Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 616: Breakup and Bearing the Blade
Did Xu Heizi get fired today? He is so arrogant... No, he is so cruel!
Even though Lu Sanlang had just displayed his prowess, his arm was still a little sore from swinging the chair, and he could only stand there panting and breathing heavily. He was still dumbfounded at this sudden and completely unexpected scene. Throwing the black gauze hat! It seemed that this scene had happened before in the court, and someone really left the scene in disgrace. Now it was happening again in the Imperial College?
Moreover, Xu Heida even accused the Imperial College of being full of corruption and schemes! This was like pointing fingers at the group of academic officials, saying that they were the ones behind all this.
Zhang Shou also didn't expect Xu Heida to be so stubborn. He glanced at Ah Liu who had returned to his back without him noticing, and asked softly, "Is he really locked up in the Rope Penalty Hall?"
Ah Liu hummed casually, hesitated for a moment and added, "And three locks were added." Seeing that Zhang Shou was indeed surprised, he said with a strange expression, "I think that if they guarded Xu Heida so tightly, they would be even more strict with Lu Sanlang and his gang. How did such a large group of people get out? Did they break down the door?"
I'm also curious about how they got out... Could it be that Zhang Chen and his gang hid themselves and asked their followers to sneak into the Imperial College, pry open the lock of the Jiuzhang Hall, and then let these angry and frustrated guys out? Zhang Shou was thinking this when he saw Xu Heida walking towards him.
"Doctor Zhang, when I was imprisoned in the Shengqian Hall, I wrote a letter of resignation after careful consideration. I will go to the Tongzheng Department and submit this letter now! If the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. Not to mention me, even if the Shengqian Hall has a hundred or a thousand supervisors, they will not be able to clean up the chaos in the Imperial College!"
Zhang Shou didn't even have time to say a word of dissuasion, Xu Heida had already bowed and walked away. Facing such a colleague who he always kept a distance from but respected in his heart, he could only smile bitterly and shook his head, then said loudly: "Xu Jiancheng, you are resigning your post and leaving in a cool way, but there are still many places in the world that need a strict teacher like you..."
When Lu Sanlang heard this, his eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately opened his throat and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes, Xu Jiancheng, my father's public school is short of people. If you go to his place, I guarantee that he will welcome you with open arms! There are only upright gentlemen in his place, Mr. Liu... No, Mr. Liu is not comparable to these hypocritical scholars who are seeking fame and reputation. They will definitely welcome you!"
The students in the Imperial College were simply driven crazy by the constant barrage of words between Zhang Shou, Xu Heidao, and Lu Sanlang. Zhou Jijiu even felt that the veins on his forehead were throbbing, and his heart was beating so fast that it was about to burst out of his chest. He even had an impulse. Since Xu Heidao had already thrown his official hat, he might as well use a ruthless trick to force Zhang Shou to throw his official hat as well. Wouldn't that solve the problem once and for all?
However, just as he had this thought, seeing Xu Heida disappear from his sight without responding to Lu Sanlang's words, Zhang Shou suddenly said, "Since someone dared to suddenly lock up the students in the Jiuzhang Hall left by Emperor Taizu, and since even the Shengqian Hall could trap the Supervisor, then we really can't stay in the Imperial College any longer."
"Lu Gaoyuan, and everyone else, if I am not welcome here, I will find another place that will welcome me! Let's go!"
Lu Sanlang was immediately delighted. His father had almost driven him to death because of this matter a long time ago, and now he could finally move to the public school in the outer city?
He immediately responded loudly without thinking, "Just as the teacher said, if this place doesn't want me, there are other places that will. In the Imperial College, a group of academic officials actually instigated the petty officials to do such a bizarre thing as locking up the supervisor of the Shengqian Hall and the students of Jiuzhang Hall. They even dared to instigate the students to cause trouble and slander our teacher, Doctor Zhang who is in charge of Jiuzhang Hall. Whoever wants to stay in such a filthy place can stay!"
Seeing Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang showing off their might today, Ji Jiu, as the second head of the temple, was not willing to let them take the cake. Although he knew that this matter was full of twists and turns and that it might be risky to get involved rashly, his examination for the Jiuzhang Hall was the most risky thing, and he certainly would not stop just because of caution after a battle with the little fat man.
Therefore, he also raised his arm in anger and shouted: "They indulged the students in making trouble, drove away the upright supervisor, and colluded with each other. They have no morals and no conduct, let alone knowledge. How can such an Imperial College be worthy of the word "university" inscribed by Grandfather Taizu himself!"
