Chapter 624: A Thousand Faces, A Thousand Hearts of Compassion

Most of the nobles who escaped Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang’s massacre during the Hongwu era remained in Nanjing, while those who had contributed to the Jingnan Campaign, aside from a few who stayed to guard Nanjing, mostly followed the emperor to the capital. There were dozens of alleys in the western city named after various titles—Wu’an Marquis Alley, Fengcheng Alley, Taining Marquis Alley… Thus, luxurious mansions stood closely packed together, just like the intricate kinship ties among these people; outsiders could hardly penetrate that circle no matter what they tried.

That day was Liu Sheng, the Anyuan Marquis,’s fiftieth birthday. Although he was only granted his title after the three northern expeditions in the eighth year of the Yongle era, he had served as deputy commander of the central army once and as commander twice, overseeing the military camps for nearly a decade—a privilege unmatched by almost anyone below the rank of duke. Coupled with his generous nature, he was deeply loved by his subordinates, so no one ever challenged his position. For this birthday, a grand banquet was held at his home, with colleagues and subordinates coming to offer their congratulations, along with gifts from the palace, creating an extremely lively atmosphere.

Since it was his official birthday, Liu Sheng sent his eldest son, Liu Pu, to welcome guests at the door, while he himself entertained them in the Yian Hall of his home, adorned with an imperial plaque featuring black background and gold paint. In the heat of the conversation, he slapped the table loudly and declared, “I used to think the north was a great threat, but after three campaigns, they turn out to be nothing but petty clowns!”

Upon hearing this, most of the nobles immediately agreed, while the younger ones merely nodded in agreement. Soon, someone came in to report that the four brothers—Zhang Chao, Zhang Qi, Zhang Yue, and Zhang Jiu—had arrived to wish him happy birthday. Nodding, he said to Meng Ying, the Baoding Marquis, standing beside him, “The Duke of Yingguo is currently in Danning. They probably brought gifts even from his residence! The emperor favors the Duke of Yingguo greatly and has also promoted Yangwu Bo significantly. Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi are now both thousand-household officers, but Zhang Yue… that kid always causes trouble!”

“Saluting the Anyuan Marquis! Wishing you a longevity as vast as the East Sea and as enduring as the Southern Mountains!”

Liu Sheng, who was about to continue speaking, snapped back to reality upon hearing these unified voices. When he saw the three Zhang brothers already stepping over the threshold and bowing, he nodded and ordered that they rise. Since Zhang Qi was his nephew-in-law and he often dealt with Zhang Yue, he directly called the three of them forward. Noting that Zhang Chao wore purple, Zhang Qi blue, and Zhang Yue a brocade robe in lotus green, he turned to Zhang Qi and mercilessly scolded him first.

“You fool, you should spend more time learning military strategies when you have free time. Don’t just hang around outside doing nonsense! You’re not someone swamped with work, staying away from home all day long. Your wife isn’t easy to deal with either—her complaints are driving me crazy! Don’t forget your own status. You’re already quite old—think about the late lady from last year!” After saying that, he ignored Zhang Qi’s face turning pale and red, and glared at Zhang Yue fiercely: “The same goes for you. It’s not good to stay in the Ministry of War—just move to another place. Why cause so much trouble? Do you know that word has spread among the three major camps in the capital? They say you want to control the selection of hereditary officers… Aren’t you choking everyone? Not to mention the lower-ranking officers who might get into trouble, even us older folks—whose families don’t have extra sons hoping for the emperor’s favor? Remember, your surname is Zhang—don’t forget your roots. Military positions are our lifeline!”
“Marquis Anyuan, this is all misinformation. How could I ever come up with such a self-destructive idea? If it’s about fame, I already have a little reputation—why ruin everything by doing something that undermines our foundation? If it’s about profit, what money could I gain from this? If it’s neither for fame nor profit, why go to such trouble?”
“Hmph, if only it were that simple!”
Liu Sheng’s voice was loud, and Zhang Yue’s was not far behind. Soon, almost everyone in the hall heard their conversation and saw the stern expression on the birthday man’s face. Fortunately, Meng Ying stepped in promptly to change the subject, and the atmosphere finally relaxed again. Zhang Chao and Zhang Jiu, who had escaped disaster, saw Zhang Qi’s displeasure and Zhang Yue’s stiff expression, and sighed inwardly. But since Liu Sheng was their elder, they had no choice but to pull them outside to the corridor.
On the other side of the corridor was the banquet hall filled with young men from various families, whose laughter could still be heard. Unlike the Hall of Righteousness, where people boasted about their military achievements, here all that could be heard were talks about love and romance. Zhang Qi had originally been interested in these things, but the scolding ruined his mood, and he almost wanted to leave right away. Seeing that Zhang Yue’s expression had returned to normal, he snorted.
“Your aunt and the others have gone to meet the Marquis Anyuan’s wife back there. Let’s just go in and sit for a while. We can pretend to be interested during the banquet, and then leave when it’s over.”

At Zhang Chao’s proposal, Zhang Yue nodded naturally, then found an excuse to send the three brothers away. After standing around outside for a while, he saw someone coming out of the banquet hall—it was Sun Han. Though they were good friends and relatives by marriage, one was usually in the palace while the other was in the government office, so they rarely saw each other throughout the year. Upon meeting, they nodded to each other and then left the main hall, passing through a narrow path before stopping at the Moon Gate at the end.

