Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 536 Yiyi
When Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying returned to the presence of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince hand in hand, Hua Qi glanced at Ah Liu who was coming around from somewhere else with a calm expression as if he had just arrived. He was too lazy to expose the boy who had just sneaked over to eavesdrop, and at the same time, in order to warn others against approaching and eavesdropping, he walked forward with a smile.
With his hearing ability, he naturally heard everything the two of them said just now. Of course, he also knew that neither Zhu Ying nor Zhang Shou cared about him eavesdropping, otherwise they would not have whispered to each other on Wansui Mountain. Therefore, he did not pretend to know nothing at this time, but said directly: "From the tone of Mr. Shou's words just now, are you planning to follow the eldest son and get married in November?"
"Well, if we wait any longer, we might end up with more trouble." Zhang Shou laughed. Seeing the three princes and the four princes staring at him, he said with a smile, "Why, Zheng Rong, Zheng Rong, do you two object?"
"No, no!" The third prince quickly shook his head like a rattle. He hesitated and was too embarrassed to say it out loud, but the fourth prince rushed to ask: "But didn't the teacher say that we should get married after Sister Yingying's elder brother? Sister Yingying's elder brother is not engaged yet!"
Zhu Ying was immediately annoyed when she found out that her eldest brother's marriage was so difficult that even the children knew about it. She flicked the fourth prince's head. Seeing him staring at her aggrievedly, she said unhappily, "Be careful, my eldest brother will find out that you two dare to chew his tongue. You will be in trouble! Just wait for the wedding in November!"
The Third Prince was not as impulsive as the Fourth Prince. Seeing that his foolish Fourth Brother was still asking further questions, he quickly pulled him behind him, then nodded sincerely and said, "Brother Zhu is both civil and military, and has made outstanding contributions. He will definitely marry a virtuous wife, just like the teacher married Sister Yingying!"
Seeing Zhu Ying's smile and Zhang Shou's good mood, the Third Prince carefully asked Zhang Shou about the foreign history lecture in the Imperial Academy. Zhang Shou didn't expect that he just said it casually, but the Third Prince remembered it. He immediately sighed that he couldn't make wishes to children casually, and coughed immediately.
"Once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back. As long as the emperor permits, this matter will naturally go ahead. However, based on what I said before, someone may soon say that I am talking nonsense. If I talk about it again in the future, there may be more things that are very different from our country, which may violate taboos. So I have to ask for the emperor's permission."
As soon as the words fell, the fourth prince rushed to say, "Don't you just need the emperor's consent? Teacher, please leave it to me and my third brother, we will go and ask together, it will definitely work! The emperor has always said that you are a talent, and that Sister Yingying has a good eye!"
This flattery finally hit the spot that made Zhu Ying so happy. She smiled with great joy, and saw that the Third Prince was dragged away by the Fourth Prince before he could say anything, and Hua Qi disappeared quietly after a group of guards hurriedly followed him. She couldn't help but say with some annoyance: "Uncle Hua is always elusive, even in the palace."
That's because he is nominally a member of your family, but actually a member of the emperor... Wait, in the future, he will actually be nominally a member of his family! With this realization, Zhang Shou thought about the trouble of having such an elusive person in his family, and then thought about the fact that the little guys in his family seemed to be getting better and better in training, so he couldn't complain.
Seeing that Ah Liu was leaning against a tree not far away without making any sense of presence, Zhang Shou simply waved for someone to come over, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone: "Ah Liu, Yingying will definitely bring some people as a dowry in the future, but you will still be in charge of the family."
At this point, he smiled and said to Zhu Ying: "Yingying, today I want to introduce you again. This is Zhang Garden's housekeeper, Ah Liu."
"Huh?" Zhu Ying couldn't help but widen her eyes. She came and went in Zhang Garden, and not only could she call out the names of everyone she met, but she also knew everyone's personality, but she had almost never paid attention to who the housekeeper of Zhang Garden was. She walked briskly around Ah Liu, and seeing that the boy was trying to maintain a calm expression, she immediately burst out laughing.
"Ah Liu is actually the housekeeper... Oh, it's so suitable!" Seeing that Ah Liu was a little nervous at first, and then a little proud appeared in his eyes after hearing what she said, she took a step back, touched her smooth chin and said, "You have prestige and powerful martial arts, you really should be the housekeeper! Well, Zhu Hongyue will come with me as a dowry, and they will all be under your charge!"
