Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 574: Unreasonable, look at Zhang Lang
The huge Wenhua Hall was completely silent. To say silent might not be quite accurate, because there was still an old man's slow voice echoing in the hall, but the reaction from the audience could be seen from the blank and absent-minded faces.
Those with extraordinary talents blocked their five senses and were daydreaming; those who were slightly less gifted were thinking about the official business of their own government offices; those who were even less gifted were muttering to themselves, trying to block out Ge Yong's voice; as for the poor people who were completely unable to block out the devilish sound that pierced their ears, there was nothing they could do but to bite the bullet and go through the baptism of Ge's mathematics.
Even the court officials who thought they had read some of Ge's mathematical classics when they were young, or were quite sensitive to numbers, felt worse than death when faced with Ge Yong's unprecedented teaching baptism.
Zhu Ying, who thought she had no talent for mathematics since she was a child, didn't care at all that the lecturer was her favorite Grandpa Ge. She leaned her head on Princess Deyang's shoulder and dozed off. However, there were only a few people who could be as unscrupulous as the eldest lady. Even the ministers had to endure the hardship.
Many people, perhaps because they were tortured too much, even began to look up to the students of Jiuzhang Hall. How could they understand something as mysterious as a book from heaven? How could they learn it?
Only Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, who had eavesdropped on Zhang Shou's lectures and had experienced the baptism of the Imperial Academy lectures, showed calmness. However, the so-called calmness meant that they were more resistant to those things that were like heavenly books, and they seemed indifferent, or even detached. When Ge Yong finished his long speech, they also breathed a sigh of relief.
Also feeling like they were alive were a bunch of civil and military officials, officials' children, and daughters of wealthy families in the Wenhua Palace. Especially the young people at the back, who had originally thought it was a great honor to be chosen by the emperor to attend the first day of the imperial lecture, but now no one knew how many of them were secretly complaining in their hearts.
Ge Yong and Zhang Shou, the teacher and student, are obviously of the same lineage. What Ge Yong said was already so sleep-inducing - and they couldn't just fall asleep in front of the current emperor - so when Zhang Shou comes back to give lectures, won't they have to endure the same torture again?
Moreover, a young and energetic person like Zhang Shou should like to show off more than Ge Yong, and he will definitely deliberately confuse them when the time comes!
Even Zhu Tingfang, who was always eager to learn and never ashamed to ask questions, couldn't help but rub his temples after seeing Ge Yong finish his speech. Even though he had always been reserved about Zhang Shou, his future brother-in-law, and always felt that people who looked too good were not so trustworthy, he was especially suspicious of Ge Yong's decision to accept someone as his last disciple. But at this point, he had to admit one thing.
He could doubt Zhang Shou's origin and teacher, but his talent must have really impressed Ge Yong. You know, even though he was praised for his photographic memory and ability to master everything, Ge Yong had disliked him for his mediocre talent in mathematics. Just like what Ge Yong said just now, he felt doubtful about his life.
Glancing sideways at the gauze curtain separating men and women not far away, he couldn't help but be curious about how Zhu Ying, who had only learned martial arts since childhood and only dabbled in other things, or even gave up halfway, got along with Zhang Shou on a daily basis. What if Zhang Shou suddenly talked about those extremely complicated things, would Zhu Ying be able to understand a single word?
If Zhu Ying knew that her elder brother was questioning her and Zhang Shou's relationship, she would definitely sneer. So what if Zhang Shou was talented in mathematics? He would never show off in front of her! Zhang Shou had a lot of interesting topics other than mathematics. Except for a girl like her with a unique mind, other girls could not stand shoulder to shoulder with him!
At this moment, the eldest lady miraculously woke up the moment Ge Yong finished speaking. Not only did she rub her eyes, she even wanted to stretch. Finally, under the glare of the Queen Mother, she hurriedly stopped her actions, but still yawned a little.
The Queen Mother glared at her for such a lazy behavior and then gave up. She then glanced at the Fourth Prince beside her and asked with a smile, "Silang, how much did you understand of what Grand Tutor Ge just said?"
When the fourth prince saw that all the celebrities below were looking at him, he said with some embarrassment, "Grandmother, I can only understand a little bit. In terms of mathematical talent, I am far behind my third brother. In fact, it's not just talent, my determination and endurance are just average. I just don't want to be left too far behind by my third brother, so I just try my best to hold on!"
