Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 157 Intending to Bring My Aunt into the Palace
Compared to other prominent families of the time, the Wu family's history was not long. It was simply that Wu Zetian's father, Wu Shihuo, became a newly emerging noble family since the founding of the Tang Dynasty as a member of the Taiyuan Yuan Cong.

The Wu family truly prospered during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, even briefly becoming part of the imperial family. However, after the Shenlong Revolution, the Wu family's influence rapidly declined. Although Wu Sansi still held power during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, his entire family was soon executed.

There are still quite a few members of the Wu clan alive today, including core members such as Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi, whose descendants are still alive. However, most of them are not very capable or capable.

The only ones currently in power who can be considered as high-ranking officials are her brothers Wu Xin and Wu Zhong, who were granted high-ranking positions because of their relationship with Consort Wu Hui. However, these are all honorary but sinecure positions, with little room for political maneuvering, and neither the ability nor the character to do so.

As for the other male members of the Wu family present, even those who held official positions were only at the sixth or seventh rank, and most of them were sinecure positions. None of them reached the fifth rank or were considered nobles, and their relationships with each other were not particularly close.

In fact, Zhang Dai was quite close to Consort Wu Hui's family, as both his mother and Consort Wu Hui belonged to the branch of Wu Zetian's uncle, Wu Shirang.

During Emperor Gaozong's reign, he wanted to take Helan, the niece of Empress Wu Zetian and the younger sister of Helan Minzhi, as a concubine. Empress Wu Zetian was very jealous of this and poisoned Helan during the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, blaming the brothers Wu Weiliang and Wu Huaiyun for the crime. These two unfortunate men were Zhang Dai's mother and Consort Wu Hui's grandfather, respectively.

Even this somewhat closer relationship is still beyond the fifth degree of kinship. As for the other Wu family relatives, the relationship is even more distant. However, given the Wu family's nature, close ties are meaningless; it all comes down to whether there are any benefits to be gained.

Zhang Dai even had a maternal uncle, his mother's brother from both parents, but he had never met him since birth. It was only through the gossip of his relatives that he learned his uncle was an official in another prefecture, but Zhang Dai didn't care about the details, as they were complete strangers.

When these people talked with Consort Wu Hui, they could be seen to be quite humble and reserved, without any intimate or friendly demeanor, and it seemed that they rarely interacted with each other.

Indeed, this was the case. Consort Wu Hui had been adopted into the palace before the fall of the Wu Zhou dynasty, and was somewhat estranged from her own brothers, let alone other members of the Wu clan.

She had interacted with her nephew Zhang Dai several times this year and received considerable help from him, which is why she valued these kinship relationships again and wanted to select a few more relatives who could help her. That's why she specially invited them to the palace to attend the banquet this year.

These Wu family relatives, who were relatively unfamiliar with each other, chatted idly, seemingly warmly but actually awkwardly. Although Zhang Dai didn't need to deliberately try to please anyone, he still found the scene rather boring, so he got up and strolled outside the hall.

Outside the Shenjuyuan, members of the imperial family and nobles frequently came and went, and Zhang Dai recognized a few of the younger members among them. Now that they met again in the inner garden, they inevitably exchanged a few pleasantries.

While chatting with someone, Zhang Dai looked around at the entrance of Shenju Courtyard. He soon saw several palace servants from Consort Hui's palace standing at the entrance, looking out, behind a richly dressed young man, who was probably a child.

This child must be Li Qing, the son of Consort Hui and Prince Shou. Zhang Dai apologized briefly to his friends and then walked over.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Lang is here!"

A palace maid of Consort Hui caught sight of Zhang Dai walking in and quickly bowed to the child in front of her, whispering something. Upon hearing this, the child also turned his head to look in their direction.

Prince Shou, Li Qing, was born in the eighth year of the Kaiyuan era. Before that, his two older brothers and one older sister had all died young. Therefore, after his birth, he was fostered in the home of his uncle, Prince Ning, Li Xian. He returned to the palace and was granted the title of Prince Shou on the eve of the Fengshan ceremony in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era. However, because he was still young, he did not accompany the emperor on the eastern tour.

It wasn't until recently, when it became clear that the emperor's return to Chang'an within the year was unlikely, that the children left behind, including Prince Shou, were brought to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to reunite with their families and celebrate the Spring Festival.

At present, Prince Shou is only a seven-year-old child. He looks handsome and clever, and his eyebrows and eyes are quite similar to his mother, Consort Wu Hui. Although the palace servants have already introduced him, he still walked up to Zhang Dai, raised his small hands and bowed, saying, "Are you my cousin Zhang from the Duke of Yan's family? My name is Qing. I was waiting outside to welcome you on my mother's orders. I did not expect my cousin to come out from inside. Have I been too blind to see you?"

Zhang Dai had initially been observing Prince Shou with a somewhat mocking attitude, but when he saw the young man formally step forward to pay his respects, he felt a little embarrassed.

He took a step back and bowed to Prince Shou, saying, "It's not that Your Majesty missed the opportunity, but I was led into the garden by a palace servant through an alternate path. I'm truly sorry to have troubled Your Majesty to wait here in vain."

