Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 719: Daddy’s Trap…
Zhang Chuan knew who this other person was without even asking - he must be asked to learn from Zhang Shou.
Zhang Shou's previous discipline of the Fourth Prince was certainly well-known, but what was even more famous was that this time he actually dared to leave the Fourth Prince in the public school from morning till night and did not care about him at all, with no intention of teaching him by example under his nose at all!
Although the fact that the Fourth Prince was driven out of the palace by the Emperor was no secret among the court officials, he had heard from his wife about how the Fourth Prince was doing in the Outer City Public School. His wife, who always obeyed his orders, would of course not pry into these matters. The problem was that Zhang Chen didn't care about the Fourth Prince.
As far as he knew, Zhang Chen, who had personally gone to the public school to see the excitement, first told his family and then went out to spread the news about how miserable the Fourth Prince was. There was not much meat in his three meals a day, and he didn't even have white rice every meal. At night, he slept in a not very spacious room with others, and had to do chores like sweeping the floor in the public school...
This was not just about promoting Zhang Shou's hard-working education. He felt that his son's gloating spirit was simply overwhelming. If he hadn't known that Zhang Chen actually had no grudges against the Fourth Prince, he would have thought that the two had some deep hatred!
At this moment, he couldn't help but seriously consider whether to send Zhang Chen to suffer as well, but thinking about Zhang Chen's age, and the fact that he was one of Zhang Shou's regular students and had changed his ways, he gave up this crude plan. After all, since he had beaten Zhang Chen himself before, his son would hide when he saw him, which showed that the beating was not very effective.
Compared to him, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were smart and versatile people, and they were also worried about Zhang Chen's marriage. They had no way, so what trap could he come up with to make Zhang Chen fall into it? If he had one, he would have used it long ago! Zhang Chen couldn't even be a good son now, so how could he be a good husband in the future?
Duke Qin, who was quite comfortable in front of the emperor, now showed an extremely embarrassed expression. After leaving the Qianqing Palace and wrapping himself in a thick fur coat, he walked towards Donghua Gate with a heavy heart, led by a young eunuch. But as he walked, he suddenly asked out of the blue, "Are you newly transferred to the Qianqing Palace?"
He had been to the Palace of Heavenly Purity not too often, but because he had a good memory, he remembered those familiar faces very clearly. When he asked this casual question, he did not get an immediate answer. Not only that, the man even hesitated.
Although Zhang Chuan was not a person who was overly vigilant, he could not help but frown at this moment. Fortunately, the other party quickly came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Please forgive me, Duke Qin. I have just been transferred from the Imperial Household Department to the Palace of Heavenly Purity as a concubine for less than two hours, so it is natural that you don't know me."
Zhang Chuan had never made friends with eunuchs, but when he heard that the person had just been transferred from the Imperial Household Department to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he couldn't help but feel a little curious. Although the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department were said to be one in ten, the people in the Palace of Heavenly Purity were also selected from the best. Especially for an emperor with such a temper, it was really not something that ordinary people could serve.
Having said that, he nodded and did not ask any more questions. The young eunuch Luo Sanhe had already prepared himself mentally to tell the Duke of Qin about the dispute between himself and Chu Kuan, but since the other party did not ask, he could not just talk about it on his own, so he felt very uncomfortable.
What caught him off guard was that after arriving at Donghua Gate, Zhang Chuan suddenly said to him as he was leaving: "Since you have been transferred to the Qianqing Palace, you should be careful with your words and actions. Learn more from Eunuch Chu and don't be like Liu Feng before!"
Luo Sanhe had never expected that in Zhang Chuan's mouth, Chu Kuan would become a role model for him to learn from! Although Zhang Shou asked Chu Kuan for a "death exemption" for him, and Chu Kuan did what he said and transferred him to the Emperor's Palace, he did not think that this was really letting bygones be bygones, but only believed that Chu Kuan was killing someone with a borrowed knife.
The incident of the emperor beating Liu Feng to death had already caused a chill among the eunuchs in the palace. No one even knew whether Liu Feng's body was abandoned in the wilderness or buried somewhere after his death. Even though they knew that the Qianqing Palace was indeed a place that caught the emperor's eye, he weighed the pros and cons and would rather slowly climb up in the Silijian step by step, and finally let everyone see the true face of Chu Kuan.
Because when his adoptive father retired, he once told him that Chu Kuan had big plans and he must not be allowed to do whatever he wanted.
