Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 694: Moving
Zhang Shou didn't know whether the shrill cry was from the deposed empress, or Concubine Jing, nor did he want to know. Miss Zhu had the same idea. Her heart was always biased. Apart from her own relatives and friends, she might have some sympathy for the poor, sick, lonely and weak people she met when she went out, but she was not so philanthropic as to sympathize with those who had once been hostile to her.
Therefore, after walking out of Xuanwu Gate hand in hand, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief in the cold night air. Ah Liu, who had been following behind silently, coughed softly at this time: "Master, can you take Miss home first?"
Isn't that nonsense? Zhang Shou gave Ah Liu an angry look, but his attitude touched Zhu Ying more than words. She laughed happily and got on Zhang Shou's carriage without saying anything. Zhu Hong, who was guarding his own carriage, couldn't help but sigh in his heart at such a matter-of-fact attitude.
Fortunately, their wedding date is not far away, otherwise if they continue to meet and spend time together so frequently, I really don’t know what will happen!
Zhu Ying got on the carriage, and Zhang Shou also got on the carriage. Ah Liu, who usually rode with Zhang Shou, of course would not continue to get on the carriage and get in the way. However, he did not ride a horse when he went out these two days, and he was too lazy to borrow a mount from the people in the Ruiqi Battalion. He looked around and walked straight to the Zhu family's carriage. He nodded to Zhu Hong and got on the carriage directly. When Zhu Hong wanted to stop him, it was too late.
As soon as Ah Liu got on the bus, he discovered that the interior decoration was luxurious and elegant. The seats were covered with a layer of brocade mats, and the walls were covered with thick cotton blankets, obviously to keep out the cold. There were even copper hand warmers and foot warmers. Within reach of the seat, there were wooden paper boxes on the shelves, teapots, teacups, towel combs, and washbasins... In short, it was similar to a girl's boudoir.
However, there was no one else in the carriage that should have room for at least two maids to accompany and serve. It was obvious that Zhu Ying was used to doing whatever she wanted most of the time, and even the maids couldn't keep up with her, so she simply didn't bring anyone with her.
Seeing the scene on the carriage clearly, the young man got on the carriage as quickly as he got off. When he stepped on the ground, his face even blushed slightly. Then he pretended not to see Zhu Hong and others' gazes, and walked straight to his own carriage. He coughed and said seriously: "Master, Miss, do you want to change a car?"
"This car is too cold at night. The young lady's car should be more comfortable."
Zhu Ying was slightly startled, then she grabbed Zhang Shou's hand and shook it, and found that it was indeed a bit cold, so she dragged Zhang Shou out of the car without saying a word. After getting off the car, she smiled at the boy beside her: "A Liu, you are really smart, my car has hand warmers and foot warmers, which are the warmest!"
Zhu Hong stared in amazement as Zhu Ying dragged Zhang Shou back to the car. He also saw Ah Liu watching the couple get on the car, holding his chest and letting out a long sigh. He finally laughed out loud. How could it be possible? I never knew that the seemingly dull boy could be so smart when he was in a hurry!
He glanced at the other guards, using a warning look to hint at them not to reveal what had just happened, and the result was that they all nodded frantically. It was not a big deal, they were not crazy, who would offend that crazy sparring man?
Even the eldest son had been challenged more than once, and it was said that there were winners and losers - the winners were of course the eldest son's best archery and horsemanship, and as for the losers... It was said that the eldest son lost in bare-handed grappling, lost in bow and archery, and was tied in swordplay. There was nothing they could do, as Liu's swordsmanship was too strange, not to mention his lightness skills. The eldest son was completely defeated.
It seems that the young master, who has always lived a life of luxury, cannot compete with a young man who is able to climb walls and fly over rooftops!
However, the many guards did not learn as many things as Zhu Tingfang, and it was impossible for them to be taught by the best teachers in the world like Zhu Tingfang. Therefore, except Zhu Hong who was slightly better than Ah Liu in swordsmanship and riding skills, the rest were almost completely defeated.
The most common experience for most guards was to be pinned to the ground by Ah Liu to win. But he was the nominal teacher of the Second Young Master, and he would think of training the Second Young Master when he had nothing to do, and would also spar with them by the way, so they couldn't even refuse.
So, at this moment, everyone has made up their minds to completely forget about the fact that Ah Liu secretly got on their eldest daughter's carriage... Anyway, that guy should just be a single-minded person and didn't think too much about it. But after finding out something was wrong, didn't he make up for it immediately? It's not a big deal!
