Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 622: Determination
The Third Prince was a sincere child, but not a sincere gentleman. The reason why he was not a gentleman was that he was still young and had not yet performed the ceremony of coming of age, so he could not be called a gentleman. Of course, his coming of age ceremony was about to take place because of the Emperor's insistence. But secondly... that was because although he had been taught loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness since he was a child, and looked gentle and honest, he was taught by the Emperor himself!
How could the son brought up by the emperor through words and deeds be a gentleman? After hearing Zhang Shou's words, his first reaction was to chop the culprit into pieces, and even better, to execute him by slow slicing! He was already guilty of a crime that deserved death, and yet he implicated his fourth brother and Zhang Shou!
"The ceremony of enthroning the crown prince will be held in three days. Before that, perhaps only tens of thousands of eyes will be staring at you, but after that, the eyes of the whole world will be staring at you. So, don't tell me that you want to try this case in person."
At this point, Zhang Shou paused, and seeing the Third Prince staring at him in astonishment, and then turning his head away awkwardly, he knew that he had guessed it right. Although the Third Prince used to be shy and honest, since he had already accepted the fact that he was about to enter the East Palace, and he was always so close to the Fourth Prince, it would be strange for the Third Prince to still endure seeing his brother being plotted against like this.
"As the crown prince, you should know how to appoint the right people to the right positions, rather than doing everything yourself. Besides, the emperor is probably even more furious than you are right now. In that case, don't you think there are more important things you need to do? For example, go back to the palace to see the emperor?"
When the Third Prince reappeared in front of the crowd with Zhang Shou, Lu Sanlang, like everyone else, could not help but carefully look at him from head to toe, but he only saw him talking and laughing with Zhang Shou, and there was nothing unusual about him. Thinking of the time when this little prince appeared in the Banshan Hall of the Imperial College and later entered the Jiuzhang Hall, he couldn't help but feel that it seemed like a long time ago.
Seeing that the Third Prince was courteous, modest and gentle, Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan, who had already spoken highly of the future Crown Prince because of what happened today, were naturally even more satisfied . The two of them took the Third Prince around the entire public school as a guide, and after once again emphasizing the classrooms prepared for the Jiuzhang Hall, Lu Wan stopped.
"Since the academic officials in the Imperial College are short-sighted and cannot tolerate the anomaly of Jiuzhangtang, the public school welcomes it very much. You know, the income of teachers in public schools is very meager, and scholars become teachers for money or fame, but in public schools, they may not have either, so naturally they are unwilling to apply. However, if Jiuzhangtang is moved here, the public school will not have to worry about teachers, and you will not have to worry about your livelihood."
"The accommodation is ready, and so is the part-time job. You don't have to travel back and forth between the city and outside. The only one who has to work hard is probably Dr. Zhang. The journey from your Zhang Garden to the outside of the city is not a trivial one."
After Lu Wan said this, everyone immediately looked at Zhang Shou. However, before Zhang Shou could answer, Lu Sanlang rushed to say, "It is indeed a big deal to go back and forth every day. In addition, there will be more students in Jiuzhang Hall in the future, and it is not possible for the teacher to take care of everything alone. Even in the academies of the Imperial College and the folk academies, teachers do not give lectures every day. Most of the time, students learn by themselves and from each other."
"For example, since I'm progressing fast, I can certainly substitute for the class, and so can others. By the way, I still remember that the teacher mentioned that after everyone has learned on their own, let Zheng Rong substitute for the get out of class... It's a pity that there will be no chance in the future!"
Hearing that Lu Sanlang was still calling him by his name, the Third Prince immediately remembered Zhang Shou's original assignment and felt even more disappointed.
When he heard Zhang Shou coughing, he immediately adjusted his mood and said with a smile: "It can't be said that there is no chance. If you study hard and serve as tutors in the East Palace, I will have the opportunity to give you a lecture on behalf of the teacher!"
As soon as these words came out, some of the students around them started laughing. And those seniors who had been classmates with Lu Sanlang but missed the chance to study with the Third Prince felt relieved when they saw the future Crown Prince being so humble.
After coughing, Zhang Shou saw that the Third Prince was chatting and laughing with others in a friendly manner. His words and deeds no longer showed his former shyness, and he gradually showed a natural demeanor in dealing with people. Although others said that it was he who taught him to be what he is now, he also knew that it was more due to the environment than his credit.
As they chatted, the topic gradually turned to the farce that happened in the Imperial College today. The Third Prince suddenly exclaimed in surprise and said quickly, "I remember now. When I left the city, I deliberately went through Zhengyang Gate. When I passed Qipan Street, I heard that some students from Banshan Hall tried to knock on the drum to report to the emperor. Later, they were stopped by my fourth brother, who scolded them and asked them to write a memorial on the spot and ask someone to present it to the emperor."
