Chapter 132: An Overwhelming Stream of Relatives

The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is one of the major festivals of the year. Every household decorates with lights and celebrates the festival, while the wealthy and noble families gather together to solve riddles, watch plays, and enjoy a family reunion meal. Early that morning, after washing up, Zhang Yue went to see Zhang Fu to greet him. Just as he returned to his room to have breakfast, a young girl rushed over like the wind.

“Young Master Yue, the young marquis and his wife have arrived!”

Hearing this unfamiliar title, Zhang Yue was stunned for a while before realizing it referred to his elder sister Zhang Qing and her husband Meng Jun. Remembering that they had arrived in Beijing together with Marquis Meng Ying before the New Year and had not seen each other since due to their busy schedules, he was both surprised and delighted. Just as he was about to go out to greet them, he thought of Zhang Fu and asked the girl, learning that someone had already reported their arrival there. Yet before he could send her away, another woman, a housekeeper’s wife, rushed in from the courtyard.

“Young Master Yue, there are two more groups of guests outside. One group claims to be the wife’s family—a young man in his early twenties accompanied by a young boy around twelve or thirteen, saying they came from Shaanxi. The other group says they are your relatives—a woman accompanied by a girl! Manager Rong happened to go out to deliver festival gifts, but Manager Chen has already led everyone to the east and west small halls for accommodation. The young marquis and his wife from the Marquis of Baoding are sitting in the large hall.”

Zhang Yue hadn’t expected all these relatives to gather together. He didn’t even know the wife’s family members, let alone those who claimed to be his relatives—it was impossible for him to guess who a woman with a girl could be. After pondering for a long time, unsure of what to do, he planned to go to Zhang Fu first for advice. But just as he stepped out of the courtyard, someone hurried over to deliver a message.

“The master says he never expected the guests to arrive on the Lantern Festival and that it’s so lively. The young marquis and his wife from the Marquis of Baoding are familiar relatives. The master hasn’t seen them in a long time and wants them to keep him company. As for the others, the master asks you to meet them. However, most of the wife’s family members are in the Jiangnan region; he’s never heard of any relatives in Shaanxi. Since they came during this important festival, they probably came to ask for help or something similar. The master suggests you assist them as appropriate, so as not to make them think our family treats relatives poorly.”

Only then did Zhang Yue understand, and he nodded in agreement. After leaving the second gate, he met Meng Jun and Zhang Qing in the large flower hall. Before he could say anything, Zhang Qing took his hand and poured out a stream of words that seemed endless. It was not until he mentioned that Zhang Fu was waiting for them in the main hall that the young couple finally left with smiles. After they left, Zhang Yue became more cautious. He called over the steward who had greeted them earlier and asked detailed questions to find out more about them before heading to the small flower hall.

When he arrived at the eastern flower hall, Zhang Yue saw two people sitting on the chairs on his left. The older one was a young man in his early twenties, whose gaze seemed distracted at first glance, suggesting he was a very shrewd person. The younger one was a boy of about twelve or thirteen with a childish face and a round, auspicious face. As soon as Zhang Yue entered the hall, the young man in his early twenties stood up immediately and stepped forward with a smile on his face.

“Are you the third young master?” Having inquired in detail from the steward beforehand, the young man recognized Zhang Yue at a glance. He then bowed deeply with great humility and said, “I am Fang Rui, and this is my younger brother Fang Jing. We are the nieces of the Duchess of Yingguo. We have just come from Shaanxi. There is a famine in Shaanxi now, and there are riots among the displaced people. It’s difficult to travel south because the Yellow River is frozen. Hearing that the Duke of Yingguo is in Beijing, our parents sent us here.”

While speaking, the boy also came forward to bow, but his speech was not as fluent as his brother’s; he was rather shy. Zhang Yue observed the two brothers carefully and noticed that they looked tired from the journey, with only an old servant and a young girl following them. He realized they must have rushed here in a hurry. Although he wasn’t sure if they were relatives of Lady Wang, he thought that everything would become clear once Rong Shan returned. He didn’t need to worry about them pretending to be someone else, so he comforted them with a smile and ordered the girl to bring some snacks.

As soon as the snacks were placed on the table, Fang Jing’s round face lit up. He wanted to reach for them but hesitated. Finding him quite cute, Zhang Yue gave the girl a signal, and she quickly brought the plate to him. Fang Jing glanced at his brother, who was sitting upright, then hesitantly took a piece and ate it quickly.