When Zhang Shou sat in Zhu Ying's carriage, which was full of the atmosphere of a rich girl, and sent her to the gate of Duke Zhao's mansion, he was about to lean out of the car, but Zhu Ying grabbed his wrist.
He turned around and glanced at the eldest lady in confusion, only to see Zhu Ying approaching him and asking in a sweet voice, "Were you not full in Qingning Palace before?"
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and then his stomach gave a response before he did, and it growled. Well, there was no need to answer this, he couldn't help but laugh, but Zhu Ying rolled her eyes at him: "Didn't you see that I was eating heartily without any hesitation? Why are you so restrained? I think you are usually very brave in front of the emperor!"
"Normally it's normal, but this time is this. I have to think about whether the Queen Mother summoned me over just to have me eat at her place. And with the light taste, I don't have much appetite for heavy tastes!"
Zhu Ying was quite satisfied with this honest answer, so she let go of Zhang Shou's hand and snorted, "Although I wanted to keep you for a midnight snack before going back, Aunt Wu might be worried about you! Go back soon, you are so busy and you have to get up early tomorrow. By the way, you only need to go to Ciqing Palace once every three days. The emperor probably forgot to mention it because he was so angry."
At this point, she smiled at Zhang Shou and said, "My eldest brother is getting married this month, the girls' school is recruiting students, and we also want to get married. For the sake of the prince's studies, we can't give you much time off, so of course the emperor has to agree to your reasonable request!"
Faced with this good news, Zhang Shou was of course relieved. It was very discouraging that he would not be able to take a few days off for marriage. After all, when the emperor was in the heat of love, he would not attend the court early! But the problem was that he could take a ten-day holiday, but the students would have to do nothing for ten days... Although he could assign a large number of exercises, it was too inhumane.
After all, whether it was his two classes or the Third Prince and those imperial tutors in the Eastern Palace, there were already enough pure practice classes... So, he and Zhu Ying had to suffer the consequences.
Thinking of this, Zhang Shou suddenly lowered the car curtain, turned around and hugged the girl in front of him who had never complained about the world since they first met, and who was always sunny and bright in adversity, bringing good mood to herself and others. After letting go of her hand, he smiled at the young lady who was a little dazed but also happy.
"It's late, go to bed early. Only when a girl goes to bed early can she have skin as white as cream and as beautiful as a painting for the rest of her life!"
After hearing Zhang Shou's words, he quickly rolled up the car curtain and jumped out of the car. Zhu Ying wanted to ask him in return, "What about when I'm old?" But before she could finish her words, Zhang Shou opened a corner of the car curtain again.
"You don't have to worry about the future. The most beautiful thing is the sunset, warm and calm. The happiest thing in the world is to grow old with you."
Thinking about Zhang Shou's two words, Zhu Ying walked all the way to Qing'an Hall with her head down thoughtfully, and then she smiled. As a girl, the happiest thing is of course that her ideal husband is as elegant as bamboo and has great talent, but in addition to that, he even speaks so nicely, she just feels that she can fly with joy.
Normally, when she came back at this time, she didn't need to see the elders again. She could just go back to her room and send someone to deliver a message. But she knew that she was the apple of her family's eye, so she was willing to come to her grandmother's place. And this time, she was so excited that she found that the room was full as soon as she entered.
Grandmother, parents, eldest brother, second brother, the atmosphere of a three-person trial was so intense that she couldn't help but mutter, "What didn't I do today? I just stayed in Qingning Palace until now!"
"Yeah, I didn't do anything. I stayed in Qingning Palace until my brother-in-law was invited over by the empress dowager who couldn't stand it anymore. Then he sent you back." Zhu Er, who was determined to get out of this, said what the others wanted to say. Then he stood up with a yawn and said, "You are all going to get married. What's there to ask... Ouch."
He felt that the scene was too funny and tripped over. He looked back and saw that the person who threw him onto the chair was his big brother whom he could never mess with. He immediately lowered his head and then heard Zhu Tingfang ask directly, "What did Zhang Shou say?"
"What did you say?" Zhu Ying's eyes widened slightly. "He didn't say anything in Qingning Palace. The Emperor came over later, but we just had an ordinary meal together. The Empress Dowager asked Ah Shou to take me back!"
