Chapter 371: Relatives

In this world, there are always many who add icing on the cake but few who offer help in times of need. When Meng Xian was demoted in the past, Meng’s household fell into silence, with few visitors, and even those relatives who used to frequent the Baoding Marquis’s residence diminished in number. Now that the storm had passed and sunshine returned, both places gradually became lively again. Lady Lu, the wife of the Baoding Marquis, was accustomed to such behavior and, being leisurely by nature, simply left these matters to her eldest daughter-in-law. As a result, Zhang Qing was constantly busy and could only vent her frustrations on her husband at night.

That noon, after dealing with trivial household chores, she was too lazy to stay in the small meeting hall and instead took Bao Xia and Ying Chun back to her own courtyard. Before she could even sit down to rest, a report came from outside.
“Elder Lady, Young Master Yue has arrived.”
“My third brother? Isn’t he supposed to be at the government office right now?”
Zhang Qing had been fed up dealing with those tricky people these days, so she was delighted to hear that Zhang Yue had come. She quickly ordered Bao Xia to go to the second gate to greet him and sent someone to inform Lady Lu. Soon, Zhang Yue, dressed in casual clothes, entered with Bao Xia, holding a box in his hands. Seeing this, she immediately showed a displeased expression.
“If you’re coming, why bring anything along?”
Zhang Yue, knowing well that his elder sister Zhang Qing was straightforward, smiled and said, “Sis, it’s too early to judge. First, you don’t know what I’ve brought, and second, you don’t know who it’s for. Don’t reject it so quickly. By the way, where’s my nephew? He must be about four now. Every time I see him, he’s growing taller. My eldest brother even said he’s stronger than when he was little!”
“Ang Ge went to his grandmother’s place. As the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, his grandmother dotes on him terribly. If it weren’t for me keeping a close eye on him, who knows what he might do—maybe even climb roofs or search bird nests!” Talking about her son, Zhang Qing forgot all her troubles of recent days and smiled broadly. She said to Zhang Yue, “Come visit him more often when you have time. Otherwise, he might end up not recognizing you as his brother, just like Jing Er! As for what you brought, I don’t care. Since you’re here, let’s eat first. I’ve been busy all morning and am exhausted!”

In jest, the brother and sister sat down. Before long, Yingchun, who had gone out to bring food, entered with a food box and quickly arranged the dishes on the table—just two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, one soup, and five ordinary home-cooked meals. Zhang Qing personally handed a pair of chopsticks to Zhang Yue and joked, “The Bao Ding Marquis’s household has high expenses these days, and with limited income, we have to be frugal with everything. I don’t treat you as a guest—eat what I eat. If you want delicacies, go back home.”
“Sis, what do you think of me then?”
Seeing that the dishes on the table were quite ordinary and hearing this reply, Zhang Yue, who had taken the chopsticks, was surprised but simply replied casually. After finishing the meal, he asked curiously, “The Bao Ding Marquis receives an annual salary of 1,200 dan, plus a salary from the Left Army Command, along with income from his estates—his income should be substantial enough to cover his expenses, right?”
“Do you know how many brothers my father-in-law’s generation had?” When Zhang Yue shook his head, Zhang Qing raised her hand to make a gesture. “There were five in total. Aside from him and his eldest uncle, the other three only received a stipend without actual official positions. How could such a small stipend be enough? Although they all left to start their own families, if they came back asking for money, my parents couldn’t just kick them out. The 1,200 dan annual salary isn’t all in rice either—most of it is in paper money, which is far from enough. If it weren’t for the British Duke’s advice to acquire some land and shops back then, our family would be in dire straits.”
At this point, Zhang Qing still felt angry and sneered, “My father-in-law seemed indifferent to my eldest uncle’s affairs at first, but if it weren’t for him secretly asking several nobles for favors and often mentioning his ancestors’ merits before the emperor, my eldest uncle wouldn’t have been reinstated so quickly. But no one expected the emperor to give him to Prince Zhao instead. My eldest uncle even recommended my third uncle, who, it seems, was appointed as a thousand-household guard by Prince Zhao. As a result, my father-in-law has fallen back into his old habits these days and can’t even focus on matters related to the Left Army Command!”
Just two days ago, Zhang Yue heard that some officials submitted a petition urging the emperor to remove Prince Zhao, Zhu Gao Sui, from his position, only to be harshly rebuked. Considering Zhu Di’s previous words, he now found the emperor’s intentions extremely unpredictable. That’s why he came to the Bao Ding Marquis’s household today to ask Zhang Qing about Marquis Meng Ying’s thoughts—and only then did he realize that the owners here were also in a desperate situation.
“By the way, has sis ever visited Uncle Meng’s house?”

“I went there as soon as they returned. The family has been through many upheavals—everyone has changed, not to mention the servants, even the masters. Taodì and Fán dì are much more sensible now; they observe mourning while studying, vowing not to be playful anymore. The fourth sister is also different from before. Though she was sensible before, she seemed a bit weak, but now she acts decisively. Before returning to Shandong to bury their mother, she sent away Hongxiù, who had served her since childhood, to get married. Later, since her uncle declared he wouldn’t remarry, several concubines became restless, but she cut back on expenses and staff, even dismissing two people sent by Prince Zhao. I heard those two were beaten to death by Prince Zhao upon returning… Anyway, it’s necessary to use such measures to deter those with sinister intentions. If it were the old her, she surely wouldn’t have the courage to do so.”

