Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 597: True Nature and Normal Mind
The aftermath of the imperial lecture in the morning had not yet subsided, and the news of this new disturbance in the Imperial College naturally spread throughout the capital in a short time. The emperor was teaching the third prince with "New Edition of Ge's Mathematics" when Chu Kuan, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, came in person to report the matter. Faced with this news, he threw down the book in his hand with some annoyance and then rubbed his eyebrows.
"Zhang... Why is Jiuzhang so prone to causing trouble?"
Considering that the Third Prince, who was about to become the Crown Prince, was right beside him, and that he was talking about a teacher whom the Third Prince respected very much, the Emperor changed the two characters Zhang Shou that were on his lips to Zhang Shou's courtesy name. But even so, his emotion still attracted the Third Prince's objection: "Father, the teacher never likes to stir up trouble, it's just that others always dislike him!"
Chu Kuan glanced at the serious Third Prince, and said with a warm smile: "Third Prince, if you don't attract jealousy, you are a mediocre person. Moreover, Dr. Zhang is too young. If it were someone else, he would not even be able to wear an adult cap. But he has become your teacher, and he is also a lecturer in the Eastern Palace, with a group of students. Who can imagine what he will be like in ten or twenty years?"
"By that time, he will have great power in the court and even rely on himself as your teacher to suppress the younger generations of the current court officials. This is unpredictable."
"Ten or twenty years later, the teacher will not change." The third prince's answer seemed natural. Even when the emperor looked at him with a look of surprise and scrutiny, he did not flinch at all. "A teacher is someone who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts. This is what the teacher often says. Now he doesn't even teach in Banshan Hall, but only concentrates on Jiuzhang Hall. What does this mean?"
"Banshan Hall is full of students from high-ranking officials, while Jiuzhang Hall has poor students with mathematical talent, merchants' children, and scholars who prefer mathematics to the imperial examinations. But in general, none of them seem to be able to become high-ranking officials such as prime ministers and ministers . Few of these students can repay their teachers, but many need their teachers to help them and give them opportunities."
"Even Senior Brother Lu, the reason why he was praised by the Emperor and has the reputation of being a prodigal who has turned over a new leaf is not because the teacher has a keen eye for talent. As for Lu Jijiu, wasn't he also very dismissive of the teacher at first? But what about now? Lu Jijiu has put aside the gains and losses of the moment and has acted much more generously than before!"
The Third Prince spoke his mind in one breath, and even spoke incoherently at the end. Seeing that the Emperor and Chu Kuan were staring at him intently, he began to feel a little uneasy, and the shy and cautious nature of his character took over again. He lowered his head uneasily and whispered , "Father, I was in a hurry and spoke without thinking..."
"No, you've obviously been holding back your words for a long time, and you've been thinking about them over and over again." The emperor laughed, pulled the third prince over to sit beside him, and then looked at Chu Kuan and said, "Sanlang's progress is obvious to all. From this point of view alone, Zhang Jiuzhang is a better teacher than me as a father! It's just that I'm partial to him, and Sanlang is even more partial to him."
Chu Kuan agreed very much with the emperor's last sentence, but he was sure that if he really agreed with it, the emperor might get angry out of shame.
Although there are indeed many coincidences that led Zhang Shou to where he is today, if it weren't for the widow Zhang, if it weren't for Zhu Ying's love for him at first sight, if it weren't for the entanglement between the three families, how could the emperor have promoted him so vigorously and was obviously partial? The current emperor is certainly a willful monarch, but most of the time he still has a sense of propriety!
Not to mention, even the status of the deposed queen, even the eldest and second princes, their own sons, were defeated when they faced Zhang Shoufang. As for the former Prime Minister Jiang Ge Lao, a self-important old scum, he was even less worth mentioning.
The emperor has been protecting the third and fourth princes for many years, right? But did the emperor completely dislike the deposed empress and her two sons because of the young brothers? Although the series of events was not the work of Zhang Shou alone, there were many factors at work, and he had also fanned the flames behind the scenes, but he even had an illusion that the emperor was sometimes nice to Zhang Shou and his own sons.
This was better than loving Zhu Ying and Princess Yongping because of her! If he hadn't been sure that it was Zhu Ying and Princess Yongping who were inseparable, and definitely not Zhang Shou, he might have made that guess. If he was like this, what about those officials who liked to think about everything in a complicated and subtle way, and those people who enjoyed talking about the royal family's secrets?
