Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 572: Being a Son
The petitions by the eldest and second princes, which were said to be written with tears and blood, caused a big but not small wave in the court. The emperor had already successfully deposed the empress, and the two brothers were equally matched in the past, and did not know how to show favor to the people and win their hearts, so when the emperor had already made up his mind to appoint the third prince as the crown prince, the party that once supported the eldest and the heir had already quietly changed their flags.
Of course, there are people like Hong Shanchang who wrote a letter to support the proposal and felt that the first and second princes should be given a chance. At any time, there will always be so-called upright gentlemen who claim to be upright and uphold the rules of propriety, and there will also be so-called opportunists who take the opportunity to bet on a team and hope to win wealth and glory.
Therefore, although Dean Hong was the first to write a petition to give the eldest and second princes a chance , he was disliked by both sides. This was because the Dean of Yuzhang Academy repeatedly said that the eldest and second princes were guilty of serious crimes, and claimed that they were allowed to attend the imperial lecture in order to listen to the teachings of the wise men from all sides, and then to change their ways and become a new person.
As for words like legitimate, illegitimate, senior, and junior, Hong Shanchang did not even mention them, and even seemed to have forgotten that he had once proposed that his daughter Hong was worthy of the eldest prince. In his writing, the words between the lines revealed a meaning: the emperor is kind, and if the two brothers have the slightest wishful thinking, they are bastards!
As a result, when the other three principals in Yashe spoke of Principal Hong to their students, they naturally expressed their deep disgust.
When Dean Yue of Zhaoming Academy was speaking privately to his senior brother who served as a minister in the court, he evaluated Dean Hong in eight words - conservative and self-righteous.
While a small group of people either agreed or opposed, and most people remained silent and waited for the emperor's decision, a piece of news spread like wildfire throughout the capital - the third prince asked the emperor to give the eldest prince and the second prince the opportunity to attend the imperial lecture.
Initially, this news was dismissed as nonsense, as everyone knew that the eldest and second princes had bullied their younger brothers in the past. But soon, some people thought that this news was not impossible. After all, if the third prince, who was about to become the crown prince, showed more generosity and kindness to his two useless brothers, wouldn't it be to establish his image as a wise crown prince?
But people waited and waited, but there was no official letter from the Third Prince, as if the rumor was just a joke. So, when a group of prospective East Palace tutors gathered in Kunning Palace again to accompany the Third Prince, who was not yet a crown prince, to study, someone couldn't help but ask, "The news outside is so rampant, why didn't the Third Prince clarify it?"
"What do you want to clarify?" The Third Prince raised his eyebrows in confusion. When someone whispered the news, he said in a nonchalant tone, "If I write a letter to persuade my father, I will be known as a wise and benevolent person, but I will put my father in an unjust position. In this case, I would rather be accused of being a younger brother who does not know filial piety and brotherhood, and seeing my two brothers in a pitiful situation but being indifferent."
At this moment, even Lu Sanlang, who replaced Qi Liang today, was a little surprised: "Then there are rumors outside that the third prince..."
The fourth prince immediately shouted, "How could it be Third Brother? Third Brother, like me, hates Big Brother and Second Brother the most. How could he persuade Father to give them a chance! It must be someone outside who is talking nonsense, hoping to force Third Brother to plead for Big Brother and Second Brother... This is simply wishful thinking. Third Brother is not that stupid!"
Being directly called stupid by his fourth brother, the Third Prince immediately smiled bitterly. He coughed awkwardly, interrupting the Fourth Prince's words, then glanced at Zhang Shou and whispered, "Teacher, I actually suggested this to my father, but there is no need to write a letter. On the contrary, I think those who wrote a letter to support the proposal do not understand my father's feelings at all!"
The emperor's mood... Zhang Shou saw Lu Sanlang was deep in thought, while the others looked at each other in bewilderment. He felt that he could understand the emperor's complex and subtle thoughts.
Thinking back to the time when Zhang Chen pretended to be the second prince's confidant and secretly competed with the eldest prince, which forced the eldest prince to commit a crime in Cangzhou. When he confessed the whole thing to the emperor, the emperor was actually quite angry.
The emperor was certainly furious at his eldest son's incompetence, but he was also furious at Zhang Chen's audacity!