“I must say, Yuan Jie, you’re really good at assigning tasks. Do you know what look An Yuan Hou gave me when I delivered your message that day?”

“I really owe you one. Although my elder brothers are also in the military—one in Tongzhou Guard and the other in the Yulin Guard—they always seem to annoy An Yuan Hou. Besides, they’re more brave than strategic, nowhere near as good as you.”

“Stop flattery. Praising me too much never brings good luck!” Still, Sun Han looked around to ensure no one was nearby before lowering his voice. “Fortunately, An Yuan Hou has a decent impression of you. After seeing what you asked me to bring, he believed you. He’s an honest man; if I hadn’t persuaded him, he might have cursed right away. But is what you told me else true? After all, everyone knows the Han King is ambitious… If he’s smart, he should save himself trouble.”

Zhang Yue had been to Sun’s family’s house twice and knew well that neither father nor son aspired to high positions or wealth; they just wanted a more comfortable and decent life. Hearing this, he laughed and said, “If everyone were calm, there wouldn’t be so many problems in the world. What I said is just speculation—it might not get that bad, but it’s hard to say. Haven’t you heard that the Han King’s third son, Prince Jiyang Zhu Zhanli, is coming to Beijing soon, claiming to attend to the emperor’s illness?”

At the mention of the Prince of Shouguang, Sun Han felt his head spin and sighed deeply. Over the years, having served in the imperial guard and interacting with other nobles, he had heard many people talk about how fierce the Han King used to be, with evident fear in their voices. Moreover, with the emperor’s example ahead, if that man really tempted them with rewards and titles, it was hard to say what those people would think.

“Should I go and gauge my uncle’s attitude…”

“Absolutely not!” Zhang Yue quickly shook his head. “When I sent you to deliver a message to Marquis Anyuan, I only said that acting in that way could help cover for me and make it seem like that’s the only solution I could think of. If you go and probe around, and it gets discovered, that would be a mistake. Besides, whether it’s your uncle or Marquis Anyuan, Marquis Wu’an, and the others, they’ve all lived long lives and have their own convictions and plans. It’s not appropriate to speak rashly unless it’s a critical moment.”

Seeing Sun Han raise his right hand and pound it firmly against the stone wall beside him, his gaze shifted to the small garden inside the Moon Gate, which clearly didn’t receive much attention. “Although they’ve all been granted titles, when they see those high-ranking officials from the Hongwu era idle with no duties or power, it’s only natural for them to have certain thoughts when comparing the two.”

After discussing this topic for a while, they shifted to other matters. Sun Han was an optimistic person. When the topic turned to Fangling now being assigned to the Eastern Palace, he immediately became extremely excited. “I told you he wasn’t a frivolous person. How could he get involved with a palace maid from the Eastern Palace? There must be another reason. He performed quite well at the Imperial Academy, and I heard the Crown Prince highly appreciates his writings. Last time, he even gave him a seal. He moved out there when things weren’t going well for him, but now his family is too embarrassed to ask him to move back. In my opinion, he should just set up his own household outside. He’s already quite grown up…”

As Sun Han spoke animatedly, Zhang Yue listened with concern but didn’t want to interrupt his enthusiasm. Finally, after Sun Han finished speaking, he gave some further instructions and arranged how to stay in touch if anything came up. Soon after, they heard noise coming from Yian Hall. Realizing the birthday banquet was about to start, they hurried back.

After Marquis Anyuan’s birthday, due to the large number of people and chatter, certain rumors began to spread. Yet, no matter how many words there are, people often only believe what they already firmly believe. Some thought Liu Sheng held deep prejudices against Zhang Yue but didn’t really believe it; others believed rumors must have a cause and might be true; still others wondered how such confidential matters could be leaked so easily… In short, everyone has their own opinion, and it’s hard to satisfy everyone.

Since moving to the city, the Meng family kept their doors closed to guests, but they would not turn away those from the Marquis of Baoding’s residence. One day, Lady Lu sent someone to pick them up again. Meng Min couldn’t refuse such kindness and had no choice but to take her younger siblings with her to the Marquis of Baoding’s house. After having lunch together, Lady Wang arrived with Zhang Ke, so they all gathered together. Lady Lu then kept Lady Wang to talk, saying that the large osmanthus plant in Chongguo Temple to the north of their house had bloomed early this year, and she asked Zhang Qing to take Zhang Ke and Meng Min out for a walk. Once the three children left, she sighed to Lady Wang.
“The fourth daughter is growing up; she can’t always stay by her younger siblings. But we still need to choose her partner carefully. The same goes for your daughter Zhang Ke. Although the marriage arrangement already counts her as part of their family, now that Princess Yongping has passed away, their family has fallen completely. I wonder what her father plans. Staying faithful for life surely preserves one’s reputation, but it’s not worth sacrificing oneself for such a person…”
“There’s no point hoping for anything from her father!” Lady Wang’s expression darkened, before she calmly said, “She’s currently disheartened; it’s better not to bring this up. A girl’s reputation is indeed of utmost importance, but it’s not worth ruining oneself for that kind of person. We’ll have to wait until the situation settles. If there’s a suitable match, I’ll try to get the master to make a decision.”