Top Scholar

Chapter 421 You're forcing me to use my ultimate move, aren't you?

After giving his instructions, Eunuch Song ordered the shopkeeper to bring twenty of the finest furs.

"How much?" The shopkeeper thought he had misheard.

"Never mind if you don't have it." Eunuch Song made a move to leave.

"No, no, yes, yes!" The shopkeeper quickly stopped him, excitedly telling his assistant to bring out all the shop's prized possessions for the God of Wealth to inspect.

Although Eunuch Song was generous, he was also extremely picky, so he sat in a bright spot and began selecting the items one by one.

"Brother, take your time choosing. We'll head back now," Su Youcai said, bidding farewell.

"Take care, brother. Keep in touch anytime." Eunuch Song rose to see him off, saying, "Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

"Definitely, definitely." Su Youcai shook hands with him to say goodbye, and under the cover of his sleeve, he handed a membership ticket to Eunuch Song.

The eunuch Song patted the back of his hand without making a sound, and did not refuse.

After the uncle and nephew left, Eunuch Song sat back down, took a sip of tea, and naturally looked into his palm. There was a five-hundred-tael note that could be paid on demand, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Half an hour later, Eunuch Song finished selecting the furs.

"Accounting."

The shopkeeper made a series of quick, clattering sounds, then swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Sir, the total is four hundred and twenty-five taels. Would you like me to round it down to zero, or would you like to add another bill?"

"Nothing is needed, just give us a receipt for eight hundred taels," said Eunuch Song, setting down his teacup.

"Understood!" the shopkeeper replied crisply. He had seen this situation many times before; anyone who sourced goods for high-ranking officials and nobles always made a profit from the price difference.

~~
After the uncle and nephew left Dashilan, Su Youcai said, "Yingzhi, you should go back to the inn first. Your second uncle is going to that kind of place again."

"Second Uncle, is the 'place' you're referring to when you go to see Eunuch Zhang?" This time, Su Man wasn't fooled.

"Ah, you already know?" Su Youcai chuckled awkwardly, continuing on his way.

“I heard you talking to your uncle.” Su Man quickly caught up, her eyes resolute. “I’ll go with you.”

Su Youcai glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "That's not appropriate. You're a newly appointed scholar; it would be bad for your reputation if word got out that you were visiting a powerful eunuch."

“I don’t have that kind of pedantic fastidiousness. As long as it can help Qiu Ge’er, I’ll crawl through a dog hole.” Su Man’s tone was firm, without the slightest hint of backing down.

"Sigh, alright." Su Youcai patted Su Man on the shoulder and ultimately didn't try to dissuade him anymore.

The uncle and nephew prepared a gift and went to the coal yard alley where Eunuch Zhang lived with the invitation.

~~
Coal Factory Alley.

The area in front of the Zhang residence was deserted.

Zhang Yong sat in the hall, watching his godson and godchildren help him pack.

"That bastard Li Yong, seeing his godfather about to fall, he wanted to jump ship!" the godsons cursed angrily as they worked.
"Why can't this stupid donkey understand that Liu Jin has so many bastards with green eyes, just waiting to eat our flesh and drink our blood! Once our godfather is gone, we'll skin him alive just the same."

"Alright, stop cursing. Xiao Yong has his difficulties in that position. You wouldn't be able to let your emotions get the better of you either," Zhang Yong said, stopping them from continuing the tirade.
"After we leave, you should either grovel before Liu Jin or betray us. You must do everything in your power to protect yourself. Remember, only by staying can you have hope. Maybe one day you'll turn things around, and then your godfather will have a bunch of brothers and nephews. Then you'll have hope again, right?"

“Oh, Godfather, we’ll remember this…” The eunuchs nodded sadly, and many of them even sobbed.

Firstly, he was worried about his own fate; secondly, Zhang Yong was a truly good person and took good care of his disciples and followers. Especially compared to the anthropomorphized Liu Jin, he was practically a castrated version of a saint.