"My fourth brother left without asking why, but I heard that they were reporting that someone was causing trouble in the Imperial College... I was in a hurry to leave the city to find my fourth brother, and there was no one on Qipan Street, so I didn't have time to ask in detail. Could it be that Jiuzhang Hall was locked up this morning, and you were almost locked up, and the same happened to Banshan Hall? The people in Banshan Hall almost went to beat the drum to report the incident because of this matter?"
"That's right!" Lu Sanlang slapped his thigh hard and said angrily, "When I rushed out with everyone this morning, I found that the classrooms around were in chaos, but no one came out. The guy who let us out said that there were students making trouble in front and besieging the teacher. I rushed out in anger with a chair!"
Lu Wan laughed secretly. This damn fat boy has always believed that a gentleman should fight with wisdom instead of strength. Now he is so angry that he uses force for Zhang Shou. Who is this son raising for?
Today, there were so many things going on that Zhang Shou was overwhelmed. It was not until Lu Sanlang mentioned it that Zhang Shou finally thought of who opened the door to Jiuzhang Hall. He immediately asked, "Who let you out?"
"Who is it... Teacher, you don't know?" Lu Sanlang's eyes widened, and then he laughed, "Of course it's Zhang Chen! He is a student after all, and it's normal for him to hang around in the Imperial College, right? I don't know why he didn't come to see you, teacher."
When he found out that it was indeed Zhang Chen, Zhang Shou was not only not relieved, but even more confused. Why did Zhang Chen hide and not show up after doing such a great thing at the critical moment? Why was he pretending to be mysterious? Oh, and the students of Banshan Hall were so enthusiastic...
After he divided the classes in Banshan Hall, he went to Cangzhou. Later, since there were already academic officials there to teach, he did not take care of that mess after he came back. He thought that for the children of officials and nobles, as time went by, he, as a teacher, would be gradually forgotten. But who would have thought that someone would take the lead and almost beat the drum for hearing the news!
Zhang Shou was reflecting on whether he had neglected his former students, but Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: "A teacher is someone who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts. It's a pity that fewer and fewer teachers in official schools remember this nowadays."
"So, Dr. Zhang, you treat others with sincerity, and that's why the students respect you so much. Because the school officials they met in the past were just officials, and they didn't have the slightest sense of being a teacher!"
"It is precisely because they only care about their own official careers that the official schools in various places have become increasingly rotten and useless in recent years!"
Liu Zhiyuan's statement naturally won Lu Wan's approval - how could he not agree? If the official schools were all good, the school officials were very dedicated, and the community schools and charity schools were all run perfectly, how could there be so many applicants when the public schools first opened?
The Third Prince just stayed here on the grounds that he was also a member of Jiuzhangtang, but neither Zhang Shou nor Lu Wan nor Liu Zhiyuan would keep anyone here for too long.
The longer the future prince stays in a place like the Outer City where good and bad people mix, the more variables there will be. Even though Zhu Tingfang, who is in charge of the Five Cities Military Division, should have received the news and be on guard, the risk still exists.
Therefore, seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Shou directly urged the Third Prince to return to the palace. Compared with the Fourth Prince who was used to bargaining or quibbling, the Third Prince, as the elder brother, just glanced around, as if to take in all of this public school where he had no chance to study, and then smiled gently at everyone.
"Then I will go back to the palace. My fellow students..." He raised his hand gently and saluted, saying word by word, "See you tomorrow."
When we meet again someday... I will call you Your Highness the Crown Prince! Lu Sanlang finally swallowed the words back into his stomach.
After all, if his father and Old Man Liu weren't here, he could certainly make some friendly jokes with other classmates, and Zhang Shou might even join in. The Third Prince would definitely not care about that given his personality. But that was not the case now.
Therefore, he hesitated for only a moment, then clasped his hands together, stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said with a double meaning: "I wish your Highness a safe journey." This "a safe journey" refers to both this trip and the future life of the Third Prince.
Lu Sanlang, who had just been laughing and calling the names of the Third and Fourth Princes, took the lead, and the others looked at each other, and finally bowed and said goodbye in unison. Faced with this scene, the Third Prince felt a little sad at first, as if something precious had vanished, but when he saw Zhang Shou, Lu Wan, and Liu Zhiyuan also raising their hands to bow and say goodbye, he came to his senses.
After promising his father to be the crown prince, he and his fourth brother were no longer different, let alone other people?
