Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 566: The Night is Deep and the People Are Not Quiet
He's your brother-in-law, why don't you tell him!
Lu Sanlang was confused until he turned his horse around and rushed to Zhang Garden. This confusion was exactly the same as the confusion Liu Qing had felt when she suddenly met him and came to beg for an early wedding date.
However, although Zhu Tingfang only spoke a few words to him in total, apart from the shocking statement that he wanted him to recommend Liu Zhiyuan to Zhang Shou, there were other words that forced him to make this trip.
"Tell Zhang Shou that anything out of the ordinary is a demon. Hong is just a woman. If no one recommends her to the emperor, he would not have thought of letting her teach the Third Prince. Even if the Third Prince wanted to find another way and let her teach painting, the emperor would not have agreed. The person who recommended Hong should be someone who is wary of Zhang Shou and even the Zhu family. He'd better be careful."
Running around outside again and again in the middle of the night, Lu Sanlang himself began to doubt his luck today. Especially when he knocked on the door of Zhang Garden for a long time but no one answered, he glanced at the high wall and suddenly felt that Ah Liu's ability to climb high was quite useful.
At least if he knew this method, he wouldn't have to stand here in the wind!
But just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a whistling sound. He looked up and saw that it was not the cold wind in the dark night, but a figure gliding up the wall like a flying bird. After a moment of stunned silence, the little fat man subconsciously opened his mouth to shout that there was an assassin, but then he realized that this was unlikely. Sure enough, the next moment, he heard a surprised cry.
He immediately shut his mouth tightly, but his voice was obviously heard by someone. The man in black in the night sky then opened his arms, jumped down from the high wall, and landed steadily in front of him.
Knowing that he couldn't escape, Lu Sanlang, who recognized the person, could only laugh dryly and said, "Master Hua Qi, what a coincidence?"
"Oh, you saw me running across the eaves and walls and sneaking into Zhang Garden in the middle of the night. Is that a coincidence?" Hua Qi looked at Lu Sanlang with a fake smile. Seeing that he was silent, he shrugged and said, "I just came to deliver a message. Before, the East Palace had no master, but the Third Master and the Third Young Master all had people. After all, these titles have always been fake, unlike Grand Master Ge who is the real imperial master."
"So, now that the East Palace is about to have a master, it's not easy to replace the three teachers and three young masters. For example, if you remove the crown prince's guardian, Mr. Kong, you don't know what he will think. He might even lead his people to kneel down in a passionate manner. So, before the palace gates were closed today, the emperor appointed the first fifth-rank East Palace lecturer. Yes, that's your teacher."
Although Lu Sanlang had never taken the imperial examination, his research on officialdom was definitely no less than Hua Qi's. The so-called lecturer of the Eastern Palace was actually the official title of the Eastern Palace teacher. For example, Ge Yong was not the Grand Master at the beginning, but after serving as the Emperor's teacher for many years, the Emperor respected this teacher and promoted him step by step, and finally he stood at the highest point of the civil officials.
This news was just expected, so the little fat man looked at Zhang Yuan, who still had no one to answer the door, and said thoughtfully: "The news should have spread here, so everyone in Zhang Yuan went to celebrate happily?"
But Zhang Garden is so big, but there is not even a gatekeeper? This is too much joy. If the person running here today is not Hua Qi, then anyone can just break in.
"It's probably true that they all went to celebrate, and it's also true that there was no one at the door, but it's not certain that no one was on guard. Why don't you try breaking the door?" Hua Qi joked. Seeing Lu Sanlang looking at him unhappily, he laughed and said, "In addition to you becoming a seventh-rank tutor, the news that six tutors will be selected in turn from the current class of students in Jiuzhang Hall has also been spread."
After hearing this, Lu Sanlang was shocked. The emperor had spread the news even more within one day. He simply didn't want the officials in the court to be quiet for a moment! No wonder they didn't seem to have received such news when he went to Liu's house and shamelessly called his father-in-law and mother-in-law "Sister Qing". However, when he went from Liu's house to Xiao's house, he saw many people riding horses to and fro in the middle of the night. It seemed that the situation had exploded!
But he thought about it again and couldn't help asking: "Then when I went to Xiao's house before, I didn't seem to see anyone!"
