Chapter 253: Even for a Lifelong Matter

The military households in the capital’s guard forces enjoyed benefits more than twice that of those in the regional garrison troops, not to mention the noble sons who served as officers at various ranks there under the status of meritorious officials. Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi, the two brothers, were generous by nature and skilled in martial arts. Over time, they gained some reputation in certain circles. Coupled with their willingness to spend freely and their lack of concern over promotions or evaluations, they enjoyed great popularity. Thus, when Zhang Chao asked for leave that day, his superior approved it with a single stroke of the pen, without asking any unnecessary questions.

Once outside the camp, Zhang Chao headed straight to Songshu Hutong. This place was usually where the offspring of meritorious officials gathered to drink and socialize. So even during the day when everyone should have been on duty, one could still see many noble youths dressed in fine silk robes. Those who knew each other would simply nod at one another. He went straight to a small courtyard, knocked on the door, and when someone opened it slightly, he welcomed him in with a broad smile.

“Elder brother, you’ve finally arrived! Miss Cuilu has been waiting for you for days…”

“Cut the nonsense. Is my younger brother here?”

“He is, he is! The second young master is sitting on the second floor. Don’t worry, no one else is here today!”

Zhang Chao waved his hand impatiently, shooing away the sycophantic middle-aged doorkeeper, then stepped straight into the two-story building. He didn’t even glance at the middle-aged woman who rushed forward to talk nonstop; his gaze merely swept over the pretty-faced woman before he rushed upstairs. Seeing Zhang Qi fidgeting there, he called out,

“Elder brother, you’re here at last!”

Although Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi both served in the capital’s guard forces—one in the Yulin Front Guard and the other in the Yanshan Right Guard—they rarely met outside of home. Occasionally, they would run into each other here while out with colleagues. So whenever they had matters too sensitive to discuss at home, they would meet here. But asking for leave specifically like this was the first time.

Pulling Zhang Qi over to the window, Zhang Chao asked in a low voice, “Well? Any news from my brother-in-law?”

“My brother-in-law said to stay calm and not cause trouble by acting rashly.” Speaking this, Zhang Qi looked resentful. “Elder brother, you’re almost twenty, and I’m nearly eighteen. Yet he still treats us like children! Even grandmother—even if she’s sick, she should have sent a message to our third brother. What’s the point of hiding things like this?”

“My third brother will be back in at most half a month.” Zhang Chao glanced around before lowering his voice again. “I happen to know an officer from the Jinyiwei; he’s one of Commander Yuan’s trusted men. After I got him drunk that day, he revealed a bit of information. It seems Mr. Du’s situation is rather complicated, but my third brother should be fine—after all, he’s earned merits.”
“Good that my third brother is okay.” Zhang Qi let out a sigh of relief, only to frown again. “But we both know his temper. Mr. Du’s matter is his responsibility, and he’ll have to run around constantly. If anything else goes wrong, things could get tricky. Sigh, why doesn’t my third brother like martial arts? If he served in the army like us, wouldn’t he have fewer troubles? By the way, wasn’t Dad supposed to be coming back? After all, he’s a meritorious official—shouldn’t he be able to help?”
“I’ve already said that civil and military affairs aren’t connected. Have you forgotten?”
The two brothers exchanged glances for a while before both sighing in defeat. Usually, they could ride through the streets with friends as if anything was within their reach, but now they realized their proud status meant nothing in practice. Zhang Chao was already a fifth-rank military officer, while Zhang Qi, though only in the guard force for half a year, was now a seventh-rank officer. Compared to civil officials who had to wait years for promotions, their rapid advancement was truly enviable.
After discussing matters for a while, they agreed to keep investigating through their own channels before heading downstairs. Yet as soon as they stepped off the last step, they heard loud knocking at the main door, causing them to frown. Songshu Hutong was famous in Beijing as a place of pleasure, with young women kept in various courtyards—some skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, some graceful and adept at flattery, and some gentle and understanding… As long as you had plenty of silver, you could enjoy the best. But there was a rule here: if the door was closed, it meant no business was being done with outsiders that day. Who would knock like that?
Seeing the brothers’ displeased expressions, the middle-aged woman hurried to answer the door herself, intending to peek through a crack. Unexpectedly, two people rushed in at once. The one in front rushed over in a few steps and, upon seeing Zhang Chao, was overjoyed. He immediately called out, “Brother Chao!”

Seeing that it was the Meng brothers, Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi couldn’t help but sigh in relief. After all, the imperial ban still stood, and although they hadn’t done anything wrong, getting caught in the act wasn’t a good thing. After returning to the capital, the Meng brothers tried to build connections everywhere; while others avoided them at all costs, they actually helped the two brothers a bit.

After greeting each other, Zhang Chao couldn’t help but scold them for not knowing the rules, but Meng Tao grinned and winked, saying, “We’ve been looking around for a long time before we found out you were here. We couldn’t just wait passively for you to show up, could we? By the way, how can you still be in such high spirits? Don’t you know Brother Yue is in trouble?”

