Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 343 Between the Father-in-law and the Son-in-law
Inside the Duanjing Hall.

Zhang Yu cleaned up everything, just like a married daughter greeting her old father at her husband's home. She even did the cleaning herself, which scared the palace maids in the East Palace so much that they all rushed to do the work.

When Zhu Youtang came back, Zhang Yu glanced at the door and asked, "Where is my father?"

"behind."

Zhu Youtang said cautiously, "I asked my wife to pick him up."

Zhang Yu pouted and asked unhappily, "Why don't you pick him up in person?"

"I……"

Zhu Youtang's face was a mixture of embarrassment and flattery, and he smiled apologetically, "Yu'er, don't be upset. In Wenhua Hall, under the watchful eyes of the public, I still have to try my best to keep a distance from my father-in-law, otherwise it will be bad if people gossip about me. Even so, some people may think that what I talked about with your father was not a good thing."

"Humph!"

Zhang Yu snorted coldly and said, "You have a lot of concerns... Who told you this? Your spouse?"

"No...no...hehe..."

Zhu Youtang just laughed it off and let the matter go.

……

……

When Zhang Luan arrived at Duanjing Palace, Zhang Yu insisted on taking her husband to wait at the palace gate and then go out to greet him together.

"Your Highness, Zhang Luan, pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty the Crown Princess."

When Zhang Luan saw the two men, he knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhang Yu walked over and frowned and asked, "Father, what are you doing?"

Zhu Youtang quickly reached out his hand to help him up: "Mr. Zhang, there is really no need to be so polite. It feels like you are back home here. My dear, please help me to help Mr. Zhang up."

"Yes."

Qin Ji also smiled and reached out to help.

After Zhang Luan stood up, he lowered his head and did not look directly at his son-in-law and daughter, with the attitude of a knowledgeable and tactful subject.

Zhang Yu quickly called out, "Father, let's talk inside."

"Please, Mr. Zhang."

Zhu Youtang seemed to be a beat slow in everything he did and needed his wife to remind him.

Zhang Luan then followed the crowd and entered the Duanjing Hall.

……

……

"Father, you too, have entered the palace and come to Wenhua Palace. I have asked the prince to invite you over several times, but why didn't you keep your promise? I have always been thinking about my family and miss you all the time, but it seems like you don't care about me at all."

After Zhang Luan sat down, Zhang Yu started nagging and complaining.

A married daughter has no chance to meet her family after leaving home. Her father clearly had the opportunity to meet her before, but unfortunately he refused because of etiquette.

Zhang Luan said, "Please forgive me, Crown Princess. I have been planning to come here for a long time, but there is a difference between the monarch and his subjects, so I dare not overstep my authority."

"Dad, do you know what you are talking about?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and used the family name.

Is the old father pretending to be his grandson in front of him?
Tan Ji smiled and said, "Master Zhang, the Crown Princess is also concerned about her family, so there is no need to be so polite here."

"No, no, no."

Zhang Luan seemed very persistent, shaking his head and saying, "The king is the king, the minister is the minister. I am just a humble scholar, and now I have the opportunity to enter the palace. It is a great honor. How can I not follow the rules?"

As he spoke, Zhang Luan looked up at Zhu Youtang.

It seems to be saying, why are you all comforting me?
Isn't the real owner here my son-in-law? He hasn't even spoken yet.

Zhang Yu pulled her husband and shouted, "Prince, please tell my father about this... Look at him, he still can't let go. What a mess!"

Zhang Luan was shocked when he saw this scene.

My daughter has gotten so good at it?

It seems that my son-in-law is a bit "henpecked"?

Or is this just my illusion?
Zhu Youtang laughed and said, "My wife is right. It's rare for the master to come to Duanjing Palace, so we should relax a little. My dear, please go and inform them to serve the food. It's just that we may have neglected the master... Yu'er and I usually don't drink in the East Palace, and we have classes in the afternoon, so we won't prepare any drinks."

"Oh, it's okay."

Zhang Luan thought, isn't that right? If I drink a little wine in the East Palace and can't control myself and get drunk, and if I act crazy in the Wenhua Palace in the afternoon, there will be a big mess.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Father, I'm glad to see that you are in good health. I wonder how your family is doing now."

"It's all good, it's all good."

Zhang Luan slightly restrained his respectful attitude and said, "Your mother often talks about you... Your two brothers and sister are all doing well. They are all enjoying happiness with you."

"My second brother..."

Of course Zhang Yu had to single out his eccentric second brother to talk about.

Zhang Luan laughed and said, "He has been busy with a lot of things at home. I don't know what he is doing. I have never seen him take any good stuff home, but he always sends it to the palace."

Zhu Youtang asked curiously, "Father-in-law, I wonder what Yanling... makes on a daily basis? Is he a craftsman?"

Zhang Luan said, "He made a lot of things, such as telescopes, glass mirrors, and soap. Oh, by the way, I heard that he is going to make soda ash recently. He said that this soda ash can be used to make fertilizer, which can greatly improve the fertility of the soil and increase the yield of grain crops... I don't know what he is doing."

It was just a casual remark. Zhang Luan was also an open person, he said whatever he wanted to say, there was nothing to hide in front of his daughter and son-in-law.

Unexpectedly, when Zhu Youtang heard this, he suddenly stood up and asked in disbelief, "Was the telescope also made by Yanling?"

