Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 730: False Alarm
The fourth prince felt that Zhu Ying would not feel comfortable walking on the bumpy and dirty road. A rich lady like her, even if she didn't like to be refined , still preferred a clean and tidy environment. For example, the places where she used to call friends to play and have fun also conformed to this principle. However, the lady had lived in Rongshui Village, where Zhang Shou grew up.
When she walked through this dark alley, she recalled what she had seen and heard when she was strolling in the village. The same muddy and dirty road, the same low and dilapidated houses, and at this time, there were only a few women in patched clothes trotting, and no strong men. Obviously, in the broad daylight, the strong laborers were not working in the fields but wandering on the road. They must be idlers who were not doing their jobs!
Therefore, compared to the stupid look on the Fourth Prince's face when he first arrived yesterday, she seemed much calmer.
So, noticing Zhu Ying's unsurprising expression, the Fourth Prince could only look at Zhang Chen with anticipation, hoping that he would be amazed or frown, at least to give him a sense of superiority. However, to his disappointment, Zhang Chen's expression remained normal even after he had almost stared until his eyes were sore, and he even looked at him inexplicably.
"Did you take the wrong medicine? Why are you staring at me?" He had seen this scene many times in Zhang Shou's village!
The Fourth Prince was furious at Zhang Chen's attack, but just as he was about to say something sarcastic, he heard Peanut shout, "Strange, why are those children we saw when we came here yesterday gone today? Also, have you noticed that we only saw a few women along the way, but no children of any age."
After these words came out, the Fourth Prince no longer cared about fighting with Zhang Chen , and immediately looked around. Although he didn't remember the way yesterday, only one day had passed, at least he could be sure that this was the place they had been to, and Peanut at least didn't take the wrong way.
Yesterday, after Xiao Huasheng bribed the children with maltose to lead the way, they went to Chen's house, Fang's house, and Gao's house, and met other children along the way. But today, they were almost at Chen's house, but they didn't meet any children. Was this just a coincidence, or had something happened?
He had heard that there had been a rampant flower-shooting gang in the outer city, and was about to ask if this was the reason, but he noticed that Zhang Chen glanced at Zhu Ying, then coughed and said to him: "Although we have reduced the number of followers, it still seems too conspicuous, right?" Zhang Chen thought very simply, was it because others were worried after hearing the news, so they hid the children at home and dared not let them out?
"I don't think it's because of this... The women we just met didn't pay any attention to us at all, and they were running all the time, it's better to say they were in a hurry." Zhu Ying narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, and suddenly remembered something, "Also, they looked like they had heard some news and were very anxious..."
Although Zhu Hong had been trying his best to conceal the presence of himself and the other guards, when he saw Zhang Chen and the fourth prince Xiao Huasheng looking at each other in surprise, he echoed Zhu Ying and said, "That's right, I just realized that they didn't care about strangers like us at all. They hurried along the way, as if they were afraid that something would happen if they were late."
Xiao Huasheng's heart tightened, and he instinctively felt that Xiao Cheng must have caused some trouble.
He loved and hated Xiao Cheng. He loved that this little guy was his best study partner. Living with him, he would feel guilty if he was lazy. He, who hated studying, had made some progress without realizing it. At least now addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were no problem for him, and he could recite a lot of poems. As for hating... Of course, he hated that this little guy was like an inspector, too strict!
But no matter what, he didn't want to see anything happen to the other party. So, he didn't care about the others and ran away. When he ran, the others were stunned and hurried to chase him. As soon as they started running, the difference in their physical fitness was revealed.
Although the guards were at the end, their steps were very rhythmic and they had plenty of time. Following closely behind the running Peanut was Zhu Ying, who was dressed in men's clothes and looked very heroic. The young lady was very glad that she wore deerskin boots and men's clothes today, which made it very convenient for her to move around, and running a few steps was nothing to her. Zhang Chen lagged behind by a few steps, but sweat was already on his forehead.
As for the one behind, it was the already panting Fourth Prince. He had interrupted the morning and evening basic exercises that were required in the palace these days, and now that he suddenly started running, he was dragging his feet. After all, he and the Third Prince were both weak when they were young, so their father specially raised them in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but only adjusted their diet, did not use tonics indiscriminately, and also taught them a few self-defense techniques.