“Cousin, you flatter me. My mother has given me these instructions, so how could I complain about being tired? Besides, I was fortunate enough to receive some gifts from you while I was in the inner palace of Xijing the other day. Due to palace rules, I was unable to thank you in person. Now that we meet, I must express my gratitude for what I did.”

As he spoke, Prince Shou cupped his hands and bowed once more.

Zhang Dai quickly stepped aside, feeling that talking to this kid was more tiring than interacting with adults. His demeanor was so dignified at such a young age that one felt guilty if they didn't respond with proper respect.

He had also interacted with his aunt, Consort Wu Hui, on several occasions. Looking at the boy's demeanor now, it was clear that his mother could not have raised him to be like this. Although he seemed a bit too mature for his age and lacked the liveliness and energy of a young child, such a quiet and polite child was more likable than a noisy and unruly one.

So Zhang Dai walked back to the hall with Prince Shou. The boy walked steadily and slowly, which made Zhang Dai, who was walking slowly beside him, unable to help but examine whether his usual demeanor was too hasty.
When they returned to the palace, the sounds of a baby crying and young girls chattering could still be heard. Other relatives of the Wu clan who had been invited to the palace had not brought their own unruly children, so the noise in the palace was also coming from Consort Wu Hui's children.

Besides Prince Shou, Li Qing, Consort Wu Hui also had a son and a daughter, Prince Sheng, Li Mu, and the future Princess Xianyi. The princess was close in age to Prince Shou, while Prince Sheng was still an infant and needed to be nursed.

When Zhang Dai entered the hall earlier, the two siblings were asleep in the back hall. Now that they've woken up, they've entered the hall and started making a ruckus. Now that Prince Shou has entered the hall, the three siblings are either quiet or noisy, the differences are even more obvious, and they are completely different styles.

However, these were all Consort Hui's children, so all the Wu family relatives naturally praised them equally.

Looking at Prince Shou and the others, Zhang Dai recalled his aunt's complaints to him a few days ago. She said that her situation in the inner palace was also very difficult. In order to maintain the emperor's favor, she didn't even have time to grieve when her children died. After wiping away her tears, she had to force a smile and try to win the emperor's favor again.

Looking at the situation now, what Consort Wu Hui said was not an exaggeration, but a bitter reality.

Her children were all born in the years leading up to Empress Wang's deposition. Without the strong support of the outer court, and with even her children dying several times, her health was indeed her only asset in gaining and maintaining the emperor's favor.

Of course, Consort Wu Hui was also lucky; at least her perseverance and efforts were richly rewarded, while there were many other palace women who suffered far worse fates than her.

Unfortunately, the emperor himself was cold-hearted and ruthless, with no restraint from ethics and morality. In fact, the older he got, the more he went crazy and challenged the bottom line of human ethics and law, making all these things a joke in the end, and making him a joke himself.

Several more members of the Wu clan who had been invited arrived. As they chatted, it was nearly evening when a palace servant came to inform the Emperor that he would soon be arriving at Anfu Palace, where the banquet would be held that evening. Consort Wu Hui then got up and went inside to tidy up her makeup.

"Liu Lang, come here, I have something to tell you!"

As she rose to leave her seat, Consort Wu waved to Zhang Dai and said something.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai quickly got up and followed Consort Hui into the inner palace.

The other members of the Wu clan, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but show envy. During their earlier conversation, they had noticed that Consort Wu Hui treated Zhang Dai with exceptional gentleness, making no attempt to hide her appreciation for him. Now, she had even summoned him to a private room for a private talk—a treatment even Consort Hui's brother hadn't received!
"Is this the first time you've seen so many relatives from your mother's side gathered together? It's my first time too! What do you think of this group of relatives, Liu Lang? Are there any with outstanding talents or abilities that you can admire?"

After settling down in the inner room, Consort Wu Hui smiled at Zhang Dai while having her maid tidy her hair.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was speechless. He simply lowered his head and said, "All my elders are so warm and kind, which makes me feel flattered. I am unworthy of such praise and how could I dare to criticize them? I will visit them one by one in the future to learn about human relationships and principles. I hope they will be generous in their guidance so that I can make further progress."

"Yes, they all talk about empty politeness and empty words, but they have no real insights to guide the young man. Let alone teachings on human relationships and principles, they don't even offer any pointers on literary tricks!"

Consort Wu Hui said with some disappointment.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was somewhat amused and exasperated, unsure how to respond. His aunt was truly adept at reading comprehension, managing to extract this viewpoint from his own answer. This also revealed that Consort Wu Hui was somewhat dissatisfied with these relatives.

"There is one more thing I want to ask you for your opinion on. Have you noticed your aunt from the Duke of Kuai's family? She is indeed clever and charming, with a lovely appearance, truly pitiful to behold. However, she is a bit reserved and lacks a bit of the demeanor of a noble lady."

After Consort Wu Hui's hair was removed, her long, flowing black hair cascaded down her back, exuding a captivating charm.

She turned around and saw Zhang Dai sitting upright with his head bowed, not daring to look away. She couldn't help but smile and then said, "I intend to bring him into the palace. Do you think it's appropriate, Sixth Prince?"

(End of this chapter)