Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 653: Seeking Medical Treatment in Desperation
When the students of Jiuzhang Hall gave up their so-called relocation leave and attended classes in their brand new classrooms, and Zhang Shou, who had just returned from Xinglong Tea House, was explaining the exercises to them calmly, the capital city was in turmoil.
Zhu Tingfang not only suppressed the disturbance in Xinglong Tea House, he also took the crazy Chen who rang the gong back for interrogation - these days there is no rule that a madman can be pardoned for breaking the law, not to mention madmen, even minors are not exempted - as for the few people who led the trouble, although they were left alone for the time being, in fact, someone had been keeping an eye on them, so it can be said that he was laying out a long line to hook a big fish.
This time, Young Master Zhu was ordered to take charge of the Five Cities Military Department, and naturally he had the full support of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion. Although the Zhu family had only been rooted in the capital for more than 30 years, they were relatives of the emperor and had made great contributions. Moreover, he was a duke, so naturally everyone was afraid of him. With one order, some gangs in the inner and outer cities that used to be so powerful were all silent, and some shrank back into their old nests or ran around for others.
To put it in an exaggerated way, Zhu Tingfang, who was born into a noble family and now holds the power of the emperor, can be said to have ears and eyes all over the capital and outside. Unless you are plotting secretly under the guise of a banquet at home, as long as you need someone to run errands, you can't get around this young master Zhu.
Within one day, no less than eight riots occurred in the inner and outer cities, all of which were suppressed by the Five Cities Army at the fastest speed. Zhu Tingfang appeared near the scene of the riot again and again like a god descending from the sky, giving on-site admonitions, cleaning up the mess himself, encouraging and rewarding, or blaming and scolding... In short, he was omnipresent and miraculous.
However, those who really wanted to talk to Zhu Tingfang could not find the figure of the eldest son Zhu. There were many people who went to the military headquarters of the five cities in the east, south, west, north and center but came up empty-handed. Even if they went to the Duke of Zhao's mansion, not to mention that the mansion was so high that ordinary people could not reach it, even if they finally submitted a letter to get in, they would get the same answer in the end.
The eldest son is very busy with his work, and he often doesn't come back until the moon is above the treetops at night, or he may not come back at all. How could he be at home in broad daylight now?
So, at dusk that day, when Zhang Shou was still writing furiously on the blackboard in the classroom, he heard a few very deliberate coughs. His thoughts were interrupted and he turned around in annoyance, only to see Lu Wan standing at the door with a reluctant look on his face, accompanying a middle-aged man.
Although he knew someone was looking for him, he still turned back and quickly wrote down the remaining solutions one by one. Then he put down the pen in his hand, without even looking at the anxious middle-aged man, and swept his eyes among the students in the classroom, finally landing on Qi Liang, and nodded slightly to him.
"Xiao Qi, come up and explain to everyone. I want to see who picked this time to look for me during class."
Seeing a bunch of students suddenly turn their heads and stare at him, many of them with unfriendly expressions, the middle-aged man next to Lu Wan suddenly looked embarrassed. It was not until he saw Zhang Shou walk up to him calmly that he bowed and said, "Mr. Zhang, I have no choice but to interrupt the class. I do have something urgent to do. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Seeing that no one rushed into the classroom directly, and because Lu Wan was accompanying him, Zhang Shou smiled noncommittally and left the gate. When he came to the center of the courtyard, he only heard the middle-aged man who followed him say impatiently: "Master Zhang, we met at Gao Yuan's wedding banquet. I am Lu Gao Yuan's cousin, Cui Hong and Cui Mingquan, the Imperial Censor of the Five Cities."
Zhang Shou only thought that this self-introduction was really fresh. The title of Lu Sanlang's uncle came first, and the official position came later. If Lu Sanlang was here, wouldn't he be grinning from ear to ear? He thought that the relatives of the Lu family were more important than the censor!
Speaking of which, there were so many guests on the wedding day of Lu Sanlang, and there were also many relatives of the Lu family, so he really didn't remember the person in front of him. Therefore, he smiled perfunctorily and said, "So it's Cui Shiyu, I wonder why you are looking for me so urgently?"
"Master Zhang, could you please ask Master Zhu to take the time to see me?"
This is really new. The person looking for Zhu Tingfang actually found me here!
Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of amusement, Lu Wan, who had been harassed to the point of having a headache before and had no choice but to agree to be the middleman, couldn't help but sigh: "Master Zhang, there have been constant disturbances in and outside the capital today. Young Master Zhu has been in charge, and the Five Cities Military Department has suppressed several waves of disturbances. However, Ming Quan, the new city inspector, is completely in the dark, so he came here out of desperation."
