Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 521: This is too deceptive!
A blessing in disguise.
When Zhang Shou saw off Cao Wu, who was grateful for his kindness, he was confused. The first thing that came to his mind was these eight words. But when he thought about it again, it was not him who lost the horse, but his future father-in-law. It was not him who got the horse, but Cao Wu. He instructed Cao Wu to raise funds from wealthy merchants and influence the court through them and the people behind them. As for him, did he get anything? Obviously nothing!
As for the impeachment of Duke Zhao Zhu Jing, Zhang Shou didn't think much about it at all - when the father and son went to war and brought back news of defeat, there were even rumors that people were dead, disabled, missing and all kinds of bad news. Later, when the impeachment in the court almost overwhelmed the Zhu family, the Duke Zhao's Mansion was safe and sound in the end. What's more, now that Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang are back?
That father and son could solve this little matter with just a wave of their hands, so why would he have to jump up and down and worry about it?
So, when he returned to Wu's place and saw someone trying to comfort the angry Zhu Ying, he smiled and said, "If you don't attract jealousy, you are a mediocre person. Yingying, you should be more open-minded. Others have been jealous of your father for a long time, just like others slandering your and my beauty. As the saying goes, if you hold on to the green mountains, you will never let go. Your roots are in the broken rocks. No matter how many blows you are subjected to, you will still be strong. No matter which direction the wind blows from, it will not be affected."
When Zhang Shou said that others had been jealous of Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing for a long time, Zhu Ying was still sullen and angry, but when Zhang Shou said that this was just like others slandering their beauty, Zhu Ying couldn't help but be amused. When Zhang Shou casually recited four lines of poetry, she was surprised because she had almost never heard Zhang Shou recite poetry.
She blurted out, "Ah Shou, your poem is pretty good!"
Seeing that Wu was also looking at him with surprise, Zhang Shou was just slightly stunned, then he laughed and said, "The poem is good, using bamboo to describe people. However, this poem is more like your elder brother, while I am the type who follows the winds of east, south, west and north. Tomorrow I will ask the teacher to draw two bamboos, and then write this poem on them, and give it to your elder brother as a gift. What do you think?"
Zhu Ying was finally distracted by Zhang Shou's ramblings and no longer paid attention to the poem. She couldn't help but said angrily, "Ah Shou, what nonsense are you talking about? This isn't Big Brother's birthday, nor is it a festival. Why did you ask Grandpa Ge to send him a painting? Are you trying to flatter him?"
"Yeah, I just want to curry favor with my future brother-in-law. He always seems to dislike me!"
Zhang Shou blinked his eyes seriously , and then said earnestly, "So I doubt that my father-in-law was suddenly impeached this time. Could it be that the emperor wanted to find something for your elder brother to do so that he wouldn't be alone and lazy. You know, he is a young and famous general, but he stays in the Xiao family all day to teach Xiao Cheng and Xiao Huasheng. Isn't this a waste of talent?"
"With his proficiency in both civil and military affairs, he should be fighting against heaven and earth!"
"Fight you, you big-headed ghost! Ah Shou, you are becoming more and more slick now!" Zhu Ying finally burst into laughter, and her bad mood just now finally disappeared without a trace. Moreover, she thought about it more and more, and she felt that what Zhang Shou said made sense. Finally, she nodded and said, "But you are right, this matter is indeed a bit strange. Why did the emperor let my father become the Minister of War for no reason? I will go to the palace to ask him tomorrow."
Just as she got up to leave, she stopped after taking two steps, turned around and glared at Zhang Shou unhappily: "You kept talking nonsense and I almost forgot the main thing. I have one more thing to tell you today. The emperor is going to hold a lecture."
However, after Zhu Ying's special reminder, she only saw Zhang Shou looking at her in confusion. Just when she thought Zhang Shou would ask what the imperial lecture was, she only saw Zhang Shou smiling at her.
"What does the imperial lecture have to do with me?"
If Zhu Ying didn't know exactly what kind of person Zhang Shou was, she would have been furious at these few words. She glared at Zhang Shou fiercely, and seeing that he was still looking at her innocently, she was so angry that she said, "You are a doctor of the Imperial College, and you asked me what the lecture has to do with you?"
"I can't help it. I've only been a doctor of the Imperial College for less than a year, and I've spent several months in Cangzhou. How can I know what the Imperial Lecture has to do with me?" Zhang Shou said very confidently, and then smiled and said, "Besides, everyone knows that I come from the countryside, and my weakness is all in mathematics. It's only natural that I don't know the Imperial Lecture, isn't it?"
