Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 231 Does Liu Lang Have a Secret?

The hall of Wang Maozhong's house was full of guests. After a few cups of wine, these soldiers from the Northern Army began to shout and yell, making a racket that hurt everyone's eardrums. Some even pushed all the food and utensils on the table to the ground and started playing dice games in the hall.

Perhaps unable to bear the noisy atmosphere themselves, Wang Maozhong and several other seemingly older generals stood up and moved to another hall, leaving this space for the younger generation to play around in.

After they got up and left their seats, a servant of the Wang family invited Zhang Dai and Gao Chengxin to come along, seemingly to discuss the matter of flying money.

Zhang Dai himself did not want to get too involved, nor did he want to have any more disputes with Wang Maozhong, so he said that he would not participate in the discussion and would just wait for them to come up with a result and inform him.

The actual operation and control of the flying money had long since shifted from Wang Yuanbao to the hands of the eunuchs. The other eunuch representatives were not familiar with Zhang Dai, so his absence suited their purposes perfectly. Gao Chengxin, seeing that Zhang Dai indeed did not want to get involved, stopped trying to persuade him.

After these people left the hall, Zhang Dai, unable to bear the noise any longer, simply came out and stood in the corridor for a while. Wang Shouzhen then appeared out of nowhere and asked Zhang Dai, "Sixth Brother, do you have any instructions?"

"It's too noisy here. Are there any other entertainment options nearby?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai said that even standing outside the door, he could feel waves of sound rushing outwards.

"There are archery ranges and pitch-pot games in the left corridor. Do you like them, Liu Lang?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded and suggested that he go to another hall to play pitch-pot for a while. He didn't know how long Gao Chengxin and the others would talk, and he would just wait around and get bored.

The pitch-pot hall was located a few feet to the left of the corridor. Although not far, it was quite quiet due to the several layers of walls blocking the view. Zhang Dai then played the game with Wang Shouzhen, but he lost more often than he won, as he was not very familiar with the game.

Just as the two were arguing, a commotion approached from outside. Ge Yanchang, the son-in-law of the Wang family, walked in surrounded by several people. As the protagonist of the day, he was showered with compliments, and his face was flushed red from the smell of alcohol, making him look even more like a big red envelope.

"Why is Ge Lang here instead of having a banquet in the main hall?"

Wang Shouzhen stepped forward first and stood in front of the group, asking them a question.

Ge Yanchang held a wine cup in his hand and handed it to Wang Shouzhen, laughing loudly, "From now on, Wang Daye and I will become close relatives. I know that you are down on your luck and full of sorrow because of Zhang Liu's framing. Just say the word, and I will teach him a lesson and avenge you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai raised an eyebrow and took a few steps into the hall, only a few steps away from a horn bow hanging on the wall.

“Ge Lang, you’re drunk. Zhang Liulang is a distinguished guest specially invited today to congratulate you. He’s no bad person, so please don’t be rude!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouzhen waved his hands repeatedly, spreading his arms to block them while shouting to a young man in the crowd, "Sanlang, quickly lead Gelang and the others back to the hall. Don't offend our distinguished guests or anger Father!"

"I couldn't stop him. He heard someone in the hall joking that Third Sister and Zhang Dai had an affair, and he couldn't stand it, so he insisted on coming here!"

The one who answered was Wang Maozhong's third son, named Wang Shouqing. He was a teenager, the kind of boy who loved to stir up trouble. He was also drunk and answered with a laugh.

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang's face flushed even more. He immediately tried to push Wang Shouzhen aside and rushed towards Zhang Dai, shouting, "Zhang Liu, if you are a good man, tell me the truth: why did the Third Lady throw flowers at you at the palace banquet before the New Year? Did you two have an affair? That...that poem 'Lantern Festival,' could it really have been written for her?"

Hearing his angry question, Zhang Dai was speechless. He had never seen someone who was already shouting about being cuckolded before the engagement was even finalized.

Judging from the situation, this guy was also pushed into an awkward position by others, so he took his anger out on me. And no matter how much I tried to protect him, I couldn't stop this groom from coming after me and asking to be cuckolded.

“What I’m saying is utterly inhuman! We’re not related, so it’s understandable that you don’t know me! But what grudge does Master Huo hold against you? He’s been so kind to you, yet you complain about it! By asking this question, you’re comparing Master Huo’s family to some despicable person!”

Damn it, don't tell me I'm innocent and have nothing to hide. Even if I really have ulterior motives, if you want to be Wang Maozhong's son-in-law, you'll have to swallow your pride and bear it!
Hearing Zhang Dai's rebuke, Ge Yanchang finally came to his senses. The others who were still egging him on were also secretly alarmed and dared not make any more noise. So they pulled Ge Yanchang away from the scene and stopped arguing about the topic.

"Sixth Brother, I am truly sorry. The young men of the Northern Gate are vulgar and rude. On this joyous occasion, they have put on such a disgraceful show, and I hope you will forgive their rudeness."

Wang Shouzhen then turned around and apologized to Zhang Dai.

It's already incomprehensible for someone to act crazy under the influence of alcohol, so Zhang Dai didn't take it to heart. However, Wang Shouzhen's attitude surprised him. Looking at this guy, he said in a deep voice, "You really don't hate me?"

Previously, it was understandable that Wang Shouzhen was humbled and treated with utmost respect in his own home, but now that he was in her home, he was still behaving the same way. This change was so drastic that it seemed unreal.