Zhang Chuan did not have much time to delve into what a small eunuch in the Qianqing Palace was thinking. Because of the emperor's last words, he carefully considered when he got on his horse and left from Donghua Gate. Finally, after leaving Dong'an Gate of the Outer Imperial City, he turned north from Dong'anmen Street to Chongwenmen Street, but when he arrived at Shuntianfu Street, he passed the gate of Shuntianfu Office without entering.
Continuing westward, he passed through several streets and alleys in a familiar manner and arrived at the gate of Duke Zhao's mansion. This move naturally left the followers who followed him completely confused. They just thought that the emperor had some words for their masters to bring to Duke Zhao... But the problem was, at this hour, shouldn't Duke Zhao Zhu Jing be at the Ministry of War Yamen on the other side of Qianbu Corridor on Qipan Street?
The doorman of the Zhaoguogong Mansion was also surprised by the sudden arrival of Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan. He sent someone to inform the inside and invited the distinguished guest in. Soon, Zhu Er hurried out to greet him. When he saw him, he laughed dryly and said, "What brings you here, Qin Guogong? If you want to look for your father and elder brother, you should go to the government office. I am the only one at home."
"Of course, I won't be idle after the New Year. By then, there will only be my grandmother, mother and my future sister-in-law left in the house!"
Zhang Chuan knew what kind of person Zhu Er was, and he didn't have time to play tricks on him. When he entered the small flower hall, he said bluntly: "Zhu Erlang, I have something to say to Yingying. If she is not here, I can leave a letter for her."
Zhu Er's eyes suddenly widened. Fortunately, he was used to his sister's omnipotence. After a moment of shock, he stood up and said with a smile: "You are lucky. Yingying went to Huairou yesterday, but came back early today. After reporting to the palace, she went back home. Although grandma and mother asked her to take a nap, she refused and is still in Qing'an Hall. Wait, I'll go call her!"
Although the two families were not close friends, they were both top nobles, so Zhu Er did not suspect that there was anything wrong with an elder like Zhang Chuan seeing Zhu Ying. After saying this, he hurried out of the small flower hall, and asked the servant who brought tea to wonder if the second master had returned to his old ways and left the guest behind. Soon, Zhu Er came back with Zhu Ying.
“Uncle Zhang!”
Zhu Ying had been following her grandmother everywhere since she was a child. Even the nobles who had always been at odds with her family, such as the three brothers of the Duke of Chu, she would always call them "uncle" in a friendly way, not to mention the Duke of Qin Zhang Chuan who had some friendship with her father. After she greeted them with a smile, she sat down in the main seat.
Zhu Er originally wanted to stay where he was and listen to what happened, but after thinking it over carefully, he slipped out to the yard and guarded it himself.
Zhang Chuan had no intention of avoiding Zhu Er, but since he had left, he couldn't force him back, so after a little consideration, he omitted the fact that he had visited Confucius's residence to see Confucius and tricked him into volunteering - he just talked about Zhang Chen's marriage. Then, without waiting for Zhu Ying to respond, he stood up and bowed deeply to her.
At this moment, Zhu Ying, who was about to complain, was startled and quickly stepped forward to help Zhang Chuan up. The eldest lady complained angrily, "Uncle Zhang, what are you doing? Can't you just talk it out nicely?"
"You have been busy for a long time for Zhang Chen's marriage, but he either finds faults or gives up. I am really sorry for you. As a father, I have to thank him in person. Moreover, Zhang Chen was ignorant and did a lot of messy things before. It was all because of my failure to discipline him as a father."
Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but burst out laughing: "It's all in the past, Uncle Zhang, why don't you take it to heart. Besides, I have Ah Shou myself, of course I also hope that all lovers in the world will eventually get married and everyone will be happy, and don't let the future full of resentful couples... But Zhang Chen is really troublesome. Either he looks down on others, or others look down on him."
“So this temper needs to be cured.”
Zhang Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said nonchalantly, "I heard that the Ye you introduced to the women's school looked down on him. He is too picky and always wants to marry a stunning beauty, but he doesn't think about the fact that beauty fades quickly. When he is old, will he change his wife? I wonder if you can think of a way to give this guy a hard blow?"
Seeing Zhu Ying's surprised expression, the Duke of Qin smiled and said, "His idle temper has certainly changed, but his arrogant nature is a bit too much. Apart from his family background, he doesn't have any unparalleled abilities, so why does he look down on others? Anyway, please, Yingying, think of a way to put a damper on his arrogance."
