Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 708: Some are happy, some are sad
Zhang Shou just thought of the secret passage and secret room at home because Ah Liu asked him to hide in Tiangongfang. If it was not a one-way but a two-way passage, there might be hidden dangers, so he mentioned it to Ah Liu. He didn't expect that his words would actually come true. Someone came from the other end of the secret passage and planned to attack him.
However, facts have proved that even if he did not remember that, the mechanisms and traps set up by Hua Qi were enough to stop the enemy - a total of six people came in from the secret passage, four died and two were seriously injured. This is the ironclad evidence!
Although there were many technical geeks like Guan Qiu, Ye Mengqiu and Yang Zhan in Tiangong Workshop, there were also many strong and powerful craftsmen. In addition, Hua Qi had probably mixed sand at the emperor's order. Among the twenty or thirty people, there were probably many who were able to protect themselves. Facing several seriously injured soldiers, a group of strong men swung hammers and tools together, and it was estimated that no one would get any good results.
Therefore, unlike Wu, who gasped in fear, he asked thoughtfully, "Are all the people and things in Tiangong Workshop intact?"
"I evacuated everyone." Ah Liu said very seriously, "Yang Zhan refused, so I carried him out directly."
Thinking about Yang Qishao who refused to leave the house even when he was starving to death, Zhang Shou felt that Ah Liu's handling of the matter was swift and decisive. And what would happen next... Of course, he didn't need to ask. With Yang Qishao as a negative example, even if others still regarded the underground workshop as their home, they would definitely withdraw without hesitation.
Although An Lu was in charge of the other side, he could only speak for Liu when he saw that Liu was still speaking straightforwardly without boasting or saying much, "Sixth Master moved all the equipment in the Tiangong Workshop to a separate secret room and locked it. It was not damaged in any way. After capturing the two seriously injured guys, Sixth Master set up the mechanism and left through the exit himself."
"That charity hall is now under the control of our Zhang Garden, and no one has escaped."
No one escaped? Is this what it means literally... or what does it mean? Zhang Shou was confused, but his face was full of calmness: "Oh, no one escaped? What exactly is going on there?"
An Lu saw Zhang Shou looking at him with a smile, and Ah Liu also looked at him, with no intention of explaining in person. He couldn't help but laugh or cry, but he still had to take on the task of explaining: "The Jimin Charity Hall has a total of one manager, four managers, and more than ten servants. In total, they have adopted one or two hundred children, divided into male and female children to take care of them, so they also hired about a dozen women to take care of them."
"When the Sixth Master left, most of the children were fast asleep. It's hard to tell whether they were drugged or just went to bed early. The butler was tied up in his room. Two of the four stewards were drugged and unconscious, and the other two were two of the intruders. Seven or eight of the servants were locked in the room, and the rest were among the intruders. In other words, this was clearly premeditated."
"Oh, by the way, when I went to reinforce Master Liu from the tunnel entrance, I happened to see tools left at the other end of the tunnel, including a special pickaxe with a badly worn steel tip. Then, I asked a prisoner and found out that it was one of the intruders who was in charge of filling and blocking the tunnel, so they made some changes at that time to make it easier to dig it up again later."
At this point, Anlu suddenly paused. Seeing that Wu looked angry and Zhang Shou leaned forward slightly with an extremely solemn expression, he knew that Zhang Shou understood the trick.
"Sir, I'm afraid the Imperial Household Department is not immune to this matter!"
Zhang Shou saw Wu's horrified expression, so he comforted her immediately, "Mother, don't think too much. There are bad apples in the Imperial Household Department. It's nothing to be surprised about. Even though the emperor has cleaned it up once before, some people slipped through the net. Fortunately, Master Hua Qi had already set up many traps near the blocked exit, and the others bumped into them when they came out."
"Those traps may be powerful, and they did come in handy this time, but what if those skilled craftsmen and talented people that Ah Shou had found with great difficulty accidentally bumped into them? Wouldn't they have lost their lives in vain?"
Seeing that Wu complained repeatedly, which was rare, but with an unhappy expression, it was obvious that she had some doubts about this house. Ah Liu added: "I told Guan Qiu and the others that the area at the back is a restricted area. Anyone who gets close to it will die."
The young man said this murderous remark in a very calm tone, and then said nonchalantly: "I have given you a warning in advance. If anyone does not listen, then he will die."
