Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 714: Similar but Different
Zhang Shou looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that the emperor was not sitting there waiting for him and Chu Kuan to enter, but was actually coming in from a small door opposite with Hua Qi, with undisguised anger on his face. His first reaction was that the emperor had heard Chu Kuan's talk about the prosperity of a family, so he thought it was a sarcasm, but when he thought about it more carefully, he felt that there might be more to it.
Could it be that... Chu Kuan's previous confession of his life story was also heard by the emperor?
Although the emperor's words were directed at Chu Kuan, he could have pretended to be deaf and dumb, but he was just a listener after all, so he could only interrupt and say, "Just now, Eunuch Chu told me about his life experience, and then he expanded on it on a whim. Some of the sentences he said were probably not very careful. This is also because I asked for details. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Although Chu Kuan and Zhang Shou's words were very abrupt when they came in, the Third Prince felt mixed emotions after hearing them. From his perspective, the Queen was deposed, and he was now the ruler of the Eastern Palace. But thinking back to his life since childhood, and the many ups and downs he had experienced, he himself did not know if he would be more content with that kind of life if his mother was virtuous and his elder brother was a man of great talent and strategy.
Besides, shouldn't all families in the world practice monogamy? Therefore, seeing his father blaming Chu Kuan and Zhang Shou helping him, he subconsciously wanted to speak up as well. But the next moment, he found that Hua Qi, who followed his father in, actually shook his head slightly at him.
After hesitating for a moment, the Third Prince did not speak rashly. But the next moment, he was frightened and panicked for the first time in his life, and even wondered if he was wrong for not speaking up to mediate.
"Zhang Shou, you don't have to speak up for him! Chu Kuan, you were just talking about your brother, but weren't you scolding your biological parents for not caring about your child's birth? Yes, I didn't care about Da Lang's birth, but that was because I didn't want to teach him well. The Queen was on guard against me at that time, like a thief. Since she had a son, she has become a different person!"
"I didn't give them much instruction and reminders as a father, but I never treated them badly, and neither did the Queen Mother! They were treated better than Sanlang and Silang, and their teachers were carefully selected by the Queen, but what happened to them later? If I hadn't taken Sanlang and Silang in and raised them by my side, they might have been bullied to death by their two brothers!"
"I also want monogamy, just like Duke Zhu Jing of Zhao, who had a first wife and a second wife, and they were all in love with each other. Even though they had a misunderstanding for more than ten years, they were still able to reconcile in the end... But the Queen Mother said that the royal family is not afraid of having too many sons, but too few. She also cited the example of the Southern Song emperor who had to adopt a son as his successor, and the fact that several generations of emperors in the late Han Dynasty came from the common people. What else can I say?"
"I know that I can't rely on blood ties to make them listen to me and grow up according to my arrangements. I also know that this violates some of the promises I made to the Queen in the past. But since she has changed, I must change as well. When I appointed Sanlang as the Crown Prince, I was already aware of this, even if it meant sacrificing Dalang and Erlang!"
Just as the Third Prince was horrified and Zhang Shou was sighing inwardly, Chu Kuan, who was facing the Emperor's wrath, suddenly said, "Since Your Majesty has already figured it out, what I just said was really superfluous."
“…”
This time, it was Zhang Shou's turn to be shocked. He felt that Chu Kuan would not suddenly open up to him for no reason, and even talked about the old things from decades ago with great interest - you know, even if he spoke for Chu Kuan, people would not treat him as a confidant like this, right? Sure enough, after all this fuss, Chu Kuan must have known that the emperor was nearby, so he said that on purpose!
At this moment, seeing that the emperor was so angry that he seemed like he would explode on the spot at any moment, and say the most common line in opera about dragging the emperor out of the Meridian Gate and beheading him in public, he immediately wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead, glanced at the third prince, and seriously considered whether he should find an excuse to drag the third prince out and leave the place to this pair of monarch and minister, or master and servant, who had been together since childhood and had a close relationship.
However, before he could put this idea into practice, he heard the emperor suddenly ask: "Zhang Shou, what will you do when you and your Ah Liu have a dispute?"
Faced with this extremely abrupt question, Zhang Shou could not help but be stunned for a moment - but the next moment, he realized that the emperor might think that the master-servant relationship between him and A Liu was a bit similar to that between the emperor and Chu Kuan.