Seeing this, Fang Rui looked embarrassed and forced a laugh, saying, “The Duchess of Yingguo comes from a noble family. Perhaps the third young master thinks we don’t seem like her relatives. To be honest, my mother is the Duchess’s cousin. Before getting married, she often visited the Wang family. It’s not that we’re trying to falsely claim kinship. Actually…”

“Actually, Brother Fang came to Beijing to take the imperial examinations. Am I right?” Zhang Yue smiled slightly. Seeing Fang Rui freeze in place, he spoke directly, “I just noticed that among Brother Fang’s luggage, there seems to be a bookcase. An ordinary person who comes to visit relatives would never bring such a thing. Moreover, Brother Fang brought his luggage directly, probably because of the exams. Inns in Beijing are either fully booked or charge exorbitant prices. I wonder if I’m right?”
Fang Jing gulped down three pastries before finally feeling satisfied. He then stared at Zhang Yue curiously but didn’t dare speak casually. Hearing Zhang Yue’s words, Fang Rui was amazed by his sharpness and sighed, “Third Young Master is right. I indeed came to Beijing to take the exams! Inns in this city charge exorbitant prices. Even renting a small room costs half a month’s salary in copper coins. My brother and I…”
He hesitated for a moment. Seeing Zhang Yue’s calm expression, he gave up his initial plan to bluff his way through and explained everything honestly, “We left in a hurry. Due to the famine in Shaanxi, our hundreds of acres of land produced nothing. Our parents urged us to set off. Unexpectedly, we encountered some problems along the way, so we had no choice but to come to Duke Ying for some help.”
Realizing that they were indeed here to take exams and couldn’t afford inns due to financial constraints, Zhang Yue felt some sympathy for them. Yet, while he felt sympathy, if they were truly relatives of Lady Wang, it wouldn’t hurt to keep them. But if not, he couldn’t make a decision lightly. Just then, he saw Liansheng’s head suddenly appear by the door, so he bowed in apology and left.
“Young Master, Manager Rong is back!”
Hearing this, Zhang Yue breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the family relationships in this large mansion were extremely complicated. He could barely sort out those within his own family, let alone those in Duke Ying’s household. So, he followed Liansheng outside, where he saw Rong Shan waiting there with a smile. He then explained the situation inside to him.
As the external manager, Rong Shan was in charge of the guests coming and going in the household and knew all the family relationships best. After counting on his fingers carefully, he said with a smile, “Young Master Yue, they are indeed relatives of the lady. As the saying goes, appearance can reveal one’s origin. Their mother and the lady are distant relatives, and by their generation, the relationship becomes even more distant. In my opinion, giving them two hundred copper coins for expenses would be sufficient. But since they are scholars coming to Beijing for exams, it’s fine to keep them. If Young Master can’t decide, perhaps send someone to ask the master?”

“Uncle is currently meeting with my elder sister and her husband; let’s not disturb them now.” Having stayed here for several months, Zhang Yue understood there was plenty of space in this large mansion. After pondering for a moment, he ordered, “It would be fine if it were other relatives, but since they’ve come to take the exams, even if Uncle finds out, he will surely make things convenient for them. Have someone tidy up a small courtyard at the back of the western wing, near the back door. It’s empty there, so it won’t hurt to let them stay there for a while. Send someone to tell their brothers to stay; I’ll go to the western pavilion to meet another group of relatives who have come. I’ll talk to Uncle personally later.”

Due to the orientation of the building, the western pavilion was always cooler than the eastern one, so thick padded curtains were hung there all winter long. Zhang Yue pulled back the curtains and stepped in, squinting slightly as his eyes adjusted to the dim light before he saw the two people sitting there. When he noticed the woman sitting anxiously at the lower end and the two young girls beside her, he was shocked.

It was none other than Feng Lan and her daughter Jin Su!

Compared to when they were in Kaifeng, Feng Lan looked much paler. Her hair was neatly styled, adorned only with a cyan gempin, and she wore a slightly worn dark blue satin coat. Facing his gaze, her expression was filled with distress, yet she forced a smile. She was already sitting slouched, and now her bottom barely touched the chair.

Jin Su, on the other hand, stared boldly into his eyes, her expression unreadable—whether it was resentment, anger, shame, or embarrassment, she just kept staring at him. Seeing this, Zhang Yue waved his hand to dismiss the two maids standing in the hall. Without taking his eyes off Feng Lan, he said calmly, “Aunt Feng, long time no see.”

As soon as he spoke, Feng Lan stood up and replied with a forced smile, “Brother Yue, it was my stupidity that led me to do such a foolish thing as breaking off the engagement. I’ve long since regretted it deeply. I’m just an ignorant woman; when I saw the Imperial Guards acting back then, I was terrified. Our master had also never seen such a scene, so after discussing it, we decided to break off the engagement to protect ourselves—not to harm them!”

Seeing Zhang Yue’s indifferent expression with no sign of wanting to continue the conversation, she had no choice but to speak while wiping away her tears: “It can be said that our family has now suffered retribution. What should have been a straightforward murder case was wrongly dismissed as the master accepting bribes, and he was labeled as corrupt and unjust. Now he has been sent to the Dali Temple in Beijing for severe punishment. I know it’s my fault and my master’s fault against the Zhang family. I only beg you all to overlook our mistakes and not hold a grudge against us. Chao Ge has a bright future; it’s really my daughter who is not good enough for him. If your family doesn’t mind, I’m willing to give Su Er to Chao Ge as his concubine…”
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a loud crash—the teacup in Jin Su’s hands slipped and shattered on the ground.