Therefore, when fighting, the Fourth Prince only had those three axe-like skills, and his physical strength was far inferior to those civilian children who had been playing outside since childhood. At this moment, seeing that he was getting farther and farther away from the three people in front of him, he was a little anxious for a moment, but at this moment, he felt someone grabbing his hand, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself lying on the back of someone.
"Don't be so stubborn, Your Highness. I'll carry you on my back!"
When the Fourth Prince found out that it was Xiao Cheng who was carrying him, he wanted to fight for it. However, when he found that Xiao Huasheng had arrived in front and knocked on the Chen family's door but no one answered, he turned around and ran without hesitation. He suddenly became a little anxious.
After realizing that Xiao Huasheng was in a hurry to the next Fang family to look for someone, he dared not yell about asking Zhu Hong to abandon him. Because he would definitely be left behind by others and not even a shadow could be seen!
Even Zhang Chen felt a little overwhelmed when Xiao Huasheng was turned away again at the second house and then ran away like crazy. After all, his good physique was developed from activities such as cockfighting, dog walking and horse racing. He just practiced sword skills like a juggler every morning. His self-defense level was at most the same as Zhang Shou's. How could he last long?
But Zhu Ying in front of him was breathing evenly and walking lightly. Even though he was no longer an ardent pursuer of this young lady, he was unwilling to show his weakness in front of others, so he had to force himself to keep up.
Just when he made up his mind that if the third family failed, he would immediately send people to the Bone Ji Temple, report to the police and summon all the guards to help look for the person, and definitely not run around like a headless fly, he saw Xiaohuasheng pushing the door of the house in front with all his strength, but after pushing the door open, he did not go in with his raised foot, but stood at the door like an idiot.
When Zhang Chen saw that not only Xiao Huasheng but also Zhu Ying came quickly to the door and stood there in a daze, neither moving forward nor backward, he thought something big had happened and felt his heart skip a beat. He hurriedly exerted his remaining strength to rush over in two steps at a time, but when he looked inside from behind them, he was also completely stunned.
In this obviously cold weather, there were a lot of people standing in the yard. From the back, most of them were children, including a few women he had just met. Because he could only see the back of their heads, he couldn't estimate how many people there were. But in the front, there was a person standing on a high place facing everyone, and he could see it clearly.
He was very familiar with that face, it was Zhang Shou. However, what Zhang Shou said was completely different from the comforting or accountability scene he had imagined after listening to what Zhu Ying said.
"Yesterday, three students from the intermediate class of the public school came to visit my home. Just a few pieces of candy coaxed the children to run around in circles. Not only did they scramble to lead the way, but when I followed one of them over again today, these children even called more friends to come around and ask for candy. After I gave them candy, I asked them to call more children, and they all agreed."
"If I were a flower-shooting gang, I would gather a bunch of kids and use candy or other small things to coax them into the carriage and take them away. Even if you guys come here in a rage and tell everyone to go to the government office, it would be too late."
Zhang Shou, who was standing on a table, also found Peanut, Zhu Ying, Zhang Chen, Zhu Hong, who arrived a few steps late carrying the Fourth Prince, and the guards. Although he didn't know how this very strange combination met each other and how they found this place, he obviously couldn't take care of them at this time, so he just smiled at them.
Several women had just discovered that their children were missing. After searching everywhere, they learned that someone had gathered all the children to the Gao family. They were horrified, thinking that the eldest son of the Gao family not only did not mend his ways after his two cronies were arrested by the Nancheng Bingmasi, but instead became even more ruthless and wanted to become a flower-snatching gangster, kidnapping and selling a group of children, making a quick buck and running away. That's why they hurried over.
When they arrived, they found that although the children were gathered there, they were all listening to a handsome and elegant young man telling stories. When they learned from the only adults present, such as Chen's father and mother, that he was actually the famous scholar Zhang in the capital, they felt embarrassed and ashamed, but also puzzled.
But after Zhang Shou's explanation, the women who had hurried over suddenly understood what was going on. One of them, who was known for being bold and aggressive and good at dealing with people, couldn't help but stand up.
"Master Zhang, you are a big shot, how can you know the hardships of ordinary people like us? Our head of the family is busy outside all day to earn money to support the family, and we have all kinds of work to do. It is impossible for us to take care of the children at home all the time. We can only leave them outside. Besides, that is the nature of children. If you don't pay attention, they will run away without knowing where they are."