But even though he understood the meaning of these words, he still pretended to be confused with his eyes wide open, and then said a little embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, Ah Liu never argues with me."
Seeing that the emperor was puzzled, he further explained: "If I have a disagreement with him, I can either convince him with facts and reason, or he can convince me with practical actions. The reason why we can't argue is because he can't argue with me and I can't beat him. We are like two complementary people, so most of the time we just tolerate each other and it will pass."
"Of course, I don't put up with him all the time. Ah Liu doesn't like to socialize with others. He usually doesn't talk unless he can get physical. In order to correct his bad habits, I often ask him to do things that require interpersonal communication, but..."
"Most of the time, this arrangement fails because he can make normal things produce abnormal results." At this point, Zhang Shou vividly told the joke of "Nine Out, Thirteen Back" that Zhu Ying told him last time. For a moment, although the emperor tried his best to keep a straight face, the third prince couldn't help laughing.
"I don't have any brothers or sisters, so he and I are like brothers. Plus, he's a little younger than me, so I've always treated him as my younger brother. Since he's my younger brother, I have to be more tolerant of him as his elder brother."
"Besides, he is my most important right-hand man. To be honest, I can't give him much money or power. A master like him is something that everyone in the capital probably wants. If I get so angry that I leave, wouldn't that be like cutting off an arm of my own? To be honest, the only thing that made Ah Liu not give in to an argument with me was either for my safety or for Yingying."
"When we were in the village, I kept my distance from Yingying, who came from a prominent family, and this boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes was the first to rebel!"
The Third Prince was once again amused by Zhang Shou's tone, and the Emperor's face of deep hatred could no longer be maintained. Even though he knew that Zhang Shou was deliberately making jokes to calm him down, he still really fell for it!
What's more, although Liu's personality is completely different from Chu Kuan's, and his temperament is also completely different from Zhang Shou's, the way Liu and Zhang Shou get along is too similar to that between him and Chu Kuan... They grew up together and both relied on each other as their confidants and arms.
But Zhang Shou now said that it was Ah Liu who first identified Zhu Ying as Zhang's wife, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Perhaps this is the only difference, right?
From the beginning, Chu Kuan had always believed that the queen chosen by the Queen Mother was not a good match for him. Even though she was indeed from a famous family and had a good reputation before she got married, Chu Kuan had heard from somewhere that the queen's competitiveness was a little too much.
He said that she had always wanted the best of everything since she was a child, whether it was clothes, shoes, gold and silver jewelry, books or teachers... Once she was not satisfied, she would not give up until she achieved her goal. Anyway, those brothers and sisters who got better things than her were either unlucky or unlucky because of some mistakes. At the very least, they would be scolded, and at the worst, they would be beaten.
But because she has always been excellent in needlework, reading, housekeeping...she is still regarded as the apple of the eye by her elders.
However, the Queen Mother listened to Chu Kuan on many matters, but that time she was unwilling to change her mind.
And he…after meeting her, he felt that she looked good, had a good personality, and was quite knowledgeable, and the two of them got along well. He knew that most men and women these days were married blindly, so even though he had always been rebellious, he did not disobey the Queen Mother that time for the first time, and after the wedding, they had three wonderful years.
Thinking about the past, the emperor's furious face gradually calmed down, replaced by a deep sense of loss. He sighed and said with a dull look: "This feeling can be recalled, but it was already lost at that time. I was insane, so I applied your words to myself..."
Zhang Shou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the emperor had finally returned to normal. Seeing that Chu Kuan looked normal, he glanced at the third prince and remembered that everyone was watching the whole process in confusion. In fact, they only knew that the emperor was angry, but had no idea why he was angry. He suddenly felt that being a prince was not easy either.
Therefore, he had to take on the responsibility of concluding the topic, and asked sincerely and earnestly: "Your Majesty summoned me here today. Is there something going on? The Nine Chapter Hall may have heard about what happened last night, and they are probably waiting anxiously for me to come over. Moreover, I am also worried that if I don't show up again, the Fourth Prince will make trouble again."
Hearing Zhang Shou confidently bringing up the Fourth Prince, the Emperor couldn't help but glare at him angrily. Unexpectedly, the Third Prince fell into Zhang Shou's trap: "Father, Fourth Brother is indeed impatient. If you have anything to say, just tell the teacher so that he can go back."