"What you said really makes sense." Zhu Ying rolled her eyes at Zhang Shou. She didn't listen to his nonsense and explained seriously, "In the Song Dynasty, the lectures were held from February to the Dragon Boat Festival, and then from August to the Winter Solstice. When Emperor Taizu first ascended the throne, some Confucian officials also suggested this, but Grandpa Taizu was not very happy about it. He thought it was boring to just read from the book."
Although Zhang Shou had learned a lot about a certain Emperor Taizu from both official and unofficial history since arriving in the capital, and had even read this predecessor's diary which was written in pinyin and half-baked Chinese English, there were still many things he did not know.
For example, what Zhu Ying said at this time was the first time he heard it, so he naturally listened with great interest.
"Grandpa Taizu looked down on the so-called imperial lectures during the Song Dynasty, saying that Emperor Renzong was known as a wise monarch, but because he was young, the lecturers had no seats during the imperial lectures. If you don't even have the dignity of being a teacher, what's the point of lecturing on sages? Not to mention that Wang Jinggong's lectures also had no seats. They even held imperial lectures for half a year, but in fact they were just going through the motions."
"So Taizu made a rule that the imperial lectures would be held for three months each year, and could be held at any time. During these three months, lectures would be held every other day, and each lecture would last for an hour and a half. The lectures were not limited to classics and history, but could also cover miscellaneous subjects. In addition, the audience was not limited to the emperor, but the princes, brothers, and the royal family and nobles in Beijing should all line up around the emperor to listen to the lectures. Of course, this did not mean that the emperor did not need to listen to the lectures on ordinary days."
"The emperor can choose his own teacher to give lectures. There is no limit to the number of imperial teachers. But the emperor only recognizes Grandpa Ge. Grandpa Ge is old now, so he comes to the palace to give lectures to the emperor less often, but he still makes a list of books for the emperor to read, and then gives topics based on the books for the emperor to write articles."
After talking about the emperor's diligence in study, Zhu Ying began to expose the emperor's sneaky activities: "The emperor only admires Grandpa Ge, and has always had little interest in the imperial lectures. In previous years, he attended the imperial lectures, but he either listened to the lectures while making comments, or listened to the lectures while distracted, and even read books secretly."
Zhu Ying ruthlessly exposed the emperor's behavior during the imperial lectures, and then added: "When he was at the imperial lectures, he still read the legends of the market. His favorite was the legend of Grandpa Taizu, followed by Grandpa Ruizong, and then Grandpa Yingzong. Anyway, there are a lot of miscellaneous books in the boxes and shelves of his Qianqing Palace. You will know later."
No, I'd rather never know!
Zhang Shou couldn't help but take a deep breath, thinking that it was rare for the emperor to still maintain his personality, which was either eccentric or immature at such an old age. It was not easy for the empress dowager to raise such a son - and no wonder she brought up these two bastards, the eldest and second princes...
You will know after you realize what Zhu Ying meant by that. It means that he might indeed be asked to attend the imperial lecture. He then said in astonishment: "So, I might still have to attend the imperial lecture? Wait, am I going to listen or to give a lecture?" This is too deceptive!
"Of course they are going to give lectures! Otherwise, why do you think those four deans came to the capital? Just to teach the princes? Of course not. They are here to attend the imperial lectures so that they can have their achievements engraved on the stone tablet behind their own academy!" At this point, Zhu Ying glanced at Zhang Shou proudly, "Prepare well, I want to go and listen later!"
Zhang Shou had no time to ask further questions, and he only saw the young lady walk away with a smile, and there was no trace of her anger at Zhu Jing's impeachment. However, the young lady left without taking a cloud with her, but left him with a big problem that he had to think about how to solve.
Jingyan... This high-sounding term is actually related to him? Could it be that he will continue to explain history in the same way as he did in Banshan Hall? Will he be criticized to death by some people?
Or he could just make a huge blackboard and write down a bunch of formulas to make those people dizzy?
Judging from Zhu Ying's tone, it seems that he has no choice but to participate!
Zhang Shou began to have a real headache. Seeing his dilemma, Wu thought he was worried about not having anything to say at the lecture, so she comforted him and asked him to ask Ge Yong for advice. Zhang Shou was slightly stunned by this suggestion, then smiled and said, "Mother, you really gave me a good idea. I know. If I really can't think of anything to say at the lecture, I will go and ask the teacher for advice."
