Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 534: Autumn Viewing and Encountering Naughty Kids
Zhang Shou prepared for the lecture for several nights, and spent the rest of the day either in classes or tutoring. He felt that these were the most diligent days of his life - after all, even when he had classes at both Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall before, he only casually talked about some very basic history and mathematics in Banshan Hall, and just left it to Lu Sanlang in Jiuzhang Hall.
However, the next day, a rare day off, he had planned to sleep until he woke up naturally, but his biological clock played tricks on him and he woke up early. He had to stay in bed for a while before getting up to wash up and have breakfast. When he went to see Wu, he got a hint from his foster mother to ask Zhu Ying to go out and enjoy the autumn. He was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
But before he could decide where to go to enjoy the autumn - is there any good place in Beijing with red leaves all over the mountain and can be visited in one day, he directly asked Miss Zhu to come. The excited Zhu Ying smiled and said to him as soon as she saw him: "A Shou, come with me to Wansui Mountain to enjoy the red leaves today?"
“…”
If emoticons were available, Zhang Shou believed he could type a bunch of them. In later times, if people said that they were going to Jingshan Mountain to enjoy the autumn, it would be unoriginal and uncreative. But in this era, there were only a handful of people who had been to Wansui Mountain. And he could actually go there again ? Even if he felt that the emperor seemed to be okay with him, he was not so narcissistic as to think that he was special.
Therefore, he couldn't help but stare at Zhu Ying with a strange expression, and asked cautiously: "Just the two of us?"
Ah Liu couldn't help but smile when he heard this conversation. But the next moment, Zhu Ying's answer was beyond his expectation. After all, he thought that Zhu Ying, who always had a clear distinction between love and hate, should have admitted it directly.
"I wanted to, too, but unfortunately I can't this time!" Zhu Ying didn't know there was someone eavesdropping at the door. She snorted and said in annoyance, "The emperor specially sent someone to take you to Wansui Mountain to enjoy the red leaves. That's where Grandpa Taizu specially ordered people to collect trees with red leaves in autumn and plant them there... If I had to guess, would the emperor want you to tutor the fourth prince alone?"
Is this still possible? Zhang Shou simply found it incredible. He asked the Third Prince to go back and teach the Fourth Prince himself, so as to enhance the relationship between the two brothers and cultivate their independence. However, the Third Prince seemed to be struggling, so he relented and said that the Fourth Prince could come to Zhang Garden or the Duke of Zhao's mansion and ask him for advice alone. But now the situation...
Could it be that the emperor was planning to hire him as a tutor? How could he be so free? It was a rare day off, so how could he exploit his labor like this!
Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of resistance, Zhu Ying had no choice but to cough and say, "Just go into the palace and take a look. Maybe it's not for the Fourth Prince, but for your lectures and future lectures. Climbing Wanshou Mountain can at least relax you. If the emperor really makes any unreasonable requests, I will refuse them for you! I've already told him last time!"
Haha, probably besides the Empress Dowager, you are the only one in this world who dares to speak so highly of the Emperor to his face!
Zhang Shou could only think of a happy ending, thinking that this could be regarded as completing Wu's task of inviting Zhu Ying to enjoy the autumn together, so he could only reluctantly agree, but took Zhu Ying to talk to Wu first. As a result, Wu's reaction was surprisingly pleasant and surprised, and she kept saying that I originally asked you to enjoy the autumn, and now is just the right time, and almost drove them to the second gate in person.
Although Zhu Ying had sensed Wu's utilitarian thoughts, she didn't care at all. Wu hoped that Zhang Shou would be successful, but she also tried her best to find various opportunities for her and Zhang Shou. Where can you find such a mother-in-law? So, she happily went out with Zhang Shou. Seeing people looking at the sedan chair in surprise, she coughed and said, "It's better to be low-key when entering the palace this way."
Miss, you have used your grandmother's usual sedan, and you call this a low-key sedan with two horses in front and behind. Do you believe that there will be a lot of eyes following us, and once they find out that we have entered Bei'anmen, the news will spread to all the well-informed people at the speed of light, and then spread to all the officials' homes?
Zhang Shou felt both amused and annoyed, but when he saw Zhu Ying's obviously guilty expression, he knew that she must have understood this and was just lying, so he shook his head and stepped on the special stirrups to get on the sedan. When the sedan was firmly secured and the horse carrying it was moving steadily forward, he remembered the feeling of sedan sickness he had when he took the sedan last time he entered the palace, and he couldn't help but be a little absent-minded.
