Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 621: Brotherly Friendship and Respect
When Lu Wan and Lu Sanlang, father and son, arrived with a large number of Jiuzhangtang students, they saw Ah Liu swinging the ruler at Zhang Shou for the last time. They had no idea what was going on, and everyone was dumbfounded until they saw Liu Zhiyuan slowly walking over. Lu Wan hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed this former and current colleague.
"Brother Liu, what on earth is this..."
Mr. Liu, who was always straightforward, certainly didn't bother to do such suspenseful talk as "It's a long story". He glanced at the confused Lu Sanlang and the others, and immediately explained the cause and effect in a concise manner.
Most people were stunned when they heard that the Queen Mother actually asked Ah Liu to give the Fourth Prince thirty slaps of the ruler. When they heard about the subsequent developments, they were completely petrified. As for those who were relatively capable of thinking, such as Lu Sanlang, Ji Jiu, Qi Liang, and others, they were shocked that Zhang Shou directly ordered Ah Liu to act according to the imperial decree, but then punished himself.
Soon, Lu Sanlang, who was the first to wake up, immediately ran forward with his fat body, and then pulled the fourth prince in front of Zhang Shou, saying with great sorrow: "Zheng Yan, remember this lesson, the teacher did it all for you! The teacher is not one of those officials who fight for power and profit. He doesn't understand the inside story of the Imperial Household Department. How could he know that your nonsense would cause such a big fuss!"
"You don't know, just today, in the Imperial College, we were locked up in the Jiuzhang Hall by the school officials who ordered the clerks to do so. They also ordered people to cause trouble, slandering the teacher for teaching you to say those things that criticized scholars and praised the Silijian..."
Lu Sanlang was such a good eloquence. At this moment, he was full of passion and indignation, and he recounted the scene that happened in the Imperial College with exaggerations. He added so much that many people in Jiuzhang Hall blushed, and even Zhang Shou's face flushed.
It was just that he didn't do it because of Lu Sanlang's exaggerated praise. He had already decided to break up with the group of academic officials in the Imperial College, and he didn't care how big the storm was. He just didn't expect Ah Liu to be so cruel. At this time, the pain was completely unbearable for him as an adult. It was not surprising that the Fourth Prince, who was beaten twice as hard, was crying just now!
However, the Fourth Prince had no idea of this. He only knew that because of what he said yesterday, the teacher not only punished him, but also humiliated him in the Imperial College, and even left the Imperial College in anger with so many people!
Seeing that Zhang Shou's forehead was covered with sweat but he didn't complain at all, the Fourth Prince, who had already cried for several times today, felt his nose sore again, his legs went weak, and he actually knelt down on the ground.
He wanted to say something to admit his mistakes and apologize, but his throat was so hoarse that he couldn't say anything. It wasn't until he felt a hand gently caressing his head that he raised his head: "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Remember this lesson."
Hearing such encouragement, the Fourth Prince instinctively grabbed Zhang Shou's hand. Seeing that it was Zhang Shou's hand that had just been beaten, and the palm was clearly as red and swollen as his own, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat again: "Teacher..."
"Yesterday, I was really at fault, so I gave you ten blows with the ruler. But you won't be so lucky next time! A person's mistakes are often borne by him alone, but there are also times when others have to bear the responsibility for them. Do you understand? Just like the mistake you made yesterday implicated me and the students of Jiuzhang Hall who were originally unrelated!"
"I see, I see!"
The fourth prince wanted to nod his head like a chick pecking , holding Zhang Shou's hand and not wanting to let go. At this moment, he thought of his third brother who had always begged for him since he was a child, and even shared his burden when he was beaten. He used to think that there could only be one such good brother, but now he found that he had met another one.
Therefore, when he let go of his hand, he couldn't help but hold on to the corner of Zhang Shou's clothes again, and said stubbornly: "Teacher, since you want to move Jiuzhang Hall from the Imperial College to here, can you take me to see it? Third brother can't come here to take classes in the future, but I can... I will definitely be admitted to Jiuzhang Hall!"
He originally had no intention of continuing to take the Jiuzhangtang entrance exam, but now he decided to work hard and give it another try!
Glancing at Liu Zhiyuan who was shaking his head and sighing beside him, Lu Wan felt that the ten blows with the ruler that Zhang Shou had just received were a stroke of genius! Just based on the fact that Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were with the Fourth Prince yesterday but failed to stop someone from getting into trouble, even if the Emperor and the Queen Mother didn't say anything, they might still have a knot in their hearts, otherwise the Queen Mother wouldn't have asked the female officials around her to send the person over for Zhang Shou to punish.
