Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 631: Carrying the Burden
Here at the young master's place, there are so many wonderful shows that you can never get enough of!
This was Deng Xiaodai's biggest reaction after he listened to Mr. Song's story about what happened at Xinglong Tea House that day. Although he didn't quite know who this young man who rushed up to Song Tuiguan and called him "brother" was, why he lived in Zhang Garden , and how he could impress the Princess of Hailing with his cooking skills, he only knew one thing, anyway, he just had to watch the fun!
Soon, he saw the familiar figure of Ah Liu. Since they grew up in the same village, he hurriedly left the Song brothers, who were not related to him by blood, and went forward to ask Ah Liu about something.
As expected, he was treated to one answer out of three questions, and instead of understanding the whole story, he became even more confused. This state of confusion continued until he followed Ah Liu to see Zhang Shou.
The reunion of teacher and student is naturally a special feeling. Zhang Shou and Deng Xiaodai are so familiar with each other that they don't feel alienated after not seeing each other for half a year. After joking for a while, he learned that Deng Xiaodai had experienced so many things as soon as he returned to Beijing. He couldn't help but laugh, and then he briefly introduced the residents of his house and the things that happened after they parted.
Compared to what Deng Xiaodai had learned from the clerk at the gate of the Ministry of Public Administration, although Zhang Shou's words were brief and he only mentioned each and every matter in a light-hearted manner, Deng Xiaodai still learned a lot of things that he didn't know.
After all, a boss like Wang Jie has a great advantage, that is, he will block all the disturbances from above for you, even if the world outside is in turmoil, it will be calm around him. But this also leads to a great disadvantage, that is, Wang Datou thinks you should not be distracted when doing things, and he will not tell you things that you should not know!
Especially since Deng Xiaodai was a person who was so focused on his work, he would not know anything unless others told him and he asked. After hearing what Zhang Shou said, combined with what he had learned from the clerk of the Tongzhengsi, he had only one thought. It seemed that he had not been away from the capital for a long time... How come it seemed that it was not half a year, but three to five years?
Seeing that Deng Xiaodai was actually in a daze in front of him, Zhang Shou had to cough to call the man back to life.
He knew that Deng Xiaodai had been aware since childhood that he was not cut out for the imperial examinations, plus his uncles had been officials for generations, so at a very early age, just because of his little thoughts, he took the Shuntian Prefecture official examination and successfully entered the household registration office. But when he saw Qi Liang and others entering the Jiuzhang Hall, their names even reached the ears of the emperor, this silly boy still remained true to his original intention.
He asked with a smile: "Xiao Dai, do you feel hard and tired following a boss like Wang Dayin?"
“It’s hard and tiring, but worth it.”
Deng Xiaodai shook his head and said sincerely, "Boss Wang is very strict, but he is also a very capable and talented person. As long as you work hard, you will be rewarded. He will never take credit for others' work. This kind of boss is rare. Those who are afraid of him just think that they can't be lazy or slack under him, but even Xiaoxian's students are very convinced of Boss Wang after they go there to experience it."
How could he not be convinced? Ge Yong admired Wang Datou's mathematical skills very much, so what were these guys?
Zhang Shou smiled, and when he heard Deng Xiaodai talk about what happened in front of the Tongzhengsi, he was even more amused. If the person who recommended his son was really willing to be recommended by Deng Xiaodai to Wang Jie, maybe he would be tempted, but since he was afraid of difficulties and retreated, there was nothing to say.
And Deng Xiaodai was not wrong. He did plan to recruit students for Jiuzhangtang in the future. He would not just take one exam to determine their future, but first conduct intensive teaching and training for a month, and then send them to Wang Jie. He would further screen them based on Wang Datou's comments. Of course, Wang Jie would definitely scold me that this was not a nursery or kindergarten, and he would have to screen them before sending them over.
But if it comes to the initial screening, he cannot handle it alone and he needs to find other capable and reliable people to help.
For example, Song Tuiguan, who came to visit today, is a person with good mathematical skills and excellent personal qualities. Otherwise, how could he be appreciated by Wang Datou? Even Zhang Chen's father is said to be very trustworthy.
Zhang Shou didn't even think about whether Song Tuiguan would be scared and run away if he knew that he was going to get rid of the burden again. He had to ask Deng Xiaodai why he came back to Beijing this time. He learned that it was Deng Xiaodai's immediate superior who asked him to bring the memorial and go home to visit his relatives. Just when he thought that Wang Datou was considerate, he suddenly found that Deng Xiaodai was hesitant to speak.
