Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 94 Fish and Lotus Music at Peach Blossom Inn

The inventory and transfer of the Prince of Qi's family fortune took several days to complete in Chang'an. Since 500,000 strings of cash were invested by the County Magistrate of Yunyang into Zhang Dai, no further payment was required.

Zhang Dai naturally couldn't arrange for carriages and horses to transport the 500,000 strings of cash back to Chang'an. As the founder of the flying money system, he naturally wanted to enjoy this kind of treatment first. He told Wang Yuanbao that he would withdraw the 500,000 strings of cash directly after returning to Luoyang.

Wang Yuanbao naturally had no objection to this. He had finally saved 500,000 strings of cash, which could supplement the nearly exhausted cash flow of various businesses in Chang'an.

However, Wang Yuanbao still thought that the 500,000 strings of cash was a gift from the Qiwang family to Zhang Dai as a token of gratitude. Of course, this understanding was not wrong, since the Princess of Yunyang County did not ask Zhang Dai when it would be returned or how much interest it would generate.

Although Wang Yuanbao was a wealthy merchant in Chang'an with substantial assets, the fact that he could raise so much cash in just over ten days showed that he had a very large fortune. However, he knew how much hard work and compromise he had put in to acquire this wealth.

Now, seeing Zhang Dai again, this noble young master, merely put forward an idea and went to great lengths to contact those in need, he has already made such a fortune in such a short time, which is truly enviable.

However, Wang Yuanbao didn't think too much about it. He wasn't some arrogant, ignorant youth who believed he deserved every good thing in the world; rather, he clearly understood that everyone has their own path. What others could easily accomplish, he could never achieve in his entire life.

With the transfer of the Qi Prince's wealth complete, the flying money business could officially begin in Chang'an. Compared to Luoyang, where things were going poorly, Chang'an was Wang Yuanbao's stronghold, so things naturally went much more smoothly.

He had already opened a counter in both the East and West markets to solicit business, and according to Zhang Dai's suggestion, he set the flying money service at two levels: 10,000 strings of cash and 100,000 strings of cash. If it was any less, there would be no need to use the flying money service. Just like Zhang Dai had done before, he would pack up and take away light goods of a few thousand strings of cash.

The 10,000-guan coins were made of silver, while the 100,000-guan coins were made of gold. Naturally, the coins would also be decorated with various anti-counterfeiting features. Wang Yuanbao was in charge of the money exchange, so he didn't need Zhang Dai's guidance in this regard.

As for the handling fees charged by Feiqian, and what price Shiliu would accept, it was naturally something that experienced merchants like Wang Yuanbao would have a better understanding of, so Zhang Dai didn't offer any unsolicited opinions.

It was only when he heard that Wang Yuanbao planned to set the fee rate between 25% and 30% that he truly felt how ruthless the ancient financial industry was.

Originally, Zhang Dai was entrusted by his aunt, Consort Wu Hui, to bring some things to her son, Li Qing, and others who were staying in the palace in Chang'an. In fact, it was just to get to know each other. However, the emperor was not in the capital, and the palace was far more strictly controlled than that in Luoyang.

Even though Zhang Dai had Consort Hui's letter and the tokens she provided, he was still not allowed to enter the palace. Naturally, he did not meet his cousin, who would become a source of great suffering for posterity. He only passed in the things Consort Hui had sent.

The reason why the imperial palace in Chang'an was so vigilant was not without reason. In the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era, when Emperor Xuanzong stayed in Luoyang, a rebellion broke out in Chang'an. The rebels colluded with the imperial guards left behind and directly attacked the palace, causing chaos.

With this, Zhang Dai's trip to Chang'an was essentially complete. He declined his uncle Zhang Yang's earnest invitation to stay and prepared to pack up and return to Luoyang.

Perhaps because he was in Luoyang from the very beginning of his transmigration, Zhang Dai still felt more at home in Luoyang, regarding it as his homeland in this world. In addition, there weren't many familiar people or things in Chang'an that he felt attached to.

