Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 642: This is too much!
"Zhang Chen doesn't care about his reputation, so he gave you this bad idea. But what about you? You think it's important to lose your reputation and catch those messy people, but you don't think about how hard it was for you to gain a reputation for admitting mistakes and correcting them. If you make a scene like this, and then get scolded by me, and then drown your sorrows in alcohol, what will your father and third brother think?"
Seeing the Fourth Prince standing there in a daze, Zhang Shou said calmly, "Besides, you said that flies don't bite seamless villains. Even if you think you are not a villain, you can't help but hear rumors and deliberately slander you. There are some things that Lu Gaoyuan doesn't care about, his newlywed wife doesn't care about, and even Lu Jijiu doesn't care about them, but that doesn't mean that some people who claim to be moral gentlemen don't care."
"Do you know why your uncle, Prince Lu, became more and more unscrupulous? Besides the fact that the emperor indulged him too much, it was because he did not control himself properly , so someone deliberately spread his scandals outside. As a result, when more people talked about it, he just gave up and did whatever he wanted? You think it doesn't matter, but do you know that three people can make a tiger, a lot of gossip can melt gold, and Zeng Shen killed people?"
"Do you think those unscrupulous rumors will let you off just because you are young? If you really want to do great things, it would be fine if you don't care about your reputation before and after death, but you are risking yourself for such a small matter. I think the twenty rods you received before were not enough! Walking outside and being pointed at by thousands of people, does that feel good?"
The fourth prince finally squatted down against the wall, but he still grumbled with extreme grievance: "But Zhang Chen said that instead of letting others not be able to find the third brother's flaws and thus have no way to start, why not I help him..."
"If you take the wrong path too much, the sword will break, just like walking at night too much and breaking your legs! That guy is just too bold and even encouraged you to do the same!" Zhang Shou interrupted the fourth prince and said firmly, "In short, there is no room for negotiation on this matter. Give up this stupid idea as soon as possible..."
However, this time it was his turn to not be able to finish his words. Because in the night sky, a figure floated down like a big bird, landing lightly only five or six steps away from him and the Fourth Prince. Obviously, it was no one else, but Ah Liu.
Ah Liu, who had severely punished the Fourth Prince with twenty lashes of the cane, obviously had a very intimidating effect on the naughty kid. As soon as he saw Ah Liu, the naughty kid, who had just been squatting on the ground, immediately got up and went directly behind Zhang Shou, even holding Zhang Shou's arms tightly with both hands, and the nervousness could not be concealed at all.
"Master, the madman just left." After Ah Liu's concise opening remarks, he saw the frightened Fourth Prince's eyes widen, so he continued, "The madman said that he already knew about what Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince discussed, and the Emperor also knew about it."
At this, the Fourth Prince's face turned pale at first, and then he became red with anger. How could he have imagined that his secret affair was known to everyone, and they just watched him act like a monkey! Just as he rushed out, Zhang Shou held his shoulder and he could not take another step forward.
"What else did Master Hua Qi say?"
"He said that the Emperor said that since the Fourth Prince loves his brother so much, he should just go ahead and do it. At worst, when something goes wrong, the Emperor will come out and say that it was his instructions that the Fourth Prince was the one who lured the snake out of its hole." After repeating Hua Qi's words verbatim, Ah Liu hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but say, "But I think this is unreliable."
"Yeah, what if no one takes advantage of this opportunity? Wouldn't the Fourth Prince be known as a drunkard at such a young age?" Zhang Shou asked this question on behalf of Ah Liu. Seeing the Fourth Prince's shoulders tremble slightly, he said calmly, "It's a good idea to lure the snake out of its hole, but their trick is too crude."
"It's just like when Zhang Chen pretended to be the second prince's confidant in Xingtai. He actually relied on driving away the first prince's confidant to gain the trust of the local rich man, and then sent people to curry favor with the second prince to confirm the word "confidant". This trick is probably only effective on a brainless and rough man like the second prince! It must be that the local rich men in Xingtai have never seen a big shot, otherwise he would have been exposed long ago!"
When Zhang Shou said this, he used a little force with his hands and pulled the Fourth Prince back to face him. Seeing that the Fourth Prince's face was red and tears were welling up in his eyes, it was obvious that he was very upset because he was tricked by his father, so he smiled at him.
