Chapter 43 Protecting One's Own

"Fine, I'll also have another portion of the braised mutton and duck eggs from old Sun's shop in Guanglu Lane, and by the way, order a few servings of the refreshing side dishes from old Zhao's shop in Wuben Lane." Zhang Qian had no idea what had happened the previous night. Hearing that the other party insisted on treating him to breakfast, his inner foodie nature immediately took over, and he decisively cast aside his confusion and worries to order dishes according to his own preferences.

"Alright, noted! Please wait a moment, Junior Monitor, I'll send someone to buy them right away!" The official dressed as a military staff officer agreed heartily, stood up, and headed out. Before leaving, the look he cast toward Junior Mayor Xin Ti was filled with profound sympathy.

Having presided over cases for so many years, this was the first time he had encountered such a thick-skinned foodie, and the Jingzhao Prefecture's Junior Mayor was so depressed he felt like scratching the walls. However, the invitation to treat him to a meal had come out of his own mouth, so he could not immediately renege on his word.

Therefore, no matter how depressed he felt inside, he could only maintain a smiling face and sigh softly, "I never expected Junior Monitor Zhang to be even more familiar with the eateries inside Chang'an City than I am. Though I have served as an official in Chang'an for many years, if you hadn't brought it up today, I would have no idea that Guanglu Lane even sold braised mutton!"

"It must have opened quite recently! With the Junior Mayor so busy with official duties, it's no wonder you didn't notice. Unlike me, who basically has nothing to do from morning till night, so I put all my effort into satisfying my palate!" Zhang Qian smiled, a trace of nostalgia suddenly flashing in his eyes.

In Xi'an from another time and space, the varieties of delicious food were far more numerous than in present-day Chang'an, and the flavors were infinitely superior. It was just a pity that when he was a student back then, he didn't have much spare money in his pockets, so facing all that fine food, most of the time he could only swallow his saliva in secret.

And now, he did have spare money, but the culinary arts had only managed to produce a limited number of varieties, and the cooking skill level was still quite primitive, barely managing to achieve "pure ingredients."

As for the Junior Mayor Xin Ti, who had previously dropped the two distinct place names "White Horse Temple" and "Qujiang Pond" without managing to probe any sufficient emotional fluctuation from his face, he was feeling quite reluctant to give up. Suddenly noticing that Zhang Qian's gaze seemed to be reminiscing about something, Xin Ti quickly pressed the advantage, "There is nothing wrong with satisfying your palate. In this life, besides serving the imperial court, what else is there besides food and clothing? Is the Junior Monitor thinking of other delicacies? Just name them, my treat, consider it an apology for disturbing you so early in the morning."

"You can't buy them!" Vaguely sensing that Xin Ti was fishing for information, Zhang Qian felt a wave of annoyance and simply chose to tell the truth bluntly, "You definitely can't buy them. I want to eat braised beef shank. Preferably from a yellow ox that has never worked, the hind leg's small shank. After it's braised, sliced with a knife so you can see the transparent patterns!"

In another time and space, braised beef was definitely a mass-market food, and you could buy a portion online for less than forty yuan. However, at this moment, it made Xin Ti's chest feel constricted and sparks of anger dance in his eyes.

"This—this truly is nowhere to be bought. Where did the Junior Monitor eat this before? Could you introduce it, so Xin might go and taste something rare another day?"

"Nowhere. Then can I have a portion of stewed beef tongue, will that do?" Knowing full well that the other party couldn't produce it, Zhang Qian continued to ask with a smile.

"Nowhere either, the Junior Monitor makes a joke of me." Xin Ti endured and endured, offering a stiff, awkward salute with cupped hands.

***

The Great Tang prohibited the slaughter of draft cattle, and even in the black market, beef was not a common commodity. If it occasionally appeared, it would be snapped up instantly, and unless one specifically assigned household servants to keep a close watch, it simply could not be bought.

Of course, this ban certainly did not apply to the households of dukes and ministers. The problem was that while aristocratic families slaughtered the cattle in their homes under various pretexts, they would never bring the meat out to sell, let alone turn such precious ingredients into ordinary street-side side dishes.

"If there's no beef, horse intestines will do as well. Air-dried horse intestines have a very rich flavor!" Intentionally refusing to let Xin Ti retain the initiative in the conversation, and upholding the spirit of angering people to death without paying for it, Zhang Qian continued to rattle off common delicacies from twenty-first-century Xi'an one by one, "Otherwise, beef tendons are fine, or dried camel meat."

"You can't buy it, you definitely can't buy it. The Junior Monitor is joking; horses and camels are the travelers' reliance for journeys. Although the court doesn't forbid killing them, who would have the heart to make them into dishes!" Having made such a cheerful promise earlier, Xin Ti was now unable to satisfy even a single request. Red-faced with shame and anger, he repeatedly saluted with cupped hands.

"Zhang usually likes practicing martial arts; if I can't even eat meat, it's going to be tough!" This was precisely the effect Zhang Qian wanted. While shaking his head with a look of regret, he "reluctantly" lowered his standards, "How about you help me get a copper hot pot? My steward must still be waiting outside; let him go back and help fetch it, and bring back some mutton by the way. We can muddle through breakfast like this, but for the evening meal, we surely can't just brush it off casually!"

He had been muddle-headedly brought into the Jingzhao Prefecture offices, and someone needed to promptly inform Ren Chong and Guo Nu of the news so that his two junior martial brothers could figure out what kind of trouble he had gotten into and devise countermeasures.