"The other day, my sixth son taught me some principles, which made me feel a lot. Although my current situation is due to my sixth son, it is also my own fault. In the past, even with power and influence, I could not avoid being controlled by my sixth son. Now, I hate my family for the disgrace of my brother. What good will it do me to hate my sixth son? I have already lost my official position and title in the past. If I suffer another misfortune, I am afraid my life will be in danger."

Wang Shouzhen quickly shook his head, saying that although he had suffered considerable humiliation at the Zhang family's house, what truly made him realize reality was the attitude of his family members after he returned home. His father regarded him as a disgrace, his younger brothers showed him no respect, and his former followers, such as Ge Yanchang, now treated him as a joke. On the contrary, it was Zhang Dai, whom he had previously hated, who taught him some lessons about how to conduct himself in the future.

It wouldn't be accurate to say that he had completely lost his hatred, but even if he sought revenge against Zhang Dai, he wouldn't be able to get back everything he had lost. Moreover, if he failed to get revenge, his situation would likely become even more precarious.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai didn't say anything more, but simply tossed a few more arrows to Wang Shouzhen, preparing to continue the competition.

Wang Shouzhen held the arrow but didn't throw it immediately. Instead, she looked at Zhang Dai with some suspicion and asked softly, "Sixth Brother and my sister, are you really alright? That day at the palace banquet, this woman's words and actions were bold and outrageous, completely unlike her usual demeanor. That's why I was so angry, and it extended to Sixth Brother, which led to the aftermath..."

This is never going to end!
Zhang Dai shook his head impatiently. He wasn't exactly a moral gentleman, so what harm would it do to admit something if he really did? He was being questioned about something that had nothing to do with him, which naturally made him a little unhappy.

"I only met your sister once at the palace banquet a few days ago. I was secretly pleased to have won her favor, but that's all. I've come to offer my congratulations today, so it would be impolite to discuss anything further!"

He raised his hand and threw an arrow, which, unsurprisingly, missed again. He said in a deep voice.

"Sixth Brother is indeed a dignified gentleman. Such rumors are merely malicious slanders from the young men of the Northern Gate who were rejected in their marriage proposals!"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Shouzhen nodded and said so.

The two played a few more rounds, and after another hour or so, Gao Chengxin and the others finally finished their discussion with Wang Maozhong. When he came to find Zhang Dai, he looked rather serious, as if the outcome of the discussion was not good.

"The situation is not good?"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Dai dropped the arrows he was holding and walked over to Gao Chengxin to inquire.

Gao Chengxin did not answer directly, but glanced at Wang Shouzhen who was accompanying him and said to Wang Shouzhen, "Wang Da, would you allow me and Liu Lang to have a brief chat here?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouzhen bowed slightly and then walked outside.

"Master Huo is too greedy. He wants to start anew, not only demanding that the current accounts be clarified and divided, but also requiring that each party involved can attract customers and operate their own business!"

After Wang Shouzhen left, Gao Chengxin entered and sat down, then spoke to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai was not surprised that Wang Maozhong had such thoughts. Anyone who was manipulated like this would want to find a way to get rid of it, let alone someone who had such abilities.

"If matters are divided among various parties, will the final accounts be submitted to a common account or kept in individual ledgers? If matters cannot be unified, then there is no need to work together anymore. Great undertakings can collapse overnight; don't they understand this principle?"

He asked again, although he was no longer deeply involved in the matter, he was the one who had brought it on, and he had also benefited greatly from Consort Hui's share of the profits.

"Alas, I misunderstood things the other day. I thought that recruiting more eunuchs would make Lord Huo more wary and dare not act rashly. But I did not expect that these short-sighted eunuchs would turn around and join forces with the slave officials of the North Gate to force us. They joined the work late and are greedy for profit. They think that each family will get more profit than they do now."

After saying this, Gao Chengxin angrily cursed, "These fools don't even consider that they have as many men as the Northern Gate slaves? They never leave the palace grounds, and their faces are practically nonexistent. Now that the Northern Gate forces are even more united, once things are out of control, what will we use to fight them?"

"The North Gate is not necessarily a monolithic entity, otherwise why would Huo and Geng have formed a marriage alliance? Now that both families have gained considerable influence, if they were to use this scheme to plunder wealth and people, what would their intentions be?"

Zhang Dai wasn't worried about whether the eunuchs could compete with the Northern Office after the separate operations. The key issue was that Wang Maozhong's marriage to Ge Fushun had already drawn attention, and now he actually wanted to pocket the huge profits from Feiqian. This guy had absolutely no sense of propriety in his actions!

The profits from Feiqian were astonishing, even Zhang Dai, the instigator, was greatly surprised, which made him dare not get involved any further. He simply maintained the attitude of holding shares for Consort Hui and treating Feiqian as a cash pool, and did not concern himself with the daily operations.

However, if Wang Maozhong were to pull this stunt, it would disrupt the internal personnel relationships. Just as Gao Chengxin had worried, once they were separated and acted independently, the resources that the eunuchs could mobilize would be far inferior to those of the Northern Office. The two sides were not even in the same league, and it was only a matter of time before their interests were completely swallowed up.

Wang Maozhong's plan was quite ambitious, but the question is, is he really going to die as emperor? Although the profits from the previous money-making scheme were considerable, the checks and balances from various parties and the operation of the scheme were relatively clear and transparent, so it could continue to develop.

However, if everyone were to keep their own accounts and develop their own businesses as Wang Maozhong suggested, many things wouldn't be clearly reflected in reality. Even the most magnanimous emperor wouldn't allow a general from the Northern Army to control such a vast source of wealth out of his sight.

Once the emperor decides to intervene, not to mention how much those involved will lose, Zhang Dai will find it difficult to ask for money in Consort Hui's name as he did before!

(End of this chapter)