Chapter 302: Lucky to Have Good Friends

Although it would be most appropriate to send the drunken Fang Ling straight home, after much consideration, Zhang Yue decided to take him to the mansion in Xi Pailou Alley for now. It was hard for an honest official to meddle in family affairs. No matter what his opinions might be about Fang Ling’s parents and brothers, it would be inappropriate for him to interfere in their family matters. So, it was better to rely on Wan Shijie and Xia Ji, the two most optimistic individuals, to persuade Fang Ling. At the very least, the three of them could pool their wisdom to come up with a solution.

He sent Liansheng to hire a carriage to take Fang Ling straight to his three-story courtyard in Xi Pailou Alley. When they got to the entrance, they happened to see someone coming out. Upon meeting each other, he recognized the still-shy young man as Fang Jing, who had once stayed at the Duke of Ying’s residence. Just as he was about to greet him, Fang Jing stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before suddenly turning and running inside, shouting loudly, “Elder Brother Zhang, your third brother has arrived!”

Zhang Yue, who had been confused, finally understood what was going on after hearing this. Together with Liansheng, he helped Fang Ling enter the house, where he saw Zhang Jiu rushing out to greet them. The once extravagant boy had become much more restrained, wearing a slightly worn indigo silk robe and his hair tied back with a red velvet ribbon. Judging from his handsome appearance, he resembled the beloved son of an ordinary wealthy family, though there were also two strong attendants in the courtyard.

“Why has my third brother come? Oh, isn’t that Brother Fang?”
“Fourth brother, aren’t Old Wan and Xiao Xia here?”
Hearing Zhang Yue’s question, Fang Jing quickly replied, “Elder Brother Wan and Elder Brother Xia are both at the Hanlin Academy. They have one day off every five days and usually stay in a courtyard outside Donghua Gate. They left just the other day and won’t return until the day after tomorrow. Does Elder Brother Zhang want to find a place for him to sober up? I’ll go ask Uncle Wen to heat water right away!”

Seeing Fang Jing about to leave, Zhang Yue quickly called him back. Looking around, he immediately saw something odd and frowned, asking, “So, Old Wan and Xiao Xia study hard at the Hanlin Academy all day long and only return once every five days. Do you live here alone? Damn it, I was so careless. Those two should have told me—how can you live alone at such a young age?”

When Fang Jing saw Zhang Yue asking questions, he was initially a bit confused. Only when he noticed Zhang Yue seeming annoyed did he get startled and hurriedly waved his hands to explain, “Third brother, I chose to live here on my own. Although the Duke of Ying’s residence is nice, it’s too quiet there. The servants are too rigid in following rules, as if there’s always a barrier between us. Every time Eldest Brother Wan and Eldest Brother Xia come back, they bring me lots of good things. Fourth Brother Zhang also comes from time to time to teach me to read and write, often bringing treats from home. I’m very happy here.”

Upon hearing this, not only was Zhang Yue stunned, but Lian Sheng, who was holding Fang Ling from one side, was also shocked. All four of them stared intently at Zhang Jiu’s face, as if it were engraved with patterns. Zhang Jiu hadn’t expected Fang Jing to blurt out all this, and feeling awkward under Zhang Yue’s gaze, he simply said honestly, “I just get bored reading. Since it was you, third brother, who agreed, and grandmother also wants me to socialize more, I come here from time to time. Sometimes when Eldest Brother Wan and Eldest Brother Xia return, they take me and Little Brother Fang to visit friends.”

At that moment, Zhang Yue felt sure he had made the right choice by entrusting Fang Jing to Wan Shijie and Xia Ji. Though those two liked to joke around, they were indeed reliable friends. He immediately ordered Zhang Jiu to have water boiled, while Fang Jing didn’t want to idle around either. He ran off to the west wing room to clear out a clean space. After settling the drunk Fang Ling down and instructing Lian Sheng to stay by his side, Zhang Yue went to the outer room and saw two young men of similar age standing with their backs to him, talking. He stayed silent, intrigued.

“Xiao Fang, did your eldest brother really come here before?”

“Mm. I don’t know how he found out I was living here. He brought a big pack of clothes, all made of fine materials like silk and crepe, and also gave me a bag of silver. When I asked where he was now, he said he was working for some important people and was about to go to the south. He said he would come back to pick me up if he became successful… My eldest brother has always been ambitious, and I’m really worried.”

“I think you should tell third brother. He’s always smart; maybe he can give you some advice.”

“But my eldest brother said some nonsense in front of me, like he would make the Duke of Ying regret his decisions… Ever since I moved out of the Duke of Ying’s residence and started living here with Eldest Brother Wan and Eldest Brother Xia, I realized the Duchess of Ying had actually treated me well. But after I defended myself, he accused me of forgetting my roots and then left right away. I couldn’t even catch up to him!”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue naturally understood what was going on and gently coughed. Seeing Fang Jing and Zhang Jiu turn their heads toward him, he smiled and said, “I heard everything you said just now. Fang Jing, your elder brother was just speaking out of anger. Don’t take it to heart. Just focus on studying hard and doing your duty. By the way, has your elder brother ever mentioned who that important person is or why he’s going to the south of the Yangtze River?”

Fang Jing was only thirteen years old. He had always been protected by his elder brother. Even during difficult times, he had received protection from Lady Wang. After moving here, he had also been taken care of by others, so he naturally hadn’t thought much about such things. With Zhang Yue’s reassurance, he felt much more at ease. Upon hearing the question, he explained everything in detail.