“I and my elder brother came here precisely to discuss this,” Zhang Qi said, waving his hand to dismiss the servants in the courtyard. He recounted everything they had discussed earlier to the Meng brothers before explaining, “My elder brother also said that your father is doing fine in the Jinyiwei and hasn’t suffered much. You shouldn’t keep causing trouble at the Marquis of Baoding’s residence either. After all, we’re relatives, and you know how the Marquis of Baoding is. If even his son-in-law stays idle, things will get troublesome.”

“What’s the use of him being fine? Who knows when he’ll be released?” Meng Fan muttered weakly before following Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi inside the house. The two brothers had been back in Beijing for several months. Although their large mansion hadn’t been raided or sealed, and their servants were still there, they lacked a leader. Since they weren’t capable of taking charge, they had spent a lot of money yet achieved nothing. The thought of having no face to see their mother and fourth sister made them sigh constantly.

“Second uncle has the worst temper! Back when my sister-in-law’s father was imprisoned, he turned a blind eye and acted like a coward. Now that it’s our father’s turn to suffer, he’s the same! Yesterday I went to Prince Zhao’s palace to ask for help and happened to meet Prince Anyang. He told me that our father’s situation isn’t serious; it’s just that he happened to offend the emperor, which is why he was imprisoned. The same goes for Lord Du and Brother Yue. He also said that though Lord Du is aloof, he has a few friends.”

“I know that too,” Zhang Chao said instinctively, scratching his head as his mind became confused. “It’s just that I don’t know any of those civil officials, and Second Brother either. We’ll have to wait until Third Brother returns to figure something out. By the way, did Prince Zhao or Prince Anyang offer to help you?”

“Prince Anyang’s forehead is swollen. It seems he tried to intercede for our father that day and got beaten with an inkstone by the emperor.”

Speaking of this, Meng Fan was still deeply shaken and quickly shook his head, saying, “I heard the emperor’s temper has been getting worse these days. A few days ago, even the crown prince angered him, and it was only thanks to Concubine Wang’s intervention that things were resolved. The concubines in the palace are often punished, and even the princesses and their husbands are frequently beaten or scolded. Now, few dare to appear before the emperor.”

His words weighed heavily on all four of them. Eventually, Zhang Qi had no choice but to lighten the mood with some jokes, which finally eased the tension. With such serious matters on their minds, none of them had the heart to listen to music or watch dances. After sitting for a while longer, they all got up and left together. The middle-aged woman was initially annoyed, but Zhang Chao handed her two small silver coins, and she showed signs of joy, arranging to see them off to the door herself.

All four of them came by horse, so they simply rode together. After walking a few steps, Meng Tao suddenly remembered another thing and said to Zhang Qi, “I heard the niece of Marquis Anyuan is an extremely delicate and spoiled young lady with a terrible temper. If her maids make mistakes, she often has them dragged away to be beaten—she’s truly the most strict one. You need to be careful!”

Although Marquis Anyuan, Liu Sheng, was a marquis appointed later, almost all of the original marquises from the Jingnan Campaign had died by then, so he was now considered the most prominent among them. Zhang Qi wasn’t as enthusiastic about this marriage as his mother, and hearing Meng Tao’s words only dampened his interest further. Zhang Chao, on the other hand, sneered.

Thinking of that relationship that had ended before it even began, Zhang Chao’s face darkened instantly. His wife, Li Yun, was kind and generous—undoubtedly an impeccable wife. He respected her, but his love for her was weak. But what could he do? He still remembered his grandmother’s warning clearly; how could he act recklessly?

“As for being strict, once she comes to our family, she’ll still be a daughter-in-law. How could she override the rules? With our mother and grandmother around, and her sister-in-law above her, her authority isn’t something to be trifled with. As for my second brother, there’s no need to worry about him. He’s a man—can’t he even handle a woman?” He glanced meaningfully at the Meng brothers and chuckled, “Actually, there’s something I want to ask you—how are things between my third brother and your Min girl?”

“Well…” Meng Tao glanced at Meng Fan and couldn’t help but smirk. “It seems to me that Mother has already considered him as her future son-in-law, and Sister Four also has feelings for him. I think Brother Yue is very kind to Sister Four too; they’re clearly meant for each other. As long as Father releases him soon so we can hurry up and arrange the marriage, everything will be fine.”

Zhang Qi found Meng Tao’s attitude too casual and couldn’t help but interject, “But I heard Grandmother say that Third Brother and the Miss Du also seem like a perfect match. Besides, it would be a wonderful story if they became teacher and student, and then husband and wife as well.”

“Miss Du is indeed a good person…” Meng Fan’s head drooped momentarily before he said defiantly, “Sister Four and Miss Du are very close friends. I doubt Miss Du would compete with her for Brother Yue… If things really don’t work out, Brother Yue can just marry them all—big deal, that would solve everything!”

Zhang Chao almost choked on his own saliva and snapped, “Do you think marrying a wife is like buying goods—you can get one and leave the others? If your father and Lord Du are locked up in the Jinyiwei prison, no matter how happy Third Brother is, the family will definitely arrange another marriage for him. So, even for his own sake, he needs to think carefully upon his return.”