Chapter 131: Borrowing Momentum

After more than ten days of effort, Zhang Yunxiu hurried along and finally returned to Beijing.

As soon as he entered his own residence, Zhang Fu rushed up with a flustered expression and carefully warned him, "The Master said that after you return, you are to go see him immediately. I see that the Master's expression is very poor; it is likely nothing good."

Zhang Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat, but he had no choice but to brace himself and walk inside.

When he reached the study, he saw from afar that You Qi was pacing back and forth outside like a yellow bird.

Zhang Yunxiu guessed that it was mostly because of the matter in Liaodong.

He composed himself and stepped forward.

You Qi also caught sight of Zhang Yunxiu and hurried over, grabbing his arm and saying with a bitter face, "Fifth Young Master, you have finally returned. You have no idea how much trouble you have caused this time."

"What trouble?" Zhang Yunxiu asked him in return.

"What else could it be? You actually dared to go to Liaodong without authorization and mobilize a large army to conquer the Jurchen Tribe. This is a capital crime punishable by death," You Qi said, his eyes already brimming with mist.

"N-no way."

Zhang Yunxiu wore a hesitant expression and asked tentatively, attempting to find some clues from You Qi's face.

You Qi looked sorrowful but still refused to change his tune, pointing at the study and saying, "Go in quickly; the Master has been waiting for you inside for a long time."

"Oh, alright." Zhang Yunxiu nodded and pushed the door open, looking dejected.

Inside the study, Zhang Juzheng sat with a dark, gloomy face, leaning against a grand armchair, motionless.

If not for his wide-eyed gaze shifting, Zhang Yunxiu would have even thought he was asleep.

"Father." Bowing to perform a salute, Zhang Yunxiu called out timidly.

"Director Zhang, what great prestige you have. It wasn't enough to order us around in the capital, now you've even run off to Liaodong to show off your might." A cold sneer hung on the corner of Zhang Juzheng's mouth, and as soon as he spoke, his tone was biting, "According to us, your current position as a Hanlin Academy bachelor and Director of the Imperial Seal Office is no longer enough to contain a 'great Buddha' like you."

"Tomorrow, we shall go write a memorial to resign from the position of Senior Grand Secretary and let you be the Senior Grand Secretary instead."

"Really?!" Zhang Yunxiu replied without thinking.

As soon as he spoke, he regretted it.

He cried out in his heart, *Careless, how careless!! * Raising his eyes, he saw that although Zhang Juzheng was trying his best to suppress it, his anger was already written all over his face. He slammed the table heavily and roared, "Rebellious son, you truly are a rebellious son, now you are even coveting the position of Senior Grand Secretary."

"You Qi, call someone to take this beast out, give him fifty strokes, and forbid him from leaving the house for five months."

"Father." Zhang Yunxiu frowned and stepped forward, calling out urgently.

"Give him seventy strokes, and forbid him from leaving for seven months!"

Zhang Juzheng shouted again. Before long, four or five burly servants burst in from outside, grabbed Zhang Yunxiu, and dragged him out.

Unable to struggle free, Zhang Yunxiu could only shout loudly, "Father, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."

"It is useless to know you were wrong, beat him hard!" Zhang Juzheng's lingering anger had not yet dissipated, and he roared with a heartless expression.

A short while later, Zhang Yunxiu's voice gradually faded into the distance.

Zhang Juzheng pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and slumped back into the grand armchair.

His furrowed forehead was already covered in dense beads of sweat.

You Qi, who was to the side, brought a towel to wipe the hot sweat from Zhang Juzheng, then served a cup of jasmine tea and whispered a persuasion, "Master, the Young Master has been punished, and he has been frightened; this matter should be considered over."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at You Qi, picked up the jasmine tea and took a small sip, then gritted his teeth and said, "We walk on thin ice as the Senior Grand Secretary; even we would not dare to bypass the Grand Secretariat and issue orders directly to border generals."

"This brat, on the other hand, foolishly ran off to Liaodong. Does he really think the censors of the world are blind?"