But Zhang Chen pretended to be the confidant of the second prince just because he wanted to chop off the claws that the first prince stretched out to him. The subsequent price-raising behavior was just to intimidate the local tyrants. Who made the first prince who was far away in Cangzhou so greedy? If it weren't for these considerations, even if the emperor had long been disappointed with the eldest and second sons, Zhang Chen would have to bear the consequences.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "The Third Prince is right. Those who wrote to support the proposal were either seeking fame or profit. They were either seeking a reputation for being upright and honest, or they were betting on both sides, gambling on the possibility of a one-in-one outcome. They did not consider how the emperor, as a father, felt when he had to bear the pain of imprisoning his eldest son and exiling his second son."
"The Third Prince knew to advise privately, but he did not write a letter for fame. This is a good son who understands his father. If you followed suit and wrote a letter to gain a reputation for being benevolent and wise, then you would be betraying the emperor who has protected you with a loving father's heart for so many years, and I made a mistake in accepting you as a student. You did a great job this time, keep up the good work!"
"Teacher, you are too kind. I haven't thought about it so much. I just think that letting my elder brother and second brother come out to attend the imperial lecture will not harm the overall situation. If I write a letter, more people will definitely follow suit. I don't know how the outside world spread that it was me who advised the emperor. Before today, I only told the emperor, and even my fourth brother didn't know!"
The Third Prince was a little embarrassed by Zhang Shou's praise and tried to explain himself. But the Fourth Prince was not annoyed. After rolling his eyes for a while, he actually smiled.
"Teacher, according to what you said, if Third Brother mentioned this to Father, Father should be very happy? Then if I shout in front of Father tomorrow that it's better not to release Big Brother and Second Brother, will Father scold me? But in this way, wouldn't Third Brother be more kindhearted? If so, I will go to see Father right away!"
Faced with such a powerful imagination, not to mention Zhang Shou, Lu Sanlang and the attendants, even the Third Prince himself was speechless. If the Fourth Prince heard that the Third Prince's advice might please the Emperor, and planned to imitate him, it would be normal, but who would have thought that the Fourth Prince would come up with this trick in reverse!
This is simply using oneself to contrast others, the realm is so high that it is jaw-dropping!
Outside the thick door curtain of the main hall of Kunning Palace, even the emperor who came to inspect his two sons' learning progress in person could not help but hold his forehead with his hand, wondering if he was doing something wrong by letting the two brothers continue to study together in order to keep them in harmony and intimacy.
He is not worried about the discord between brothers now. What he is worried about now is that the silly Fourth Prince is too devoted to his brother!
However, the emperor was very satisfied with what Zhang Shou said to the third prince. He was even more satisfied that the third prince had advised him verbally but had not formally written a letter to the emperor, leaving no evidence that could be commented on by the court officials.
He did not push the door open to disturb the group of young people who were studying. He happily turned around and walked down the stairs. When he passed by Ah Liu who was sitting on the stairs, he reached out and gently pressed his shoulder. Then he coughed and said, "Ah Liu, you should be more responsible when guarding the door in the future. Even if I come, you should at least make a sound. Aren't you afraid that I will catch them discussing something in secret?"
Ah Liu looked up at the emperor, patted his butt, stood up, and said seriously: "I can hear it all."
Although the words were simple, the emperor understood the meaning immediately. This kid was saying that the reason why he let you go was because I heard what was said inside, and there was not a single word that violated any taboos! Although such truthful words were very different from the beautiful words he was used to hearing, he found them very pleasing to his ears and couldn't help laughing.
He gently tapped the boy in front of him with his finger, shook his head and said, "You can't even say a word to please me. This is far inferior to Zhang Shou. If that boy didn't know how to talk, how could he make Yingying fall in love with him, how could he make the teacher treat him as the most proud student, and how could he make me use such a young boy so much?"
Ah Liu was silent for a moment, but finally raised his lips and said, "The young master taught me to tell the truth. It's not my business whether he tells the truth or not."
The emperor, who was in a good mood, burst into laughter. He did not care whether his laughter would be heard by those inside, and left without looking back. There was no doubt that the rumor that the Third Prince had advised him to release the First Prince and the Second Prince to attend the Imperial Lecture was not spread by someone with ulterior motives, but was spread by Hua Qi himself!
The reason why this news spread so widely in such a short time was that there were naturally people who fanned the flames. As he personally released the news, he naturally would not miss out on those who were desperately promoting the news behind the scenes.