Since the emperor posthumously conferred a title on Zhang Shou's mother, there have been more than a dozen versions of the rumor circulating among the people. Many of them are about the emperor's encounter with widow Zhang during a secret visit, and then leaving a descendant among the people...
Thinking of this, Chu Kuan bowed his head respectfully and said lightly: "Dr. Zhang is indeed a man of insight, but if the emperor had not given the task of reopening Jiuzhang Hall to a young man who had just started out, there would not have been such a good story. But if the Third Prince had more lecturers in the future and met the outstanding people in the world, he might not only respect Dr. Zhang."
No way! It's not like I haven't seen anyone before! When I was still an insignificant little prince, I met many famous ministers when I went out, but they often didn't even show any courtesy and just treated me as if I didn't exist. And many people were okay with their attitude, but turned around and said bitterly that the emperor's favoritism towards his youngest son was a sign of disaster for the country, and so on and so forth...
If that were the case, one could say that these ministers had integrity and were able to ignore the royal family members. However, the actual situation was that after the news of his imminent entry into the Eastern Palace came, many of those who praised him highly included these shameless people!
The Third Prince lowered his eyelids, and the detailed account in his mind was clearly laid out. Although he was indeed humble and shy, it did not mean that he really had no temper at all.
Over the years, apart from his father, mother, and the fourth prince who had always been sincere to him, and Zhu Ying who had always been nice to him because of the relationship between the first and second princes, or because of his father, only Zhang Shou treated him with a truly normal heart. Those so-called learned and talented people only respected him because he was about to become the crown prince!
The emperor didn't notice the little emotion of the third prince. After all, in his mind, the two youngest sons were people of true temperament and couldn't hide their thoughts at all. But Chu Kuan was keenly aware of it, because after the emperor's mind was completely clear, he no longer treated the third prince as a child when he looked at him, but as the future prince.
Therefore, after confirming Zhang Shou's position in the Third Prince's heart once again, he asked for an audience again after leaving the Qianqing Palace. The emperor, who grew up with him, didn't even have to guess why he came back, and smiled as soon as he saw him.
"Why, are you here for Zhang Shou again? Of all the people who recommended him to me, you were the most serious. I even considered him to be your direct relative. Now you keep reminding me that I can't just listen to one side and especially can't give the responsibility of teaching the prince to Zhang Shou alone... Wasn't my father and mother throwing me directly to the teacher to teach me?"
Chu Kuan was so shocked by what the emperor said. Zhang Shou is my relative? I thought he was your son!
He put aside the emperor's teasing and sighed softly: "Your Majesty should know that you and the third prince have different personalities. Even if it is Old Master Ge, you may be impressed by his knowledge, character, and talent, but you will not worship the old master as a god and obey his orders, because Your Majesty is a maverick in his bones, who likes to break the old rules, so he has never believed in authority."
Seeing that the emperor was somewhat disapproving, as if he wanted to say that although the Third Prince had a soft personality, he was definitely not someone who would just follow anyone's orders, he added calmly, "Your Majesty was blessed by nature, so naturally he never likes to rely on others, even the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager were like that, not to mention Grand Tutor Ge? But the Third Prince is different."
"Because of his childhood experiences, he seems to be shy and cautious, but in fact he is sensitive and thoughtful. Although he will not listen to everyone, for those he relies on and trusts, he will deepen his affection for them because of his own feelings."
"The people he has relied on since he was a child are the Emperor and Concubine He. Has the Emperor ever noticed that no matter what you and Concubine He ask him to do, he never doubts it and always thinks it is right? The person he has trusted since he was a child is the Fourth Prince, so no matter what the Fourth Prince does, he is a good brother, and this good brother will not only tolerate his younger brother's shortcomings, but also directly point out the Fourth Prince's mistakes."
"If it's the eldest prince and the second prince, or any other princess, Your Majesty, think about it. Have you only seen the third prince keep a distance from others, and never seen him listen to others casually? And have you never seen him advise or admonish others?"
"In front of Miss Zhu, the Third Prince is a good and sensible child, because she has praised him like this since he was a child, and she praised him in front of the Queen Mother and the Emperor. Miss Zhu hates the First Prince's gloomy and the Second Prince's domineering, and she doesn't like the Fourth Prince's impulsiveness. So, the Third Prince will naturally show Miss Zhu that she likes this side of him."