With Lu Wan's explanation as a foundation, Cui Hong immediately explained the reason at the fastest speed. Seeing Zhang Shou standing there without saying anything, he could only bow again and said, "Mr. Zhu has been vigorous and resolute in suppressing the chaos everywhere, so he is naturally meritorious and has no fault. However, I, the imperial inspector, was left out and didn't know anything when I was asked in the court. Even if I am guilty, he can't escape the name of being domineering."
Thinking of what Zhu Tingfang said on the second floor of Xinglong Tea House today, Zhang Shou thought for a moment and simply told the truth: "I met Master Zhu at Xinglong Tea House today, but as for where he is now, how can I, a teacher, know? But..."
Seeing Zhang Shou evading the question, Cui Hong originally felt hopeless, but when he heard these two words, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
"But even if we can't find Master Zhu, the criminal is always in the custody of the Five Cities Military Department, right? As the Patrol Censor, can't Cui Shiyu go and see him in person and ask him questions? Master Zhu also said today that the patrol and arrest of people is the responsibility of the Five Cities Military Department, but the behind-the-scenes activities should be the responsibility of the Patrol Censor."
Cui Hong couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but then he forced a smile and said, "The Five Cities Military Department has always only looked at the orders from Master Zhu..."
Before anyone could finish their words, Zhang Shou said with a smile, "The Wucheng Bingma Division used to have no rules, so it's normal for Master Zhu to be strict with the rules as a new official. However, I think he values power and responsibility the most. Since he is willing to take responsibility for those who do things, then as long as Cui Shiyu is willing to take his share of responsibility, he will definitely not deliberately set up any obstacles to make things difficult for you."
This time, Lu Wan also understood everything.
Zhang Shou's implication was that instead of desperately trying to find Zhu Tingfang to find out the whole story, it would be better to go to the Wucheng Bingmasi to interrogate the criminals and handle these cases thoroughly to get to the bottom of it! Of course, this matter was very risky, because if any high-ranking officials were involved, then Cui Hong would have to bear the pressure himself.
Moreover, even if we take a step back, it is entirely possible that no results will be found after the interrogation!
Cui Hong's face was uncertain, especially when he saw Zhang Shou smile and bow, then calmly return to the classroom. After a while, his voice of carefully explaining to the students could be heard from inside, and his face became even uglier.
But when he looked at Lu Wan as if for help, all he got was a cough from the latter.
"I can't help you make a decision on this matter. You decide for yourself." Having said that, seeing Cui Hong walking out in a daze, Lu Wan walked with him for a few steps out of kinship, and then calmly said, "From what you just said, although these disturbances are everywhere and have a lot of momentum, they are actually very crude and not presentable."
"No matter how stupid and short-sighted the elders in the court are, they shouldn't do such a thing. For example, when they wanted to drive away Master Zhang, at least they used the school officials and the students, so they didn't have to make such a scene in the streets."
Cui Hong suddenly understood. Yes, who among those old men in the court would be so stupid as to stir up public opinion and cause such a big fuss?
If it was really done by their disciples and nephews, who were so stupid as to bring trouble to their elders, then the elders might as well bow down and step down! And if it wasn't these old men, then what would he, the imperial inspector, have to be afraid of?
After thinking this through, Cui Hong was overjoyed, and he was really grateful. When he left the public school with brisk steps, Lu Wan returned to his office and heard Liu Zhiyuan say coldly: "As an imperial censor, when encountering things, they think about how to report to their superiors instead of making fair judgments and making them public. Nowadays, these imperial censors are really becoming more and more cautious in protecting themselves."
"I have completely forgotten the original intention of setting up the Censorate in the early years of this dynasty, which was to supervise the lower class and the higher class!"
Although they were her relatives, Lu Wan could not find any reason to excuse Cui Hong at this moment. She could only smile bitterly. Thinking of her eldest son and second son, whom she had relied on in the past, she thought that she should send them somewhere to train them up, so that they would not be as irresponsible as Cui Hong at this moment and be looked down upon by others!
At the end of the day's class, Zhang Shou never mentioned anything about the outside world, but only asked many students whether they could adapt to moving to the outer city.
Because Jiuzhangtang moved out of the Imperial College, the Xiao family could no longer live in the dormitory that had previously been used as a collective dormitory. Now, everyone lived in the first batch of dormitories built by the public school. There were four people in a room, and although it was also cramped, it was at least clean and tidy.