As the Queen Mother, do you need to ask others to punish your grandson?
But now, although Zhang Shou really dared to let Ah Liu teach the Fourth Prince a lesson, the Fourth Prince did not feel resentful. Instead, he punished himself, which made the Fourth Prince feel guilty and grateful. He even regarded Zhang Shou as the best teacher in his heart. This is not surprising. In this world, which teacher would punish himself in front of his students?
When they go back and tell the Third Prince about this, how will the Third Prince, who respects teachers but loves his brother, look at Zhang Shou? No matter how many more people are added to the Eastern Palace lectures in the future, they will never be able to surpass Zhang Shou!
As a father, Lu Wan could understand this mystery, and as a son, Lu Sanlang was also extremely smart. Although the little fat man would not consider it from the most utilitarian perspective, Zhang Shou had suffered so much at this time, so of course he had to give full play to it. Without waiting for Zhang Shou to express his opinion, he pulled the fourth prince over and said, "Zheng Yan, let's go, I'll take you around... By the way, seeing my memory, I have to apply the medicine first!"
The fourth prince finally reacted after hearing what Lu Sanlang said, and hurriedly shouted: "Teacher didn't apply medicine either!"
At this time, Yuquan smiled and said, "When I came here, the Queen Mother asked me to bring some medicine. Doctor Zhang has been treated on behalf of the Fourth Prince. I think there are no doctors in this public school. I am also a half-imperial doctor. Can I take a look at you for you, Doctor Zhang?"
Zhang Shou responded directly to this treatment. He stretched out his left hand very frankly. But at this moment, he only heard a commotion outside, followed by an anxious and familiar voice: "Fourth brother, fourth brother, where are you?"
Unable to catch up with Yuquan in the palace, the Third Prince had to find a way to dispatch people to escort him out of the palace - for this he had to thank his father for favoring him as the future crown prince. In addition, he had always liked to travel incognito, so when he left the palace, he only had to go to the Imperial Household Department and say a word, and they would dispatch guards - however, when he successfully left the palace, there was no sign of Yuquan and the Fourth Prince.
After failing to get to the Imperial College, he rushed to the Public School in the Outer City. However, he was only a few steps slower than Yuquan and the Fourth Prince and their group ahead of him, because he was riding a horse. Even though he could not travel very fast on the main roads in the capital, he was still a little faster than Yuquan and the Fourth Prince who were riding in a carriage.
At this moment, when he rushed in with a shout, he saw Yuquan holding Zhang Shou's left hand with a solemn expression, and he was immediately confused. But then he saw the fourth prince rushing towards him, and after calling him "third brother", his face was immediately covered with tears. He was startled and immediately realized that the fourth prince might have been punished with the thirty strokes of the ruler as the queen mother said.
Sure enough, when he anxiously picked up the fourth prince's left hand, he saw that the palm was red and swollen, and some places were even purple, which made him feel sorry for him. But just as he took a deep breath and planned to hide his sorrow and scold his brother with the dignity of a brother and future crown prince, the fourth prince started to cry.
"Third brother, it's all my fault, it's all my fault! The teacher took the 10 beatings for me, I'm so sorry for him, wuwuwuwu..."
Hearing this, the Third Prince, who was already feeling mixed emotions, suddenly shuddered. He hurriedly looked up and saw Yuquan using a small brush to dip the liquid medicine from the porcelain bottle and carefully applying it on Zhang Shou's hand. He suddenly realized what was going on and immediately blushed. He quickly left the Fourth Prince behind and rushed to Zhang Shou.
At a glance, he found that Zhang Shou's palm was exactly the same as his fourth brother's, and it was clear that he had been punished with a ruler. The future prince, who had been taught by the emperor since childhood to be friendly to his brothers and respectful to his teachers, turned pale and even took a step back involuntarily, and then said in a trembling voice: "Teacher, it's all my fault, I'm sorry!"
The fourth prince was simply stunned by his third brother's words. He forgot to cry and rushed forward to say, "Third brother, what you said is wrong, right? It's obviously my fault..."
"No, it's because I indulged you too much in the past, forgetting that as an elder brother, I also have the responsibility to teach my younger brother!" The Third Prince turned around suddenly and slapped the Fourth Prince hard on the face. The Fourth Prince covered his face in shock, then lowered his head. He said word by word, "From now on, you should be careful with your words and actions, turn over a new leaf, and don't let your teacher down. Do you understand?"