"what!?"

Zhang Luan didn't react for a moment. He could only look at his daughter, as if asking, doesn't your husband know about this?

Qin Ji happened to be coming back from serving food at the door at this moment. Seeing this scene, he hurried over and asked, "Prince, is everything alright?"

Zhu Youtang looked at Qin Ji with an eager expression and asked, "My dear, you told me that someone presented a telescope as a tribute. Was it given by Mr. Zhang?"

Tan Ji lowered his head and said, "That's right."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Zhu Youtang said in a reproachful tone.

Qin Ji turned to Zhang Luan and said aggrievedly, "Master Zhang, you know, this is not something I intentionally concealed. It was really because you told me before that this matter...is of great importance, so we should talk about it when the time is right."

Zhang Luan smiled and said, "So Eunuch Tan has kept his mouth shut until now? This is not Eunuch Tan's fault. Yanling reminded him of this. This proves that Eunuch Tan is loyal and reliable. He really won't reveal anything if he says so.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. No one except my son Yanling can make the telescope. That thing is now... extinct."

"What about the future?"

Zhu Youtang asked.

"That thing is made of colored glaze... And colored glaze is inexhaustible. It is actually made by burning stones. I think there should be a lot of that thing in the future."

Zhang Luan casually said something that shocked Zhu Youtang.

Zhang Yu glanced at his father and quickly added, "But we told Father before that the thing is made of Huangshan mica, which is a non-renewable resource. Prince, we must keep this secret!"

Zhu Youtang looked at his wife eagerly and said, "But my father said that telescopes can be of great help to soldiers on the frontier. If we can build one, I would like to help our Ming soldiers."

Zhang Yu rolled her eyes at her husband and said, "So you want to slap yourself in the face and take back what you said?"

"me……"

Zhu Youtang was at a loss for words.

When Zhang Luan heard this, he glared at Zhang Yu and said, "How can you talk to the prince like that?"

Zhang Yu got angry at his old father and said, "Father, you just called me empress, how are you talking to me now?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan suddenly realized that he seemed to have no right to teach his daughter a lesson.

My daughter is now the Crown Princess, and will be the Queen in the future. What is my status? How dare I speak out to regulate the Crown Princess' words and deeds?
Zhu Youtang said with a smile: "Yu'er, I just want to help my father and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Yu said, "Then let's ask my father to give us a few more telescopes and say that we found another piece of Huangshan mica. That should be fine, right?
"Prince, we will have plenty of opportunities in the future, why do we have to rush?"

"Oh."

Zhu Youtang calmed down after being comforted by his wife, and then acted like a little child, trying to please Zhang Yu in every way possible.

Zhang Luan was stunned by the changeable weather.

Zhang Luan thought.

What kind of anti-Tian Gang scene did I see?
How could my daughter make the prince so obedient?
The young man in front of me who is always circling around his wife is actually the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. He will become the emperor in the next few months. Is he a person who is out of my reach in the future?
Amazing, right?
Zhang Yu then looked at his old father and asked, "Father, is there a problem?"

"No...whatever you say, Princess."

Zhang Luan said, "It's just a few telescopes, nothing more...your second brother...can do it easily..."

Zhu Youtang found Zhang Luan's talk interesting and asked with a smile, "Father-in-law, I didn't expect Yanling to be so capable. Where did he learn it from?"

Zhang Luan said, "I really don't know about that, but he does have some abilities. In addition to having a pair of deft hands, he also has unique insights into many things... I'm glad he didn't cause trouble for you, Your Highness."

Qin Ji laughed and said, "Master Zhang, you are joking. The Second Young Master is a smart man and has done so many things for His Highness. How could he cause trouble? He has helped the Crown Prince a lot."

"Yes."

Zhu Youtang also had a happy smile on his face. "I never knew about the telescope. It turned out that my father-in-law discovered the tribute case and promptly asked the officials of the Eastern Palace to distance themselves from it. He also used the telescope presented by Yanling to avert danger. At that time... I was really worried, for fear that my father would blame me."

Zhang Luan sighed, "I was confused at the time, and somehow I accepted the yellow coral given by Peng Mianfu. I didn't expect it to be a tribute, and Yanling saw that something was wrong at first sight... Hey, what am I talking about?"

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Father, you didn't drink, but you acted like you were drunk? Even if your daughter invited you to dinner, you can't talk nonsense, right?"

"Yes, yes, I just like to talk nonsense."

Zhang Luan smiled ashamedly.

Zhu Youtang originally had no impression of Zhang Luan, but at this moment, he suddenly looked at him with a look of sympathy.

It seems to be saying, it turns out that you, father-in-law, are just like me, both of you are completely subdued by Yu'er.

It seems that your daughter has become what she is today thanks to your "wise leadership".

There are really many similarities between us, the father-in-law and the son-in-law.

Qin Ji smiled and said, "Crown Prince, Crown Princess, Lord Zhang, the food has been brought over. Are we going to serve it now?"

"it is good."

Zhu Youtang said, "I specially asked someone to add more dishes today. Father-in-law, please don't despise me. Usually the meals in the East Palace are just average, or even not as good as those in your house."

"You can't say that. This is the imperial meal of the palace. I won't have the chance to eat it many times in my life. Today... I'm going to feast on it."

(End of this chapter)