Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 599: Enough is Enough
Is this a question of whether you are at ease or not? Godfather, when have you ever been so weak?
Lu Chan was puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask. After Chu Kuan left the Qianqing Palace that day, he instructed him to send someone to stir up trouble, and said that the emperor personally approved to move the Jiuzhang Hall out of the Imperial College. Because the details of the propaganda did not favor Zhang Shou, but also did not deliberately smear him, and even treated Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye fairly, so he didn't pay much attention to it for a while.
He just thought that Chu Kuan wanted to follow the emperor's wishes and push Jiuzhangtang out of the Imperial College as soon as possible.
But who knew that just now, Chu Kuan suddenly came to the outer court of the Silijian and ordered him to evacuate all the people, and then he didn't even lock the drawers and cabinets, and the door was completely open! The silver and money didn't matter, but when he thought that there were still many confidential documents and account books inside, it would be a disaster if they were leaked, Lu Chan was trembling at this moment.
And the reason was simply because Zhu Ying came to provoke trouble!
Although he was in no mood to drink tea or eat, since Chu Kuan was sitting there calmly, he had no choice but to risk his life to accompany the gentleman - although in his opinion Chu Kuan was not a gentleman at all. From his direction, he couldn't even see what was happening outside the Silijian Office, and didn't know if there were people from other government offices watching the fun.
He felt very uncomfortable and wanted to get up from his seat several times, but was forced to stop by Chu Kuan's eyes. After an unknown amount of time, he finally heard a cautious voice from outside: "Grandfather, Miss Zhu came out angrily, but..."
After hearing what was said before, Lu Chan was slightly relieved, but when he heard the word "but", his heart was in suspense again. Sure enough, the next moment, he heard the person outside the door whispering, "But, Miss Zhu didn't leave. She was guarding the door. She said that there are many confidential things stored in the outer office of the Silijian. There is no one there now. In order to prevent someone from breaking in and doing evil, she..."
"She just did a good deed by guarding the door for us!"
This time, Lu Chan secretly complained. Let's not talk about whether Zhu Ying had seen something he shouldn't have seen. Just the act of guarding the door, although outsiders would not be able to take advantage of the situation, what would they think if they were seen? He couldn't help but look at Chu Kuan with hope, but he saw that Chu Kuan was still motionless. Although he admired his sitting skill, it didn't relieve his anxiety.
After all, he was the one in charge of the outer court of the Imperial Household Department most of the time. After Zhu Ying's disturbance, once he lost the mystery and fear in the eyes of others, it would not be so easy for him to do things in the future!
Seeing that Lu Chan was like an ant on the hot pot, Chu Kuan asked, "Zhu Ying is alone? Where are her guards?"
The outsider didn't seem to expect Chu Kuan to ask such a question. He seemed to have thought about it carefully before answering, "She originally brought a few guards with her, but after she broke in, the other guards were sent away by Zhu Hong, and Zhu Hong himself followed into the outer court of the Imperial Household Department. But only Miss Zhu came out this time, and Zhu Hong didn't come out, so he should still be inside."
Lu Chan was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. It didn't matter if Zhu Ying was inside. This young lady was known for not caring about things. Even if she saw some account books and documents, she might just ignore them and not take them to heart. Nothing serious would happen.
But the problem was that Zhu Hong and his guards, who were raised by Zhu Jing, the Duke of Zhao, almost as his adopted sons, were more shrewd than the others. If these people saw the secrets, and Zhu Jing knew about them and used them to threaten him, he would be ready to jump into the Shichahai Lake!
"Zhu Hong didn't come out..." Chu Kuan seemed a little surprised. After a long while, he laughed and said, "So that's how it is. Zhu Ying can be serious and meticulous. With Zhu Hong in charge and her guarding outside, even if someone has any bad intentions towards the outer court of the Imperial Household Department, they will be ruined. Well, don't worry, Zhu Ying should be back soon."
"Lü Chan, tell the others to be patient and wait for a while. Once Zhu Ying leaves, you can go back."
Lü Chan no longer had the energy to complain or be surprised that Chu Kuan was so open-minded. He could only respond with a bitter face, and then went to the next door to give instructions to others. Fortunately, this teahouse at the entrance of Jinyu Hutong was originally one of the bases of their Silijian outer yamen, and there was no outsider at this time. But this time there were so many people hiding here, I'm afraid I will have to give up in the future.
In this capital city where every inch of land is valuable, it is not easy to find a suitable place to operate secretly. As a result, Chu Kuan exposed this place so easily! It is not easy for them to hold this century-old store in their hands!
