Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 97 Grandfather and Grandson Beat Up Zhang Sheren

The inner hall was surrounded by screens, and Zhang Yue lay on a couch, his face pale and sickly, looking several years older than when Zhang Dai had seen him before he left the capital.

"It's nothing serious, just the summer's torrential rains and the autumn chill. My family is just making a mountain out of a molehill."

Zhang Shuo gestured for Zhang Dai to sit down beside his couch, then pointed at him and said with a smile, "Young man, you have done a good job! When you return to Luonan, have you seen the situation of the villagers? It was not the plan left by Zhou Liang that you mentioned the other day. The recent torrential rains may have turned Luonan into a swamp! Although my grandson is in hiding, the merit you have created for the villagers truly deserves a reward!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai understood why the area around Luoyang appeared to have suffered relatively little damage. It turned out that Zhou Liang's recent report had been taken seriously by the new officials of Henan Prefecture, who implemented it thoroughly, thus averting a major disaster before the torrential rains arrived.

Upon learning of this, his initially bad mood improved slightly. It is human nature to like good and dislike bad. Even if one does a good deed without any reward, seeing others saved from disaster or hardship because of oneself still provides some emotional value.

Zhang Ji, who accompanied them, seemed to disagree. He snorted coldly upon hearing his father's praise, as if he had quite a few objections to it.

Zhang Dai inquired about Zhang Shuo's condition in more detail and, after confirming that it was not a serious illness, he felt relieved. At present, he did need his grandfather to take care of him for a while, especially in handling family matters.

He then mentioned Gao Lishi's greetings, and of course, he couldn't help but place his already invalid official document in front of Zhang Yue.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Shuo's face immediately flushed with shame and anger, but before he could speak, Zhang Ji beside him angrily said, "You and your son have squandered the family fortune, causing everything to fall apart, and now you've been harmed instead. Whom do you have to blame!"

"Shut up and get out!"

Hearing Zhang Ji's commotion, Zhang Shuo could no longer contain his emotions. He slammed his hand on the table and roared, driving Zhang Ji out of the hall. Then, he couldn't help but point at Zhang Dai and curse in a low voice: "If my family's bloodline is so vile, how come I am so experienced and my grandson so intelligent, yet we have someone as stupid and clumsy as you..."

Zhang was extremely indignant and it took a lot of effort for him to restrain himself from continuing to scold his son in front of his grandson.

Seeing his grandfather's difficulty in enduring, Zhang Dai inwardly sighed, "Why bother? I knew your son was a complete idiot long before you did. I just don't know what kind of crazy things he's been up to while I've been away from home."

After all, there are always traces to the actions of smart people, but how can a normal person imagine the folly of a fool? Judging from Zhang's angry appearance and the strange atmosphere in the house, he probably isn't the only one in the family who has been tricked by Zhang Jun.

After calming himself down for a while, Zhang told Zhang Dai the reason, but the first sentence made Zhang Dai lose his composure: "You have reported all the hidden fields and hidden servants in your family to the authorities..."

cough cough...

Zhang Dai coughed twice, covering his mouth, and finally understood why his second uncle had such a strong grudge against him and his father—it turned out their home had been ransacked by their own people. He had recently written to the copper box, using the pretext of reporting his own land and property to deceive others, but his father had gone even further, directly exposing himself.

"It must be because the Henan Prefecture, following Zhou Liang's dying plan, recently reclaimed land and dredged waterways in Luonan, which caused much resistance from powerful families. But Father took the initiative... so he was rewarded and promoted to Imperial Secretary? But with this advancement, isn't he worried about making enemies and being impeached by the public?"

After a moment's thought, he had a guess in his mind, and then looked at his grandfather and asked.

boom!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yue slammed his hand on the table again and angrily said, "This fellow is not even as clever as a child! The officials of the Secretariat and the Censor are in charge of speaking out; how can they be allowed to advance their cases by favoritism! I told him not to accept it, but he actually..."