"Xiao Dai, if you have something to say, just say it. You and I are not strangers. Even if you say something wrong, will I blame you?"
Although he knew that what he said might make the young master look down on him, and might even cause some trouble, after hearing Zhang Shou's words, Deng Xiaodai thought about it and mustered up the courage to say, "Young master, after Wang Zongxian finished writing this memorial, he spread it out directly on the desk. I accidentally saw it when I was ordered to tidy up the study that day."
"I know I shouldn't have seen it, but I did. I kept telling myself to pretend I didn't see it, that it wasn't true, but I...but I always felt uneasy. Today, the memorial was finally sent to the Ministry of Public Security, and now I dare to say..."
Zhang Shou saw Deng Xiaodai standing up and kneeling in front of him. He wanted to make a joke but he realized that the matter was probably serious. He immediately stood up and pulled the man up, saying in a deep voice: "Don't be anxious, talk slowly. Once the memorial is sent to the Tongzhengsi, it will be known to everyone. If you can keep your mouth shut in advance, you can't say you are sorry to General Wang."
Deng Xiaodai nodded vigorously, sniffed lightly, and then spoke as if he had made up his mind.
"In his memorial, Wang Zongxian angrily denounced the fact that someone in Xuanfu was adopting civilian orphans under the guise of the palace, with ulterior motives."
As if he knew that what he said would easily confuse Zhang Shou, he hurriedly continued to explain, "He also advised the emperor that since the Tang and Song dynasties, eunuchs have been disrupting politics, so Emperor Taizu strictly controlled the number of eunuchs when he ascended the throne. At first, there were only dozens of eunuchs in the palace, but now there are hundreds. Who knows if there will be tens of thousands in the future?"
Zhang Shou's brows were twisted into a big lump when he heard Deng Xiaodai explain in detail the mystery of Wang Jie's memorial.
Deng Xiaodai saw the memorial accidentally, and Zhang Shou believed it, because this former villager boy was a very honest person even in Rongshui Village and would not lie. But it is hard to say whether Wang Datou let Deng Xiaodai see the memorial because of carelessness. Although he has his own strengths and responsibilities, he is a senior official who has been in the officialdom for many years.
But no matter what, Deng Xiaodai didn't tell the whole story until he sent the memorial to the Ministry of Public Administration. After all, he had kept the things he had secretly seen in his heart for so long without daring to speak them out, and the contents were such, which should have been a great psychological burden for the inexperienced Deng Xiaodai.
As expected, when Deng Xiaodai saw Zhang Shou hesitated and remained silent, he couldn't help but become more worried: "Young Master, in fact, I wanted to confess to President Wang several times, but I was scared back by his iron face every time... I just thought, although he is a minister that the emperor values very much, is it a big deal for him to advise the emperor to use eunuchs in such a blatant way?"
Today, Deng Xiaodai is no longer the country boy who used to be confused when hearing the word "eunuch". He has also learned a lot from his surroundings and has a better understanding of some of the disputes in the court. So when he first saw Wang Jie's memorial, he felt that this matter seemed to be of great importance.
Seeing Zhang Shou not speaking, he could not help but feel even more upset: "If I had known that things would be so troublesome, I would rather risk being blamed by Wang Zongxian or even being rushed back, and I should have persuaded him. Before in Xuanfu, he seemed to have discovered that the Duke of Chu had dealings with the eunuchs in the palace, and he once got furious at the Duke of Chu..."
Before Deng Xiaodai could finish his words, Zhang Shou interrupted him and asked, "Duke Chu is in contact with the eunuchs in the palace? Is this true?"
"I don't know." Deng Xiaodai shook his head honestly, and then whispered: "I just heard them quarreling in the house when I accompanied Wang Zongxian to see Duke Chu. In the middle, I heard Wang Zongxian angrily accusing Duke Chu of shielding..."
As he spoke, he suddenly shut his mouth, as if he was upset for leaking Wang Jie's secrets again.
Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile at this, and then said seriously: "Don't tell half of it. I will personally take you to Mr. Wang to make an apology. These things are very important, don't hide them, tell me in detail."
Since Zhang Shou said so, Deng Xiaodai suppressed his guilt and whispered, "They were talking in the room. At first, their voices were not loud and I didn't hear them clearly, but then their voices got louder. Duke Chu said that General Wang was too bored to meddle in such trivial matters, but General Wang angrily accused Duke Chu of shielding them and saying that he was colluding with eunuchs or something..."
