Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 627: The Naughty Kids Alliance
As the saying goes, happiness shared with others is worse than happiness alone...
After hearing what Zhang Chen said, the Fourth Prince could not help but stand at the door of the bathroom until Zhang Chen came back from the toilet. Seeing that he was limping, he was sure that Zhang Chen had not lied to him. He was definitely beaten, and probably severely. He immediately felt a little sad.
Although he did not have a very good relationship with Zhang Chen, the abbot who acted arrogantly with Zhang Shou's ruler, during his time at Banshan Hall, after all, Zhang Chen was the only son of Duke Qin and was used to being unruly , but at least he was fair to him and did not look up to him or despise him. So at this time, as they were both wanderers in the world, he felt a sense of sympathy for each other.
At that moment, a certain naughty kid grabbed Zhang Chen's arm and said enthusiastically: "Why bother getting beaten? Anyway, he's recovered and he's a brave man again! Besides, if you hadn't released Senior Brother Lu and the others from Banshan Hall that day, the teacher might have suffered. Duke Qin is being too unreasonable..."
Before the Fourth Prince could finish his words, Zhang Chen sighed again: "My father said that if it weren't for the fact that I helped the teacher, he would have beaten me at least forty times. Now he has halved it, so he will just beat me twenty times!"
He had never been beaten by his father since he was a child, and this time he suffered all the pain he had not experienced in the previous twenty years! But his mother, who always loved him the most, not only did not stop him, but also watched Zhang Chuan beat him in person with joy. After the beating, his mother privately applied medicine to him and taught him that his father beat him for his own good, and this was how a father should be...
After hearing what his mother said, he really wanted to slap himself in the face. He always felt that his father ignored him, but he never thought of making up for it in this way. God knows how painful it would be when Zhang Chuan personally whipped him with a rattan stick!
The Fourth Prince, who was also struck with the ruler twenty times, felt deeply moved when he heard what Zhang Chen said. He had never thought that it was precisely because of the lesson he had received, coupled with the serious political consequences caused by Big Mouth's words, that Duke Qin Zhang Chuan, who had always raised his son like a duck, suddenly changed his attitude and taught Zhang Chen a lesson.
So, at this time, the two people with a big age difference were standing in front of the bathroom door and talking - Zhang Chen naturally didn't like serious things like lectures, and the Fourth Prince was not a studious person. He was willing to work hard on things that interested him, but yawned on things that didn't interest him. He was happy to listen to Zhang Chen talk about those rumors outside.
After all, he hadn't been able to leave the palace for three or four days since that day!
When he heard that Zhang Shou's house was surrounded by people because his story was leaked, and countless people came to him to learn from him, he couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "Those guys are dreaming. The teacher is so busy, how can he have the time to teach those mediocre people? Besides, the teacher has so many students, and except for me, I have never seen him get beaten for others!"
It would have been fine if he hadn't said this. As soon as he said this, Zhang Chen suddenly realized something and looked at the naughty child next to him with a bit of hostility. His father had always ignored him. In Zhang Shou's words, he only cared about giving birth to a child but not raising him. He had not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father at all. He agreed with this.
And this time, if the Fourth Prince hadn't caused such a huge disaster with his big mouth, would his father have suddenly turned into a strict father?
"I beat you personally today to teach you to keep your courage in mind and not to cause a disaster that even your father can't handle! If it was you who said those words in Wanping County Court today instead of the Fourth Prince, you wouldn't have Zhu Ying to plead for you like a sister, nor would you have a good brother who would go around asking for help..."
"And if you want Zhang Jiuzhang to take the blame for you like he did to the Fourth Prince, not to mention that the Fourth Prince is just a child and doesn't know much, but you are older than Zhang Jiuzhang. How can you let him take the blame for you? Didn't the Fourth Prince get slapped in the face by the Third Prince for this? Don't act like a noble man all the time in the future. You are different from Zhu Ying!"
"Your grandfather was already quite old when he was making great achievements. He is no longer with us now. Your father, a second-generation nobleman, does not have the reputation of the Duke of Zhao, and you do not have the family background that Zhu Ying can rely on!"
Thinking of what Zhang Chuan said when he scolded him that day, Zhang Chen felt that his previous attitude of taking advantage of his power was really stupid. After laughing and shaking his head, he suddenly felt that he stepped forward and rubbed the Fourth Prince's head randomly, but before he could get angry, he retreated back to where he was.
