Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 546: Little Boy with Big Shrewdness
The emperor and his entourage were led by Xiao Huasheng to visit the workshop openly, while the Fourth Prince, who was brought in by Hua Qi on his back, secretly visited the underground workshop under the guidance of Zhang Garden's number one coach.
Because Zhang Shou knew that this "master" who was even more elusive than Ah Liu could not be prevented at all, he simply opened all places to people. Therefore, although many people in Zhang Garden had never set foot in this underground workshop, Hua Qi had been there many times. At this time, even if he brought a child like the Fourth Prince with him, none of the craftsmen who were working said anything.
Everyone remembered what Zhang Shou said when he personally brought Hua Qi here: "This is Master Hua Qi, and he taught Ah Liu. Remember his face, and don't panic if someone like this suddenly appears around you. He has made great contributions with Duke Zhao, and even the emperor admires him."
In the actual experience that followed, they had to thank Zhang Shou for his advance reminder, because it was really scary that such a living person suddenly appeared beside them without anyone noticing and suddenly asked them very strange questions!
However, at this time, the craftsmen were calm about Hua Qi who brought the child to visit, but Hua Qi himself felt the headache that the craftsmen had when they saw him in the past. Because at this moment, the Fourth Prince tightly grasped the corner of his clothes and asked all kinds of strange questions. Even though he had said long ago that he didn't understand, he still couldn't resist the little guy's love of asking!
If the emperor hadn't suddenly decided to call Mr. Song and Fang Qing together, there would be no need for him to take care of this troublesome little prince !
Although he resented the emperor's thinking, Hua Qi also knew that the emperor's sudden visit to Zhang Shou's workshop was only partly for the craftsmen, the various machines and the things being made, and more for the purpose of broadening the Fourth Prince's horizons. Although the Fourth Prince was suddenly thrown to him, he couldn't abandon such a curious baby.
Therefore, even though he felt helpless and impatient, he could only stay by her side.
Fortunately, the Fourth Prince soon discovered that Uncle Hua Qi, who was "forced to be snatched from the Duke of Zhao's mansion as a guard" by his father, was good at martial arts, but in a place like a workshop, no matter how high the martial arts were, they would not be able to play a role. If it were the Third Prince, he might have given up the idea of asking for the truth at this time, and would just take a quick look and try to persuade Zhang Shou to take him to see it in person next time. But he was different.
The fourth prince looked around with his eyes rolling. When he saw a group of craftsmen working hard and not paying attention to him, there was an old craftsman with a mature face and a beard who looked quite experienced. He kept looking at him, as if he was curious. He suddenly ran over with his short legs, and when he got in front of the craftsman, he even tugged at the corner of his clothes.
Seeing people looking down at him in astonishment, he whispered, "Uncle, can you show me around here? There are a lot of things I don't understand."
The old craftsman stared at the Third Prince for a long time, and finally said with a complicated expression: "Young Master, I am only twenty-nine this year."
The fourth prince's eyes widened immediately, his face full of disbelief. The old craftsman in front of him looked much older than his father, but he was only 29 years old? Fortunately, he reacted very quickly, and immediately let go of his hand, stepped back and bowed deeply, saying: "I'm sorry, I'm shortsighted. Uncle, can you take me around here to have a look? My seventh uncle Hua doesn't really understand these things."
The "old" craftsman's expression eased a little when he heard the word "uncle". Seeing that the Fourth Prince was wearing bright clothes but still spoke politely, and was holding the corner of his dirty clothes without disdain, he coughed and nodded, really dropped the work at hand, and led the Fourth Prince on the way.
Of course, this was largely due to his relationship with Hua Qi. He had not seen Ah Liu's power with his own eyes, but some of the other craftsmen happened to witness Ah Liu beating up an unknown person who had sneaked into Zhang Garden. Until now, no one knew whether that guy was sent to Daxing County Government or Shuntian Prefecture Government, or simply sunk into a lake in the capital.
But the Fourth Prince didn't know that the craftsman was so patient and meticulous with him because of Hua Qifang. Although he was sometimes a naughty child, when he really pretended to be well-behaved and careful, he was indeed well-behaved and careful enough. Moreover, in order to avoid walking too fast and catching up with his father's group, he kept looking forward as he walked, and kept his voice very low.
