Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 564: Infinite Scenery
The filth of the past is not worth boasting about, but my unbridled thoughts today are limitless. The spring breeze is blowing and the horse's hooves are galloping, and I can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.
This poem written by Meng Jiao in the Tang Dynasty when he passed the imperial examination in his middle age is probably enough to describe Lu Sanlang's proud mood at the moment. Although he did not pass the imperial examination and he probably would never pass the imperial examination in his lifetime, the imperial edict that was just delivered to him from the palace and spread so quickly was enough to make him laugh at all the other imperial examinations.
Because from now on, he, Lu Zhu, the third son of the Lu family, has gloriously become the prince's tutor (seventh rank)!
That’s right, unlike what he heard from Zhang Shou, those six people who were about to be selected from the best by the students of Jiuzhang Hall, he had his own rank!
The emperor's original words even listed his merits, which were nothing more than being the first chief monk, managing Jiuzhangtang well, and making outstanding contributions in unlocking the Taizu secret box. In addition, he also combined other miscellaneous merits, including the merit of capturing a thief in Cuiyunjian a year ago - although he couldn't help blushing when he heard it.
Therefore, Lu Sanlang, who was blocked at the door of his own bookstore, was smiling and proud. When he heard others urging him to share his mathematical experience, he said earnestly: "I have been studying "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" since I was a child. Later, I met a mentor like you, who discovered my talent. However, there is a path to the mountain of books through diligence, and there is no end to the sea of learning, and it takes hard work to sail."
"Do you know how much homework there is in Jiuzhangtang?"
After asking the question with a serious face, Lu Sanlang saw that some people in the audience were making a noise, some said they didn't know, and some were shouting and urging him to speak quickly, so he clapped his hands. Seeing several guys behind him carrying out a pile of books, he stepped back, patted the tall pile of books, and said with emotion: "Others say that I have taught many classes for the teacher, but they only see my glory."
"But they didn't see how many exercises the teacher assigned me. These are all the exercises I have done. I have printed out the exercise books I have accumulated. One is for the exercises, and the other is for the answers. If you are just joining in the fun, then I suggest you buy an exercise book and feel the difficulty and hard work of Jiuzhangtang. Don't waste your money."
"But if you are really interested in applying for Jiuzhangtang, I think many of you have heard the teacher say that people with excellent grades can skip grades. But for people with average foundation, it is almost impossible to skip grades. But if you don't skip grades, although you can enter Jiuzhangtang, you can forget about achieving greater goals."
At this point, Lu Sanlang paused, and seeing that the people around him were silent, he knew that these people must have understood his hidden meaning - how could he be a classmate of the Third Prince if he didn't skip a grade... No, to be a tutor to the future Crown Prince?
"And if you want to skip a grade, you can't just read through the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. First, you have to read Master Ge's New Compilation of Mathematics carefully. But that is different from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. It is a step-by-step system that requires getting used to new symbols and accepting new concepts. You need to read the teacher's handouts carefully, then do the exercises and check the answers. This is the official way to apply for the Nine Chapters Hall..."
Seeing Lu Sanlang talking eloquently, Hong Shanzhang stood there with a gloomy face, and he restrained the urge to step forward and accuse him harshly. For him, this was simply an extraordinary endurance.
After Lu Sanlang finished selling those books, he even called a street hanger-on to help him buy a workbook and handouts. As a result, after getting the two thick books, he flipped through a few pages of exercises and felt his temples throbbing. When he looked at the handouts that were said to be from Zhang Shou's lectures, he immediately remembered the time when Zhang Shou gave a lecture at the Imperial College.
On that occasion, he really scoffed at Zhang Shou's talk on foreign history.
As for the mathematical essentials Zhang Shou was talking about next, he was completely confused. But listening to someone's lecture was different from reading a book. He was always proud of his erudition, and when he saw the symbols and figures that looked like ghost paintings, he subconsciously wanted to curse Qiqi for being cunning, but when he was about to say that, he saw Lu Sanlang, who was enthusiastically sharing his life in Jiuzhang Hall with others, and he just walked away.
