Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 561: Thunder Temporarily Disappears
Walking in the palace, Zhang Shou saw the little peanut beside him, who was usually smart and omnipresent, looking around with a pair of sly eyes, as if he wanted to touch everything he saw, and asked a few silly questions from time to time. He felt that the description of Granny Liu’s visit to the Grand View Garden in Dream of the Red Chamber was so vivid and lifelike.
Zhu Ying, who had volunteered to accompany him, couldn't help but joked when she saw Xiao Huasheng's expression, "Most people behave themselves when they first enter the palace, but you are so bold that you even wanted to touch the firearms of the guards of the Sharp Cavalry Battalion. Aren't you afraid that they will just shoot you with their muskets?"
"I'm just curious." Peanut smiled awkwardly, but in his heart he was thinking, if I didn't show the appearance of a country boy entering the palace to cover up my trembling and terrified mood, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to walk because of fear.
At this moment, he wished that Zhu Ying was not with him so that he could ask Zhang Shou what to do in the future. However, with Zhu Ying by his side, he did not dare to reveal that he was the one who "seduced" the eldest prince. He was afraid that the emperor would settle the score with him later and implicate Xian Yunhe and Zhang Shou who were covering for him.
However, as Zhu Ying introduced the place along the way, he could not help but feel weak in the knees when he heard the words "Qianqing Palace". He subconsciously grabbed the corner of Zhang Shou's clothes until he turned around and glanced at him, then nodded with a smile. Only then did he become a little bolder, and then he heard Zhu Ying chuckle.
"Ah Shou, why are you and Xiao Huasheng flirting with each other? Are you hiding something?"
Zhang Shou was almost choked by Zhu Ying's words "flirting". When he was about to pretend to be angry, he saw Zhu Ying winking at him playfully. So he simply took the opportunity to reveal Xiao Huasheng's secret in a very light voice while walking side by side with Zhu Ying.
Others might not hear the whisper, but how could Peanut, who was walking behind them, not hear it? He was angry and anxious, but he was caught off guard by Zhu Ying's sudden stop and turn, and he almost bumped into her. Startled, he hurriedly took two steps back, but then he saw Zhu Ying stretched out her hands like lightning and suddenly pinched his cheeks.
He was so frightened that he watched Zhu Ying tug at his cheek. Just when he was about to cry out in pain, Zhu Ying suddenly loosened her grip and glared at him angrily: "I didn't expect you to be so capable! You hid it from me for so long, and even hid it from my eldest brother in Cangzhou. You are such a good kid! You've done it, and you still don't dare to take responsibility for it?"
Seeing that Xiao Huasheng was relieved and puffed out his chest as if he was about to say something harsh, Zhang Shou laughed and said, "Yingying, don't force him. This kid can't resist provocation. He really knows how to take personal responsibility for his own actions. Actually, it was Ah Liu who guessed it. I was also surprised at that time. Anyway, if the emperor really wants to investigate this matter, I, who helped cover up and conceal it, will never shirk my responsibility. Remember to plead for us."
Peanut opened his mouth and saw Zhu Ying gave him a half-smiley look, then left him and Zhang Shou behind and walked away quickly. He was immediately very anxious and grabbed Zhang Shou's sleeve and asked, "Is the young lady really angry?"
"If she was really angry, she would have left the palace instead of entering it. Don't worry, she is leaving first to see what the emperor's mood is like, so that she can act accordingly. But you, boy, were you pretending to be a country boy when you entered the palace just now? Was it to cover up your guilty conscience and nervousness?"
Seeing that Xiao Huasheng was too embarrassed to speak, Zhang Shou stopped trying to scare him. He smiled and continued walking forward, saying, "Haven't you already met the Emperor? You should know what kind of person he is. Even if he really sees through you, he won't vent his anger on you. Instead of being timid, you might as well be more open."
After hearing Zhang Shou's words, Xiao Huasheng finally felt more confident. He followed Zhang Shou closely, and when he entered the Qianqing Gate, he saw that no one came up to search him, and no one looked at him curiously, as if he was a non-existent person. Even Zhang Shou was ignored and turned a blind eye to him. He was really scared.
Dragging his heavy legs, he finally arrived at the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, and he heard Zhu Ying's clear voice: "Your Majesty, it's just that the ship left early, and that ship is an official ship of the court, it's not like it won't come back, is there any need to be so anxious?"
