Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 475: Just Hit You
When he heard the door slam and saw Ah Liu dragging a disheveled, disheveled young man in, Zhang Shou's first reaction was that a thief had broken into his house and was caught by Ah Liu. But when he looked again, he saw that the young man's face was pale and blue, but his clothes seemed to be dressed like a scholar, and his appearance also showed some scholarly spirit.
So, he immediately classified the person as a suspicious person, and was a little confused at the moment: "A Liu, who is this person? Why did you bring him in?"
Ah Liu glanced at the man and said in a deep voice, "He is the one who is making indirect accusations."
This nonsense might not be understood by anyone else, but Zhang Shou had long been accustomed to Ah Liu's tone of voice, which sometimes he would tell everything in detail, but sometimes he would overemphasize the key points. He understood it immediately. But when he looked at the other person, he saw him shouting angrily, "That's right, I said the wrong thing in the Imperial College, and I made a wrong assumption!"
Fang Qing really didn't expect to encounter such a thrilling scene as soon as he entered Zhang Garden. The experience of being tossed up and down like a ball really left him with a huge psychological trauma.
However, if it were someone else, he would have already become extremely weak by now. But while he was glaring at Ah Liu, he was not telling himself in his heart that a wise man should not suffer a loss in front of him, so as to avoid being tormented again. Instead, he told himself that even if this was someone else's territory, he could not win in terms of status or strength, but he still had to get revenge.
But just as he was trying to gather his strength, he heard Zhang Shou laugh and say, "Oh, you guessed wrong? What did you guess?"
It was not easy for anyone to repeat what he had said wrongly in front of the person who said it, so Fang Qing made up his mind and angrily said out his stupid speculation at the Imperial College. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately shouted: "It was my ignorance and superficiality that made me misjudge the Third Prince and Dr. Zhang, so I admit my mistake!"
He took a step back and bowed to Zhang Shou. He stood up without waiting for Zhang Shou to speak. This time he glared at Ah Liu and said, "But no matter what, you can't humiliate me like this! I should apologize to the Third Prince and Dr. Zhang, admit my mistakes and accept the punishment, but you must also apologize to me!"
Ah Liu also stared at Fang Qing for a long time before he said expressionlessly, "Okay, I apologize to you."
Fang Qing was stunned. When he first saw this cold boy, he was afraid from the bottom of his heart. After being tossed around like that, he was actually afraid. He mustered up the courage to fight like this in order to stick to his usual principles. But at this moment, Ah Liu really apologized so easily, which he obviously did not expect.
Therefore, after being stunned for a moment, he stammered, "Apologize... How can you apologize so casually!"
"You just admitted your mistake casually, didn't you?" Ah Liu replied coldly. Seeing Fang Qing was speechless, he said calmly, "You said those words in public, and I tortured you privately in Zhangyuan. So I can apologize to you in private, but you should admit your mistake to the Third Prince and the Young Master in public."
This logic... is very good and correct! As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, he can't explain his reason clearly, but today it's a scholar meeting a soldier, unreasonable against ruthless. In the end, it was almost obvious that Fang Qing, who was not in the right, ended up like this! Zhang Shou almost laughed out loud at what Ah Liu said.
Fortunately, he has been a teacher for many years now and has been able to perfectly maintain a face that does not show his emotions.
Sure enough, seeing Zhang Shou standing there with a half-smile on his face, Fang Qing tried to look at Ah Liu at first, but when he didn't blink, he couldn't stand it anymore. After a short while, he lowered his head and said with a frustrated look on his face: "Okay, I was wrong, I am willing to apologize to you in public! A real man should admit his mistakes when he made them!"
As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at Zhang Shou stubbornly, "That's right, I have always believed that noble sons come from poor families, and pampered children are raised in rich families, so when I first heard that the Third and Fourth Princes were going to take the Jiuzhang Hall exam, I felt that it was unfair to others, so I made random guesses and spoke without knowing the facts."
"Once you've said it, you can't take it back. If admitting your mistakes in public isn't enough, then just tell me what else you want me to do. I'll do whatever I can to make up for my mistakes, but..."
