Chapter 409: Major and Minor Matters

Although he knew Yu Qian would become a famous minister in the future, first, it was a critical time for him to take the imperial examinations, and second, it would take many years for him to become a pillar of the nation. After just one conversation, Zhang Yue was able to treat him with normality. After the King of Zhou’s entourage left, the scholars in the restaurant began discussing various things, when suddenly Wan Shijie tapped his head.

“We were having such a good time just now that we forgot to ask Tingyi for his name and surname. None of us three did, which was truly rude. My name is Xia Ji, with the courtesy name Zisi. He was the third-place winner in the last examination and is now an editor at the Hanlin Academy. I’m Wan Shijie from Fujian. After staying at the academy for three years without being favored, I was expelled by the Hanlin Academy, so I went to work as an official in the Ministry of War. As for Zhang Yuanjie, he’s even more remarkable. His documents often reach the emperor, and he frequently enters and exits the palace. He fought bandits in Qingzhou and suppressed Japanese pirates in the south. At a young age, he became an official in the Ministry of War, and his reputation is extremely high outside as well.”

“Oh, so you’re Lord Zhang who lifted the sea ban in Zhejiang!”

Zhang Yue didn’t expect Wan Shijie to concoct such a story. Although this time Wan Shijie wasn’t shouting as loudly as before, Yu Qian, deeply moved, spoke in a rather loud voice. Instantly, he felt many intense gazes directed at him. Gradually, the noisy restaurant became quiet. Fortunately, he was used to being under everyone’s gaze and wasn’t afraid. He could only sigh helplessly.

“Old Wan, at least you remembered to save some face for me!”

With that, he stood up, nodded at Yu Qian, and said, “It’s been a pleasure to meet you today, and I enjoyed our conversation even more. This meal was truly worth it. I wish you success in the imperial examinations and hope to have another long talk in the future.”

Although neither Wan Shijie nor Xia Ji cared much about others’ opinions, since they were full and had lost interest in talking, they didn’t want to sit there under everyone’s scrutiny any longer. They also stood up to take their leave. After his initial surprise, Yu Qian regained his composure, quickly stood up, and bowed solemnly.

“Just now, I bowed to you three as predecessors in the imperial examinations. Now, I bow to Lord Zhang for fighting against and preventing Japanese pirates in the south, eliminating those traitors who colluded with them, and restoring peace to the region. Back in my hometown of Qiantang, the elders said that Lord Zhang only killed those who deserved it, saving hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people by killing one. But in my opinion, using violence to quell chaos is only a temporary solution, not a lasting one. As an official close to the emperor, one should advise when necessary and not just kill indiscriminately to please the emperor, thus losing the way of benevolence and forgiveness!”

The words at the beginning didn’t sound surprising, but the advice that followed really shook Zhang Yue’s heart. He immediately raised his hand in a deep bow and said, “Thank you, Brother Tingyi, for your reminder. I will take your words to heart.”

As Zhang Yue and the other two left the building, mounted their horses, and departed, the second floor of Si Xi Restaurant became lively once again. If the article Zhang Yue wrote after passing the initial imperial examinations was only briefly noted, it was his subsequent actions that truly made him memorable. Since most of the people there were scholars from the Jiangnan region, some began discussing the prisoners in Ningbo’s maritime office, who lived in misery under constant shackles; others talked about the construction of walls in Shanghai County. Still others eagerly speculated about how many people Zhang Yue had killed since becoming an official. Few paid any attention to Yu Qian’s words.

Zhang Yue, Wan Shijie, and Xia Ji rode through Xuanwu Gate into the inner city and parted ways at Xi Pai Lou Alley. They had originally planned to invite Fang Jing, but coincidentally, a fake Zhang Jiu from the Imperial Academy invited Fang Jing to visit Daqing Shousi Temple together. So Zhang Yue simply let the two young men of similar age go and have fun. After leaving Xi Pai Lou Alley, he didn’t rush home but took a detour to the Zhang family’s school in Liu Xiang Hutong. He hadn’t brought any attendants with him that day. Once he arrived, he tied his horse to the stone post and went straight inside.

The gatekeeper, sitting outside on a bamboo chair wearing a thick cotton coat, was dozing off with his head nodding. He suddenly woke up when he saw a shadow passing by. Realizing it was Zhang Yue, he jumped up quickly and hurried over. After stammering a few explanations and seeing that Zhang Yue didn’t say much, he felt relieved and quickly led him to the painted double-hung door adorned with patterns of longevity and fortune. He explained, “Third young master, the students are all studying right now…”

Before he could finish speaking, a set of screams like those of a pig being slaughtered rang out from inside, mixed with the sound of bamboo boards hitting flesh. Finding this utterly outrageous, Zhang Yue frowned and asked, “What’s going on here?”

The gatekeeper was stunned for a moment before cautiously saying, “Isn’t this the ruler that the third young master personally brought for the two teachers?”

Although Zhang Yue didn’t often visit the family school, Du Wan had always been busy taking care of it, so he had long heard that the two scholars-teachers were very strict, using their rulers with a cracking sound, turning a group of mischievous children into well-behaved ones. As a result, he hadn’t paid much attention to what happened there. Hearing this, he grew somewhat dissatisfied: “Of course I know it’s the ruler being used to hit people. But it’s been over a year since the family school was established, and the rules should have been set long ago. Even if people are being punished, it should be done in a proper manner. Why is there such a horrible noise?”

