Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 632: Matchmaker and Advisor, the Old Man’s Ambition
Look up, look down, look left, look right.
Ever since Mr. Song came in with the boxwood tray and politely served Zhang Shou a bowl of sweet soup, and even stuffed a bowl for himself, Deng Xiaodai had been keeping this attitude of sizing him up, until he felt his hands were burning. He then exclaimed, and quickly put the small bowl in his hand, which he had held for a long time, on the high table next to him, and touched his ears hard with his red fingers.
"Did you get burned? Oh, can you still bear it? If you can, blow it off. If not, go get some snow water to cool it down." Upon hearing the noise, Mr. Song came over immediately and said in a very familiar manner, "I heard that you are also a student of Mr. Zhang? At such a young age, you are working outside with Mr. Wang to make achievements? Oh, you are really a role model for young people, unlike me who is useless and likes to stay in the kitchen..."
Before Mr. Song could make Deng Xiaodai faint, Zhang Shou, who had just taken a mouthful of the so-called taro ball sweet soup, had to put down his spoon: "Brother Song, please let Deng Xiaodai go. When I first met you, you were still the stupid guy in Ah Liu's mouth. How come you suddenly become someone who would pester someone to death without paying for your life?"
"Once is strange, twice is familiar. I am just like this. I am honest in front of strangers, but I can't help but push my feet in front of acquaintances." Mr. Song seemed to have no idea that the word "pushing my feet" was not a good word. He returned to Zhang Shou, smiled foolishly and bowed, then said with a pleading face, "It's rare to meet a good girl who is willing to understand me, and it's rare to meet a reasonable father-in-law..."
Zhang Shou finally couldn't listen any more. You haven't even proposed marriage yet, but your father-in-law has already called you in advance! When I was living directly at my future father-in-law's house and my grandmother-in-law treated me as her grandson-in-law, I wasn't as shameless as you!
He knocked lightly on the handrail in annoyance, stopping this guy who became more and more frivolous the more familiar he became, and said with a sullen face: "Well, aren't you just worried that you will miss this opportunity? Since your uncle is not here, I will find someone else who is suitable to go to your house as a matchmaker. What do you think, Lord Weinan?"
When Zhang Shou declined before, his reason was that the Song family had an elder in the capital, and he, who was of the same generation and younger, was not suitable for this important task, so Song Juren was desperate and asked for help today when he caught Song Tuiguan. But now Zhang Shou proposed such a candidate, he nodded repeatedly with joy, and then tried to test: "Wouldn't it be better if two people came? For example, Duke Zhao..."
"Do you want Duke Zhao to go?" Seeing Mr. Song nodding his head like pounding garlic, he said with a smile, "Of course you can, just go and ask for it yourself."
Are you kidding? His future father-in-law, Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing, is a majestic and dignified man who is carved in the same mold as his eldest son Zhu Tingfang. He would never go to see these two if he had nothing to do. How could Mr. Song have the crazy idea of looking for someone to help him propose marriage?
Seeing that Mr. Song immediately became depressed, Zhang Shou had an idea, but he smiled and said, "But it would be more solemn if two people went. After all, the King of Jiangdu is a member of the royal family, and I heard that he will be in charge of the Zongzheng Division in the future. How about this, I will accompany you to the Xiangyang Earl's Mansion, firstly to see if I can invite this nobleman, and secondly to visit my student Zhang Wuji."
Having said this, he did not look at Mr. Song who was overjoyed, but nodded at Deng Xiaodai: "Xiaodai, you come too. Didn't you come back from Xuanfu this time? You should have met Duke Chu, right?"
Deng Xiaodai finally woke up from his dream. He thought Zhang Shou was using Song Juren's case to meet with Duke Chu's third brother Xiangyang Bo to find out some information. While he was grateful, he also felt that he was taking advantage of Song Juren's enthusiasm.
But seeing that the other person seemed so happy, and came over to ask him attentively how the taro balls tasted and whether they were delicious, he quickly suppressed his messy thoughts and hurriedly picked up the bowl to taste it.
Originally he was planning to say it was good even if it wasn't that good, but after just one bite, he felt that the taro balls were soft, chewy and the soup was thick. He didn't know how the red beans were cooked, but they were sandy and sweet. Even though he usually didn't like sweet food, he couldn't help but eat it all up in no time. He didn't wake up until he saw the bottom of the bowl.
As a result, when he looked up, he saw Mr. Song's brilliant smile: "How is it? Is it delicious? Are there any shortcomings? Feel free to point them out, don't worry about my face! As the saying goes, fine food is never too fine, as long as I know the shortcomings, I can improve! Mr. Zhang's comments on me are usually too brief, usually just good or bad, always making me think about it, brother, don't learn from him!"