Not to mention that there was no one, there wasn't even anyone nearby looking around! This was at least a place where six new royal tutors from the Eastern Palace could be found. Even if no one had a rank, there shouldn't be no one to test the waters or curry favor with them, right?
Hua Qi smiled and said, "You think the area around the Xiao family is very peaceful? Haha, it was blocked before. Fortunately, the eldest son went there in person, and the guards of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion cleared the area. Just when I came out, the Sharp Cavalry Battalion went there again, so it's quiet now! Otherwise, the number of people who went there to watch in the middle of the night would be enough to keep people awake!"
Lu Sanlang was speechless. Since Zhu Tingfang's teacher lived next door and Xiao Cheng was adopted by him, it was natural for him to take care of the Jiuzhangtang disciples living in Xiao's house. However, he did not expect that the emperor would mobilize such a large force.
He coughed lightly and was about to speak, but Hua Qi smiled and asked him, "But you, the one who was selected for the East Palace Reader in Jiuzhang Hall this time was the freshmen recruited this year, while the one who was recruited last year worked very hard in Xuanda, and then offended people when checking the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and the Guanglu Temple. In the end, when you returned to Jiuzhang Hall, you found that you were not as good as your juniors."
"You, the last term's head of the dormitory, have finally become a seventh-rank imperial tutor in the Eastern Palace. Aren't you afraid of people stabbing you in the back?"
Lu Sanlang's reaction was very justified: "This is an opportunity. After all, the Third Prince only entered Jiuzhang Hall this year. However, I will not let my classmates work hard for nothing, so I have already submitted my petition of thanks. Firstly, I am very grateful for the emperor's favor, and secondly, I request to emulate Jiuzhang Hall's system of selecting attendants in turns."
He smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, and the fat on his face seemed to tremble slightly. "What I can teach the Third Prince on behalf of the teacher, my classmates who are good at academics can naturally teach as well. This is what the teacher has always taught us students, the so-called passing on of the torch, the principle of the old bringing up the new. I am just a seventh-rank rank, I don't need to enjoy it all by myself!"
"As long as you work hard, you will not have to worry about not seeing the way forward. This is probably what your teacher really wants to promote."
This time, Hua Qi did not laugh at Lu Sanlang, but nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Lu Sanlang's shoulder, and said calmly: "The servants in Zhang Garden may be celebrating, but the defense must not be taken lightly, because the people here are trained by me. No one came to answer the door, the biggest possibility is only one." There are people watching vigilantly enough!
Before Lu Sanlang could ask who it was, he felt a strong force coming from his shoulder, and then he was pulled into the air. He was not like Song Juren and Fang Qing who had almost lost their souls when they were frightened like this. Although he was frightened, he still tried his best to look around from a high position while he was on the high wall, until...
He found himself standing on a high building in Zhang Garden.
The whistling wind was secondary. The most frightening thing was that the person who had grabbed his shoulder before actually let go at this moment, and then he fought with another black shadow in the night! However, even though he was thrown on this high roof, surrounded by smooth and tilted tiles, Lu Sanlang's face remained motionless.
This was probably a kind of natural talent that must be used, and a calm smile in the face of the abyss... No wonder! The wind had already stiffened the muscles on his face! As for every muscle in his hands, feet, waist and legs, they were also stiff at this moment, and the whole person could hardly move at all. Otherwise, with his weight, he would have fallen down with crazy screams!
Even though he couldn't move, Lu Sanlang tried his best to move his eyes to try to see clearly the battle between the two black shadows. Then he looked at the ground desperately, hoping to find someone who saw him and rescue him as soon as possible.
However, to his extreme disappointment, apart from the two crazy guys fighting each other, there was no one in sight below. If he hadn't been concerned about his image - in fact, it was also because of the howling wind at high altitude that made it impossible for him to speak out - he might have made the loudest noise to call for help.
He didn't know how long he had been waiting in such a cold and high place, when he saw the two fighting shadows suddenly rushing towards him. Before he could even blink, two people stood on his left and right. Then, one of them squatted down next to him and started to stare at him.
" Why are you hanging out with crazy people?"
