Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 522: Heart-piercing and heart-warming, a bolt from the blue
Your Majesty, how childish you are! You are so naive to punish my father Shou because you are afraid of trouble. According to what you said, one of my father and Shou must be unlucky, right? If Yu Huai, the military official, did not notice my father's case and smoothly issued the decree, wouldn't others accuse him of using improper means to seek the position of Minister of War?
Moreover, what does it mean that the matter of the escort ship at sea was attacked, and Zhang Shou couldn't escape it? Zhang Shou had only directly told Hua Siye and Cao Wu about this matter. Once the news leaked out, others would not doubt you as the emperor, and Hua Siye and Cao Wu would be blamed? Although she was not familiar with these two people, she didn't want to laugh at them like this. How deceiving must you be as an emperor!
Even though Zhu Ying always had unusual ideas and was considered the younger generation who got along best with the emperor, at this moment he could not help but get so angry that he almost stormed out.
However, the emperor got there before her and with a look, he made Liu Feng dismiss all the other palace maids and eunuchs. Then he whispered about how the Fourth Prince went to the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial Academy to take classes, but ended up being tormented by Zhang Shou and almost cried out of grievance.
Zhu Ying was really annoyed this time: "Why, it turns out that the emperor is worried about the fourth prince, so he wants to make trouble for Ah Shou?"
"How is it possible? Am I such an unreasonable father?" When the emperor saw Zhu Ying's expression, he coughed twice in embarrassment and changed his tone to a more earnest one. "If Zhang Shou really wanted to discipline Si Lang, let alone let him clean the blackboard, even if he picked up a ruler and gave him a good beating, I wouldn't mind!"
"But I am afraid that Zhang Shou is afraid of trouble, so I just want to dampen Si Lang's arrogance. If Si Lang is so angry that he can't stay in Jiuzhang Hall and comes back, he can save Jiuzhang Hall the trouble of having two princes?" When saying this, the emperor was like a father who was worried about his children. "Everyone wants to be a prince's teacher, and want to be the future emperor's teacher, but Zhang Shou is afraid of trouble!"
Zhu Ying was speechless. The situation outside was so turbulent, but it turned out that the emperor, a biased father, wanted to cause trouble for Zhang Shou, who was afraid of trouble? Why was this so confusing?
She stared at the emperor whom she had regarded as a half-father since she was a child with both anger and amusement - because the emperor was really incomparable to the serious and solemn Zhu Jing - and almost poked her finger into his nose in anger like some of the autocratic ministers in the past .
"Even if Ah Shou is afraid of trouble, he is a very competent teacher. Even if the Fourth Prince just went there to take classes, he would not deliberately make things difficult for him. Your Majesty, since you know about that little incident in the classroom, don't you know that after the Third Prince helped, Ah Shou said that people would take turns to help the Fourth Prince in the future? If the Fourth Prince really felt wronged, why did he go to Jiuzhang Hall these days?"
"A Shou told me before that the Third Prince is becoming more and more outgoing and assertive, but the Fourth Prince's impulsive character needs to be tempered. Use small setbacks to make him reflect on himself. Otherwise, if he seems to be making great progress and everyone indulges him for your sake, he will easily fall apart if he really encounters a big setback in the future!"
At this point, Zhu Ying mercilessly extended her palm and slammed it on the table in front of the emperor. "Besides, what's wrong with Ah Shou being afraid of trouble? Does it hinder him from doing his job? Or did he fail to do the things that Your Majesty forced him to do? It's not good for someone who is not in the position to do things. Is it better for him to be so dedicated to his job? Is it better for him to be the kind of person who wants more while having his own way?"
The emperor was speechless after hearing what Zhu Ying said. He thought that he was used to seeing ambitious people rushing forward, and when he saw Zhang Shou's indifference and lack of ambition, and his contentment with his own little piece of land, he felt annoyed. After all, Zhang Shou was only seventeen, not seventy!
Seeing that the emperor had nothing to say, Zhu Ying snorted and said, "But Ah Shou said that he had already taught those superficial historical lectures in Banshan Hall. Now that the Third and Fourth Princes are in Jiuzhang Hall, he will only teach them the arithmetic and nothing else. And the Fourth Prince didn't pass the Jiuzhang Hall exam after all. Instead of coming to the class every day, it's better to use a better method."
This time, the emperor immediately found an opportunity to change the embarrassing topic and asked with a forced smile, "What's the solution?"
