Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 618: Everyone has different ambitions
Seeing the Fourth Prince hastily raising his head, a look of salvation instantly appeared on his face, and then he kowtowed and got up, and ran to Yuquan, looking like he was about to leave. Zhu Ying was simply amused. However, the Queen Mother actually nodded slightly, and then let Yuquan take the Fourth Prince wrapped in Zhu Ying's cloak out!
The Third Prince was completely bewildered by this sudden change, and the one who was even more at a loss than him was Princess Deyang - it was the first time in her life that she pleaded for someone, and in the end the person who was pleading for her ran away. How could she know how to deal with this situation?
Fortunately, the Queen Mother did not show her violent rage again. Instead, she smiled at her gently and said, "It was obviously Silang who did the wrong thing, but you were dragged here by Sanlang to beg for mercy, and you were frightened. This good sister of yours has suffered an unprovoked disaster. You are kind-hearted, not as lively as Yingying. When you get married, you must be more assertive and don't let others fool you."
Seeing the Queen Mother pointing to a place on the treasure chest next to her, Zhu Ying immediately stood up with her hands on her knees, glanced , and then took a white jade grape ornament from a certain chest, and without even asking the Queen Mother, she smiled and stuffed it into Princess Deyang's hands. She knew very well that other bamboo and wood ornaments were more elegant, and they were not as good as the white jade grapes when given to Princess Deyang.
Princess Deyang refused to accept it at first, but Zhu Ying forced it in. The Queen Mother was watching with a smile. She took it hesitantly, but was grateful profusely. Seeing this, Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Remember to blackmail the Fourth Prince when he comes back! This kid got into such a big trouble, but he escaped so easily. He should thank you for pleading for him!"
Unlike Zhu Ying, who had always treated Qingning Palace as her own home, Princess Deyang dared not respond to such remarks. She could only lower her head and mumble a few good words for the Fourth Prince.
The Queen Mother knew that her granddaughter had always been timid, and now that the Queen was not around, she was not much braver, so she signaled a female official to send her out. She didn't stop smiling until only the Third Prince and Zhu Ying were left.
"Sanlang, you value filial piety and brotherhood, which is good, but if you indulge him too much, that would harm him. Think about how your father indulged Prince Lu in the past, and as a result, he became so spoiled that he did whatever he wanted and became lawless, and that's why he got involved with the common people. You will be the crown prince in the future, so you have to know your limits!"
Seeing that the Third Prince was struck by lightning, he bowed down solemnly and promised to discipline the Fourth Prince in the future. The Queen Mother stopped admonishing him and said in a listless manner: "Well, since you are worried about Si Lang, you don't have to stay here any longer."
"If you can catch up with Yuquan, you and Silang can go find your teacher together! There is only one thing, you must use the ruler every time. Silang is just a bad-mouthed boy, he deserves to be beaten! If that Ah Liu really dares to teach him a lesson, your father will not be in vain. However, since he is Hua Qi's apprentice, he probably has the courage."
Seeing that the Third Prince ran faster than a rabbit after he agreed, Zhu Ying immediately laughed with joy. Her bright and beautiful smile was pleasing to the Queen Mother, but she also felt a sense of disappointment, as if the flowers in my backyard were about to be picked by a scoundrel. Fortunately, this emotion came and went quickly. She, who had just been sitting upright, soon leaned on the pillow.
Apart from the emperor's biological son, she would only be so relaxed with Zhu Ying. At this moment, she glanced at Zhu Ying's bright clothes and said with a smile: "Sanlang has chased to see Zhang Shou, but you can still sit here with me? The cloak just wrapped around Silang. The clothing bureau just sent a few new cloaks. That golden pheasant fur coat suits you very well. You can wear it and go!"
"I don't like wearing green ones. I still like bright red ones! Besides, I came to the palace to see the Queen Mother."
Zhu Ying, however, showed no appreciation, and immediately knelt down on the footstool beneath the Empress Dowager's seat, saying with a smile, "I am not here to plead for the Fourth Prince today, it was just a coincidence. Besides, why should I chase after Ah Shou? He has his business, and I have mine! We met before at Dong'an Gate!"
The empress dowager was a little surprised to hear Zhu Ying confidently saying that she and Zhang Shou had their own things to do, wondering how this girl could have changed her personality. When she heard that the two had met at Dong'an Gate early in the morning, she really had to hold her forehead and smile bitterly.
There was no doubt that the couple was going to do something big again... But since the Fourth Prince had already caused such a huge disaster, there was probably nothing that could surprise her! But as she thought so, she soon experienced the same heart-pounding experience that Madam Tai and Zhu Jing had experienced last night.
