Chapter 689: Liyang Loses Its Deer (Part 1)

At the end of the first year of Xiangfu, the first snow fell suddenly and heavily, turning into a blizzard. However, compared to previous years, it was said that the number of visitors to several popular snow-viewing spots inside and outside Tai'an City had decreased by 70 to 80 percent, which would likely mean less income for the elderly street vendors selling wine.

While there were countless Zhang residences in the capital, one mansion was undeniably unique. Whether it was a local official visiting the capital or a scholar traveling for study, if they casually asked any resident of the capital where the Zhang residence was, the resident would certainly not bother to ask which Master Zhang's house it was, but would directly provide the answer.

Even with a heavy snowfall and the imperial road covered in an unmanageable layer of snow, court sessions continued. Especially during such a sensitive time, with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince overseeing the state, which official would dare to be late?

Yet, in the court today, one person was missing. His absence left everyone astonished and distracted, and even the Crown Prince, who was overseeing the state, showed a noticeable look of bewilderment.

This person, absent from court for the first time ever, had not requested leave. It was as if he was sending a simple message to the Crown Prince overseeing the state and the entire court: If I don't come, I don't come.

His Royal Highness ignored this, neither sending his chief eunuch to inquire after him nor flying into a rage. Bai Guo, the Minister of Rites, who could either make a mountain out of a molehill or downplay a major issue, acted similarly, simply pretending nothing had happened.

Some people wanted to seize the opportunity to make an issue of it, but after much hesitation, they still didn't dare.

After all, even Jin Sanlang had voluntarily sealed his lips today.

The official who made the entire court session feel unlike a court session was none other than the current Grand Secretary, Zhang Julu.

He and the Emperor, who was currently on an imperial tour of the borders, were both regarded as the most diligent individuals in this dynasty; one was the most diligent among monarchs, and the other among ministers.

Zhang Julu was not feeling unwell today; rather, after putting on his first-rank purple court robe, he suddenly decided he didn't want to attend the morning court, and so he simply didn't go.

The elderly man, whose temples were streaked with gray, sat under the eaves early in the morning. He hadn't changed into more comfortable or warmer clothes. The old butler of the residence brought a simple brazier made of woven bamboo strips, and had already added charcoal to it multiple times.

Throughout his life, Zhang Julu rarely drank alcohol, except for a few occasions when his close friend, Old Man Tantai, forcefully dragged him for a couple of drinks. He insisted that alcohol led to mistakes. Yet, despite being idle today, and with seemingly even less to do in the future, the old man still had no desire to drink. Nearing noon, he casually ate some rough, homemade pastries from the residence and continued to flip through the nameless poetry collection he had compiled himself. Zhang Julu's exceptional talent in governance was so remarkable that even his powerful political adversaries from the early days of his career, who still had the strength to contend with him, would not deny it against their will. However, Zhang Julu, who began his career as a Huangmen Lang in the Hanlin Academy, rarely produced eloquent writings. Apart from some reasonably spirited and talented essays from his youth, his memorials and petitions thereafter were, in their phrasing and words, rather dull and uninspired. Over the years, no famous literary masterpiece by him was passed down, nor was it rumored that he particularly favored any prominent writer or offered insightful critiques on any excellent work.

To outsiders, it seemed the Grand Secretary had an inherent aversion to literature. Yet, only Huan Wen knew that his old friend Zhang Julu, while not being a prolific writer himself, was fond of many excellent works by scholars, especially numerous incisive verses. Whether it was frontier poetry, boudoir laments, or reflective poems, he had his own preferences for different elegies, all collected in his self-compiled and self-edited poetry anthology. For example, Ouyang's eulogy for his father from Shangyin Academy, Zhao Changling's personally penned war檄 against Chu from the Battle of Xileibi, and so on—Zhang Julu would take them out and reread them from time to time. Among them were Huang Longshi's lines: "A thousand li north of the Yellow River, grievances loom vast as dark clouds," and the lines from the person once condemned as "flattering Xu and Liang": "No war in a peaceful frontier, military aura fades into moonlight." There was also a famous palace lament from an unknown author of a previous dynasty: "Outsiders would laugh if they saw it, the fashionable makeup of the Tianbao era." Notably, Xu Weixiong's works also occupied a significant portion of the over three hundred pieces, and even several poems that Xu Fengnian had clearly purchased with hefty sums were included.