After figuring this out, he finally gave a sincere smile in return: "Teacher, Lu Jijiu, Mr. Liu, Senior Brother Lu and all the senior brothers and classmates, then I will say goodbye first! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I will do my best!"
Seeing the Third Prince walk away cleanly and with a breeze under his feet, Lu Wan, who was sighing in his heart, suppressed the urge to let people know that the future Crown Prince had been here. After all, there were so many people present, and such a thing would be known to everyone without being announced. Then he asked thoughtfully, "Yesterday and today, these two incidents caused such a big stir. The villain who knocked people into the water was handed over to the Wanping County Government, but what about the Imperial College?"
"It all depends on how harshly the emperor intends to strike at the Imperial College."
Liu Zhiyuan didn't care that there were many students from Jiuzhang Hall around him. He talked about the murderous topic lightly, showing the true nature of Liu the Beheaded in the past: "If the emperor really replaces a group of old people, dismisses the school officials, and dismisses the students, then the Imperial College can still be saved. Otherwise... the disease is difficult to cure!"
When Liu Zhiyuan, an old man with youthful arrogance, had already asserted the only solution for the Imperial College, the emperor went straight to Qingning Palace after leaving court. The first thing he did when he saw the empress dowager was not to talk about the trivial matter of the fourth prince asking for forgiveness - although he was furious and anxious when he first heard it - but to curse: "The Imperial College is already a rotten peach, there is no hope!"
The Queen Mother, who knew her son best, knew that the Emperor had come in angrily not to call him to task. Seeing that he had indeed started to curse the Imperial College, she said, "I know that you admire the founding emperor the most. But the founding emperor drove out the Tartar invaders and restored the country. He made drastic changes to the country, and the country was completely renewed."
"But now that a hundred years have passed, there are still many stubborn diseases in the world. If you want to be the leader of the revival, you can only cut the flesh little by little, and avoid bleeding . You just touched the Guanglu Temple and the Imperial Kitchen. If they want to touch the Imperial College next, you must control yourself and don't operate on other places... Not even the Imperial Observatory!"
“Don’t think that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is just sitting there doing nothing and can’t even calculate the celestial calendar accurately… They have inherited their skills from generation to generation. It will take at least another ten or eight years for the students of Jiuzhang Hall to replace them! The same goes for the astronomical talents you recruited!”
After the Empress Dowager's earnest words, the Emperor had no place to vent his anger, so he could only pace back and forth in Qingning Palace. This was his habit in the past, but now that he has been on the throne for many years and has many children, he has gradually stopped showing his immaturity in front of his mother, but today he really doesn't want to endure it.
After going around in circles for a while, he finally let out a breath and said calmly, "The crown prince is about to be enthroned, but there are continuous incidents outside. One is against the Imperial Household Department, and the other is against Zhang Shou. Add to that the turmoil that occurred after Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing went on an expedition last year. I really suspect that someone is up to no good!"
The empress dowager frowned when she heard this, and the words the emperor said next made her even more angry.
"I suspect that Concubine Jing is still resentful..."
"Ridiculous!" Before the emperor could finish, the empress dowager flew into a rage. "She is indeed bad in many ways, but her family is now in decline, and there is not a single capable person among her relatives. When I issued an imperial decree to depose her, no one even spoke a fair word for her as the empress. Even when you drove Dalang and Erlang out of the capital, no one said anything!"
"The three of them, mother and son, are already in such a miserable state. How could they instruct someone to do such a big thing? Who would listen to them?"
The emperor was so angry that his face turned red. Fortunately, all the palace servants were gone at this time, so he was not afraid of losing face. He simply sat down below the empress dowager and said angrily, "Who else? Although Kong Lao Si pretended to be aggressive and aggressive, he hurriedly pretended to be steady after driving away Old Man Jiang, but he is not that stupid!"
"Ah Wu is just a yes-man. Zhang Yu has little experience, so it is not his turn to make any trouble. Apart from these three cabinet ministers, although the six ministers have their own demands, they should not have such conspiracies and calculations... We can't let the ghosts of common people linger around..." Having said this, he shut up without the empress dowager shouting, and punched the armrest in anger after a long time.
"I only have two sons left, and they must not be led astray by others! Mother, I have made up my mind. Although the Third Lady and the Third Young Master of the Eastern Palace are both important officials in the court, I will never let them interfere with Sanlang's studies. I have already selected the lecturers, and they will be rotated every five days. I will never appoint only one person. Let Sanlang keep a distance from them! Anyway, I have Zhang Shou... Although he is busy, he can always go to the palace every other day!"
