Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 549: Be the First to Report the Good News
Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye thought that the two previous classes of students in Jiuzhang Hall would definitely not want to give up the title of students, but Zhang Shou, who understood the students' situation, knew that most people did not care much about what Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye considered important. Because even if the current emperor was determined to rectify the academic style of the Imperial College, the Imperial College today was no longer the Imperial College in the early years of Emperor Taizu.
When Emperor Taizu personally wrote the word "University" and hung it in front of the Imperial College, he really hoped that the Imperial College would train talents according to the standards of a comprehensive university in later generations. He also made many exceptions in the appointment of students. As for now, hehe, Jinshi often have to wait for the candidate to be assigned to an official position, and Juren can't even get a chance to be an official, let alone a mere student...
Most of the students came from the Imperial Academy. The rich kids who didn't care about fame and fortune had accomplished their mission of getting a good family background and could continue to live a carefree life. But those from ordinary or even poor families had to struggle for survival.
As a result, some people became staff members for officials, most of whom just worked as advisors to a county magistrate; some people tried their best to teach students in the homes of wealthy landlords, and had to compete with more jobless candidates; some people could only teach in private schools or clan schools, and they had to accept the scrutiny and assessment of the parents...
If it weren't for the old rule that all local official schools had to send people to the Imperial College as tribute, and if it weren't for the fact that every Imperial College chief and dean would go to great lengths to recruit a few outstanding students to serve as the Imperial College's face - for example, he heard from Zhu Ying that when Zhu Tingfang was first admitted to the academy, it was the previous chief who personally went to the Zhu family's gate and begged him to go earlier, the Imperial College would have long since fallen into decline!
Therefore, after Zhang Shou said those words to the students, he did not continue the topic, but started to explain the topic and continued teaching. When the morning class was finally over, he still kept silent about moving Jiuzhang Hall to the public school, but the third prince suddenly stood up and rushed to him.
"Teacher!" After calling out, the Third Prince hesitated for a moment, but finally asked directly, "If Jiuzhangtang moves from the Imperial Academy to the public school in the outer city, can I also go there to study with you?"
Zhang Shou looked at the Third Prince, whose face still had a childish look but a determined expression, and said with a smile, "That depends on you. If you ask me, I think Zheng Rong can go over and continue to listen to the lecture."
The third prince nodded with great joy.
The students in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally all of them thought that if the Third Prince was willing to move to the Outer City Public School, then they should go with him. After all, the atmosphere of the Imperial College was not so friendly to them. But then, the people who were whispering heard a loud shout from outside: "Third Brother!"
The Fourth Prince, who had been to Jiuzhang Hall before, was naturally familiar with everyone. Seeing the little guy rushing in, he rushed over and hugged the Third Prince without saying a word, and a lot of students were stunned. Even though they knew that the two brothers were very close on weekdays, it was the first time that they acted so oblivious in public. What happened?
The Third Prince also felt that the Fourth Prince's behavior was abnormal. He patted his Fourth Prince on the back in a panic and stammered, "Fourth Brother, what happened? Tell me anything. I can always find a solution. Don't worry, don't worry!"
The fourth prince then let go of his hand. He took two steps back, not caring that this was in the Jiuzhang Hall, where not only Zhang Shou was there, but also many other students. At this moment, his heart was full of surprise, and he took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Third brother, you are going to be the crown prince! You are going to be the crown prince of the Eastern Palace!"
At this moment, except for Zhang Shou who had heard the news from the emperor, everyone from the Third Prince to Ji Jiu and many students of Jiuzhang Hall were stunned. Especially the Third Prince, his expression was as if he had seen a ghost. After a long time, he woke up with a start, first covered the Fourth Prince's mouth, and then took his other hand to touch his forehead to test.
You don't have a fever? Why are you talking nonsense if you don't have a fever?
The fourth prince was covered by the third prince's mouth, and he touched his forehead, and he was immediately angry and anxious. He finally broke free, and then shouted angrily: "I don't have a fever, and I'm not crazy. I heard what my father said to those ministers with my own ears!"