Fang Qing paused for a moment, then said word by word: "But, this is not because I offended you, Dr. Zhang, and the Third Prince, so I am timid and afraid of trouble. It is because I am a student of Zhaoming Academy. If I disgrace my teacher and the academy because of me, then I will never redeem myself! All the mistakes are due to my narrow-mindedness and nonsense. It has nothing to do with others!"
"Hey, can you please stop taking on everything yourself? You're talking as if people are trying to use this to investigate your teacher, the Zhaoming Academy behind you. You're just being narrow-minded, thinking that everyone else is the same kind of person?"
Just now, when Mr. Song saw Ah Liu dragging Fang Qing away, he leisurely followed behind and went outside the study to listen to the noise. When he first heard the interesting confrontation between Ah Liu and Fang Qing outside the door, he almost laughed out loud, but when he heard Fang Qing's desperate words, he could no longer hold back.
He barged in without thinking twice, and when he saw Zhang Shou even nodded to him with a smile, and Ah Liu calmly stepped aside, he immediately felt relieved, knowing that his intrusion did not cause dissatisfaction between the master and servant. Moreover, it was obvious that they did not take Fang Qing's so-called offense seriously.
So, Song Qiba, who had scolded Fang Qing in the street before, once again scolded him: "To judge others by yourself is superficial! You think your teacher is a famous person in the world, and your academy is well-known, but ask Dr. Zhang, has he heard of your Zhaoming Academy? Has he heard of your teacher Yue Bufan?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Ah Liu's indifferent voice: "I haven't heard of it."
Mr. Song suddenly became even more aggressive: "Did you hear that? They haven't even heard of it. How could they not only call for you to be killed, but also vent their anger on the teacher and the academy behind you just because you made a mistake? Who do you think you are? Even if the emperor knew about it, he would just sneer and say that it was just a young man who didn't know better!"
Seeing that Mr. Song was speaking in a serious tone, Zhang Shou finally couldn't help laughing and said, "Mr. Song, don't make me sound ignorant and indifferent. I'm not like that kid Ah Liu. I know the names of Zhaoming Academy and Principal Yue!"
Zhang Shou had already fully experienced Ah Liu's ability to assist, and was speechless at the kid's lies. He had never heard of Yue Bufan, the headmaster of Zhaoming Academy, but Ji Jiu and Lu Sanlang kept reminding him that all the people who were summoned to the capital were considered as enemies, and he didn't know that it was a strange thing.
So, seeing that Mr. Song was embarrassed by what he said, he looked at Fang Qing, whose face was livid, and said, "Mr. Song's words were too exaggerated, but he did have the honor of meeting the emperor once, so he roughly understands the emperor's temperament. The emperor is generous about what you said in front of the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College today, and even if he knew about it, he might just laugh it off. Of course, there are people who will definitely remember it."
"At that time, some people may be angry at the teacher behind you, the academy behind you, the reason is very simple, people will think that it is not you who is narrow-minded, but they have taught you to be narrow-minded. You have been in Zhaoming Academy for more than a day or two, your teacher in Zhaoming Academy can't see your problem? And if he saw it, why didn't he guide you or admonish you?"
Fang Qing was shocked and angry at once, but he didn't have the chance to refute at all, as Zhang Shou had already said something even more harsh.
"Poor families produce noble sons, and rich families produce spoiled children. That's just a common saying, not a normal phenomenon. As someone who can pass the imperial examination, haven't you ever seen a rich child who was born in a wealthy family but is extremely talented, studious, and motivated to study? Haven't you ever seen a poor child who was born in a poor family but was spoiled by his parents, so he is lazy and eats nothing but waits for death?"
"Wealth and poverty are just a layer of skin. What's important is family education and family tradition. If the family tradition is bad, the children will be useless and the family will be ruined in less than three generations. However, if the family tradition is strict, even if it is a poor family, it can raise a noble child who is determined to make progress. The rich should not be arrogant, but should the poor be arrogant? The children of rich families should give way to the children of poor families. Where is this logic from?"
Zhang Shou's words were quite serious, even Mr. Song couldn't help but secretly suck his teeth, not to mention Fang Qing. In Zhaoming Academy, which has always been famous in Guangdong for its poor and simple nature, there are very few children from rich families. Even if there are, most of them are humble and peaceful, otherwise they can't stay. Children from poor families are all sharp and strive to be the best, so he has always had a certain perception deeply rooted.
