Chapter 121: Loss May Be a Blessing in Disguise

After the incident with Amber, Zhang Yueyuan had initially planned to discuss setting rules with Rong Shan. Now, however, he no longer cared about what Zhang Fu and his son thought. That afternoon, he called Rong Shan over and bluntly said that the household lacked rules. He also mentioned that Amber went to ask Liu’s wife, the supervisor of the warehouse, for something but was treated rudely, omitting the matter involving Zhang Bin. He knew well that his face-conscious cousin would surely be ashamed to reveal this, and he didn’t expect Liu’s wife to spread nonsense.

Though he wanted to skin that guy, he needed to find the right opportunity to vent his anger.

“I’ve long wanted to do this, but with the Duke of Ying ill, I really haven’t had the time. Besides, most of the servants in the household are new, so it’s inevitable they’re careless and unruly,” Rong Shan said. He was aware of the chaos in the household. Although he was the head steward, he was still an external manager with too many things to attend to. He quickly bent down and said, “Since Young Master Yue is determined to do this, why not establish rules for both the inner and outer areas of the household? I will certainly lead by example in following them.”

Zhang Yueyuan had been waiting for Rong Shan’s words. Though he was determined, he still needed to consider many things, so they began discussing them one by one. The discussion lasted the entire afternoon. Whenever Zhang Yueyuan mentioned Zhang Fu and his son, Rong Shan would frown briefly before smiling again.

“Young Master Yue needn’t worry about the Second Master or Young Master Bin. The Second Master is probably too busy with other matters these days; he can’t even take care of the master himself and is always out running around, so he won’t care about how the household is run. As for Young Master Bin, it’s enough if he can manage the few people in his room. As long as the servants show him respect, who cares about rules? In short, whatever you say, Young Master Yue, I’ll do it. Even if those servants are unruly, with the master’s guards around, a little discipline will make them obedient!”

With Rong Shan’s support, Zhang Yueyuan naturally felt more confident. With Zhang Yueyuan now able to speak up in front of Lady Wang, the next day Rong Shan gathered all the household servants and clearly outlined the family rules. As he had been an external steward for Zhang Fu for many years, and with Zhang Yueyuan sitting there surrounded by strong guards, the authority they exuded was immense.

It was Liu’s wife who became the example of punishment. Pitifully, driven by greed and a desire to please, she cried and wailed after being beaten, scaring everyone else.

Thus, he was busy for several days. Though no orderly system had been established right away, things were much better than the chaos of the earlier days. Zhang Fu remained seriously ill and in a coma, Zhang Fen went out every day without knowing where he was going, and Zhang Bincheng pretended to be sick and stayed hidden in the house. Both father and son seemed utterly indifferent to affairs—how could anyone dare to speak out? As a result, no one noticed Zhang Yue stepping in to take matters into his own hands, nor did anyone realize that Rong Shan’s voice had also become much louder.

Zhang Yue waited at home for a few days until he finally received a message from Du Zhen through someone else, telling him to stay calm and stay at home. So he simply refused to go out and stayed at home, visiting Zhang Fu only once or twice a day to record his condition and the diagnoses given by the imperial physician.

If not for the unreliable postal system of that era, he would have wanted to send a letter to Nanjing every day to reassure Lady Wang. Now, he could only settle for sending everything together every three days.

Although it was already autumn, the weather that day was still extremely hot. Even though there was an ice basin in the study, he still felt unbearably hot sitting there. Carefully avoiding letting sweat on his wrists and forehead stain the paper, he finally finished writing letters to Lady Wang and his father. Then he took another sheet of paper to write to his grandmother and mother in Kaifeng. It had been nearly a year since he last saw them; his mother must have been longing for him for a long time, and now that her hopes were dashed, she must be extremely worried.

Just as he was about to start writing, the bamboo curtain suddenly flew open, and Lian Sheng rushed in, his face pale as death. Before he could steady himself, he anxiously shouted, “Young master, prepare quickly! The emperor… the emperor is coming this way with the crown prince!”

Zhang Yue was stunned upon hearing this. If Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji were coming, they should have visited Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu first. These courtyards were all study rooms—why would those two come here? After a moment of confusion, he realized they must be the current emperor and the crown prince. His hand trembled, and a drop of ink spilled, staining the paper in front of him.

In a panic, he put down his pen, crumpled the ink-stained paper, and just as he threw it into the wastebasket, he saw countless silhouettes outside through the curtain—clearly the imperial guards had arrived. Without hesitation, he quickly straightened his clothes and rushed out of the room. From a distance, he saw figures that seemed to be Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji approaching, so he quickly bowed deeply in the corridor.

Zhu Di brought Zhu Zhanji here naturally to visit Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo. As soon as they entered, he ordered his guards to detain Zhang Fu’s family members and prevent them from going out to send messages. He went straight to Zhang Fu’s residence to inquire about his condition and learned that he was still alternating between good and bad states and had not truly regained consciousness. Annoyed, he asked Shi Quan more questions, and the honest imperial physician had no choice but to report everything that had happened in recent days.