They left the capital at the end of April, and after a journey of more than twenty days, including a stay in the capital for several days after the funeral of Prince Qi, it was now the beginning of June. It would be better to return as soon as possible.

In addition to Aying and others who came from Luoyang, Zhang Yang also selected seven or eight male and female servants from his home in Chang'an. The group of more than a dozen people set off from Chang'an by carriage and horse, heading towards Luoyang.

However, when the group was halfway through their journey, a sudden downpour forced them to stay overnight at Taolin Post Station near Tongguan.

In the fourteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, the beginning of spring brought drought and little rain. This situation continued from spring into summer, causing drought to break out in large areas of Henan and Hebei, and greatly affecting agricultural activities.

Therefore, the imperial court dispatched Yuwen Rong, the Imperial Censor, Zhang Jiuling, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and other ministers to offer sacrifices to the Five Sacred Mountains and the Four Great Rivers. As soon as the envoys set out, torrential rains fell from the sky, and the people in all directions who had suffered greatly from the drought were overjoyed.

However, perhaps the Tang Dynasty, which had just completed the Fengshan ceremony, had an overly strong connection with the heavens and the people. Once the torrential rain began, it showed no sign of stopping. Soon, rivers and streams in all directions swelled and overflowed, and the severe drought in Henan and Hebei quickly turned into a serious flood disaster.

Days of torrential rain had turned the roads muddy and impassable, leaving Zhang Dai and his party stranded on the Xiaohan Road, their way back to Luoyang from Chang'an. The Taolin Post Station, where they were staying, quickly became crowded with travelers from east and west, including many like Zhang Dai who were also serving as porters and trying to return to Luoyang.

Because he served as a pallbearer, Zhang Dai also received a post station pass from the Chang'an authorities for his return journey, which allowed him to stay overnight at an official post station. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to find a place to stay in the overcrowded post station.

The heavy rain lasted from mid-June to mid-July, with occasional breaks, but it quickly resumed. The post station was small and noisy, and even the carriage that Zhang Dai and his companions had parked in the outer room was washed away by the floodwaters, which shows how heavy the rain was.

Sighing and lamenting were futile, so Zhang Dai simply calmed himself down. Occasionally, he would discuss current events with a few fellow travelers stranded on the road, but most of the time he stayed in his room, perusing the books his grandfather had chosen for him. He certainly didn't enjoy burying himself in books, but being stranded on the road, he had no other choice. Moreover, if he wanted to participate in the imperial examinations in the future, he would inevitably need to master these basic classical texts. His grandfather probably guessed that his basic knowledge was lacking, so many of the books he had chosen for him were fundamental classics.

Time flies when you're focused on your studies. By mid-July, the torrential rain that had lasted for days finally subsided, the sun reappeared in the sky, and the travelers who had been stranded for many days began their journeys again.

Several of the mourners also came to bid farewell to Zhang Dai and set off. Their eagerness to return likely stemmed from their desire to influence the system and secure a satisfactory official position. Although the position of a mourner was granted immediately after the service, there were still many avenues to navigate, and the specific post one could attain after leaving office varied considerably.

Zhang Dai had no intention of entering officialdom through the marriage procession, so he wasn't in a hurry. Moreover, their group had quite a few people and luggage, and their vehicles had been washed away and ruined, so it wasn't convenient for them to set off immediately.

However, their haste to set off was of no use, as news soon arrived from the front that the route from Shanzhou to Xin'an was blocked by flash floods and overflowing rivers due to continuous torrential rains. The group had only traveled a short distance from Taolin Post Station before being forced to stop again along the way.

The departure of these people finally made the crowded post station more spacious again, and Zhang Dai was able to move to a separate small building to live in temporarily. Ding Qing then took several servants and headed towards Chang'an to get some carriages to continue the journey once the road was open.

