Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 570: Like disciple, like teacher
Zhang Shou's understanding of the Third Prince was profound, even though he had only been the Third Prince's teacher for one year, and had spent half of that time traveling in Cangzhou. The time he had to teach the prince was extremely limited, and those hours were all in large classes, because he had witnessed with his own eyes the shy child gradually shed his immaturity and developed confidence and talent.
Therefore, when Ge Yong came in and said that the Third Prince insisted on having him as his teacher, he was not surprised at all, but felt that this was reasonable. If some officials only thought that the Third Prince was just born under the Emperor's lap, and just because the First and Second Princes lost the Emperor's favor and the Queen was deposed, he just stood out, and therefore looked down on the opinions of the future Crown Prince, they were fools.
Therefore, when he saw Ge Yong coming in with a dignified manner, he only nodded slightly to Lu Wan and Lu Sanlang standing up to greet them. He stood up and let them take their seats, then smiled and said, "Only the teacher dares to mention the three words of changing the crown prince, and he is not afraid of the walls to hear and spread rumors."
"It's not like those guys haven't done this before. Back then, Emperor Yingzong was the eldest son, and he was only one step away from becoming the crown prince. But someone framed him and caused him to fall off his horse, so the crown prince position was passed to another person, and he also wasted the best thirty years of his life."
Ge Yong mercilessly exposed the secret of the past, and then said sarcastically: "In the eyes of some people in the court, the prince had better meet their expectations. If he cannot be open-minded and accept advice, be magnanimous, and rule by inaction, then it's okay to indulge in sensual pleasures and spend money on wine and women, but in short, don't be stubborn and stick to your own opinions. "
"The Third Prince has already shown such an obvious preference for you before he became the Crown Prince. In addition, the Emperor also clearly likes your way of doing things. Zhang Shou, you are definitely the target of public criticism. If we don't bring you down, we will have to watch you deceive the two emperors. Therefore, at the end of this year's imperial lecture known as the gathering of the wise men, you will most likely face a verbal battle with many heroes."
After saying this, Master Ge skipped the topic and looked at the little fat boy. The little fat boy's eyes were rolling around, and he was obviously thinking of some bad idea. However, he had always been optimistic about this disciple who was laughed at for being unlearned and unskilled in the past. He suddenly smiled and changed the subject: "Lu Zhu, I heard that you are in a hurry to get married? Is it in time?"
"When will the ceremony be held? Have you invited all the guests? I, as your great master, will give you a great gift later!"
"Thank you, Master Ge!" Lu Sanlang smiled brightly. He didn't care that Ge Yong called him the name he disliked the most, and stood up immediately.
"My coming-of-age ceremony will be held on the second day of next month. There won't be many guests, just some relatives and classmates. Dad brought me here today to invite my teacher to be the main guest. Dad wanted to invite you, Master Ge, but I felt that you were not important enough and didn't dare to bother him. I didn't expect to meet you by chance!"
When Lu Wan saw Lu Sanlang mention this, his eyes flickered slightly and he stood up. Zhang Shou was now a tree that stood out in the forest. Although he did not think that the wind would destroy it, he was always a little annoyed by Lu Sanlang's attitude of regarding himself as a disciple and lackey. So, thinking that inviting Ge Yong would make the ceremony more glorious, he took the opportunity to say, "If Master Ge is free..."
"I am free." Ge Yong said these four words with a smile, but then he said slowly, "But I want to ask, what is the so-called invitation of Jiuzhang as the guest of honor by Lu Jijiu? Did you predict that Jiuzhang would be the guest of honor? Even if he is the one you predicted, as the master of the Lu family, you would wear this casual outfit to invite the guest of honor for your son's coming-of-age ceremony?"
"Also, in recent years, the courtesy name given to the person at the ceremony of coming of age is sometimes chosen by the host himself, and inviting the main guest to come is just a way of saying it through someone else's mouth. So over time, the two words "main guest" no longer seem as precious as they used to be."
"What kind of guest does Lu Jijiu want Jiu Zhang to be?"
After these words came out, the first person to be surprised was not Zhang Shou, nor Lu Wan, but... the fat boy Lu Sanlang! He looked at his father in disbelief, and then shouted angrily: "Dad, you told me before that you would take me to the teacher's house to be the main guest of my coming-of-age ceremony, that's what is called solemnity!!"
How come from what Ge Yong said, this is actually very casual? And from the tone of his voice, it seems that his father should wear a formal dress or something?