"Master." After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, You Qi called out respectfully and continued, "Ever since the Young Master came to the capital the year before last, his temperament has always been like this. Although he is a bit reckless, he would not normally do something so inappropriate for no reason."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Juzheng became alert in his heart.

"The servant heard from Zhang Fu that the Young Master was preparing to kill a barbarian leader named Nurhaci. Later, for some reason, he changed his mind, went to Liaodong himself, found an excuse, and wiped out the entire Jianzhou Guard." You Qi spoke slowly and quietly, explaining the ins and outs of the matter.

"Nurhaci?" Zhang Juzheng murmured. In his impression, this person should have been quite respectful toward the Great Ming.

But now that the other party's tribe had been wiped out, saying such things was useless.

The mess his son made, even if he didn't admit it, others would still count it against him. He was now like mud falling into his trousers; even if it wasn't excrement, it was still excrement, and he had no room to argue a single bit.

Being repeatedly directed by his son, the father, made him quite displeased.

After being displeased, he naturally had to vent his anger.

And so, there was this family punishment.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Juzheng once again resumed the appearance of the Iron-Faced Prime Minister: "Like this, you go immediately and have Liu Xuan make a trip to Liaodong to verify the battle results mentioned in Li Rusong's battle report. Then report it to the Grand Secretariat, and we shall personally request a reward for Li Rusong."

"As for that brat, since Li Chengliang said he went to Liaodong to find some hawk for the Emperor, whether it is true or false, just lean into that."

"Yes."

You Qi replied respectfully and turned to leave.

In Zhang Yunxiu's bedroom, Zhang Yunxiu's buttocks were a bloody red as he lay on the bed, and Zheng Xi'er, with her large belly, was applying ointment to him with a pained heart.

Almost every time she applied it, Zhang Yunxiu's body would tremble.

Then, a large amount of sweat would seep from his smooth head.

"Young Master, those servants were too ruthless; they... they beat you into such a state." Zheng Xi'er looked at Zhang Yunxiu's miserable appearance, her eyes reddening, and she couldn't help but sob.

"They actually held back; they didn't hurt the bones, it just looks painful," Zhang Yunxiu replied weakly. If they had really tried to kill him, let alone seventy strokes, he would have died after twenty.

"As the saying goes, a tiger does not eat its cubs; the Master is too heartless." Zheng Xi'er still didn't believe it; she gritted her teeth and huffed indignantly, "You are his son after all, how could he let the servants be so ruthless?"

"Stop talking, hurry and finish applying the medicine so we can rest early."

"Oh, then lie still and don't move around, so I don't hurt you again."

Zheng Xi'er replied softly and once again gently applied the ointment for Zhang Yunxiu.

After about a quarter of an hour, the burning sensation on Zhang Yunxiu's buttocks had faded, replaced only by a sense of coolness.

"Xi'er, you are so good." He looked at the round-faced Zheng Xi'er and smiled, tilting his head.

"Still laughing, I think the Master hit you too lightly." Zheng Xi'er chided in a low voice.

"Didn't you just say that a tiger does not eat its cubs? Why have you changed your tune now?"

"I only said that just now because I saw you were pitiful. Now that your buttocks don't hurt anymore, there is naturally no need to coax you." Zheng Xi'er tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pouted, chiding, "I think the Master just wanted to give you a big lesson this time, so you won't be ignorant of the rules and cause any more trouble in the future."

"You don't understand; if it weren't a last resort, I wouldn't want to do this either." Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and turned his face to the other side.

Zheng Xi'er lost her temper, put her hands on her hips, and huffed, "Fine, Xi'er is just a woman, so I don't understand those schemes of yours, Young Master Zhang. But even Xi'er knows that as the son of the Grand Secretary, every word and action of yours is watched by countless people."

"The things you say and the things you do don't just represent you; they also represent the Grand Secretary."

"Take me for example—why do others treat me with respect? Isn't it because I represent you, Young Master Zhang? Otherwise, as a pregnant woman with a big belly, nobody would even glance at me if I walked down the street."

"Xi'er." Zhang Yunxiu turned his head back and stared blankly at Zheng Xi'er.

He had not expected that she could see through this 'momentum' so clearly.