"How can I not be angry? I hurriedly sent people to Tianjin, but the day before the people arrived, the ship had already sailed. How could it be such a coincidence! I was just about to send people to chase..."
"Your Majesty, this is not a river or lake boat, this is a sea boat. As long as there are sufficient supplies and the wind is favorable, it will only take a month to reach Qiongzhou Prefecture. Even if the horses run to death, they can't catch up. Why waste manpower and resources! It's better to send another boat to follow and see if we can catch up!"
"Okay, let's do it!"
After hearing the conversation from inside, Zhang Shou understood why the emperor urgently summoned him. When he looked at Xiao Huasheng, he saw that he was pale. He knew that this kid must have guessed the cause and effect. He sighed in his heart and waited for someone to report in. Not long after, Zhu Ying rushed out with a worried look on her face. He smiled at her.
Although it seemed that the furious emperor had been appeased, Zhu Ying had never seen such an emperor before, and she was inevitably unsure at this moment. She wanted to give Zhang Shou more instructions, but when she saw the man approaching her, he smiled calmly and nodded at her, her heart immediately settled down a lot, and she didn't care that she was in the palace, and she held Zhang Shou's hand.
Although he didn't hear the words "be careful", Zhang Shou still understood what she meant. He nodded to Zhu Ying again and walked in calmly. He saw the emperor sitting on the throne in the main hall, with no trace of the gentleness and playfulness on his face. His eyes were like knives shooting at him. He bowed calmly as if he didn't see it.
"Zhang Shou, you should have heard it outside just now, right? Just one day before I sent a messenger to Tianjin to summon him, that old salted fish set sail with Xian Yunhe and those sentenced to exile. I don't think there are such coincidences in the world. Do you think the news leaked somewhere?"
Zhang Shou didn't need to look back to know what expression the little peanut had. He straightened up and said calmly, "Your Majesty's guess is indeed based on facts, but you have to know that the messenger sent out by the palace used a post horse to rush. If other people want to report the news, they can't be faster than them unless they have wings. Therefore, the fact that the boat went ahead is probably just a coincidence."
"What's more, soldiers are needed to escort prisoners. Even if Lao Xianyu is the captain, the sailors and other boat workers are all his people. He may not be able to do anything to the sailors from Linhai Camp who are traveling with the ship to Qiongzhou Prefecture, right?"
"Just as Yingying said, if the emperor is really worried, he can send a boat to chase after her. Even if he can't catch up or miss her on the way, he should be able to meet her when he arrives in Qiongzhou Prefecture."
Seeing Zhang Shou answering fluently, Peanut, who was originally following the emperor in saluting but was sweating profusely at the emperor's questioning, suddenly woke up. After just a moment's hesitation, he also boldly raised his head.
As a result, he met the emperor's scrutinizing eyes directly. The last time the emperor went to Zhang Garden incognito, he led the way himself. At that time, he only thought that the emperor was very kind, but this time, being stared at like this, he felt a chill rising from his feet, and all the confidence he had just generated disappeared without a trace.
The emperor only glanced at Peanut and then turned his gaze to Zhang Shou: "It seems that you don't think at all that these people are setting sail and fleeing far away?"
"If the emperor thinks so, doesn't he think that all the soldiers in Linhai Camp are losers? Moreover, the emperor also looks down on Xian Yunhe's servants who come from poor families. They all have families and children in Cangzhou. Old Xianyu even entrusted his and Xian Yunhe's only relative, Xiaohuasheng, to me. It is impossible for them to just leave and ignore the people who stayed behind."
The emperor's expression eased a little, but his words were still a little stiff: "Could it be that they have something to hide, so they slipped away?"
"What's on their mind? Is it because they've been to Haidong Continent?" Zhang Shou laughed and said calmly, "Even if someone feels guilty, it should be the people who support and instigate them. Why should these executors feel guilty? Of course, the people behind them may not want the emperor to follow the clues, so they instigate them to hurry up and then wipe them out along the way..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard a thud behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Peanut who had collapsed. His face was as pale as a dead person.
He suddenly burst out laughing, and was about to reach out to help the boy up, but then he turned to look at the emperor. Seeing that the emperor's face was also gloomy, he smiled and said, "I am just guessing. Xiaohuasheng took it seriously. Your Majesty, please don't take it seriously. After all, when Lao Xianyu went to sea in the past, he was probably paid to do things for others. Isn't it unnecessary to kill him to silence him?"