Lu Wan didn't expect Ge Yong to suddenly bully him like this, and he didn't expect Lu Sanlang to be so disrespectful to him as a father. He immediately questioned him, catching him off guard. Even though he was always quick to react, the excuse he could come up with at this time was awkward and pale: "The old master was talking about ancient etiquette. In recent years, no one is so strict about it..."
"It is an ancient ritual, but the ceremony for the capping of scholars and officials in this dynasty... well, the latter one is also the ceremony for the capping of sons of officials most of the time, and it is also written this way." Seeing that Lu Wan was choked by his words, Ge Yong said word by word, "You may think of this as red tape, but there is a saying that if the name is not right, the words will not flow. Since we are going to hold the ceremony of capping , at least we can't let people find any mistakes."
Zhang Shou himself had an instinctive resistance to all ceremonies that required complicated etiquette. As far as he was concerned, he felt that in these ceremonies, people under the spotlight were either like actors or like monkeys being manipulated. So some fame-seeking academic officials felt sorry that they could not attend the court meetings every day, but he was glad to have escaped.
Therefore, when Lu Wan personally brought Lu Sanlang to his house today and asked him to be the guest of honor at the ceremony, he, who had always been very sensitive in other places, thought about having to review the complicated rituals of the ceremony. Although he felt a little overwhelmed, he agreed without thinking that Lu Wan had skipped the first step.
As for how most guests of honor are treated these days, he didn't know, and didn't care too much.
When Ge Yong said this, he saw that the former Minister of War was sweating profusely, and Fatty Lu looked as if he was so angry that he was about to quarrel with his father at any time. Although he realized that Lu Wan came in person this time, even if it could not be said to be disrespectful, it could not be said to be very serious, but he still put on an attitude as if nothing had happened.
"Thank goodness the teacher reminded me, otherwise I would have thought that the main guest would just come to eat and drink and watch the fun." Zhang Shou paused and then said sincerely, "Why not have the teacher go to the Lu Mansion in person during Lu Sanlang's coming-of-age ceremony..."
Who was I speaking for just now? You are so rude, you can't even respond!
Ge Yong glared at Zhang Shou unhappily. Seeing that Lu Wan had already stood up and apologized to him in fear and trepidation, he finally didn't bother to find fault anymore. He drove the former Minister of War away, but kept Lu Sanlang. Then he said earnestly, "Little Fatty, your teacher is usually quite smart, but he is confused in some areas."
"I know you are bold and careful. In the future, you should pay attention to those trivial matters for your teacher and keep an eye on your father. As long as you do your best, I will never treat you, my disciple, unfairly. Hey, although I have a great-grandson and a lot of disciples of the great-grandson's generation, but if we talk about the first person in the third generation, you are still the best. When I said I would give you a big gift just now, I was not kidding you."
Ge Yong stretched out two fingers and said meaningfully: "One for the ceremony of coming of age, one for the wedding, anything I have in my Ge Mansion, you can choose whatever you want. But one thing, don't be so smart and cheat me!"
"Absolutely not! Master Ge, don't worry!"
The little fat man was immediately overjoyed. Although Ge Yong's last sentence blocked some of his clever ideas, such a condition was enough to make him ecstatic. So, he nodded like pecking rice, vowed to agree, and even cried out for Zhang Shou, saying that he was so generous that he presented such precious technology to the emperor.
Of course, the little fat man said it very sincerely: "Master Ge, it is true that the teacher is of high moral character, but he is also putting others on the fire. He has offered so many good things again and again without asking for anything in return, but others only know how to cherish their own things and even hide their knowledge and refuse to teach more people. In this way, isn't he a saint?"
"You know, there is no good ending for living saints in this world!"
"Yes, just because of your teacher, this living saint, the emperor urgently sent someone to take me to the palace to question me today..."
Zhang Shou saw that Ge Yong and Lu Sanlang were working together and were almost forcing the emperor to abdicate, so he simply stroked his chin and watched the fun from the side as if it had nothing to do with him. As a result, Ge Yong was talking so much that he didn't even wait for him to express his opinion. He immediately became furious: "Jiu Zhang, you did such a big thing without consulting me, but did you mention it to Yingying?"
"I didn't discuss this with the teacher. I think the emperor will most likely ask the teacher to question him. In this case, the teacher can just say he knows nothing and he won't have to take the blame for me."