But as he was walking and asking, he suddenly heard the craftsman beside him ask, "Young Master, do you know the three people that Peanut brought just now?"
"I know him... well, I can also say I don't know him." The Fourth Prince changed his words very quickly, and then whispered, "Uncle, please keep it a secret for me. I pestered Uncle Hua Qi behind me, so I was able to come here and see for myself! Dr. Zhang is my teacher. How can a student never enter a teacher's workshop?"
The craftsman was relieved. He had said that how could a child brought in by Ah Liu's master, Mr. Hua Qi, be a child from an ordinary family? The students of the owner, Dr. Zhang, were so young, so it was most likely one of the two. It seemed that he was right to put down his work and come to curry favor with them.
He had been dealing with the Fourth Prince with great care, and naturally became even more attentive and enthusiastic at this moment. The Fourth Prince immediately noticed this change in mood.
So, he who had just been asking about the machines and the strange things now asked curiously: "Uncle, if you are not very old, why do you have such a wrinkled beard, making you look old?"
Being asked such a heart-wrenching question, the craftsman froze for a moment. After a long while, he said unnaturally, "Young Master, you are joking. I am just too busy to take care of my beard. I will take good care of it in the future and will never make you feel old enough to call me an old man. By the way, young master, have you seen this? This is a water-powered grinder..."
The fourth prince did not even wait for the craftsman to finish his words, he pressed on: "Uncle, you said you were busy, but when I asked you to take me around, you agreed so readily? You are such a good person! I heard that everyone in the teacher's workshop has their own tasks and is very busy. Do you have a problem that you can't solve, so you took me around to change your mood?"
The uncle craftsman was almost exhausted by the Fourth Prince's questions, but the Fourth Prince had already answered his own questions, so he could only laugh it off and continue the conversation even if he had to.
"Young Master, you're right. I just couldn't find a clue for a while, and it just so happened that you came to me, so..."
The Fourth Prince, who had just been asking questions all over the place with a warm and friendly attitude, just like a good boy next door, suddenly took a few steps back. When he realized who he had bumped into, he hurriedly looked back and found that it was Hua Qi who had been following them. He suddenly dodged behind Hua Qi with a sense of relief.
"Uncle Hua Qi, this guy is very suspicious!" The Fourth Prince seemed not to notice the surprised face of the craftsman across from him, and shouted, "Everyone is working hard, but he is the only one looking around; when an outsider like me begged him to lead the way, he agreed immediately, and I didn't even have a chance to tell him who I was; he kept coming up to others to look at what they were making along the way!"
The more he spoke, the more serious his expression became. Looking at the man opposite him, it was as if he was excited about finding a suspicious person. "Besides, he can't explain the principles of many things, unlike Guan Qiu just now who was very knowledgeable. Most of the craftsmen were also indifferent to him. It must be because he is not very capable, so he is not well received..."
When Hua Qi heard the Fourth Prince's confident analysis behind him, and saw the pale face of the bearded craftsman "uncle", he chuckled and looked around.
Seeing those craftsmen who were originally peeking out to watch the fun immediately lowered their heads after meeting his gaze, he walked forward leisurely with his hands behind his back, but he did not immediately drag them out as the Fourth Prince imagined. Instead, when passing by them, he said slowly: "Cleverness can backfire. Next time you flatter someone, remember to look at the person clearly."
"Yes, yes, yes." The young craftsman "uncle" was almost crying. At this time, he hurriedly bowed and kowtowed in response. Then, he did not dare to look at the Fourth Prince who was staring at him, and quickly returned to his previous position.
Seeing that the people had left, Hua Qi glanced down at the dumbfounded Fourth Prince, then took his hand and continued to walk forward. Seeing that they had left the area where the craftsmen had gathered and entered a corridor leading to another area, he said : "Does the Fourth Prince know where he went wrong?"
"I don't know." The fourth prince snorted angrily, his face full of dissatisfaction, "There must be something wrong with this guy!"
"Well, you have a good eye. You have found out the person your father planted here." Hua Qi teased with a smile, and found that the little guy next to him immediately fell silent. He lowered his head and saw that the Fourth Prince had his mouth wide open, and then his face became completely sad.
