Chapter 19: Not a Word of Truth in His Mouth
Mr. Lu's aura of mystery increased a bit, but judging from his attitude towards people, he did not seem like a wild and unruly person. It seemed that he was well versed in the rules of the world of fame and fortune.
Gong Yan knew that Mr. Lu was staying at Tianxiang Inn, so he left with the young man with the golden crown.
Before leaving, Zhu Hao deliberately walked to the boy's side and whispered, "In addition to fishing, I also like to catch rabbits. I occasionally sell them at the flower and bird market on Wangfu East Street. If you are interested, you can come and take a look."
"snort!"
The young man snorted and turned his head to the side. It was unclear whether he was interested in the rabbit.
After the others left, Zhu Hao retracted his gaze and found that Mr. Lu had calmly sat back by the river, picked up the fishing rod thrown on the ground, and continued to fish leisurely.
The so-called Jiang Taigong fishing, isn't it the old man and the young man who came from Prince Xing's Palace?
Zhu Hao asked tentatively, "It seems that Mr. Gong Yan has other intentions?"
"You understand?"
Mr. Lu glanced at Zhu Hao when he heard this.
Zhu Hao also grabbed the fishing rod, but he just arranged the fishing line and asked tentatively: "Who is that? It seems that he has a close relationship with the people in Prince Xing's Mansion!"
"Not shallow? The Book of Poetry says, 'Throw me a wooden peach, and I'll repay you with a jade. It's not a repayment, but a token of our everlasting friendship.' No, that's not it. Who taught you this line?"
It seems that Mr. Lu has a certain understanding of the level of children's learning to read, and he immediately picked out words and sentences in Zhu Hao's words that were beyond his age range.
Zhu Hao didn't want to answer such irrelevant questions.
Mr. Lu looked up at the calm river surface and said, "His surname is Sui, his courtesy name is Gongyan, he is a guest in the Prince Xing's Palace, and he is quite famous in the Anlu literati circle."
"Are you a Jinshi?" Zhu Hao asked.
Mr. Lu glanced at Zhu Hao and said with a smile, "Junior."
Zhu Hao asked again, "Does that mean it's the same as you, Mr. Lu?"
Mr. Lu couldn't help but frown when he heard this.
Zhu Hao's question was ambiguous and seemed to be asking about Mr. Lu's achievements, but in fact he was mainly observing Mr. Lu's reaction.
Just as Zhu Hao expected.
Mr. Lu was extremely resistant to the identity of "juren" .
"All the guests in Prince Xing's Palace are so respectful to Mr. Lu. It seems that Mr. Lu must be a famous person in the world...but I don't know what his true identity is?"
Zhu Hao deliberately made his words simpler, and when probing him failed he just asked directly... This was how a child should react.
Not surprisingly.
Mr. Lu did not answer.
Zhu Hao said, "You said he was a teacher at Prince Xing's mansion, then... that kid who is the same age as me, couldn't he be the prince of Prince Xing?"
Mr. Lu smiled and shook his head: "How should I know?"
"What does the gentleman know?"
“To know what you know and to know what you don’t know is true knowledge.” When Mr. Lu said this, he closed his eyes again, shook his head, and looked like he was enjoying it.
…
…
The old and the young remained silent.
During this time, Zhu Hao tried several times to bring up the topic and find out Mr. Lu's true identity, but received no response.
There was really no other way, Zhu Hao could only fish obediently. Soon, all he could think about was the young man. The other party was at least from the Prince Xing's Palace, and it seemed that he had a high status. However, except for hinting that he would go to the flower and bird market to sell rabbits, he had no other way to attract the other party's attention.
"gone!"
Mr. Lu suddenly threw his fishing rod aside, stood up and was about to leave.
Zhu Hao quickly chased after him and asked, "Where are you going, sir?"
Mr. Lu didn't even turn his head and said, "Everyone go back to your own homes... You go back first."
"But... I'm here today to learn to read and write with Mr. Lu..."
Zhu Hao said aggrievedly.
