Chapter 11: Master Zhang
"What about that bastard?"
An angry voice sounded in the Feng family mansion.
"Master Zhang, why are you here?"
Feng Qingan in the room heard Yin's surprised voice, followed by his elder brother Feng Qingping's respectful and polite voice.
"Teacher!"
"Chengwen! Where is your brother Feng Qingan?"
The old voice softened a bit, but it was still angry, but it was suppressed.
"He's still in the bedroom!"
"It's already so late, and you're still snoozing. Let me ask you, this kid threatened to become a prince yesterday, is he serious about that?"
"It is true, but I was just joking. Please don't take it seriously."
Feng Qingping glanced at the old man with long hair and beard in front of him. He was the teacher in the village school, his enlightenment and teaching mentor, and also his second brother's current enlightenment teacher.
"Lead me over there. I want to ask this kid in person!"
"yes!"
Feng Qingping, however, looked at the shiny bamboo whip held in his mentor's hand with concern, then glanced at Yin, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and could only turn around and lead the way.
Clang~
The bedroom door was pushed open, and an old man holding a bamboo whip walked in with a teenager. In the room was a child riding on the windowsill. It was Feng Qing'an who realized something was wrong and wanted to escape through the window. Unfortunately, because he was beaten yesterday, his movements were a little slow and he was one step slower.
"Good morning, sir!"
Their eyes met. Feng Qing'an sat on the windowsill, with a well-behaved smile on his face, and greeted the old teacher of the village school.
"What are you doing?"
Master Zhang looked expressionlessly at the naughty boy who threatened to become a palace servant.
"Sir, this kid loves to climb through windows!"
Feng Qing'an started talking nonsense. You couldn't say that he was going to run away when he saw the situation was getting bad. Although anyone with a discerning eye could see his plan, he felt a little embarrassed to say it out loud.
"Are you telling me that you don't like to follow the right path?"
Master Zhang tightened his grip on the bamboo whip.
"No, no, no, sir, you misunderstood. I only climb through the window occasionally. Normally, I prefer to go through the front door and follow the right path."
Feng Qing'an quickly jumped down from the window. He couldn't run away, so he had to face the situation honestly.
"Really? But I heard that you want to be a yamen official?"
"Sir, if I say this is just a joke, would you believe me?"
Feng Qing'an looked at the majestic old face and asked cautiously.
Master Zhang is one of the few people with a different surname in Fengjiagang. Even so, Master Zhang is still highly respected in Fengjiagang, because his existence has raised the cultural level of the village to a higher level.
As a scholar, especially a scholar of such age, he values his reputation and face the most.
Feng Qing'an knew that ever since his elder brother passed the imperial examination, the old gentleman had developed a new hobby. He liked to go out and visit friends when he had nothing to do. He had nothing else to do but to show off his favorite students.
"Are you kidding? I heard about your famous name, Feng Ya Nei, in Chengjiagou yesterday!"
Master Zhang stared at the naughty boy in front of him and sneered.
"Chengjiagou? It's already twenty miles away!"
Feng Qingan was a little stunned . On the one hand, he was amazed that this old man could run so far just to show off his students. On the other hand,
"Sir, did you come here so early in the morning because you heard these rumors?"
"I was thinking about this for half the night last night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Feng Qing'an, I have taught you for three years, why do you want to become a yamen official? Are all the sage books you memorized and studied just to fool me?"
Master Zhang questioned. At that moment, the coldness on the old man's face disappeared, and there was a bit of fatigue and confusion. He really couldn't understand why the students he taught would have such thoughts.
"Of course not, sir, I shouldn't have said that, I was wrong, I just..."
Seeing the appearance of the old gentleman in front of him, Feng Qingan couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"Forget it, you don't have to apologize to me. I should apologize to your parents. I didn't teach you well!"
After saying this, Master Zhang shook his head and sighed, then turned and left Feng Qing'an's bedroom. The bamboo whip in his hand did not play its due role from beginning to end.
"gentlemen!"
Feng Qingan was very anxious. If this old man really apologized to his parents, wouldn't his parents beat him to death?
"Okay, just stay here and don't get involved. I'll help you explain!"
Seeing his anxious look, Feng Qingping couldn't help but laugh.
This move of the master was so brilliant. From now on, his younger brother will probably never dare to make such jokes again. This is much more effective than leaving a few red marks with a bamboo whip.
"Brother, it all depends on you!"
Feng Qing'an looked at his elder brother, his eyes full of expectation. This move made by Master Zhang really caught him off guard and was beyond his expectation . If he really apologized, he would not be able to survive even if he didn't care about his reputation.
"Teacher!"
Feng Qingping ignored Feng Qingan and hurriedly caught up with Master Zhang.
"Please stay and listen to what the student has to say!"
"Chengwen, what do you have to say?"
Looking at the disciple in front of him who was enough to make him proud for the rest of his life, Master Zhang called him by his courtesy name and his attitude softened a lot, but he also felt more sorry for his brother.
"Master, you misunderstood my brother. Yesterday, he said in front of everyone that he was going to be a prince, but it was just a joke..."
Feng Qingping explained Feng Qingan's reason, but as soon as he finished speaking, Master Zhang became even angrier.
"A real man should have lofty ambitions. How can you be so coy and give up? Juren? This boy is young and smart. Although he is not as good as you, he can also be called a child prodigy. But he only has such a goal. If this gets out, how will the scholars of Dajin look at me? I have turned a good piece of jade into a stubborn stone!"
"Teacher!"
Feng Qingping shouldn't have responded like this at this time. He respected his brother's choice, but that didn't mean it would be the same in the eyes of others.
"Brother is a true gentleman!"
Feng Qing'an followed behind stealthily and heard the conversation between his eldest brother and Master Zhang. He couldn't help but sigh helplessly.
"Let's go. I want to have a good talk with your parents!"
"Is this apologizing for the crime?"
Feng Qingping showed some hesitation on his face.
"I'm just testing the kid's reaction. It's not bad. At least he knows how to respect his teacher. If I apologize to your parents, how can this kid hold his head up in the future? I can't just care about my own reputation!"
Master Zhang spoke slowly, with a wisdom that showed he had everything under control in his eyes after having seen through so many vicissitudes of life.
"I would like to thank you on behalf of my foolish brother, Master!"
"No need to thank me, this is the duty of a teacher. I will make sure that this boy walks on the right path and does not waste his time."
