Chapter 67: Birthday Feast

Although Zhang Fu now held the rank of Duke of Britain and was regarded as the leader of military officials, in the early years of the Yongle era, he was merely the Marquis of Xin’an, a rank even lower than that of Meng Shan, the Marquis of Baoding. Later, while Meng Shan was stationed in Liaodong, Zhang Fu went to campaign in Jiaozhi. By the time they met again, Meng Shan’s hair and beard were already white, and he passed away not long after. The current holder of the title of Marquis of Baoding is Meng Ying, Meng Shan’s legitimate son. It was Zhang Fu and Meng Shan who originally arranged the marriage between Meng Ying’s legitimate son Meng Jun and Zhang Qing, so the two families have a very close relationship.

That day was Meng Jun’s birthday. The Marquis of Wu’an, Marquis of Yongkang, Marquis of Cheng’an, Marquis of Longping, Marquis of Xin’an, and others all sent people to offer their congratulations. Young men from various families gathered together, filling a small courtyard specially set aside in the Marquis of Baoding’s residence.

The oldest among them was just in his early twenties, while the youngest was only twelve or thirteen. They gathered in groups of acquaintances, chatting loudly—their voices audible even across several courtyards. When it was announced that people from the Duke of Britain’s residence had arrived, the group of young men began teasing the birthday boy.

“Looks like your brothers-in-law have come!”

“Among us, Jun is the first to get married, and his wife is truly virtuous!”

“That’s right! With such a virtuous wife, life must be like heaven. No wonder you don’t hang around outside!”

Amidst the laughter, Meng Jun couldn’t help but cough repeatedly before finally breaking free from the crowd. Outside, he saw the butler leading three young men over, so he hurriedly went to greet them. Without even glancing at the gifts, he cheerfully punched Zhang Chao on the shoulder, nodded at Zhang Yue, and then patted Zhang Jiu on the head.

“Normally, since there’s still no definite news regarding my father’s case, it would be inappropriate for me to hold a birthday party now. Besides, it’s not a full birthday celebration, so I originally didn’t want to make a fuss. It was only because the Duke of Britain insisted that I arrange something that I sent out invitations. Xiao Si, with the Duke of Britain handling things outside and my father overseeing everything, you don’t need to worry too much. Just stay at home and wait for news. Everyone inside are my friends—none of them are mean-spirited. You can get along with them. If you can’t handle it, you can go talk to your elder sister.”

Before coming, Zhang Yue had thought it was rather carefree of Meng Jun to hold a birthday party at this time. But now that he heard it was the idea of Zhang Fu, the Duke of Britain, he assumed there must be a deeper reason, and he felt relieved. Seeing Zhang Jiu’s tense expression relax slightly and Zhang Chao manage a smile, he agreed on their behalf and followed Meng Jun into the courtyard.

Zhang Jiu saw the noisy scene in the courtyard but had no desire to mix with those people. He briefly appeared before heading back to talk to his sister Zhang Qing. Although Zhang Chao also wanted to follow, he was currently at odds with Zhang Jiu, so he simply started chatting with a few others. Being naturally generous and open-minded, he quickly became familiar with these military officers’ sons, calling them brothers without formalities. Meanwhile, Zhang Yue was led around by Meng Jun to meet various people. Despite his excellent memory, he grew dizzy after going around once.

There was still some time before the birthday banquet began. Meng Jun took the chance to pull Zhang Yue aside and asked him how many people he had remembered. Zhang Yue could only smile bitterly and shake his head, his gaze shifting among the people—some thick-set, some thin, some older, some younger—before sighing, “These are just your friends. If there are more people today, I definitely won’t be able to remember them all.”

“Oh, you really remembered them all?” Meng Jun’s eyes lit up. He then slapped Zhang Yue’s shoulder twice firmly. “Not bad, not bad. No wonder your sister always says you’re better than Xiao Si. Most of my friends are descendants of meritorious officials—either minor marquises or minor earls. But in a few years, those titles will be removed, and their world will dominate the Five Armies Command. Even if you choose to pursue a civil career, getting along well with them won’t hurt.”

Zhang Yue felt there was something hidden in Meng Jun’s words, as if there was an underlying arrangement, which made him uneasy. When the group started the banquet in a noisy manner without seating arrangements, two boys around his age sat down beside him with smiles. At first, he only chatted casually with them, but soon found them quite interesting and dismissed his doubts.

As the saying goes, with true friends, a thousand cups aren’t enough; with those who don’t get along, even half a sentence is too much. At this small birthday banquet, Meng Jun, the birthday boy, drank several cups and his face turned red. Zhang Chao was drunk by the company of similar-minded people around him. Although young, Zhang Jiu didn’t want to come at all, and since he didn’t know the guests next to him, he kept drinking until he was completely drunk. On the other hand, the two boys sitting beside Zhang Yue were extremely loyal—they blocked many attempts to get him to drink more and even helped him escape from the banquet.

One of the two was from Fangling and was the grandson of Fang Sheng, the Marquis of Fuchang. However, the title of marquis was not hereditary; his father only held the position of commander. Thus, despite associating with the sons of nobles, he always ranked among the lower ones. The other man was named Sun Han. His grandfather, Sun Yan, had crossed the river with the Taizu and was a meritorious official who was granted the title of Marquis of Yingcheng. But due to privately killing a thousand-household officer, he was exiled to Jiaozhi. It was only a few years ago that his title was restored, so he was not considered among the most outstanding meritorious officials. For these reasons, both of them intended to pursue a literary career.

Fangling was sixteen, and Sun Han was fifteen. Thanks to their family connections, both received the status of “yin jiansheng,” allowing them to skip the xiucai stage and directly take the imperial examinations. They then tried their best to persuade Zhang Yue to stay in the capital to study at the Imperial Academy. One said the academy was full of learned scholars, while the other argued that the region south of the Yangtze River had a favorable environment for studying. When Zhang Yue refused to budge, Fangling mysteriously winked and said, “Brother Zhang, besides being a land of literature, the south is also famous for its nightlife. If you stay…”

Zhang Yue knew they would surely say something meaningless next, so he quickly raised his hand to indicate he would consider it carefully. After agreeing to go to the Imperial Academy with them after the New Year, he managed to get away and secretly went to see Zhang Qing.

When the siblings met, Zhang Qing was overjoyed and talked nonstop. Feeling very close to her, he listened and nodded, while also playing with his two-year-old nephew. It wasn’t until he heard a certain sentence that he sat up straight.

“Grandpa told me last night that Father’s life is safe this time; at most, he will be dismissed from his position. The only concern now is whether he will be exiled to another place. Although Father is still in his prime, who knows what hardships he might face in the border regions… Third brother, could you go back and ask Duke Yingguo to find out what’s really going on with Father in the Jinyiwei prison? I don’t dare mention this to Xiao Si, for fear that in his urgency, he might cause some trouble again.”

Trouble… That kid almost caused trouble yesterday!

Knowing that Zhang Qing was unaware of what had happened yesterday, and not wanting her to worry, Zhang Yue chose to omit that part. He simply said that Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu had mentioned that Zhang Xin was safe in prison and hadn’t suffered any hardship—something that was confirmed not only by the letter he had received earlier but also by the Jinyiwei hundred-household officer who brought Zhang Jiu back, news he had just gotten from Lady Wang this morning.

Seeing Zhang Qing cry with joy upon hearing the news, he hurriedly spoke to comfort her, but gradually a vague idea formed in his mind—could the person who delivered that letter be from the Jinyiwei as well?