Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 415 The Princess's Mansion's Powerful Servants

Despite having raised his expectations of Zhang Dai several times, this conversation gave Zhang a new understanding of the young man.

This kid is incredibly audacious!
The last time Zhang Shuo felt this way was when he confronted Wang Maozhong and his son before the emperor. The boy spoke recklessly and did not play by the rules, which made Zhang Shuo very uneasy.

This time was even more outrageous. This kid even went so far as to discuss the issue of imperial succession, and what's more, he made some valid points. The audacity he displayed was astonishing, to the point that even Zhang Shuo, reflecting on his own age at the same time, felt like a completely useless greenhorn in comparison!

"So, you're absolutely determined to marry Huiwen's daughter?"

The grandfather and grandson looked at each other in silence. After a long while, Zhang Shuo looked at Zhang Dai and spoke.

In fact, Zhang Dai's remarks had no direct connection with whether or not he would marry the daughter of the Prince of Qi. However, since this young man showed such strong foresight and confidence in such an important matter, he would naturally have very strong opinions on marriage and would not change his mind because of the persuasion of others.

Moreover, if a situation of succession disputes among the princes were to actually occur in the future, the degree of participation and voice of the imperial relatives and ordinary officials would indeed be vastly different.

The emperor's son-in-law was inherently limited in his political career. People like Wang Tongjiao, the son-in-law of Emperor Zhongzong, could hardly put their ideas into practice and were always at risk of being destroyed. They could not directly control political power, and any proposals they wanted to implement often required intrigue.

The ideal position is that of a prince's son-in-law, neither too close nor too distant, allowing him to maintain his career development and accumulate power while also having a certain say in royal affairs, such as deciding who will be the next Zhou.

Zhang Dai felt a little embarrassed when he heard his grandfather's question. Although he had given his grandfather a slight shock through their conversation, he was still unsure about the Yunyang County Princess's thoughts and situation.

However, since things had already come to this point, he couldn't admit that he was only enthusiastic about the barbering business. So he nodded earnestly and said, "Although my family is newly established, my grandfather has made outstanding contributions and is the most accomplished in the world. Although I am a junior official, I will strive to surpass these powerful relatives from the Guanzhong region."

“Good lad, you have ambition! Even though Huiwen has passed away and has no power to benefit you, this woman can inspire you to strive bravely. She is a perfect match for you. I agree to this matter.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang smiled again and said, but quickly added in a deep voice, "Although I don't know how far your young love affair has progressed, there are still several hurdles to overcome before it can be accomplished. The county princess's decision to become a Taoist priest is one hurdle, your inability to please her family and elders is another, and her brother, the Prince of Hedong, has no good reputation and is inept at interpersonal relationships; their future relationship may not be harmonious..."

"No matter how perfect or smooth things are, we can never have a plan and always move forward with determination!"

Zhang Dai spoke again, saying that he had of course considered these issues as well. Some of them were not problems in his opinion, and while he didn't have any good ideas for others, they were not important issues either.

"Now that you have your own ideas, I can make some minor changes to the personnel preparations I've made."

Zhang continued, “Li Chengyu of the Li family from Longxi, who came to the capital from Zhengzhou, has an old friendship with you. He has been visiting your home frequently in recent years. He is qualified enough, but unfortunately, he is still unlucky and stuck in the selection process. I originally intended to recommend him for the fifth rank soon and cultivate a closer relationship with him, so that I could consider his daughters as potential marriage partners for you. But since you already have someone in mind, and your uncle is still unsuccessful in everything, you can go and find her for him.”

In Zhang Shuo's mind, the five families were the most prestigious, and even though Du Xian was the prime minister, he was still somewhat inferior. Therefore, he was happy to befriend the five families so that his men and women could choose their spouses.

While advancement in the ranks of Tang Dynasty officials did require seniority, reaching the third or fifth rank was a significant hurdle. Even with sufficient seniority, a special imperial edict was needed for promotion. Without the recommendation and promotion of a high-ranking official, one would remain stuck in their original rank and unable to advance.

This was also a means for the imperial court to limit the number of mid- to high-ranking officials. Therefore, it was a great favor to have someone make a recommendation, and it was naturally worthwhile to form a marriage alliance between their children to repay the favor.

"This this……"

Zhang Dai was stunned when he heard this. He then remembered his father's previous instructions, but he did not expect that his grandfather was also eyeing the Li family. First, he was going to arrange for him to be a wife, and now he wanted to arrange for his third uncle, Zhang Yang, to marry into the Li family.

"What's wrong? Do you have a problem with it?"

Seeing that he was stammering, Zhang frowned and asked.

"No."

Zhang Dai shook his head decisively; he wouldn't risk offending his grandfather for his father's outlandish ideas.

He knew about the Li family's situation. Li Chengyu did have several daughters, but the oldest woman of marriageable age was a year younger than him. She would be a good match for his third uncle, but it would be so awkward if Zhang Jun were to marry her and make her his stepmother!

However, the Li family was simply unlucky. Zhang Shuo was always very generous to his relatives and friends. Back when he held great power, he directly arranged a third-rank official position, the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, for his aunt's father-in-law. But now, wanting to form a marriage alliance with the Li family, he could only offer them a fifth-rank official position.

