Chapter 121: The Zhang Residence
Page 1 of 3
Zhang Yue entered the Zhang residence.
The grounds were exceedingly spacious, covering some four or five mu. Beneath the dusk, pines, cypresses, and ancient locust trees cast their shadows across the courtyard. The deep compound possessed all the grandeur of an official’s household, hardly inferior to Ouyang Xiu’s own estate.
Zhang Yue asked, “Old Steward, did my uncle purchase this house?”
The old steward smiled. “Indeed. It cost a great deal of silver. At the time, the master even sold his house in Suzhou and gathered every penny he could before settling in Bianjing.”
Zhang Yue sighed once more. Houses in Bianjing truly were outrageously expensive!
The rear courtyard contained a half-mu square pond. Beside it stood pavilions and waterside halls, while lotus flowers filled the water. As someone who had been living in an inn, Zhang Yue could not help feeling that it was wonderful to be rich. Even in modern times, wealthy people would probably find it impossible to own a residence spanning several mu within the third ring road of the capital.
Led by the old steward, Zhang Yue arrived at a side hall, where a remarkably distinguished middle-aged man was peeling a tangerine.
Zhang Yue thought, This is hardly the season for tangerines, is it? It has shriveled to this state, and he is still eating it?
The man said to a servant, “The tangerines sent this spring were sweet and plump. They are no longer fit for eating now. Still, do not throw away the seeds. Keep them and plant them in the rear courtyard. After ten years or so, we shall once again have tangerines of that same sweetness and fullness.”
The servant looked as though he wanted to laugh but did not dare. The middle-aged man, however, peeled several of the out-of-season tangerines, ate them, spat the seeds onto a plate, and said, “If I can eat them, so can all of you. Give these to the servants below. Plant the seeds along the edge of the courtyard.”
With that, the middle-aged man looked toward Zhang Yue and smiled. “Most of these servants are laughing at me inwardly. They probably think that at my age, I shall not live to see the trees mature and bear fruit ten years from now, much less taste another tangerine.”
“They do not understand that when Liu Zongyuan was banished to Liuzhou, he planted two hundred yellow tangerine trees with his own hands. He may not necessarily have expected to see their blossoms fill the air like falling snow or their fruits hang like strings of pearls, yet he wrote:
‘If only I may sit and await the day the grove is grown,
Its flavor shall still befit this old man’s years.’
What breadth of spirit!”
Zhang Yue thought to himself with a chuckle: Not only is he giving these shriveled tangerines to the servants, he is even collecting the seeds to plant more trees. What a spectacular maneuver.
If he wanted to be stingy, then let him be stingy. But to gild his own face with a layer of virtue and deliver a grand moral lecture besides—his shamelessness truly knew no bounds.
Zhang Yue said, “That is Liu Zongyuan’s poem ‘Planting Tangerine Trees in the Northwestern Corner of Liuzhou City,’ is it not?”
He recited:
“Two hundred yellow tangerines planted by hand—
By spring, new leaves will cover the city walls.
Unlike the guest of Chu, who cherished the imperial trees,
I do not imitate Jingzhou’s profitable ‘wooden slaves.’
How many years until blossoms scatter snow-like fragrance?
Who shall pluck the fruit and see the pearls hang low?
If only I may sit and await the day the grove is grown,
Its flavor shall still befit this old man’s years.”
“However, there is one line in Liu Zongyuan’s poem with which I cannot agree.”
“Oh? You dare question Liu of Hedong?”
“Indeed. Take the line about not imitating Jingzhou’s profitable ‘wooden slaves.’ It refers to Li Heng, once the governor of Danyang.”
“Li Heng, governor of Danyang, was incorruptible in office. In his later years, he planted several thousand orange trees on Fan Isle in Longyang, Wuling, leaving them as an inheritance for his descendants. Before he died, he told his son, ‘I possess a thousand wooden slaves in the prefecture, enough to provide for you.’”
