That afternoon, a piece of news suddenly spread throughout Chang 'an. Prince Gaoyang, Wu Chongxun, was asked by the young master of the Du family to visit Zhang Changzong at the center of the Longqing Pool in an attempt to mediate the feud between Zhang Changzong and Du Wentian. However, Zhang Changzong flatly refused and returned empty-handed.
Zhang Changzong then announced that the feud between him and Du Wentian had long been settled and he was willing to let them go, but the Du family had to make a public apology to clear the names of him and Shangguan. Therefore, there was no need for anyone else to mediate.
He also said that he had already made it clear at the Xinchang Restaurant that the Du family had to publicly hold a feast to apologize within three days at the Du family mansion in Anyi Lane. This matter could not be changed. Tomorrow was the deadline. If the Du family did not comply, he would pursue the matter to the end and let the Du family know how powerful he was.
It was already evening when Du Jingting received the news. The news was brought back by the servants and stewards who had gone to Chang 'an to deliver invitations to friends. Du Wentian himself did not send the news back in time. He did not return at all.
Du Jingting was angry and anxious. He quickly drove to Chang 'an, but the gates were already closed when he arrived. Du Jingting could have opened the gates based on his status and influence. However, the Imperial Army was now interfering in Chang 'an's defense. Du Jingting had just offended Zhang Changzong and did not want to invite trouble at this time. He did not want Zhang Changzong to have more evidence against him, so he could only return unhappily.
The next morning, Du Jingting drove to Chang 'an again. When he arrived at Anyi Lane to visit Wu Chongxun, he did not see his son, Du Wentian.
Wu Chongxun was very courteous to Du Jingting. He invited him to take a seat, then said, "Yesterday, your son came to this Prince to explain his difficulties. This Prince knows very well that Zhang Changzong's actions are not only to make things difficult for your Du family, but also to show his power to this Prince. This Prince has gone to Longqing Pool to visit him. This Zhang Changzong …"
Wu Chongxun frowned and said unhappily, "Zhang Changzong is extremely arrogant. He did not agree to let me mediate at all. When I returned, I told your son the result. He was greatly disappointed and left in a hurry. Why did he not report back to Mr. Du? "
Du Jingting said shamefully, "My son did not return to Fan Chuan yesterday. This old man only heard from the steward that Royal Prince had come forward to mediate, but Zhang Changzong did not give you any face. This old man drove here early this morning to apologize to the Royal Prince. As for my son, I have yet to see him. "
Wu Chongxun thought for a moment and said, "This matter was caused by him. Your son must be afraid of being reprimanded by Old Mister, so he doesn't dare to meet him."
Du Jingting also thought so. He reckoned that after that unfilial son got the news that Zhang Changzong wasn't willing to let go, he ran off to some gentle village in Ping Kang Square to drown his sorrows in alcohol. But could Zhang Changzong's matter be avoided? This child didn't know what was important and didn't take responsibility for his actions. This time, Du Jingting was really disappointed.
Wu Chongxun said, "Old Mister need not be troubled over this matter. After I came back, I discussed this matter carefully with An Le. Speaking of which, when I and my wife arrived in Chang 'an, Old Mister lent us his mansion and treated us warmly. Later, he helped us hold a banquet in the Aquamarine Palace. He was very sincere.
In the end, the Aquamarine Palace caught on fire. Because it was difficult to ascertain who was responsible, the Du family suffered a great loss. This prince didn't say it, but I understand. Now that Zhang Changzong is so aggressive, it's admittedly because Young Master Du said the wrong thing, but does he really think that this prince can't see through his intentions? Mister Du, you can take this mansion and use it … "
Du Jingting had come because of this difficult matter, so he was both surprised and delighted to hear this. However, he still had to decline verbally and hurriedly said, "But … it won't look good on the Royal Prince."
Wu Chongxun smiled faintly and said, "Is this prince's face not as good as the Du family's kindness to me? Don't worry, this prince will remember this debt on Zhang Changzong and definitely won't become hostile to the Du family because of this. "
Du Jingting hurriedly rose and bowed deeply to Wu Chongxun. He said, "This matter was caused by my son. Since the Royal Prince is so magnanimous, this old man is truly ashamed."
Wu Chongxun laughed and raised a hand. "There's no need for the Old Sir to be so polite. In that case, Old Sir should start preparing. This prince and An Le will leave immediately."
Du Jingting said uneasily, "It's still early in the morning. Has the Royal Prince already found a place to move? Will you have time to move?"
Wu Chongxun said, "The luggage can be moved slowly. This prince can't be bothered to see Zhang Changzong's swaggering face and will leave first. Speaking of which, this prince has long intended to stay with An Le at the Hot Spring Palace (later known as the Clear Flower Pool) for a few days. This is a good opportunity to take a walk there. "
Du Jingting said gratefully, "In that case, this old man will respectfully send the Royal Prince off. When the Royal Prince returns, this old man will still be responsible for this residence. This old man will definitely find a more spacious and luxurious mansion for the Royal Prince to stay in."
Wu Chongxun smiled. "Good! I heard that Old Sir Du's sixtieth birthday is in half a month. During this time, this prince and An Le will stay at the Hot Spring Palace. Doesn't Zhang Changzong want to see our Wu and Du families fall out? At that time, this prince and An Le will personally go to Fan Chuan to celebrate Old Sir Du's birthday! "
Du Jingting's heart was filled with excitement. He bowed to the ground and did not say a word of thanks. Everything was said without words.