The person best suited to deliver the message right now was none other than the steward Ren Quan. As long as this man returned to the estate under the pretext of fetching the hot pot, he would naturally have plenty of opportunities and methods to contact Guo Nu and Ren Chong. Consequently, the news known to the two of them could be promptly relayed back to Zhang Qian, the person involved.

Pity that this stratagem, in the eyes of Xin Ti, didn't even amount to children playing with mud. The latter instantly saw through Zhang Qian's true intent, slammed the table hard, and stood up abruptly. "Zhang Yongzhao, do not go too far! Xin treats you with polite words only because you once rendered meritorious service to the nation. If you continue to make trouble unreasonably, don't blame Xin for being impolite!"

"Weren't you the one who told me to order whatever I wanted to eat?" Zhang Qian spread his hands, looking deeply aggrieved. "Why are you blaming me now?"

"I..." Xin Ti was so angry that fire was shooting from his eyes, yet he could not deny that Zhang Qian's grievance was entirely justified. Gritting his teeth again and again, he asked in a deep voice, "The Junior Monitor likes practicing martial arts, is that right? I wonder what weapons you usually use? Xin also likes practicing and hopes to have the opportunity in the future for the Junior Monitor to offer some guidance."

"I use my bare hands, no weapons. It's mainly to get the blood flowing and prevent stagnation, so I don't grow old before my time!" Zhang Qian thought for a moment and continued to answer truthfully, "Recently, I've been learning to use the golden melon hammers from someone, but I've just started and haven't mastered the basics yet."

These were facts that countless people had witnessed on a daily basis. Even if he didn't mention them, if the other party took the trouble to investigate thoroughly, it would undoubtedly be a simple matter. Therefore, in Zhang Qian's view, there was nothing to hide.

However, upon hearing the three words "golden melon hammers," Jingzhao Prefecture's Junior Mayor Xin Ti immediately acted as though he had struck gold. Outwardly, however, he remained calm. "Golden melon hammers? I wonder what shape and size they are, and how much they weigh? Since the Junior Monitor is robustly built, with a hammer in hand, you must be invincible wherever you go!"

***

"The handle is about this long, with a gourd-shaped hammer head on top. They weigh about four or five catties in total! I've just started learning and am not skilled with them yet. It's already good enough that I can keep them from flying out of my hands—being invincible is still a long way off!" Zhang Qian smiled, shaking his head modestly.

"Oh, so you've just started learning." A wave of wild elation surged within Xin Ti's heart, though he kept his expression completely neutral. "I wonder who the Junior Monitor's master is? When you practice the hammers normally, do you have junior and senior martial brothers by your side to spar with you?"

"No, I haven't taken a master. I have a neighbor over at my estate whose father used to serve in the military. Seeing that he was skilled with the golden melon hammers, he made him an instructor at my estate, and along the way, I picked up a few moves from him. He teaches very earnestly, but my aptitude for martial arts can only be considered average!" Unlike the Song Dynasty, which favored civil officials over military ones, many civil officials in the Great Tang possessed exceptional martial skills. Therefore, Zhang Qian did not think there was anything improper about seeking martial arts guidance from others. Smiling, he continued to give his answer in a soft voice.

This answer fell rather short of the target Xin Ti was pursuing. Unable to contain his impatience any longer, Xin Ti furrowed his brows and asked sternly, "You only picked up a few moves along the way? The Junior Monitor must not be overly modest. I have heard it said that your martial arts are formidable, and with a hammer in hand, no one within ten steps can withstand you."

"Who said that? That's sheer nonsense!" Zhang Qian immediately grew vigilant and retorted with a frown, "I've only been learning for a few days in total! Besides, I'm afraid I won't be able to control my strength, so I don't even dare to spar with others using the golden melon hammers under normal circumstances..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door of the room was suddenly kicked open with a loud *bang*. Immediately following that, Zhang Shuo, the Director of the Directorate of Military Weapons, strode in with large, forceful steps.

Ignoring Junior Mayor Xin Ti's reaction entirely, Zhang Shuo glared angrily at Zhang Qian. "I've been searching everywhere for you since early morning, and yet you've run off here to chat and socialize? Zhang Yongzhao, do you still regard me, the Director, as your superior? Get your ass back to work! If the dragon-carts fall short of the required number by the end of the month, see how I deal with you!"

"Such majestic authority from the Imperial Censor?" Despite Zhang Shuo holding a higher official rank than Zhang Qian, Jingzhao Prefecture's Junior Mayor Xin Ti's attitude toward him was far less "courteous" than it had been toward Zhang Qian earlier. Xin Ti immediately stepped forward, going tit-for-tat with him. "With a casual flick of your tongue telling him to 'get back to work,' you think you can just take a 'prime suspect' away from the Jingzhao Prefecture? So many people met violent deaths last night, and he possesses formidable martial arts and harbored grudges against the deceased..."

"Step aside!" Zhang Shuo reached out an arm and shoved Xin Ti three feet away. "One hundred dragon-carts were commissioned by His Majesty himself. If the Directorate of Military Weapons fails to produce them, will you take responsibility?! Besides, his home is outside the city. No matter how good his martial arts are, could he quietly spirit dozens of retainers to charge into the city without anyone noticing? Do you take the Imperial Guards for mere decorations, or do you think the Hundred Cavalry Bureau raises a bunch of deaf and blind men?"

Having said that, he simply took two more steps forward, grabbed Zhang Qian's wrist himself, and turned to leave. "You are truly a fool. Having served as an official for so long, you haven't even figured out who has jurisdiction over you! When they came to arrest you, you should have just obediently followed along! If the Jingzhao Prefecture offices had such vast authority, what need would there be for the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate? Get back and work in peace. If you fail to complete the task assigned by His Majesty by the end of the month, watch your skin!"

***