Chapter 198: The Prime Minister’s Proposal of Marriage

Chang’an in early November was quite cold, with the cold wind sweeping the last few withered leaves through the air. Pedestrians hurried along, and the streets were almost empty. At that moment, a carriage arrived in Xuanyi Fang, escorted by over a dozen armed servants. The carriage soon stopped at the residence of Zhang Yun, the Minister of Revenue. A middle-aged man got out—fair-skinned, slightly overweight, with a short goat’s beard. This was Zhang Yun’s younger brother, Zhang Jie, the Minister of Rites.

As sons of the renowned prime minister Zhang Shuo of the Kaiyuan era, both Zhang Yun and Zhang Jie held high positions and enjoyed great trust from Emperor Li Longji. In particular, Zhang Jie was a leader in Chang’an’s literary circles. Any scholar seeking an official position had to pay him respects.

In the early Tianbao era, Li Bai became famous in Chang’an. Disgusted by Zhang Jie’s arrogant behavior, he was framed by Zhang Jie and eventually forced to leave Chang’an. In his poem “Farewell on a Dreamy Journey to Tianmu,” Li Bai wrote, “How can I bow my head and serve the powerful, thus losing my joy?” The “powerful” referred to Zhang Jie.

Today, Zhang Jie came to his elder brother worriedly because of Yang Guozhong’s victory in the Yunnan campaign, which earned him the title of Minister of War and co-chancellor. Yang Guozhong’s rise to power alarmed every elite in Chang’an. While the Yang family had previously been favored only because of the imperial concubine, and figures like Yang Qi and Yang Xian could hold high positions but were merely clowns, Yang Guozhong’s rise meant the true ascent of the Yang family’s influence.

Zhang Jie entered without announcing himself. The butler said, “My lord is fishing in the back garden.”
“I know. I’ll go find him myself.”

Zhang Yun’s residence covered nearly a hundred acres, with pavilions, towers, and lush trees. There was also a 20-acre lake in the back garden. This estate had been left by their father, Zhang Shuo. Zhang Jie grew up here and knew every plant and tree intimately. Without guidance, he quickly reached the lake in the back garden.

From afar, several elegantly dressed maids stood in a small pavilion carved from a single piece of white jade, holding jade plates. Zhang Yun, the Minister of Revenue of the Tang Dynasty, sat inside the pavilion, fishing in the west wind. Wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, he resembled an old farmer fishing alone in the snowy river.

Zhang Jie slowly walked into the pavilion. The maids, seeing him, hurriedly tried to bow, but Zhang Jie waved them off, asking them not to disturb his brother.
“Is it you, my younger brother?” Zhang Yun guessed without turning around.
Zhang Jie was surprised and quickly asked with a smile, “How did you know it was me?”
“Does it need guessing? Besides you, who else would dare enter my back garden without announcing themselves?”

Zhang Yun glanced back at his brother, pointed to the side, and said with a smile, “Sit down!”
Zhang Jie sat cross-legged, waved his hand to send the maids away, and soon only the two of them remained in the pavilion. He sighed and asked, “What do you think about Yang Zhao becoming prime minister?”
“He’s not Yang Zhao anymore; he’s changed his name to Yang Guozhong. Hmph! As a loyal minister to the state, what else can I think of?”
In front of his brother, Zhang Yun didn’t hide his displeasure, which showed clearly on his face. He knew Li Longji well—this time, Li Longji had strongly opposed the other ministers’ refusal to accept Nanzhao’s surrender and had stubbornly approved Yang Guozhong’s plan for Nanzhao. He also promoted Yang Guozhong to prime minister on the grounds of his great contributions to the state. With such haste, Zhang Yun saw through Li Longji’s intentions: to have Yang Guozhong take over as the right prime minister from Li Linfu.
That position of right prime minister had long been reserved for Zhang Yun himself. Whether in terms of family background or literary talent, he was fully qualified to become the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Yang Guozhong, on the other hand, was nothing but a clownish figure. The fact that he could even become a candidate for right prime minister really angered Zhang Yun toward Li Longji.
He let out another harsh snort and said, “Just because he’s becoming prime minister now doesn’t mean anything. It’s still uncertain who will end up in control. Li Linfu can probably hold on for a few more years. These years are our chance—we must seize them.”
Hearing his brother’s tone, which seemed to imply a plan, Zhang Jie perked up and asked eagerly, “Do you have any plans, brother?”
“Plans?” Zhang Yun sneered. “Of course. But the key is power. As long as I have enough power, that position of right prime minister will surely fall into my hands.”
“But brother, it might not be appropriate for us to reach into the military, right?”
Zhang Yun glanced at him with a hint of mockery and said, “Younger brother, the power I’m talking about isn’t the military.”
Zhang Jie was stunned. This time he suddenly understood. He slapped his forehead and laughed, “I’m such an idiot. If there’s really a military, not to mention becoming prime minister, even…”
He chuckled awkwardly and couldn’t continue. At that moment, the water rippled, and Zhang Yun lifted his fishing rod. A one-foot-long carp leaped out of the water. Zhang Yun happily caught the fish and put it in the basket before turning to his brother again, “Expanding power is like fishing—you can’t be reckless. You need to use subtle tactics to make them come to you willingly. The noble families have always been targets of the court’s suppression. The emperor may not say it outright, but he’s wary of them. Look at how he’s nurturing Cui Qiao—he wants to use Cui Qiao to divide the Cui family. It’s just like how he used Pei Zunqing to divide the Pei family back then. So whether it’s the Pei or Cui family, I can’t intervene directly. You’re the leader of the literary circle in Chang’an. You can use that position to help me build connections with these noble families. Understand?”