Although he was excited and thrilled at this time, so he ran directly to Jiuzhang Hall to be the first person to report the good news, the Fourth Prince finally had some brains. He did not say what the Emperor said about the First and Second Princes, nor did he reveal the petitions and attitudes of those ministers. He just said with confidence: "Father said that Third Brother, you are a noble person, gentle and virtuous, and you are worthy of being the East Palace!"
He repeated word for word the emperor's evaluation of the third prince. Seeing that the third prince was so shocked that he was completely numb, and the students in the classroom were silent, he could not help but stretch out his hand and wave it in front of the third prince.
"Third brother, third brother, wake up, I am telling you the truth, I am definitely not lying to you, there are so many people here!" After saying this, the fourth prince saw that the third prince was still standing there motionless. He suddenly became anxious and blurted out, "If I lied to you, I will be struck by lightning... Ouch!"
Seeing the Fourth Prince suddenly scream, Zhang Shou, who had suddenly grabbed the little guy's ear, finally let go. Seeing the Fourth Prince glaring at him in anger after he realized what was happening, he just smiled calmly and said, "Swearing is not the right thing to do in this kind of place. Besides, Zheng Yan, don't you think you're being too reckless?"
"Even if you heard it with your own ears, since it has not been made public, it cannot be confirmed. Do you want to put your third brother on the fire, or put everyone in Jiuzhangtang on the fire?"
The Fourth Prince had been reprimanded by Zhang Shou before for leaking forbidden secrets, but at this moment, he stubbornly held his head high and said, "I just want to let everyone know in advance. I just want everyone to know about this. It's set in stone! Third brother is already very outstanding and capable. He is much better than my eldest and second brothers!"
He didn't even pause, and said confidently: "Besides, teacher, you are the teacher of the third brother, and they were classmates with the third brother. If you don't support the third brother, how can you support others?"
Who says that naughty kids don’t have any scheming? However, this simple and honest scheming can put those old foxes who are good at scheming to shame!
From the beginning to the end, the little guy in front of him never thought about what kind of accusations and punishments he, the person who leaked the information, might face if the matter was investigated!
Under normal circumstances, Zhang Shou would surely have taught the Fourth Prince a lot of lessons, but at this moment, seeing the fleeting figure of Ah Liu outside the Jiuzhang Hall, he finally just shook his head at the Fourth Prince. Then, without paying any attention to the Third Prince who was obviously in a state of confusion, he returned to the podium and glanced at everyone calmly.
"What Zheng Yan just said here is known to heaven and earth, and I know it and you know it. If the news is really circulated outside, then you can discuss it, but remember that Zheng Yan never said those words in public. And if there is no such news outside, you also have to remember that he never said those words in public!"
Seeing that the Third Prince was still in a daze, and now even the Fourth Prince was in a daze, Ji Jiu quickly stood up and said: "Teacher means that no matter whether those ministers have released the news, please do not leak what the Fourth Prince said in a hurry when he came to find the Third Prince, so as to prevent others from thinking that the brothers are getting carried away." At this moment, he no longer dared to call him by his name.
After Ji Jiu's explanation, a bunch of dumbfounded students finally came to their senses, realizing that Ji Jiu had actually subtly confirmed that what the Fourth Prince said was very likely true! Thinking that they had been classmates with the future Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, some were proud, some were ecstatic, and some clapped their hands in celebration... But before the huge Jiuzhang Hall could explode, Zhang Shou shouted.
"Okay, Zheng Yan's sudden appearance is already conspicuous enough. Are you going to lure everyone here?"
Seeing that everyone was silent again, he said in a deep voice: "Be calm and composed, don't lose face for Jiuzhangtang, and don't lose face for your future classmate, the crown prince. Okay, there will be no get out of class at noon today. I will ask Ah Liu to tell someone to send lunch over. You all should wake up!"
The Fourth Prince did not expect Zhang Shou to be so cautious. He was about to express his objection, but he did not expect that the Third Prince, who had been silent since the beginning, finally spoke.
"Thank you, teacher."
The fourth prince was immediately dissatisfied, but when he saw the third prince looking at him with eyes as calm as a pool of stagnant water, he panicked. He wanted to argue loudly, but the words that seemed to be justified turned into unnatural stammers.