As for the housekeeping… there is no doubt that they would be arranged by themselves. Lu Sanlang gave the dormitory management regulations that Zhang Shou mentioned casually to his father, and Lu Wan copied them exactly.
At this time, facing Zhang Shou's inquiry, most people naturally said that everything was fine. Only Ji Jiu hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I went to Xiao's house before. Now that the classmates have moved out, Xiao Cheng's place has become deserted again. I see that there is no shortage of rooms here, so why not let Xiao Cheng move to the outer city as well? Xiao Huasheng can also come with us. There are many young students here, so he can have a companion."
After hearing what Ji Jiu said, Zhang Shou immediately remembered this.
However, Xiao Chengle, who always liked to be self-reliant, was reluctant to move out of the old house, but he was not sure. But when he thought that if Xiao Cheng and Xiao Huasheng stayed here, they could not only continue their studies but also find companions among other children in the public school, he thought this was a good idea.
"I will arrange this when I get back. As for you, you should take turns to be teachers here, so don't be careless. Even if you are facing barefoot farmers, peddlers, small merchants, or even the descendants of several generations of poor people, even if they may be of average talent and have bad tempers, but perseverance can carve a stone. I hope you will remember this sentence."
After bidding farewell to Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan, Zhang Shou took Ah Liu away from the public school. He thought of today's series of events, Zhu Tingfang's attitude, Cui Hong's visit, and couldn't help but sneer and said, "I don't know who is behind all these scenes today."
"Someone from the Imperial Household Department."
Zhang Shou was stunned by such an answer, and then looked sideways in disbelief. Seeing Ah Liu following him with his horse as usual , with no sign of the earth-shattering words he had just said, he hooked his finger at the man, and when he saw the man take two steps forward, he suddenly reached out and rubbed the boy's head.
"Either you keep silent, or if you speak, you must say something shocking! Tell me, what have you discovered?"
Seeing that Ah Liu didn't say anything this time, Zhang Shou was amused by him. He directly pulled the man over. Relying on his height advantage, he stretched out his right arm and clamped the man's neck tightly: "Will you tell me or not? If you don't, don't blame me for being rude!"
Ah Liu could have dodged it, but he didn't. Instead, he muttered, "If someone sees you, your reputation will be ruined!"
"Didn't you lead me here? You said it was a good way to avoid the crowds?" Zhang Shou laughed, "Don't interrupt me, just tell me the truth!"
In order to avoid some people who are too scheming, the master and servant no longer use the conspicuous entrances such as the main gate, the back gate and the side gate when leaving Zhang Garden or going to the public school. Anyway, the public school does not have a tall wall, only a circle of low fences. The small devices on it to prevent people from climbing over were made by Ah Liu. No one knows it better than him. With two well-trained horses, they can go anywhere.
So, Yang Hao and Zheng Dang, who had just worked as assistants for a few days, were gloriously laid off these days.
At this moment, Ah Liu could not resist Zhang Shou's questioning and could only confess helplessly: "While the young master was giving a lecture, I went to the South City Military Division and interrogated that crazy Chen. I am quite good at dealing with crazy people. I asked him a few words that were repeatedly taught to him by others. I gave him ten meat patties and promised to give him a bronze gong to play with."
Although he knew that he should pay more attention to the second half of the sentence, Zhang Shou's attention was strangely focused on the sentence "good at dealing with crazy people"... He even wondered how Hua Qi felt when he heard this.
"Crazy Chen was still talking incoherently. He was so excited about beating the gong that he forgot to say one thing. He was asked to say that the people in the Imperial Household Department were all trouble and the department should be abolished! I couldn't get any other information out of him, so I deliberately revealed some flaws when I left the prison and led to an insider. It was that guy who said that he received money from a scribe in the Imperial Household Department and came to snoop."
At this point, Ah Liu saw Zhang Shou loosen his hand and stroke his chin in deep thought. He then asked, "The traitor only said that he was paid to find out who was behind that crazy Chen. He didn't say anything else. But I think it was the one from the Imperial Household Department who was using the pen to inflict pain on himself."
Zhang Shou had been thinking that today's incident was just like the last night when Chu Kuan asked for punishment, but the emperor dismissed three of the four heads of the Imperial Household Department in one go. It was weird no matter how he looked at it. When Ah Liu said that, he suddenly felt a little enlightened. He smiled and gave the boy a thumbs up, then grabbed the reins and jumped on the horse: "Okay, it's none of our business anyway, let others fight each other! Let's go, it's cold at the end of the year, let's go home and have hot pot!"