If the group of students in Jiuzhang Hall rushed to chase and beat the students who were making trouble, it was just because they were angry, and Zhang Shou, their teacher, was almost harmed; then, when they heard that Zhang Shou really wanted to break up with the Imperial College, they unconsciously felt a little nervous. But with Lu Sanlang in front and Ji Jiu loudly agreeing behind, everyone's uneasy hearts gradually calmed down.
Qi Liang had been taught by Zhang Shou since he was young, and after a trip to the north, he saw with his own eyes how Wang Datou dealt with corrupt and incompetent officials. Seeing all these scenes, he felt that the officials in the Imperial College, whom he had respected in the past, were just sitting there doing nothing and looked disgusting. He was not as passionate as Lu Sanlang and Ji Jiu, but just nodded to the classmates beside him.
They were both people who had experienced the same things at the same time and place, so they had an unusual friendship. When he took the lead and followed Zhang Shou who was walking out, in an instant, a large number of Jiuzhangtang students who had enrolled in Xuan University last year followed him.
And after Lu Sanlang said, "Ji Jiu and I will go to clean up the remaining debris in Jiuzhang Hall and guard the formation for you all," no one else hesitated for a moment.
But in a moment, the place that was bustling just now was left with only injured students groaning and wailing on the ground, and a group of school officials with grim faces, none of whom spoke a word.
Some people even couldn't help but wonder, if they were not afraid of too many people gossiping and causing trouble, then except for the students who had just caused trouble, they would have secretly ordered the clerks to lock the doors of the other six halls and even the Jiuzhang Hall and Banshan Hall. Wouldn't that have at least incited the students to come out and denounce the divisive behavior of Zhang Shou and his students?
But just as they were thinking this, they heard another loud shout from behind: "You sons of bitches, how dare you lock up all of us from Banshan Hall? Who gave you the guts to do this? Brothers, can we bear this loss? Now that Dr. Zhang is not going to teach us, do we deserve to be bullied by these sons of bitches from the Imperial College?"
"Let's go to the palace and file a complaint!"
This time, not to mention the many doctoral assistants, even Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye turned pale instantly.
It is true that the people in Banshan Hall look honest now, but that is because they have been strictly disciplined by Zhang Shou before. With Zhang Chen as the head of the hall in front and Zhu Er as the head of the hall in the back, a large number of people waving flags and shouting, all the troublemakers have calmed down.
Now that Zhang Chen and Zhu Er are no longer in the Imperial College, and Banshan Hall has been divided into classes, the new assistant teachers in charge all complain that these children of officials and nobles are undisciplined. Once they are released at this moment, it will be like a tiger out of a cage. Who can stop them?
What's more, Zhang, the son of the Earl of Xiangyang, is a big guy and a piece of explosive charcoal. Now he actually said that he would knock on the palace gate. This is going to make the sky burst!
However, the school officials looked at each other, but no one stood up.
In the past, Zhang Shou was very high-profile, and so were Lu Sanlang and Ji Jiu. However, even with the Third Prince as a fellow student, the students of Jiuzhang Hall were always very low-key. But these low-key students who used to study hard were now able to come out with books and beat up those students who intended to disrespect their teacher just because Lu Sanlang raised his arm, so...
Then, would those sons of officials and nobles in Banshan Hall, who were already bastards and bold, give the school officials who were already being scolded as "sons of bitches" a bitch? Don't get scolded or even beaten by then, that would be an unprovoked disaster!
Seeing that the students in the Banshan Hall, which had been divided into three halls, were shouting and rushing away, Zhou Jijiu stood in silence for a long time, and finally sighed dejectedly under the expectant eyes of the crowd: "Let's all go."
As the Grand Secretary, he refused to say a single extra word and just walked away. As the Junior Secretary, Luo Siye could not be so carefree - or rather, he had given up. After all, he was younger than Zhou Jijiu and still had great hopes for his career. He patiently comforted the students who were almost in despair at the time and promised everyone that he would write a joint letter with Zhou Jijiu.
As for the content of the memorial… need I say more? Of course, it was to impeach Zhang Shou and his students for their arrogant and rebellious behavior! However, his calmness only lasted until the crowd dispersed, and his face turned pale and lifeless. Immediately afterwards, he didn't even bother to go back to discuss with Zhou Jijiu, nor did he go back to draft any memorial, but rushed out immediately.
He couldn't stop the teachers and students of Jiuzhang Hall who had already left the Imperial College with a split, nor could he stop the students of Banshan Hall who claimed to go to the palace to complain, so for such a big thing, he could only ask for help from the cabinet's Grand Secretary Kong! This Grand Secretary, who was not appointed as the Prime Minister because of the former Prime Minister Jiang Ge Lao's sad departure, was his only life-saving straw!