This sentence determined the fate of Zhu Hong and the others. She then said thoughtfully, "Grandmother said that we should let Mother Li come with me to take care of the family for a while, and we can ask her to help Mother in the inner courtyard. Father originally wanted me to hire a housekeeper, but since Ah Liu is here, there's no need for that, so that we don't have to think about fighting for power all day long! I asked Mother to pick a few honest and tough ones to be the housekeepers, so that we don't have to worry about being beaten..."
Zhang Shou was almost amused by Zhu Ying: "Yingying, don't make it sound like Liu is going to fight over anything!"
"Of course they deserve to be beaten if they are not good. Some people don't learn their lesson! Don't look at my house. I don't know how many people I cleaned up last time!"
At this point, Zhu Ying's eyes sparkled as she said, "Ah Shou, I plan to recruit all those noble children from the capital who went to Rongshui Village to study under you. What do you think? Zhang Chen and his men can now run their own business. It's too early to use the people from your Jiuzhang Hall. It would be a pity to leave these people with different family backgrounds in Banshan Hall."
Seeing Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, she smiled and said, "Anyway, you recruited them for me in the first place, so why don't I recruit them for real now? Just do your job well, and leave everything else to me!"
This was the first time Zhang Shou had seen Zhu Ying so proactive. He felt her high morale, and he didn't know that Zhu Ying had already started to change her mindset, transforming herself from the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao's mansion into the future mistress of Zhang Garden.
It is impossible to say that he was not touched at all, but if he encouraged Zhu Ying, he was afraid that the young lady would be too excited and something might happen. But if he poured cold water on Zhu Ying, he would be too heartless.
Therefore, he could only glance at Ah Liu and said, "Ah Liu, remember this from now on. Listen to Yingying in everything."
Ah Liu nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, I will listen to the eldest lady in everything." He paused and added, "Murder and arson are also OK."
Zhang Shou was almost choked to death by Ah Liu's matter-of-fact tone, but he didn't expect Zhu Ying to smile and say, "I feel relieved with what you said, Ah Liu. I know right from wrong, good from evil very clearly. Good people must live long, and evil must be eradicated. People like you are most needed, but Uncle Hua never listened to me before! Come, let me tell you..."
Seeing Zhu Ying waving at Ah Liu, Ah Liu immediately stepped forward obediently, and then the two of them immediately went to the side to whisper, leaving him alone. Zhang Shou could not help but be speechless for a while. But as soon as he took a step forward, he saw Zhu Ying looking up alertly.
"A Shou, don't come over here. You are a gentleman of integrity and brightness. You'd better not listen to these conspiracies and tricks!"
Zhang Shou was amused by Zhu Ying's tone, but he didn't expect that Ah Liu would cough and say seriously, "Don't worry about it, Master. Leave those secret things to me. I can't do other things, but I am good at killing people and setting fires."
If you say this, people will think you are a bandit or a lone killer, right? He laughed unhappily, but he still walked up to Liu and rubbed his head hard. Then he looked at Zhu Ying with a stern face and said, "Yingying, is this the first day you met me? I have cheated many people before!"
"But Ah Shou, you give people the impression of being a gentleman with extraordinary grace, a handsome and elegant gentleman who never gets involved in schemes and intrigues. I am doing this to protect your image." Zhu Ying winked playfully until Zhang Shou glared at her. Then she quickly gave in and said, "Okay, then you listen and don't say anything. I'll come up with the ideas, and Ah Liu will do the work. Just pretend you didn't hear anything!"
Zhang Shou listened helplessly as Zhu Ying counted on her fingers to calculate the meager income from the rocking chair to Liu, calculated what those young nobles with family background but no help were suitable for, calculated which industries in the capital had potential but weak background to get involved in, calculated the monthly expenses in the future... and even calculated the money needed to raise a child in the future. He finally laughed.
If those who ridiculed Zhu Ying for her gaudy appearance saw how calculative this girl is now, would they gloat over her misfortune and think that it was because of her that she fell in love with a poor country boy who was raised by his father-in-law?
At the same time, the emperor was sitting in the Qianqing Palace, but when his two young sons rushed in one after another and said what Zhang Shou had said before after paying their respects, he was stunned. He wanted to control it a little, but who knew that the fourth prince would immediately run behind him and pinch his shoulders in a flattering manner.
"Father, if the teacher talks about the events of the past dynasties, the old men in the court and the old gentlemen outside might make irresponsible remarks, but since it is about foreign events, it shouldn't matter, right?"
