Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 691: Be a good person to the end, send the Buddha to the west
The crying and shouting Fourth Prince felt very wronged, but facing him like this, King Jiangdu felt even more wronged. The Emperor must have blamed this naughty child, but he just said a few words to others, right? And just because of these two words, the damned naughty child stayed in his house, why is he now blaming him?
Zhang Shou was frowning when he suddenly felt the Fourth Prince's fingers writing on his back. Although he couldn't tell what the naughty kid wanted to say, he was very clear about one thing: the naughty kid refused to leave the Jiangdu Palace and was full of grievances. It was not entirely true. Most of it was probably fake. He was probably waiting for him!
He unhappily took the koala-like child off his back. Seeing that the child was crying like a clown, he said with a straight face, "You have troubled King Jiangdu for so long, and you are still staying in his house. Do you have the nerve to do that?"
"What's there to be embarrassed about? Uncle Wang is not an outsider!" The fourth prince answered with a sob, but he didn't notice that King Jiangdu was already furious. How can he not be an outsider? You and I are outsiders! Don't come to my house again, you troublemaker!
When Zhang Shou saw Ah Liu approaching, he quickly wiped the mess of tears from the Fourth Prince's face with a handkerchief, then picked him up and threw him back, carrying the kid on his back. Although he knew this was the best way to prevent him from escaping, he still felt that it was too easy for the kid. So when he saw the kid opening his mouth to speak, he said coldly, "From now on, if you say a word, I'll punish you with a ruler. Ah Liu, remember this!"
The Fourth Prince was immediately horrified. If someone else had said this, he would have protested loudly, but the person who said this was Zhang Shou, and the person who executed him was most likely Ah Liu. After counting the number of times, he would have dared to hit him!
He didn't know whether Zhang Shou knew about the words he had just scratched on his back or not. But he wanted to speak at this moment, but when he thought of the pain of being beaten with a ruler, he didn't dare to speak casually here - in public, Zhang Shou would definitely not show any mercy. Maybe there would be room for discussion when they were in private.
Therefore, he could only lie obediently on Ah Liu's back and listen to Zhang Shou and King Jiangdu say goodbye and leave. After they left, Ah Liu threw him into the carriage. When he saw people following him, he hurriedly called out, "Sixth Brother..."
But before he could finish his next words, Ah Liu stretched out two fingers and shook them at him. Realizing that even this was counted, the Fourth Prince immediately became sad. After Zhang Shou got on the car, he couldn't help but reveal an extremely pitiful expression, just like an abandoned puppy wagging its tail at its owner.
"Don't say anything yet, let me guess."
Zhang Shou sat cross-legged, looked directly into the eyes of the Fourth Prince, and said calmly, "What you said before, for example, when you saw that Hong Shanchang was going to drive away Han Lie and his people outside, you flew into a rage and forced everyone to follow you, and you also spoke ill of Hong Shanchang, this should be true. After all, you have such an impulsive personality."
Seeing the Fourth Prince nodding like a chick pecking at rice, not to mention how obedient he was, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "But, just because it's true doesn't mean you don't have your own agenda. Tell me, what else did you discover when you met Hong Shanzhang?"
The fourth prince was surprised and delighted, but after opening his mouth, he cautiously glanced at Ah Liu, and then heard Zhang Shou cough: "Okay, don't look at Ah Liu, just speak!"
With these words, the Fourth Prince finally felt relieved. He twisted his body, and then under Zhang Shou's playful gaze, he whispered: "I just happened to see two passers-by next to Hong Lao's carriage who looked familiar. One is a coincidence, but two people in different positions, pretending to be unrelated, this is always a problem, right?"
Seeing that Zhang Shou was not angry about his keeping the secret but was thinking about something, he would not continue to hide it. He quickly smiled and said in a flattering way: "I recognize those two guys. They were the followers of the eldest prince and the second prince... well, the eldest and second brothers! Although the people in the other courtyard were dismissed before they left, and the guilty were punished one by one, it can't be such a coincidence, right?"
This time, it was Zhang Shou who looked at the Fourth Prince suspiciously: "You don't often go out of the palace, how could you recognize the followers of the First and Second Princes? How many people are there in the First and Second Princes' villas? How could you recognize them by such a coincidence?"