Chief Hong thought that since Lu Sanlang was surrounded by so many people, it was impossible for him to see him. However, Lu Sanlang was a man who could see and hear everything. In fact, he had already noticed that he was not just a spectator. Therefore, he did not notice that when he went back angrily, there was a little tail behind him.
After sending someone to follow Hong Shanchang just in case, Lu Sanlang ignored this guy and continued his promotion plan. Because the third prince was about to be promoted to the crown prince, Jiuzhangtang had gone from being unpopular at the beginning to being very popular now, and Ge's New Mathematics was urgently being reprinted, so his personal promotion was naturally very effective.
In less than half an hour, all the lecture notes and exercise books that had just been taken out were swept away. When a new batch of scholars heard the news and came, they were faced with empty bookshelves.
In response, Lu Sanlang quickly assured people that Zhang Shou's lecture notes were printed by the emperor himself, so there would definitely be no shortage. He just said that the Palace's Silijian Sutra Factory was urgently printing more copies, and persuaded the disappointed students to go back. As for those who wanted to buy exercise books, he also told them that he would rush to print 50 copies tomorrow, so please hurry up.
Seeing that his bookstore, which had been bustling with people just now, had become deserted, the manager in charge of the place immediately stepped forward and asked in confusion: "Third Master, why did you tell them that it's out of stock? This warehouse..."
Before anyone could finish, Lu Sanlang glared at him fiercely: "Do you know what it means to be unable to get what you want?"
Seeing that the steward seemed to have realized something, he said unhappily: "As the saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a secret lover, and a secret lover is not as good as not being able to have a wife..."
He didn't care how shocking his crude metaphor was, and said calmly: "It's just like these scholars. If Jiuzhang Hall had always been open to enrollment and tried hard to recruit them, they would have been arrogant and unwilling to go. Thanks to the teacher's high standards and strict requirements, he would rather not find anyone than fill in the numbers, so he could only maintain one class, and they couldn't ask for anything."
"Nowadays, so many people are rushing to be the future crown prince. Although they are indeed eager for quick success, there may be a few talented people. However, we can't spoil them. At this time, we have to let others beg us instead."
The manager was filled with doubts after hearing Lu Sanlang's simple and clear reasoning. He had to remind him carefully, "But, sir, there might be people from other bookstores among those who come to buy books. What if they also printed it secretly..."
"Haha." This time, Lu Sanlang showed a very warm smile, but people who were familiar with him knew that when this kind of smile appeared on the face of the Third Young Master, it was not just a possibility, but it was certain that someone was going to be in trouble.
"Zhang Chen and the others are staying in the capital because they have to attend the wedding of Boss Zhu and Young Master. Our Young Master is about to become the East Palace Master. If anyone pirates these things , wouldn't that be against him? But I have made it clear in advance that I will not take a penny from the profits of printing these books!"
"Give them all to the teacher as a wedding gift to him! So, starting today, their people have been scattered all over the city. First, to see if anyone is going to do something unfavorable, second, to find out if there are any unfavorable rumors, and third... everyone has to find a suitable gift. Who can be like me and solve the problem by just printing a few books?"
After getting into the car in high spirits under the steward's admiring gaze, Lu Sanlang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then clenched his fists and twisted his hips excitedly. His pride was more than ten times more than when he was in front of others.
Fortunately, there was no one else around at the moment, and the thick curtains completely blocked out his inappropriate ecstasy. Only the horse pulling the carriage moved forward slowly, feeling the added resistance from the heavy fat man in the carriage behind him twisting his body.
When the carriage stopped in front of the gate of Lu's residence, Lu Sanlang was about to lift the curtain and get off the carriage, but he heard a respectful voice from outside: "Welcome the Third Young Master back to the mansion."
Lu Sanlang was stunned, and saw the curtain of the carriage being lifted high from outside, and faces with infinite smiles blew in along with the cold wind. Seeing at least 17 or 18 servants lined up in front of the door to welcome him, he did not feel happy that he was a hero, but was worried from the bottom of his heart.
Although the servants of the Lu family did have the problem of treating people differently based on their status, with most of them fawning on his two brothers and even more looking down on him, they would not be so superficial and exaggerated as to curry favor with the powerful, right?
After calmly getting off the car, he got an unexpected but reasonable answer.
