, but now, in the clear contrast, it feels like rubble and pearls. Even if he enters the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it will be difficult for him to make progress without several years.

Zhang Dai's sudden rise put Zheng under great pressure, and she was eager for her son to rise to prominence as soon as possible. Serving as a mourner for a powerful figure was a quick way to get a high position, as he could become an official without having to wait for the selection process.

As long as her son became an official first, the Zhang family's connections and political resources would naturally flow to her son first. Her father-in-law, Zhang Shuo, would also inevitably devote more energy to supporting this legitimate grandson.

Now that her son had made it big, Zheng could naturally use her son's status to re-establish her dignity as the eldest wife in the house and discipline and punish the illegitimate son who still had no background.

Now that King Qi has passed away, there must be many families in the capital who are eyeing this opportunity. Although their Zhang family has just experienced a political blow, they still have an advantage that other families do not have.

The selection of a mourner was usually the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Jun happened to be a doctor there. Because of this, Zheng suppressed her anger and, despite the humiliation, finally managed to coax her husband back.

"Don't worry, my lady. Ah Qi is my legitimate heir, and I certainly won't let him go to waste. Tomorrow I'll go back to the office and ask who will take charge of this matter. He Jizhen and the others work with me in the office, and they've also been supported by my father. I'm sure they won't refuse me for such a small matter."

Zhang Junfang had reconciled with his wife, and under her sweet pleading, he immediately patted his chest and promised, and was also planning to go to the office tomorrow to submit the thank-you letter he had carefully revised for several days to the provincial government.

(End of this chapter)