It seems that the father and son had a very tense relationship because of this matter. Zhang Dai knew that since his father's family had gone through a period of turmoil, he had been living in fear of being hit again. He even had to snatch the letter of thanks that he had written to bestow the name on his father, wanting to show off his skills.

He had finally seized an opportunity to prove himself and successfully gained the emperor's favor, being promoted to the position of Imperial Secretary. But his father was stopping him from accepting the position, which was worse than death to him!

Seeing Zhang Shuo's hair and beard trembling and his words becoming somewhat incoherent with excitement, Zhang Dai understood that his grandfather's illness was most likely caused by his father's anger.

This guy is incredibly short-sighted. With his family background and Zhang Shuo's legacy, he doesn't even need to be outstanding. As long as he is mediocre and self-disciplined, becoming a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat in a few years would be a piece of cake. Using such methods is truly laughable!

Zhang Shuo still found it inconvenient to scold his son in front of his grandson, and Zhang Dai, of course, found it inconvenient to scold his father in front of his grandfather. Zhang Jun's actions were also difficult to describe with normal words and expressions, so the grandfather and grandson were speechless for a moment.

"Is Father feeling any better today? I saw Ah Liu's servant in front of the house; has he returned?"

At this moment, Zhang Jun's voice came from outside, presumably asking Zhang Ji, but there was no reply from Zhang Ji, clearly indicating that he also had a lot of grievances against his brother.

Although Zhang Dai was displeased, he still got up and walked to the front of the hall, whereupon he saw Zhang Jun, dressed in a scarlet robe, walk in from outside.

People are in high spirits when they have good news. After becoming a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, Zhang Jun walked with a swagger. When he saw Zhang Dai inside, he said to him, "Of all the children in the family, your grandfather cares about you the most. Now that you're back, stay at home and take good care of him. Your father has been very busy with his duties lately. Staying at home to serve your father is also a way of fulfilling your filial duty on his behalf."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai knew that this guy was trying to gloss over the matter of seizing Huixunfang Villa. His little scheme was like sesame seeds on a flatbread; no matter how much he had, it was all superficial and clumsy.

After saying this, Zhang Jun walked into the hall, bowed to Zhang Shuo, and asked, "Father, how is your health today...?"

"Get out! No need for Zhang Sheren to ask!" Zhang Shuo's disappointment in this son was beyond words. Before Zhang Jun could finish speaking, he angrily rebuked him.

Zhang Jun hadn't received a pleasant look from his father for days, and he was used to it, but today was a little different. Being scolded by his father in front of his son made him feel a bit embarrassed.

“Father has been scolding and reprimanding me these past few days, all because of the gains and losses of some family property. But does Father know that Magistrate Meng recently seized land so ruthlessly that many powerful families have been punished? If we wait for others to interrogate and punish us, those family property will also be in danger, and my family will suffer even more difficulties! It would be better for me to take the initiative and avert disaster first, and I will be rewarded…”

Zhang Jun took a deep breath and said emphatically, "My father has been harassed and forced to retire. He is understandably resentful and doesn't think he can stay in the Southern Province. But I ask my father to judge this matter. If it weren't for my presence in the province, would my family still be able to enjoy this peace? As long as my position remains intact, my house and land will eventually be returned to me!"

"Anning? Your own son was murdered and you still need others to save him. Do you think my family needs your protection?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo became even angrier, grabbed Zhang Dai's official document from the table, and smashed it over Zhang Jun's face.

"You complained to your grandfather?"

Seeing his father so angry, Zhang Jun panicked a little and dared not defy his father's anger any longer. Instead, he turned around and glared at Zhang Dai, demanding an explanation.

Zhang Dai stepped forward, picked up the official document, smoothed it out, and then said to Zhang Jun, “My father is my father, and I am his son. In the Southern Province, who is my father’s son? My father holds a high position, yet I am still not immune to being harmed. If even father and son are like this, who among the officials in the province would be willing to work and conspire with my father?”