"Of course, as the emperor said, since that person knows where Haidong is and hired people to find it at a high price, and Lao Xianyu hasn't been out to sea for a long time since his return, and even changed his name and became a salted fish vendor, there may be other reasons. Since the emperor has thought of sending official ships to sea, why not take this opportunity to send two ships from Tianjin to patrol the sea?"
Seeing Zhang Shou's calm attitude, the emperor's originally gloomy face gradually turned from cloudy to overcast. Although it was still a long way from clearing up, his initial irritability gradually disappeared.
His eyes passed Zhang Shou and fell on the little peanut behind him. He then sneered and said, "Zhang Shou, you specially sent the little peanut home to lead the way for me that day. I thought it was strange. I didn't expect that it was such an underage boy who dressed as a girl and coaxed the eldest prince to lose his soul. You kept it a secret from me!"
Although the emperor did not say where he learned this, Zhang Shou confirmed from Xiao Huasheng that Xian Yunhe had done this very secretly, and even the people around him who started the rebellion with him were not aware of it, so it was impossible for him to leave any real evidence. However, he did not dare to hope that the emperor was just deceiving him.
Because with Peanut's poor psychological quality, he would be exposed by a casual word from Ah Liu, let alone facing the huge pressure from the emperor?
Besides, the emperor had another trump card, which was to let the eldest prince identify the person... Based on the eldest prince's miserable appearance, he must hate him to the core. No matter whether he recognized Xiao Huasheng as the "pretty lady" who harmed him or not, he would directly insist that Xiao Huasheng was the "pretty lady" who harmed him. It would be meaningless at that time.
Therefore, he immediately bowed his head and admitted: "It is indeed my fault for concealing this matter. I hope Your Majesty will forgive Xiaohua's crime for his indignation at the moment, considering his youth and ignorance."
It was not until he heard Zhang Shou take the responsibility that Peanut suddenly came to his senses. He immediately climbed up using his hands and feet, then knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "It was all my idea... It was my own idea. It has nothing to do with anyone else..."
Zhu Ying, who was looking at the entrance of the main hall, wanted to go in when she heard the voice, but she didn't expect a hand to suddenly reach out in front of her to stop her. Seeing that it was Liu Feng, the manager of the Qianqing Palace, she immediately raised her eyebrows. But she didn't expect the other party to remind her in a very light voice: "Miss, if you go in now, the emperor will only be more angry. You have to trust Dr. Zhang, he can handle it."
Although this sounded reasonable, Zhu Ying, who was impatient at the moment, did not want to listen at all. But the next moment, he heard Zhang Shou's voice.
"If people don't fear death, why should they fear it? When Xian Yunhe and others made a big mistake before, they didn't think about the consequences at all. I think Xiao Huasheng is the same. Since the emperor agreed that the big case in Cangzhou ended in that way, please calm down your anger for the time being and don't bother with Xiao Huasheng, an ignorant child."
At this point, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Both Old Xianyu and Xian Yunhe have no offspring. Little Peanut is almost like a son or grandson. Leaving him in the capital is undoubtedly the best bond for them. It is said that fallen leaves return to their roots. Would they abandon this life|root|son and flee overseas?"
"They committed such a heinous crime before, but they escaped death because of your majesty's mercy. What crime could be greater than this? What hidden secrets can't I or Master Zhu plead for them? Your Majesty, although Qiongzhou is hard, it is not the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, nor is it the Tang and Song dynasties. Except for the scorching heat, Qiongzhou is actually far better than the bitterly cold Liaodong and Gansu in all aspects!"
The emperor stared at Zhang Shou for a long time, and finally waved his hand in annoyance and said, "Alright, alright, I was anxious when I heard the rumors. You drag that little guy up. I don't intend to scare such a child!"
Seeing Zhang Shou turning around to help the silly little Peanut up, the emperor said word by word: "I don't want to mention the matter of Cangzhou anymore, so let's stop here. But the matter of Haidong is not over yet. You must know that sailing on the sea is different . Boatmen often need to be familiar with identifying stars and hydrology. When Hua Qi came back earlier, he mentioned that you picked up another person who can observe the stars today?"
"How can this kid from Yuzhang Academy grind crystals for stargazing? It just so happens that I am recruiting talents for the Four Seas Test. Don't just talk big and help me make the things. If you can use them for stargazing, the past mistakes will be forgiven and I will reward you even more!"