"A Shou said that he is the only one who teaches the first and second graders in Jiuzhang Hall. When the second graders come back, the first graders will need someone to take their place sooner or later. He has already said that he will promote the students to teach themselves, starting with the third prince. After all, Lu Sanlang doesn't have that much time, so sooner or later he will have to teach them one by one."
"In that case, Ah Shou said that since the Third Prince will be the first to go into battle sooner or later, why not let him start by teaching the Fourth Prince."
"Uh..." The emperor immediately showed a surprised expression. Let the third prince teach the fourth prince? In his memory, when the two brothers were together, the fourth prince was always the loudest, while the third prince always just smiled shyly and listened. Now, the shy elder brother was teaching the impulsive and noisy younger brother. Would this...
Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows and said, "They are brothers who grew up together. They will be separated in the future. Instead of the emperor being soft-hearted and letting them go to class together now, why not let the fourth prince learn something else in the morning, and when he comes back in the afternoon, use all the time to teach him. Ah Shou said that he will help the third prince prepare the lecture notes. Why not let the third prince give it a try?"
He clearly wanted to make things difficult for Zhang Shou by taking advantage of the two things he had already made up his mind about, but now Zhang Shou had used Zhu Ying to turn the tables on him. The emperor suddenly felt like he had shot himself in the foot.
But the more he thought about it, the more he felt that such an arrangement was more suitable for the current situation. Not to mention that no matter how good the relationship between the two brothers was, they would be separated in the future due to different circumstances. In order to temper them, they should try according to Zhang Shou's suggestion.
Therefore, he was in an extremely complicated and subtle mood for a long time before he said in a deep voice: "Then let's wait and see."
Zhu Ying then said with a half-smile, "If that's the case, Your Majesty, how do you plan to resolve this matter about my father that you brought up?"
"What do you mean by how to solve it?" The emperor pretended to be confused. Seeing Zhu Ying's face suddenly lengthened, he pressed the desk with both hands and approached fiercely. He quickly said seriously, "I was just joking with you just now. Yingying, please don't get me wrong. I originally wanted your father to be the Minister of War, and I definitely didn't use him as a shield!"
Zhu Ying was really stunned this time. She stared at the emperor in disbelief and said suspiciously, "Are you really not kidding me?"
"Of course not!" The emperor looked at Zhu Ying with an extremely frank look, "Not only your father, I upgraded Cangzhou before, and also upgraded Daxing County and Wanping County. I also wanted to raise the Nancheng Bingmasi, which is in charge of the outer city, to the fourth rank and hand it over to your eldest brother. I also asked Zhang Shou, but unfortunately this kid is cunning."
"Anyway, go back and ask your elder brother whether he plans to be unemployed, or to go to the Sharp Cavalry Camp to get a title, or whether he is willing to go to the South City Military Department. I know that ordinary people, after making great military achievements, will inevitably feel that the South City Military Department is a waste of talent when they see the trivial and complicated mess, but I know your elder brother's personality..."
"Alright, alright, Your Majesty, please stop saying nice things."
Zhu Ying finally couldn't help but interrupt the emperor. If she was the one who made the emperor's head confused at the beginning, now it was her turn to be dizzy because of what the emperor said.
She looked at the emperor with some resentment, and finally said sullenly: "My father and my elder brother have been through life and death together, and now you won't let them have day off! The same goes for Ah Shou, he's not idle either!"
Facing such a girl who had been pampered by himself, the empress dowager and Zhu Jing's family since childhood, the emperor wanted to say that officials are not afraid of being busy, but they are afraid of being idle. However, when the words came to his lips, they finally turned into a chuckle.
His Yingying was not stupid, she would know these things, but compared to the wealth and splendor she had been accustomed to since childhood, she preferred to be with her family and the people she loved. Since her father, brother and Zhang Shou were all busy, she would undoubtedly feel lonely.
So the emperor suddenly stood up and walked forward, just like he was doing to the little girl who was as cute as a pink ball in his childhood, and suddenly stretched out his finger and poked her between the eyebrows. Seeing that Zhu Ying was stunned at first, and then she ran away on tiptoe, and then glared at him angrily, he blew on his finger and smiled at the girl.
"Okay, go back and tell them what's going on! You're so young, what do you want to do when you're free? I wish I could ride a horse and wield a sword every day to travel around the world and leave this kingdom to my son, but I haven't found a suitable heir yet, have I?"