Wu was choked by Ah Liu's words and was speechless. And this time even Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel lucky - you know, some people in this world are law-abiding, but some are curious and insist on going to places you're told not to go. If one or two people like Guan Qiu and Yang Zhan were accidentally killed because of this, he would cry to death!
He could only put on a serious face and warned: "Ah Liu, you must inform Guan Qiu and the others about what happened this time, so that they know what they can do and what they must not do. Otherwise, someone will not listen to you in the future!"
Ah Liu responded calmly to this, but Wu, who had been frightened today, could not help but said, "Ah Shou, do you want people to continue using that secret room as a workshop? This is too dangerous. Even if the exit is blocked again this time, what will we do next time? It's better to be safe than sorry!"
"Mom, I understand your worries, so this time, I want the charity hall at the exit."
Zhang Shou sneered and said his decision: "Since the charity hall of the Imperial Household Department is either a place of filth or is used as a cover by some people, then isn't it natural for this place to be compensated to me, the victim? I will personally go forward to ask the emperor. I think the Imperial Household Department is a big family with a lot of wealth, so they won't be stingy with a mere charity hall!"
No way!
Anlu almost blurted out these two words. You know, it's easy to open charity halls in other places in the capital and Xuanfu Datong, but it's not easy to have such a large charity hall in the capital, and to hide the connection with the Imperial Household Department! Zhang Shou was just trying to bite off a piece of meat from the other party!
What he didn't expect was that before Zhang Shou got the charity hall , he actually gave him another instruction: "Don't think that just because the manager and several servants were kidnapped or drugged, they have nothing to do with what happened last night. Ah Liu, you and An Lu go and investigate it yourself. I don't care whether you are threatening or bluffing, just get as much as you can."
"As for me..." Zhang Shou smiled and glanced at Wu, who was obviously worried. He said, "I will go back to the study to write a memorial. Although I feel very sorry for my students, I can't just pretend that nothing happened. I have to complain to my superiors. Of course, I won't write the request just now in the memorial." He would have to go and "cry" to the emperor in private!
Wu just wanted Zhang Shou not to go out, and she didn't care about other things, so she nodded repeatedly. When Zhang Shou asked Ah Liu and An Lu to go out together, she suddenly remembered Zhu Ying who was said to be out of the city to pick up the eldest prince, and couldn't help but shout out again: "Ah Shou, if possible, send someone to the Duke of Zhao's mansion to ask Yingying how she is now."
"There's already a thief in our house, so I'm afraid of her..."
Zhang Shou noticed that Wu suddenly stopped talking halfway. He knew that she was worried that her words might come true, so he turned around and said with a smile: "I know, I will send someone to inquire about it later. But don't worry, mother, Yingying has been the luckiest person since she was a child, and she will continue to be lucky in the future!"
Although Wu was far from old, she was not well educated and was inevitably superstitious. When Zhang Shou emphasized Zhu Ying's good fortune, she thought of Zhu Ying's life and felt relieved. After watching Zhang Shou leave, she couldn't help but chant Amitabha countless times, but after thinking about it, she didn't dare to leave home rashly to go to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha at this time.
If she encountered any misfortune, it would be a small matter. But causing Zhang Shou and his family to run around, that would be even more trouble!
When Zhang Shou left the yard, he did not give any more instructions to Ah Liu and An Lu, but sent them to do the task he had just been told. Then, he did not go to Tiangong Workshop to check the situation, but went to visit his own employees and guests first.
The employees are of course those who have signed contracts like Guan Qiu, and those who stayed because of exchange conditions like Yang Zhan and then also signed contracts. As for the guests, they include three scholars like Zou Ming, Fang Qing and Song, as well as four people including Ye Mengqiu who have recently become fascinated by the tools in Tiangong Workshop and often go back and forth between Jiuzhang Hall and here, and happened to stay here last night.
Because the fight last night happened quickly and ended even faster, the guests were not awakened and their emotions were relatively stable. Only Yang Zhan, who often stayed up all night, was very disappointed about the temporary closure of Tiangongfang. As for the thieves who sneaked in and the masterminds behind the scenes, although some people asked about it, Zhang Shou said that it still needed to be investigated in detail and could not be confirmed for the time being, so no one continued to ask.
After all, there have been a lot of things happening in the capital recently, and there are too many unsolved cases.
When Zhang Shou had calmed people down and returned to his study, where he was drafting a memorial with his calligraphy, which was finally well-organized but still lacked elegance, and his writing style, which was straightforward and plain, at this early morning hour, the streets of the capital city felt the same feeling as the incident in Zhang Garden the night before, like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Many people were terrified.