“Elder brother only mentioned that he is now managing the affairs for that nobleman. He’s always been very good at accounting and even worked as an accountant in a pawnshop, which helped us afford the travel expenses to Beijing. That’s why he’s now in a favorable position and highly valued. As for why he’s going to the south of the Yangtze River, he only said that the nobleman’s business was originally in Nanjing and that a suitable person needed to be sent to manage it, so elder brother volunteered. No matter how much I asked, he refused to say anything else.”

Although this was just vague information, and where Fang Rui worked wasn’t a major matter, out of caution, Zhang Yue still wrote down everything Fang Jing said before changing the subject. After chatting for a while, Zhang Jiu and Fang Jing brought their textbooks to ask questions, so he had to do his best to act as a good elder brother. The whole afternoon passed like this. As dusk fell, the heavily drunk Fang Ling finally woke up but refused to go home no matter how much they persuaded him, insisting on staying there for a few days. In the end, Zhang Yue had no choice but to agree.

By the end of September in the lunar calendar, Beijing had already entered winter, so it got dark very early. When he stepped outside after lifting the curtain, Zhang Yue felt a chill hit him. Looking up, he saw tiny snowflakes floating in the sky. At that moment, he regretted having rushed to send away the hired carriage earlier. He hurried outside alongside Zhang Jiu, shrunk his neck, and was about to send Liansheng to fetch the horses when he saw a carriage parked in front of the originally empty door. The face of the coachman seemed extremely familiar.

“Fourth young master, it’s snowy and difficult to ride a horse in such weather. The old lady ordered me to come and pick you up. Oh, the third young master is here too! What a coincidence!”

Knowing that the Gu family was worried about Zhang Jiu getting cold in the snowy weather, Zhang Yue nodded, then pulled Zhang Jiu onto the carriage and instructed Liansheng to tie the two horses behind it. The cold wind howled outside, but there was a small stove in the corner of the carriage, providing both shelter from the wind and warmth. Zhang Yue often discussed matters with Du Wan until late at night in recent days, and today he had been rushing around nonstop. Even though the carriage jolted violently, he fell asleep without realizing it.

Zhang Jiu sat there with his arms crossed for a while, then suddenly heard a thud. Turning his head, he saw that it was Zhang Yue, who had fallen asleep and hit the wall of the carriage, yet still hadn’t woken up. Remembering what the maids had said a few days ago—that the lights in Zhang Yue’s courtyard stayed on until the second or third watch—he bit his lip.

Although his grandmother hadn’t told him some things, he often went out now, so he had plenty of places to find out information. Jiaozhi was currently in chaos due to rebellions; just this year, four county and prefect officials had been killed, and even many generals in the suppression forces had suffered losses. Even with the support of Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, who had entrusted General Li Bin of Fengcheng to oversee Jiaozhi, his father’s situation remained precarious.

Everyone said the emperor was stern and unsmiling, but he had never seen him. If he had the same talents as his third brother Zhang Yue and the same chance to meet the emperor, could he also plead for the emperor to pardon his father, Zhang Xin?

“Stop the carriage!”

One brother was dozing off while the other was lost in thought. Hearing this shout, they both woke up instantly. Zhang Yue, not even bothering with his dry and uncomfortable eyes, lifted the curtain of the carriage. Just as he was about to ask, he saw that it was a Jinyiwei officer wearing a waist knife who had stopped the carriage. Although it was dark due to the heavy snow, he still recognized it as the main street in front of the Zhang family’s residence. Aside from this officer, countless imperial guards stood motionless in the snow like nails.

His heart pounding, he swallowed hard to calm himself down before jumping out of the carriage. Seeing the guards take a cautious step back and place their right hands on their waist knives, he quickly identified himself: “I am Zhang Yue. I live with my younger brother in the Zhang family’s residence in this alley. We have just returned from visiting guests outside. May I ask what’s going on with this sudden road closure?”

“Zhang Yue?” The officer took a close look at Zhang Yue and suddenly recognized him. His hand, which had been on his sword hilt, immediately dropped. Smiling, he said, “So it’s Lord Zhang. I really didn’t recognize you. Today, the Emperor went incognito to visit several noble families, including those of the Marquis of Baoding, the Marquis of Taining, the Marquis of Anyuan, and others. This main street is crowded because the Emperor has just arrived at the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence. Although I recognize you, security measures must not be neglected. Please allow me to keep you here for a while. Ask the coachman to stop the carriage over here.”

Learning that the Emperor had gone incognito to the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence next to the Zhang family’s home, Zhang Yue was greatly surprised. However, since the officer explained things clearly and he had no reason to doubt him, he didn’t dare argue after the officer spoke. Instead, he politely thanked him, got into the carriage, and instructed the coachman to follow the officer’s directions. As he was lost in thought, Zhang Jiu beside him suddenly asked in a low voice, “Third brother, since the Emperor is at the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence, will he come to our house?”

Seeing Zhang Jiu’s hopeful expression, Zhang Yue really didn’t want to dampen the boy’s enthusiasm. Zhu Di had visited noble families with titles today; if it were the Duke of Ying’s residence, the Emperor would surely go in. But it seemed the Zhang family didn’t yet have that much influence.