"We must discipline these little guys in the future!"
Zhang Shou immediately laughed: "If a child is not taught, it is the fault of the father; if a child is not taught strictly, it is the laziness of the teacher. What you call discipline is probably to make a filial son out of a stick. Next time, if someone brings candy, various novel and fun gadgets, chicken legs, mutton and other delicious food, do you think these children will really not be fooled?"
Several women looked at each other in bewilderment. Even Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen outside the door recalled that when they were young, their wet nurses and nannies would often tell them to stay away from strangers when they were outside, and never touch food or toys handed to them by passersby on the street. However, they really felt annoyed when they heard it at that time...
Zhang Shou did not continue to preach, but vividly told the story of Wang Cai, the son of Wang Shao in the Song Dynasty, "The Thirteenth Son Goes to the Emperor at the Age of Five": "It is said that there was a minister in the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, whose name was Shao. He was once the deputy envoy of the Privy Council. He had a young son in his family, who was his youngest son, ranked thirteenth, named Wang Cai, who was only five years old, smart and clever, and had an extraordinary appearance..."
Speaking of trafficking, although he could not recite the chapter in Erke Paian Jingqi, he could still remember the plot, and the story of Zhenzhu was mentioned at the end. However, compared to the story of Wang Cai, the child prodigy, who not only escaped from the thieves and met the emperor, but also captured all the criminals and finally had a happy ending with his family, Zhenzhu's story was too tragic. Therefore, Zhang Shou just omitted it.
Sure enough, as he spoke, not only the children but also the adults listened attentively.
What stories can illiterate adults tell children these days? Even if they do, they are usually stories about ghosts and tigers and wolves that scare children away from running around, and folk tales that are passed down by word of mouth. Most of them are not even worth being adapted by scholars.
Therefore, when Zhang Shou finished telling such a tortuous yet refreshing story, everyone was amazed to hear that all the thieves were caught and Shisanlang was sent home by the emperor himself, especially the women who had just come to look for their children and were so angry and anxious that they wanted to kill each other. They all sighed and regretted that they had not given birth to a good son who could catch the emperor's eye.
Seeing the children, big and small, all with shining eyes, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Wang Cai was born into a noble family and has heard a lot since he was young, so he has such knowledge. However, most of these children, big and small, are illiterate, so they can be easily fooled by a few pieces of candy. Fortunately, nothing happened yesterday and today, but they still need to broaden their horizons in the future."
"But our son can't get into the public school." The woman said bluntly, and directly pointed out the biggest problem. "Even Chen Sanlang and Gao Erlang said before, where can they be apprentices if they drop out of school and earn a tael of money a month?"
Fang's mother's face flushed red immediately, especially when she saw Chen's father and mother and Gao's father and mother glaring at her, she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. After all, the so-called third steward Zhang Shou was brought here and was still in Gao's house. It was a scam from beginning to end! Poor her, she even lost a lot of money for this, and even almost ruined her son's future!
The worst thing is that now someone who doesn’t know the truth is going to stab her hard in the chest!
Zhang Shou didn't notice how embarrassed and ashamed Fang's mother's face was behind him. Seeing that the woman had already pulled her son over, her face was full of hope, as if she really hoped that he could accept her son as her disciple, he coughed lightly.
"Public schools do have a high threshold for admission, just like private schools in the market, not everyone can afford to go to school." Zhang Shou knew very well that it was extremely difficult to implement compulsory education in this day and age - and it was against the trend and not in line with reality. Therefore, he naturally did not come here today to be a pioneer.
At this point, seeing the woman's face full of disappointment, he changed the subject and said, "Besides, the public school is not that close to here. Chen Sanlang and the other three not only have a good foundation, but they are already fourteen or fifteen years old, but it is difficult for them to get up early and walk there together. If your sons go there to study alone, don't you have time to take care of them on weekdays, but you can still pick them up at that time?"
Outside, Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen became even more puzzled. The Fourth Prince and Peanut were also mumbling and analyzing Zhang Shou's real intention. At this time, they heard Zhang Shou speak again : "Instead of taking the unrealistic public school exam, why not consider another method - that is, you can go to the public school and ask someone to teach them, for example, tell stories like I do."