"Madam said that Third Young Master, now that you have finally obtained an official position and a family background, it is time for you to show off your wealth. So she ordered everyone at home who has nothing to do to line up to welcome you. When the old master comes back, Madam will ask them to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and report your current achievements to them, so that you can vent your anger."
As expected of her, she is the one who is truly happy for him! This is the truth. What is the taste of wearing brocade clothes at night?
Lu Sanlang was so happy that he rushed to his mother without thinking, just like when he went to please his mother because he was afraid of being beaten by his father. Mrs. Lu was partial to her fat son, and she was very happy to see that he still put her first when he was proud of himself.
Therefore, when the Lu family's eldest and second sons returned home in the evening, it was the first time in their lives that their mother used Lu Sanlang to attack them. If it were usual, they could still expect their father to speak up for them, but today, Lu Wan, who always sided with them, did not say a word, and the two could only be scolded by their mother.
At this moment, the little fat boy was extremely proud and terrified. He continued to be taken to the study by his father to discuss important matters until the meal was over. He even made a face at his two brothers, and only left when he saw their gloomy faces.
Lu Wan didn't care about the open and secret struggles between his three sons. As soon as he returned to the study, he said directly: "Hasn't your teacher given any definite news? Can he move Jiuzhang Hall to the public school?"
"Of course we can." Lu Sanlang smiled playfully, and then said sincerely, "But we can't rush it. You know, the Grand Master and Junior Master of the Imperial College have been frightened by what the teacher said before, and they have urgently formed alliances among the school officials, and they are even planning to bring out the old system of Taizu to challenge the teacher who insists on doing this."
Seeing Lu Wan's forehead wrinkled into a big pimple, Fatty Lu chuckled and said, "But now that the two of them know that if they let Jiuzhangtang go, the status of the Imperial College will immediately fall behind, but others don't think so. Those academic officials in the Doctoral Office have been dissatisfied with the teacher for a long time. As long as they work hard, it will be easy for Jiuzhangtang to come out of the Imperial College."
Lu Wan glanced at her youngest son, whom she had never liked, and felt that she had been blind in the past.
How could he think that his son, who was so talented, scheming and able to make money, had no future?
He simply dropped the topic and said bluntly: "You are about to go to the East Palace to serve as a tutor. Do you know what you should do?"
"Of course I know. Isn't it just changing places to help the teacher with the class?" Lu Sanlang said this answer nonchalantly. Seeing that Lu Wan was almost furious, he quickly said with a playful smile, "Dad, don't worry. I know what's going on. The teacher won't give up on one thing for the other, so I have to work harder."
"I fill in the gaps in what the teacher didn't explain clearly, and I help with the exercises that the teacher couldn't help with. Luckily, I'm not the only one. When Senior Brother Qi comes back, he will be counted as one of them."
Lu Wan was very dissatisfied with Lu Sanlang's nonchalant attitude. She was about to warn him that he had many opponents and should not be underestimated, but was choked by her son, "Dad, I'm still young. It's not time to be on guard against this and that! Senior Brother Qi is a sincere person. What's more, his foundation is better than mine, and he has been working in Xuan University for so long."
"He and Deng Xiaodai are actually the teacher's eldest disciples. Respecting seniors is a good habit. Otherwise, how could the Third Prince respect me?"
Lu Wan felt that it was a huge mistake for her to talk to Lu Sanlang. If she continued talking , she would be pissed to death. She could only scold him angrily, "Okay, you've grown wings now, do whatever you want! Get lost, with your character, I don't know how long you can be the tutor of the Eastern Palace, don't get carried away! The more proud a person is, the easier it is for him to be plotted against!"
Lu Sanlang originally didn't like Lu Wan's cold words, but when he heard the last sentence, he suddenly stopped on his way out. He smiled and said calmly, "I am very proud and happy, but I know where this glory comes from, so I won't get carried away. Dad, you don't have to worry about me. My biggest wish now is to take advantage of this rare opportunity to make a fortune."
"By the way, there will be a new play in Tingyu Cottage tomorrow. Dad, you are always romantic, remember to go and support it." When Lu Wan heard this, she subconsciously grabbed a brush and threw it at Lu Sanlang's back. Raising such a rebellious son, I am so angry!