“Li Heng was a governor who guarded his integrity and lived frugally. He did not manage his household or accumulate wealth, leaving only several thousand orange trees for those who came after him. How can such a worthy deed be compared to profitable ‘wooden slaves’? To possess several mu of orange groves, sit beneath their shade and shelter from the rain, and harvest abundant fruit besides—what could be better than having the best of both worlds? To avoid the word ‘profit’ for fear of speaking of material gain while pretending to speak only of righteousness is hardly the conduct of a gentleman!”
The middle-aged man smiled upon hearing this.
The old steward beside him reported, “Master, this is the Third Young Master Zhang.”
Page 1 of 3
Page 2 of 3
Zhang Yue put on an expression of surprise. “I did not know my uncle was here. I spoke carelessly without thinking. I hope you will forgive me.”
There was a particular kind of lie that said: I am lying, you know that I am lying, and I know that you know I am lying. Yet I still lie.
Zhang Yu waved his hand. “It is nothing. What you said was reasonable. I previously heard that when you were in Pucheng, you were unlearned and spent your days eating, drinking, and amusing yourself. I was deeply worried. But now that I see you have made something of yourself, one of my concerns has finally been laid to rest.”
He smiled and continued, “Otherwise, if you could not even speak coherently, would that not be unfortunate?”
“Why did Uncle have the old steward summon me? Please speak plainly. I still intend to stroll through Bianjing and see its night scenery.”
Zhang Yu nodded and motioned for the old steward to leave.
“Third Young Master, sit. You and I are uncle and nephew, and I am far closer to your parents than you imagine. You need not guard yourself against me as though I were an outsider. You have only just arrived in Bianjing. What do you think of its splendor?”
After sitting down, Zhang Yue replied, “I have spent these past dozen days studying in the inn and have not yet had the leisure to look around.”
Zhang Yu praised him. “To remain unmoved by Bianjing’s splendor and study in an inn instead—that may truly be called ‘not peeking beyond one’s garden.’ With such self-discipline, I understand why you were able to come to Bianjing in less than two years.”
“I still remember what you once told the steward: though the mountains of Fujian are high, they do not rise above the heavens. You have reached this place today by your own ability.”
Zhang Yue said, “I was young and ignorant then, speaking without knowing the height of the heavens. I must have made a fool of myself.”
“I underestimated you when I arranged for you to enter the Suzhou Prefectural Academy. Yet now that you have come to Bianjing, I still had the old steward invite you here. Do you know why?”
“It is about Brother Dun, is it not?”
“Precisely. Third Young Master, do you know what matters most to me now? At my age, my official position and wealth are neither insignificant nor abundant, but it is difficult for me to advance any further. As for Dun, I watched him grow up, but even he is not what matters most to me. I may as well speak frankly with you.”
“What, then, does Uncle care about?”
“I care about the family estate! You know that Dun has a younger brother, born to my concubine. My greatest regret is that I did not place him under your aunt’s discipline. He has turned out utterly useless and incorrigibly wild. If the family estate falls into his hands in the future, he will surely squander it.”
Zhang Yue thought, Naturally. Otherwise, why would he be called a son of a concubine?
“If he possessed even a tenth of Dun’s qualities, or if he were as capable as you, I would never have resorted to this course. Your grand-uncle and I spent most of our lives studying. We wasted half our lives before, by sheer luck, passing the metropolitan examination, entering officialdom, and accumulating this family estate. How could I willingly hand it over to such a worthless heir, only to watch him ruin it?”
“So Uncle simply made everything proceed as a matter of course?”
“Not a matter of course, but a matter of mutual need. Is that not how all relationships between people work, even between blood brothers? Can you accept that?”
“I cannot refute what you say, Uncle, but—”
Zhang Yu interrupted him. “Your aunt and Dun know nothing of why I summoned you today. These words are solely between you and me—known to Heaven, Earth, you, and me. Is that acceptable?”
“I shall say nothing.”
