Chapter 17: An Old Case, Aunt's Visit...

At 3:45 AM, Cui Jingji arrived at the door with his master cook.

"His surname is Du, he is twenty-eight years old this year, he is a good cook, he can read and write, his wife died last year, he has no children, he was disliked by his wife's family and was sold out, he is a poor man. He only wants eight taels of silver."

Du Zaolang stood calmly outside the door, wearing a faded old padded jacket. He was short, with plain features, a sallow complexion, and a numb expression.

Zhang Ting, however, felt that even though Du Zaolang had lost his wife and support, he still had a skill. How could he have ended up being sold? Was there some hidden story behind this?

Upon hearing her concerns, Cui Jingji quickly explained, "Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Du Zaolang's character is absolutely impeccable. You may not know this, but it was Du Zaolang's wife's younger sister who was engaged and urgently needed a dowry, which is why they sold her."

Zhang Ting frowned and asked again, "What about Du Zaolang's family? Did they just let their son be sold like that?"

Cui Jingji sighed and said, "It's because all of his wife's family members are dead that they dared to sell him off." Then, he whispered to Zhang Ting, "Du Zaolang married down. His mother was once a commander under the garrison, but she was involved in a major case and her whole family was executed. However, the misfortune did not extend to the husband who married out of the family, and he was spared."

Zhang Ting was taken aback: "You dare to introduce someone like that to me?"

Good heavens, what crime is it to have your entire family executed?

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Five years have passed since that case, and people today have long forgotten about it, let alone a foreign husband who has no connection to it."

Zhang Ting didn't know what Cui Jingji was up to, but she was still good at protecting herself, and she would never take Du Zaolang under any circumstances.

Cui Jingji had encountered many setbacks because of this matter, and he could tell what Zhang Ting meant just by looking at her expression. However, Cui Jingji still insisted on mentioning Du Zaolang's background to her, trying to awaken her pity.

Du Zaolang had been in the hands of the broker for half a year. If he was not sold soon, the broker would probably sell him to a filthy place. Cui Jingji had been grateful to him for a meal when he was young and felt sorry for him, but he was also struggling to make a living, so he introduced him to Zhang Ting.

“Du Zaolang is a pitiful man. If it weren’t for the riot in Zhangzhou Prefecture five years ago, when His Majesty took his anger out on the entire garrison, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Zhangzhou Prefecture? Riot

Zhang Ting exclaimed how small the world was, as the original owner of this body had also lost her family due to the riots in Zhangzhou Prefecture.

She gave Du Zaolang one hundred coins and asked him to prepare lunch. If the food was good, she would let him stay. She also asked Cui Jingji to stay for lunch.

Overjoyed, Du Zaolang knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Ting. Fearing she might change her mind, he hurriedly ran out to buy ingredients.

Cui Jingji was also delighted, praising the family's kind heart.

Lunch consisted of six dishes. Du Zaolang set up two tables: one for Zhang Ting and Cui Jingji, and the other for the four guards and coachmen. He himself ate in the kitchen.

The food was delicious, and everyone had a satisfying lunch.

Zhang Ting signed a contract with Cui Jingji, accepting Du Zaolang's indenture. Since he was a man, he allocated him a side room next to the kitchen in the inner courtyard, gave him one tael of silver to buy bedding and clothing, and promised him five hundred cash a month as a monthly wage.

In the afternoon, Zhang Ting wrote to Xu You to tell her where the house she had rented was, unaware that Xu You was being scolded on the other side.

"You're saying you didn't invite your benefactor in?!"

Xu You was forced to kneel on the ground by her aunt, feeling very wronged: "Aunt, I invited her, but she refused. How can you blame me for this?"

"Have you thanked your benefactor?"

Xu You was puzzled: "Sister Zhang is not interested in fame or fortune, and we have a very good relationship. Wouldn't it hurt our friendship to bring these things up?"

Hearing this, Aunt Xu wanted to slap Xu You. In her more than ten years as an official, she had never seen anyone who wasn't greedy for money and fame! And her niece was such a fool. She had been saved and owed such a huge favor, yet instead of thinking about repaying it as soon as possible, she was completely indifferent?!

This wretched child is infuriating!

Her fingers were trembling, her chest heaving violently, and she sternly rebuked her: "If you don't want this old woman to be impeached by the censor for moral failings and for indulging your family, you will come with me today to visit and thank Scholar Zhang."

Xu You muttered, "Auntie is biased... Does she think that because she's a scholar, she's superior to her?"

The family was in mourning. Aunt Xu laughed in anger: "You fool, at a time like this, you're still thinking about being jealous."

In an instant, she deeply regretted sending her niece to study in Kyoto. Wasn't this just handing the enemy a handle to use against her?

Xu You's stubborn temper flared up, "She didn't say where she was staying..." The implication was that she wouldn't cooperate with Aunt Xu's visit to express her gratitude.

Aunt Xu scoffed. Did she think everyone in Kyoto was dead? Couldn't she find out about these trivial matters?

Just then, the doorman handed over a letter. "Sir," he said, "it was sent by a friend of the young lady."

......

Lutian County, Zou Prefecture.

With the Spring Festival approaching, the county school gave its students a long holiday. Zou Yueru had finished reading the books she had bought and thought of Zhang Tinglai, so she planned to invite her to her residence for a chat.

Ang Lee stopped her, saying, "Don't waste your time, Sister Zhang has gone to Kyoto."

Zou Yueru asked in surprise, "What are you going to Kyoto for? And how did you know?"

Li An smiled mysteriously, raising an eyebrow, "Of course I know."

"When did you become so close to Sister Zhang?" Zou Yueru asked suspiciously, then added with certainty, "You're hiding something from me."