When Zhu Ying was lobbying the Queen Mother, Princess Deyang, who was holding the white jade grape, hurried back to Xianyang Palace to see her mother, Concubine Duan, to ask for advice on what to do when she returned, but she ran into Princess Yongping on the way. The two sisters had never had a deep relationship, so after this meeting, when she saw what Princess Deyang was holding, Princess Yongping's lips curled up.
"Second sister, are you back from Qingning Palace? Did you go to plead for fourth brother? The Queen Mother praised your deep love for her brother and gave you a generous reward?"
Princess Deyang thought of the scenes in Qingning Palace before, and after a pause, she whispered, "It was my third brother who invited me to go, and I couldn't help. In the end, it was thanks to Yingying who begged for Silang."
Ever since Zhu Ying acted as a matchmaker and her father personally chose a husband for her, her relationship with Zhu Ying has become much closer than before. At least, she called her Yingying naturally and affectionately, without the slightest reluctance.
When she heard that Zhu Ying was also there, Princess Yongping, who had just made a few sarcastic remarks, finally frowned. She tried hard not to say "How can she catch up with everything?", but she couldn't hide her disapproval on her face. Fortunately, Princess Deyang didn't investigate further and just chatted with her for a few words before leaving in a hurry.
Seeing the man disappear at the gate of Xianyang Palace not far away, Princess Yongping continued to go to Qingning Palace in a leisurely manner, but she was in a very bad mood. She was not surprised at all that the Third Prince did not come to her to plead for the Fourth Prince. After all, Princess Deyang was a good person, but she was not.
At the beginning, because the eldest prince and the second prince were more likely to enter the Eastern Palace, she would at least pretend to be nice to them in order to ensure the safety of her and her daughter in the future. As for the third prince and the fourth prince, she would only nod to them when they met in the Qianqing Palace. She was not even as good as Zhu Ying, who had no younger brothers at home and therefore would play around with the two brothers from time to time.
And now, at the critical moment, Zhu Ying stepped forward to plead for the Fourth Prince. She is even more like a sister than her real sister!
Early in the morning, she heard the news that the Empress Dowager had summoned the Fourth Prince. Concubine Yu had also reminded her to go to Qingning Palace, firstly to ask for instructions on the girls' school, and secondly to ask a favor for the Fourth Prince.
But when she thought about her reputation as aloof and aloof person in the past, if she went to Qingning Palace to plead for mercy , how many people in the palace would say that she was pretending to be hypocritical and trying to please the Third Prince, the future crown prince?
The Third Prince might be grateful to her for a while, but what would he think afterwards? Would the Queen Mother believe that she was sincere? What if she came back with nothing? Wouldn't that be like shooting herself in the foot?
So, after much thought, she eventually left Yonghe Palace but simply wandered around in the back garden for half an hour, planning to arrive after the Fourth Prince had been taught a lesson - in her opinion, it was almost impossible for the Queen Mother to show leniency because of the Third Prince or Princess Deyang's pleas.
After all, Chu Kuan of the Imperial Household Department was said to have grown up beside the Queen Mother since childhood! This time, the Fourth Prince talked too much, and the Imperial Household Department was like being roasted on a pile of firewood. With Chu Kuan's generous personality, he would always find ways to cry about his difficulties in front of the Queen Mother, and the consequences would of course be borne by the Fourth Prince, the culprit!
As long as she arrived afterwards and said a few words to the Fourth Prince at the right time, she would have fulfilled her duty as a sister. But who could have thought that once Zhu Ying took action, everything would be in chaos! Although Princess Deyang did not say it clearly just now, she could see that the Queen Mother had easily forgiven the Fourth Prince because of Zhu Ying's plea.
Princess Yongping, who was in a troubled mood, did not adjust her facial expression and walking posture until she saw Qingning Gate. She was known as a talented woman and naturally followed the etiquette and rules. Therefore, unlike Zhu Ying who rushed in recklessly, she stopped in front of Qingning Gate and waited for notification. When she reached the steps outside the main hall of Qingning Palace, she stopped again and waited for notification.
Not long after, she saw the door curtain lifted high, and Zhu Ying's smiling and angry face appeared.
"Oh, what a coincidence, you just came and I'm about to leave." Zhu Ying greeted straight to the point. Seeing that Princess Yongping's face looked extremely cold, she didn't care at all. When she stepped out, she was still wearing a bright red velvet cloak that the Queen Mother had just awarded her. At this time, the white snow set off her fiery red dress, making her look more beautiful than flowers and as bright as clouds.