“Reporting to the Third Young Master, it’s because a few relatives have joined the school recently… they’re from the Du family. Since they’re new here and don’t know the rules, they refused to study hard, so they’ve been beaten with a ruler for several days. A few days ago, some even skipped class. In the end, their families forced them to be sent here. The Third Young Master’s wife specifically ordered that they should be beaten and punished as necessary. Our rules here are strict—Lord Anyuan’s two direct nephews have been studying here for months, and if they fall behind in their studies or can’t recite what they’ve learned, they’re still beaten.”

Zhang Yue had heard of the Du family’s children attending this school, but it was his first time hearing that Liu Sheng’s nephews were also here. After asking further, he learned that Duke Ying of Britain, Zhang Fu, had sent people to inspect the school, seemingly planning to send his children here when they grew up. Even his cousin Zhang Zi would come here to study next year. Thinking that he had originally intended to take care of his family’s eligible relatives every three years, gradually teaching them other things over time, he was quite surprised to find that the school already had a good reputation.

“The two teachers here are very strict, and the school has good discipline. As long as the parents are willing to let their children endure some hardship, they will change over time. Besides, who wouldn’t like to make more friends? Everyone knows that these two tutors have the support of the Third Young Master, so no one dares to trouble them. As a result, apart from these two teachers, many others have asked if we need more tutors!”

Could this be considered serendipity?

Hearing this, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but laugh. At that moment, the wailing and screaming from the three north rooms finally ceased, followed by a stern reprimand from an old teacher. Soon after, the sound of reading filled the air, though one voice sounded somewhat tearful. Even without going in, he could guess what was going on, so he decided not to enter and turned to leave. The gatekeeper followed him out, suspicious, almost thinking he had said something wrong. It wasn’t until he received payment at the door and saw Zhang Yue riding away smiling that he realized he had handled the situation quite well.

When a vassal king entered the capital, he was first greeted by special attendants and then accommodated in one of the vassal residences in the city. Only after receiving an imperial decree would he go to the palace to meet the emperor. Although King Zhou was summoned to the capital this time for accountability rather than an audience, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites personally went out to greet him and escorted him all the way to King Zhou’s residence in Langfang Hutong. Although King Zhou Zhu Tu traveled by water from Henan to the capital, a relatively short distance, his advanced age made the journey quite exhausting. It was not until he entered the gate and saw Zhu Ning waiting in the courtyard that he felt relieved, and much of his fatigue vanished.

After bathing and changing clothes, Zhu Tu dismissed his servants and lay half-reclined on the Xiangfei couch, allowing Zhu Ning to massage his shoulders. After a while, he sighed deeply, “Ning’er, if you weren’t my daughter, you wouldn’t have been delayed until today.”

“What are you saying, Father? I’m still young!”

Noticing the hands behind him pause briefly before continuing, Zhu Tu shook his head. “A girl should have her marriage arranged before reaching the age of fifteen. How can you still be considered young? I originally planned to choose a husband for you from among the prominent families in Kaifeng. At that time, I thought the sons of the Zhang family were all good choices. It’s a pity that none of them were from the main branch of the family, and the eldest grandson was even younger than you… If I had known they would all turn out so well, I should have acted sooner… It was my mistake. Your fourth uncle does have daughters, yet he insisted on keeping you in the palace!”

Zhang Chao kept a concubine in his golden house; Zhang Qi got angry with his wife and kept three or four concubines in the house; Zhang Yue was fine, but he was already married to Du Wan, who was about to give birth! Besides, how could the Zhang family marry a princess?

Even Zhu Ning, usually so cheerful, was somewhat annoyed now. “Although it’s been over two months since last December’s incident, my fourth uncle has still been in a bad mood these days, often getting angry. Even the crown prince isn’t spared. You’ve been summoned to the capital this time to face charges. If you’re not concerned about these matters, why worry about such trivial things regarding me?”

“Alright, alright. Your marriage is a trivial matter…” Zhu Tu really didn’t know what to do with his daughter. He turned to stare at her for a while before speaking seriously, “It’s just a minor issue like An San who reported on me. This is just a pretext. Ever since I refused the title change to Luoyang, a grudge has been planted in my elder brother’s heart. This time, I’m prepared to humble myself and apologize, and hand over the three guards. I assume my elder brother won’t go to extremes…”

“Even if my fourth uncle won’t, who knows if others won’t!”

Zhu Ning grabbed Zhu Tu’s arm tightly and said word by word, “When I was living in the Western Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, I deliberately avoided inquiring about such matters. It wasn’t until I moved out some time ago that I used a few tricks to finally uncover some hidden truths. That An San is indeed insignificant, but the officials from Henan who gathered evidence later submitted a petition claiming that you had close dealings with the followers of the Yici Leye Sect and were plotting something sinister. The court is extremely wary of such sects, and those officials even presented solid proof!”
At this moment, even Zhu Tu couldn’t help but gasp in shock. His half-brother Zhu Di, after ascending to the throne, imposed strict restrictions on princes, especially forbidding them from interacting with folk sects. This charge was indeed serious. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and said, “I merely intended to donate funds to help the Yici Leye Sect build a mosque. An San was originally one of their members, yet he still used this charge to frame me! For his own selfish gains, he isn’t even afraid of destroying our entire clan—what a beast!”
“I’m afraid there’s someone behind this, instigating him,” Zhu Ning added calmly, then gently stroked the messy hair by his ear. “Fourth Uncle sent me to tell Your Majesty that he will see you in two days. Whatever happens, you must be prepared.”