Chapter 156: I Refuse a Blind Marriage

Zhang Chao’s marriage finally took place as scheduled. By then, Lady Wang was already over five months pregnant and her belly was visibly growing. The members of the eldest and second branches of the family had all moved into the large mansion adjacent to Marquis Wu’an Zheng’s residence. Lady Gu and the family of Zhang Zhuo and Sun from the third branch also hurried back after the auspicious ceremony. Although Lady Dongfang had Feng’s help and Zhang Qing to assist with arrangements, she was still so busy that she had no time to worry about Zhang Chao. As for Zhang Qi, he was carefree by nature and thought his elder brother’s gloomy expression was simply due to worry about being controlled by his new wife, so he paid no attention to it.

The younger Zhang Jiu, however, sensed that something was wrong. Though he had once had a poor relationship with Zhang Chao, that was in the past, and he couldn’t help but bring it up with his mother. But Feng didn’t want any trouble and quickly told him not to spread rumors outside. Yet inwardly, she scolded her daughter for being overly involved.

With such a modest future ahead, this eldest son was marrying the daughter of a count. When it came time for her to find a wife for her son, wouldn’t she need to find someone even more prominent than a count’s daughter to maintain the dignity of the eldest branch?

Although Zhang Chao’s father, Zhang You, had been promoted to a third-rank general for his military achievements during the rebellion led by Li Li in Jiaozhi, the Marquis of Xiangcheng was a count of a higher rank. If judged solely by family status, the Zhang family was indeed marrying up. However, given the close relationship between the Duke of Yingguo and the Marquis of Xiangcheng, such a marriage was quite common.

That’s why, even though Li Yun was only the illegitimate sister of the Marquis of Xiangcheng, her dowry was enormous—64 carts full of furniture alone, plus another 64 carts of silks, cosmetics, jewels, and more. There were also numerous estates, shops, and slaves. When the dowry was delivered, the long procession that stretched a mile could be seen by many villagers. Many young people envied Zhang Chao for marrying into such a wealthy family, unaware that the bridegroom himself had mixed feelings about this marriage.

On the day of the wedding, everyone in the Zhang family was involved—some accompanied the bridal sedan to the bride’s home, some welcomed relatives and friends, and some were busy accepting gifts. As for the dowry piled up in the warehouse, untouched yet, no one paid attention to it. Lady Gu, who had previously managed the Duke of Yingguo’s household, now took charge of her own home. With three wives working together and over a dozen maids bustling about, the Zhang Yue brothers were sent out early to escort the bridal sedan to the Marquis of Xiangcheng’s residence to welcome the bride.

Seeing Zhang Chao bowing like a wooden puppet to Lord Xiangcheng and his wife, who acted as the bride’s parents, and then forcing a smile upon his return from the wedding, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but worry for his future sister-in-law. Once the large wedding procession returned Zhang Chao to his family’s residence, the wedding matron helped the bride in her gorgeous dress with a red veil step down from the sedan. Seeing Zhang Chao staring blankly at the bride’s back with a gradually softer gaze, he finally felt a little relieved.

The wedding banquet had been set up since early morning, and now that the couple had returned, it was time for the ceremony of worshiping heaven and earth. When he saw the newlyweds bow deeply to each other after the ceremony, he couldn’t help but think of his own unsolved marriage matter. Just as he was about to sigh, he realized it wasn’t the right moment, so he could only sigh inwardly.

Compared to Zhang Chao’s forced marriage, his own luck seemed slightly better—at least he had met and talked to the girls, who were all from familiar and reputable families. Either one would be acceptable; his only hope was that no unexpected candidate would suddenly appear. However, given the status of the third branch of the Zhang family, it seemed unlikely anyone else would interfere.

By the time Zhang Yue came back to his senses, Zhang Chao and the bride had already entered the bridal chamber. What followed were rituals such as lifting the veil and drinking the marriage wine. After that, the groom would come out, so as a brother of the groom’s family, Zhang Yue went to the wedding tent to entertain the guests.

The women had already set up another table in the inner courtyard, so the wedding tent was filled with men. Due to accompanying Zhang Chao to pick up the bride and being busy with other ceremonies afterward, he hadn’t had time to check if there were any other guests in the tent. Thus, when he saw that the first table at the front was already full—besides several noble relatives and elders including Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo, there was also Prince Zhu Zhanhuan of Anyang—his expression changed slightly. Immediately, at Duke Zhang Fu’s invitation, he smiled and went forward to greet them one by one.

In Beijing, nothing remained secret. So naturally, the nobles wouldn’t treat Zhang Yue merely as an unimportant grandson of the third branch of the Zhang family. Marquis Wu’an Zheng Heng joked that he was mature beyond his years, while Marquis Taining Chen Gui said his talent was as outstanding as that of an adult phoenix. Even the straightforward and bold Marquis Xing’an Xu Heng nodded at Zhang Yue, promising to support him if anyone bullied him in the future… When it was Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng’s turn, he slammed his table so loudly that it seemed capable of toppling the entire wedding tent.

“Don’t worry, young nephew. With us backing you, you’ll surely excel as a civil official!”

Duke Wu’an Zheng Heng had once been stationed in Beiping, and Zhu Zhanhun was very close to him. He was also familiar with other dukes and marquises. Seeing them act so protective didn’t surprise him at all; he understood Zhang Fu’s intention in introducing these people to Zhang Yue. But his visit today was far from just a simple congratulation or gift-giving. After Zhang Yue circled the wedding hall and left, he took the opportunity to leave as well.

