Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 300 Forgive and forget, and find true understanding

When Ge Yanchang was pulled out of the lake, he became much calmer. He no longer shouted or demanded that Jiang Xingwei kowtow to him and admit his mistake.

“These officials at the North Gate, relying on the favor of the Emperor’s close attendants, have been bullying and tyrannical all day long. They deserve to be taught a lesson!”

Seeing Ge Yanchang's miserable state after being dealt with by Zhang Dai, Li Xia couldn't help but clap and cheer. The other teenagers nodded in agreement.

The official of the North Gate has always had a bad reputation. On the one hand, it is naturally because he is arrogant and domineering because he relies on the emperor's favor. On the other hand, his background is different from that of ordinary imperial relatives and aristocratic families. However, he is also quite powerful and influential, which easily arouses the jealousy and resentment of others.

However, although these people were dissatisfied with the behavior of the officials at the North Gate, they did not dare to antagonize them. After all, the North Gate had men and guns, and was one of the few legally existing violent institutions in the two capitals. No matter how prominent or powerful the officials were, they did not want to antagonize the North Gate, lest they be targeted in the future.

But Zhang Dai's feud with Beimen was not something that could be easily resolved. He was like someone who had so many lice that he was no longer afraid of being bitten, so he was naturally not afraid of offending them even more.

After all, if he were to fall into the hands of Wang Maozhong, Ge Fushun, and others, and his life was destined to end, he would simply die anyway, so it wouldn't matter whether it was a quick death or a thousand cuts.

"My advice to Ge Lang is to let this matter rest. If your despicable nature becomes known, and you lose the opportunity to continue the family line, you must be familiar with the fate of Wang Shouzhen, the eldest son of the Huo family."

Zhang Dai had someone pour a cup of wine for Ge Yanchang to warm him up, while also offering him earnest advice.

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang's eyes flashed with a hint of struggle and hesitation. He knew all too well how destitute Wang Shouzhen was now. In fact, it was only because Wang Shouzhen had stumbled that he dared to act so arrogantly; before that, he was merely a lackey following Wang Shouzhen around.

"I...I can let it go, and we won't bring up the past again, as long as...I only ask that you, Zhang Liu, take me back to the neighborhood. Tonight's events will be considered as if they never happened, and I won't seek revenge later! If you break this promise, I...I..."

Although he deeply resented Zhang Dai, he never provoked or retaliated against him directly because he was wary of Wang Shouzhen's miserable situation.

Tonight, he personally experienced that Zhang Dai's behavior was even more unpredictable and erratic than that of the纨绔 (wan ku, spoiled brats) of the North Gate. At this moment, he dared not be stubborn anymore and only hoped to escape from this place as soon as possible.

"Ge Lang, are you trying to frame me as a faithless person? I said I would resolve our feud, and today I will resolve it properly. How can you shirk your responsibility!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai first glared at me, then said in a deep voice, "The reason why Ge Lang hates me is simply because he mistakenly believes that I have an affair with Huo Gong's daughter and that I am interfering with your marriage. Today I will tell you to your face that although Zhang Liu is not a benevolent man and has a tendency to be lecherous, he would never have an affair with another man's wife or commit any immoral acts. If I were to commit such an immoral act, I would gladly be despised by the world!"

Even though that Lady Wang is not yet Ge Lang's new wife, I have never had any affair with her before. Ge Lang's hatred towards me for this is only self-inflicted trouble. I have never feared you Northern Gate disciples, and I have no need to deceive you or beg for your forgiveness. If you continue to pester me with this, let's settle things with our own methods in the future!

"I...I believe what you say. Zhang Liu is indeed handsome and charming, and the ladies are delighted with him. I am far superior to him. It's just that I can't let it go. I'm afraid people will laugh at me for this, so I'm taking my anger out on you..."

Ge Yanchang wiped his face, indistinguishable between tears and lake water, and said in a hoarse voice.

There were things he understood, but he was unwilling to face them. Especially when he saw the mocking looks in the eyes of his companions from the North Gate, he was even more annoyed. The reason he seemed to hate Zhang Dai so much was mainly to intimidate his companions and prevent them from making fun of him.

Faced with the overwhelming power of Zhang Dai, he dared not blame or vent his anger any longer. He could only express his true feelings, his heart filled with bitterness: "I was once a prominent young scholar admired by everyone in the North Gate. I failed in my marriage proposal and became a laughing stock. I dared not criticize the corrupt practices of the Huo family... I have never offended you, yet I have been tainted by you. If you were in my shoes, Zhang Liu, would you not feel resentment?"

Hearing Ge Yanchang pour out his heart with a wronged expression, Zhang Dai felt a little embarrassed, but quickly sighed and said, "If you had told me your true feelings earlier, I might have had a way to make amends for you. But you only relied on your fierceness and repeatedly caused trouble, which led to your current predicament and made you even more miserable and destitute. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

My mistake was being alluring without realizing it; your mistake was being unreasonable and inept at handling things. Let's each have a drink to express our apologies, then reflect on our actions and let bygones be bygones. What do you think?

Upon hearing this, Ge Yanchang did not reply. He picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. Then he lowered his head and remained silent, clearly not completely at peace with the matter.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Dai put the wine cup he had picked up back on the table and said in a deep voice, "To put aside past grievances, we must be true friends. With you acting like this, should I drink this wine or not?"

"Please, please, please have a drink with Liu Lang."

