Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 295 The past

Although Zhang Dai will not officially take office until the first day of next month, some work needs to be prepared as soon as possible.

The first thing was naturally to customize official robes. Although Zhang Dai already had the rank of a fifth-grade founding viscount, unfortunately, the color of the official robes of Tang Dynasty officials was determined by their rank. It can be seen that this title, apart from being a nice-sounding honorary title, really didn't mean much.

According to Tang Dynasty regulations, the official robes of eighth-rank officials were dark blue. However, these so-called official robes were actually everyday clothes. From the Zhenguan era onwards, the attire of officials was simplified; except for grand court ceremonies on New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, and for high-ranking officials, they wore only everyday clothes.

However, as regular uniforms became the standard office attire, various government departments made changes to their clothing details to differentiate themselves. Each department kept its own sample garments, and officials could either pay directly to purchase them from their department or obtain a sample from their department and then order their own.

The Zhang family was an official family, so Zhang Dai didn't need to worry about these small details. The next day, the household steward arranged for a servant to go to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to get a sample and tailor clothes for Zhang Dai at home.

In addition, the family members also inquired about the personnel relationships within the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, in preparation for Zhang Dai to cultivate good interpersonal relationships.

Zhang Dai held the position of Xie Lü Lang, a mere eighth-rank official, but within the Taichang Temple, he was directly under the command of his superiors, the Taichang Qing and Taichang Shao Qing. No other officials had the authority to control him. The current Taichang Qing was none other than Cui Rizhi, a close friend of his grandfather, Zhang Shuo.

During the family dinner last night, Zhang Shuo specially invited Cui Rizhi to his home for a drink. Cui Rizhi patted his chest and promised to take good care of Zhang Dai. In other words, even before officially reporting for duty, he had already established connections with the top leader and had his protection.

Zhang Dai also felt his grandfather's influence in officialdom more and more. Sure enough, the difficulties he had suffered before were due to his own low level. Now that his level had improved, all kinds of personnel and conveniences had emerged, and the difficulty had been directly adjusted from hard mode to easy mode!
Despite Cui Rizhi's assurance, Zhang Dai didn't dare to be too arrogant. His position as Xie Lulang wasn't exactly a crucial one; as long as personnel matters went smoothly, the work would naturally become quite pleasant.

Adhering to the principle that it is never wrong to be overly polite, although he had not yet officially reported for duty, he still arranged for his family to visit Cui Rizhi and the two Vice Ministers of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices with his visiting card and to present each of them with a gift.

He arranged for his family to visit his superior, while at the same time, people from his home also came to visit him.

"Jiang Xingwei, Right General of the Left Imperial Guard, who is this?"

He held the visiting card his family had brought in, looking at the names and identities written on it, but couldn't recall them, so he didn't think about it any further.

As his reputation grew, more and more people from the time came to visit him, wanting to make friends. Especially after the imperial examination, he received a lot of invitations every day. When he returned to the capital, Ding Cang had collected and organized hundreds of invitations, most of which were from people he did not know.

He didn't recognize this man named Jiang Xingwei either, but seeing his official title, he couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart. The Imperial Guard was the Northern Army's imperial guard, and the fact that an Imperial Guard general was visiting him inevitably made him wonder if he wanted to meet him and find out his identity and purpose.

However, just to be on the safe side, he still had An Xiaochen and the Jin Huan and Yin Huan brothers come into the hall and stand on either side of him before instructing the servants to bring this person in.

Before long, a servant led in a tall, handsome middle-aged man. Although the man had thick hair and beard and had the demeanor of a martial artist, he had regular features and looked somewhat familiar.

"A rough and uncouth martial artist from the North Gate, I have taken the liberty of coming to disturb you. Thank you for your hospitality, Sixth Master."

After being led into the hall, the middle-aged man first bowed with his hands clasped in greeting to Zhang Dai. Zhang Dai also stood up from his seat and made a perfunctory gesture before asking, "Please forgive my carelessness and poor eyesight, but may I ask if you and I are old acquaintances?"

"I originally served in the border region of Hexi. Recently, I accompanied General King of Hexi to the capital to present a victory report. Because of His Majesty's favor and reward, I was retained in the capital region. Since arriving in the capital, I have often heard of Liu Lang's reputation. Today, seeing him in person, I am truly impressed by his handsome appearance!"

Jiang Xingwei did not answer Zhang Dai's question directly. He first introduced his background, then flattered Zhang Dai, and then said, "I have never met you before, but I am an old friend of yours, Cui Ying. I wonder if you have heard of me from Cui Ying?"

It turns out that this person was a meritorious soldier from the border region who had accompanied the king to the capital and was retained for service.

Upon learning the man's identity, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship. He had a deep-seated grudge against Wang Maozhong and others from the North Gate, and these border soldiers who were retained by his own faction were probably not welcomed by the original North Gate soldiers. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and there was plenty of room for interaction between them.

Upon hearing the person's last sentence, Zhang Dai was taken aback: "Cui Ying...you...you know my Aunt Ying?"

Yingniang's surname was indeed Cui. Zhang Dai usually just called her Auntie. When this person mentioned Yingniang's full name, he almost didn't remember it.

"Indeed, I have a deep connection with Cui Ying and Yingniang from a past life. I wonder if she is currently in the manor, and if I may have the honor of meeting her?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingwei nodded hurriedly, his eyes flashing with a hint of emotion.