Li Ancai explained what had happened to Zou Yueru, but the other party scolded her for being muddle-headed.

"Since you know Xu You is unreliable, why did you let Sister Zhang go to the capital with him...?"

Li Anwei opened her mouth slightly and retorted, "Sister Zhang is clever and quick-witted; I don't think she can be troubled by any difficulties."

Zou Yueru shook her head and sighed, "It's better to be safe than sorry."

Ang Lee paced anxiously, "Then, what should we do?"

"I will send a letter to the Xu family to inquire about the situation."

Meanwhile, on Zhang Ting's side, around 1:00 PM, Aunt Xu led Xu You to the door, without even having time to send a visiting card.

Zhang Ting personally greeted them at the door, saying, "No wonder I heard magpies chirping this morning; it turns out we have distinguished guests at our door."

He even paid his respects to Aunt Xu, saying, "Lord Xu, it's better to meet you in person than to have heard so much about you. Zhang Ting greets you."

Aunt Xu, whose given name is Shan, is a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. Although her rank is not high, she is the highest-ranking official Zhang Ting has ever met.

Xu Shan scrutinized the handsome young man before her, noticing his astute judgment and knowing when to advance and retreat, and nodded in approval.

If this cabbage were from our own garden, why would she bother with all this trouble?

Xu Shan helped Zhang Ting up, saying, "I have come today to discuss my niece's matter. Scholar Zhang, there is no need for such formalities."

Zhang Ting got up to greet Xu You, but Xu You ignored her. Suppressing her doubts, Zhang Ting warmly invited Xu Shan and Xu You to come in for tea.

Du Zaolang prepared the tea; there still needed to be a man in the household to manage the household affairs, as Zhang Ting couldn't handle too many complicated matters.

The tea and teaware were nothing special, but Xu Shan still took a sip out of courtesy.

She went straight to the point, saying, "If it weren't for Scholar Zhang, my niece would surely be dead. I've brought generous gifts to express my gratitude today."

The accompanying servant presented a box of gold and silver and placed it on the table.

Zhang Ting glanced at it and saw that it amounted to about a thousand taels, which made her eyes light up.

It's very tempting, but how could Zhang Ting be the kind of person who's only interested in money?

She pushed the box toward Xu Shan with her hands and said righteously, "Although I am not a man of great talent, I have become close friends with Sister Xu since we met. Our friendship is so deep that it cannot be measured by gold and silver. I appreciate your kindness, but I hope you will take back the gold and silver."

Upon hearing this, Xu You even turned to look at his aunt, the meaning of which was self-evident.

With a gentle smile and kind eyes, Xu Shan pushed the things back, saying, "Scholar Zhang, you're too kind. This is just a token of our Xu family's goodwill. You two can continue to visit each other as friends and confidants. It won't cause any problems."

Zhang Ting was in a dilemma again, "Lord Xu, I..."

"If Scholar Zhang refuses again, he will be looking down on the old woman."

Since they've already said that, how could Zhang Ting possibly refuse?

"Then I shall accept your offer without hesitation."

"Very good."

Seeing that Zhang Ting was sensible, Xu Shan felt relieved, realizing that the favor had been repaid.

Xu You and Xu Shan only mentioned that Zhang Ting helped them escape, subdued the villains, and escorted them to the government. Magistrate Hu was very respectful to Zhang Ting and even prepared a generous gift for her.

Xu Shan knew that Magistrate Hu was a sycophant, and when she heard that Xu Shan treated Zhang Ting with great courtesy, she thought that Zhang Ting had a powerful backer in Yinzhou Prefecture, which was why he was being fawned over by the magistrate.

During his conversation with Zhang Ting, he was also testing her one by one.

Zhang Ting subtly changed the subject, refusing to engage, but her demeanor and manners were no less impressive than those of the noble ladies of Beijing that Xu Shan had met, and she even... had considerable insight into current affairs.

Xu Shan couldn't gauge Zhang Ting's true abilities, but she was certain that Zhang Ting came from an extraordinary background.

After chatting for a long time, Xu Shan had official business to attend to, so Zhang Ting went out to see her off.

Xu You wanted to return to her residence, but Zhang Ting asked her to stay. Xu Shan also said, "It would be good for you to stay here and chat with your friends. It would be best if you could get your brain back in shape."

Since his aunt had spoken, Xu You naturally wouldn't refuse.

Zhang Ting could see that Xu You was rejecting her today, but the opportunity was right in front of her. Xu You was rich and her aunt was powerful. Their business in Kyoto was bound to be very profitable, and they were just around the corner to become rich. How could she bear to give it up?

She gently invited Xu You into the house for a chat, and even asked Du Zaolang to prepare dinner. She was extremely caring and patient with Xu You, praising and coaxing him until he finally returned to normal.

Xu Youyuan kept spitting out grime at Zhang Ting, complaining that her aunt was too unreasonable and too serious...

Zhang Ting listened attentively to her feelings and then steered the conversation to the key point.

"If Sister Xu achieves something great, I'm sure Lord Xu will care more about your feelings."

Zhang Ting's words were like a wake-up call. After a moment of stunned silence, Xu You excitedly grabbed Zhang Ting's hand and said, "Absolutely right, absolutely right."

"Back in Lütian County, didn't we agree to run a restaurant? Now that my sister is settled, let's get started right away!"

Zhang Ting smiled gently and said slowly, "This matter is of great importance and should not be rushed. Why don't you ask Lord Xu for his opinion tonight? If there are no problems, then I can start making plans."

Xu You nodded emphatically, unable to suppress the restlessness in her heart. She even refused to eat and hurriedly went back to find her aunt.

Zhang Ting watched her figure disappear around the corner, then calmly told Du Zaolang to prepare the meal.

A note from the author:

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