She cunningly omitted what Zhang Shou had said to her, until she saw her grandmother and mother looking at her with disgust as if she were a girl. Only then did she stick out her tongue and put away the mischief she had just mentioned.
"It's not a big deal in the first place. Grandmother, father, mother, eldest brother, second brother, don't worry. Ah Shou has already handled it properly, and the fourth prince has already admitted his mistake."
Even to her closest elder, Zhu Ying would not bring up what Zhang Shou had said to the Fourth Prince. Her obviously happy mood, coupled with the relaxed pace when she came in earlier, also fully demonstrated that there was indeed no change in this trip to the palace.
Zhu Tingfang then breathed a sigh of relief and nodded calmly, "It's good that everything is fine. I followed Duke Qin and also wrote a letter to apologize. Those thugs and bullies almost had their legs broken. We will parade them through the streets and the case will be closed."
Zhu Jing had no objection to his eldest son's statement. As for blaming the fourth prince for causing trouble, he certainly would not say that. Therefore, he stood up and walked to his daughter, whom he had spoiled since she was a child and had never scolded, and touched her cheek that was cold from the cold wind.
Most fathers in official families these days would become strict fathers like wooden men, not to mention touching their daughters. When their daughters grow up, they would even keep a certain safe distance from them. But Zhu Jing did not do that. Even though Zhu Ying's life story was still unclear, it did not prevent him from treating her as his most precious daughter.
"Go back to bed early. You have no interest in tea parties, flower viewing, poetry clubs, and other social activities that girls like. It's okay to show off with a group of people all day long. Don't do things you don't like just to make others like you."
Hearing these very obvious words, Zhu Ying was stunned at first, and then couldn't help but said angrily: "Dad, what do you mean by things I don't like? What I am doing now is what I like! I didn't want to compete with Zheng Mingyue before, that's because I'm not a talented woman who is well-read in poetry and books, and I have no interest in managing such a large academy, but then I thought, can't I do something else?"
"A Shou also said that women's self-defense is a very useful thing! Moreover, if I hadn't asked about it, wouldn't those girls who had to go through the selection of the prince's consort be so unfairly lonely for the rest of their lives? Although I failed to help Zhang Chen to make a match, two girls have already been betrothed and will get married early next year!"
Seeing Zhu Jing being bullied by Zhu Ying, Jiu Niang couldn't help but laugh. Without even looking at her husband, she said with a smile, "Yingying, your father is upset because he sees that you are busy all day and enjoy it . Don't pay attention to him!"
Being bullied by his daughter and teased by his wife, Zhu Jing's face turned black. However, she was the most important woman in his life after all, so he could only cough and say, "Yingying, since you are enjoying it, Dad is very happy, but you should not neglect your health for these things. Well, it's late, you should go to bed early."
Seeing Zhu Jing walking out quickly as if he was escaping, Jiu Niang couldn't help but shout, "Hey, as a father, don't be partial! Dalang's wedding is coming soon, and he just submitted a petition to apologize. If the punishment is too severe, won't it affect his marriage?"
Zhu Tingfang was about to speak when Zhu Er, who was pretending to be dumb, finally couldn't help but said, "Old stubborn Hong caused the trouble himself, and he wants to blame others? His brother-in-law gave him the guards, so who told him to drive them away! Deal with him as you should, that's it. Whether it's the eldest brother or the Duke of Qin, the emperor will definitely lift him up high and let him go lightly . The fourth prince will just be scolded at most."
"He was just thrown a fruit when he walked through the city without a guard. This kind of thing happens everywhere. The white dragon fish suit was teased by fish and shrimps, let alone a yellow croaker like him?"
The three words "Old Yellow Croaker" successfully amused Zhu Ying, and Zhu Jing turned back and glared at Zhu Er angrily, but the second son, who was always useless, saw it so accurately this time that he thought about it and swallowed the blame in his mouth. Zhu Tingfang walked up to Zhu Er with an expressionless face, grabbed Zhu Er's collar, and dragged him out. Seeing this, Zhu Jing smiled and followed him.
As for whether to play doubles or not, Zhu Ying looked around for a moment and decided to deal with it later. She flew to her grandmother and mother like a butterfly, and repeated Zhang Shou's words when he sent her to the door with great joy. The next moment, she saw that Taifu and Jiuniang had relaxed their brows as expected. They also liked to hear good words when they were old, but what good words were more touching than Zhang Shou's words?