This was probably what was meant by a "Prime Minister's breadth of mind."

The old steward suddenly hurried up the steps and whispered, "Master, the Young Master is here."

Zhang Julu was a little puzzled but said nothing. Although he was a father who inspired tiger-like awe in his sons and daughters-in-law, he wasn't so unfeeling as to forbid his children from disturbing him. However, his eldest two sons were somewhat soft-natured and a bit pedantic since childhood. After starting their families, their two wives came from humble backgrounds. If not for the good fortune of the Grand Secretary holding two grandchildren, they would never dare to come here and make themselves uncomfortable. The youngest, Zhang Bianguan, was an anomaly among his three sons, the most stubborn, and had the most strained relationship with the Zhang residence, almost as if father and son were determined to never associate with each other again. For Zhang Bianguan to voluntarily enter this mansion was truly a rare occurrence. Although Zhang Julu remained expressionless, he instinctively glanced towards the courtyard gate a few extra times.

Even a fierce tiger does not devour its cubs; how many fathers in this world truly despise their own sons from the bottom of their hearts?

Zhang Bianguan still had his usual carefree demeanor, trotting into the courtyard, carrying something uncommon in the capital: a small bamboo-woven, copper-lined brazier popular in the countryside south of the Yangtze. Inside, charcoal was placed and covered with ash for warmth. Elderly people in winter, whether out for a walk or chatting at home, liked to carry such an item. The Zhang family's ancestral home was south of the Guangling River, and before Zhang Julu made his mark in the imperial examinations, he often used this type of brazier during his arduous studies, as it saved a lot of charcoal compared to larger ones, making it affordable even for poor families. After Zhang Julu became famous in the capital, only Zhang Bianguan's grandfather, who had moved to Tai'an City for retirement, occasionally used it. It was unclear where Zhang Bianguan had found such an old-fashioned, unremarkable item today.

Zhang Bianguan asked the steward for some fresh charcoal to put into the brazier, then scooped some ash from the large bamboo brazier at Zhang Julu's feet. After tinkering with it while squatting on the ground, he handed it to Zhang Julu. The latter paused for a moment, then took it and placed it on his lap. With one hand holding his book and the other holding the brazier, he immediately felt a bit warmer.

Zhang Bianguan then asked the steward for a small stool and grumbled incessantly, "He's already so old, yet he doesn't know how to act his age, insisting on showing off by reading and enjoying the snow outdoors..."

The steward smiled knowingly and departed. Such words could only be spoken by the youngest master; the other two masters would never dare utter such things. If their father merely cast a slightly impatient glance, those two masters, who only knew how to bury themselves in the study of sages' books, would become timid and anxious, feeling as if they were walking on thin ice even in summer.

Zhang Bianguan used the iron tongs to poke at the charcoal in the large brazier and said to himself, "I heard from the common folk that your words, as Grand Secretary, are becoming less effective these days. Many petty fifth-rank officials dare to be negligent. Apart from Wang Xionggui's Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites, which are still decent, the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of War, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Justice all have ways to circumvent your policies. Especially the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy, where the esteemed officials and upright scholars frequently churn out poems that satirize the present by alluding to the past—they're really malicious. Furthermore, some say that His Majesty the Emperor's imperial tour of the borders—his previous trip to Liangliao was to rectify major corruption cases involving collusion between the inner and outer courts, and his current trip to Jizhou is to overturn the Han family's case—all fingers are pointing at a certain high-ranking official named Zhang in the court."