"What do you know? I was newly promoted from the criminal justice system to the provincial government. How could I let your child's matter ruin my promising situation! I haven't even questioned you yet. All the other servants were helping out, so why did you offend the selection officer and get harassed by Master Wei, dragging me down with you..."

Zhang Jun himself knew that he had handled the matter poorly, but he couldn't very well bow his head and ask his son for apologies. He could only loudly question him to cover up his guilty conscience.

However, his words angered Zhang Yue, who was lying on the bed, so much so that he jumped up and swung the armrest on the bed at Zhang Jun, shouting, "It's not just your son who has implicated you! If you hadn't been born into this family of criminals, you would probably be a high-ranking official by now!"

"I have spent half my life using my wisdom, perhaps at the expense of my virtue. To have this fool ruin my later years is my just deserts. But if you dare to harm my grandson's reputation and future, I will not mince words—I will have him beaten to death in court!"

Seeing his grandfather's eyes red with anger, Zhang Dai feared he might actually do something drastic, so he quickly stepped forward to help him. He then kicked Zhang Jun repeatedly, who was covering his head and trying to avoid being hit by the table, shouting as he kicked, "Take a light beating, but run away from a heavy one. Father, are you trying to die by staying here?"

Zhang Jun couldn't pinpoint where the pain was worse at that moment, but upon hearing his son's words, he dared not linger any longer and immediately fled, covering his head in his hands.

Upon entering the outer room, he saw his younger brother Zhang Ji standing there with several servants, watching him. He immediately felt ashamed and angry, turned around, and shouted, "Ah Liu, you stay here to appease your father. You are not allowed to leave until he forgives you! I will come back tomorrow to ask him again. If your father is still not satisfied, you will be held responsible!"

After saying this, Zhang Jun turned around and slunk out the door without looking back.

Having lost his target, Zhang Yue was helped back to his bed by his grandson. He was still angry and agitated. Looking down, he saw a large shoe print on the hem of his clothes. Upon closer inspection, it matched the boot on Zhang Dai's foot. He couldn't help but glare at Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai kicked around randomly, and who knows who he kicked? Anyway, neither of them will complain about who got hit.

Having vented his frustrations, Zhang Dai still needed to face the problem. After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Father, I want to participate in next year's imperial examination."

"Next year? Isn't that a bit too soon? Are you confident?"

After hearing this, Zhang was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and pondered before asking again.

"No, but we can't just let Father continue to make a fool of himself in public and tarnish the family's reputation, can we?"

Zhang Dai shook his head decisively. He really wasn't very confident, especially when it came to the task of copying the classics, which gave him a headache just thinking about it.

But his current predicament, and that of the Zhang family, is that they can no longer allow Zhang Jun to continue jeopardizing Zhang Shuo's political legacy. As Zhang Dai said before, who would dare to befriend a father who can't even protect his own son—or rather, who would refuse or dare not protect him?

Although Zhang Shuo had amassed a political legacy over half his life, his successor, Zhang Jun, was merely a piece of cake, and those connections quickly dissipated. Zhang Dai thought with no small amount of malice that this might be the emperor's doing, deliberately choosing such a scoundrel to expose and ruin the Zhang family!

If Zhang Dai had participated in the imperial examinations, it would at least have proven that the Zhang family had successors and that they weren't just scoundrels like Zhang Jun.

Moreover, the rope around Zhang Dai's head hasn't been completely untied yet. Gao Lishi has only postponed the appointment of the mourning official to next year. If Zhang Dai remains just a mourning official, he will inevitably continue to be manipulated in the following year.

Therefore, the only way to avoid being manipulated is to participate in the imperial examination, obtain a new social status, take advantage of the selection mechanism of the Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), wait for a better opportunity to strive for a better official position, and seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack!

(End of this chapter)