Chapter 226: There’s a Time When You Need Me Too

Leather goods outside the pass were always much cheaper than those in Beijing. Shandong was close to the routes to Liaodong, and in winter, wealthy families would always have a few sheepskin coats for keeping warm. After all, compared to Lanzhou’s gu rou, which cost at least ten taels or even dozens of taels per piece, these ready-made leather goods were cheaper. The wealthiest families used high-end furs such as fox, lynx, mink, and silver rat fur, while officials in the prefectural government didn’t need to buy anything—many leather merchants from the north would bring these as gifts during New Year celebrations.

Before the New Year, Zhang Yue had collected over a dozen different leather coats and jackets. Sending them to Beijing would be too conspicuous, so he only took two to Nanjing for Zhang Zhuo and his family. The rest were distributed as rewards, with a few kept for himself. Now, it was already the end of March, and it was time to put these clothes away in boxes. Since Lingxi Qiuheng often had to take care of the Meng family, Amber, who had just recovered from a serious illness, refused to stay indoors all the time. She went out to air the clothes with the wives from the Cui and Li families.

One of the wives from the Cui family took a lynx fur coat down from the rack and, glancing at Amber’s expression, said with a smile, “The young lady was sick for so long. Even during the New Year, the young master was always worried, ordering special meals to be prepared, and checking the prescriptions personally. Even when distributing the leather goods after the New Year, he specifically mentioned that since the young lady was weak, she should wear a coat made of fine silver rat fur.”

The wife from the Li family added, “As the saying goes, good deeds bring good rewards. Miss Amber is finally recovering well. It’s pitiful for the Meng family now—once the descendants of a marquis, they’ve ended up in such a dire situation. That day, Miss Lingxi took me to deliver various vegetables, and I saw how frugal that Miss Meng was… Ah, she was a noble lady—what a shame!”

The two wives chatted animatedly, but Amber was usually quiet, merely responding with an “um.” Although Zhang Yue said she wasn’t fully recovered and shouldn’t go out, how could she not imagine what was happening to the Meng family?

When her family moved to Hainan, although her grandfather Qiu Fu had died, they still had some savings from years as a duke, along with many servants. Yet, even without any confiscation, chaos ensued—some servants stole things and ran away, others deserted them, and the court took back the estates granted to them. It was inevitable that everything would fall apart. If not for taking advantage of that chaos, how could she have hidden herself at her wet nurse’s house?

Now, only one branch of the Meng family had fallen apart—the main branch of the Baoding Marquis still existed. But without Zhang Yue stepping in to take care of everything, the Meng family’s situation might not have been much better than what she had experienced.

She went inside and put the two lambskin and lynx fur coats into the camphor wood box. Then Amber searched through the box for Zhang Yue’s spring clothes and carried them outside to air out. Still preoccupied with the Meng family’s affairs, she was somewhat distracted and bumped into someone as soon as she stepped outside. Looking up, she saw it was Zhang Yue. She tried to step back, but there was a threshold right behind her. Tripping over it, she lost her balance and fell backward. In a flash, she felt her wrist grabbed and pulled, and soon her shoulder was firmly supported.

“When did you become as reckless as Qiuhen?”

Amber’s face turned red as she hurriedly explained, “Please forgive me, young master. I was in a hurry just now and didn’t pay attention.”

Zhang Yue saw that Amber was holding a blue-collared, right-sleeved silk robe, a yellow-green narrow-sleeved waist-cinched robe, and a light-blue half-sleeved front-buttoned shirt. He took them all from her. Seeing Cui’s family and Li’s family waiting in the corridor, he handed them the clothes to air out and then turned to pull Amber inside by lifting the curtain. It was his usual behavior, but Cui’s family and Li’s family smiled broadly, thinking their guesses were spot on.

During the days when Amber was ill, she had witnessed Zhang Yue’s stubborn side. So as soon as she entered the house, before he could speak, she rushed to say, “Young master, I’m fully recovered now. I can’t stay cooped up in the house forever. Airing clothes is a simple task; it’s not a big deal.”

Hearing Amber bring this up right away, Zhang Yue realized she had misunderstood. He smiled and said, “Since you’ve just recovered from a serious illness, it’s only right for you to do such things. You can’t just sit around until your muscles and bones go rusty. I have other matters to discuss with you. During the days when Lingxi went to the Meng family to help, you kept track of all the household expenses. How much money do we have left now?”

“A sum of silver was sent from the manor before the New Year, and the old lady also sent some money. Due to New Year gifts and other expenses, another 500 taels were sent to the Meng family. Now we have 700 taels left, with a few dozen guan in change.” Hearing it was a serious matter, Amber became more serious and added, “There are also gifts from others stored in the warehouse. Excluding those from the Han King, if we followed the method used by other officials in the prefecture office—sending trustworthy people to sell them secretly—we could get at least that much more.”

