Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 2: Going to the capital, the future is uncertain

The scenery of the Northland, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting.

The distant mountains are vast, and the hills are like silver snakes winding across the road.

On the official road of Dezhou City, five servants riding fast horses were escorting a carriage at a rapid speed.

As they walked, white mist filled the sky and snowflakes flew everywhere, causing a lot of noise.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Yunxiu leaned against one side of the carriage, his eyes slightly closed, his body swaying with the shaking of the carriage.

After he made up his mind on New Year's Eve, he rushed straight to the capital with his servants early the next morning.

After more than ten days of trekking, they were only one or two days away from the capital.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling confused and nervous.

How should he face Zhang Juzheng?

If Zhang Juzheng is beyond help, how should he face the situation?
What should he do?
As he thought about it, the carriage slid forward for a long distance and then slowly stopped.

Zhang Yunxiu's thoughts were interrupted. He suddenly opened his eyes, leaned over, lifted the curtain and looked outside.

The fine snow in the sky has stopped, and the ground is covered with snow, a vast expanse of white.

The cold wind hit his face and Zhang Yunxiu shivered.

The driver turned around and smiled awkwardly: "Fifth Master, the road ahead is not easy to walk on. Please get off the bus and walk a little, so as not to hurt your body."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded, wrapped his cotton robe around himself, slid down the saddle of the carriage, and stepped on the snow.

In an instant, the snow spread all the way to his ankles.

A chill spread from the soles of my feet to my entire body.

The five riders also dismounted and placed Zhang Yunxiu in the middle. One of the middle-aged men pointed to the mountain ridge ahead and said, "Fifth Young Master, don't worry. Once we get over the mountain ridge ahead, the road will be smooth."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled at the man and nodded, "I understand, Uncle Fu."

This man was called Zhang Fu. He was the steward of the Zhang family in Jiangling and also a member of the same clan as Zhang Juzheng.

Because he was born with good looks and could read a little, he came to seek care as he had no hope of passing the imperial examination.

Hearing Zhang Yunxiu calling him uncle, he was happy in his heart, but he said modestly: "Young Master, you are embarrassing me."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said nothing, then walked forward.

The five riders and the driver followed closely behind.

By evening, the group finally arrived at a tavern on the edge of Dezhou City.

The tavern is not big, with only two floors. The lower floor is used for drinking and eating, and the upper floor is for guests to rest.

As soon as Zhang Yunxiu's carriage came to a stop, a servant came up to him with a smile, lifted the curtain, and Zhang Yunxiu got off the carriage.

The servant saw Zhang Yunxiu's luxurious clothes and immediately flattered him, "Oh, this guest is so elegant."

Zhang Fu stepped forward, separated the servant, and looked at Zhang Yunxiu with an apologetic look on his face: "This place is a bit shabby, but it's getting dark, why don't you stay here for the night?"

"That's it."

"Okay." Zhang Fuchang breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and instructed the servant: "Take good care of my horses, and bring up two tables of good wine and food. I will definitely benefit from you."

As he spoke, he took out an ingot of silver and put it in the servant's hand.

Seeing the silver, the servant's previous resentment disappeared, and he hurriedly saluted Zhang Yunxiu and his party, then stretched his neck and shouted to the inside: "Seven distinguished guests, come out to greet us quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, two servants came out and walked in towards Zhang Yunxiu.

As soon as he entered the house, a wave of heat hit him in the face, warming Zhang Yunxiu's bones to the point of softening.

The room was brightly lit, with about ten tables placed from outside to inside. Because it was cold, most of the tables were empty.

Only a few diners were laughing and chatting, and occasionally singing a song to their wine.

Zhang Yunxiu took a quick look and found a seat by the window.

The others followed closely and sat down next to Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu originally wanted to invite everyone to the table, but several people insisted on the distinction between high and low and did not dare to sit at the table.

Zhang Yunxiu had no choice but to let them do this.

Soon, two tables of sumptuous meals filled the wooden table.

After traveling for most of the day, everyone was already starving, so they didn't care about etiquette. After a simple greeting, they started to eat.

"Boss, warm up two ounces of wine and give me a plate of fennel beans."

An old voice sounded, and Zhang Yunxiu looked up and saw a man walking to the front of the restaurant. The man was about fifty years old, of medium build, with blue eyes and a childlike face, prominent cheekbones, a goatee, a long green gown, and a flag in his hand.

The inscription reads: "Jiang Taigong fishes, and those who are willing will take the bait."

Zhang Yunzheng was secretly frightened. When the proprietress saw the man coming, she frowned and ignored him.

The old man smiled and shook his head, as if he was used to it. He turned around and glanced at the diners in the hall.

