Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 644: Instead of envying the fish by the abyss, it is better to retreat and weave a net
When Zhang Chen staggered back to the wedding banquet, he saw people toasting and laughing everywhere. He felt a wave of warmth and a wave of coldness in his heart. The warmth was that the girl Zhu Ying mentioned was obviously in line with his expectations, and the coldness was that his father suddenly changed and wanted to be a caring father, but he realized that he should discipline his son strictly!
This is simply a disease, it needs to be cured! I wonder how his father can cure it... Can he marry a wife back home?
Zhang Chen didn't think about what would happen if Ah Liu and Hua Qi chased that person together - in fact, if the two lost him, he wouldn't have to think about revenge for the humiliation he just suffered. He rubbed his cold forehead hard and looked around, but he only saw smiling faces, but they were all real and fake.
He could easily find the main table, but because he was dizzy, he had double vision and couldn't find the person he was looking for. Just when he was about to find a random table to make a scene, he suddenly felt someone patting his shoulder from behind.
He turned around suddenly, but his footing was unstable and he fell backwards. In a flash, he saw a large hand like a palm leaf fan stretched out in front of him and grabbed him. Before he could see who it was, he heard a cheerful voice: "Why are you standing somewhere else? Why are you standing in the middle of the road? Aren't you in the way? Hey, are you Zhang Chen?"
It was not until he heard someone calling his name that Zhang Chen recognized that it was Zhang Dakuaitou, the son of Xiangyang Bo. He had no relationship with him, so he didn't want to be perfunctory. Unexpectedly, Zhang Dakuaitou enthusiastically held his arm and said, "It's only been a short while since the banquet started, and you're already so drunk that you can't even stand steadily? Hey, the teacher was just asking you where you are. I'll take you there!"
"You too, a grown-up like you actually quarreled with a child like the Fourth Prince. This is really irresponsible!"
Zhang Chen didn't have time to say anything before he was dragged away by Zhang Dakuai. He wanted to struggle but couldn't handle the man's strength. He passed by several tables at that moment and vaguely saw that most of the people he knew were Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, and Zhu Er. But seeing that everyone was happily drinking and chatting, he hesitated for a moment before being dragged to the main table by Zhang Dakuai.
Except for Zhang Shou, all the people at this table were high-ranking officials above the third rank. And what Zhang Chen felt most in awe was that Lu Wan had actually invited Elder Wu to help with Lu Sanlang's marriage, and this famous emperor's yes-man actually sat down below Zhang Shou without a care! As for the others, the Shangshu and the Deputy Chief Censor, why did they come to the Lu family just for their children's marriage?
Not to mention the Fourth Prince, right now the naughty kid sitting at the bottom is staring at him!
Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Lu Sanlang, but seeing that the big guy Zhang had already gone forward to greet Zhang Shou and the others, he could only move his feet forward, bowed stiffly, and called him teacher. Seeing that the elders at the table were all looking at him, he said humbly: "I drank a few more sips of wine elsewhere before, so I spoke rudely . It's all my fault."
Zhang Chen, Lu Sanlang, Zhu Er... these people were the most famous dandies in the capital in the past. Although the officials in the court no longer doubted Zhang Shou's ability to be a teacher at such a young age because of the emperor's praise and their actions of reforming themselves and following Zhang Shou's lead, they still sighed when they saw Zhang Chen coming over to apologize.
This can really be said to be a case of one thing conquering another!
Zhang Chen, the big guy who used to envy Zhang Chen the most for his unbridled behavior, saw that Zhang Chen came to apologize with his head bowed. He couldn't help but feel that he had made a wise decision to mobilize most of the people in Banshan Hall to prepare for the relocation to the public school according to the emperor's order.
Therefore, when he saw Zhang Shou pouring a glass of wine and drinking it with a smile, he immediately pulled Zhang Chen and said, "Zhang Chen, today is Fatty Lu's big day. The teacher has always been tolerant and forgiving. How could he care about such a small matter as your drunken remarks? Can't you just toast and apologize in person?"
The fourth prince's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he immediately ran over with the wine jug in his hand, and urged Zhang Chen to pour wine to apologize without saying a word. Zhang Chen was a little embarrassed at first, but he took the wine jug and filled Zhang Shou's glass with wine.
Seeing this scene, Lord Wu smiled and twirled his beard, especially when he saw that Zhang Chen actually toasted Zhang Shou to apologize, and Zhang Shou also stood up and drank it without any embarrassment. Then he called Zhang Chen to the side as if to teach him a lesson, and he began to admire him.