Then, he saw a hand swaying gently in front of him. When he looked up, he saw Zhu Ying's face close at hand, as if he could kiss her as long as he leaned over. Although he had already kissed her before, he couldn't help but stare at the rippling eyes that seemed to be able to speak, and then he raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Yingying, I'm sorry that our good days have been delayed again and again. But your eldest brother has found a partner. Now look at the people around you, it seems that only Zhang Chen is still single."
"Really!" Zhu Ying then moved back, two suspicious blushes on her face. Naturally, she would not admit that she wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to him to make up for the regret of not daring to get too close to him after the kiss that was like a dragonfly touching the water on her last birthday. She looked around with her eyes wandering, trying to lower the temperature on her face, until her hand was held by Zhang Shou, and she suddenly woke up.
She glanced at him angrily, and then hurriedly continued Zhang Shou's topic: "Zhang Chen must marry a beautiful woman, but how many beautiful daughters are there in the capital? Even if you don't choose from a good family background, you can't find more than ten of them. What's more, it's difficult for a woman from a small family to deal with the interpersonal relationships of an official family, and Zhang Chen and Yongping have been at odds with each other since they were young, otherwise it would be much easier!"
After worrying about Princess Yongping, she complained again: "Don't think Zhang Chen is talking lightly now. Even if there is really a stunning beauty standing in front of him, he still wants to find fault with her personality... This guy can only find a heartless person who can stand his temper!"
Hearing Zhu Ying's complaint, Zhang Shou said thoughtfully: "I think that with Zhang Chen's temper, maybe it would be interesting for him to marry a foreign beauty who doesn't speak the same language as him."
Zhu Ying immediately looked at Zhang Shou as if he were a monster, and then shouted angrily: "Ah Shou, you are more imaginative than me, aren't you afraid that Duke Qin will be so angry that he will come to your house to fight! He is now the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. If he gets angry, even Ah Liu will be in trouble. Be careful, your family will have trouble buying rice and vegetables!"
"Isn't that just talk?" Zhang Shou raised his hands in surrender, but he was joking in his heart, wondering how long Zhang Chen's determination to marry a beautiful woman could last. It is said that the maids around him were all beautiful women selected by Madam Qin, but he still felt that this was not enough, and he wanted a wife who was more beautiful than any other woman... How long would it take for Zhang Chen to have a beautiful wife?
While they were chatting, the sedan chair had already reached Bei'an Gate. Since it was the lady's sedan chair, and after the curtain was raised, they saw Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying sitting inside, the guards guarding Bei'an Gate naturally made way immediately.
After watching them go in, some people started to whisper, but it wasn't because Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were riding in the same sedan chair. The elders of the Duke of Zhao's mansion didn't care, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor didn't care either. Who would gossip about it? They were curious about Zhang Shou's entry into the palace again. How many times had he come recently? What did the Emperor want him to do this time?
The sedan chair could still move freely outside the imperial palace, so when Zhang Shou got off the sedan chair, he was already at the foot of Wansui Mountain. Having climbed the mountain once before, he thought of the different feeling he had when he looked down at the palace from Wansui Mountain last time, but then he thought of the incident of Emperor Chongzhen hanging himself on Coal Hill. When he heard Zhu Ying asking him to climb the mountain together, he pushed the thought out of his mind.
Climbing a mountain in this cool and refreshing autumn season is a very pleasant thing, especially with a beautiful woman by your side, speaking sweetly to you, that feeling is even more pleasant. But as long as he thought that this was a mountain that belonged exclusively to the emperor, he could not help but think of something wrong - but then he realized that even the concubines in the outer imperial city were unlikely to come out casually. At this moment, he heard two exclamations one after another.
"teacher!"
Zhang Shou looked up and saw the Third Prince running towards him happily, while the Fourth Prince, who had just called out, stopped hesitantly after taking two steps ahead. He instinctively looked around for the Emperor, and when he found that he was nowhere to be found, he habitually touched the Third Prince's head and then went to meet the Fourth Prince.
"What's the matter, Zheng Yan? After you came to take classes once or twice, you can't come to Jiuzhang Hall anymore. So you don't like me as a teacher?"
The Fourth Prince did not expect Zhang Shou to speak to him in such a relaxed and casual tone. He was slightly startled and then said in a muffled voice, "Didn't you ask Sister Yingying to tell Father that I have been taking classes at Jiuzhang Hall? I am not as smart as my Third Brother. I can't keep up. You don't have to worry about me insisting on going to Jiuzhang Hall again!"
Seeing that the Fourth Prince had turned around while talking, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh at this awkward child. When he walked behind the man, he suddenly squatted down, crossed his hands under the man's armpits, and then suddenly lifted the man up. This sudden move scared the Fourth Prince so much that he screamed, and even the guards who were watching from afar hurriedly appeared, but were hurriedly waved away by the Third Prince.