Seeing that Zhang Shou didn't believe him, the Fourth Prince was really anxious this time. He rushed towards Zhang Shou without thinking. Ah Liu, who was standing by, was slightly stunned, and the muscles in his shoulders that had just been tense relaxed at once. As expected, he saw the naughty boy just holding Zhang Shou's hand, with a look of grievance that made him want to cry.
"I've been to my eldest and second brothers' villa at least several times for their birthday parties and the like, and I've also found excuses to wander around and met almost everyone there ! Teacher, you've seen it before, my third brother is so shy, so of course I have to protect him, so I have to at least memorize the faces of those around my eldest and second brothers, just in case it's useful?"
"I'm very good at remembering faces. If you don't believe me, you can try me any way you want later!"
The brat spoke so seriously and confidently that Zhang Shou could not believe it completely, but it was equally unlikely that he did not believe it. Moreover, there were guards from the Ruiqi Battalion outside the carriage, so he assumed that the Fourth Prince was telling the truth and asked, "You recognized two of your elder and second brothers' followers nearby, so you deliberately clashed with Chief Hong?"
"What do you want to do? Create a gap and see if others will take advantage of it?"
"No! I was afraid that they would harm me and threaten me, so I just didn't like that stubborn old man Hong, so of course I grabbed the guards of the Sharp Cavalry Battalion to protect myself! You know, I only brought a few dozen people with me when I came out!"
Faced with such a righteous confession, Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and then he started laughing.
Very good, very reasonable! This logic is, no matter whether others have other intentions, I will protect myself first!
He reached out and touched the Fourth Prince's head, but asked casually: "Then have you ever thought that you took away the guards of Hong Shanchang, leaving him without anyone to protect him? If those two guys originally targeted you, but ended up targeting Hong Shanchang, wouldn't others blame you when something happened? Just like what's happening now."
"Who told him to be so ungrateful? After entering the city, he found the main road and started chasing people away!" The Fourth Prince's face showed an undisguised anger, and then he said word by word, "Compared to my safety, that old stubborn man is nothing!"
Zhang Shou's face darkened. When he saw that the Fourth Prince spoke firmly but his eyes were wandering, he became furious.
Well, although it seems like he is telling the truth, the naughty kid is actually lying!
He was about to expose the Fourth Prince's lies, but after thinking about it, he finally stared at the naughty child expressionlessly, without saying a word, just staring at him quietly. Sure enough, the naughty child's psychological endurance was really not good. Not only did he twist and turn and couldn't sit still, but in the end he simply turned his head to avoid looking at him.
However, this guilty escape was undoubtedly in vain, because Ah Liu suddenly took action and pressed both cheeks of the Fourth Prince from behind his neck, and then forced him to turn back to Zhang Shou. This time, the naughty child was first surprised, then panicked, and then simply closed his eyes tightly.
Seeing this, Zhang Shou winked at Ah Liu, and when he finally let go, he leaned against the wall leisurely, as if he was too lazy to talk. The Fourth Prince finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhang Shou's attitude made him even more uneasy. He wondered if his teacher knew about his thoughts that he dared not tell the guards outside... or not?
He didn't think that his little trick could be kept secret from Zhang Shou. Well, he would keep it secret for as long as possible!
There were four princes in the carriage, and there were ten guards from the Ruiqi Battalion accompanying it. Zhang Shou was also a lecturer in the Eastern Palace and had access to the palace. Naturally, when the carriage entered the Xi'an Gate of the Imperial City, it was not subject to much scrutiny.
Zhang Shou usually entered the palace from Bei'anmen and Dong'anmen, and rarely went through Xi'anmen. But now, as he walked along, he saw different courtyards and offices on both sides of the road. He was just thinking that it was hard to see clearly because of the distance, so he just listened to Ah Liu's explanation. What is Xixinsi, Orchard Factory, West Wine House, West Flower House and Silk Washing Factory... There are so many names.
He suddenly interrupted and said, "A Liu, have you been to all these places?"
The emperor seemed to have only asked you to be a coach in the Ruiqi Battalion for a while before? Even though you have worked as a waiter in front of the emperor and have dealt with those guys who should have been your colleagues, isn't it a bit too much to be so familiar with the palace, even the outer imperial city?
Facing Zhang Shou's suspicious look, Ah Liu said as a matter of course: "Of course I have been here! The emperor specifically ordered me to walk around the palace more and take a look."