“Fourth Prince, if you hadn’t caused trouble, I wouldn’t have received that beating. If it were in the past, even though you are a prince, if I had been wronged for no reason, not even the emperor could stop me from taking revenge. But now that I think about it, it’s not a bad thing that I’m being beaten because you caused trouble.” Seeing the Fourth Prince dumbfounded, Zhang Chen shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the distinction between high and low, and walked back with his arm around the man’s shoulder.
Seeing this scene, the two eunuchs standing far away under the eaves looked at each other in bewilderment. But seeing that the Fourth Prince did not seem to object or struggle, the two of them considered Zhang Chen's identity and finally pretended not to see it.
However, in an occasion like the imperial lecture in Wenhua Hall, most officials and the sons of officials and daughters of wealthy families who were attending the lecture would refrain from going to the toilet to show that they were listening attentively - for him to sneak out to go to the toilet in such an occasion and not go back immediately but chat about everything, it would be fine for the Fourth Prince to be a little kid, but Zhang Chen was really as willful and reckless as the legend said!
As he walked forward with the Fourth Prince in his arms, Zhang Chen whispered, "Everyone knows that you and your Third Brother are best friends. After tomorrow, he will be the Crown Prince. You have to be careful that others will use you like they did this time... If others want to deal with him, you will be their weak spot."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was about to get angry again, Zhang Chen stroked him on the back twice and said calmly, "I'm not trying to scare you. Think about it, the Third Prince is such a stable person. When he becomes the Crown Prince, it will be difficult for him to leave the palace. What flaws can he have that can be caught? You are different. What if someone catches your mistakes and threatens him..."
The Fourth Prince's face turned blue with anger, but he had to admit that Zhang Chen's words made sense. But he was not so easily fooled. He glanced at him suspiciously and snorted, "Don't exaggerate! As long as I am prepared, who can plot against me? But you just said that it's not a bad thing for me to get into trouble. What do you mean?"
"What do you mean? Of course it's because of your incident that every family is secretly investigating the people around the young masters and young ladies, fearing that another Liu Feng will appear! But fortunately you are smart and kept saying it was Liu Feng!"
That’s what Liu Feng said!
The fourth prince was about to retort, but suddenly realized that if he didn't keep emphasizing the source of the information, the problem might be even more serious. His heart skipped a beat. But the next moment, he felt Zhang Chen leaning over and saying something to him.
"But if you really want to help your third brother, there is actually another way."
When Zhang Chen saw the Fourth Prince immediately turned his head and stared at him, he said in a very low voice: "That is, you pretend to be a good kid who knows how to correct his mistakes in normal times, but you secretly reveal some flaws when you are outside. You have to know that flies don't bite bad guys who have no flaws..."
You are the bad guy!
The fourth prince was so angry that he almost kicked Zhang Chen, but after thinking about it, he suddenly felt that what Zhang Chen said made sense. After this incident, many people would probably think that he was easy to fool and could be used. In this case, instead of being stubborn and making people feel embarrassed, he might as well pretend to be an ignorant child and let people get close to him, so that he could find out their intentions!
Zhang Chen saw the Fourth Prince pondering, thinking that he had been caught in the incident at the Imperial Household Department, so he said in a gentle and persuasive manner: "Let's not talk about the future. Think about it, when this incident happened, the teacher took the blame for you. It must have hurt you, right? Don't you want to find out the mastermind and let him know how powerful you are?"
"Don't say that it's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. The teacher is a gentleman, but we are not! Besides, I believe that a gentleman takes revenge from morning till night! As for you, don't tell your third brother and teacher. If you dare, just tell me now. If you dare, the two of us will work together to do something big!"
Seeing the Fourth Prince's obvious expression of interest, Zhang Chen took the opportunity to say, "You also know that I, Zhang Chen, am a man of honor and willing to spend money, but there is only one thing about me: I will never give up even the slightest grudge! You were beaten because of the Silijian matter, and wasn't I beaten because of the Silijian matter? If you want revenge, can you do it alone?"
The fourth prince was finally persuaded, but he still expressed his last doubt: "Revenge is good, but why don't you tell the third brother and the teacher?"
"Are you stupid? Your third brother protects you so much, would he let you take the risk of being a bait? As for the teacher... he was also tricked this time. When we catch the mastermind and bring him before him, isn't that better than talking a hundred words of nonsense? Action is worse than words!"
At this point, Zhang Chen chuckled in his heart, having already thrown Zhang Chuan's previous warning to Java.