After all, he only overheard a few words outside, and he couldn't tell the specific details of what happened - at least, when Wang Jie was in Xuanfu, he did not investigate the relevant matters of Duke of Chu Zhang Rui, or even if he did, he didn't know much about it, so the details he could provide at this time were very limited.
As Zhang Shou guided him to recall bit by bit, he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, Wang Zongxian seemed to be scolding Duke Chu, saying that he actually recommended a staff member of his family who was a juren to be a teacher in that charity hall. Duke Chu didn't agree with it. Later, Wang Zongxian mentioned the Marquis of Nanyang, and the two of them became more and more vocal."
Nanyang Marquis Zhang Hanzhou is Zhang Wu's father. He was stationed in Xuanfu when he was on a northern expedition and has not returned yet. It is said that he received the emperor's order to assist the Duke of Chu in training and reducing the number of troops in Xuanfu. When he and Zhao Duke Zhu Jing sent troops to wipe out the northern barbarians, the Xuanfu garrison, which was closer to the capital, had low combat effectiveness, so the emperor issued this order in anger.
Zhang Shou had learned from Zhu Ying long ago that the brothers Huaiqing Hou and Nanyang Hou were greedy for money and had many problems. So it would not be surprising if Wang Datou really found some evidence against Zhang Hanzhou.
But the problem is that if Wang Datou really targeted them, once the evidence was proven, both Nanyang Marquis Zhang Hanzhou and Chu Guogong Zhang Rui would be in trouble. Moreover, some things could easily spread from a small point to a large area, from a spark to a prairie fire!
Thinking about Wang Jie's character, Zhang Shou had no intention of asking Deng Xiaodai to persuade him after he returned. How could anyone persuade a good official not to catch corrupt officials? As for persuading Wang Jie not to confront the eunuch group, he couldn't say it. Although he was not a serious scholar-official, he couldn't just sit on the side of the eunuch party!
So, he thought about it and finally raised his head to the pressured Deng Xiaodai and said, "Okay, when you go back, you might as well confess to Wang Zongxian that you accidentally saw the memorial and heard him arguing with Duke Chu, and ask for his forgiveness."
Deng Xiaodai nodded quickly, but then asked, "And then?"
"And then... nothing happened. You admitted your mistakes and made amends, what else do you want?" Zhang Shou saw that Deng Xiaodai had turned into a statue, so he smiled and said, "Don't take these things to heart after you said them. Mr. Wang is an old hand with good judgment. He must have considered everything before he wrote the letter. What's more, you told me this afterwards."
"But……"
"No buts!" Zhang Shou interrupted Deng Xiaodai without question, patted the boy's shoulder again, and said with a smile, "You can tell him when you go back that you told me all these things. I admire his strong and iron-faced character. I will never tolerate corruption, abuse of power, oppression of the people, and forming cliques for personal gain. If someone says that he is just seeking fame and integrity, they are judging others by their own standards."
"But in this world, some people are accustomed to inducing their direct subordinates to fire, while they themselves hide behind and reap the benefits. I hope he can be more careful. If he is plotted against by a villain, wouldn't it make his relatives sad and his enemies happy?"
Deng Xiaodai nodded quickly and said he had made a note of it. Just as their conversation came to an end, Ah Liu's voice came from outside: "Master, Magistrate Song, please save him. He is almost driven crazy by Song Benben."
Zhang Shou, who was just worried, was immediately happy when he heard this. Even Deng Xiaodai, who was still a little confused, couldn't help but burst out laughing after hearing this and said, "Young Master, your family is getting more and more lively now."
"Yes, all the empty courtyards are now occupied. You don't know that Mr. Song didn't even think of Song Tuiguan at first. He heard that his uncle was not in the capital these days, so he suddenly had an idea and planned to ask me to go to Jiangdu Palace to ask for marriage on his behalf." Zhang Shou gently rubbed his temples and then said loudly, "Go and save Song Tuiguan, his business is more important."
Seeing Ah Liu leave, he smiled and explained to Deng Xiaodai how Mr. Song was so good at making desserts that he was almost selected into the imperial kitchen. Deng Xiaodai was surprised to hear that such a distinguished scholar was not doing his job properly, but the surprise was yet to come.
When Zhang Shou took out a large stack of the latest volumes of "Ge's Mathematics New Edition" newly printed by Lu Sanlang's bookstore from the bookshelf and gave them to Deng Xiaodai, a flattering voice came from outside: "Master Zhang, I just made milk, red bean and taro balls, would you like to try them?"
