Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 421 Family Tradition is Right Today
After being left out in the street and subjected to a cold reception, the Zhang family members warmly welcomed and hospitably received the Princess of Yunyang. Although it wasn't as extravagant as the entire family coming out to greet her, they still stood in the front courtyard to welcome her into their home.

Of course, apart from Zhang Shuo and his wife and a few others, the other clansmen were unaware of the real reason for the county princess's visit. They thought that as a fellow member of the royal family, the county princess of Yunyang had come to apologize to the Zhang family on behalf of Princess Ningqin.

Even Zhang Ji, who had witnessed the county princess speaking up for Zhang Dai at Furong Garden the other day, did not realize that the two were already secretly destined for each other.

In his view, the royal women were dignified and noble. In particular, although the Yunyang County Princess was slightly inferior to his own Ningqin Princess in rank, she was more beautiful. In particular, her Taoist and otherworldly temperament was comparable to that of Princess Yuzhen, yet she was more youthful and charming than Princess Yuzhen.

How could such a noble and outstanding royal woman possibly favor Zhang Dai, a mere junior son born out of wedlock? It should be noted that even he had to put in a great deal of effort to make Princess Ningqin so attached to him, and to give him a much higher status in the family than the other imperial sons-in-law.

Because the Princess of Yunyang County had not established any formal relationship with Zhang Dai, and given the recent incident at her home, Zhang was worried that having too many clansmen gathered there would make the Princess feel embarrassed and dissatisfied. Therefore, he dismissed the clansmen and received the Princess in the inner hall with only his wife.

"When my father was alive, he often said that Yan Gong was the most intelligent and talented man in the world. Being able to get to know and befriend Yan Gong was the most delightful thing in my life! It's just a pity that evil winds are blowing and malicious words are like knives. We have to avoid each other. Although we share the same sky, we are like strangers. It makes people only envy Ziqi and Boya."

Whether or not the Prince of Qi actually said these words, when the county princess spoke of this, she couldn't help but miss her late father's voice and appearance, and her eyes reddened slightly, making her seem even more sincere and affectionate.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yue stood up from his seat, bowed deeply in the direction of Qiaoling, and then sat back down. He sighed and said, "There are always wicked schemes in the world, which makes pure feelings all the more precious. The voice and deeds of the late king have always haunted my dreams."

Looking back, I was disheartened when the late King lost his life. Perhaps we should have gone together then, but alas, I survived for a few more years. Now, my time is near, and I should meet the late King again. At that time, I can tell him that our children are all exceptionally beautiful and have found good husbands, so that he can rest in peace in the afterlife.

"Lord Yan, please do not utter such sorrowful words. Your descendants are prosperous and your household is filled with honor and wealth. How can you leave so easily!"

The county princess bowed again in reply, and then bowed to the old lady, Madam Yuan, saying, "I have come to pay my respects today, which is rather presumptuous of me. I should have sent a formal letter first, and then visited with my mother when the Lady of Yan had time. However, since my father passed away, my mother's grief has only intensified over time, and she has gradually become despondent. Therefore, I have come alone to pay my respects to you, Madam. Please forgive me, Madam."

"Please forgive me, there's no need for forgiveness! The county princess is so dignified and virtuous, a rare sight in my life. My grandson is truly blessed..."

Since the county princess entered the household, Madam Yuan had been staring intently at the young girl. Now, she could not hide her affection and pointed to Zhang Dai beside her, sighing, "Please, county princess, do not find my words too much. My child has had a hard life. Others may have endured three parts of hardship, but he has had to endure eight parts to grow up to be this good."

People might ask for a noble lady, but I only hope to find a woman who loves and cherishes my grandson... I've lost my composure. That a noble princess would deign to favor my grandson is surely ordained by Heaven. This child is a blessed man; his past suffering was a way to compensate for it now!

Zhang Dai was both amused and exasperated when he heard his grandmother so excited that she became incoherent.

If it were merely the dignified and polite Princess Yunyang, it would not have caused his grandmother to lose her composure so much. The old lady must have been feeling sentimental about herself. One of her daughters-in-law was good at causing trouble in the house and even resorting to witchcraft to harm people, while the other was so arrogant that it was difficult to even see her. Now that she had finally met a decent future granddaughter-in-law, how could she not be excited?
The county princess was also somewhat embarrassed by the excited expression and words of the Lady of Yan, and for a moment she did not know how to respond, so she could only respond with a slight smile.

Zhang and his wife were very satisfied with the Princess of Yunyang. So much so that Yuan repeatedly tried to steer the conversation toward the engagement and betrothal, as if she was afraid that if she took the next step, such a suitable granddaughter-in-law would run away.

However, this was clearly inappropriate. Even if the Princess Consort of Qi had secluded herself at home and was no longer involved in worldly affairs, their family still had to arrange for a formal matchmaker to visit and discuss matters with the Prince of Hedong, and they also had to submit a petition to ask for marriage. How could they directly discuss these matters with a woman?

Moreover, there is another obstacle to this marriage: the county princess is currently a female Taoist priest. Although royal women are not forbidden from marrying even if they follow Taoism, the county princess of Yunyang did not follow Taoism voluntarily, but rather to pray for her father's well-being. Her decision to abandon Taoism and return to secular life midway will inevitably attract some criticism.

For example, when Emperor Ruizong, the retired emperor, passed away in the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era, the emperor sent his daughter, Princess Wan'an, to dedicate herself to Taoism and pray for the retired emperor's well-being.