Zhang Julu asked with a smile, "Is there anything else?"

Zhang Bianguan tapped the iron tongs and sneered, "Yes! Why wouldn't there be? If I were to tell you everything, a whole basket wouldn't be enough!"

Zhang Julu calmly retorted, "Didn't you also say that it's just some low-ranking officials stirring up trouble there right now?"

Zhang Bianguan warmed his hands over the brazier, not lifting his head. "Chilling winds are rising from beneath the earth. If they are not stopped in time, and an evil rain pours down on our heads, will there still be any hope?"

Zhang Julu said impatiently, "Is that all? You can leave once you're done."

Zhang Bianguan suddenly looked up, his eyes red, and demanded, "I actually came here for two things. First, a censor has impeached my eldest brother for embezzling good land, and my second brother for imperial examination fraud. People can criticize you, Grand Secretary, and I don't care, nor do I have the ability to interfere, but why are you humiliating my two brothers like this?! You could clearly intervene, so why are you enduring this in silence? Even if... even if the outcome is the same, and I, a piece of mud, don't care about anything, can't you at least let my two brothers leave with some dignity?!"

Zhang Julu calmly said, "Regarding your second brother's imperial examination fraud, it's about the questionable legitimacy of him achieving the second highest score, 'Yakui,' in the provincial examination. Although I didn't explicitly instruct anything back then, upon closer inspection, it is indeed true. After all, the chief examiner appointed by the imperial court at that time was a student from my Zhang Lu faction. With your second brother's essay writing ability, passing the provincial examination wouldn't be difficult, but achieving 'Yakui' would be akin to a pipe dream. As for your eldest brother's embezzlement of good land..."

Zhang Bianguan retorted angrily, "My eldest brother is a bookworm! And my sister-in-law always wears the same, moderately valuable clothes and jewelry every time she visits the mansion! How could they be competing with the common people for profit?! You, Grand Secretary, in pursuit of your reputation and prestige, never even glance at my eldest brother's official residence. I, Zhang Bianguan, have visited countless times, and I know better than anyone what kind of hard, humble life my eldest brother and sister-in-law lead!"

Zhang Julu interrupted his youngest son and calmly stated, "In the eighth year of Yonghui, I did indeed help your eldest brother acquire three hundred mu of good land. The method was not honorable, but your eldest brother was simply kept in the dark."

Zhang Bianguan was stunned, and then tears welled up in his eyes. He murmured to himself, "Why? Why would you even scheme against your own sons..."

Zhang Julu looked at the snow in the courtyard, a vast expanse of white untouched for half a day, perhaps knee-deep by now. He said softly, "The so-called 'Spring of Yonghui'—all the prominent officials in court are well aware that in the future, those who stand shoulder to shoulder will mostly come from humble backgrounds."

Zhang Julu put down his book, stood up, and holding the small brazier in both hands, murmured to himself, "The rule that common families cannot produce nobility has been broken. Its significance is immense, far exceeding the era after the Great Qin Empire when traveling scholars established powerful clans, and 'wandering scholars' were no longer rootless duckweed. Yet, everyone has deeply experienced the pros and cons of powerful clans over the past eight hundred years. So, in the next eight hundred years, will these impoverished scholars who have now leaped through the dragon gate reflect upon themselves? And to what extent will they reflect? Poor scholars suddenly gain wealth, becoming rural commoners in the morning and ascending to heaven by evening. Do you truly believe that everyone can maintain their integrity in the dyeing vat of officialdom? It is precisely these bare-footed individuals, once they reach high positions, who have no bottom line when they turn to evil."

Zhang Julu smiled and said, "This gate was opened by me, Zhang Julu. So, when you look at me, Zhang Julu, a dignified Grand Secretary of the court, who wielded immense power for twenty years, yet whose reputation was ruined due to my grandson's fraud and corruption, doesn't that serve as a sobering lesson for the impoverished scholars and high officials who will enter the court in later generations?"