Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 170 Seven Absolute Masters
Despite acquiring two top-tier bodyguards from Yang Sixu, Zhang Dai didn't become arrogant and completely disregard the Wang family. After visiting Yang Sixu, he stayed home quietly and didn't go out again.

With only a few days left until the New Year, the Zhang family mansion is filled with a festive atmosphere.

Despite the many events that have occurred in the past year, which have greatly changed the Zhang family's status and situation compared to last year, with the Spring Festival approaching, the clansmen have temporarily put aside the unpleasantness of the past and focused on preparing for the festival, hoping for a good change and a new beginning in the coming year.

Zhang Dai also had a rare opportunity to relax and stay at home, helping with preparations for the festival.

"Are you two brothers? When did you become disciples of Duke Guo?"

While cleaning his residence at Jicui Tower, Zhang Dai asked Jin Huan and Yin Huan, who were diligently cleaning, a question as he organized his documents.

"Your Excellency, my brother and I are not blood brothers, but we are close relatives bound by ancestral ties. In the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era, Mei Xuancheng of Annam rebelled, plundering Annam and invading various places in Qianzhou. My brother and I were both captured barbarians at that time. The rebel Mei was later defeated by my grandfather, and we all returned to him..."

Of the two eunuchs, Yin Huan, the younger brother, was more outgoing than Jin Huan, and he spoke of their background in a more organized manner.

It turns out that they were prisoners captured by Yang Sixu several years ago when he quelled the rebellion of Mei Shuluan in Annam. Because the two were young, had no evil deeds, and were physically strong and had some skills, they were taken in by Yang Sixu and kept under his command for further training.

Silver Ring was originally a Han Chinese from Lingnan, while Gold Ring was a native of Annam. Even now, neither of them spoke Mandarin fluently and often remained silent for fear of being scolded by their master. Speaking of which, Gold Ring had dark skin and looked somewhat like Ding Cang.

After they arrived at his home, Ding Cang took great care of the two of them, especially Jin Huan, so that they could quickly integrate into the family life.

Shouts and commotion could be heard in the open space outside the building, where Ding Qing was practicing his martial arts by hugging a wooden stake. Although the sun was shining brightly today, it was still the coldest time of winter, and the young man was only wearing a single layer of clothing, with sweat even dripping from his forehead, showing how hard he was working.

This is understandable. If An Xiaochen's arrival hadn't affected him much before, now that Jin Huan and Yin Huan have entered the family, his sense of crisis has increased dramatically.

The two men weren't much older than him, but they were highly skilled in martial arts; even An Xiaochen couldn't defeat them together. Furthermore, his adoptive father, Ding Cang, took good care of the golden ring because of their similar lineage.

This inevitably brought Ding Qing great challenges in both his career and his love life. In order to avoid becoming the most useless one in the family and being disliked by his father, the boy changed his usual carefree attitude and began to concentrate on practicing his skills.

Zhang Dai was also pleased with this. He certainly wouldn't abandon his old friends, but if Ding Qing's advancement couldn't keep up with his own progress, then he was destined to be unable to participate in his core personnel plans in the future, and could only rely on old relationships to handle some trivial matters and get by.

Although he was recruiting and absorbing all kinds of talents, he still hoped that the original members could grow up and stand on their own. Therefore, he also had An Xiaochen personally guide Ding Qing, and naturally, he would not neglect his diet and other nourishing treatments.

Aying walked in from the outer room, followed by two maids, Wanqing and Xiaoman, each carrying a roll of gorgeous silk cloth.

"Is there another reward, Madam?"

Zhang Dai knew they had been transferred to the east wing to help with tidying up, and he smiled when he saw this.

"This wasn't a gift from the Madam! It was sent back from Zhengzhou by the Master himself, containing over a hundred bolts of colorful silk and fine fabrics, as well as materials specifically instructed in a family letter to be used for tailoring clothes for the Master. Yet, the Madam kept a portion of it. What we brought back is less than half of the allotted portion!"

Upon hearing this, Ah Ying said with a dissatisfied expression, deeply resentful that her mistress had withheld Ah Lang's supplies.

Zhang Dai didn't care much about this. He just felt that his father's post in another prefecture was much more comfortable than staying at home, and that he even remembered to send him some gifts.

This is understandable, though. Zhengzhou is located at the gateway for personnel and resources from Luoyang to the east. During the period before the Lunar New Year, his personnel and supplies were being continuously transported eastward for disaster relief. His father was in Zhengzhou to cooperate with the operation, and he must have seen the resources that he could mobilize, so he naturally became more proactive.

Aying and the others brought these fabrics into the room for temporary storage. The inner room was already filled with hundreds of pieces of high-quality fabrics, and the room was almost overflowing.

These weren't purchased on purpose, but rather gifts delivered by relatives and friends who had recently come to visit. For example, his uncle-in-law, Zheng Yan, alone sent fifty bolts of silk to thank Zhang Dai for helping him contact Wang Yuanbao to sell the goods.

In the past, Zhang Dai was an insignificant nobody in this family, but this year, when relatives and friends came to visit, in addition to the gifts they gave to his grandparents, they also prepared a separate gift for Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai didn't actually need the gifts for the festival, but the feeling of being remembered and respected was quite nice, so he accepted them all with a smile and even had his family return a gift to each of them. Human relationships are simply a matter of give and take; the more you exchange gifts, the deeper the bond becomes.

"Sixth Brother, guests have arrived in the front courtyard. They are Scholar Wang Ziyu and several of his friends and disciples. The lord has ordered Sixth Brother to come up and keep them company."