Thinking of the gentle and kind girl from the past, Zhang Qing felt filled with sighs, but quickly dismissed these useless thoughts. Meng Min managed the household before only because of Lady Wu’s support behind the scenes; now things were truly difficult. Meng Jun mentioned yesterday that the emperor rejected the petition to grant Prince Zhao, Zhu Gao Sui, a fief. In her view, expelling that prince from the capital and assigning Meng Xian to his position might truly protect the family and prevent trouble for the Baoding Marquis’s household. Though this idea was selfish, who wouldn’t think of their own family?

Seeing Zhang Yue looking pensive, she quickly changed the subject: “With the death of the Queen Mother this time, following the precedent set by the late Concubine Chengmu, both the Crown Prince and Prince Zhao as well as Prince Han observed mourning periods. Originally, no one else was required to do so. I heard Princess Chenliu originally wanted to observe mourning for the Queen Mother, but the emperor firmly refused, praising her intentions instead. He rewarded her with a mansion in the city as grand as a princess’s residence and ordered the Imperial Clan Office and the Court Ceremonies Bureau to compile a list of suitable young men for her to choose from personally.”

“The Imperial Clan Office and the Court Ceremonies Bureau?”

Zhang Yue was shocked. He immediately remembered Huang Yan’s mischievous actions before and how Zhu Ning had passed on a message once, causing him some concern. But then he thought that since Zhu Di treated Zhu Ning almost like his own daughter, even allowing her to make the selections herself, he probably wouldn’t let Huang Yan cause any trouble. After chatting idly for a while, he remembered the items he had brought today. He quickly took out the box and opened it—it contained a beautifully crafted wooden sword, along with a small birch bow and a bag of round-headed wooden arrows.

Zhang Qing had initially teased him for being mysterious, but after seeing these items, she couldn’t help but laugh and say, “The Baoding Marquis’s family has always emphasized archery and horsemanship. It’s not like they’d start teaching Angge martial arts at just four years old. You really planned ahead.”
“Angge is still too young; it’s not time for him to study or practice martial arts. Since he’s so mischievous, I thought he might like these. After all, real swords and bows are too dangerous for his age—could hurt others or himself. I had Liansheng and Lianhu make these. They’re idle anyway, and they enjoy making such small toys. I also plan to have them take care of all the toys once Wanmei gives birth. They even said they’ll make Lu Ban locks; I’ll send them a set once it’s done.”
Although she wasn’t sure if Meng Ang would find them interesting, Zhang Qing found the items delicate and cute as she examined them repeatedly. It wasn’t until she heard Zhang Yue’s explanation that she realized what he meant. She immediately teased him, “I thought you’d changed your heart and started doting on your nephew. Turns out you’re thinking about your future child! Well, whatever they make, just send them over. I’ll give them all to Angge—he’ll definitely like them as he’s curious by nature.”
Zhang Yue wasn’t bothered by such teasing. “Of course, when the child reaches five or six, he’ll need to learn to read and write. In a noble family like ours, he’ll also have to learn martial arts and horsemanship. But if he spends all his time with nurses and maids from a young age, that’s not good. These items are perfect for children to fiddle with, and no matter what they’re made into, it gives them a sense of accomplishment. I also told them to make some literacy puzzles to sharpen their minds.”
This was indeed a plan he had thought of for his future children. Seeing Zhang Qing still smiling, he explained, “I’m thinking that as our siblings gradually have children, although they’ll all be born into wealth, raising them individually might make them spoiled. So I plan to find a reliable place where the children can go during the day, so they can play and learn together from a young age. That way, when they grow up, they’ll know how to help each other and stay close, rather than letting blood relations fade over generations.”

Hearing this, Zhang Qing couldn’t help but hesitate slightly. Thinking about how busy she was with household chores every day and had little time to discipline her son, with most of the time spent under the care of the nanny and doted on by her mother-in-law, she gradually became tempted. With that in mind, she nodded and said, “Since you have an idea, I’ll bring it up with my mother-in-law. She’s always reasonable and will surely agree. Speaking of which, my third sister and fifth, sixth brothers, my aunt and her son and daughter, my eldest sister-in-law and her son and daughter—plus your family and mine… we do indeed have quite a few children now. You’ve really thought this through.”

Although Zhang Yue had had varying relationships with his siblings in his youth, over the years, having gone through many trials together, they had naturally developed genuine affection for one another. At that moment, he smiled and said, “Just like us siblings—wasn’t it during those years we spent together in Kaifeng that we became so harmonious? Eventually, we can pool our resources to give each of the children some property. I’ve even thought of a name for it: ‘Happy Family’. What do you think?”

Zhang Qing pondered the name “Happy Family” over and over again, nodding repeatedly. As she thought about the future of the Zhang family, she suddenly remembered another matter, and her previously cheerful expression darkened. “Does my third brother know that Ke, the girl from my second uncle’s family, was originally supposed to get married? Due to the current tragedy, they’ve postponed the wedding until next year. Aunt Deng only has this one legitimate daughter. I thought marrying her to Li Maofang, the Marquis of Fuyang, would be a good match, but it turns out that Marquis Li is notoriously irritable and lustful. He already has five or six concubines at home, and he replaces them every one or two years.”

Zhang Ke? Zhang Yue frowned and thought for a long time before recalling that little girl from the poetry competition. Although she had set a trap for him by following his father Zhang Fu’s advice back then, she was still a naive and innocent girl. If what Zhang Qing said was true, then she was indeed like a flower placed among cow dung. But wasn’t Zhang Fu close to Prince Zhao? How could he marry off his only legitimate daughter to Li Maofang? According to Fan Xiyan at that time, Princess Yongping and Li Maofang were part of Zhu Gaoxu’s faction!