Chapter 268: A Mother’s Worry as Her Son Travels Far Away

Although the relocation was imminent, Nanjing still presented a scene of prosperity and peace. Even now, many officials believed this ancient capital of the Six Dynasties to be the most suitable place in the world as a capital. Yet Zhu Di was stubborn to the point of being unmovable, and those officials who had advised against it met with poor fates. They could only watch as various departments gradually moved northward. To stay in Nanjing, many even frequently visited the Eastern Palace and the Duke of Cheng’s residence.

In contrast, Zhang Zhuo, the county magistrate of Jiangning, was merely a seventh-rank official and didn’t need to rush around like other officials. But living in the imperial capital, where everyone was a superior, he spent more than half his time receiving guests and handling social obligations, making his role as magistrate quite difficult. Had it not been for his strong backing and the protection of Duke Zhu Yong, his many mistakes as a new official would have been easily pointed out.

Under the Ming dynasty’s rules, any official who did not live in the official residence but in a civilian house was to be punished with eighty lashes. Thus, he and Lady Sun naturally lived in the Jiangning County Yamen. Being located right at the emperor’s feet, the Jiangning County Yamen was more than twice the size of ordinary county yamen buildings, with plenty of rooms to accommodate all his family members and servants. Without a domineering mother-in-law or sisters-in-law, Lady Sun led a comfortable life. Only when her concubine Hongluan was diagnosed as pregnant did she feel somewhat annoyed, but the feeling passed quickly.

Zhang You loved his wife deeply and knew that Lady Sun was proud and somewhat narrow-minded. Therefore, he kept most of his son’s official affairs hidden from her. Even when letters arrived, he would read them first in his study before selectively sharing what he deemed appropriate with her, thus hiding countless things over time. As a result, Lady Sun assumed everything was going well for Zhang Yue in his post and had no idea about the successive troubles faced by the Du and Meng families. She focused on managing household affairs and taking care of their daughter, being cautious in running the household, and rarely interacted with other women.

One day, as she was in her room selecting some silk fabrics with her maids, Zhenzhu and Shaoyao, to make two new underbusts for her daughter, she suddenly heard a young wife announce from outside, “Madam, your eldest uncle has arrived. He says he came specially to see you!”

Hearing these words, Lady Sun was instantly stunned. Her ancestors also came from an official family. Although her father had not entered government service, their family was still wealthy and considered one of the prominent families in Kaifeng, which was why they had married into the Zhang family in the first place. However, after her father passed away, her two elder brothers divided up the family wealth and ignored her, the sister who was not well-received in the Zhang family. It was only after her husband and son achieved success through the imperial examinations that they began sending her gifts from time to time, but their affection for her had long faded.

Setting aside a piece of silk fabric in her hand, she couldn’t help but sneer, “Did you come specially to see me? Where were they when I was racking my brains over Brother Yue’s illness? Where were they when I suffered humiliation at home? Where were they when I returned home begging them to help our lord? Now they come all the way from Kaifeng just to see me—how convenient!”

Zhenzhen knew Lady Sun was speaking out of anger and quickly stood up to persuade her, “Madam, since your uncle has come all the way from Kaifeng, no matter what the reason, you should at least meet him. Otherwise, people will speak ill of you. If it’s not a serious matter, you can agree to meet him; if it is difficult, you can simply decline, and no one will have anything to say. Both the first and second madams come from prestigious families and have often helped us in the past. Now that our lord and young master have achieved success, why not support your own family as well?”

“I’m afraid they’re just useless!” Lady Sun said, though her heart was somewhat moved by Zhenzhen’s words. She glanced at her and smiled, “Since you say so, let’s go meet him together. Shaoyao, stay here and pick out some more fabrics—choose the best ones without any threads, and I’ll start sewing when I return.”

Shaoyao quickly agreed, and Zhenzhen smiled as she followed Lady Sun out of the room. Since it was a family relative, Lady Sun ordered that they meet in the small garden hall. Walking along the corridor, as soon as she stepped through the threshold, she saw her eldest brother, Sun Fengwei, sitting on the first chair on the left. He wore a Huayang-style headband, a light blue gauze shirt, a dark blue sash around his waist, and gray cloth shoes—looking much older than a few years ago.

When he saw Lady Sun enter, Sun Fengwei was momentarily stunned before rising with a smile to greet her, “Third sister.”

Upon thinking of the past events, Sun Shi felt furious. She merely gave a faint reply. Seeing that Sun Fengwei still had someone sitting with him without taking action, she couldn’t help frowning. As a woman of modest status, it was fine for her to see her own elder brother, but why bring in a stranger out of nowhere? She immediately asked with a stern expression, “Elder brother, since you’ve come, why did you bring someone else?”

“He’s not a stranger. This is my cousin within five generations of kinship—Fourth Brother Sun Fengjia. You must have seen him at home when you were young. How could you forget?” Sun Fengwei seemed unaware of Sun Shi’s cold demeanor. As he spoke, he gave the man beside him a subtle signal. “Fifth Brother’s family has always lived in western Zhejiang. A while ago, he went to Henan and happened to meet me. That’s why I thought of coming to the capital to see you. Actually, I’ve wanted to come for a long time, but as you know, my family is large, and we need plenty of food and supplies…”

Hearing Sun Fengwei’s words, Sun Shi grew even angrier. At that moment, Sun Fengjia stood up. He was dressed in a sky-blue robe with wide sleeves and a dragon-scale headscarf, looking neat and tidy. He politely stepped forward to greet her. Not knowing what kind of person this long-lost cousin was, Sun Shi quickly returned his greeting. After exchanging some polite words, she saw Sun Fengjia pick up a red lacquered box from a small table beside them.