But Zhang Shou's questioning, which was like stabbing a knife into his chest, successfully broke through his defenses. Of course, the most important thing was that the Third Prince's excellent performance today and the harmonious gesture of hugging the Fourth Prince after the meeting had already shaken him unconsciously.
At this time, Ah Liu, who had just played a trick on Fang Qing, quietly left the study. Seeing Xiao Huasheng wandering in the yard outside, he stepped forward to ask what happened. Only then did he learn that Mr. Song had brought Fang Qing with him when he came back with the cart. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then he had some guesses in his mind.
That weirdo named Song seems to be a fool and a rookie sometimes, but sometimes he is quite responsible and loyal!
In the study, Fang Qing had fallen silent, while Mr. Song exaggerated how he met Fang Qing and how he asked about the cause of the incident. Zhang Shou then learned that Fang Qing had been expelled from the sect by Headmaster Yue. He was a little skeptical about the truth of the incident, but when he saw Fang Qing clenching his teeth and his eyes were slightly red, he realized that it was true.
Even if a normal person wanted to find someone to cooperate in such a self-torture plot, they would not choose such a sensitive, naive, and poor scholar who had a strong self-esteem but an even stronger inferiority complex, right? Besides, the route that Song Juren took to sell sugar water was randomly decided every day, without any prior plan or pattern to follow.
But even so, facing this poor boy who had just been expelled from his teacher's school, Zhang Shou had no intention of picking on him. He immediately smiled and said, "No wonder Mr. Song was so indignant just now. It turns out that it's because your teacher is so... strict with you, a student."
Zhang Shou seemed to have considered the word "harsh" before saying it, which naturally caused Song Juren to sneer. Fang Qing wanted to argue with reason, but now he was not even a student of Zhaoming Academy, and he knew he had no right to defend himself. He was so embarrassed that his face turned red, until Zhang Shou said something that hit him even harder.
"Okay, now that the whole story has been told, let's leave it at that. You don't have to worry about the emperor getting angry, or the third and fourth princes holding a grudge. As for the worry that someone will use this to attack your teacher or the academy, that's unnecessary. The capital has its own rules. You might as well worry about ending up on the streets instead of worrying about that."
"I have enough money. I won't starve to death!" Fang Qing felt a fire burning in his chest, but he still insisted, "Even if I fail to pass the imperial examination next year, I can still be a private tutor..."
"You wish! Not to mention who would dare to let someone like you who is not good at talking teach their children... You are still taking the imperial examination, do you have enough money? Don't think I don't know the virtues of your Zhaoming Academy. When you go out, you all rely on fellow students such as brothers and uncles to support you, or those businessmen to generously support you. In your current situation, who will support you? How many days can your money last?"
"Song Hunzi, if you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb!" Fang Qing finally exploded, "Do you think I am a rich kid like you who has no worries about food and clothing?"
As soon as he said this, he immediately realized that he had made another mistake in speaking. But what he didn't expect was that Mr. Song was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed and said nonchalantly, "My family is rich, but I have a big family! I used to rely on the monthly allowance from my family, so I didn't have to worry about food and clothing. But now my family has cut off my money, but I still won't starve to death because I have a skill!"
Zhang Shou burst into laughter. Seeing Fang Qing's face was so stiff, he added fuel to the fire, "Yes, although Young Master Song has been selling sugar water with a cart these days, he has become a little famous. Everyone knows that there is a sugar water cart in North City that appears and disappears mysteriously, and everything on it tastes delicious. I only encourage him to sell one portion, but sometimes he can sell eight or ten portions a day."
There was even an urban legend that it was a means of abducting young girls and wives, which almost made Mr. Song angry to death!
Fang Qing was so angry that he blurted out: "Even if I can't get into those rich families, and ordinary private schools don't want me, I don't believe that I, a scholar, can go to a public school to teach people to read and write, and that's not okay!"
"Of course not." Zhang Shou shook his head, looking at Fang Qing in disbelief, and said calmly, "Because if you, a person who believes that a poor family will produce a noble son and a rich family will raise a spoiled child, instill extreme ideas in those poor children, then wouldn't the foundation of the public school be distorted from the beginning?"