"Why, do you feel useless and being played around by others? Don't you think about how old you are? Zhang Chen has only done a few things, and you are flirting and playing tricks in the palace?"
"I..." The fourth prince was immediately very angry, but he didn't know what to say when he wanted to fight back, so he simply lowered his head and held his breath, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Until he realized that something was covering his face, and when he looked up, he saw that it was a handkerchief. After a slight pause, he simply took it in anger, wiped his eyes, and blew his nose, making a huge noise.
Zhang Shou didn't care that the naughty kid was destroying his handkerchief. He had plenty of it anyway. Even though men and women often used handkerchiefs to express their love, Zhu Ying... Haha, the young lady's needlework skills were completely zero. It was unreliable to give him such needlework. If she was asked to embroider a handkerchief or a sachet or pen bag, Zhu Ying would definitely say, "Is that crazy?"
There are other embroiderers who are better at it, so why force yourself to do this?
Therefore, when he saw the Fourth Prince wipe the dirty thing and hand it to him, he folded his hands and said, "If you really want to return it to me, take it back and wash it clean before handing it back to me, otherwise I will tell your sister Yingying. Okay, have you figured it out now?"
Frightened by Zhang Shou's threat, the Fourth Prince could only shove his handkerchief back into his sleeve. He sniffed softly and finally made up his mind.
He said in a muffled voice, "I won't fool around with Zhang Chen anymore! The third prince also said that one person's plan is short, and everyone's plan is long. What can we get if we only discuss with that devil Zhang Chen! I am not willing to be used by others, but I should have discussed it with the third prince and you, teacher. What good ideas can Zhang Chen come up with!"
But I just believed Zhang Chen’s lies!
Zhang Shou smiled and patted the Fourth Prince's head. Seeing that the naughty boy had finally returned to his good self, he led him out. When they returned to the table, Zhang Chen had just announced the gift from the Crown Prince. Even Lu Sanlang had settled his newlywed wife and hurried out to deal with the situation. The groom was still there, with a smile on his face, and there were compliments from all sides.
Zhang Chen did not intentionally sit with those less important guests at this moment. As the eldest son of Duke Qin, he mingled with Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and a group of noble children. When he saw Zhang Shou bringing the Fourth Prince back, whose face and eyes showed signs of crying, he was thinking that this was a good play, but he did not expect that the teacher and student would actually walk straight towards him.
Almost instinctively, this famous little bully in Beijing felt that something was not right...
Sure enough, the next moment, he stood up with the others and was about to show his respect for the teacher when he saw Zhang Shou smiling meaningfully at him. Then, the fourth prince snorted at him, "Zhang Chen, you've done something wrong!"
"?"
If he could curse, Zhang Chen would curse out all the curse words he knew. This boy is not fit for great things! He had thought before that since Zhang Shou had come to deliver medicine for his injuries, it must be that the Fourth Prince had let the cat out of the bag. He thought about it and still held on to a fluke, maybe there was a flaw somewhere else, and Zhang Shou didn't come to him again, so he still had high hopes for the Fourth Prince!
This kind of naughty kid is really incapable of doing anything good and always causes trouble!
The others at the table looked at each other in bewilderment as they saw the Fourth Prince and Zhang Chen staring at each other. Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were both about to become the sons-in-law of the royal family. They were afraid that Zhang Chen would lose his temper and start a quarrel with the Fourth Prince, so they hurried forward to try to smooth things over. But before they could say anything, Zhang Shou suddenly stopped smiling.
"Zhang Chen, your intention is good, but you picked the wrong person to do it. A real man should take responsibility for his actions. How can you push such a big thing onto a little kid like Zheng Yan?"
Everyone else was stunned by what Zhang Shou said. They looked at the Fourth Prince and then at Zhang Chen, all confused. However, after Zhang Chen was initially shocked, he suddenly understood what Zhang Shou meant. Was he saying that the idea was fine, but the execution was problematic?
Zhang Shou felt that he shouldn't push the Fourth Prince to the front and hide behind himself... He wasn't afraid of trouble. If he really wanted to avoid trouble, he wouldn't dare to come up with such an idea after being severely reprimanded by his father. But why? The Fourth Prince caused the trouble, and he didn't do anything at the beginning, but he suffered the consequences!