Liu Feng, who was standing by, was terrified when he heard this and wished he had just followed the others and left. After all, the topic of heirs was the most sensitive topic in the world, no doubt about it.
And then, he soon heard Zhu Ying say something that almost scared him to death: "Your Majesty, stop talking nonsense. Even if you want to be the Supreme Emperor, the Queen Mother doesn't want to be the Grand Empress Dowager!"
Zhu Ying didn't even notice that Liu Feng was almost paralyzed by her rebellious words. She raised her eyebrows and said in a light voice, "I've heard from the Queen Mother that you've been erratic since you were a child and it's hard for you to sit still. You've sacrificed a lot to be the emperor. But since you've sacrificed so much, how can you just unload the burden and throw it to others?"
"There is no one in the world more suitable to be the emperor than you, Your Majesty. Just give up on this idea and focus on state affairs!"
Zhu Ying made a face, then bowed casually, and left on her own. Liu Feng observed the emperor's expression from the side, and could neither stop nor chase him, so he could only watch him leave the door. He waited for a long time in fear, and then he heard the emperor's laughter.
"Haha, it's no wonder that I favor this girl so much. Her sincere words are both heart-wrenching and heart-warming."
The emperor sighed and clicked his tongue repeatedly, but at this moment, he heard Zhu Ying's exclamation from outside, and then she seemed to be arguing with someone.
Just when he was confused and about to ask, Zhu Ying's voice seemed to disappear from the room, and there was a commotion instead. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately asked loudly, "What happened?"
After his voice had been heard for a long time, someone at the door replied, "Your Majesty, I just received news that Duke Qin's garden in Haidian, the Qin Garden, seems to have been visited by a thief. It is said that the thief did not steal anything, so he set fire to it and burned the precious colored cotton that Duke Qin's eldest son Zhang Chen was going to present to Your Majesty."
The words "Colored Cotton Auspiciousness" were widely circulated in the streets and alleys of the capital, but the emperor was busy with all kinds of affairs and had no time to listen to all the rumors. He had not left the palace in the past few days, so this was the first time he heard the words "Colored Cotton". He frowned and immediately called someone in.
The person who came was a young eunuch beside Chu Kuan, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department. After paying his respects, he said in a vivid voice, "Your Majesty, the incident happened last night. I heard that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu encountered pirates on their way back to the capital with General Mingwei, so they sent someone to report to Zhang Chen, the eldest son of the Duke of Qin. Zhang Chen was afraid that he would be targeted by the thieves again, so he pretended to repair the plank road and secretly crossed Chencang..."
While the disciple of the eunuch Chu Kuan was telling the emperor a story, Zhang Chen, who had received the news earlier, had already rushed to the Qin Garden in Haidian where his family spent the summer. When he saw the chaos everywhere, he shouted angrily: "Who is so stupid as to make the whole city know that there was a thief in Qin Garden? Aren't you afraid that I haven't lost face enough?"
The Qin Garden manager ran out from inside, his face covered in dust and dirt, with some traces of smoke and fire on his face. He carefully moved forward a few steps and was about to salute, but Zhang Chen kicked him directly. He was caught off guard by the kick and immediately fell heavily to the ground, but he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction, as if he was afraid that the eldest son with the worst temper would whip him directly.
"Master, I never thought that a young master from the Xiangyang Earl family would be staying in the garden next door. When he found out about the fire, he started shouting everywhere. As a result, many people came to put out the fire. I guess that's how the news leaked out!"
"Damn it, damn it!"
Zhang Chen was so angry that he could only say the word "damn it". He turned around and raised his hand in front of the steward as if he wanted to hit him, but in the end he just clenched his fist and shouted angrily: "What a good thing you did, how can I explain it to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu later! I had promised them that we would openly repair the plank road and secretly cross Chencang, but what happened is that it turned out to be burning down Chencang!"
When Zhang Chen angrily left Qinyuan's steward behind and rushed straight through the gate, he almost fainted from anger at the burnt black place when he saw the storeroom where he stored the important things. He wanted to go in to take a look, but was stopped by several servants, saying that the fire was not small, and although it had been put out, it was very likely that the beams and pillars were damaged, and it would be troublesome if it collapsed.
So, he could only stand in the yard, suppressing his anger and questioning everyone. However, he did not get anything out of everyone, not even one person saw the suspicious person. Just when he was furious, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu also arrived. When they saw the charred house, their reactions were completely different.
Zhang Wu was just dumbfounded, and Zhang Lu...his expression was as if he had lost his parents!
