Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 336 The Matchmaker's End
With Li Zisheng's instruction, Shen Lu went to meet Zhang Luan that day.

"Ruxue, I haven't seen you for a long time... I've been too busy lately and haven't had the time to visit you. Sorry!"

Zhang Luan looked extremely worried, with a list in his hand. After talking to Shen Lu for a few words, he seemed to remember something and started asking people in the mansion to do it.

Shen Lu approached and asked, "What have you been busy with recently?"

Zhang Luan turned around and looked at Shen Lu, and asked in surprise: "Selling tribute, don't you know about this?"

Shen Lu was speechless for a moment.

He really hadn't inquired about Zhang Luan's affairs recently. Plus, Zhang Luan would never sell tribute to his house, so he knew almost nothing about it.

"Uncle, you are here?"

As they were talking, Zhang Yanling came in from outside.

Shen Lu saw Zhang Yanling and nodded with a smile.

He had felt that Zhang Yanling was very intelligent before. Now even Li Zisheng asked him about it, which meant that even a top official like Li Zisheng in the court found that Zhang Yanling was a talent. He paid more attention to this young man of the Zhang family.

Zhang Luan said casually: "Ruxue, I thought you knew everything, so you avoided me, but I didn't expect you knew nothing at all!
"Hey, you're here at the right time, can you help me see where I should sell these things?
"Alas, there are so many things, and each one is so expensive. Do you really think that their money came from the wind? Am I not just the father-in-law of the Eastern Palace? This should not be my job, right?
“What bad luck!”

Shen Lu took the list and looked at it. When he saw the items listed on it, he instantly realized that Zhang Luan was not bragging.

Shen Lu sighed, "Recently I heard that a rich and powerful person in the capital was buying a kind of glass mirror, and he said that it cost several thousand taels each. It was a joke for a while... Does this have anything to do with you?"

"Of course."

Zhang Luan said as a matter of course, "This is the sales strategy my son made for me... He said that it must be bundled with the tribute, and the glass mirror must be given away with the tribute, so that the things can be sold. In fact, the mirror itself has no actual value, it is a free item when buying the tribute."

“Does anyone really buy it?”

Shen Lu was shocked and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Zhang Luan seemed somewhat proud and said with a smile: "Of course someone bought it. It is said that the Prime Minister Wan sent someone to my house to inquire about the situation these two days. I sold a few pieces before..."

Seeing his son beside him, Zhang Luan suddenly realized that there should be a limit to his bragging and he should not tell Shen Lu his business secrets directly, even though Shen Lu himself had no business conflicts with him.

At the same time, Zhang Luan also knew that his meeting with meritorious officials as the Minister of the Honglu Temple and Hanlin Compiler was contrary to the taboo of friendship between civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty.

"It's all for the sake of selling tributes. There's nothing we can do about it."

Zhang Luan added one more sentence as if to make up for it.

Shen Lu said, "It's really strange. You actually brought things from the palace to sell here? It's not that I don't want to know, but this kind of thing... is really too sensational. The palace shouldn't be that short of money, right?"

Zhang Luan sighed, "How can I know? Anyway, I will do whatever His Majesty tells me to do. It's just that the tribute is not selling well. There are too few dignitaries in the capital, right? I'm still thinking, should I sell it to those princes and nobles from other places? But how to sell it to them?"

"No, no, no."

Shen Lu hastily reminded him, "It's okay for you to have some contact with the dignitaries in Beijing because you are doing errands for the palace. But if you meet with the local princes, don't blame me for not warning you in advance. That is a taboo and very dangerous thing."

Zhang Yanling put the things in order and returned to his father. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Dad, I think what my uncle said is right. Anyway, the palace hasn't set a goal for us to sell all of them, so we can just sell them slowly and see how much we can sell. Why rush it?"

"Go, go, go."

Zhang Luan waved his hand and said, "I'm not in a hurry, I'm just worried that someone else is in a hurry."

Shen Lu almost wanted to ask, you said someone is in a hurry, could that person be the current emperor?
The words were on the tip of his tongue but he held them back. Such disrespectful words could not be uttered easily. Then Shen Lu made an excuse that he had important matters to discuss with Zhang Luan and asked Zhang Luan to send the younger generation away. He wanted to complete the task entrusted to him by Li Zisheng as soon as possible.

……

……

Zhang family main hall.

Zhang Luan and Shen Lu sat down, and Shen Lu asked directly: "Laizhan, I have a question that I don't understand, and I would like you to explain it. Who did you learn the ability to predict the secrets of the sky from?"

"Ruxue, what are you doing?"

Zhang Luan looked very unnatural. He glanced at Shen Lu and asked, "You came to visit just to ask me this?"

Shen Lu nodded and said, "I really want to know."

Zhang Luan said, "Alas! I didn't mean to hide it from you. Actually, this matter... how should I put it... I actually don't have any ability at all. Any ability to speculate on the secrets of heaven is just a trick to fool people."

"What?"

Shen Lu stood up immediately.

In the past, he thought that Zhang Luan was a very honest person in his words and deeds, and was willing to tell him even such a secret.

And now his thought is, are you kidding me?
If you really have no ability, how can you speculate the secrets of heaven again and again?
That can't be explained by blind guessing!