At that moment, he got angry and said stiffly: "I don't accept it!"
The three words were so nonsensical that the others around were even more puzzled. Zhang Shou, however, understood Zhang Chen very well, and his tone suddenly changed to harsh: "Everyone has his own responsibility. Zheng Yan should have his own responsibilities, and you should also have yours. Aren't you fearless? It's because you always believe that someone will cover you for everything!"
Is Zhang Shou saying that this matter has been resolved, and someone is covering it? Well, the person who covers it is definitely not his father. Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan has a very strict personality. Although he may not be afraid of trouble, he will definitely not take the initiative to cause trouble! Zhang Shou is indeed very responsible. Last time, he helped cover it when he pretended to be the confidant of the second prince, but from the tone of his voice, it seems that this time he is not...
Then who else? Zhu Ying? No... Could it be the emperor? Someone around the emperor heard what he and the fourth prince were planning!
Zhang Chen suddenly had an idea, and while he felt relieved, he couldn't help but feel scared. When he thought about how he had deceived the Fourth Prince under the noses of the Emperor's people, if this was investigated, even if he was born in an extraordinary family and had made some contributions before, he would probably be in trouble. He was extremely grateful to Zhang Shou for stopping the Fourth Prince.
Although he knew that it would be best for him to have a big quarrel with Zhang Shou and then walk away, if it were the former Zhang Chen, this kind of scene would be easy to do, but this time he didn't want to say anything bad, so he simply snorted coldly and walked away.
He had just delivered the prince's gift to Lu Sanlang on behalf of the Fourth Prince, and Zhang Shou brought the Fourth Prince out, and many people were paying attention, so his exit made quite a commotion. Even Lu Sanlang, who had just stepped aside to watch the situation, hurried over.
But the cunning little fat boy always felt that the matter was a little subtle, so he did not try to stop Zhang Chen, but bowed and said: "Teacher, today is my big day, you must calm down! Zhang Chen is a bad boy, you must not argue with him... Hey, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, you must not try to persuade him, Zhang Chen will become more and more awkward the more you persuade him, leave him alone!"
"Maybe he'll figure it out soon?"
The little fat boy was the most capable of socializing among Zhang Shou's group of young students. He persuaded here and there, and even said a few nice words to the Fourth Prince. As for the others who came to inquire, he also politely dealt with them. Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually recovering, he respectfully invited Zhang Shou and the Fourth Prince to the main table.
As for where Zhang Chen went… this guy was obviously up to something, he didn’t care!
After Zhang Chen left the courtyard where the four seats at the main table were located in anger, he looked around for a while and then ran to other courtyards. He had met the Fourth Prince in a remote courtyard before, so he simply went back the same way. As a result, perhaps because it was raining cats and dogs, he bumped into a reckless servant on the road and spilled a pot of wine all over him.
According to Zhang Chen's usual temper, he would have been furious and scolded him - if it was his own servant who was so reckless, he would have been beaten up - but this time he endured it. When he returned to the remote courtyard with a strong smell of alcohol, he saw that in the courtyard where there was no one else, one of the two tables that were prepared for the banquet actually had two guests.
He just glanced at the two people, then returned to the seat where he had sat before without caring about anything. He kicked away the two chairs next to him and sat down. However, he did not eat the food, but directly picked up the wine jug beside him and poured it directly into his mouth.
He choked after taking just one sip, and was so angry that he almost cursed out loud. For a wedding banquet at the Lu family, the wine was mixed with water, and you could hardly taste the alcohol. This was too much of a rip-off! But after the initial anger, he suddenly became clear-headed when he smelled the alcohol on his body.
Including spilling the wine all over him... Was this all intentional? To remind him not to turn pretending to be drunk into being drunk?
Although he understood it all at once, Zhang Chen became even more indignant. He had always drunk wine like water since he was a child. Was he looking down on him? Even if he was drunk, he was always clear-headed. How could he make mistakes while drunk? Thinking of this, he gulped down the wine in the wine pot, which could really be called water wine, and then stood up and strode to another table.
Without even saying hello, he grabbed the two bottles of wine on the table and returned to his seat under the other party's surprised gaze. He opened the lids and drank them all in one gulp. Then he slammed the table and said, "This is too much!"
