Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 289: A Country Bum

After listening to Aying's story, Zhang Dai frowned deeply.

He had been busy with ancestral worship and entertaining guests, and was unaware that such a thing had happened at home. Now that he had learned of it, his mood inevitably soured.

He knew that Zheng harbored a lot of resentment towards him, and now it seemed that this resentment was accumulating and increasing as her situation improved, and would erupt once it reached a critical point.

In Zheng's mind, everything she possessed, aside from being a concubine's son in the Zhang family, was stolen from her son. This woman's resentment towards her had become an obsession, completely irrational!

Although he is no longer someone who can be manipulated at will by Zheng Shi simply because of her status as a mistress, it does not mean that he can completely ignore the threat posed by Zheng Shi.

Especially as his social status becomes more and more prominent, he will also have more conflicts and contradictions with others. More and more people will be looking for loopholes in him. The existence of the Zheng family is undoubtedly a time bomb, which may be detonated at any time, making all his efforts at a certain stage go down the drain!
Even without deliberate targeting from outsiders, having such a person in the family is by no means a happy thing.

Take today for example. If his grandmother hadn't intervened in time and locked Zheng Shi in her room, it would have undoubtedly become a huge joke if she had been allowed to make a scene. Moreover, regardless of whether Zheng Shi's commotion was reasonable or not, Zhang Dai, as an illegitimate son in the family, was naturally in a disadvantaged position.

Often, the elaborate schemes of a clever person cannot compare to the quick wit of a fool. From any perspective, the Zheng family has become an object that Zhang Dai must deal with.

But he was stumped about how to resolve the issue. Unlike his father Zhang Jun, Zheng Shi could not be directly demoted to another place so that they could avoid seeing each other.

This woman stays in the Zhang family mansion, accumulating resentment towards herself every day. She might explode without warning one day. She's practically a shameless rogue with no loopholes!

Should we advise his father to divorce his wife? Or tell Zheng's family about Zhang Jun keeping a mistress in Zhengzhou, and just anger that woman to death?
Several ideas flashed through Zhang Dai's mind, but none of them seemed very plausible.

Although Zhang Jun keeps mistresses outside, he still values ​​his marriage with the Zheng family very much. He would never divorce Zheng without special circumstances, given his personality.

But that's easier said than done. Even a family like the Zhengs demanded a dowry of 50,000 strings of cash; other prominent families would certainly charge even more. Remember, when Zhang Shuo's youngest daughter married into the Lu family of Fanyang, Zhang Shuo immediately arranged a third-rank official position for his in-laws!

The Zhang family clearly couldn't afford to do that now, so they could only raise the price in terms of money and silk. The thought of spending tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, just to hope to get Zhang Jun a new wife, and not even knowing what kind of person she was, gave Zhang Dai a headache.

As for sending Zheng to Zhengzhou to catch her husband in adultery and then having a falling out with Zhang Jun, that's even more impossible. No matter how much this woman causes trouble, she'll eventually realize that being the matriarch of the Zhang family is the best position she can ever achieve in her life. If she leaves the Zhang family, she's nothing!
“Ah Lang, there’s no need to worry too much. I saw that the old lady was also very angry about the mistress’s behavior today. I’ve never seen the old lady lose her composure like this in so many years. Today she even stood outside the mistress’s door and shouted and cursed loudly…”

Seeing Zhang Dai frowning and remaining silent, Yingniang whispered to comfort him, "The mistress is, after all, a lady from a distinguished family. Perhaps she was just feeling disappointed and angry at the moment, but she may have realized her mistake afterward. With the old lady's discipline, she should not dare to lose control like this again."

Zhang Dai never hoped that others would change their attitude towards him, especially people and things that were harmful to him. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at A Ying and said, "I remember you said that the mistress's servants seemed to be plotting something. Have you found out more about it recently?"

"I don't know the specifics, but I heard from the maid in the mistress's room that the mistress had been instructing her to search for the monks of Changshou Temple for a long time. At this time, she only told a few women who were close to her. Anyone else who asked too many questions would be scolded and punished. The matter is being handled so secretly, it must not be a good thing."

Upon hearing this question, Ah Ying quickly answered.

"The monks of Changshou Temple?"

After hearing Aying's answer, Zhang Dai couldn't help but recall the things he had seen Zheng's worship at Changshou Temple. He was busy with his insurance business at the time and hadn't investigated them thoroughly. Now that he was determined to get rid of Zheng completely, he naturally couldn't let go of any place where problems might be discovered.

"These days, you should not go to the east wing lightly at home, lest you be seized by this madwoman and become her target of her anger. Go to the old lady's place more often and tell her in detail about the mistreatment and difficulties we have suffered at home in the past, as well as how the mistress used the family's wealth to help her father's family."

Zhang Dai knew that if he wanted to deal with the Zheng family, no matter what methods he used, his grandmother's attitude would be crucial.

After all, the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is one of the most difficult to manage in the world. Zheng was proud of her prestigious family background, and her grandmother, Yuan, was also from a distinguished family. Moreover, the ranking of these five surnames was determined by the Yuan family!