I don't want to hang out with him, he was the one who suddenly took action and brought me here! Lu Sanlang shouted in his heart, but Hua Qi was right beside him, he didn't dare to speak rashly and offend this evil star, so he could only laugh dryly and said: "Sixth brother, we just happened to meet at the door, I knocked and heard no response, so Master Hua Qi probably feared that I would be anxious, so he brought me in."
"You don't have to say good things for him." Ah Liu looked at Hua Qi with disdain, then grabbed the fat boy and slid down, and only landed with him when he reached the edge of the eaves. When he stood firmly, he saw that Lu Sanlang's face was pale, but he still looked like a brave man, so he warned him seriously, "Stay away from him in the future."
I didn't want to get close to him, but he suddenly turned back and insisted on talking to me, then brought me in!
Lu Sanlang felt so wronged that he wanted to cry, but fortunately Ah Liu patted his shoulder in consolation: "Ignore that guy, I'll take you to the workshop. We made good glass today, so everyone is very happy."
Seeing that Ah Liu ignored Hua Qi and just pulled him forward, Lu Sanlang was very glad to have avoided a troublesome person, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly came to his senses.
"Burning out glass? So, isn't Zhang Yuan celebrating because the young master has become the lecturer of the Eastern Palace?"
"The lecturer of the Eastern Palace?" Ah Liu was stunned for a moment, then smiled nonchalantly, "If the young master becomes the Grand Tutor one day, everyone will celebrate so much that they will almost forget to guard the gate!"
This made Lu Sanlang want to cover his face. There are many scholars in this world who take Shangshu as their goal to strive for, but those who take Taishi as their goal to strive for... are rare! Because in the past hundred years of this dynasty, there have been at least thirty cabinet ministers, and there are even more at the level of Shangshu and Du Yushi. As for the real first-rank Taishi, standing at the highest point among the ministers, there are a total of seven!
Among them, the Ge family took up two at the beginning and the end! The ancestor Ge Yong was awarded posthumously!
If Zhang Shou could really follow Ge Yong and become the Grand Tutor, that would be a great story between teacher and student. At that time, could he, as the student, also look forward to the glory of one person's success bringing prosperity to the whole family?
The little fat guy actually followed Ah Liu's words and imagined it, and finally laughed foolishly. However, as a smart man, he rarely made a fool of himself. Ah Liu saw it and smiled slightly, and then took the opportunity to ask: "By the way, what did the madman say to you just now ?"
Although he was distracted for a while, the little fat boy was still very alert when it came to business. He quickly put away his reverie and repeated Hua Qi's original words in detail, adding the words that Zhu Tingfang asked him to pass on, without any hesitation because this was not Zhang Shou himself. At this point, if he still didn't know that Ah Liu was equivalent to Zhang Shou's half body, then he would be hopelessly stupid!
No matter whether Liu understands it or not, tell the truth first!
Sure enough, after Lu Sanlang finished speaking, he got a genuine smile from Ah Liu. Compared to the perfunctory and scary smile that people occasionally show, this expression is much softer, although it is just a slight curl of the corners of the mouth. Knowing that he was classified as one of Ah Liu's own people, the little fat man asked cautiously: "Sixth brother, what is the matter with burning good glass?"
"Oh, good glass, I mean clear glass. You should understand, right?"
Lu Sanlang had been to Zhang Shou's underground workshop several times. He had only noticed the various strange machines there. As for the glass workshop, he had never been there because there was a huge furnace there, which was too hot! But he had heard Zhang Shou say that the workshop had already produced glass with dull or mottled colors, but could not produce completely transparent glass.
He remembered Zhang Shou telling him with emotion that although the ancients had made glass cups with a crystal-like effect, the transparency was still far from being able to see through objects...
Therefore, making transparent glass became the only goal of the glass workshop. As for his bookshop, he had helped Zhang Shou digest a large number of glass wastes of different shapes.
The glass fragments, after being rounded to ensure they wouldn't cut anyone, were mostly given to naughty children everywhere, who were then asked to sing nursery rhymes to sell books all over the city. As for the yellowish and blackish ones with strange shapes... hehe, they were simply packaged into all kinds of strange little gadgets and sold in Tingyu Cottage with all kinds of gimmicks.
In terms of waste utilization, the fat man felt that he had done his best. At least he helped Zhang Shou keep the cost bottom line!