The prince is still too young! Fortunately, he placed Chu Kuan in Ciqing Palace! Fortunately, Zhang Shou taught the third prince to be tenacious, confident, and strong... but he didn't teach him how to be scheming. This kind of thing should be experienced by oneself. Even if you want to teach, it should be taught by the emperor and father, just like those teachers who were famous scholars and Confucian scholars, who only taught the prince benevolence, righteousness, and morality...
The emperor thought so in his heart, but he did not question his son in person. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Yingying went to Huairou Royal Farm to pick up Dalang. I calculated the time before, and she should arrive before sunset. Although it is inconvenient for a large group of people to travel at night, I am also worried that the messenger will encounter problems on the road, so I ordered not to send a message, but there have been many things happening all night, and I am a little worried."
Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of surprise, and then a little exasperated, with an expression that said if you are worried, why don't you send someone over, the emperor immediately laughed and said nonchalantly: "It was not only the Five Cities Army that went out overnight. Hua Qi found out a lot of movements in advance, so he gave your future brother-in-law the list of people to arrest. Of course, Zhu Jiadalang also has a lot of information himself."
"And the reason why so many families failed to let the thieves succeed is because the Ruiqi Battalion was divided into smaller groups according to another list and attacked separately. As for why your family didn't have Ah Liu, it's very simple, because you have Ah Liu. Hua Qi said that the boy is absolutely reliable, so I don't have to waste precious manpower. If I wasn't afraid that Sanlang and Silang would worry, I would also like to recall the twenty people I sent."
Seeing Zhang Shou looking at him, the Third Prince immediately looked embarrassed, and said in a low voice very embarrassedly: "Before, my father assigned people to escort and stand guard for the elders, and I just said something for the teacher..."
No wonder, I wonder how I can enjoy such treatment!
Zhang Shou couldn't help thinking that it was really easy to have a student like the Third Prince. He didn't look like he was from the royal family. He had a good personality, wasn't arrogant, wasn't conceited, was gentle in dealing with people, and could even take care of these small details! Alas, if he really taught him to be too strong and confident, he would miss the current Third Prince, right?
Thinking of this, he nodded gratefully to the Third Prince, and then asked the Emperor, "Your Majesty, do you mean that the Sharp Cavalry Battalion can't send anyone to Huairou Royal Farm to investigate? Isn't there a way to send messages like carrier pigeons?"
The emperor did not expect Zhang Shou to know about carrier pigeons. He coughed and said earnestly, "Carrier pigeons can make mistakes after all, and they can only carry a few words. Sometimes they may even be intercepted or forged. Emperor Taizu once conducted an experiment. If you set up large magnets or something like that halfway, it may interfere with the carrier pigeons' ability to find their way."
The emperor solemnly quoted a passage from a miscellaneous record that Taizu had heard from others as Taizu's sayings. He did not care whether Zhang Shou believed it or not, but said earnestly: "In short, the situation in the capital has become so chaotic, and the situation in Huairou may be even worse. If you are at ease, you might as well wait and be careful in the capital. If you are not at ease..."
"Then you should go there in person, right?" Zhang Shou took the initiative to speak for the emperor. Seeing the expression on his face, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness. My martial arts skills are far inferior to Yingying's. If I take Ah Liu with me and pick a few more people to follow me at home, there won't be enough people to guard the house."
"Not only that, this will require the people from the Ruiqi Battalion assigned to me to travel a long distance. If something happens on the way, they will have to bear the risk, and I will also have to bear the risk. Unless the emperor assigns me another 100 or 200 people from the Ruiqi Battalion. But if so, what is the emperor's intention of letting me pick up Yingying to save precious manpower?"
The emperor seemed to be meeting Zhang Shou for the first time. He stared at him for a long while and then could not help blurting out two words: "Slippery!" This kid said all he could say!
Haha, in a place like the capital where people are eaten without leaving any bones, if I wasn't cunning, I would have been eaten by others long ago! Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but his face became more earnest: "I just don't want to cause trouble to others out of my eagerness! Don't claim to be going to pick up Yingying, but end up causing Yingying to come to save me, wouldn't that be the opposite of the truth?"
The emperor was finally furious after being interrupted by Zhang Shou. But just when he was about to use his authority to force Zhang Shou to go, Chu Kuan moved his ears and exchanged glances with Hua Qi, who then coughed and said, "Your Majesty, the eldest lady... seems to be here, she's outside."