After waiting for a long time, just when Lu Chan was anxiously pacing back and forth in the outer corridor, thinking that Chu Kuan's guess that Zhu Ying would return soon was really wrong, he finally saw someone hurried into the small teahouse again. The person entered the lobby, looked up and saw him, and quickly bowed. Seeing him gesturing impatiently, he hurried up the stairs.
"Miss Zhu has gone back! It was Madam Zhao who came here personally, so even though she was reluctant, she was still taken back."
Lu Chan simply thought there was something wrong with his ears. Would the notoriously difficult Lady Zhao come forward to stop Zhu Ying from causing trouble in the outer court of the Imperial Household Department? Could it be that the sun had risen from the west? He didn't have time to say anything to the visitor, and quickly turned around and pushed open the curtain to enter the private room. Seeing Chu Kuan had already stood up leisurely with a flick of his clothes, he couldn't help but ask, "Why would Lady Zhao..."
"It's probably because the people in the Duke Zhao's mansion feel that Zhu Ying's fuss is enough. I have already backed off, and it would be too much if she continues to fuss." Chu Kuan smiled and then ordered, "You go to the Lu Mansion in person to deliver a letter and tell them about the public school. The two imperial concubines and Concubine Jiang in the palace, as well as Princess Yongping, Princess Deyang, and several princesses and clan daughters are all willing to donate money to support the school."
Lu Chan was simply stunned. Although Chu Kuan said that he was unwilling to apologize to Zhu Ying, his attitude of retreating was no less severe than apologizing in person.
As for this so-called donation to support education, although it was not made by the outer court of the Imperial Household Department, but by a group of ladies from inside and outside the court, who knows if Chu Kuan was behind it? It was clear that they wanted to suppress Zhang Shou before, but why did they seem to be helping Zhang Shou now?
Feeling very aggrieved, he could not help but ask in a low voice: "After Miss Zhu's disturbance today, won't outsiders know that the previous rumors about the dispute in the Imperial College were spread by our Silijian?"
"So what?" Chu Kuan smiled nonchalantly, and the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to stretch out. "After knowing this, they will understand that the emperor wants people to know the truth about the dispute in the Imperial College , including the intentions of Zhou and Luo before that. Compared with each other, our position is not biased."
"Don't worry about whether some people will target the Imperial Household Department. They don't have the time to do that. So many people from Jiuzhangtang went to Xuanda University before, and the bomb with Wang Datou should have exploded by now. In addition, the case of Guanglu Temple should have a conclusion. They may have time to keep an eye on the quota for the lectures in the Eastern Palace, but they don't have time to keep an eye on Zhang Shou, let alone the Imperial Household Department."
Zhu Ying naturally didn't know that Chu Kuan did it on purpose. She had waited for so long in the outer court of the Imperial Household Department for nothing, and was taken back home by Jiu Niang with a lot of anger in her heart. She had no place to vent her anger.
As a result, when she arrived at Shou'an Hall, she found her grandmother smiling and pulling Zhang Shou to sit in the main seat to talk. That's not all. From Lu Sanlang, Zhang Chen, Zhu Er, Ji Jiu and below... all those who conspired with her to investigate were all there.
In such a large place, chairs were lined up fully. No matter whether they were usually well-behaved or not, all of them sat in an orderly manner, as if they were sitting more upright than during normal classes.
Lu Sanlang, who was used to changing his expression, even smiled, as if the person sitting in front of him was not Zhu Ying's grandmother, but his grandmother. Even Zhang Chen, who was always rebellious, looked extremely well-behaved.
Zhu Ying was not the kind of young lady who would be well-behaved and obedient in front of outsiders. Although she saw that everyone was present and it was obvious that the Madam knew what they were doing outside, she still raised her eyebrows and said unconvincedly, "Grandma, why did you ask mother to bring me back? I want to see if the people from the outer court of the Imperial Household Department can hide forever while I am guarding there all the time."
"They fanned the flames and tricked Ah Shou, and of course they also tricked Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, but in short, they have ulterior motives. Shouldn't I go to Chu Kuan to argue with him? He has to give me an explanation anyway!"
Zhang Shou was also invited here in-waiting. Only then did he learn that Zhu Ying, after finding out the "mastermind", had broken into the outer court of the Imperial Household Department alone and blocked the door by himself. As for the strange situation that no one was left in the outer court of the Imperial Household Department, this was reported by Zhu Hong who had just arrived at Shou'an Hall a step earlier.
At this moment, he could only touch his nose and think that the emperor is not anxious but the eunuchs are. On the other hand, men are not anxious but women are!