Page 2 of 3
Page 3 of 3
“Good. Dun resigned from office last year and now intends to sit the examinations again. He has already entered the register of Kaifeng Prefecture. If nothing unexpected occurs, the court will hold the metropolitan examinations again next year, which means the prefectural qualifying examination will take place in only a few months. This examination is of the utmost importance to both Dun and me. Nothing must go wrong.”
“Yet you came to Bianjing at precisely this moment. Whether you intend to sit the Imperial Academy examination or to show me and Dun what you are capable of, I do not care. But since you have come to Bianjing, I ask only one thing of you, as your uncle: reconcile with Dun!”
“What does my reconciling with Dun have to do with his prefectural examination?” Zhang Yue asked in return.
“It naturally has everything to do with it. He once refused to accept an imperial appointment, and people have already said that he lacks virtue. If you now say that he changed his household registration to ours without informing your family—even if you do not say anything else—that story would seriously damage his reputation.”
Zhang Yue snapped angrily, “I have never said any such thing! Even back home, my brother and I covered for him.”
“It is good that you have not said it. But what will you do if someone asks you? This world is not lacking in vicious people. Therefore, the best solution is for you and Dun to reconcile. Then, when outsiders see the two of you together, every rumor will collapse of its own accord.”
Zhang Yue rose in fury. “It is not that I refuse to reconcile with Second Brother. It is that he has not sent even a single family letter home to this day. If he had sent one letter—even if he did not explain what happened back then, even if he merely sent his greetings and asked after the family—would matters have come to this?”
Zhang Yu waved his hand. “I know why Dun has not sent a family letter. You cannot blame him.”
“Oh? Then please enlighten me, Uncle.”
Zhang Yu sighed. “You know about the change of household registration and the recognition of kinship. Once that happened, the two families ceased to be one family, at least in name. You are still young; it would be difficult to explain the reasoning to you in detail.”
Zhang Yue listened and seemed to understand a little.
“At first, I did not want Dun to maintain contact with your family. But I have since thought the matter through. Dun is already married, and I intend to give him half of the family estate. As for you, since you are his own brother, taking a small portion as well will not be a problem.”
“Of course, this is something you and I understand without saying. There is no need for you to report it to me specifically; I shall simply pretend not to know. You have only just arrived and will face many hardships. Since ancient times, it has never been easy to live in the capital. It is a good thing for brothers to support one another. Therefore, everything we have discussed today is known only to you and me. You need not tell your Second Brother.”
“Besides, you need not doubt my sincerity. I have always been extremely tight-fisted where money is concerned. To speak this far is already no small matter for me. If you achieve distinction in the future and possess the heart to support Dun as well, helping that worthless younger cousin of yours, then even from beneath the Nine Springs I shall remain profoundly grateful.”
Zhang Yue nodded. “I understand, Uncle. This is what you meant by mutual need. Even brothers by blood must keep accounts with one another, is that it?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Exactly. There is nothing wrong with keeping accounts, so long as the words convey the meaning. If you think this is insufficient, I can compensate you with more. If money is not enough, there are other things as well. So long as Dun passes the metropolitan examination, you will be able to establish yourself in Bianjing in the future. I have always preferred to speak harshly before acting generously. Some of my earlier words may have sounded unpleasant, but that does not matter. You may think about it however you wish; none of that is important.”
“What matters is that you are now alone in Bianjing. You do not even know how many more days your money will allow you to remain at the inn. You have a roof today, but perhaps not tomorrow—how can you speak of anything else? Perhaps you are still inexperienced in the ways of the world, or perhaps you are young and proud and cannot yet understand what I am telling you. But I have lived through these matters myself. If I were in your place, I would not hesitate for even a moment.”
Zhang Yue had yet to respond when the old steward entered.
Zhang Yu said displeasedly, “Did I not tell you not to disturb us?”
The old steward’s expression was somewhat troubled. “Master, a letter has arrived from Academician Ouyang’s residence. They have invited the Third Young Master Zhang to visit.”
P.S. Once again, many thanks to Nanmeng for the generous reward of three hundred thousand!
Page 3 of 3