Seeing that her son accepted her suggestion, Mrs. Wu was immediately delighted, but the next moment, there was a knock on the door. She hurriedly called him in, and the next moment, Ah Liu pushed the door open and walked into the room with a strange expression on his face.
"My lady, Master, the eldest lady just met me on the way and asked me to pass on a few words." He hesitated for a moment, as if he was struggling with how to start the conversation. After a while, he finally spoke, "She said that she would find the best tailor to make a new official uniform for you, and she would personally match the accessories. She told you not to be careless when you attend the imperial lecture."
Zhang Shou was at a loss for words, and Wu was also surprised and asked, "Why is that? Aren't people supposed to wear casual clothes when attending the imperial lecture?"
Ah Liu coughed dryly and repeated Zhu Ying's words verbatim: "According to the old rules of Grandpa Taizu, those who attended the lectures were not only the royal family and nobles, but also princesses, princesses, and daughters of nobles. However, this has not been popular for many years, but the emperor will definitely do so this time. Therefore, the eldest lady hopes that you will dress up well and let people see your graceful demeanor."
Although he had guessed Zhu Ying's intention just now, when Ah Liu really said it, Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel that it was in line with Zhu Ying's characteristic of always loving to show off. Sure enough, Wu couldn't help but shake her head.
"Yingying is really childish... Ah Shou has been in the capital for more than a year, and everyone knows that he is good-looking, but she still wants to show off like this!"
Although she said this, the smile in her eyes could not be hidden. How could she not be willing to show off her son, who had outstanding appearance, character and talent, to her future daughter-in-law? Although Zhang Shou had been in the capital for a long time, it was true that many ladies and daughters had never seen him. After all, there was a difference between men and women. No matter how curious they were, they couldn't just take a carriage to pass by, right?
Therefore, she then said seriously: "Well, I will discuss it with her later and make sure you dress decently and solemnly, so that no one can find any flaws!"
Okay, okay, it's up to you all...
What else could Zhang Shou say? He just thought that if he really had to attend the lecture, he would not have to ask Ge Yong what to pay attention to during the lecture. He might as well just introduce and apply calculus that day and make everyone look like a mosquito-repellent.
She was not allowed to enter the palace at night, and Zhu Ying was confined by the Empress Dowager the next day and the third day. On the fourth day, she went to the palace to angrily question the Empress Dowager. Of course, she still went to Qingning Palace to talk to the Empress Dowager first - otherwise the Emperor would have to attend the morning court first, and after the morning court, he would have to work for a while. It was really not in line with the character of a young lady to go and cause trouble when others were doing their work.
Therefore, she had a snack at the Empress Dowager's place, and then entered the Qianqing Palace in the name of delivering snacks to the Emperor. However, she handed the snack plate directly to Liu Feng who came to greet her, and she went straight to the East Warm Pavilion. As soon as she entered the door, she saw the Emperor looking at her with a smile, as if he had expected her to come.
She was not in a hurry. After she stepped forward and bowed, she said with a sullen face, "Your Majesty, my father is a closed-door family, and disasters come from the sky. Why do you want him to be the Minister of War? Now a lot of people are impeaching my father for colluding with Wu Gelao. This is simply a joke. If my father had this ability, he would just be the Prime Minister!"
"Actually..." The emperor tugged at his mustache and laughed dryly, "Your father just has bad luck."
"Ah?" Zhu Ying didn't expect the emperor to give such an outrageous explanation. She was so angry that she laughed, "My father was unlucky, so he was impeached? If it weren't for your sudden inspiration, how could my father be so unlucky!"
The emperor laughed and tried to appear nonchalant . "I have ordered Lord Wu to draft two bills. One is your father's appointment, and the other is the matter of the escort ship that Zhang Shou asked you to lobby me for last time. No matter which one falls into the hands of Yu Huai, the chief clerk of the Six Departments, he will definitely be so angry that he will ignore the other one. It all depends on who is luckier, Zhang Shou or your father."
"I just didn't expect that your father, who always had good luck, would lose to Zhang Shou this time."
Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment, and then her pretty face turned red with anger. Before she could explode with rage, the emperor said earnestly: "If your father is impeached, after knowing the inside story, I will definitely call Zhang Shou over and give him a good lesson. If the matter of the escort ship at sea is attacked, Zhang Shou will not be able to escape. I must cure his fear of trouble!"