If you guess right once it's considered an amazing performance, but now you hit the target repeatedly, and every time it's exactly the same as you said. And you actually say that you don't have that ability and are just trying to fool people?

You are kidding me! "Ruxue, let me ask you, you care about this, do you want to learn this skill secretly?" Zhang Luan asked back.

"No."

Shen Lu said, "Laizhan, please forgive me for not being able to speak frankly, but there must be someone who is keeping an eye on your mysterious skills."

"That's Li Zi Province?"

Zhang Luan asked with a smile.

Shen Lu said nothing.

Neither admit nor deny.

Zhang Luan said, "Things like guessing the secrets of heaven are just what Taoists like. Actually, this ability does not lie in me, but in others. I am just following their instructions. I will tell Li Zisheng what he told me. Do you think I am being honest with you?"

Shen Lu asked: "Who?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "I can't tell you... It's not that I have to hide it from you. You will know it naturally in the future. In fact, you also know this person."

"Cough cough."

Shen Lu couldn't help but cough violently.

It sounds like a lie, but why does it sound so sincere when you think about it carefully?
"Ruxue, you ask me about this ability. Are you trying to guess something?"

Zhang Luan asked.

Shen Lu said: "It's about the current state of affairs. Do you know about His Majesty's illness?"

Zhang Luan's mouth curled up slightly, and he said, "More than knowing? Li Zisheng came to me several times to ask for prescriptions to treat His Majesty.

"To be honest, the prescriptions used for His Majesty were all made by me. Do you think I know this? And I have already explained to Li Zisheng about His Majesty's fortune. If he asked you to come just for evidence, then you can tell him that everything is predetermined and cannot be changed."

After hearing this, Shen Lu finally understood everything.

Now Zhang Luan and Li Zisheng are very closely bound together. Li Zisheng must have encountered a situation that goes against Zhang Luan's position, so he asked him to act as a middleman to inquire about Zhang Luan's master of alchemy. At the same time, it also made Shen Lu keenly aware that the only point of conflict between Li Zisheng and Zhang Luan is probably their support for the prince.

"Laizhan, you don't have to take my words to heart."

Shen Lu was also afraid that Zhang Luan would misunderstand his position, so he hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty's illness is not something that people outside the Imperial Hospital should be concerned about. The treatment should be left to the experts. It's best for us not to get involved."

Zhang Luan said helplessly: "I don't want to be in charge, and I even did something self-degrading in the process, wanting to get rid of it completely, but someone asked me to be in charge, what can I do?

"Ruxue, you don't know how anxious I am right now. On the one hand, I have to worry about His Majesty's illness, and on the other hand, I have to take care of so many tributes waiting to be sold. Tomorrow, I may have to go to Lord Wan's house to deliver the tributes he ordered... Do you think it's easy for me?"

Shen Lu thought to himself, you run back and forth between the houses of the powerful and wealthy in the capital, and you go there with all the justification and confidence, and you actually ask me if it's easy?

I would like to go to Lizi Province and Wan'an Prefecture every day, but they don't welcome me.

"Ruxue, do you think there is anything missing in your house?"

Based on the principle that since you are already here, Zhang Luan wants to sell the mountains of tributes in his house to Shen Lu.

Shen Lu smiled bitterly and said, "Look at me, I am all alone. In a year, even with my salary and the income from my family's land, it can't even reach 100 taels of silver. What can I afford?
"I have never seen you before. You are now a big celebrity in the court. Many people talk about you in private, saying that you are a rare celebrity... I am so envious."

"is it?"

Zhang Luan stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I just did some work for His Majesty, and I didn't do anything worthy of praise. Why are there rumors about me?"

Shen Lu said: "I heard that you often go in and out of the East Palace recently?"

"That's true."

Zhang Luan did not hide anything at all and said, "In fact, I didn't go there often. I only went there a few times. So far, I have only been there three times in total. No one takes me seriously even though I am a lecturer in the Eastern Palace. I didn't even teach the prince any content about classics and etiquette in class. I was just there to make up the numbers."

Shen Lu looked ashamed and said, "You are really too modest."

Zhang Luan intentionally changed the subject and asked, "Ruxue, have you had any good news in the Tongzhengshisi? For example, is there any chance of promotion in official position?"

Shen Lu shook his head helplessly: "I am a Beijing official who was born as a scholar. My experience as a Tongzhengshisi is basically the end of my career. Unless there is any special situation in the future, otherwise..."

"fine."

Zhang Luan smiled and consoled him, "You have helped me, and I will never forget that. Besides, you are my daughter's uncle, and I will definitely think of you if anything good happens in the future. We are all family, after all."

Shen Lu was very moved after hearing this.

The uncle of the future queen, even the father-in-law of the emperor has said that he will care about her and support her more. What words could be warmer than this?
As for Lizi Province...

He’s just my superior!

Even if he has helped me, there is little help he can provide now. After all, I, Old Shen, am only a juren, and without some strong connections, there is really no chance of being promoted to a high position. But if the future emperor and empress can remember someone like me and treat me as one of their own, then I will have a pass to officialdom, and perhaps I can really soar to the sky.

(End of this chapter)