“Keep all the valuables. You all have a lot of expenses, so divide them among yourselves.” Zhang Yong sighed again and said, “Your godfather is too strict with you and hasn’t let you make much money. Consider this a small compensation.”

“Godfather…” Zhang Sheng, Zhang Lin, Zhang You, Zhang Zhong and other godsons cried even more.

Just as things were looking gloomy, the gatekeeper, Lu Fang, came in with a letter and reported, "Master, there are two people outside who want to see you with this letter."

"What kind of time is this to cause trouble? Get them out of here!" the eunuchs clamored.

"Whose letter?" Zhang Yong asked.

"Oh, it's from Uncle." Zhang Lin took it, glanced at the envelope, quickly tore it open, and handed it over.

Zhang Yong pulled out the letter, unfolded it, and said, "Please ask them to serve tea in the front hall."

"Godfather, are these two people quite important?" Zhang Zhonggang put away the tea set with straw paper.

"No, that's not it," Zhang Yong said calmly. "Your uncle took the money, so we have to treat him properly and make sure his money makes a good impression." "Godfather is really generous," the eunuchs exclaimed sincerely.

~~
In the front hall.

Su Youcai and his nephew sat on the only two remaining chairs, looking around the snow cave-like room.

"Are they moving?" Su Youcai whispered.

“That’s right.” The curtain was lifted, and Zhang Yong walked in, wearing a slightly worn blue silk cotton robe. He continued Su Youcai’s words, “My master has been appointed as the chief eunuch of the Xiaoling Shrine and will be going to Nanjing soon.”

"Greetings, Eunuch Zhang." Su Youcai and Su Man hurriedly rose to greet him. Youcai thought to himself, "Why is my son so unlucky? Why does he always cause trouble?"

“I have read Wei Xing’s letter. I cannot refuse to give him face, so I must meet with you.” Zhang Yong had nowhere to sit. He stood in front of the two men with his hands behind his back and said with a bitter smile, “But I can only meet with you. To be honest, I have been expelled from the palace by Liu Jin and can no longer even step into the palace gates. I am really powerless to help you with your affairs.”

With Eunuch Zhang standing, the uncle and nephew felt it inappropriate to sit down. Su Man, however, was undeterred and asked in a deep voice:
"This student dares to ask Eunuch Zhang, can you turn the tables if you see the Emperor?"

“Of course.” Zhang Yong nodded, quite proudly saying, “As a eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, I am in charge of the affairs of the Qianqing Palace, and I am in charge of the Three Thousand Battalion, the Divine Machine Battalion, and the Twelve Battalions. I also oversee the Imperial Kitchen, the Imperial Clothing, the Imperial Furnishings, and the Inner Palace Offices, as well as the departments of cosmetics, etiquette, and confectionery, in addition to the Leopard House, the Laundry Bureau, the Bathhouse, and the South Sea Palace… These are all duties assigned to me by the Emperor.”

"Father-in-law, you have incredible energy!" The uncle and nephew were dumbfounded. What kind of chosen ox was this? Could he possibly handle so much work?

"It's alright," Zhang Yong said with a faint smile. "Although the duties are complicated, I am fortunate that my sons and grandsons are working hard, so I can manage things with ease and everything is well supplied. As a result, the Emperor trusts me more and more, and everyone inside and outside the court respects my character. There is no gossip."

"I see." The uncle and nephew suddenly realized, "Isn't this the Grand Eunuch who doesn't have the title of Grand Eunuch?"
“Liu Jin manages affairs outside the palace, while we manage affairs inside. Originally, we kept to ourselves…” Zhang Yong’s face darkened.
"But Liu Jin, that scoundrel, became increasingly power-hungry. Seeing our family's power, he felt that I threatened him. So he colluded with Wei Bin, Gao Feng, and a few others to slander the emperor all day long, saying that I was a hypocrite and that I was always blaming them behind his back for leading the emperor to have fun and presenting him with all sorts of strange things, thus corrupting the emperor."