“We can’t touch the Han King’s gifts, and there’s no need to keep the others taking up space. But we don’t need to hire merchants. I’ll bring someone over in a few days; you just need to have them take the items away.”

These days, silver is expensive while money is cheap. Ten taels of silver is enough for a family of five to get by for a year. The Meng family has now cut staff and reduced expenses, saving a great deal. If not for the hefty fee charged by Doctor Feng, even if Lady Wu still needed medicine, the five hundred taels of silver given by Liu Zhong and the five hundred taels given by Zhang Yue would be enough to sustain the Meng family for at least a year. Considering that his own family also had little surplus, Zhang Yue decided to sell those gifts just in case, as he didn’t need them anyway.

After discussing the serious matters, Zhang Yue looked up at HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu). After a severe illness throughout the winter, HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu), who had once been plump, had become much thinner, almost as thin as Meng Min, though her gaze seemed even more reserved. Although she remained quiet, she seemed to express more when she spoke.

“HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu), the time you suddenly fell ill was when you went to that Xiaonan Mountain pharmacy in Anqiu County to get medicine. Did you meet someone there?”

Ever since she recovered slightly, HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu) had prepared for Zhang Yue to ask this question, but he never did. Now, he brought it up again. Thinking of the bearded man who suddenly appeared by her bed, hearing him call her “Seventh Sister,” and remembering the figure who left abruptly without looking back, she sighed softly in her heart.

“Young master, I just met someone who seemed like a relative from my childhood. I’m not sure if I misidentified them. After all, so many years have passed—things have changed. Even if we were relatives once, I am now a servant of the Zhang family, so naturally, we have no connection anymore. As for my illness, it was because my weak body caught a chill; it has nothing to do with him.”

Hearing such a calm reply, Zhang Yue frowned. Seeing HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu) still so composed, he felt helpless. He really wished she could show her emotions as openly as Qiuhen, so he could at least understand better. Since HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu) admitted she had met a relative from her childhood, it was clear that the Qiu family still existed in Shandong. Though it was a declining family, there was no need to worry, but he still considered whether to use the Imperial Guards for investigation.

After all, this was both a personal and a public matter. With spies available, it would be a shame not to use them.

He comforted HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu) a bit, saying that former relatives were still relatives, and if she met them again in the future, he could arrange for them to come to the house. Then he got up and left. Just as he stepped outside, he suddenly turned back and saw HuHuHu Pu (Hu Pu) still standing there, biting her lip in thought. He spoke to her again.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk now. You can tell me anytime you feel like it. I still say the same thing: don’t hold anything back. Since you’ve been separated from your family for so many years, it’s time to treat everyone as one family. If you really don’t want to talk but feel pressured, go to a mound or well and vent your feelings. But be careful—do you still remember the story of the donkey’s ears?”
Seeing Zhang Yue smile slightly before pulling back the curtain and leaving, Hu Bo couldn’t help but recall when Zhang Yue was younger and often told strange stories. Qiu Hen would pester him, insisting he tell one story every night before going to bed. She had long forgotten those tales of princes, princesses, and Cinderella, but the secret of the donkey’s ears remained vivid in her memory.
Zhang Yue went out through the back door of the government office, intending to visit the Meng family. But he saw a group of unwelcome guests standing at the entrance, led by Zhang Jin. He had no good feelings toward the Zhang and Meng families, so his expression darkened as he rushed over with Lian Sheng and Lian Hu.
“What are you doing here?”
“Brother Yue, I hope you’re well.” Zhang Jin turned and saw Zhang Yue, immediately smiling and coming forward to greet him. Although Zhang Yue’s expression wasn’t pleasant, he pretended not to notice and said cheerfully, “I just came to visit you. I heard the Meng family lives near the back door of the government office, so I thought I’d take a quick look. Our father had no choice back then—after all, it was someone from the Jinyiwei who took them away; he was just protecting himself. Today, my father also asked me to bring two hundred taels of silver. The Zhang and Meng families are related by marriage—after all, blood ties remain strong, right?”
Had this guy changed? Zhang Yue really couldn’t believe that the same person who used to be as despicable as Zhang Bin, and who had mocked him last time they met, would now act like this. The amount of silver wasn’t the issue—Zhang Ke’s family was extremely wealthy, and two hundred taels was just a drop in the ocean. But his attitude was strange.
As the saying goes, don’t hit someone who’s smiling. Though he wasn’t willing to waste time on Zhang Jin, since they were brothers, he couldn’t completely ignore him. After pondering for a moment, he simply led him to the office in the government building. Seeing that Zhang Jin had no objections, he realized that the so-called visit to the Meng family was just an excuse—this guy really came for him.
Sure enough, once they entered the banquet hall and Zhang Yue sat down and sent the servants away, Zhang Jin jumped up from his seat, rushed forward, knelt down, and said with a sorrowful face, “Brother Yue, for the sake of all of us being Zhang family members, you must save my father!”
At that moment, Zhang Yue had only one thought—in this family, they would even come to him for help?