"Third brother, I really am..."
"Stop talking." The Third Prince stepped forward and grabbed the Fourth Prince's wrist, then nodded to Zhang Shou and said, "Teacher, I'm going back to the palace. I will borrow the notes from Master Ji for the afternoon exercises and make up for it."
Seeing Zhang Shou nodding with a smile, his friendly attitude still the same as before, the Third Prince, who was trying to remain calm, felt his heart, which had been pounding so hard that it was about to jump out of his throat, gradually calm down.
He bowed his head again as a farewell gesture. When he left Jiuzhang Hall, he saw Ah Liu standing outside. When he saw them coming out, he glanced over. There was a smile in his eyes. He couldn't help but feel a little sad. Then he heard the Fourth Prince beside him shouting, "Third brother, can you let go? You're holding on too hard... Sixth brother, help me!"
Ah Liu looked at the fourth prince who lied about the military intelligence with disdain, and jumped straight onto the roof as if no one was around. Facing this scene, the fourth prince was stunned, and was dragged away by his third brother against his will.
On the way out, he did not see the guards who were supposed to chase him out, but he saw many students. In the past, when they were in Banshan Hall, although they also went in and out of the Imperial College, most people ignored them because the eldest and second princes were above them. But now, people retreated to the side of the road and saluted one after another, so that the third prince did not even have time to nod in return.
The fourth prince was even more disgusted with this kind of rude behavior. He raised his eyebrows in annoyance, but whispered to the third prince: "Third brother, why do you care about these people? They didn't take us seriously before..."
Before he could finish his complaint, he felt a strong force on his wrist, which hurt so much that he cried out repeatedly, and the Third Prince loosened his grip. Realizing that he had really angered his Third Brother today, he immediately became sad. When he finally left the Imperial College and saw Hua Qi smiling and leading... two horses waiting there, he finally woke up from his dream.
"Uncle Hua Qi, have you been following me just now?"
"Yes." Hua Qi raised his eyebrows with a smile and said lightly, "We can't let you, the Fourth Prince, run out of the palace alone, right? I have nothing to do anyway, so I will help the emperor run errands and keep an eye on your precious son, okay?"
"Then what I just said..." The fourth prince felt his scalp tingling, hoping that Hua Qi would give him a negative answer. But he was soon disappointed. Because Hua Qi looked at him for a moment with a smile, and actually gave him a thumbs up.
"Sacrificing himself to help his brother, the Fourth Prince is already a real man. I admire him."
Seeing the Fourth Prince's pale face and the Third Prince pushing everyone behind him as if to take all the responsibility on himself, Hua Qi couldn't help but smile and turned around to lead the two horses over. Then he said lightly, "Don't worry. If the Emperor really tried to stop us, you, the Fourth Prince, would not be able to leave the palace to inform the Third Prince."
"As for that ridiculous idea, I won't say it. The emperor has already made it clear to so many people, so why would he be afraid that you would spread it everywhere? Believe it or not, if we don't return to the palace as soon as possible, someone will stop us on the way and ask to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
The Third Prince was frightened by the scene described by Hua Qi, and dared not ask any more questions, and hurriedly mounted his horse and left. He was not until he trotted all the way and finally saw Bei'an Gate in sight that his heart finally settled down a little, but then he suddenly realized that he had unconsciously stopped questioning the news brought by the Fourth Prince.
He was going to be the crown prince? How was this possible... This was simply too absurd! How could it be possible for a timid guy like him who couldn't even speak loudly, let alone have any ability, to be the ruler of the East Palace?
The Third Prince didn't know how he had entered the palace in a daze. When he finally stopped, he looked up blankly and found himself in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity! He was so nervous that his whole body stiffened, until he felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes. He then moved his head and looked over, only to see that the Fourth Prince's face was more bitter than Coptis chinensis.
"Third brother, the emperor just sent someone to wait for us at Xuanwu Gate. As soon as he saw us returning to the palace, he said he wanted to see us. Is he really angry with me? If I get beaten later, you must beg for me!"