Mr. Lu turned slightly and gave Zhu Hao a meaningful smile: "Although I don't know how accomplished you are in the Four Books and Five Classics, judging from your speech and behavior, you are far beyond that of an ordinary child. I have nothing to teach you... We have met for a long time, so it is a fate. The rest depends on your luck."
Take a step forward.
Zhu Hao said loudly, "I heard that there is a hermit named Liuru in Jiangnan, who is extremely talented and has unparalleled poetry and painting skills...Mr. Lu, have you heard of this person?"
Mr. Lu took his foot forward and abruptly retracted it.
He turned around and looked at Zhu Hao sternly.
"Who told you that? The kid from Prince Xing's Mansion?" Mr. Lu didn't believe that Zhu Hao knew about "Mr. Liu Ru". He just thought that someone must have told him.
Zhu Hao had spent some time alone with the young man with the golden crown, and he might have learned about it during their conversation.
Because the questions the young man asked Mr. Lu were quite sharp, it showed that he had obtained some information about his identity from Sui Gongyan.
Zhu Hao said, "No one told me, but I'm here to advise you. Don't go to Nanchang. Recently, the areas of Jiangxi, Jiangxi, and Huguang are not peaceful, and bandits are frequent. I heard from local merchants that all this may be related to the prince of Nanchang. Mr. Lu said earlier that we should go to Nanchang via Anlu... I was inspired to write this."
"hehe."
What would a famous scholar think when he heard such words from a seven-year-old child who had not yet received formal education?
I'm being polite by not spitting in your face.
"Zhu Hao, you are indeed very knowledgeable, but at your age, you can't be this evil... The court is full of twists and turns and crises . If anyone wants to use you to say these words to me, please say thank you for me!"
This time Mr. Lu did not stay and left directly.
…
…
"It's better to leave."
Zhu Hao actually didn't want to know whether this Mr. Lu was Tang Yin, because it didn't matter to him whether he was or not.
Everyone knows how embarrassed Tang Yin was during the Zhengde period.
What is there to praise about such a down-and-out scholar who was impoverished in his middle and late years, making a little money by painting and calligraphy and barely getting by in a muddle-headed way?
He has been highly regarded in history mainly because he had rich life experience and was a man with a story.
There were many famous calligraphers and painters in the Ming Dynasty, and quite a few could be compared with Tang Yin. It was just because Tang Yin's experience was very strange. He was a top scorer in the Nanzhili Provincial Examination and was almost certain to become a Jinshi. However, he was involved in a cheating case in the imperial examination. Not only did he fail the examination, but he was also demoted to a minor official by the court and ordered not to be an official for the rest of his life. His life afterwards had ups and downs. He had the feat of building Taohua Temple as a villa, and also had the embarrassing experience of pretending to be crazy and escaping from the Ning Wang Mansion. He wandered around the world, buried himself in calligraphy and painting, and his works eventually became treasures handed down from generation to generation.
"Even if you are really Tang Yin, can you still help me?"
Zhu Hao returned home.
Zhu Niang had been eagerly waiting for her son to come back. As soon as she saw him, she hurried over, grabbed her son's shoulders and asked, "Where is Mr. Lu?"
"gone back."
Zhu Hao blurted out without even thinking.
"So what did he teach you? Where does he... live?"
Zhu Niang originally wanted to ask her son about what he had gained during his absence, but then she thought that not only did he not bring any books, he also did not bring any four treasures of the study. It would be good enough if she could just simply test her son's knowledge. What could she possibly teach him?
So it is safer to ask where the person is.
Zhu Hao was more honest: "How would I know where he lives? I was just fishing, and suddenly someone came... He seemed to be the instructor of Prince Xing's Mansion. He left after talking to him for a few words, and then we separated not long after... Why don't you wait for him to come next time and ask him directly."
Zhu Hao had to say this.
In order to avoid being thought by Zhu Niang that he was the one who pissed Mr. Lu off, after all, Zhu Hao had not been nice to Mr. Lu before.