What's wrong with being so bold? In this world, the timid will die of starvation, and the bold will die of gluttony! Although his grandfather is gone, and his family is a Duke's Mansion, his father does not command the army, and is not as tough as the Duke's Mansion of Zhao. But if he really loses the heroic spirit that Zhang Chen has always maintained in the capital because of this, then what kind of Zhang Chen is he!
As a genuine naughty child, the fourth prince finally threw away the mask of steadiness he had just put on and said viciously: "Okay, I'll listen to you and lure the snake out of its hole!"
"The Fourth Prince is really brave!" Zhang Chen praised the Fourth Prince generously, and then laughed, "I have to go to Jiangnan in the early spring next year. Before that, I have to go to Cangzhou and Xingtai to take a look, so as to avoid some guys pretending to obey but actually disobeying. So I won't stay in the capital for too long. If we want to lure the snake out of its hole, we can't plan for a long time. We have to hurry up. I don't have the patience to delay for a long time."
The equally impatient Fourth Prince agreed with this. He really listened to Zhang Chen's words: A gentleman takes revenge from morning to night!
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly: "So what do you say we should do? I'm telling you, don't fool me!"
Zhang Chen looked around and saw that the eaves on all four sides were clean and there was no place to hide anyone. The person closest to him was at least twenty steps away. He lowered his voice and said, "Look, find an opportunity, and we'll do this..."
The two eunuchs under the eaves saw Zhang Chen and the fourth prince talking endlessly, as if they had completely forgotten that the lecture was still going on in Wenhua Hall, and they finally couldn't help it. Fortunately, just when one of them took two steps forward and tried to act like a bad guy and remind the two masters to return to Wenhua Hall quickly, they saw the two of them suddenly leave.
The two eunuchs, feeling relieved, certainly would not have thought that in such a short time, the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen had actually formed an alliance. After discussing the next plan, the two quietly entered the Wenhua Palace from the corner gate one after the other, thinking that they would not attract any attention, but they did not expect that several eyes would be shot towards them immediately.
The first one was naturally the Third Prince who cared the most about his younger brother, and the second one was naturally Zhang Shou who noticed that the Fourth Prince had been away for too long. As for the Emperor, he wanted to know what his youngest son had done by sneaking out during the imperial lecture, but with so many people below, he couldn't look at him sideways, so he could only glance over after the Fourth Prince returned to the steps and stood properly.
And when he took a closer look, he found that the person who came back with the Fourth Prince was Zhang Chen, who had slipped away earlier while holding his belly.
After thinking about it, the emperor didn't think much of the friendship or conflict between the big naughty kid from Duke Qin's mansion and his own little naughty kid. But Zhu Ying also saw that Zhang Chen and the fourth prince came back one after the other, and she couldn't help but feel moved.
After finally waiting until the day's lecture was over, and seeing all the ministers leaving one by one, Miss Zhu grabbed Zhang Shou's hand in front of the emperor and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, Shou is a very busy man. I will send him out of the palace first!"
Seeing Zhu Ying pulling Zhang Shou to pay his respects and then leaving quickly, the emperor, who was about to ask Zhang Shou a few more questions, had to give up and immediately summoned the Fourth Prince to ask him why he had been out for so long. The Fourth Prince, who had already discussed it with Zhang Chen, calmly told him about Zhang Chen's beating, especially emphasizing Zhang Chen's frustration with Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan's sudden change of character.
After hearing this, the emperor burst into laughter: "Zhang Shou used to say that Duke Qin was irresponsible for giving birth to Zhang Chen but not raising him. Now, Duke Qin, as a father, has finally taken responsibility. But now Zhang Chen must be regretting this, right?"
Just as the Fourth Prince was racking his brains to use Zhang Chen's beating to cover up their big plan, Zhu Ying pulled Zhang Shou out of Wenhua Hall and immediately said with a firm face: "A Shou, I just saw Zhang Chen's unnatural way of walking, he must have been beaten!"
"I have experience in this matter, because my second brother used to get beaten every other day, and the way he walks is exactly the same as his!"
Zhang Shou immediately remembered that Zhang Chen had unlocked the Jiuzhang Hall and released Lu Sanlang and others to help, but he had avoided them. When he heard that he was beaten, he couldn't help but feel very puzzled. While he was thinking, he heard Zhu Ying say something shocking again: "There must be something fishy between him and the Fourth Prince!"