If Zhang Dai could gain his grandmother's support, he would have much more options and room to maneuver, and he could also avoid being criticized for his lack of social morality. After instructing Yingniang and her daughter, Zhang Dai summoned Ding Cang and earnestly instructed him: "Go to Changshou Temple and carefully investigate all of the mistress's Buddhist practices. Compile a list of all the donations she made and the monks she associated with, and question them all!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Cang quickly nodded in agreement. Changshou Temple had now been completely reorganized, with the Pure Land Courtyard now under Zhang Dai's control. Ding Cang, remaining in the capital, was primarily responsible for managing the Pure Land Courtyard, which made it very convenient for him to investigate personnel matters related to Changshou Temple.

After giving these instructions, Zhang Dai washed up briefly and then went to bed. Although the matter concerning Zheng Shi had bothered him quite a bit, it didn't affect his sleep.

To be honest, although Zheng was annoying, it wasn't a problem that was completely unsolvable for him. He just wanted to resolve it within the bounds of ethics and human relationships. If he really couldn't do that, then there was nothing to worry about.

After getting up in the early morning, Zhang Dai went to check on the guests staying at his home, many of whom were still hungover. Gao Shi, in particular, who had been very active the night before, eagerly trying to sing drinking songs with others, was completely drunk and had to be carried to a guest room by Zhang's servants.

Zhang Dai was also worried that the man might drink himself into a stupor, so he went to his room. As soon as he entered, he smelled the sour stench of vomit. Two maids stood at the door, cautiously looking at Zhang Dai and said, "Sixth Master, it's not that we're being lazy, but this Lady Gao vomited repeatedly last night. We had to change the curtains several times. The guest is still asleep, so it's inconvenient to wash him..."

"You guys step back first!"

Seeing that the two maids also looked tired, Zhang Dai waved his hand to signal them to go back and rest. He then stepped into the room and immediately heard a snoring sound.

Seeing that Gao Shi's arm was hanging off the edge of the bed and there was a puddle of vomit left in front of the bed, he went over to help him move over. Gao Shi, who was still fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes, but his eyes were still unfocused and he stared at Zhang Dai for a while before suddenly shouting loudly, "Zhang Liulang, Liulang has come to see me!"

Zhang Dai wasn't sure if Gao Thirty-Five had sobered up yet, so he stood at the other end of the bed and asked, "Does Gao Thirty-Five need any food or drink?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Shi shook his head vigorously, then stared at Zhang Dai for a moment before saying, "Sixth Brother led me back to the capital, but I haven't seen him for days. Could it be that he resents my cousin and therefore dislikes me? I didn't mean to hide it from Sixth Brother; it's just that although my family is large, the kinship is weak, and the brothers are like strangers..."

Like Liu Lang, I was also a young concubine's son in my family. From a young age, my father was away serving as an official, leaving us to live with only a few servants and maids. After my father's death, we were too poor to afford a proper burial, and were forced to pawn our ancestral property. From then on, we lost everything, and Gao Kan's grandson became a peasant..."

Seeing Gao Shi excitedly recounting his life story, Zhang Dai realized that the guy was still hungover and overly sensitive, actually misunderstanding that his absence from Gao Shi for several days after returning to the capital was due to his cousin Gao Chen.

This leap in thinking is quite significant. Not to mention that he and Yuwen Rong are not at odds, even if there are some conflicts, he would not distance himself from Gao Shi because of his anger towards Yuwen Rong's retainers.

However, when a person is down on their luck and can't find a direction to strive for, they will inevitably become suspicious and anxious, attributing all seemingly unrelated interpersonal problems to their own failures.

As Gao Shi spoke, he began to sob, choking back tears as he said, "In the past, I was down on my luck and accomplished nothing, and I even blamed it on my fate, which made it difficult to get help from others. Now, seeing Liu Lang's courageous progress and praise of others, I feel ashamed and heartbroken... Gao Shi also has lofty aspirations, but I don't know when I will be favored and able to bravely rise to the top!"

Zhang Dai had no experience in comforting drunkards, so he just stood by the bed watching Gao Shi pour out his bitterness and ambitions. After venting, the man turned around and fell back into bed, fast asleep, leaving Zhang Dai feeling both amused and exasperated.

After the other drunken guests woke up, they all took their leave one after another. Zhang Dai had no time to see them off individually, so he simply arranged for his family to escort them out properly. He then seized the last bit of time to prepare for the upcoming imperial examination.

Gao Shi woke up again in the evening, seemingly forgetting his drunken antics that morning. He came to Jicui Tower to greet Zhang Dai, and upon seeing the numerous books in the tower, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he could hardly move his feet.

Upon seeing his appearance, Zhang Dai smiled and said, "I have recently been thinking about compiling a few volumes of my collected works, and I need someone to assist me. I wonder if Gao Thirty-Five would be willing to stay and help?"

"I... uh, thank you so much, Liu Lang! Thank you so much, Liu Lang, for taking me in! I will definitely do my best to help you complete this masterpiece!"

Gao Shi was taken aback when he heard this, but then nodded repeatedly with a look of surprise.

(End of this chapter)