Among them, there were some court officials who praised the prince's wisdom and planned to wave their flags and shout slogans before the third prince entered the East Palace, and proclaimed themselves as the prince's party.
There was once the eldest son of the legitimate family, but now he is like a stray dog that is in a state of panic. On the one hand, he plans to do his best for his former master, and on the other hand, he wags his tail at the third prince, hoping to continue his career path that has been cut off.
There were those who were optimistic about the Third Prince and felt that the wise and benevolent Third Prince should be a better official than the Emperor, who was often stubborn and eccentric - and most of these people were also the ones who most strongly opposed Zhang Shou, the Eastern Palace lecturer.
He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sanlang, this kid, I really didn't love him for nothing for so many years, Silang is not bad either!"
The emperor walked away from Kunning Gate, leaving a dashing back view to the third and fourth princes who came out after hearing the news.
After all, with only a layer of soundproof curtain, the conversation and laughter between him and Ah Liu still alarmed the people inside. However, the others were stopped by Zhang Shou, and only the pair of royal brothers ran out in a hurry.
Seeing that the emperor came quietly and left quietly, the fourth prince wanted to shout, but was stopped by the third prince. After stopping him, the third prince stared at his father's back for a long time, then grabbed the fourth prince's wrist and walked in. When he returned to the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace where everyone was studying together, he smiled a little unnaturally.
"My father must be worried, so he came to see how I'm doing with my teacher."
Everyone knew that this was just an excuse from the Third Prince, but no one was stupid enough to expose it. However, the emperor suddenly showed up here without warning, and Ah Liu, who was guarding outside, did not give any warning. Naturally, everyone, including Lu Sanlang, had some doubts. Among them, the little fat man rode his horse to Zhang Shou's side after he left the palace, and couldn't help but complain about this matter half-truthfully.
"It doesn't matter. Ah Liu used to do the same thing at home. He would always put Yingying or the teacher in front of my study door."
Zhang Shou answered the question as if nothing had happened. Seeing Lu Sanlang's surprised face, he laughed and said, "Don't you think that compared to what you say in front of others, others will feel more satisfied when they hear your true words in secret? For example, today we were in the palace. Even if you knew that Ah Liu was guarding outside, would you say anything taboo?"
Lu Sanlang suddenly realized what was going on, but then he asked cautiously, "Mr., are you working with Ah Liu? Are you also a master like Ah Liu who can listen to everything and see everything?"
"Master, you are nothing! I have nothing to fear from others." Zhang Shou saw that Lu Sanlang was laughing dryly but didn't believe him, so he said with a smile, "Otherwise, think about it. You have known me for such a long time, have you ever heard me say anything bad about the emperor, the teacher, or Yingying?"
Lu Sanlang thought about it and it made sense. But then he thought again, he was the same. He had complained to others about his father and brother many times, but as for complaining to others about Zhang Shou... he had never done that even once!
Zhang Shou turned him from a prodigal son who had always been looked down upon into a genius, and not only did he make a big comeback, but he also became the child from other families that his father often praised. But as for Zhang Shou himself, wasn't it because of Zhu Ying's favor, Ge Yong's love, and the emperor's reliance that he became the most sought-after person in the entire capital, even more prominent than the always brilliant eldest son Zhu?
In this case, he was heartless if he said bad things about Zhang Shou...and Zhang Shou was equally ungrateful if he said bad things about those three!
"Young sir, I'm grateful for your open and honest gentlemanly demeanor!" Lu Sanlang, who had already deeply understood the essence of Zhang Shou's words, winked at Zhang Shou and gave him a thumbs up. "I will definitely learn to be as open and honest as you in the future... By the way, young sir, can you really tell me what courtesy name you chose for me?"
Seeing Lu Sanlang's extremely resentful look, Zhang Shou recalled the time when Ge Yong asked him to choose a courtesy name. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pleasure. He smiled slightly and said casually, "Guess?"
"If I could guess, I wouldn't ask!" Lu Sanlang was so aggrieved that his whole face was almost twisted into a knot. Then he said pitifully, "My full name, Lu Zhu, is already ugly. Young sir, please give me a nice courtesy name. I rely on it to make a living. I can't be called Lu Sanlang when I'm old, can I?"