Zhang Yong said with a bitter face, "I did not flatter the emperor much. Sometimes I couldn't help but advise the emperor that he shouldn't just play around and should manage the country. So the emperor believed their words and gradually began to distance himself from me."

The uncle and nephew couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing how difficult it was to persuade the emperor to favor virtuous officials and distance himself from wicked ones. Even offering a few unpleasant but honest words would be met with disdain.

"When the time was ripe, Liu Jin told the emperor that the eunuch in charge of Nanjing had reported that the management of Xiaoling Mausoleum had been in a mess for years, and that if this continued, the emperor would be furious and the country would be in turmoil. But no one else was capable of the job, and only I was able to go and fix it."

"Moreover, Liu Jin was too cunning. Every time he presented his memorial, he would do so when the Emperor was in the middle of a pleasant game. When the Emperor was annoyed, he would wave him away and say, 'What are you good for? Get out of my way and don't bother me.' Then Liu Jin would turn around and say that the Emperor had already granted his request." Zhang Yong sighed.

"Then he swiftly issued an imperial edict, ordering me to go to Nanjing immediately, and at the same time strictly forbidding me from entering the palace through any of the palace gates, to prevent the emperor from changing his mind after seeing me. He also warned all his close attendants that anyone who dared to meddle in other people's business would be his enemy."

As he spoke, Zhang Yong sighed in frustration, "By the time I received the news, I was already unable to enter the palace. There was no one to help me, so I had no choice but to accept my fate and go to take up my post."

The uncle and nephew exchanged a glance, then said in unison to Zhang Yong, "Don't worry, Eunuch Zhang, we have a way to let you see the Emperor again!"

"Ha, you two are joking." Zhang Yong scoffed, not believing it at all. "You probably don't know how difficult it is to see the Emperor, apart from his close attendants—unless the Emperor wants to see you, even the Empress Dowager and the cabinet ministers can forget about seeing him."

He sighed for the umpteenth time, saying, "Moreover, His Majesty had a huge outburst today. I'm afraid even if the sky were to fall, we wouldn't be able to see His Majesty's face again for a month or two."

“Father-in-law, my nephew and I have come from four thousand miles away, not to make empty boasts!” Su Man stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said firmly, “You only need to come with us once, and you will naturally believe us!”

“Yes, Father-in-law, our residence is not far from here, it won’t take half an hour to go back and forth!” Su Youcai also clasped his hands and earnestly persuaded, “Father-in-law, you don’t want to go to Nanjing, do you? Then come with us, we definitely won’t let you down!”

Eunuch Zhang stared at their resolute eyes, remaining silent for a moment. Finally, he nodded and said:

"Fine, I'm free anyway, so I'll go with you to take a look."

~~
After a short while, the carriage stopped at a secluded house.

The uncle and nephew jumped off the carriage and knocked on the courtyard gate.

Surprisingly, it was Su Youma who opened the door.

"coming?"

"Okay." Su Youcai nodded and said to Zhang Yong, who was getting off the car behind him, "Please come to the public transport."

"Okay." Zhang Yong nodded, his appetite piqued by the Su family's secretive manner.

"We'd like to see what they're really up to..." he said as he walked into the courtyard, following Su Youma to the entrance of the main room.

Su Youma lifted the curtain. The room was warm and cozy, and there was another living creature besides Su Youjin.

When Zhang Gonggong looked closely, his eyes popped out of their sockets, and the gloom on his face vanished in an instant!

"How about it, Father-in-law?" Su Youcai stood beside him and asked with a smile, "With such a treasure, will you be able to see the Emperor?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Zhang Yong finally came to his senses, grabbed Su Youcai's arm tightly, and said in a trembling voice, "Yes, absolutely!"
"Brother Su, you are truly our family's savior! Don't worry about your son, we've got your back!"

(End of this chapter)