"Go and invite Aunt Ying here."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai raised his hand to instruct Yin Huan, while simultaneously scrutinizing Jiang Xingwei, wondering about his relationship with Yingniang. Since his surname was Jiang, and Yingniang's surname was also Jiang, could he be Yingniang's old flame? This thought immediately struck Zhang Dai as highly plausible. His predecessor, Zhang Luonu, had no memories of this, and since arriving in this world, he had been busy with other matters and hadn't inquired further. But now, thinking about it, Yingniang clearly needed a husband; otherwise, where would Yingniang come from?

The thought that this person might be his father-in-law made Zhang Dai even more enthusiastic. He quickly raised his hand to gesture to him, saying, "General Jiang, please take a seat. My aunt will be here soon."

He warmly welcomed Jiang Xingwei, and soon Yingniang entered the hall. She first looked at Zhang Dai and asked, "What brings you here, sir? Yinhuan only said that a guest was an old friend of mine, but I have no connection to him..."

“Yingniang, don’t you recognize me? The wind and sand outside Long are bitter and cold, and it has certainly been much more arduous than when we parted years ago.”

Jiang Xingwei quickly stood up, looked at Yingniang and said with a smile.

However, upon seeing this person, Yingniang was struck dumb, frozen in place. After a moment, she suddenly covered her mouth, gasping for breath, and retreated to the side until she reached Zhang Dai's desk. There, she glared at the man and shouted, "I don't know you! What kind of evil spirit are you? Get out of here! Don't come here to harm people, don't harm my husband!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai's expression changed instantly. He hurriedly stepped forward to protect Yingniang behind him, then looked at Jiang Xingwei, who had an embarrassed expression, with a wary look and said in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you? What is your past relationship with my aunt?"

"I... sigh... I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Liu Lang. I am Yingniang's husband..."

Jiang Xingwei sighed, but before he could finish speaking, Yingniang suddenly screamed, "No, you're not! You're just a greedy and wicked man! If you hadn't tricked me and then abandoned me, my wife wouldn't be so badly injured..."

Upon hearing that this man had some connection with his deceased mother, Zhang Dai immediately ordered in a deep voice, "Capture this scoundrel for me!"

Upon hearing this, An Xiaochen and the others immediately leaped forward, while Jiang Xingwei retreated repeatedly, shouting, "Yingniang, I have indeed wronged you, but it was never intentional..."

As he spoke, he also got into a fight with An Xiaochen and the others. An Xiaochen and the Jin Huan and Yin Huan brothers were unable to completely subdue him for a while, which shows that this person was indeed skilled in martial arts. No wonder he was retained by the emperor to serve in the Northern Army.

"Ah Lang, there's no need to hurt him, just drive him away, drive him away..."

Yingniang's expression was still conflicted. She leaned close behind Zhang Dai and whispered something, still looking at Jiang Xingwei, who was being forced into a corner of the hall by An Xiaochen and the others, with a hint of pity.

Zhang Dai was quite confused at this moment. Seeing that An Xiaochen and the others had managed to wrestle Jiang Xingwei and lay him on the ground, he looked at Yingniang and whispered, "Auntie, who exactly is this person? Tell me the truth, and I will never let my enemy off easily!"

"He, he really is Ah Ying, but he's also a scoundrel from the neighborhood! Back then, my wife wasn't happy living in this house and didn't want me to suffer with her, so she prepared a dowry to marry me off. At that time, I was also lustful and yearning for love, and I was bewitched by this wicked man, so I abandoned my wife and ran away. Not long after the marriage, this thief, this thief stole the dowry my wife had prepared and abandoned Ah Ying and me..."

As Yingniang recounted this, tears streamed down her face, and she gritted her teeth, saying bitterly, "At that time, I had nowhere else to turn but to return to my wife with Aying. But, but my wife, my wife had already suffered a lot of mistreatment from the mistress, and she worried about me, and in the end, she couldn't be cured. I, I'm sorry to my husband!"

Hearing Yingniang's tearful account, Zhang Dai finally realized why the man looked familiar; he was indeed Yingniang's biological father. Even now, he still looked quite handsome; it wasn't surprising that he had captivated Yingniang in her youth, leading her to submit to him.

Jiang Xingwei was pinned to the ground, but he struggled and shouted, "Yingniang, listen to me! Back then, when the court was recruiting soldiers for the Long March, I didn't want to die of old age in the countryside, so I volunteered. But I was afraid you wouldn't allow me to go, so I had to leave without saying goodbye."

I originally intended to write to you after arriving at Longbian, but soon after, I fought against the Tubo at Wujie and was seriously wounded… I have come to visit you today to tell you that I have now achieved great success and have entered into a position at court, and have not abandoned my ambitions of the past!”

Hearing Jiang Xingwei's shouts, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. Jiang Xingwei was indeed a scumbag who abandoned his wife and daughter, who had just given birth, for the sake of his own future.

However, it must be said that this man was indeed a rare talent. He had to steal his wife's dowry to buy weapons, which shows how extremely poor he was. Through his hard work over the years, he finally rose to the rank of fifth grade and returned to the court to serve as a guard general.

If he had a better family background and more opportunities, he might already be a powerful general in the western frontier!

"So you've come to my door today to find my aunt and Aying, so they can come home with you and live a better life?"

Zhang Dai slowly walked up to the man, bent down, and asked him a question. Yingniang felt guilty for her dereliction of duty and believed that she and her husband had caused her mother to die of depression. However, he would not arbitrarily blame others, as these were two completely unrelated matters.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingwei paused slightly, then lowered his head and said, "I have been in Longbian for many years and have already married and had children..."

Damn it, he's a total jerk!
(End of this chapter)