Of course he remembered what he had said before, that we should share happiness and hardships, so he simply stood up and said, "Madam, I know that Yingying went to investigate with the others. They are all working for me, and the consequences will naturally be borne by me..."
"There are no consequences, and you don't have to take the blame, A Shou." The lady laughed and said lightly, "It was just that we broke into the outer court of the Imperial Household Department and blocked the door for a while. It was less than an hour in total, and it wasn't blocked for ten days or eight days. What is there to be responsible for? It was just a small matter caused by Yingying's temper."
Seeing Zhu Ying's expression of taking it for granted, and the others below were either happy or relieved, or shocked or in admiration, only Zhang Shou looked both amused and helpless, so the Madam smiled and said, "The Emperor has obviously seen the drawbacks of the Imperial College, and knows that your Jiuzhangtang can no longer stay in the lifeless place of the Imperial College, so he tacitly allowed you to start a new business."
"But since we are going to start a new business, we have to make things clear first. We can't just let all kinds of messy news spread everywhere. That's why the Imperial Household Department is acting on the emperor's orders to set the tone for this matter..."
"Grandma, that's not the case. Someone was clearly fanning the flames in the Imperial College before... Ugh!" Before Zhu Ying could finish her words, her mouth was covered by a hand. She was furious at first, but when she saw the jade ring on that hand clearly, she immediately gave up the idea of struggling. How could she not know her mother's temperament and abilities?
With her martial arts skills, she can't beat my mother at all. It's a wonder she can break free now!
Jiu Niang easily covered up Zhu Ying's words, but did not let go. Instead, she said calmly: "Chu Kuan of the Imperial Household Department is a flexible person, so Yingying just needs to make enough trouble. Anyway, with what happened today, any smart person will know that he is the one who is causing trouble. Of course, he didn't intend to hide it, otherwise, you guys would be surprised to find out the clues!"
Seeing that Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen were full of dissatisfaction, Jiu Niang said calmly, "Chu Kuan entered the Imperial Household Department in his early years and helped the emperor deal with those old men who were always finding faults. I heard from Yingying's father that he did a lot of sensational things that others didn't know about. Now this little thing has been discovered by a group of you young people who have just started out. Isn't he the head of the Imperial Household Department for nothing?"
Hearing this, Zhang Shou finally understood the situation: "Aunt Jiu means that Eunuch Chu did it on purpose? If he really did it on purpose, he wouldn't be afraid of others knowing that it was his work. Then, is the Imperial Household Department planning to step forward?"
This time, it was the young masters present who looked pale. In the past, the Imperial Household Department was a low-key government office with little presence, but because it was the emperor's close ministers, they would not provoke it casually. If the Imperial Household Department really came to the fore, would they be held accountable for what they did this time?
The Madam waved her hand to signal Jiu Niang to let go of Zhu Ying, but she answered in person: "It can't be considered as stepping forward, but Chu Kuan is a man of tenacious character and loyal. In addition, because of the matter of Emperor Ruizong's death and the posthumous title, he is wary of many court officials. Now the prince is about to be established, but he is not even ten years old. If he is taught wrong by someone with ulterior motives, it will be over."
"Before Emperor Yingzong, the education of the crown prince was entirely decided by the civil officials. Those civil officials even reached into the palace and inserted people at will. When Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne from the outer vassal, he killed many people. His character was too strong, and his princes had already grown up, so others could not put in the effort to educate them. So they instigated those princes to fight for the throne. As a result, the first thing Emperor Ruizong did when he ascended the throne, in addition to cleaning up the court, was to kill dozens of the princes' advisers and followers."
"No one can tell how many of them were the secret confidants of the big bosses at the time."
No one expected that the lady would suddenly tell the secret. Even though the young masters present at the moment had a much higher status in the family than before, no one told them these things. Some listened with great interest, while others were frightened.
As for Zhang Shou, he didn't feel too much psychological burden as he was just listening to the story. However, Zhu Ying came over and sat next to him, complaining in a low voice about Jiu Niang's dictatorship. He had to comfort her a few words, so he was a little distracted.
"Ruizong chose Master Ge as the teacher for the current emperor, which was beyond the expectations of many people at the time. Master Ge was an old minister who was deeply favored by Yingzong, but he ended up squeezing out many people's painstakingly arranged innocent lectures, and the emperor's character was even harder than Ruizong's. Now, the crown prince is about to be appointed, and the emperor has chosen you as the first lecturer. Many people are afraid that the situation will repeat the same mistake."
"They don't want another emperor as difficult to deal with as the emperor."