“Third Sister, I’ve been living in western Zhejiang and haven’t returned to Kaifeng for a long time. I missed all your major life events like your marriage and having children. It’s only by coming to Kaifeng that I happened to meet Seventh Brother and learned how close our families have become. It’s been so many years—this is just a small token from me. They’re all specialties from western Zhejiang. Please don’t laugh at me for choosing only cheap things.”

It’s better not to offend those who are smiling. Besides, Sun Shi only resented her brother for his heartlessness in the past; she didn’t dislike Sun Fengjia at all. Hearing his polite words, she quickly thanked him and signaled Pearl beside her to take the box before sitting down in the main seat on the west side. After everyone settled back into their seats, Sun Fengwei couldn’t help bragging about how their family’s situation had worsened and how expensive it was to arrange marriages for their children. Finally, he shamelessly said that Sun Shi was very lucky.

“It wasn’t that I deliberately refused the Zhang family. It was because our family’s fortunes had declined, and I felt embarrassed. The Zhang family is the most prominent family in Kaifeng, and their matriarch is very strict. I was afraid of bringing shame to you. Now that your husband and nephew have achieved success, you can surely live as a proper official’s wife. I’m truly happy for you. I heard that my nephew is very favored by the emperor. He returned to Beijing a while ago and has now been sent as an imperial envoy to Qingzhou. His future is bound to be bright, with continuous promotions…”

At first, Lady Sun listened quite happily. As her elder brother spoke more and more excitedly, mentioning Zhang Yue’s return to the capital and then his assignment in Qingzhou, her expression suddenly changed drastically. A few days ago, her son had sent a letter, which Zhang You had read to her—how could these matters not be mentioned at all? Zhang You even said her son was doing well in his post in Qingzhou and was safe. In that moment, her mind was in chaos; she didn’t hear a single word of Sun Fengwei’s flattery.

Unaware of her distraction, Sun Fengwei didn’t notice, but Sun Fengjia sensed it acutely. He had come not only to forge connections with this wealthy family but also to ask for a significant favor. He gently coughed to interrupt Sun Fengwei’s endless praise. Seeing Lady Sun’s dazed expression and realizing she might not hear what he said, he simply stood up and bowed deeply to her: “Third sister, I came here today with my seventh brother not only to visit but also because I have an important request. I earnestly hope you can lend me your help!”

Seeing that Lady Sun was still stunned, Zhenzhu quickly nudged her arm gently and whispered, “Madam!”

At that moment, Lady Sun’s mind was entirely occupied with her son. Only when she came back to her senses and saw Sun Fengjia bowing to the ground did she snap out of it. She hurriedly stood up and said, “Fourth brother, please rise. If there’s anything, just speak plainly. I’ll help if I can. But as a woman, I’ve never dealt with external affairs. If it’s truly urgent, it still needs to be decided by my husband.”

“Third sister, to be honest, I only recently found out that my son and your son are both Jinshi from the same examination batch, and by chance, they were both assigned to Shandong. But he’s impatient and arrogant, getting along poorly with his superiors, colleagues, and subordinates. He was even imprisoned by the Jinyiwei for making a mistake. I’ve tried countless times to find out about him, but now I have no choice but to ask you for help. I’m not asking him to keep his position or career—just to save his life. As his father, that would be enough for me!”

Lady Sun never expected Sun Fengjia to ask for such a thing and was utterly at a loss. She was also deeply worried about her own son. Considering Sun Fengjia’s son was imprisoned in the Jinyiwei’s dungeon with an uncertain fate, her concern grew even greater. But back then, Zhang Xin had cost their family countless efforts to avoid punishment—how could she possibly help, even if she wanted to?

After much thought, she said with a troubled expression, “Fourth brother, it’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s just extremely difficult to intervene with the Jinyiwei. My husband is only a seventh-rank official…”

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Fengwei rushed to interject, “Third sister, don’t underestimate your brother-in-law. Back in Kaifeng, I once saw him dining at the same table as Yuan Qianhu from the Henan military unit—they seemed extremely close. That Yuan Qianhu is now Commander Yuan. If your brother-in-law speaks a word, won’t this matter be easily resolved? Besides, Fourth brother certainly won’t ask you to help for nothing. For his son, he would even spare no expense, even if it meant spending all his wealth. Right, Fourth brother?”
Sun Fengjia could only think of seizing this last straw of hope, so he knelt down right away. “Third sister, I know this matter carries enormous consequences, but I beg you to save my son. If there are any expenses to cover, I’ll raise whatever amount is needed. I have only this one son. If anything happens to him, my wife and I won’t be able to go on living…”
Faced with such desperate pleas, Lady Sun couldn’t help but think of Zhang Yue, who was far away in another land, and her heart ached terribly. While her cousin Sun Fengjia was willing to do anything to save his son, what about her own son? Was he truly safe right now?