Even Princess Ningqin, who is younger than Princess Wan'an, has already married into a minister's family, while Princess Wan'an remains in the palace to practice Taoism. Unless there are special circumstances, she will probably never be married again in her lifetime.

The Sage has always upheld ethical harmony and brotherly love, so whether Princess Yunyang can leave the monastic life and marry requires the Sage's approval. If the Sage believes that Princess Yunyang should be faithful to her vows and not abandon her path to marry, then this marriage will ultimately not be possible. Zhang Dai himself is not from this world and does not know much about the relevant ritual details. Hearing his grandfather's veiled remarks, he couldn't help but feel worried.

As for the Princess of Yunyang, her face turned deathly pale, and she looked at Zhang Dai with eyes full of helplessness.

She had previously felt that the Emperor harbored deep ill will towards her family, and fearing that it would implicate Zhang Dai, she closed her heart and refused his advances. However, after opening her heart yesterday, she not only tasted the sweetness of love but also felt an unprecedented sense of security in being with Zhang Dai, and naturally found it hard to part with him.

Hearing that the success or failure of her marriage still depended on the Emperor's decision, her heart sank. She felt a deep-seated loathing and resentment towards this seemingly kind but ruthless imperial uncle, along with a profound sense of fear.

Zhang Shuo, unaware of those deeper secrets, pondered for a moment before speaking again: "Solitude and devotion to the Dao, and the rejection of human relationships, are not necessarily the same as upholding filial piety. The harmony of Yin and Yang is the ultimate principle, and human ethics and filial piety are contained within it. To cause people to be out of harmony is against the Dao! I have never heard of filial piety that is contrary to the Dao!"
However, things cannot be accomplished overnight. Praying for the late king's well-being is a matter that cannot be abandoned. In the future, we can petition in both the eastern and western capitals to establish a temple for Huiwen to pray for his well-being. I will also write to the Grand Master Sima Ziwei of Wangwu Mountain, requesting him to compose exquisite talismans to be offered at the Taoist altar in place of the county magistrate's mortal body. Even the human body is subject to decay and illness; only the Tao is eternal and indestructible!

It's true what they say, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, and these seasoned old folks are the best examples!

While Zhang Dai was still figuring out how to succeed in marrying the Princess of Yunyang, his grandfather had already summarized the theoretical basis and implementation steps of the plan.

In simple terms, the county princess was divided into two parts. One part, the philosophical and spiritual entity, remained on the Taoist altar in the form of talismans, continuing to devoutly practice Taoism and pray for her father. As for the physical body, which was impure and inevitably prone to illness, it remained in the secular world, marrying Zhang Dai, starting a family, and having children.

"Is this really possible?"

The county princess still had some hesitation about this, mainly because she couldn't shake the shadow of the sage in her heart. She always felt that the sage would continue to make things difficult for her and would not let her have her way so easily.

Knowing the county magistrate's deep concerns, Zhang Dai immediately spoke up again: "Shun married without informing her, which is as good as informing her. The wisdom of the ancient sages and philosophers in adapting to change can benefit future generations."

This saying refers to the fact that when Yao married his daughter to Shun, Shun did not inform his parents, thus being unfilial. However, Shun's parents still held prejudices against him at that time. If Shun had informed them, the marriage would have been canceled, and their lineage would have ended. Informing them would have prevented the marriage, so not informing them was tantamount to informing them.

In short, you old folks should be sensible and fully respect your children's opinions. If telling them means you can't get married, then don't tell them. The kids they have will still make you rich!
Hearing that the Zhang family, young and old, were so supportive, Princess Yunyang felt much more at ease and became even more convinced that she would marry no one but Zhang Dai. She became even more respectful when facing Zhang Shuo and his wife, which made the two of them even happier. They felt that their family's bad habits had finally been corrected!

The Zhang family's improper family values ​​are actually self-inflicted. Marriage should first and foremost be based on mutual respect. Marriages built on money and power will become unstable once either aspect changes.

Leaving aside the two lively daughters-in-law of the Zhang family, their married daughters are not necessarily very happy either. Little Zhang, who married into the Lu family of Fanyang, has been staying at home a lot lately. The reason is that her husband, Lu Zheng, failed to obtain an official position and could not get the benefits he wanted from the Zhang family, resulting in a deterioration in their relationship.

From this perspective, the Prince of Hedong's views on marriage were indeed very progressive. For him, not marrying was entirely advantageous, except for the lack of a principal wife. And frankly, not having a principal wife wasn't really a disadvantage; even sages didn't have one. If the royal family, with its vast wealth and power, wasn't in a hurry to marry, why should ordinary people be?
Zhang Dai wanted to marry because he had met the right person. However, given the series of steps his grandfather had planned—building a Taoist temple, hiring a substitute, and so on—it would be difficult to start discussing marriage in the short term.

Of course, there's no rush. It didn't matter when he wasn't married, but once he was married, he didn't want to stay in the mansion and live with all the elders.

Not to mention that Zhang Ji and his wife will be moving back soon, his father will also be returning to court at the end of the year. This guy's hot blood hasn't cooled down yet, and he's still planning to remarry. When he comes back and sees that the young lady he likes has become his brother's wife, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause.

So Zhang Dai was planning that he would have to move out after getting married. The Pingkangfang residence currently under construction might not be enough by then. If Li Linfu couldn't pay back the land money by the end of the year, he would find a way to take back the land and build an even bigger mansion!

(End of this chapter)