The courtyard was quite refreshing after the rain. The courier was cleaning the lotus pond, which had been flooded by the downpour. The withered leaves and flowers were being removed, and the pond was no longer a mess. After two consecutive days of sunshine, new lotus buds were emerging from the water.

Zhang Dai, dressed in a loose robe, leaned against the window of the attic, reciting and copying scriptures while looking down at the beautiful scenery of the lotus pond in midsummer.

Ah Ying slowly walked in from outside carrying a bowl of cheese. She carefully placed the cup on the table and saw that the ink in the inkstone was half dry. She picked up the ink block with her delicate hand and prepared to grind it again.

After a long rain, the sky was a clear, bright blue, exceptionally magnificent. Brilliant sunlight streamed into the lotus pond, and a rainbow arched across the water.

Below the rainbow, a green branch stands tall on the water's surface, its stem thick and straight, topped with an unopened lotus bud. Standing out prominently on the sunlit lotus pond, it seems to pierce the magnificent rainbow.

A slender, shimmering silver fish suddenly poked its head out from under the blue waves, but then abruptly darted back into the water, perhaps because the sunlight was too dazzling.

But perhaps drawn to the upright green branches and new lotus leaves, the silver fish did not swim away. Instead, it floated and played around the lotus stems beneath the surface, its fins and tails gently caressing the water, its silver scales brushing against it, and its wet, slippery snout lightly nibbling at the lotus stems. Even the flower buds on the surface trembled slightly, creating ripples that, when illuminated by the sunlight, became concentric circles of silver threads that spread and intertwined on the water, forming a shimmering silver veil.

The scene was breathtaking. Even Zhang Dai, who was looking out the window upstairs, couldn't help but imagine the fish and lotus blossoms in the pond. He even wanted to reach out the window to scoop up water and splash it on the startled fish.

The fish in the water seemed to sense the malice of the onlookers upstairs, and suddenly they swam away, leaving the lotus buds under the sunlight trembling with disappointment.

"Stop fooling around..."

Before Zhang Dai had finished speaking, a fish suddenly leaped out of the water, shimmering with a silvery halo under the sunlight, like warm white jade from Lantian under the sun, its passion burning fiercely. The fish fiercely pecked at the flower bud, splashing water everywhere.

Even the lotus, still standing tall, was infected by the enthusiasm of the silver fish, and began to ripple and float on the water. The rainbow on the water's surface had already been torn and pierced. As the clear water in the pond continuously poured onto the flower buds, the lotus petals bloomed one by one. The sun was shining brightly, and the flowers were in full bloom!

The beautiful scenery of the river and pond outside the window remained vibrant and colorful, but inside the small building, a thud was heard as the inkstone on the desk was swept off.

While the rest stops along the way may not be as comfortable as home, they offer a unique charm for those who are adept at discovering new pleasures in life.

The road to the east was still blocked, but the good news was that the rain had finally stopped. Zhang Dai stayed at Taolin Post Station to study in peace, and occasionally took Ah Ying to play with the fish in the lotus pond to relax. He spent a rare period of leisure and comfort since he came into this world.

However, this period of peace did not last long. Although the roads to Xin'an were still not fully open, the transmission of information had resumed. In particular, Taolin Post Station was an important post station on the Xiaohan Road, and some official messages were also transmitted to Chang'an from there.

Two pieces of news related to Zhang Dai arrived from Luoyang in quick succession, interrupting his peaceful state. First, his father, Zhang Jun, was appointed as a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat in late July, having previously served as a vice minister in the Ministry of Rites. Upon hearing this news, Zhang Dai even doubted whether he had misheard. What was going on?

However, before he could fully process this news, another piece of news that shocked him even more came: he was actually selected by the Ministry of Personnel to serve as the Wudang County Commandant as Huiwen Wanlang!

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Dai was completely stunned. Although the Xiaohan Road was not yet fully open, he immediately set off, determined to return to Luoyang as quickly as possible and see which bastard wanted to kill him!

(End of this chapter)