Hearing that Zhang Fu and his son had rushed all the way from Nanjing to Beijing yet showed little real concern for Zhang Fu’s condition, he immediately thought of the reports from the Jinyiwei stating that Zhang Fu spent his time hanging around the military officials accompanying the imperial inspection, which made him even angrier. Just then, he heard from Rong Shan that Zhang Bin had suddenly fallen ill, and he almost lost his temper on the spot. Learning that Zhang Yue was in the study, he stormed there angrily.

Seeing Zhang Yue kneeling in the corridor, Zhu Di let out a slight snort and entered the study without a word. After glancing around at the unluxurious room, he remembered that everything inside Zhang Fu’s residence had been in good order since they arrived, and Rong Shan had said it was all thanks to Zhang Yue, which somewhat calmed his anger. At that moment, he suddenly heard Zhu Zhanji speaking behind him.

“Grandfather, look at this!”

Zhu Di turned and saw Zhu Zhanji holding two letters. He walked over, took one of the letters, opened it, and took out the paper. It was seven or eight thick sheets filled with neat handwriting. Scanning through it quickly, a smile appeared on his usually stern face, and he immediately shouted outside, “Zhang Yue, come in!”

When Zhang Yue had first bowed, he had noticed Zhu Di’s angry stride and the way he seemed to be clenching his fists while walking, so he already knew the emperor was in a bad mood. Seeing that Zhu Di ignored him upon entering, he was puzzled, then suddenly realized—Zhang Fu had left early in the morning, and Zhang Bin was still pretending to be ill. Could it be that the emperor already knew?

Hearing that call now, he was greatly encouraged and quickly stood up. Turning around, he saw the bamboo curtains in the study pulled back high, and the one pulling them was the smiling Zhu Zhanji, leaving him stunned.

Yet before he could recover from his shock, he heard a voice from inside: “You wrote letters to Duke Zhang Fu’s wife to report your well-being, and they’re this thick. Is this meant to report well-being or imitate the novels written by scholars outside? There are even dates marked every day. It’s the first time I’ve seen such strange letters!”

Hearing Zhu Di’s voice, which seemed devoid of anger, Zhang Yue quickly stepped over the threshold and bowed to Zhu Zhanji in gratitude before hurrying forward. He boldly glanced up at Zhu Di and saw a faint smile on his face, realizing that the word “strange” was false while curiosity was the truth, giving him confidence.

“Your Majesty, the Duchess of Yingguo is far away in Nanjing. The distance is great and communication is difficult. If I were to write to her, the messages would be brief, leaving her with doubts. If worry caused her illness, that would be even worse. Every day, after visiting the Duke of Yingguo, I inquire with the imperial physician about his condition and treatment, then record everything accurately. This way, once the Duchess receives the letters, she will understand everything at a glance, which is far more effective than mere words of comfort.”

As Zhu Di listened to Zhang Yue, he opened another letter addressed to Zhang Zhuo and glanced at it briefly before nodding. “It seems you are quite thoughtful. Not only do you know how to comfort your elders, but you also know to have your father offer additional advice. It was indeed right of the Duchess of Yingguo to send you to Beijing. Hmm, I recall you are currently a xiucai, right?”

Zhang Yue quickly affirmed this. At that moment, Zhu Zhanji interjected, “Grandfather, I remember next year is the year for the imperial examinations. Isn’t August this year the time for the local examinations? Zhang Yue has come to Beijing specifically because of the Duke of Yingguo’s illness, which means he will miss the local examinations in Henan. The Duke of Yingguo is his uncle by marriage, and there is still a layer of distance between them. It’s truly remarkable that he can be so dedicated.”

Although he felt Zhu Zhanji had already favored him before, hearing these words, Zhang Yue realized that “favor” was far from enough—it was outright bias. Though Zhu Zhanji hadn’t said anything negative about Zhang Fu and his son, his silence was even more convincing. Seeing Zhu Di’s thoughtful expression, he became even more convinced.

“It’s a once-in-three-years opportunity. That you’re willing to give it up so easily is truly remarkable, just as Zhanji said.”

At this point, Zhu Di didn’t consider the possibility that even if Zhang Yue attended the local examinations, he might not necessarily pass. He was simply satisfied and annoyed at the same time.

Zhang Yu was different to him. In such a dangerous situation back then, Zhang Yu had risked his life to save him and even died in battle—his loyalty and righteousness far surpassed anything words could express. Zhang Fu, having inherited his father’s loyalty, had always wanted to keep him around to assist his descendants. Thus, compared to the actions of Zhang Fu and his son after coming to Beijing, this cousin Zhang Yue won his heart even more.

He gave Zhang Yue a deep look before saying, “Since you have given up the provincial examination this time, I will grant you one instead! Zhan Ji, remember to remind Shen Du to draft an official document to confer the title of juren on Zhang Yue!”
This time, Zhang Yue truly understood the meaning of that ancient saying—loss may turn into fortune.