Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 297 No philandering allowed
That said, Zhang Dai had already harbored the idea of ​​showing off his power in the brothels when he was first appointed, so he was naturally very interested when he heard Li Xia's suggestion.

He went into the room first and saw that Yingniang had stopped crying and was talking quietly with Aying by her side. So he said, "The past is gone, Auntie, you don't need to be sad about it anymore. I have a friend who has come to invite me to play in the neighborhood. I may stay out tonight. You and Aying should get some rest."

"Ah Lang, be careful!"

The mother and daughter quickly got up to see them off, but Zhang Dai waved them away and persuaded them to return.

Since he was traveling with the brothers Li Xian and Li Xia, Zhang Dai didn't bring many guards, only his usual seven or eight men. This way, if anything happened, they could easily seek help from the Imperial Guards nearby. Even if the Imperial Guards didn't like him, they couldn't just abandon their sons.

"Your Huixunfang villa needs a renovation! I recently visited other houses in the neighborhood, but none of them had the same beautiful view as yours, which overlooks Qiwang Mountain and Weiwang Pond!"

As they passed the new bridge over the Luo River, Li Xia couldn't help but mention that he still fondly remembered Zhang Dai's villa in Huixunfang.

Hearing Li Xia say this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. He also had a rather special feeling for the villa in Huixunfang, not so much because of the scenery, but because of the person. The image of the Princess of Yunyang, as beautiful as a fairy descended to earth, reappeared in his mind.

However, he quickly shook his head and sighed, "Let's wait a little longer. I've spent a lot before, and now I'm penniless. I need to accumulate more."

When the provincial examination ended, he did have a sum of money in hand. Wang Maozhong's compensation plus his grandfather's reward amounted to tens of thousands of strings of cash, but that money was quickly spent.

Although he is not exactly penniless, it is difficult to continue his extravagant spending. Moreover, he also needs to prepare to take over the management rights of Bianzhou Feiqian in the subsequent Feiqian reform, which are all places where money is spent.

Although he still had several hundred thousand strings of cash deposited by the Princess of Yunyang, it wouldn't be appropriate to use it to renovate his garden. Besides, his beloved was not currently in the Eastern Capital, so even if it was renovated, he wouldn't be able to see her. If it was only for entertaining people like Li Xia, it wouldn't be worth renovating it now.

"Do you have the money for tonight's bill? Let me make this clear first, my brother and I have no money or valuables on us!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xia quickly spoke up again, appearing petty.

Li Xian, who was standing next to Zhang Dai, had only participated in one imperial examination with him and had not served as his attendant for more than a month. Upon hearing Li Xia's shameless words, he immediately said, "Ajiu is just joking. My brothers and I each have some savings. We can send our families home to collect them."

"I didn't, I didn't! Brother, you should settle the accounts with Zhang Liu!"

Li Xia shook his head vigorously, denying it repeatedly, seemingly wondering what he planned to do with that little bit of pocket money.

Seeing the two brothers' vastly different personalities, Zhang Dai couldn't help but secretly complain about Li Xia's stinginess, no wonder he couldn't become prime minister.

"Don't worry, my reputation is my currency. If they refuse to give me face, they can detain you to pay off their debts!"

Zhang Dai rolled his eyes at Li Xia again, clearly annoyed.

Upon hearing this, Li Xia immediately chuckled and then spurred his horse forward to flatter him: "I know Zhang Liushi is a man of extraordinary talent, and as the grandson of the Duke of Yan, how could he be short of money? It's just a shame that Dou E, that scoundrel, returned to Chang'an a long time ago. Otherwise, if I went to his house, I wouldn't need anyone else to pay my bills!"

As they spoke, the group arrived at Chengfu Ward, where several young men in fine clothes came to greet them. Among them were his companions from last year who had served as escorts for Prince Qi, and others who had recently taken the imperial examinations together. After meeting, the group headed straight for Song San Niang's house in the ward.

Why isn't Song San Niang here to greet the guests?

Zhang Dai was quite familiar with the place, and when he saw the men and women from the art gallery coming out to greet him, but Song San Niang was nowhere to be seen, he dismounted and asked with a smile.

"Mother, Mother has been unwell lately and dares not come forward to offend you. She has only instructed us to make sure that we treat Sixth Brother and all the distinguished guests with the utmost hospitality!"

Upon hearing this, several women from the art gallery quickly and respectfully responded, though their expressions appeared somewhat unnatural.

Are you sick? Is it serious?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai asked another question. He still owed Yingnu the money to redeem her. He had originally planned to pay it after returning to the capital from his travels, but he had spent all his money on his trip and could only shamelessly delay paying it for a while longer.

Upon hearing that Song San Niang was unwell, he said, "Since you've come all this way, we should at least offer our condolences. Please welcome Li Lang and the others into the hall first."

After saying this, he went straight to Song San Niang's living room, where his grandfather's poems were displayed. As for Li Xia and the others, they excitedly instructed their servants to invite more courtesans from nearby entertainment venues.

These guys were considered junior members among the playboys of the two capitals, and had not yet established their own reputation in the entertainment industry. They could only flaunt Zhang Dai's new title as the Assistant Musician.

Zhang Dai walked into the building and stood outside the door, calling out, "Is Third Sister inside? I heard from your maid outside that you were unwell and haven't had time to visit since you returned. I thought I'd come in to check on you today. Is it convenient for you?"