The fourth prince said this and used some strength, hoping that this would make his father feel comfortable, and then he would get what he wanted. But the third prince, who was standing in front of the emperor, had a very strange look on his face, because he saw that although the fourth prince was kneading very hard, the emperor's face did not move at all, as if the strength of the fourth prince's kneading his shoulders was just a tickle.
Unable to tell whether his father was happy or angry, the honest Third Prince could only whisper, "Father, if that doesn't work, let the teacher explain it to a small group of people. People say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. From ancient times to the present, whenever those history books talk about foreign countries, they are all strange legends. They don't seem like real people or real events. They are really not as good as what the teacher said..."
The more the emperor listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. Don't you know that Zhang Shou's good lectures are also based on the huge foreign database of the Military Equipment Bureau? However, it is already difficult to find the right things in the numerous foreign historical materials of the Military Equipment Bureau, and even more difficult are the details revealed in Zhang Shou's lectures.
If Zhang Shou grew up in the countryside without any famous teachers, he would learn everything on his own. He would not believe anything they said! But Ge Yong still swore that he was giving Zhang Shou regular correspondence lessons - he would secretly send him a letter every month to teach him and answer his questions, insisting that he was a real teacher. He would be a fool if he could not see Ge Yong's intention to protect him.
Zhang Shou must have had a teacher who had traveled overseas, had a broad vision, and had learned foreign mathematical systems!
Although he thought so, he found that the fourth prince behind him was still trying hard despite his lack of strength, and the third prince was already stuttering, but was still racking his brains to persuade him to agree. The emperor suddenly couldn't help but sighed: "Today, Zhang Shou and Yingying took the two of you to Wansui Mountain. When I sent people to follow you from a distance to report the situation, do you know what I was thinking?"
"I was thinking, Zhang Shou and Yingying don't look much older than you, but the way you walk together, you look like young parents and a young son." Noticing that the Fourth Prince's hands behind him stopped suddenly, and the Third Prince's face was filled with astonishment, the Emperor laughed and patted the armrest, trying to dispel the embarrassment caused by his own wrong words.
"From ancient times to the present, there has probably never been a teacher as young as Zhang Shou, so his lessons are naturally different from those of the old masters. But I can't be biased because of him. The Imperial Lecture is about to start anyway, so let's just do it this way. I will send someone to inform Zhang Shou to give a good lecture on foreign history at the Imperial Lecture. You two can come and listen, how about that?"
The third and fourth princes were both immersed in the strange statement that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying looked like their parents. They were naturally a little dazed at this time, and even nodded sluggishly like a chicken pecking at rice. It was not until the emperor told them to leave first that the two brothers woke up almost at the same time.
The fourth prince looked at me and rushed from behind the emperor to the third prince, saying with a smile on his face, "Father, do you really agree?"
"Well, I agree." The emperor nodded listlessly. Seeing that the two brothers immediately forgot their recent shock, they happily bowed and thanked him, and then left together. He even saw the Third Prince scolding the Fourth Prince as he walked, while the Fourth Prince shook his head nonchalantly. He couldn't help but feel envious of his innocent and happy look.
"It's great..." He exhaled lightly, his voice suddenly becoming very light, "I used to be so carefree, because at that time, even if the sky fell, I still had my father and my mother. But then the sky really fell..."
Liu Feng , who was standing by, didn't even dare to say a word. He absolutely didn't dare to answer such a taboo topic. Fortunately, the emperor obviously didn't intend to let him answer. He smiled and walked out. He was only slightly stunned and gestured to several eunuchs and palace servants to follow him, but he stayed in the Qianqing Palace wisely.
Anyway, he is the manager of Qianqing Palace. Going out with the emperor is just courtesy, not duty!
Soon he learned that the emperor had gone to the Empress Dowager's Qingning Palace, and was immediately shocked. It should be noted that the emperor had been at odds with the Empress Dowager for a long time since the Empress Dowager was deposed. Except for greeting her in the morning and evening, he would never go to Qingning Palace for no other reason. The current situation was very abnormal.
Liu Feng's premonition had indeed come true. As soon as the emperor entered Qingning Palace, he ordered all the palace servants, including Yuquan, to leave. Only when he and the empress dowager were left did he ask calmly, "Mother, there is one thing I don't understand. Emperor Taizu lost his trace overseas and his life or death is unknown. Emperor Taizong searched for him in many places overseas. Why did there be no news later?"
