Chapter 003 Born into a Noble Family (3)

  "Mother."

  Liu was in a state of anxiety and confusion, when she heard a soft and low voice by her ear. She lowered her head to glance over, seeing that her only biological son Zhang Xuan was standing tall in front of her, bowing his head to pay respects to her.

  "Xu'er." Mrs. Liu's gaze immediately softened, but at the same time, she was slightly surprised: "This child has become so polite today, and in the past, he didn't have that much courtesy even when seeing himself."

  Compared to Zhang Huan and Zhang Ning, Zhang Xuan can only be considered an unfilial and dissolute son. The excellent qualities of the famous minister Zhang Jiuling were not passed down in the slightest, but instead he somehow acquired a body full of bad habits.

  But if Zhang Xuan is not filial, he is still his own flesh and blood, and will be relied on for support in his old age. If others don't treat Zhang Xuan well, how can the Liu family do so?

  "Xuǎn ér, your brother has had a bit of an accident, but he's all right. Don't worry and go back to your room to rest, Mother will come over to see you later." Liǔ shì's eyes were full of doting affection, her soft voice gentle as she reached out to grab Zhang Xuǎn's hand, lightly stroking it.

  "Xu'er, you've always been frail since childhood. Listen to your mother's words and go back to sleep for a while to nurse your body. Later, mother will ask the kitchen to cook bird's nest lotus seed porridge for you."

  Zhang Xuan's youthful body was after all inhabited by a mature transmigrating soul, whose mental age wasn't much different from Liu's. Thus, being caressed like a child going to sleep by a woman made him feel extremely embarrassed.

  But the love and motherly affection that Liu had was genuine, without any pretence. Zhang Xuan felt a mix of emotions in her heart, with a hint of nostalgia and a long-forgotten feeling.

  "Mother." Zhang Xuan called out again, taking the opportunity to gently pull his hand out of Liu's, a hint of embarrassment rising to his pale face.

  Liu's gaze was filled with tender affection as she looked at him, then turned to the two maids standing behind Zhang Xuan and said in a low voice, "Ruyan Ruyu, why don't you attend to Third Master and help him back to his room to rest?"

  The Liu family, despite their deep affection for this son, also knew that at the current critical moment of the family crisis, letting Zhang Xuan stay in the front yard would only add chaos and trouble to everyone's minds. It was better to send him back to his room, lest something else happened.

  It turns out that Zhang Jiuling's two younger brothers, Zhang Jiuming and Zhang Jigao, are about to come over to discuss matters, and these two elders of the Zhang family can't stand Zhang Xuan, this prodigal nephew who has brought shame to the entire Zhang clan.

  "Yes, madam." Ruyan and Ruyu hastily responded with a bow. Ruyan stepped forward and gently tugged at Zhang Xuan's sleeve, saying in a low voice, "Third Master, I'll accompany Third Master back to his room..."

  Zhang Xuan shook his head and said in a low, determined tone, "No, Mother, I won't go back. My brother's crime is serious this time, disaster is looming over our heads, and it will inevitably affect the whole family. Even if I stay in the backyard, I won't be able to avoid it."

  "Mother, brother this time... what is going on? How did you suddenly commit such a serious crime and offend the Emperor?" Zhang Xuan asked tentatively.

  "Mother didn't know either, it happened suddenly, disaster struck from heaven, really a calamity..."

  Liu's family helplessly looked at Zhang Xuan, who furrowed her brow and sighed, "Xuan'er, this matter is not for you to worry about... Mother and your two uncles, as well as Second Brother, will take care of it. You go back to your room——good child, listen to me."

  Zhang Xuan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart.

  He knew in his heart that although the person he was attached to was usually arrogant and carefree, he actually had no status or right to speak in the Zhang family. Even if it was this mother in front of him, who doted on him and spoiled him, she also knew that her own son couldn't do anything serious.

  At this thought, Zhang Xuan no longer insisted. Even if he insisted, he might not be able to enter the Zhang family's council hall to discuss countermeasures with the elders of the Zhang family.

  But Zhang Xuan couldn't ignore this matter either.

  Due to the sudden arrival of this crisis, it suddenly brought closer the distance between this transmigrator and the entire Zhang family. The sense of belonging to the family that would have taken several months or even years to gradually develop was thus accelerated into being.

  Alas, when one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers loss, all suffer loss. If the Zhang family falls, he will also come to a bad end. As it concerns his future prospects and fate, he cannot afford to be slack in any way.

  "Mother, then I'll go out for a walk." Zhang Xuan forced a smile and didn't insist anymore.

  He then turned around and walked out, beckoning to a young servant standing not far away, "Zhang Li, prepare the carriage, I'm going out to visit friends."

  Just now, the Lyu family still felt that Zhang Xuan had changed a bit, but now it seems that this was just an illusion. At this point, they still don't understand what's going on and actually want to go out...

  Liu's eyebrows were tightly furrowed as she gazed at Zhang Xuan's gradually disappearing back, opened her mouth hesitantly, and then helplessly lowered her hand to look elsewhere. In her heart, however, was a deep-seated bitterness that could not be expressed in words: "My dear child, when will you grow up and become sensible? Don't let Mother worry so much anymore."

  Some of the servants and maids in Zhang's family dared not say anything, hanging their heads in silence, but they were also secretly resentful. The Zhang family is about to meet with disaster, and this prodigal son still wants to go out "visiting friends" and fooling around, it's simply outrageous.

  Zhang Li drove the carriage, and Zhang Xuan sat in it as they left the mansion. Although the official's family carriage was already quite luxurious and advanced transportation at this prosperous Tang Dynasty, he still felt a bit uncomfortable sitting in it.

  Pedestrians shuttled back and forth like arrows, with various shops, wine houses, and inns lining both sides of the street, one after another. The colorful signboards hanging high above dazzled people's eyes. The prosperity, vastness, and population density of Chang'an City during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty far exceeded Zhang Huan's imagination.

  The residents of Chang'an with their faces flushed, the scholars shaking their fans and walking by, the vendors calling out as they pushed their carts or carried their baskets on their shoulders, the foreign merchants dressed in their native attire, the women with their bodies exposed and a hint of spring color on their faces, and occasionally a few dignified monks... The unfamiliar faces appeared clearly before Zhang Huan's eyes, but at this moment he really didn't have the mood to be amazed or infatuated.

  The historical information he grasped, about Zhang Jiuling's family affairs and descendants is almost blank. Historians did not record the prosperity and decline of Zhang Jiuling's later generations in detail. It was probably because after Zhang Jiuling's death, the Zhang family slowly declined.

  In the face of crisis, he felt that he must first figure out the causes and consequences of Zhang Huan's crime before making a plan.

  Then he "thought" of the friends of Nianzhuozi, among whom was Xu Wenbin, the second son of the current Dalisheng Temple Xu Xie. This Xu Wenbin is roughly the same kind as Zhang Xuan before, and the two are close friends who often come and go.

  The Dalish Temple is in charge of the prison, and Zhang Huan is now under the jurisdiction of the Dalish Temple. As the son of the highest official of the Dalish Temple, Xu Wenbin must know some inside information. Let's see if we can get in touch with Xu Ze through Xu Wenbin, even if it means using some money or wealth to help Zhang Huan escape punishment. At worst, don't let disaster befall the whole family?

  But... those who come and go are all wealthy people, can they be relied upon? Zhang Xuan sighed secretly in her heart.

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