… …
Today was the day the Du family would publicly apologize. Zhang Changzong was so excited that he woke up early in the morning. In the beginning, he had indeed wanted to wash away the stain on his name, but now, he had discovered that he could make use of this matter to weaken the Wu family's influence and strengthen the Second Zhang's power in Chang 'an.
If the local power in Chang 'an was said to be a local snake, then the Du family was the head of this local snake. If the Du family was unwilling to submit to him, he could use this matter to ferociously attack them. By attacking the Du family, he could intimidate the local power in Chang' an and get more people to attach themselves to him.
If the Du family was pressured and agreed to hold a banquet in Anyi Square, then it would be a slap in Wu Chongxun's face and cause the Wu and Du families to fall out. At the same time, this was tantamount to announcing to the world that in this confrontation, the Zhang family was suppressing the Wu family! Wu Chongxun was not an ordinary Wu family descendant. He was the Crown Prince of Liang and the eldest son of Wu Sansi, who had the highest status and the greatest power in the Wu family. The significance of this was even greater than suppressing the Du family to submit.
This was a plan that killed two birds with one stone. No matter which side you looked at it from, it was a hundred benefits and no harm to the Zhang family. Zhang Changzong could not help but feel proud of himself. He suddenly realized that the power struggle in the officialdom was nothing more than this. He had already grasped the knack of it and could swim freely in the officialdom.
Zhang Changzong woke up in the morning and first washed off the cosmetic ointment he had applied to his face the night before. After eating breakfast and dressing neatly, he sent someone to invite Shanghai Wan'er. Shanghai Wan'er was also a victim of the rumors and naturally had the right to seek justice from the Zhang family. However, Shanghai Wan'er politely refused and said that everything would be handled by Zhang Changzong.
Zhang Changzong already knew that Shanghai Wan'er would do this. As a woman, it was naturally not suitable for her to appear in public in this kind of situation. Shanghai Wan'er did not go, so Zhang Changzong went to invite Yang Fan. This time, he did not send someone to invite him. Zhang Changzong personally rushed over. When he arrived, he did not allow any explanation and pulled Yang Fan away.
Zhang Changzong did this. He said that he wanted to find a witness, but in fact, he wanted to pull Yang Fan into the water. Yang Fan was someone he had always strived to win over. If Yang Fan accompanied him today, it would give others the feeling that between the Wu family and the second Zhang family, Yang Fan was closer to the Zhang family. This would force Yang Fan to have no choice but to lean towards him.
The more Zhang Changzong thought about it, the more pleased he became. He realized that he was already a very brilliant strategist. This made him feel as if he was floating in the air when he boarded the carriage. This feeling of contentment lasted until they left the island in the middle of the lake and walked to the end of the long causeway that led to the island.
There were two rows of large locust trees at the entrance of the long causeway. Because there were only two aristocratic villas on the Long Qing Pond, and the surrounding mansions had just begun to be built, this area was very deserted. When Zhang Changzong's honor guard walked to the intersection, someone suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and then the entire convoy stopped.
Surprised, Zhang Changzong poked his head out of the window and saw that the troops had already stopped. The guards had surrounded his carriage and pulled out their swords one by one. Zhang Changzong quickly retracted his head, but he immediately realized that it didn't seem like he was being attacked. Moreover, the guards had already formed a tight defense, so there wouldn't be any danger.
Zhang Changzong poked his head out again and looked in the direction that the crowd was looking at. He could not help but cry out in surprise. He found that there was a person hanging from the branches of the old locust tree on the roadside. That person had long hair and was wearing a blood-stained robe. His feet were hanging in the air and his body swayed gently with the breeze.
Yang Fan quickly got out of the carriage and ordered the guards to untie the person hanging from the tree.
Zhang Changzong's guards did not move from the carriage. Ren Wei jumped up and waved his sword in the air, cutting off the belt tied to the tree branch. There were another two guards below who accurately caught the person falling from the tree. As soon as the hanging person was caught in their hands, they knew that this person could not be saved because his body was already stiff.
Yang Fan walked over under the protection of several guards. Ren Wei brushed away the long hair covering the person's face. Yang Fan leaned over to take a look and could not help but gasp. Zhang Changzong leaned out the window and raised his voice, "Erlang, can the person who hanged himself be saved? If it can't be saved, just ignore it. Go to the front and inform Bōshō to report to the authorities. We still have to hurry. "
Yang Fan walked to the side of his carriage and said with a solemn expression, "Liulang, I'm afraid we don't need to go to Anyi Lane."
Zhang Changzong asked curiously, "Why is that?"
Yang Fan said, "Because... the person who hanged himself is Du Wentian."
"What?"
Zhang Changzong was shocked. He quickly got out of the carriage and parted the crowd to see the corpse.
The corpse was indeed Du Wentian. The white robe on his body was already mottled with blood. Ren Wei carefully examined the corpse. Du Wentian's body was badly mutilated. His eyes were smashed, his tongue was cut off, and even his crotch was gouged into a bloody hole. He had become a dead eunuch through and through.
Seeing such cruel means, Zhang Changzong's face turned pale with fright. He cried out involuntarily, "How could this be? Who is so vicious?"
Yang Fan looked at him sympathetically and did not speak.
Zhang Changzong slowly calmed down. He suddenly understood that his trouble had come.
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