"It's all thanks to you, Sixth Brother. I look quite ill here, which is really unsightly. Please go to the front hall to play and relax. There's no need to come here and spoil your mood!" Song San Niang's reply came from inside the room. She didn't sound particularly hoarse or weak, but rather a little flustered.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. Since he had already spoken up to remind him, he waited a moment before stepping inside and saying, "I'm not just here to check on your health, but also to tell you about the expenses of the money and silk I donated recently."

He had just rounded the screen when he saw Song San Niang hurriedly stepping out to greet him. Her face was covered in thick makeup, but it couldn't hide the dark bruises on her head, face, shoulders, and neck. He immediately frowned and asked, "Where did you get these injuries?"

Before Song San Niang could answer, a maid behind her, her face contorted with grief, said, "It's Young Master Ge from the Geng family of the North Gate. He's angry with Sixth Brother and is taking it out on Mother..."

"Silence, you lowly servant!"

Song San Niang first scolded angrily, then turned back and forced a smile to Zhang Dai, saying, "Sixth Brother, don't listen to this wicked maid's nonsense. We entertain people with our beauty and talent, and we inevitably encounter some difficult and demanding guests, and suffer some scolding, but it has nothing to do with others."

Zhang Dai knew things couldn't be that simple, so he immediately frowned and said in a deep voice, "What exactly is the situation? Just tell me the truth, don't try to hide anything. If you try to smooth things over here, you'll suffer when we meet face to face in the future, and then you'll be the one to blame!"

Upon hearing his words, Song San Niang dared not conceal anything and immediately recounted how Ge Yanchang had taken his anger out on her and her daughter a few days earlier because he was furious with Zhang Dai.

"Why didn't you come to tell me sooner after this happened? Even if you couldn't see me, you should have at least informed Yingnu!"

After listening, Zhang Dai immediately said in a deep voice that he had indeed been busy since returning to the capital and had no time to spare, while Yingnu was settled in a villa in Wenluofang, which would make it convenient for them to meet and discuss matters.

Upon hearing this, Song Sanniang lowered her head and gave a bitter laugh: "I'm afraid this has bothered Liu Lang. We never expected that Ge Lang's resentment was so deep that he would even take his anger out on such trivial matters..."

"You should rest and recover. Don't worry about the rest; I'll take care of everything!"

Seeing that the scars on Song San Niang's face from the wooden arrows were still hard to conceal, Zhang Dai felt a little guilty.

He never expected that Ge Yanchang would not only instigate others to harm his own family, but also target even the actors who were somewhat related to him. For the son of a duke to act so arrogantly towards the courtesans in a brothel—what a coward! If he truly hated him that much, didn't he know where he lived?

"Sixth Brother, don't be impulsive! That Young Master Ge comes and goes in the neighborhood with a large retinue of followers; he's not someone to mess with..."

Song San Niang wasn't entirely clear on the power dynamics of the various ministers in the court. She only noticed that Ge Yanchang acted with great pomp and circumstance, and that even her boss, Duke Bi, Dou Xiguan, seemed to disregard him that day. Naturally, she worried that Zhang Dai might have kicked a hornet's nest.

"Don't worry, I don't take these few Northern Gate generals seriously. Have you seen Wang Sixian's son who was with them the other day? I broke his leg, and he's recovering at home!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai casually replied, but Song San Niang was so startled that she slightly opened her mouth: "Really? Sixth Brother has always been so elegant, yet he..."

Since the day she was humiliated and injured, Song San Niang had been staying at home recuperating, refusing visitors, and knew little about what was happening in the outside world. Hearing that Zhang Dai had this side to him, she was naturally quite surprised.

Zhang Dai didn't chat with Song San Niang any longer. After leaving the room, he went to the front hall, pondering how to deal with Ge Yanchang. When he returned to the front hall, he found the scene in complete chaos.

"Zhang Liu, are you aware that there are thugs in this neighborhood who are abusing their power and forbidding the courtesans from entertaining you?"

Upon seeing Zhang Dai return, Li Xia and the others immediately came forward and said, among them a young man shouted, "It's Ge Yanchang, the son of Wanqi Ge Fushun. He's angry that his fiancée was led away by Liu Lang, and he's taking revenge! I just saw him at Feng Yinyin's house in the north of the neighborhood. Should we go and get some revenge on him?"

Upon hearing that Ge Yanchang was also in Chengfu Ward, Zhang Dai's eyes flashed. He knew that in terms of power, Ge Yanchang was no weaker than him. If he led his men to block the way, it would be difficult to break through, and Song San Niang's family might suffer another round of damage.

"It's boring on the shore, let's board the boat and head out onto the lake!"

He spoke first, then after a moment's thought, he summoned Ding Qing and whispered in his ear, "Go home and find the visiting card of Jiang Xingwei who came to our door this morning. Find out where he lives and go to his house to inform him..."

"No need to go home, I'll keep it with me!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Qing pulled out Jiang Xingwei's name card and said indignantly, "That scoundrel bullied Aunt Ying like that. I was planning to find out about his family and take revenge when the opportunity arises!"

In their early years, they had relied on each other for survival. Ding Qing also regarded Yingniang as his mother. After hearing Jiang Xingwei's words and actions, he naturally began to hate him.

Seeing this, Zhang Dai was naturally pleased, as this saved him some trouble. So he instructed, "Then go to his residence and inform him to come here as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)