Zhang Yue watched Zhang Chao come out of the bridal chamber. His originally stern face seemed to soften slightly, even showing a hint of indescribable relief. He knew that Zhang Chao must have resigned himself to fate at the last moment. Seeing Zhang Chao enter the hall to deal with the guests, he decided to step aside to rest and drink some hot tea. Yet before he could swallow the tea, he heard a call.

“Yuanjie.”

“Prince Anyang, is it too hot here?”

Knowing that Prince Anyang was full of tricks and even more difficult to deal with than Prince Hengshan, Zhang Yue really didn’t want to talk to him much. So he quickly laughed and tried to find an excuse to get away. But before he could figure out how to leave, Zhu Zhanhun nodded and said, “It’s indeed hot at the end of July for a wedding. But compared to my place, yours is quite comfortable—warm in winter and cool in summer. The Duke of Yingguo really chose a great place for your family. By the way, Yuanjie, do you know that the selection of officials from this year’s imperial examinations has already ended?”

Zhang Fu hadn’t mentioned this at all. Zhang Yue really didn’t expect Zhu Zhanhun to get straight to the point. But since it wasn’t anything surprising, he pretended to realize it suddenly and nodded, “So the selection is over. Does that mean I’ll be going to take up my post soon?”

“Not only that—you might even get a good marriage arranged for you,” Zhu Zhanhun said in an increasingly friendly tone, ignoring the servants bringing dishes around and the other guests who had also left to cool off. He spoke leisurely, “I’m sure your family has had countless suitors knocking on their door these days. If I didn’t have a suitable sister, I might have suggested it to my father too… That day, Scholar Xiao Yang casually mentioned it to the Emperor, and it seems the Emperor took it seriously. Who knows, you might even get an imperial match before you leave.”

He feared nothing in the world except for the emperor arbitrarily matching people together. Thus, Zhang Yue, who had remained calm even after hearing that the selection process was over, was now truly terrified. He had at least met Meng Min and Du Wan before; they both seemed nice in appearance and temperament. What if Zhu Di, on a whim, assigned him someone he couldn’t handle? After all, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty weren’t as perverted as those of the Qing Dynasty—they usually didn’t bother interfering in their subjects’ marriages. Was he going mad this time? He certainly didn’t want to be forced into marriage!

Just as he was struggling with these thoughts, it seemed Zhu Zhanxun still didn’t think this news was serious enough, as he soon heard more.

“Speaking of which, given your abilities, you should have easily secured a position as a chief clerk in one of the six ministries. But who would have thought that Yang Shiqi wouldn’t show any regard for our past friendship, and Yang Rong joined in to push for it, resulting in you being sent to serve elsewhere. It might have been fine in any other place, but it turned out to be as the magistrate of Anqiu County under Qingzhou Prefecture.

Yuanjie, Le’an Prefecture is north of Qingzhou Prefecture, while Anqiu is southeast of it. It takes less than half a day to travel between the two by fast horse. You had a conflict with the younger brother of the Prince of Hengshan last time. Since he hasn’t gone to his fief yet and remains in Le’an Prefecture, you need to be careful. Also, as far as I know, the White Lotus Sect is extremely rampant in Shandong. Being the magistrate there won’t be easy.”

Faced with such “kind” advice, Zhang Yue sneered inwardly but pretended to thank him. Unexpectedly, after saying this, Zhu Zhanxun didn’t let it go and instead chatted amiably with him, talking at length about the case involving the third member of the Kang family that he had taken in before. It was only then that Zhang Yue learned why the former governor of Kaifeng had met misfortune—it was due to the connection with the Kang family case. Truly, the world was too small.

Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaoxu, was based in Beijing, so Zhu Zhanxun often helped handle matters outside. With his humble and respectful demeanor, he was almost always successful. So he never expected Zhang Yue to feel no gratitude toward him at all. In the end, he nodded at Zhang Yue warmly.

“When you arrive in Shandong, I won’t be able to help you much. But there are several people in the Shandong Military Command in Qingzhou who once received some favors from me. If you need any help, you can mention my name and seek them out. I know the Duke of Yingguo will surely arrange something for you, but it’s safer to keep some things hidden from elders, right? Oh, I won’t see you off before you leave, but I’ll have my butler prepare a generous gift for you. Considering our acquaintance, please don’t refuse it.”

Intersect? Who has ever intersected with you? Zhang Yue cursed inwardly. Only when Zhu Zhanhuan finally let him return to his seat to continue the banquet did he breathe a sigh of relief. After standing there in silence for a moment, he saw the drunken Zhang Chao being helped out, so he couldn’t help but step forward to assist and ordered a maid to prepare a hangover soup.

Naturally, as the second son, Zhang Qi was reluctantly sent to keep the guests company. Seeing his willingness to drink whatever was offered, Zhang Yue knew that his brother, who loved alcohol, would surely be able to hold his own. He carried Zhang Chao to a nearby room and forced him to drink a bowl of hangover soup without hesitation. Then he saw the once-drunk man vomiting violently into a washbasin.

It seemed he had spat out all his frustrations along with the contents of his stomach. When he raised his head, Zhang Chao no longer looked like a puppet; he finally showed some signs of being human. He waved his hand to dismiss the maids, stood up unsteadily, gave Zhang Yue a weak smile, then staggered again.

At that moment, Zhang Yue hurried forward to support him, but heard Zhang Chao let out a long sigh.

“Third brother, it’s only now that I realize there are so many things in life that are beyond our control…”