Seeing that Zhang Yunxiu was also looking at him, he was delighted and stepped forward.

Sitting down, the old man stared at Zhang Yunxiu and smiled: "My dear, I see that you have been worried recently."

"How about I, Li Banxian, tell you a fortune?"

"Go away, old man, where did you come from? You're trying to take advantage of me?" Before Zhang Yunxiu could say anything, Zhang Fu jumped up and shook his fist, "Old man, do you want to try my fist?"

Zhang Yunxiu signaled him to be quiet, and Zhang Fu quickly put down his fist. Li Banxian, seeing that he had someone to rely on, became bolder: "Sir, just say a word. If you are not satisfied, I will let you deal with it."

"If you are satisfied, I will treat you to some wine and food... hehe." Li Banxian said, drooling in his mouth.

Zhang Yunxiu was originally in a nervous mood, but when he saw someone to relieve his boredom, he picked up a pen and paper and wrote the word "Zhang".

Li Banxian took the paper, examined it carefully for a moment, and exclaimed: "Wonderful, wonderful, this character is truly priceless."

"Why do you think so?" Zhang Yunxiu asked back.

"The current prime minister's surname is Zhang. When you meet me, you ask me about the word 'Zhang' instead of anything else. It must be related to Zhang Jiangling." Li Banxian said seriously.

"Hey, you old man, you have some good sense." Zhang Fu on the side grinned and said, "This is Mr. Zhang."

"Ok?"

Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand to interrupt Zhang Fu, and then asked carefully: "Then tell me, how do you interpret the word 'Zhang'?"

"Although it is invaluable, if you are not careful, you will be attacked by swords and axes. This left 'bow' is also 'long'. If it is stretched but not relaxed, it cannot be used by civil servants or martial artists. If it is relaxed but not stretched, it cannot be used by civil servants or martial artists. Only by stretching and relaxing can you achieve long-term success."

"And nine is the ultimate. I think the change is happening today."

After hearing these words, everyone was stunned. After a while, Zhang Fu gritted his teeth and cursed: "How dare you, a demon Taoist, curse the Prime Minister!"

Zhang Yunxiu interrupted Zhang Fu again, stared into Li Banxian's eyes, and asked in a low voice: "Are you saying that Zhang Gelao's life is over?"

Li Banxian smiled and shook his head, saying, "Fate is determined by heaven, and there is a 'technique' in numbers. If fate fails, it can also be changed by numbers!"

"It's a good idea to change it with a technique."

Zhang Yunxiu suddenly understood, took out some silver from his pocket, slapped it on the table, and said, "Thank you for your enlightenment, sir, I've suddenly realized something."

Li Banxian was overjoyed and thought to himself, "Another fish has caught my hook."

Just as Li Banxian was about to collect the silver, Zhang Yunxiu's mood improved and he wrote another word "干".

Li Banxian took it and looked at it. He was startled and sighed, "This character is even more wonderful."

"Why?"

"Look at this character gan. When you wrote it, you were sitting on a bench. If you add a horizontal stroke, it becomes the character wang. You will be destined to be a king in the future and achieve extraordinary success."

"So what you mean is that my family can survive this disaster?" Zhang Yunxiu asked hurriedly.

"One word for one prediction." Li Banxian shook his head but refused to reveal more.

Zhang Yunxiu felt very disappointed, but Zhang Fu next to him didn't believe it and also picked up his pen to write the word "gan".

At this time, someone was very thirsty and poured a glass of wine.

"Come, let's test this word too."

"Tsk tsk." Li Banxian shook his head and sighed, "You are destined to be busy all your life."

"You old liar, why did my son and I both guess the word 'gan', but you were able to interpret it differently?" Zhang Fu's face trembled, and he grabbed Li Banxian by the collar and asked, "Could it be that you saw the clothes I was wearing and made up something?"

Li Banxian replied: "When you wrote the word 'gan' just now, was someone pouring wine?"

"So what?"

"There is water in the wine. If you add 'gan' and 'shui', doesn't it become 'sweat'?" Li Banxian said calmly.

This time, Zhang Fu was shocked.

He tilted his head to glare at the servant who had just poured the wine, then looked at Li Banxian and said with emotion: "The old man is really smart. I will probably be a hard worker in my life."

"Sir, there is no need to be discouraged. As the saying goes, the prime minister's retainers are seventh-rank officials. Since you can follow this noble man, your future will be extraordinary." Li Banxian said, turning his head to look at Zhang Yunxiu.

Zhang Yunxiu then cleared away the gloom, kept Li Banxian, and ordered people to serve another table of wine and food before he stopped.

(End of this chapter)