After discussing these matters, Zhang Dai took his leave. Hearing the continued commotion in the guest hall, he did not return but went straight to his room and, slightly swayed by the wine, went to bed. However, he did not sleep well that night, having several dreams, all of which involved the Princess of Yunyang.

In these dreams, Princess Yunyang either transformed into the ethereal Chang'e or became the Weaver Girl separated by the Milky Way, both portraying lovers who could not be together. This caused Zhang Dai to curse his bad luck in his sleep and feel very unwell when he woke up in the morning.

Because he hadn't slept well, even though he had woken up, Zhang Dai remained in bed without getting up immediately, with some blurry images from last night's dream still lingering in his mind.

His deepest impression of the Princess of Yunyang was that first encounter at the Imperial Medical Bureau during the events of submitting the letter to the emperor and causing a disturbance in the imperial city. That fleeting glimpse had left him breathless with admiration. From then on, every smile and gesture of the princess he saw was meticulously crafted to etch the image of that celestial beauty into his mind, deepening his feelings for her.

Perhaps it was because he was too preoccupied with gains and losses, coupled with the sorrowful words and expressions of the county princess yesterday, that Zhang Dai had a dream last night. Now, recalling that dream of tender feelings that could not be fulfilled, his mood inevitably worsened.

Just then, a commotion and argument suddenly broke out outside. After he put on his clothes and went out, he saw Ding Qing and several others shouting loudly at a few servants outside the courtyard gate. The people opposite him looked somewhat unfamiliar.

"what happened?"

He strode to the courtyard gate and asked in a deep voice.

“Ah Lang, these people have gone too far! They are actually going to demolish a row of outbuildings in the backyard and throw out all the contents of the outbuildings.”

Upon seeing Zhang Dai approach, Ding Qing immediately spoke with an indignant expression.

"This must be Liu Lang. We are servants of the princess's household. The princess and her husband will be moving back to the mansion within the month so that they can serve their parents-in-law more closely. We have come to the mansion first to tidy up the courtyard. We need to open a gate on the east side of the house so that the carriage can come and go. We did not mean to offend Liu Lang."

One of the people Zhang Dai didn't recognize stepped forward and explained to Zhang Dai with his hands clasped.

Before Zhang Dai could speak, Ding Qing shouted angrily, "Bullshit! There's a passageway in the back of the east wing that leads to Yongxiang, and you can go out onto the street from both the east and west sides of Yongxiang. Why should they tear down the back of my house to make way for a door!"

"You lowly servant, you have no sense of propriety! That narrow passage is barely ten feet wide; how could it possibly allow the princess's carriage to pass through? Moreover, the princess is of noble birth; how could she share a passageway with you commoners? When we entered the house, Lord Yan instructed us to act as we saw fit, and allowed you, a mere scoundrel, to object!"

Upon hearing this, the servants from the princess's residence couldn't help but shout angrily, looking at Ding Qing and the others with disdain, displaying the arrogance and haughtiness of servants of a noble family.

Zhang Dai had long known that things would not end well if Zhang Ji and his wife moved back home. However, since Zhang insisted on creating the appearance of a happy and harmonious family living together, even though he was unhappy, he couldn't directly express his protest.

Although the Zhang family mansion was spacious, the core area was limited. Zhang Dai's family occupied the southeastern part of the mansion, not because Zhang Dai himself had great influence, but because his father, Zhang Jun, although not at home, also needed to be allocated a side courtyard.

It seems that the Zhang family was allocated the northeast courtyard of the mansion. The Zhang family mansion is located west of the Yonglefang cross street. The northeast courtyard can be directly accessed by breaking through the wall, without having to go around the front courtyard.

However, instead of opening the gate from the northeast courtyard, the servants of the princess's residence came to forcibly demolish a row of side rooms in the back of the south courtyard, clearly intending to give Zhang Jun's family a hard time from the very beginning of their stay.

"The princess's comings and goings are of utmost importance. What does it matter if a few idle houses are demolished? You all should remain silent and let them do their work."

Zhang Dai raised his hand to stop Ding Qing and the others, and then waved to the servants, saying, "You all go and do your work, don't delay the princess's move-in date."

Upon hearing this, the servants glanced at the indignant Ding Qing and his companions before heading straight for the backyard.

The back rooms were used as storerooms, storing miscellaneous goods. The 20,000 strings of cash that Pei Zhen had sent earlier were also stored there. Zhang Dai instructed Ding Qing and others to move the cash out, while he himself strolled over to the demolition site to take a look.

"Stop, you thieving scoundrels! Who taught you to carve up my family's pillars like this! Guards, seize these scoundrels!"

Seeing the servants of the princess's mansion demolishing the house with great enthusiasm, Zhang Dai suddenly roared, and many strong soldiers rushed out from behind him, pressing the servants of the princess's mansion to the ground.

Zhang Dai stepped forward, carrying a long staff, and swung it down on the head of the arrogant servant who had been shouting earlier. He angrily cursed, "You thieving slave, do you know that there are feng shui principles to follow when breaking ground for a house? You came to disturb my house without informing your master, and you want to demolish my house and destroy my home to fulfill your desires? Who instructed you to come to my house to commit this evil deed!"

(End of this chapter)