Of course Zhang Shou didn't have the strength to hold up such a naughty child, so he put him down after scaring him for a while. Seeing that the fourth prince ran behind the third prince with lingering fear after landing and glared at him, he clapped his hands gently.
"I still remember that when you two brothers first came to Banshan Hall to introduce yourselves, you said that one of you was good at painting and the other was good at playing chess. I asked you, do you still paint and play chess now?"
In response to such a strange question, the Third Prince nodded vigorously without even thinking, indicating that he was still painting, while the Fourth Prince said with a depressed look: "My homework is so difficult, how can I have time to play chess!"
"Are you willing to give up something you like just because the lessons are difficult?" Zhang Shou smiled and touched the fourth prince's head. Seeing that he kept silent, he continued to speak slowly, "Besides, do you think you really like mathematics, or do you like the lessons I taught you before?"
Seeing the Fourth Prince's expression gradually changing, he stepped back a few steps and said with a slight smile: "From the looks of you, you must like my lectures. Then why didn't you go when I was giving a lecture in the Imperial Academy yesterday?"
"Of course I went!" The fourth prince blurted out a sentence instinctively. When he found that the third prince turned around and stared at him in surprise, he realized that he had been fooled. He was immediately embarrassed and angry, and said directly, "I just like to listen to you talk about the events of the past dynasties in a relaxed and interesting tone. It's much better than those old gentlemen!"
"What I said is just my own understanding, and some things are bound to be wrong. Those old gentlemen's words are just like reading from a book, but what they read is what all the scholars in the world agree with, so you need to verify both. You can't believe everything I say, and you can't believe everything they say. You have to know that the most important thing about reading is to question, do you understand?"
Zhang Shou casually changed the principle that science requires questioning and instilled it into the Fourth Prince. Seeing that the little guy was stunned by what he said and nodded after a moment's hesitation, he smiled again.
"Well, you boasted before that you would be admitted to Jiuzhangtang again in the future, and then skip a grade to be in the same class with your third brother. What do you think now? Are you still willing to continue?"
The Fourth Prince's face, which had just cleared up, suddenly darkened again. Zhu Ying, who was standing by, was extremely anxious. She had finally managed to coax the Fourth Prince into changing his mind, so why was Zhang Shou bringing up something else now?
Seeing that the Fourth Prince bit his lip and kept silent this time, and for the first time ever, he did not insist on continuing to take the Jiuzhangtang exam, while the Third Prince stared at the Fourth Prince with a particularly expectant look, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "Everyone has something he is good at. For example, Lu Sanlang, asking him to take the Jinshi exam is absolutely nonsense. And asking Zhang Chen to learn mathematics is also asking too much."
"Fourth Prince, you have a very good foundation. As long as you consolidate your foundation, you may be able to pass the Jiuzhang Hall exam next year. However, it is unlikely that you can catch up with your third brother. In fact, if you like my history lectures, I can give lectures on foreign history every now and then in the Imperial College, just like I did before. Your third brother is under a lot of academic pressure in Jiuzhang Hall. Let him do his homework, and he won't have time to listen!"
Hearing that the Third Prince couldn't listen but he could, the Fourth Prince smiled in surprise and joy. But when he saw that the Third Prince was also full of joy, and it was clear that he was happy for him, he felt a little dirty. Especially when he thought about how he was still bold and confident when Ah Liu carried him back to Jiuzhang Hall, and now he was backing down, he felt extremely conflicted.
But, he really didn't like mathematics that much, he just liked being with his third brother, he just liked Zhang Shou's unconventional teaching style... He actually didn't like the blackboards that were covered with notes, and he didn't like wiping the blackboard even more!
Thinking of this, the fourth prince took a deep breath and said firmly: "Teacher, next year...next year I will take the Jiuzhang Hall exam. After all, this is what I promised in public. If I pass, I will study hard, but if I fail, I will not take the exam! However, if you really give a lecture on foreign history in the Imperial Academy, I will definitely go and listen!"
Zhang Shou saw the Third Prince rushing over and hugging the Fourth Prince tightly. The two brothers looked so happy and harmonious. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He didn't even notice when Zhu Ying gently grabbed his hand. It was not until he heard Zhu Ying's praise that he turned his head and smiled at her.
When the emperor, who had sent his two sons to Wansui Mountain to meet Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying while he himself was in the Qianqing Palace, finally received the news, he couldn't help but sigh softly, with mixed feelings. Why did he feel that Zhang Shou knew how to be a father better than him?