Is there such a father in the world?
Zhu Ying felt that although her father was very strict with her second brother, he didn't cheat him like this. If Zhang Chen knew about this, he would be very resentful. However, Zhang Chuan's next words forced her to take it seriously.
"He once admired you, so now no matter what kind of beauty he sees, he will definitely compare it to you. But all women in the world are unique, and it is absolutely impossible for two to have exactly the same appearance and personality, and there is absolutely no second one like you, so he is entangled in his heart, and he has repeatedly failed your kindness."
"Master Zhang and Yingying... you have spoiled him too much! He has had smooth sailing since he was a child, but he fell into trouble because of you. However, he has also been smooth sailing in his work. Even the big trouble of pretending to be the confidant of the Second Prince was blocked by Master Zhang. But he is so proud of himself that he thinks he has succeeded. How can he be like this?"
"Compared to the three sons of the Lu family, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, who have seen the fickleness of the world, this kid is just like the fourth prince, and he deserves to be punished!"
Zhu Ying racked her brains but couldn't figure out how to refute Zhang Chuan. In the end, she could only smile bitterly and said, "Uncle Zhang, you are such a cruel father. But if you want to frustrate him, you can do it, right? Why are you looking for me?"
"I have personally punished him, but do you think it worked?" Zhang Chuan did not hide his failure as a father at all. He sighed and stood up. "Don't blame me for getting rid of the burden. If his temper continues like this, even if he finally finds a wife, there is no guarantee that he will not end up like the emperor and the deposed queen. I am not exaggerating, you should understand."
Zhang Chuan had no reservations about using the emperor as an example. He shook his head and walked straight out. But when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and sighed.
"Although I have sent gifts to Master Zhang many times before to express my gratitude to him as a teacher, it really cannot match the friendship you two have shown in helping Zhang Chen. So, regardless of whether this matter succeeds or not, in the future, as long as Master Zhang wants to do something, as long as I can, I will fully support him."
After this promise, he added: "In addition to this conditional support, as long as it is related to schools, whether it is a public school or a girls' school, I will support it unconditionally. Whether it is donating money, materials or even land, you just need to tell me, and I will never say no."
Compared to promising any valuable gifts, the two promises made by Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan were undoubtedly of great weight. Genggang was still hesitating when she immediately chased after him. Seeing Zhu Er still looking around in the yard, she shouted to Zhang Chuan who was leaving: "Well, I will remember what you said, Uncle Zhang, but I'll say it first. I will try my best to do it. If Zhang Chen turns against me, I will betray you!"
"Haha, at that time you just told me that I asked you to do it!" Zhang Chuan said while waving his hand to say goodbye. When he walked out of the gate of Duke Zhao's Mansion, he felt relieved.
The Zhang family has only one son, and the relationship between the side branches is so distant that it cannot be further from the truth. If his marriage goes wrong, the Zhang family will be extinct. How can he be worthy of his dead father? He can at least look forward to it by entrusting the clever and versatile Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying with full authority.
Zhu Er had just caught a glimpse of what Zhang Chuan said to Zhu Ying in the courtyard. After sending Zhang Chuan to the gate, he hurried back to the small flower hall. Seeing that his sister hadn't left yet, he asked with a smirk, "Yingying, I heard Duke Qin said he wanted to give you something at the end. What is it that he wants you to do a favor for? Why is he so generous?"
"Keep it a secret." Zhu Ying glanced at Zhu Er and saw that he was unhappy. She said unhappily, "If your big mouth tells others, it won't work! Anyway, you should just help grandma and mother to arrange your eldest brother's marriage first!"
Being interrupted by Zhu Ying, Zhu Er wanted to cry. Before, he had to lie on the bed helplessly pretending to be the eldest brother, humming while dealing with the waves of visitors, and had to endure the hypocrisy of these guys who knew he was fake, but were still attentive and concerned about his well-being. Now that the eldest brother is alive and kicking and continues to work as the domineering chief of the Wucheng Bingmasi, he actually has to serve as a background board for the eldest brother in the mansion!
The wedding that was supposed to be rehearsed by the eldest brother was all his... and the grandmother and mother both said that he was going to get married next year anyway! But Zhu Ying was the one who was going to get married next, but she didn't have to appear.
Could he be the son that the Zhu family picked up from somewhere?