Finally, the Fourth Prince did not ask the stupid question of why his father wanted to place people here. He did not say anything more and just led the way.
When they arrived at another workshop, although the Fourth Prince hung his head, he was still young and soon attracted the attention of the various spinning wheels and looms, and became active again. However, Hua Qi saw that the little guy forgot that the emperor was still in front of him and ran around like a monkey to watch the fun, so he didn't say anything until the Fourth Prince suddenly bumped into someone head-on.
Fang Qing, who had just followed the emperor, suddenly appeared in front of the Fourth Prince. After the Fourth Prince stumbled back a few steps, Fang Qing could not help but shout out, "Fourth Prince?"
Oops... The Fourth Prince had never expected that Fang Qing would actually come back. If he had been somewhat disgusted with this guy because he had ridiculed his Third Brother before, then he was furious when this guy rashly pointed out his identity.
Seeing that the craftsmen he had just spoken to were staring at him in astonishment, and the looks from the surroundings were obviously very strange, as if people were struggling with how to treat him, a prince, he had to quickly make amends: "I just came here with Uncle Hua Qi today, I have no other intentions, don't bother with me, just treat me as an ordinary idler!"
As he spoke, he bowed like a little adult and said, "I've heard from teachers before that labor is the most glorious. Today, I saw everyone busy, and I want to say that everyone has worked hard!"
Even Hua Qi couldn't help but marvel at the Fourth Prince's quick-witted words. At such a young age, he knew how to comfort the craftsmen. Was it because of the Emperor's teaching, or was it because the Fourth Prince was talented? At least he was much smarter than the young man in front of him!
Fang Qing, who had just realized that he had said something wrong again, turned pale and blue on his face, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. It was because the Fourth Prince had left such a deep impression on him that he couldn't help but blurt out the words, even though he had held back when he saw the Emperor before!
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a cough behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Xiao Huasheng who came back with Guan Qiu, Song Juren, and the emperor. He suddenly didn't know how to make amends.
At this moment, if the Fourth Prince rushed over and shouted "Father", everyone in the workshop would probably know that the Emperor was coming! If someone with ulterior motives sneaked in, how could they stop him? Moreover, it was said that the little peanut next to Zhang Shou was from Cangzhou, and he was related to the rioters who held the First Prince hostage...
With his mind blank, Fang Qing turned around to face the emperor again, but he didn't know what to say. At this time, he only saw the emperor smiled at him, and then suddenly waved. Just when he thought the emperor was calling him and was a little hesitant, he heard footsteps beside him, and when he looked again, it was the fourth prince who ran over.
"Have you seen enough?" The emperor asked with a pun. Seeing the fourth prince nodding quickly like a chick pecking at rice, he said lightly, "I really appreciate this place." Seeing Guan Qiu was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something and widened his eyes, he smiled slightly and said, "What I appreciate is your dexterous hands and smart minds. As for etiquette, that is not important."
Seeing Guan Qiu hurriedly bowing and saluting, the emperor glanced at Fang Qing who looked at a loss, and suddenly said: "Since you are a student of Yue Shanzhang of Zhaoming Academy, don't hang around with this bastard Song. Study hard and pass the exam next year. If you fail, go with Zhang Chen and Zhu Er to have a look and hone your skills. And by the way, keep your mouth shut."
After teaching Fang Qing a lesson, he glanced at Mr. Song and said, "Song Hunzi, you should stop selling sweet soup all day. Whether it's the final of the imperial chef selection or the imperial examination, you must at least pass one for me, otherwise I will have you escorted to the Guangzhou Guild Hall and let your uncle discipline you!"
The emperor shocked Song Juren and Fang Qing with just a few words, and they both said yes. Then he glanced at Peanut and said, "You said before that you seemed to have seen me somewhere. Do you think I look like the eldest prince's evildoer? Don't worry, he won't have the chance to harm anyone again."
The fourth prince saw the emperor walk out after saying this, so he quickly chased after him. He tried to hold back, but in the end he couldn't help but whispered about the "uncle" craftsman, and the emperor suddenly stopped. He thought his father was going to blame him, but he didn't expect that he frowned and scolded, "Chu Kuan, you're always doing unnecessary things!"