Zhang Shou couldn't figure out whether the emperor was speaking in a serious or sarcastic way. Anyway, Ah Liu must have traveled all over the outer imperial city, and the emperor had obviously not shown any dissatisfaction or displeasure before, so he simply regarded it as an extra benefit of being in the palace.
However, the Fourth Prince, who had grown up in the palace, didn't know as much as Ah Liu. He finally forgot that he was playing dumb and pestered Ah Liu about the inner court offices they had just passed. However, when the carriage passed the Lingxing Gate in front, the naughty boy suddenly revived.
"Teacher, this is the West Garden. That is the Yuhe Bridge built over the Taiye Lake, connecting the east and the west. My father took my third brother and me across it many times! To the north is Qionghua Island. You should have been able to see it when you were on Wansui Mountain!"
Speaking of the experience at Wansui Mountain, Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and then he thought of Jingshan Park in later times, and then thought of Coal Hill in another time and space, which was really a mixture of emotions. As for the name of Qionghua Island, his reaction gradually calmed down. Isn't it just Beihai Park...
Thinking that the imperial palace garden would be a place for ordinary people to visit in the future, his expression calmed down, and he was more tolerant of the Fourth Prince's chattering introduction. However, the West Garden was a long and narrow structure. After walking across the short Yuhe Bridge and passing Chengguang Hall, the Qianming Gate was in front.
After passing through this gate, one can see the towering palace walls not far away, but also a moat. It is just that the group has arrived at the north of the palace. Riding a horse in the imperial palace has always been a privilege for the prime minister, and driving a carriage is only for the royal family. Even such people would never open the curtains to look around when driving in the palace, so Zhang Shou's carriage naturally looks very eye-catching.
However, when people heard the crisp sound in the car and saw the fourth prince almost leaning out of the car, they immediately stopped thinking it was strange. The fourth prince...it was no surprise that he could cause any trouble! But, I heard that he was still staying in the Jiangdu Palace and had not returned yet, but now he came back on his own and was so happy. It seemed a bit abnormal, right?
The Fourth Prince certainly knew whether it was abnormal or not. He actually wanted to coax his teacher to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the West Garden and then stay to enjoy it, so as to delay his return time. However, this plan ultimately failed. He could only make jokes and say countless words, hoping that Zhang Shou would not think that there were any flaws in his previous words.
However, he was destined to be disappointed, because all he heard along the way was his endless noisy voice, and both Zhang Shou and Ah Liu listened to him showing off with a half-smile. So, when the car stopped in front of Xuanwu Gate, he stopped talking in embarrassment because his mouth was dry.
At this point , even the Fourth Prince could no longer ride in the carriage openly. He was the first to get out of the carriage and land. Seeing the coachman's expression as if he had heard nothing, Han Lie and other guards of the Ruiqi Battalion were also watching closely. As for the guards who went out with him, they were scattered even further away. He finally felt better.
So, he came to the front of the car, and with a drooling face, he wanted to help Zhang Shou get off the car. But how could Zhang Shou be fooled by such a kind offer? Seeing that Ah Liu got off the car directly from the other side, he simply hesitated for a moment, and when he saw the fourth prince withdraw his hand in embarrassment, he jumped off the ground nimbly, and then said lightly: "Okay, I will take you here, and you can go to see your father by yourself!"
This time, the Fourth Prince was finally completely dumbfounded. This was completely different from what he had imagined! Although Zhang Shou was also very scary when he frowned, and Ah Liu was even more ferocious when he beat people, compared to his father's anger and his third brother's reproach, how could he let these saviors go? If so, all his excuses on the way would be completely in vain!
He grabbed Zhang Shou's sleeve tightly and said pleadingly, "Teacher, they say good people should do their best to the end, and you brought me away from Uncle Wang, how can you just leave me like this? I..."
Before Zhang Shou could say anything, a voice came from inside the door: "The Emperor heard that Scholar Zhang sent the Fourth Prince back, and summoned you and the Fourth Prince to the Qianqing Palace for an audience. Oh, Little Six Brother is here too? Then come along as well."
Chen Yongshou, who came out to deliver the message in person, saw the Fourth Prince immediately retract his hand, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The Fourth Prince was really a natural troublemaker. His previous words of seeking death almost angered the Emperor to death, and even the Third Prince was scolded. He is a good person. It is true that he has finally returned, but he also brought his teacher here!