“Yes! I understand. Please rest assured, brother. Besides noble families, the powerful clans of Guanlong are also extremely important—families like the Changsun and Dugu clans are all imperial relatives. If you can gain their support, your influence over the emperor will be significant.”
“I know that already. No need to remind me. Dugu Shi passed away last month. As the Minister of Rites, you must pay close attention to preserving Dugu Shi’s reputation after his death. Also, I plan to visit the Dugu family this afternoon. I think I can win over that family.”
Saying this, Zhang Yun cast his bare-baited fishing hook far out and smiled faintly, “I want to show you how Jiang Taigong fishes.”
……
Dugu Shi’s death plunged the Dugu family into deep sorrow. Several of their sons living elsewhere took leave to return to the capital to handle the funeral arrangements. The eldest son, Dugu Haoran, took half a year off work to stay in Chang’an and attend to his father’s funeral. Yesterday marked the 49th day, and the funeral rituals were finally concluded. Though still grieving, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief from the heavy burden of the funeral preparations.
Inside the room, Dugu Haoran was discussing his two daughters’ marriages with his wife, Lady Pei. The younger daughter, Mingzhu, was already 16, but due to a serious illness at the age of five, she had deliberately been made to appear one year older to avoid bad omens—her actual age was only 15. She was lively by nature, acting like a forever-young girl. The Dugus hadn’t taken her marriage seriously. As for the eldest daughter, Mingyue, she would turn 18 after the New Year. Dugu Haoran, busy with government affairs, hadn’t had time to deal with this matter, but Lady Pei had been worried about it all along.
“Sir, I know it’s not the right time to talk about this since father has passed away, but Mingyue is getting older. If we miss these years, it will be difficult to find a good husband for her. Sir, since you’re at home right now, it’s better to arrange her marriage soon. Even if it’s not appropriate to hold a wedding ceremony now, at least we should settle her status. The marriage can be arranged later.”
Lady Pei was secretly pleased with Dugu Shi’s death—after all, it benefited her daughters’ marriages. At the beginning of the year, Prime Minister Zhang had come specifically to propose marriage for his favorite student, Zhao Xuming. Zhao Xuming was also her chosen future son-in-law—handsome, talented, and from a prominent family in Longyou. He was a top scholar in the imperial examinations and had been promoted to an official in the Ministry of Revenue in April this year, with a bright future ahead. With such an excellent suitor, her father refused to agree, using various excuses to delay things. But Lady Pei knew the real reason—he was interested in that Li Qingan, wasn’t he?

To be fair, Li Qing’an also had excellent qualifications—he had become the military governor at a young age, and many families would have wanted to marry their daughters to him. Yet Lady Pei simply did not like him. On one hand, it was because of her poor first impression of him; she had met him when he came to the Du Gu family for a matchmaking arrangement. He was dark-skinned, burly, and spoke in a crude manner—truly a rough man from a military background. More importantly, his humble origins were unacceptable to Lady Pei, who came from a prestigious family with deep-rooted notions of social status. Now that Du Gu Shi was dead, Lady Pei was no longer constrained, and she could decide her daughter’s marriage on her own.

She glanced over and saw that her husband was still bent over his book, seemingly unaware of what she had said. Feeling slightly displeased, she said bluntly, “If my lord has no objection, I will decide Mingyue’s marriage. That’s settled!”

Du Gu Haoran was the head of the household in all other matters, with final say, but he had no say in his daughter’s marriage. Four years earlier, his eldest daughter, Mingjing, had been chosen by the emperor to marry into the Khitans. He had strongly supported this at the time, but within a year, his eldest daughter was killed by the Khitans, leaving him deeply ashamed in front of his wife. For the marriages of his two younger daughters, he promised his wife he would not interfere. Now that he could no longer use reading as an excuse, Du Gu Haoran sighed and said, “There’s only one condition: as long as my daughter likes him, I have no objections.”

If the daughter had to like him, the marriage would fail. Lady Pei smiled and said, “What do they know? There’s passion on the wedding night, but over time, every couple eventually grows close. Besides, their current preference is just for his good looks, not his character. What if their temperaments don’t match and conflicts arise after living together for decades? My lord has experience—no need for me to explain further!”

Du Gu Haoran couldn’t think of anything to retort. Just then, a maid came in from outside and reported, “My lord, the steward says there’s a visitor—Prime Minister Zhang.”

“Ah!” Du Gu Haoran stood up quickly and said to his wife, “My lady, I must go see the guest. We can discuss Mingyue’s marriage later.”

With that, he rushed out. Lady Pei was stunned for a moment before her eyes lit up as she suddenly understood. She turned and headed toward the front yard as well.