She stood in front of Princess Yongping and said with a smile, "The Queen Mother has already designated the location of the girls' school. It is in the inner city. After all, the outer city is full of good and bad people, which is always not good for girls. Any good girl with a clean family background and willing to study can directly register for the girls' school. The Queen Mother will summon the palace ladies and palace maids who are over 30 years old, can read and write, and who were unwilling to leave the palace before..."
"They will serve as lecturers and teach those girls from decent families."
Seeing Zhu Ying talking to her, Princess Yongping couldn't help but feel a little wary and in danger. She was not very enthusiastic about women's education. After all, how could she, who was taught by famous scholars, look down on those illiterate women?
Let alone the little beauties in the capital, even the ladies from wealthy families, how many of them can have the knowledge she developed by being with her father, and the vision she gained by reading all the candidates in Yuehua Tower? Moreover, in this world, only men can be officials, and how many women can have a good ending even if they are talented and knowledgeable? Look at Ban Zhao, Xie Daoyun, Li Qingzhao... and many other famous and unknown talented women, how did they end up?
However, she had no interest in being a wife and mother, or rather, she had seen countless noble sons who were known as the best in the world, and many scholars who claimed to care about the world, and she was no longer willing to be trapped in the inner chamber. But as a princess, it was impossible for her to dream of the East Palace, nor could she make achievements, so the women's school, which had never existed before, was actually the only thing she could try.
Otherwise, could she still learn from Shangguan Wan'er and the Song sisters in the Tang Dynasty and become a female scholar in charge of official documents? She would have to have the opportunity to do so. Her father doted on her so much, but he never let her go, let alone the third prince who was not close to her?
But Zhu Ying had recommended her to the Empress Dowager to preside over the girls' school, which prevented Hong, the daughter of President Hong of Yuzhang Academy, from fulfilling her mission. But now he is saying these things in front of her. What does this mean?
Zhu Ying didn't care about Princess Yongping's little thoughts, and continued with a smile: "In the future, you will be the head of the school, and Madam Hong will be the female historian of education. As for me, I will just be a perfunctory inspector. That's it!"
What does it mean to be shocked and angry? That's how Princess Yongping felt at the moment. Although Hong was a woman with a hidden agenda, she was definitely not easy to deal with, but after all, due to her status, she couldn't possibly compete with her. Zhu Ying had never been interested in such things, so why did she suddenly jump out and interfere? The school inspector... It was a joke. Wasn't Zhu Ying famous in the capital for being unlearned?
Zhu Ying naturally would not look at Princess Yongping's expression - in fact, among the people who had just pleaded for the Fourth Prince, there were only the Third Prince and Princess Deyang, but not Princess Yongping. She knew what Princess Yongping was thinking.
Therefore, she, who originally didn't like to read people's expressions, didn't even have the mood to explain more at this moment, and immediately said with a smile: "I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Zhu Ying said goodbye, but she didn't seem to be negligent when she knelt down to salute. But Princess Yongping and she had been enemies for many years. Although there were times when Zhu Ying spoke up for her, she knew that Zhu Ying never felt inferior to her from the bottom of his heart, and treated all the princes equally. That's why he treated the eldest and second princes without any words, and treated the third and fourth princes as younger brothers?
Seeing the man walk away, she wanted to turn around and leave, but this was Qingning Palace after all, and she didn't dare to be so willful. Therefore, she stood in front of the door in silence for a long time, and finally, after the female official opened the curtain again, she lowered her head and went in, as usual.
However, Zhu Ying, who was willful, went straight north after leaving Qingning Palace. Since being summoned into the palace by the empress dowager, Hong had never left. Later, because she wanted to teach the third prince to paint, she moved to Youyizhai behind Kunning Palace with the empress dowager's approval. There were paintings and calligraphy by the virtuous concubines of the Ming Dynasty hanging here, which was a rare place of literature in the harem.
As for the rumors that Hong was taken into the harem by the emperor, let alone Hong's age and appearance, no one would think about it based on the character of the current emperor. Of course, it is impossible to treat her as well as the Song sisters, the female scholars in the Tang Dynasty. At least, Hong did not have the special treatment of being called "sir" by the concubines and princesses in the palace.
But even so, she still received better treatment in Youyizhai than her fifth-rank Princess Yongping. The four palace servants were always ready to obey orders, without any laziness or disrespect. All the utensils for daily life were top-quality products, and all the food was provided by the imperial kitchen of Kunning Palace. Even the four treasures of the study were tribute.
Therefore, when Zhu Ying came and stated her purpose straight away, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "I have been receiving rewards for no merit for a long time. If I don't use the pen in my hand anymore, I'm afraid I won't be able to write anymore. This is exactly what I want, and I will do my best!"