"No wonder the Emperor has always loved and respected Master Zhang. Look at the way he teaches his students. He is indeed a role model. The academic officials of the Imperial College really need to learn from him!"
A certain Shangshu who was standing next to him couldn't help but let out a playful smile. Fortunately, Lu Wan's public school was now competing with the Imperial College, so none of the Imperial College's academicians were invited to Lu Sanlang's wedding today. Otherwise, if these people heard what Wu Ge Lao said, they would definitely be so angry that they would die!
Although Lord Wu was criticized as the emperor's yes-man, more people regarded him as the emperor's barometer - so those who had always had a good impression of Zhang Shou at the same table naturally followed suit, and even those who were dissatisfied with Zhang Shou's position as the chief minister today had to suppress it for the time being.
After all, when Lu Wan came over to toast Zhang Shou in person, he had already made it clear that today Zhang Shou was sitting in the chief seat as the teacher of Lu Sanlang, so he would not discuss official titles but would toast to the teacher first. What else could others say?
Zhang Shou winked at Zhang Dakuai to take the naughty boy away for the time being, and had a brief exchange with Zhang Chen. When he learned that a mysterious person almost hypnotized Zhang Chen, he was shocked. When he heard that Hua Qi and Ah Liu went to chase someone together, he was relieved. Putting aside the crazy Hua Qi, he absolutely believed in Ah Liu's ability in this area.
He immediately smiled and said, "If you can really catch him, all your efforts will be worthwhile and you will have accomplished something great."
Thinking that Zhang Shou was joking, Zhang Chen, who almost lost his temper, smiled bitterly. He hesitated for a moment, but finally ignored what Zhu Ying had said to him. Because although he no longer regarded Zhang Shou as a rival in love, he did not want people to think that he was looking for a substitute. With his status and appearance, he was not looking for a concubine, but a wife, so no matter how high his requirements were, they were not excessive!
Just as the two of them finished talking and were about to return to their seats, they heard a beaming voice: "Hey, Zhang Chen, have you finally figured it out? I told you that you must have drunk too much before, otherwise why would you say something like that?"
Wedding tents were set up in more than a dozen courtyards, large and small, and eighty tables of banquets were set up. It was impossible for Lu Sanlang to toast and greet every table, so he just visited a dozen tables and toasted and thanked those relatively important guests. As for some friends of the same generation like Zhu Er, he just went there for the sake of politeness.
Although Lu Sanlang smelled of alcohol at this time, it was lighter than Zhang Chen's, and his complexion was much better than Zhang Chen's flushed drunken look. He came up to Zhang Chen with an attitude of brotherly love, and put his arm around his shoulder, as if he was a peacemaker. Although Zhang Chen was annoyed, he couldn't refuse because it was someone else's wedding day, so he could only reluctantly cooperate with this fat guy to show a harmonious and close appearance in front of others.
Just as Zhang Shou was watching the two guys acting out, there was a commotion outside. Then, the Fourth Prince, who had just been coaxed aside by the big guy Zhang, came out again and shouted happily, "I heard someone coming from the palace outside. It must be the emperor who gave Senior Brother Lu a name! "
No matter who it was, no one would take the Fourth Prince's words as pure childish talk. After all, the youngest prince in the palace, who was also the new Crown Prince's most beloved brother, came to Lu Sanlang's wedding banquet in person, so the attitude of the palace was already very clear. If the Emperor really gave a name, it would only be icing on the cake.
But even though he thought so, when Zhang Chen heard the report from outside and saw Lu Sanlang go out happily, he couldn't help but feel envious and jealous again - for him, this kind of emotion was quite rare. If he had to talk about the last one, it probably had to be traced back to... Zhang Shou in front of him.
At that time, when he learned that Zhang Shou was Zhu Ying's fiancé, he was almost going crazy with envy and jealousy!
Many young people rushed out to watch the fun, only guests like Wu Ge Lao were a little reserved and sat in their original seats, but the topic of discussion had also changed. Zhang Shou stood beside Zhang Chen thoughtfully, and seeing his face changing, he remembered the girl Zhu Ying had mentioned to him, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"It is better to step back and weave a net than to stand by the abyss and envy the fish."