The wicked need the wicked to grind them down. In front of Zhang Dai, Ge Yanchang felt like a pitiful and helpless orchid in a deep valley. He could only suppress his grievances and speak softly to Zhang Dai with his head down.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai picked up his wine cup and slowly drank it down. Then he said, "Let's let this matter rest. I've already gotten my revenge on the murderer for instigating your friends to injure my brother, so I won't hold it against you anymore. But you ruined my reputation in the brothel, threatened the courtesans not to entertain me, and even took your anger out on others. How are you going to explain these things to me?"

"I... I was just being impulsive, and I was angry that you, Liu Lang, not only... but also that you are so highly regarded by those actors. Those are just lewd prostitutes, why should Liu Lang make a fuss over such a trivial matter..." People's bottom line is always lowered time and time again. If Zhang Dai had questioned him like this from the beginning, Ge Yanchang would have been furious and refused to respond. However, after drinking a cup of peace wine just now, he had already secretly breathed a sigh of relief. When questioned like this again, he couldn't help but become nervous again.

Snapped!
Zhang Dai smashed his wine cup on the deck and then shouted angrily, "We've settled our scores, what friendship do we have? Even the prostitutes in the brothel entertain me with their music and sights, why should I think I'd let a trivial matter go?"

"I, I apologize to you, Liu Lang! After you send me back to the brothel, I, I will also send someone to apologize to Song San Niang, so that the courtesans in the brothel will know that Liu Lang's prestige is not to be trifled with."

The shards of the wine glass shattered on him, startling Ge Yanchang so much that he shuddered again and quickly lowered his head to speak.

"Haha, if Ge Lang had understood this earlier, how could our relationship have so soured? We are both men of honor, what deep-seated hatred could we not resolve? Ge Lang, you are angry and resentful towards me, but all I ask for is an apology. Since you are so sensible, how could I be rude?"
As for Song San Niang, there's no need for you to apologize again. I'll personally provide three thousand strings of cash to apologize and compensate you on your behalf, so that Lord Bi won't question me about this again."

Upon hearing Ge Yanchang's words, Zhang Dai's expression immediately softened. He then raised his hand and ordered, "Quickly invite Ge Lang into the cabin, change into clean clothes, move the boat to shore, and invite all the courtesans in the brothel to come and celebrate together. Ge Lang and I will reconcile our differences in public and never quarrel or hold grudges again."

"Why should I ask Liu Lang to compensate me? I should provide the money myself! I'll do it, I'll do it, no need for Liu Lang!"

The night was full of ups and downs. When Ge Yanchang saw Zhang Dai looking at him with a big smile, he was flattered and waved his hands repeatedly to express his gratitude.

"Zhang Liu, are we really going to make peace with him like this?"

Li Xia and the others listened to Zhang Dai and Ge Yanchang's conversation. They had been shouting for each other to fight, but now they were all arm in arm. They waited until Ge Yanchang went into the cabin to change his clothes, and then they rushed over to ask him questions.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai shook his head and whispered, "It's not that simple. This whole charade is just to prevent us from being accused of kidnapping people in the neighborhood. Let me tell you, Lord Geng's family has many thugs. Those who showed up on the ship tonight should be more careful in private from now on. If you are retaliated against by the villains, inform your friends as soon as possible, and we will all fight back together!"

"Then it would be better to just throw him into the lake. Who has that many powerful servants and strong men to guard against a traitor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xia couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath. He didn't blame Zhang Dai for implicating him, but he felt it was more satisfying to eliminate the threat completely.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I'll arrange for An Xiaochen to accompany you these days. As long as you don't wander around the North Gate area, you won't be in any danger."

"That's more like it. I'll return the person to you when I feel safe!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xia chuckled, while Zhang Dai shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. If you think he's capable, just recommend him to your King Yexin'an so that he can have another chance to serve the country!"

Judging by the time, Prince Xin'an will soon be heading to Shuofang to replace Xiao Song, and he will definitely need a lot of manpower to take charge of the Shuofang army.

An Xiaochen was a valiant general, but it would be a waste of his talents to keep him at home guarding the house. After following and protecting him for over a year, Zhang Dai naturally wanted to arrange a future for him. Especially seeing how clean and efficient Jiang Xingwei's men were, he also wanted to use this opportunity to recruit a few brave border guards to serve as bodyguards.

An Xiaochen was naturally excited upon hearing this, but he couldn't show it in front of outsiders. Jiang Xingwei, standing to the side, also looked on with envy. He leaned closer to Zhang Dai, clasped his hands, and said, "If it were the same as tonight, I would also be willing to serve Liu Lang like a dog or a horse!"

After this incident, you have no choice but to serve me!

Zhang Dai thought to himself, although recruiting border soldiers was the Emperor's intention, whether these men could establish themselves stably within the Imperial Guard depended on their individual abilities. Jiang Xingwei would certainly not be tolerated by the Ten Thousand Cavalry after this, and would naturally have to rely even more heavily on himself to protect himself.

After a while, Ge Yanchang changed his clothes and came out. The large ship had slowly docked, and soon women from all over the town flocked to the shore, including Ge Yanchang's entourage who had received the news.

Once they boarded the ship, they immediately surrounded Ge Yanchang, whose expression turned somewhat cold. However, he ultimately did not choose to lash out in public. Instead, he boarded another pleasure boat and began exchanging food and drink with Zhang Dai.

The night's revelry ended without further ado. The next morning, as soon as the curfew was lifted, the brothers Li Xian and Li Xia summoned a squad of Imperial Guards from the streets to escort everyone home.

Zhang Dai had just returned home when Ding Cang, who had been waiting there for some time, hurriedly came up to him and whispered, "Brother, I've found out something..."

(End of this chapter)