Zhang Shou had a look on his face that said, "I'm thinking about you, teacher." Seeing Ge Yong's face frowning, as if to say, "It's too late, I've already taken the blame for you," he laughed and said, "As for Yingying, she has already pre-sold 300 of the immature clocks. When she heard that I had made an equally immature glass to present to the emperor, she immediately said, "Go ahead, present it. She's too busy."
You two losers! Zhu Ying is the same, if she can't do it, I can!
The little fat man was so distressed that he couldn't breathe. Why didn't he think of such a good thing that could make a lot of money?
He looked eagerly at Zhang Shou, and then he saw Zhang Shou smiled at him: "Lu Sanlang, your coming-of-age ceremony is coming soon, and your wedding date is approaching. The teacher has been so generous that he said that you can choose anything from his house. Although I dare not compete with the teacher, I can still combine the two gifts into one."
"Although I presented the formula of glass to the emperor, making glass is not an easy job and it is easy to catch fire. Although I deliberately demolished two small courtyards in the northwest corner of Zhang Garden, transplanted all the trees, flowers and plants in them to other places, and left a spacious house in the middle as a glass workshop, this is not a long-term solution. Sooner or later, we will have to move to another place."
"Yang Qilang, who once destroyed countless crystals and ground a pair of telescopes and glasses for stargazing, I taught him a little about optics and asked him to learn mathematics and physics from Guan Qiu. Later, he and the other glass craftsmen will be assigned to the glass workshop, and the workshop will be given to you. You can teach them however you want, as long as you can make them obey you."
"As for whether you want to continue to contribute new technologies or just take advantage of the big profits, it's up to you."
Teacher, you are the biggest spendthrift in the world! If it was the former Lu Sanlang, he would have excitedly agreed to such a good thing that fell from the sky. Wouldn't it be too stupid not to accept such a big gift from others? But now facing Zhang Shou, who was generous to the point of spending money, and seeing Ge Yong with eyes as big as copper bells, he immediately abandoned that greed.
He shouted righteously: "Teacher, what are you talking about! If you think I have the ability to manage that business and give it to me, I am of course happy to take responsibility. But if you say you are giving it to me, then that is underestimating me. I know that you will be too busy in the future. Don't worry, I will definitely select more and better craftsmen to carry forward this glass workshop!"
"As for where to move to, forget it! I will write a letter to the emperor tomorrow. It is better to move directly to the West Garden of the palace. There are plenty of empty houses by the Taiye Lake! In case of a fire, it will be very convenient to put out the fire!"
Ge Yong was so angry at the little fat guy. Who just said to him bitterly that a living saint would not have a good ending? It was you, the damn little fat guy, right? How come Zhang Shou generously gave you this glass workshop, and you even exaggeratedly said that you wanted to move this workshop directly to the inner courtyard of the imperial palace? Isn't this palace afraid of fire? You've gone crazy flattering the emperor!
Lu Sanlang obviously realized that he had gone too far in trying to please the master, so after expressing his determination, he immediately left on the pretext of going back to work on the plan. As soon as he left, Ge Yong snorted in anger, "Like master, like disciple!"
Zhang Shou said calmly: "Teachers should say that like students, like teachers."
You unworthy disciple , you are scolding me in a roundabout way. How can I be as wasteful as you! Although he was glaring, Ge Yong, who had just said a lot of taboo words in front of Lu Wan and Lu Sanlang, finally asked with a stern face: "Are you ready for the lecture? With the emperor's character, since he has appointed you as a lecturer, he will never take back his order."
"In this way, you will most likely be pushed to the front and forced to take the lead on the first day of the imperial lecture."
"It's ready." Zhang Shou said nonchalantly, "Yingying prepared eight sets of clothes for me."
"Who asked you this!" Ge Yong was almost irritated to death by Zhang Shou's nonchalant tone. "The Third Prince has chosen you before he even became the Crown Prince. If you can't handle it, he, the newly crowned Crown Prince, will also be ridiculed!"
"No matter how unreliable I am, I will not cheat my students. Moreover, a scholar will die for his confidant. Although the Third Prince is young, he is also one of my confidants. I certainly won't let his kindness go to waste." Having said this, Zhang Shou smiled sincerely at Ge Yong and said, "However, what I said may make many great scholars furious. Teacher, you have to help me."
Facing such a lazy student, what else could Ge Yong say? He was really exhausted!
