Feasting Through the Ming Dynasty

In the first year of the Longqing reign, the new emperor promoted Zhang Juzheng to Left Vice Minister of Personnel and concurrently appointed him Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion. With this, the illustrious Ming statesman Zhang Juzheng officially became Grand Secretary Zhang. One evening, as Zhang Juzheng was making his way home, a boy with a cooking pot strapped to his back stopped him in his tracks. “Brother-in-law!” Gu Xian, the pot-carrying boy, rubbed his hands together and launched into his performance with great feeling and expression. “I’m your long-lost younger brother-in-law! I’ve come all the way to the capital especially to see our nephew…” Zhang Juzheng: ?! Gu Xian was very pleased with his grand secretary brother-in-law’s household. The kitchen was enormous. One more cooking pot certainly wouldn’t make much difference… Mm. In return, he would do his best to fatten up his eldest nephew, who was a year older than himself, for the sake of his late sister! Eldest nephew Zhang Jingxiu: ?! That very night, Zhang Juzheng wrote in his diary: I have a younger brother-in-law from the Gu family, born in the year of my wife’s death. He is now fourteen years of age. As for this younger brother-in-law of mine… where does one even begin… — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: Feasting Through the Ming Dynasty — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