Chapter 112: We’ll See What Happens

Fifty wicker chests were neatly stacked in the courtyard. Though the wooden boxes were tightly covered and the strips still looked brand new, as soon as Zhang Fei stepped inside, he seemed to smell the pungent odor of rust, to see the mocking smile on Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong’s face, and to perceive the gleeful looks of those younger people.

“Damn it!”
Zhang Fei clenched his fists tightly. Seeing the servants in the courtyard standing around those wicker chests in confusion, seemingly unsure what to do, he grew even angrier. He pushed aside the butler who rushed up with a fake smile and roared at them fiercely.

“Idiots! What are you standing around for? Hurry up and move these heavy things away! If you don’t, we’ll use them to pay your salaries!”
At these words, the servants’ faces turned pale, and they immediately started working hard. The Ming Dynasty only minted coins during the Hongwu era; later, due to the use of paper money, the use of gold, silver, and copper coins was banned. Few households still had coins made at that time. The coins made then were made from old and worthless materials, and they were only slightly more valuable than the rapidly depreciating paper money. In just a few decades, the exchange rate had dropped from one tael of silver per string of paper money to ten strings required for the same amount of silver—so the value of the coins wasn’t much better. Moreover, although paper money was cheap, it was at least easy to store. Carrying such large chests back would be a huge hassle.

Despite the servants working hard, the anger in Zhang Fei’s heart still didn’t subside. He stormed through the front yard and saw several maids peeking from behind the second gate. They seemed to be the prominent ones from his wife, Lady Deng’s chamber. This made him even angrier. He went over, kicked one of them over, and drove the rest away.

“Master, the third master has arrived not long ago. He’s waiting for you in the small garden hall over there. What do you think…”
“The third brother has come?” Without paying attention to the maid who was terrified, Zhang Fei turned around. Seeing the butler bent over like a shrimp, he pondered for a moment before sneering, “He really thinks he can get away with it. I’m always the one to take the brunt of everything, and now he comes here acting nice! Hmph, I’m curious to hear what he has to say!”

When Zhang Fei stepped into the small hall, he saw his younger brother Zhang Jie sitting in the chair at the lower end, with a blue satin backrest, calmly drinking tea, with not even a servant by his side. Though still angry, he didn’t want Zhang Jie to see him lose his temper, so he coldly snapped at the person behind him, “My third brother came all this way specifically—is this how you treat guests?”
“Master, how dare I? It was Third Master who said…”
“Second brother, I sent those two maids away,” Zhang Jie said, setting down his teacup and standing up. With a smile, he stepped forward and bowed, observing Zhang Fei’s expression before making up his mind. He then said to the butler, “We brothers have something to discuss. You may go; we’ll call you if we need you.”
Although he was displeased that Zhang Jie was taking matters into his own hands, it paled in comparison to the humiliation he had just suffered. Thus, Zhang Fei frowned slightly and sat down at the head seat. When he reached out habitually for his tea, his hand found nothing, and only then did he remember that the servants had all been sent away by Zhang Jie, which made him even angrier.
“What brings you to see me today, third brother?”
Unlike his usual extravagant attire and entourage, Zhang Jie wore only two attendants that day and a slightly worn light blue robe, looking like an ordinary person. Seeing his second brother’s outfit, he narrowed his eyes and smiled, “I heard that the father and son of the Zhang family from Xiangfu moved out of the Duke of Ying’s mansion today. It seems this has fulfilled your wish, second brother.”
It would have been fine if this topic hadn’t been brought up. Once it was, Zhang Fei immediately recalled the embarrassing situation from earlier, his fists clenching tightly. Though he didn’t want Zhang Jie to laugh at him, he couldn’t hold back anymore. In a fit of anger, he slapped the armrest hard and stood up, his face full of fury.
“I went there today with good intentions to congratulate them, only to find that they, relying on the power of Duke Zhu Yong, treated me rudely! And that Meng Jun from the Marquis of Baoding family, thinking he’ll become a marquis someday, dares to look down on me now! Even the younger members of the marquis and earl families like the Earl of Yingcheng are more and more unruly! My eldest brother and sister-in-law are blind—refusing their own brothers and nephews and siding with outsiders. It drives me mad!”

Zhang Ke had only asked tentatively, never expecting such a result, and he was shocked. His elder brother Zhang Fu was currently on a northern inspection and not at home, and Lady Wang, as the eldest sister-in-law, rarely interfered in their affairs. So even though he knew that Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Yue were about to leave the British Duke’s residence, he pretended not to know. But he never expected that not only was there a kinship between the Meng family of the Baoding Marquis and the Zhang family of Xiangfu, but even someone as prominent as Duke Cheng Zhu Yong would be present!

“Elder brother really favors them too much. It’s just a few relatives from Kaifeng, and yet he even dragged in Duke Cheng!” He sighed hypocritically, then shook his head and said, “I heard that the eldest sister-in-law even beat a maid to death for stealing Zhang Yue’s things and locked up another concubine. Was it really necessary to go to such extremes?”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ke’s expression became awkward. He cleared his throat and changed the subject: “Elder brother hasn’t trusted us two brothers for days now. He keeps taking in maids and concubines, yet still has no children of his own. It wouldn’t hurt to adopt one. But now that both of us have two sons each, why does he have to look outside our family? He ignores our sons but is busy supporting those two. I wonder who he has his eye on!”