When Deng Xiaodai went to Beijing to visit his uncle for the first time, he saw those scholars who had just entered the imperial court come to pay a visit to the officials in the government office who presided over the provincial examination. At that time, they were only polite to their superiors, and talked loudly after leaving the government office, and did not even look at an ordinary country boy like him. So he always felt that scholars who had achieved academic titles were all of such an arrogant nature.
But at this moment, he only felt that Mr. Song overturned his inherent impression of scholars, but he also naturally felt that the person was very kind, and unconsciously wanted to help him.
So, facing the persistent pestering, Deng Xiaodai racked his brains to think of specific ways to improve it... Zhang Shou simply did not bother them and quietly got up and went out. Sure enough, Ah Liu, who had just gone out to "save" Song Tuiguan, had returned without knowing when and was leaning against the pillar of the corridor. But as soon as he stepped out of the door, someone cast his eyes over.
"Mr. Song went to meet Zou Ming and the others." Ah Liu gave a very simple answer, not mentioning that he had just pulled Mr. Song away and almost performed a wall-climbing trick at home.
When he found that Zhang Shou did not pursue the matter, he asked, "If the young master wants to go out, should I ask them to prepare the horse and carriage?"
Zhang Shou nodded and added, "Tell mother to prepare three gifts. We will go to the Xiangyang Marquis's residence first, then the Weinan Marquis's residence, and finally the Qin Duke's residence. Since Zhang Chen got beaten, I have to find out what happened. And the big guy Zhang Wuji from the Xiangyang Marquis's family almost brought people to beat the drum that day, I have to go and offer my condolences as well."
Ah Liu nodded in understanding. When he went to see Wu, he saw that Wu had very skillfully drawn up a list of gifts with the help of a mother nearby. So he made his own suggestion - to add two bottles of secret medicine to the two gifts from the Qin Duke's Mansion and the Xiangyang Earl's Mansion.
He usually used it to treat the children in his family after sparring, or to treat them after unilateral training, and it was also effective for injuries after various beatings. After all, this thing was made by Hua Qi, and he used it himself in his early years, and later gave it to others. He experienced it time and time again, and knew that it was very effective.
Sure enough, when Ah Liu brought Deng Xiaodai, Zhang Shou and Song Juren to the Xiangyang Earl's Mansion, Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong received them readily, but his straightforward opening remarks fully confirmed his foresight.
"That brat Zhang Wuji, instead of learning from others' good deeds and causing trouble, he even wanted to beat the drum to report the incident. If the Fourth Prince hadn't stopped him, he would have gotten into big trouble! I personally gave him a beating according to the family rules, but his big body couldn't take it and he can't even get out of bed now!"
Zhang Shou was speechless. What could he say? Not to mention that parents these days are simple and rough, in another five, six, or seven hundred years, if parents really want to discipline their naughty children, won't there be only one way, that is, to beat them?
However, although Zhang Shou looked like a playboy, he was still a very grateful person. Zhang Shou thought about the last time the division test happened, he arrived in time and at least prevented this kid from being beaten to death by the furious Xiangyang Earl Zhang Qiong. This time he was beaten because of him. He first told Mr. Song the purpose of his visit, and then stood up and asked to visit his former student.
Because there have been many big and small things happening recently, and when Liu Feng's incident came out, the things between Princess Yongping and Zhu Ying, and between Princess Hailing and Mr. Song were not spread by the most talkative people - or even if they were spread, the scope of dissemination was still quite limited. Therefore, Zhang Qiong, the Earl of Xiangyang, who was shocked that Mr. Song could actually impress Mrs. Hailing, did not even notice Zhang Shou's request.
He nodded nonchalantly. Even though Zhang Shou winked at Deng Xiaodai and then took Ah Liu out to visit Zhang Dage, he didn't care. He had many sons anyway and didn't care about this one.
However, with many sons, the cost of marrying a wife is high, and it is even harder to find a marriage that is well-matched. This has become a worry for him. He has no choice but to stare at Mr. Song, who was blessed by heaven, and ask him , intending to learn from him.
Now, Mr. Song experienced the feeling of pestering others as he usually did - because Zhang Qiong was very eager to get to the bottom of everything, not missing any details, and almost forced him to tell her why the King of Jiangdu would choose him as his son-in-law.
Deng Xiaodai, who was standing by, wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. Mr. Song looked around in vain for someone to shield him, but found that only Deng Xiaodai was there, and Zhang Shou and Ah Liu were not there. He suddenly felt a little desperate. He finally remembered what Zhang Shou had accidentally mentioned on the way, and hurriedly stood up, pulled Deng Xiaodai over, and then smiled flatteringly at Zhang Qiong, the Earl of Xiangyang.