Both he and his old man were borrowing this 'momentum'.

Only by guiding the momentum and acting in accordance with it could one achieve twice the result with half the effort.

His old man borrowed the 'momentum' of the Emperor; every time the Grand Secretariat had a proposal, the Emperor would issue a decree. The reason he could serve as Grand Secretary so smoothly was because he borrowed the Emperor's momentum.

As for himself, he borrowed his old man's momentum while simultaneously using the Emperor's authority as his own banner.

It was precisely because of this that Li Chengliang and his son, as well as Wang Zuan, would all give him a modicum of respect.

Just as Zhang Yunxiu was deep in thought, Zheng Xi'er called out softly, moved to his bedside, and with a face full of heartache, took his hands and said, "Young Master, you must not do such reckless things again in the future. If you were really beaten badly, what would Xi'er do?"

"It was my backside that was beaten, not the equipment used for business, so what are you afraid of?" Zhang Yunxiu grinned and took the opportunity to tease Zheng Xi'er with some crude talk.

The two were already intimate, and at this quip, Zheng Xi'er not only felt no shame, but instead tilted her neck and huffed, "Who knows if it was damaged? Don't go complaining of exhaustion when it comes time to share a bed with me."

"Alright, alright, once you've recovered, we'll see how I deal with you."

Zhang Yunxiu followed up with a boast, closed his eyes, and drifted into a deep sleep.

Beside him, Zheng Xi'er raised her jade-like hand, gently covered her lover's upper body with a silk quilt, then sat at a small table to the side, propping her chin with one hand and staring straight at her lover's face.

Time flashed by, and in the blink of an eye, it was July.

A clap of muffled thunder exploded, and from within Zhang Yunxiu's private residence, the cry of an infant followed.

Outside the room, Zhang Yunxiu, who had been pacing back and forth with a face full of anxiety, was instantly ecstatic; he grabbed Zhang Jianxiu and shouted, "It's born, it's born! Xi'er has given birth, hahaha..."

"Alright, stop standing there in a daze, hurry inside and take a look." Zhang Jianxiu was happy in his heart and pushed Zhang Yunxiu as they walked inside.

At this moment, the wooden door opened with a click, and an old woman walked out carrying an infant in swaddling clothes, forcing a smile as she said, "Young Master, the Young Mistress has given birth to a daughter."

"A daughter is good, a daughter is good."

Zhang Yunxiu snatched the swaddling clothes and looked down at his sleeping daughter.

Seeing that her skin was all wrinkled, like a little old man, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

The old woman to the side covered her mouth and smiled, patiently explaining, "All children look like this when they are just born. In a few days, she will naturally become good-looking. The Mistress and the Young Master are a match made in heaven, so the child born to you naturally won't be bad."

Oh, so that was how it was.

"Zhang Fu, take these people away and reward each of them with twenty taels of silver." Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand generously and walked inside while holding his daughter.

The old woman thanked him profusely and then followed Zhang Fu to collect the reward.

Arriving in the inner room, the air was filled with a faint scent of blood.

Zheng Xi'er was covered in sweat, her messy hair sticking to her damp neck, her little mouth pale, and her face devoid of color; she was weak to the extreme.

Zhang Yunxiu felt a pang of heartache, walked quickly to the bedside, and sat down.

He handed the infant to Zheng Xi'er and said excitedly, "Xi'er, look, this is our daughter."

"So... so ugly," Zheng Xi'er murmured, frowning.

"All children are like this; she won't be ugly when she grows up. She will definitely be a great beauty just like her mother." As Zhang Yunxiu spoke, he leaned over and kissed Zheng Xi'er on the forehead.

"Young Master, the Mistress has just given birth and is very weak; she needs quiet rest," an elderly woman whispered a reminder.

Zhang Yunxiu tapped his forehead, glanced at Zheng Xi'er with reluctance, and whispered softly, "Then get some good rest. I'll be in the room next to yours; if you need anything, just send someone to call me."

"Mm." Zheng Xi'er looked at Zhang Yunxiu and gave a soft, gentle reply.

(End of this chapter)