“Zhang Chao may be skilled in martial arts, but he’s brave without strategy. Would anyone else choose a place like Jinxiang Wei, which has no future? Fighting the pirates… even killing a thousand enemies might not be a great achievement! But since the emperor favors brave men, maybe he really favors Zhang Chao. Well…” Seeing Zhang Ke listening attentively, Zhang Ke sneered, “On the battlefield, there’s no mercy. And those pirates are extremely vicious. If someone loses an arm or leg, it’s still okay, but if they lose their life…”

“That’s the boy’s own fault!”

With a gloating remark, Zhang Ke felt much better. Although there were many dukes, marquises, and counts in the Ming Dynasty, few from the founding generation remained. The most prominent ones were the heroes of the Jingnan Campaign. Duke Cheng Zhu Yong received 2,200 dan of grain, while Marquis Baoding Meng Ying got only 1,200 dan. The other dukes and marquises were similar, but his elder brother, the British Duke Zhang Fu, received 3,000 dan! If such a duke title fell to his own son, his future would be greatly enhanced.

“Still, second brother, don’t underestimate that kid Zhang Yue.”

Zhang Fei, who was in high spirits, was instantly doused like with a bucket of cold water upon hearing these words. Glancing at his younger brother unhappily, he said irritably, “He’s just a minor scholar. He can’t fight or achieve anything remarkable; all he can do is say a few sweet words to flatter our elder brother and sister-in-law. What great achievements could he possibly have? If it weren’t for…” He abruptly stopped himself, thinking that if their eldest daughter, Zhang Ke, had been more capable and won a poetry contest against that boy, just the fact of possessing that sable fur coat would have ruined that boy’s future for good.

“Elder brother, don’t forget—he’s met the emperor and the crown prince!” Zhang Jie had come prepared today. Hearing Zhang Fei’s half-finished words, which matched up with some information he had gathered, he continued, “He’s a student of Du Yishan from the Hanlin Academy. Who is Du Yishan? He’s a close friend of Yang Shiji and has connections with many officials in the Eastern Palace. That boy met Yang Rong, as well as the emperor and the crown prince, at Yang Shiji’s home! Right now, the emperor values the descendants of meritorious officials more than civil officials. But what if it were the crown prince or the crown prince?” His eloquent persuasion immediately made Zhang Fei pale, who then forced a smile and said, “Younger brother, you’re thinking too far ahead. Anyway, he won’t inherit the title of Duke of Ying. Even if he becomes an official in one of the six ministries, he’ll still have to show respect to us elders, won’t he?”

“By ordinary standards, that’s true. But there’s a saying: ‘Avenge wrongs with wrongs, and avenge grudges with grudges.’” Zhang Fei’s frown deepened at Zhang Jie’s sinister tone, and he gradually felt uneasy. He wasn’t originally a kind person. Even if he was dissatisfied with Zhang Fu, who often gave him kind reminders, let alone an unrelated younger relative. After sitting down, he tapped lightly on the armrest with his knuckles before asking after a long pause, “So what do you suggest we do?”

“It’s actually very simple. Although our dynasty selects scholars through the imperial examinations, it’s not the only path. Isn’t there also the system of recommendation? Even commoners can recommend people—let alone the descendants of nobles? I think the Eastern Palace must have a good impression of him. If we can get him there, even if it’s as a position without a rank, I’m sure he’d be happy to take it. Second brother, since the eighth year of Yongle, although the Eastern Palace seems like a good place, countless people have ended up trapped there.”

“You mean…”

Zhang Fei suddenly understood, though with a hint of wariness. He usually saw Zhang Jie just going with the flow among the imperial guards, never expecting him to have such cunning ideas. Still, since he still needed his third brother’s advice, he couldn’t afford to worry too much and quickly asked for more details on how to proceed. After discussing everything, he felt refreshed, the anger that had been brewing in him long gone.

Having accomplished his goal, Zhang Jie naturally didn’t want to stay long. Before leaving, he reminded him, “We shouldn’t rush this. Wait a while first. That kid wants to take the imperial examinations to become a scholar, right? If you recommend him after he passes the exams, it will be foolproof. The crown prince never favors military officials, but with another member of our Zhang family in his ranks, he’ll surely be pleased. It would be easy to create some minor issue then, wouldn’t it?”

Zhang Fei smiled broadly as he saw Zhang Jie off to the gate, watching him mount his horse and ride away. Only then did he scowl in annoyance. Recommend him personally? If something went wrong, not to mention his brother’s merciless criticism, he might even end up taking blame. Besides, what if Zhang Yue failed the exams?

He wasn’t an idiot—how could he be that foolish! There was still time. Why should he be forced around by others? As the saying goes, “Let’s wait and see.”