"Third brother must have understood a lot!"
Hearing the Fourth Prince's words, the Queen Mother couldn't help but smile. She waved for her grandson to come closer, and then she even reached out to stroke the back of his head, saying word by word: "You and Sanlang grew up together, and you have a deep brotherly love. This is very good. You must remember to help your third brother, the Crown Prince, more in the future and set an example for the other brothers and sisters."
The fourth prince immediately smiled. He hated his two elder brothers, but he was just average to his other sisters. However, the queen mother did not ask him to get along well with them, but asked him to help the third brother, and emphasized that the third brother was the crown prince, and asked him to set an example for his brothers and sisters. This really made him very proud.
Without thinking twice, he answered loudly, "Don't worry, grandma. I will definitely set a good example!"
At this time, Ge Yong was supported by Lu Sanlang and returned to his original position. Although the old man could walk very fast without help, he enjoyed the feeling of being taken care of by his favorite disciple in public, so he didn't care much about other movements.
The emperor, who had been trying hard to keep up with Ge Yong's publishing progress, and the third prince, the future crown prince who had always been hardworking, were still thinking about Ge Yong's lectures and had no time to pay attention to the conversation between the empress dowager and the fourth prince.
Most people in Wenhua Palace were still in a daze after getting rid of the devil's voice. Therefore, not everyone heard the Queen Mother and the Fourth Prince's answers, but those who heard them had very interesting expressions. Especially those who thought that the Queen Mother was dissatisfied with the Emperor's sudden decision to confer the title of Crown Prince, they were even more uncomfortable.
It is said that the emperor and the empress fell out, so the emperor begged the empress dowager to depose the empress, but while she did so, she actually fell out with the emperor... This is simply ridiculous! Why did the empress dowager still protect the emperor and the future prince after the falling out? Who is so wicked that he actually tempted them to think wrongly and make mistakes in such a key judgment? This is simply fatal!
As for the eldest prince and the second prince, who had finally gotten the opportunity to attend today's imperial lecture, they were shocked and angry when they heard the queen mother's words, but they did not dare to show it.
They have been running rampant in and out of the palace for many years, of course, because their mother is the queen, but isn't it also because the queen mother has always been quite protective of the central palace and treated them well? But now, the queen mother first personally issued an imperial decree to depose the queen, and then publicly praised the fourth prince, and directly pointed out that the third prince is the crown prince!
The matter of the Eastern Palace has been completely settled. How could they still have any hope?
But after their initial despair, the two brothers heard the emperor's voice: "Grand Tutor Ge's lecture was very inspiring. I was deeply inspired. I hope that you can also gain something from it. But judging from your expressions just now, I am afraid that very few of you have gained anything. In the past, didn't the local officials, the Minister of Finance, and the heads of the thirteen departments all delegate the complicated numerical and miscellaneous tasks to the lower officials?"
"There are even local officials who, when they report to the capital, can't even describe how many households, acres of land, and water conservancy projects they govern, but they leave a reputation for being the latest in literature, poetry, and wine. It is said that when they leave office, they can even earn an umbrella of support from the gentry! I would like to say that this is putting the cart before the horse, but this is commonplace, or even a convention!"
After these powerful words, the emperor said calmly: "Today is the Imperial Lecture, and the lecturer is Old Master Ge. I don't care whether you listened carefully or were distracted and fell asleep. I think you all know what is going on. Next, Zhang Shou, the doctor of the Imperial College and the lecturer of the Eastern Palace, will give the lecture."
It was not until this moment that many people suddenly realized that Ge Yong was here just now, but Zhang Shou... was not in the Wenhua Hall!
Seeing that Princess Deyang and Liu Qing were both looking at her, Zhu Ying said nonchalantly, "Ah Shou just made some preparations beforehand, it's no big deal! Anyway, the emperor lets him do it, and I'm also very curious about what he's up to!"
Not to mention other people, even Liu Qing, who had always been on good terms with her, didn't believe it, and Princess Deyang, an honest person, didn't believe it, and Princess Yongping, who had been her old enemy for many years, didn't believe it even more. Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou were openly going in and out as a couple before they got married, and they didn't hide what people said. The Duke of Zhao's mansion also let it go. How could Zhu Ying not know what Zhang Shou had planned?