Zhang Chen was startled, but just when he thought Zhang Shou was hinting at something, he saw the fourth prince, who had slipped out to watch the fun, slipped back in again. The naughty kid walked forward with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "The emperor gave Senior Brother Lu and Junior Sister-in-law four words, can you guess them, teachers?"
This kind of guessing game, the big guys usually take pride in their status, who would care about it. But at this time, the topic was different, and everyone was happy to express their opinions. Wu Ge Lao guessed the very unoriginal "a match made in heaven", a certain Shangshu guessed "living together till old age", a certain Deputy Chief Censor guessed "flying together like wings"... After a round, the Fourth Prince was almost shaking his head like a rattle.
Zhang Chen subconsciously wanted to say "marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog", but he felt that the words were vulgar when they came to his lips, so he finally held them back. But then he heard Zhang Shou beside him say with a smile: "What Elder Wu and the other elders said just now are of course good words. But if they are used on Gao Yuan and his new wife, I am thinking..."
"Perhaps the characters bestowed by the Emperor mean that the husband and wife should follow each other's lead?"
At this moment, the Fourth Prince's face was filled with disbelief: "Teacher, you can guess this! This is impossible. Before I came out, my father said that he hadn't decided what to write yet!"
Others thought that the Fourth Prince and Zhang Shou were acting together, but Elder Wu, who knew the Emperor well, couldn't help but laugh and said, "The words 'husband sings and wife follows', could it be referring to the scene when Lu Gaoyuan first met his new wife? If so, the words given by the Emperor are quite appropriate. Scholar Zhang was able to guess it, and he knew the Emperor's temper very well."
As he spoke, he began to sigh: "The emperor has always been unconventional in bestowing calligraphy on people. He always said that if it is vulgar, it is better not to give it. For example, Jiang Gelao once received a piece of calligraphy from the emperor, which was 'Heart as hard as stone'. To say that the prime minister has a heart as hard as stone, this is probably only the emperor... cough cough, there is no way to say it."
Zhang Chen didn't care to listen to Wu Ge Lao's show-off. He chewed on the four words "husband sings and wife follows", and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that these four words were the best compliment to the couple. What is the meaning of "holding the case in harmony and respecting each other like guests"? If you really live like this every day, wouldn't you be bored and annoyed? In contrast, the husband and wife are in harmony and cooperate tacitly. This is the real harmony!
Zhang Shou guessed the character the emperor would bestow, and Lord Wu explained it again. The Fourth Prince's eyes rolled around, but he kept coming forward and asking Zhang Shou if he could think of what character the emperor would bestow at his and Zhu Ying's wedding.
Of course, Zhang Shou gave a non-answer to the kid's critical question, and ignored it completely. The emperor liked to play tricks on people, so he might say something that would make people do the opposite.
If he made such a boast now, the emperor would dare to grant him a painting with a base of ink-and-wash landscape and a detailed and rich peony... The current emperor could definitely do it!
Not long after, Lu Sanlang, who had thanked the emperor for his grace, came back with a beaming smile. But what attracted more attention than him was the scroll in his hand. He came up quickly and greeted Zhang Shou first, then nodded to the other elders as a gesture of respect, and then said with a smile, "I will take the things back to my room for display. I will leave for a while. Please enjoy yourselves!"
Seeing the man leave after saying this, Zhang Chen couldn't help but mutter in dismay: "How can I have fun? Today is your big day, so you should be the one having fun!"
“If you are envious, just hurry up!” The fourth prince was sharp-eared and replied casually. After being glared at by Zhang Shou, he stuck out his tongue and returned to his original position, but began to eat again.
Zhang Shou had said everything he needed to say, and he would not continue to interfere, even taking over the responsibility of teaching the son of Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan. He returned to the chief seat with a smile and continued to chat with Wu Ge Lao. With this close contact at the Lu family today, he felt that he had made a great progress in understanding Wu Ge Lao.
In the past, he only thought that the man was a yes-man who only knew how to echo the emperor. Now he knows that Lord Wu's words and manners are all perfectly controlled. Moreover, his words are witty and every word can hit the spot. However, most of the time, people only like to express themselves with vulgar flattery, hiding their delicate hearts deep down.
When the wedding banquet was about to end at night, the guests of higher status, including Wu Gelao, said goodbye one by one and left. When Lu Wan personally saw them off to the door, Zhang Shou, who was still sitting at the head of the main table, heard Ah Liu's familiar voice from behind: "Master, the man has been caught. He is a close attendant of the emperor."