"And in front of Dr. Zhang, the Third Prince is his true character."
Seeing that the emperor was finally moved, the reason for his being moved was obviously not because of his vivid description of the Third Prince, but because the Third Prince was actually most true to his nature in front of Zhang Shou. Chu Kuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Among the concubines in the harem, Concubine He and Concubine Jiang were not favorite concubines, but the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were very much favored by the emperor.
Look at it now, the emperor is even obviously jealous as a father because the third prince is more calm in front of Zhang Shou!
Although Chu Kuan hoped that the emperor would put aside his partiality for Zhang Shou, he still said in a very cautious tone: "In front of Dr. Zhang, the Third Prince often forgets that he is a royal family member and the future crown prince, and instead just concentrates on being a good student."
"If he were an ordinary person, this would be fine, but he is the crown prince, and he will rule the country one day. Does the emperor really think this is appropriate? And it's not just the third prince, the fourth prince is the same. The last time he failed the Jiuzhang Hall exam and left in anger, when Zhang Shou's trusted follower Ah Liu brought him back, he shook off his depression and regained his spirits. Is this really just pure reasoning?"
"How do we know that he is not in awe of Zhang Shou, and has even transferred this awe to Ah Liu? This is not a good sign, but the bad thing is that the Third Prince has seen through the faces of some court officials in the past, so he always compares Zhang Shou with those slick old officials!"
"Those old officials are respectful on the surface, but they don't necessarily take the emperor seriously, let alone the former Third Prince. Throughout history, when the emperor's power is strong, the ministers in the court bow their heads and dare not object. The civil officials are powerful, which means that even if the emperor is spitted on the face, he dare not wipe it off! The Third Prince doesn't understand the truth and thinks that they only respect the emperor's status and not the person. In fact, he is completely wrong!"
"Pardon me for saying something treasonous, but these civil servants who have passed the imperial examinations are like great generals who have survived battles on the battlefield. They respect the imperial power only because of thousands of years of etiquette. If the person sitting on the throne is worthless, they may be respectful on the surface, but they may not even look down on him in their hearts, let alone a mere Third Prince?"
"If the Third Prince can't even see this, and only respects Zhang Shou because he is different, then he has misunderstood. You should know that Zhang Shou is no different from these civil servants. These civil servants only care about their own interests - only a small group of them care about their country and the world - and Zhang Shou probably only cares about promoting his mathematics and the principles of all things in the world!"
"It is precisely because he has no fear in his heart, no matter the etiquette or the imperial power, that Zhang Shou can be so calm in front of the emperor and the third prince! It's not because he has no desires, but because what he wants is completely different from most people!"
Chu Kuan said this in one breath, and then slowly stopped, his eyes fixed on the emperor, hoping to get the reaction he wanted. Sure enough, he had said it so clearly, and the emperor's face finally lost the teasing expression.
"You are becoming more and more like those self-righteous courtiers, and your words are becoming more and more serious!"
The words were still somewhat joking, but the emperor's attitude was obviously much more cautious: "I will carefully select the lecturers for this imperial lecture and choose people with both moral integrity and talent to serve as lecturers in the East Palace. Of course, those stubborn old-fashioned people will not be among them."
"Those conservative people should just stay in their little world! The world is so big, why is there only one Zhang Shou? Besides, Zhang Shou only teaches mathematics, not other subjects. Since he doesn't teach classics and history, and doesn't involve current affairs, he is even more limited than when Grand Tutor Ge taught me, so don't worry about it."
The emperor said this, as if to convince himself, or to convince Chu Kuan, he patted the armrest impatiently, and then said as if it was the final word: "I have watched the lectures in the past few days and have already picked out some people. As for Sanlang's wrong prejudice when judging people, I will naturally explain it to him."
He still had something to say at this time. When he first ascended the throne, he also had an extreme thought. I am the Son of Heaven, how dare you ignore me? It was because the Queen Mother woke him up and Ge Yong scolded him that he realized that the so-called "I am the only one" was just an illusion of the kings of all dynasties.
Seeing that Chu Kuan seemed to have no choice but to accept this statement, the emperor stood up by pressing the armrest and said calmly: "As for Jiuzhangtang... since someone has come to the Imperial College to make trouble, then let's just move Jiuzhangtang out of the Imperial College. I personally visited the Imperial College before, and I encouraged and warned him, but it was of no use in the end. It shows that it is rotten to the core."
"In this case, let's just start over!"