Both Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Wan had once held high positions, so they knew of course that the emperor favored the two younger sons. Moreover, the two brothers had been close friends since childhood, and just now, when they saw the third prince rushing into the public school in a panic, calling him "fourth brother" in a frenzy, they were even more certain of this.
However, when the Third Prince saw Zhang Shou's injuries, he completely threw away his protective brother attitude and slapped the Fourth Prince mercilessly, and even scolded him harshly. The two of them sighed in their hearts at the same time, and then nodded.
As the future crown prince, even when facing his own younger brother, he should not only be kind but also be dignified!
The reaction of the Fourth Prince also made them feel relieved, or rather... ...reassured. Because the Fourth Prince, who had just been hit with twenty rulers and then slapped, actually raised his head and said loudly: "Third brother, I get it. From now on, I will think twice before speaking, and I will never let the teacher and brothers and sisters suffer for me again!"
Yuquan, who was bandaging Zhang Shou's wound, couldn't help but smile when she heard the Fourth Prince's words. She carefully wrapped the white cotton cloth around Zhang Shou's hand, leaving only the uninjured fingers exposed. Then she let go of his hand and stepped back, bowing to Zhang Shou and saying, "As a teacher, Dr. Zhang, you have done so much for the Fourth Prince. After I return to the palace, I will report this to the Queen Mother and the Emperor."
After saying this, Yuquan slowly stood up and waved to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince was both respectful and afraid of this female official whom his grandmother trusted the most. Now that he was reprimanded by both his teacher and his brother, he naturally went forward in a proper manner.
However, when applying the medicine, his expression changed.
When the medicine liquid was first applied, it felt cool and comfortable, but when it was applied again, it felt a bit numb and itchy. When it was applied again, it turned into hot and stinging pain, so that he grimaced at first, and then groaned in pain. When he finally realized that Zhang Shou didn't say a word but he was making a fool of himself, he wanted to drive Yuquan away, but he didn't expect that he couldn't get rid of the clamp at all.
"I will also report the matter of the relocation of Jiuzhang Hall to the Queen Mother when I return. As for the Fourth Prince, he will have plenty of time to come to the Outer City Public School in the future, so I will take him back today. Because he was asked to plead guilty, the puncture wounds on his back are not many and they are small, but we still cannot be careless. Moreover, the Emperor is leaving the court now, and he will probably be anxious if he can't find him."
Seeing the Fourth Prince, who was about to protest, was slightly stunned, and finally reluctantly calmed down, Yuquan bandaged the man, then knelt down again to Zhang Shou and said with a smile: "Doctor Zhang has outstanding teacher ethics and extraordinary talent. He is indeed a rare teacher in this world."
The Third Prince had only just heard about the relocation of the Jiuzhang Hall. He hesitated for a moment, stepped forward, pressed the Fourth Prince's shoulder, and said softly, "Fourth brother, follow Aunt Yuquan back to the palace first. After all, I am also a student of the Jiuzhang Hall. I will go back after I accompany the teacher to finish the things here. When you see the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, please inform them for me."
If it were in the past, the Fourth Prince would have immediately started making a scene. But at this moment, he opened his mouth, but in the end he just uttered a few words in a muffled voice: "Yes, I understand."
Yuquan saw the Fourth Prince suddenly being so honest, and smiled in her heart. She immediately took him away and left in a hurry. As for what she just said, it was indeed true. She was going to report everything that happened here to the Queen Mother. As for the Fourth Prince, he did not forget to glare at Ah Liu before leaving, but she just pretended not to see it.
The naughty kid who had just received a great lesson would not go looking for trouble with Ah Liu... In other words, he had the heart and the courage, but he also had to have the ability! But the Queen Mother still underestimated the master and servant Zhang Shou!
Seeing that only the Third Prince was left here, everyone present finally put their worries to rest. Unlike the Fourth Prince, who was restless and would occasionally cause trouble, the Third Prince, the future Crown Prince, was much more stable and reliable. With him here, no one was worried that something might happen to him.
However, before anyone else could speak, the Third Prince bowed respectfully to Zhang Shou and said, "Teacher, I have a few questions to ask you. Is it convenient?"
Knowing that the Third Prince was probably full of questions, Zhang Shou smiled at Lu Sanlang, then stepped forward to help him up, and casually pulled the future prince to the back. After passing a few classrooms where the sound of reading could be heard, and standing in the spacious courtyard, he saw Ah Liu standing far away to watch, so he casually told him everything that had happened yesterday and today.
The Third Prince listened quietly and clenched his fist unconsciously: "In other words, the beginning of this matter was that evil guy?"