From the humblest families to the most prestigious ones, from the houses of officials to the common people, when teams of soldiers roared past on the streets, they were just frightened. But when someone broke into their own homes, they would feel the same shock, anger and despair.
An old minister who had been sitting in his study all night long heard the noise outside getting louder and louder. It was obvious that someone had broken into his house. After he panicked, his face became dead silent. He resolutely poured all the medicine in a porcelain bottle into his mouth. When a large group of people rushed in, they saw a dead body with blood gushing out of all its orifices.
Of course, this extreme situation is not seen everywhere. At least, although the four major military divisions in the east, west, north and central regions were arrested according to the list, the commanders felt cold in their hearts, but they were most afraid of the imperial censors who would cause trouble afterwards. The only thing to be thankful for was that there were not many people who resisted or wanted to die, but there were many people who shouted that they were wronged and cursed.
However, Mr. Kong, who was awakened by a maid in the middle of the night with fear and trepidation, was not as lucky as Zhang Shou, who at least got enough sleep.
He was naturally shocked and angry when he learned that there were endless horses outside, which seemed to be soldiers passing by. Although he knew the risk was great, he immediately sent out a strong follower to intercept a group of soldiers on the street and ask what was going on. Fortunately, the thing he was most worried about did not happen. His aura as a cabinet minister still enabled the follower to bring back important information.
Last night, there were 10 to 20 palace servants who set fire to the palace. Fortunately, it was discovered early and the fire was not set on fire. In addition, there were thieves who tried to sneak into the residences of Duke Zhao, Duke Qin, Duke Chu, and Wu Ge Lao Zhang Yu. They were captured or repelled by the vigilant families. What was even more incredible was that the banner these thieves used was to support the crown prince!
When Academician Kong heard this slogan, he almost fainted from anger. After all, he was also a supporter of the system of primogeniture. Although he did not clamor for the establishment of the eldest prince like some censors who were swept into corners now, he urged the emperor to establish the Crown Prince as soon as possible, implying that since there was a legitimate son, there was no need to hesitate. He still had this attitude.
The eldest prince being expelled from the clan was already a headache for him, but he did not dare to put all his bets on the third prince being gentle and kind and not holding grudges. So, he challenged Zhang Shou in public at the imperial lecture in order to uncover Zhang Shou's true face and drive such a guy, whom the third prince particularly liked, out of the East Palace lecture team and replace him with his own people.
But now, although the person he recommended has become the lecturer in the Eastern Palace, the person the Third Prince trusts the most is still Zhang Shou. And now this farce of supporting the eldest prince is like a heavy slap in his face .
Scholar Kong did not dare to send someone to meet other ministers in the middle of the night. After thinking about it, he thought of his cousin next door, Master Kong Jiu, who was the Doctor of Taichang. Fortunately, they were close relatives and there was a door connecting them on the wall, so he sent someone to inform him. Even though his sweet dream was disturbed in the middle of the night, Master Kong Jiu still hurried over.
However, the two brothers discussed for half a night, but still could not figure out how to deal with it. Of course, there is a solution, that is, to pretend that nothing happened, but because of the news that Master Kong Jiu brought that Zhu Tingfang was seriously injured and dying, Grand Secretary Kong had instructed his own imperial censor to write a letter, saying that the Wucheng Military Department was indispensable and requested that someone be sent to take over as soon as possible.
This incident happened suddenly at night. Although I don't know who is in charge of the Wucheng Bingmasi, the previous memorial of the censor seems to be very prescient. If I can replace the Wucheng Bingmasi with my own people, it will at least be a gain.
As the sky gradually brightened, although he was extremely sleepy, Grand Secretary Kong still pulled himself together and said, "There is still an early court today, and it is time to wash and change clothes. We can always find out what happened when we go back to the court. Didn't you say before that someone in the Taichang Temple said that Concubine Jing should not be given a posthumous title? Remember to find an opportunity to denounce this person for hypocrisy, but remember, don't write a letter."
Master Kong Jiu nodded in understanding: "Don't worry, big brother, I understand. Writing a letter will make me look cold and indifferent, but scolding in public will make me look sensible." Seeing that Master Kong nodded, he was about to say something else when there was a sudden commotion outside, followed by a personal attendant rushing in in a panic: "Master, a group of soldiers have surrounded our gate!"