"My Lord, this is Deng Ai, a student of Master Zhang. He followed General Wang to Xuanfu and Datong. I heard that he also met Duke Chu. Don't you want to hear about Duke Chu's current situation in Xuanfu?"
Zhang Qiong was almost amused by Mr. Song's interruption. However, he was not unconcerned about his elder brother who had not returned from Xuanfu yet. What's more, the young man whom Mr. Song brought over said that he was Zhang Shou's student and had gone to Xuanfu with Wang Datou, so he naturally asked a few questions.
This was originally just a very common inquiry, but Deng Xiaodai hesitated for a moment, and finally said softly: "Duke Chu and my family's Wang Zongxian have no dealings except for official business. I don't know the details."
If it were someone else, Zhang Qiong would have been angry and thought that this was perfunctory and prevarication, but when Deng Xiaodai said this, he couldn't help but shudder, thinking to himself, could it be that his elder brother and Wang Datou actually had a disagreement? However, Deng Xiaodai refused to say anything more except this sentence, and just smiled foolishly. He really had no choice but to vent his anger on Mr. Song.
In the end, he agreed to be the matchmaker, but he also blackmailed a bunch of promises from Mr. Song - this eccentric Mr. Song who was good at cooking didn't have anything else to show for it, except that he had tasted the handmade desserts, which were indeed unique in taste.
But seeing that he had been chatting with the two of them for a long time, and that his big son Zhang Shou had not come out yet after he took Ah Liu to see him, he was immediately puzzled. When he called the servant to ask, he learned that Zhang Shou was actually in the room and had not come out. He changed his mind and was afraid that his stupid son would complain about him in front of outsiders, so he simply got up and ran away.
If someone else came to visit, they would naturally stay here obediently, but who is Mr. Song? Seeing Zhang Qiong was about to leave, he actually pulled Deng Xiaodai and followed behind him in a swagger!
That was obviously not shy at all!
However, Zhang Qiong didn't care about the two followers behind him, and walked very fast. When he came to the outside of Zhang Wuji's not very spacious courtyard, he heard groans from inside. He guessed that it was his big son who was pretending to be miserable in front of Zhang Shou, and he immediately became angry and wanted to kick the door in and beat him up.
He was just about to do so in anger, but when he hurried to the door, he heard a scolding voice from inside: "You look so big, but you can't even bear this little pain! Just bear with it, the young master's servants are smaller than you, and they won't even complain when applying medicine!"
Ah Liu didn't think about it at all. The reason why the little guys at home didn't cry out when applying the medicine was definitely not because it didn't hurt, but because the ones who dared to cry out in pain would be in a miserable state when they practiced together. At this moment, he took a look at Zhang's miserable buttocks and legs, picked up a handkerchief next to him and stuffed it into his mouth, and his hands became more rough.
Facts proved that although his injury seemed to be minor, he applied the medicine extremely quickly. When they finally put the man's clothes down, covered him with a quilt, and then took out the handkerchief that was stuffing his mouth, Zhang, who was sweating in pain, felt a cool feeling like wind blowing across his buttocks and legs that had been burning like fire, and the complaints on his lips immediately turned into gratitude.
Of course, the gratitude was only for Zhang Shou: "Teacher, thank you for coming to see me. I am such a useless student. I just wanted to make a big scene in Qipan Street to let those guys see the hypocritical and shameless faces of the officials in the Imperial College. I didn't expect..."
"Okay, don't think about it. If the Fourth Prince hadn't stopped you, what would your father do if you beat the drum?"
Sitting beside the bed, Zhang Shou interrupted the big guy's confession, then shook his head helplessly, and then said earnestly: "Think about the consequences of everything, don't just do what you want. Especially the children of the rich, they have families behind them, and they all prosper and suffer together. Don't think your father is too strict with you. You should know that Duke Qin has always ignored his sons. This time Zhang Chen was also beaten."
Zhang Chen was a little bully among the dandies. No matter his family background or temper, Zhang Dakui was far behind him. So when he heard that Zhang Chen was beaten, his eyes widened like bells and he felt relieved. Happiness is better shared than happiness alone!
Thinking of what Zhang the big guy said just now, the servants at home took advantage of him and even perfunctorily applied the medicine, as if they were hoping for his death, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "But in short, you acted impulsively this time because of me. I will apologize to your father. This medicine was specially made by Ah Liu. It is effective not only for external injuries, but also for broken bones. I will leave you another bottle later."
"You just get angry when the servants treat you badly? Tell me directly, do you think your father would value a servant more than you?"