When Zhang Shou led a large number of people to leave the Imperial College with unprecedented vigour, Zhu Ying had already arrived at the Qingning Gate smoothly from Dong'an Gate and Donghua Gate. She was a frequent visitor here, and she entered without questioning anyone. But this time when she arrived at Qingning Palace, an elderly palace servant stopped her at the gate.
However, before Miss Zhu could argue with him, she said cautiously, "Miss, it's not that I don't want to let you in, it's that the Queen Mother is in a very bad mood right now. The Third Prince and Princess Deyang went in to ask for mercy, but they were scolded and couldn't say a word."
Hearing this, Zhu Ying finally understood what was going on and immediately said with a smile, "Why, is the Queen Mother scolding the Fourth Prince? It's not a big deal. Isn't it just that someone spread rumors in front of him, and he was young and ignorant, so he leaked it out? It all happened yesterday. Is the Queen Mother so angry?"
The palace maid didn't expect Zhu Ying to ask back calmly. Knowing that Zhu Ying was not an outsider and was probably going to go in and plead for the Fourth Prince, she made up her mind and lowered her voice and said, "Last night, the Emperor kept the Fourth Prince in the Qianqing Palace. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager would have summoned him as soon as she came back."
Zhu Ying looked at the sky at this moment, and then thought about the court officials who had entered the palace before her, and she immediately realized.
There was no doubt that the emperor was going to court now. Even if the fourth prince had been hiding in the Qianqing Palace for a night, he could not hide from the monks. Even if the empress dowager did not go in person, she could still bring him over and scold him. So, she smiled at the palace servant and gave him two silver coins casually, but she looked nonchalant: "Don't worry, since I know, of course I will be sensible."
However, Miss Zhu's so-called sense of propriety only lasted until she reached the main hall of Qingning Palace, because she suddenly heard the stubborn voice of the Fourth Prince: "My grandson is foolish, and he showed off what others said with ulterior motives, but this has nothing to do with my third brother, and even less with my second sister. If grandma wants to punish me, I will take it alone, and don't involve others!"
Knowing that the Queen Mother would not have anything nice to say next, Zhu Ying ignored the two palace maids standing at the door who were planning to take the opportunity to report, and just rushed in with her skirt lifted. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Princess Deyang hugging the Queen Mother's thigh, the Third Prince reaching out to stop the Queen Mother, and a string of Buddhist beads scattered on the ground, with a broken wooden stick next to it.
As for the Fourth Prince, he was kneeling on the ground with his upper body naked, and even had a bramble on his back. As for whether the bramble had been thornless... At this moment, Zhu Ying could even see the bloodstains on the Fourth Prince's back from behind , which showed that the thorns were most likely not removed!
Even the most slow-witted person would know that the situation was very bad, not to mention that although Zhu Ying didn't like to use her brain, she was actually very smart. She rushed forward without caring that she was in front of the Queen Mother of Qingning Palace. With a flash of cold light in her hand, a dagger directly cut the rope that held the Fourth Prince's back with the bramble, and then kicked the bramble away.
Then, she carried the Fourth Prince sideways to a chair on the lower left, sat down without any hesitation, pressed him on her knees, and slapped his buttocks twice. Seeing that the Fourth Prince, who was still struggling, suddenly calmed down, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief until a pair of small tweezers was handed over to her.
Looking up and seeing that it was Yuquan, Zhu Ying smiled, but she held the Fourth Prince tightly with her left hand, and with her right hand, she pulled out a thorn accurately and ruthlessly. Hearing the Fourth Prince groaning, she said unhappily, "Why don't you learn from me? Why do you learn from me? I'm just carrying a thorn on my back to apologize! Don't you know that I'm just pretending to be wearing a thorn on my back, huh?"
While she was scolding, her hands did not slow down at all, and in a flash, they had already pulled out five or six thorns. The Fourth Prince was distracted by her scolding and almost didn't have time to feel the pain. The pain was gone, but the grievance... naturally became more aggrieved.
"My father sent someone to find Jing Tiao yesterday, saying that he wanted to punish me for speaking without restraint! Later, he was so angry that he got drunk and forgot about me... My grandmother sent someone to summon me early in the morning. I knew I had made a big mistake, so I simply carried Jing Tiao here!" The Fourth Prince wiped his tears as he spoke. He even forgot the needle-like pain in his back because of his crying. His tears and snot flowed all over the floor.
But at this moment, he felt something suddenly sprayed on his back. At that moment, the intense pain almost made him faint with a scream. Then he felt something tightly wrapped around him, and Zhu Ying's voice came to his ears: "You are so stupid to imitate others! You lie down obediently and let me spank you so that you won't dare to do it again in the future!"