However, since they couldn't pry open Zhu Ying's mouth, they could only wait quietly for Zhang Shou to come on stage and reveal the answer.
However, before Zhang Shou's men could wait, they received a huge "surprise"! The screen-like gauze curtain that separated the men and women on both sides was moved away by two teams of eunuchs without saying a word!
Although neither the princesses nor the daughters of other nobles and officials were the type to be ashamed and angry to death if their faces were seen by others, this sudden incident still left them stunned.
"Taizu once said that it is true that men and women should not touch each other, but Mencius also said that if your sister-in-law is drowning, you should rescue her with your hands, which is a matter of discretion. But for thousands of years, there have been a lot of people who misinterpreted the saints, such as the so-called Dai Li Ji, who added a lot of rules such as the Seven Divorces out of wedlock. Since he drove out the Yuan invaders, he should naturally smash these outdated rules to pieces."
"Since the early years of Taizu, the daughters of officials in our dynasty have never worn veils when going out, and they have never used roadblocks or fences when walking, which wastes manpower and material resources. Today, when listening to the lecture in Wenhua Hall, there is no need for gauze curtains !"
The emperor's words, which seemed to make sense but were actually irrational, immediately calmed down the tumultuous hall. There was nothing that could be done about it. The shocking words left by the Emperor Taizu were too numerous to count. Yet, someone even specially left a book of the Emperor Taizu's quotations, and printed thousands and tens of thousands of copies to distribute to the people!
During the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Sejong, some powerful people in power tried to destroy these quotations and portray Taizu as a peerless hero with a sense of righteousness. However, the people refused to stop spreading them. There were even poorly printed copies of Taizu's quotations that circulated wildly, and no matter how they tried to ban them, they could not be eradicated. Over time, the powerful people realized that Emperor Taizu might have deliberately kept someone in charge of this matter.
In this case, the bigwigs did not want to get themselves into trouble, so they could only make up a series of half-true and half-false rumors about Taizu, packaging the already legendary founding emperor to be even more mysterious. As for Taizu's heresy, no one cared about it.
Now that the emperor has used Taizu's Quotations as a basis, what else can they say?
When they found that their sight lines were no longer blocked, some of the daughters lowered their heads in embarrassment, but most of them looked at the officials across from them. Some, like Zhu Ying, were looking for their fathers and brothers, and also turned around to see how their fiancé would appear, but most of them were curiously looking at the elders at the top of the court, and also taking a closer look at the children of the well-born families.
After all, many of them are their fiancés.
Most of the girls here have seen each other at least once before getting married... or even more times, but there are a few who, because of the strict rules at home, still don't know what their fiancé looks like, and have to rely on others to point it out to them in a joking manner.
At this moment, some people think that their future husband is handsome, but some people lament that their fiancé is just like an idiot.
However, the girls who initially thought that their future husbands were handsome and worthy of their noble birth and beautiful appearance soon felt that they were blind. They saw outside the hall, first someone brought in a device covered with black cloth, and then a young man in a scarlet official robe walked in calmly. At one glance, the girls felt that they could not take their eyes away.
The bright red crown and robes that were originally only worn by middle-aged people looked gorgeous but not gaudy on him. The common official crown, coupled with his jade-like face and handsome features, made people reluctant to put them down. One girl even looked at the handsome man for a while and then turned her head to look at Zhu Ying.
Who doesn't know that it's Zhang Shou now? Before, they only heard of Zhang Shou's name, but not everyone had actually seen him. They thought the rumors were exaggerated, but today when they saw the real person, they found that the rumors were not exaggerated at all, but even worse than the real person!
And the girl who went to see Zhu Ying was definitely not alone. So, facing the eyes cast towards her from all directions, Zhu Ying naturally smiled with joy, her face full of pride for how discerning I am. At that moment, she felt that she was so wise to stay in Zhang's house after meeting Zhang Shou when she went to the countryside!
Otherwise, if my father arranged the marriage without even a marriage certificate, who knows, this marriage might be snatched away by someone else? If you see a good man, you have to be quick and grab him!