Zhang Gu, the head steward of the prefecture, strode over and greeted Zhang Dai with a smile. Zhang Dai hadn't seen Wang Han for some time, and upon hearing this, he rose and headed towards the main hall. When he arrived, the hall was already filled with laughter and the clinking of glasses.

"Sixth Brother has arrived! You must first have a drink with me, for I have a fine gift to present to you!"

When Wang Han saw Zhang Dai walk in, he raised his wine cup and walked towards him.

"Now that Scholar Wang has arrived, though I am not a great drinker, I must join him in a toast. However, there are other guests at the table, so we must continue to entertain them!"

Zhang Dai first took the wine cup handed to him by Wang Han and drank it all in one gulp. Wang Han was even more amused by this, and then waved his hand and said, "They will have to wait for a while. First, give the gifts I brought to Liu Lang."

As he spoke, he waved to his servant to bring him a brocade pouch, from which he took out a scroll of books and presented it to Zhang Dai as if it were a treasure. He said with a smile, "This is a newly published collection of contemporary essays in the bookstores of the capital. It selects the best essays by scholars who have passed the provincial examinations in recent years, and includes commentaries by famous scholars."

Although Yan Gong also possessed a collection of such works, omissions were inevitable. "The stones from other mountains can polish jade." I have come to assist you, Liu Lang, in your artistic pursuits, hoping you will achieve great success in the provincial examinations next year!

Zhang Dai felt something was amiss as he listened, and when he looked at the scroll, he was right—it was the collection of essays he had previously selected, compiled, and printed!
He suppressed his laughter and asked Wang Han, "How much did this scholar spend to find this scholar?"

"Money and silk are trivial matters, not worth mentioning, but if they can benefit the cause, that is the best! Although this scroll is made by engraving, the selection of texts is quite exquisite and the commentary is also wonderful. It is worth reading carefully by scholars who aspire to take the imperial examinations."

Wang Han waved his hand dismissively, saying that he was from a wealthy family and was a generous person, so he naturally didn't care about a little money.

How could the selected texts not be of high quality? I don't know how many sleepless nights I spent compiling this!
Zhang Dai thought to himself, "Even Wang Han knows about this collection of writings and even bought it to give to me. It seems this trial run has been quite successful."

At this moment, another young man in the room stood up and said with a smile, "I bought this collection of essays when I came to the capital. The bookstore owner said that his family only printed a hundred or so volumes. Most of them were given to relatives and friends, and only a dozen or so volumes were left to be sold on consignment in the bookstore. Each volume of the collection costs ten strings of cash."

"Ten strings of cash? I've been cheated by a dishonest merchant who actually demanded a hundred strings of cash from me!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Han's expression immediately changed, and he slapped his thigh and angrily shouted.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was also slightly moved. He cursed the unscrupulous merchant in his heart. Damn it, he had sent people to contact booksellers in the two markets, and the booksellers had only offered two strings of cash per volume at most. He had happily calculated that he had made more than double his money after deducting the cost.

Since most of his disciples had already been sent to the disaster area, Zhang Dai sold eight hundred scrolls directly to save trouble. However, he did not expect that some sucker would buy them for more than a hundred strings of cash a scroll!

"Is this document selling very well in the city?"

He then looked at the young man and asked, clasping his hands in a fist salute, "May I ask how you are addressed?"

“My name is Wang Changling, and I am a candidate for the provincial examination in Jingzhao Prefecture this year. You may call me Wang Da, my sixth son.”

The young man first gave a brief self-introduction, and then said, "This collection of essays is indeed very popular. Scholars from all over the country have gathered in the capital, all of them are working hard to prepare for the provincial examinations. When they heard about this collection, they rushed to find it. Once they obtained a copy, they regarded it as a treasure and called it a sacred collection. Copying and imitation became a craze for a time."

"Wang Changling? So you are Wang Shaobo! I have long admired your talent!"

Zhang Dai had originally come to inquire about the sales of the collection of essays, but he was first taken aback by the identity of the other party. The seemingly unremarkable guest turned out to be Wang Changling, known as the "Master of Seven Wonders." In his astonishment, he even forgot about the collection of essays.

Wang Changling was greatly surprised to hear Zhang Dai address him by his courtesy name: "Sixth Brother actually knows Wang Da?"

At this moment, Zhang Shuo, who was sitting in the host's seat, also laughed and pointed to his grandson, saying, "Although my son is young, he is very knowledgeable. He often praises Wang Shi's poems as vigorous and powerful. Today, I have the pleasure of meeting a kindred spirit."

Leaving aside Wang Han's frustration at being taken advantage of, Zhang Dai took the opportunity to inquire about the names of the other guests in the hall. Besides Wang Changling, there were also Zu Yong and others, all of whom were highly talented and outstanding individuals.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Zhang Dai took his seat, holding up the scroll given to him by Wang Han, and said with a smile, "Although Scholar Wang was tricked by a cunning merchant, his sincere help has moved me. I will definitely study the collection carefully, hoping to improve myself and not let down this hundred strings of cash!"

Wang Han wasn't distressed about the money; he was just annoyed at being tricked. Hearing Zhang Dai's words made him feel a little better. He then pointed at Wang Changling and smiled at him, saying, "These disciples will soon be pursuing the imperial examinations alongside Sixth Master. Today, we've brought them to the residence to test their abilities. Tomorrow, Sixth Master, give it your all, surpass all your disciples, and seize the top spot!"

(End of this chapter)