Zhu Niang frowned when she heard this: "You kid, really... you followed the master out for a while, but you didn't even check where he lives?"
In fact, Zhu Hao knew where Mr. Lu lived.
When Mr. Lu told Mr. Sui his address, he did not avoid telling Zhu Hao. Zhu Hao was not deaf and was a caring person, but he did not want Zhu Niang to continue looking for this person.
Asking Tang Bohu, who had to rely on his friends for support for the rest of his life, to be your teacher is obviously unreliable .
"This Mr. Lu has contacts with the tutors in the palace, which means he is very capable. How about this, Uncle Zhong goes to find out where he is and prepares a generous gift to send to him..."
Zhu Niang attaches great importance to Mr. Lu.
Zhu Hao suddenly felt that although his mother was sometimes stubborn, she had a good vision.
A drunkard living on the streets was actually spotted by her and thought to have real skills. In the end, it turned out that he was indeed a prominent figure, and his name would go down in history!
He is quite accurate in judging people.
Aunt Li came forward and said, "If he really doesn't want to teach, Madam, don't force him. It's better to find a proper teacher for Master Hao."
Obviously, Aunt Li is not so persistent in this matter and is more pragmatic. On the contrary, Aunt Zhu is a little confused about the priorities.
Zhu Niang said, "It's rare that Mr. Lu doesn't dislike Xiao Hao and is willing to recruit him as a student. This is also Xiao Hao's good fortune. If Mr. Lu is really capable, it will be of great benefit to Xiao Hao in his future imperial examinations. As a parent, we must keep an eye on him."
Zhu Niang spoke cautiously, just like a parent who is worried about her child's academic performance.
Zhu Hao said, "Then mother has to hurry up. I heard from Mr. Lu and his friend who teaches at Prince Xing's Mansion that he will leave Anlu in a few days. If he leaves like this... can he still be considered my teacher? A teacher of one word?"
Zhu Niang rolled her eyes at her son and stopped talking to the child. She quickly arranged to find Uncle Zhong to inquire about Mr. Lu's address.
It seems that even making salt at home is not that important anymore.
…
…
Zhu Hao finally no longer had to be shackled by some inexplicable gentleman.
In the afternoon he returned to the flower and bird market to set up his stall.
Then he ran into trouble.
Although no one collects stall fees these days, there are still people who take the opportunity to make money. I don’t know whether they are people hired by the owner of the stall or ruffians from the street, but they insist that Zhu Hao pay for setting up the stall.
"Selling rabbits is a legitimate business. If you do business in this flower and bird market, you have to pay land insurance. This is the rule..."
Seeing the other party's tone of voice was very official, Zhu Hao frowned and asked, "I am a kid selling rabbits, and I have to pay? But I haven't sold a single one."
The man said, "You've taken up the space, and the rabbits are eating, drinking, defecating, and urinating. Don't you want someone to clean up? I see you don't have much business, so just pay me a penny. If I'm still on duty tomorrow, you don't have to pay me."
Pay for one day and manage for two days?
You are quite good at doing business.
Zhu Hao spread his hands, "If the business is not successful, there is no money to pay... I have never heard of any family giving ... How about this, I will give you the money immediately after I sell the rabbits, that should be okay, right?"
"No! If you don't pay, don't come to sell it again!"
The local security guard was very angry and the consequences were serious.
Zhu Hao's business was about to fail.
Zhu Hao deliberately yelled: "My mother is sick, so I rely on the rabbits I caught to sell for some money, so that I can buy medicine for her later... Big brother, why are you so unreasonable? Woohoo... Everyone, please give me some advice."
Sure enough, people quickly gathered around and pointed and talked.
Manipulating public opinion is exactly what Zhu Hao is good at.
At this moment, a childish voice sounded: "I saw you fishing by the river this morning, and your mother fell ill just after noon? You don't mean to say that you went fishing this morning to sell the fish for your mother's medical treatment? Humph, you don't tell the truth, you are a bad guy!"
