Chapter 57: Indulge
The group walked through the outer corridor of the west courtyard and came to the west corner gate of the inner palace of Prince Xing's Mansion. After entering, there was a long alley. The door at the end of the alley led to the main hall of the palace. There were four moon gates on the west side. After entering, there were several courtyards, all of which were quadrangle layouts.
They walked straight to the last courtyard, where there were guards guarding the door. Lu Song greeted the guards and then brought the three children in.
"Wait here, and don't go anywhere."
After giving instructions, Lu Song went out, apparently to welcome the instructor and the prince.
But Zhu Hao guessed that Zhu Houcong would not appear here for the time being. Since the palace was on guard against him, there was a high probability that Zhu San would impersonate the prince of the palace and continue to paralyze the Jinyiwei spies who were lurking in the palace to gather intelligence.
Zhu Hao asked, "Lu Bing, do you usually study here?"
Lu Bing was not scheming and said frankly: "Not all here, sometimes in the study hall..."
Zhu Hao nodded, having a rough idea in his mind. Since there were companion students coming to the palace to study, Zhu San and Zhu Si might be temporarily taught separately.
The real prince Zhu Houcong was protected very closely, while Zhu San acted as cannon fodder, appearing in various places in the palace at will to fully attract external firepower.
Jinghong came to a desk in the room, took out a book from his schoolbag, and recited an article with his head shaking. He looked like a "good student".
Zhu Hao, like Lu Bing, stayed in the yard outside.
Lu Bing asked a lot of questions, and most of them were about the revolving lanterns that had been burned in the sea of fire. He wanted Zhu Hao to bring a few more revolving lanterns to the palace.
But what Lu Bing didn't know was that this little gadget had been expressly prohibited from being brought into the palace. Lu Song warned Zhu Hao that except for lighting at night, he was not allowed to come into contact with open flames at other times.
Even if Zhu Hao wanted to use saltpeter to make ice in the future, he would have great trouble. Since the fire, the palace had become more wary of him.
…
…
After waiting for a long time, Zhu San finally came.
Zhu San was still dressed as a boy. When he saw Zhu Hao, he grinned, showing his white teeth: "Zhu Hao, you are not dead?"
This peculiar way of greeting made even Jing Hong, who was studying in the library, look askance. Does the prince not understand the ways of the world? How can greeting people... be like cursing them to die early?
Zhu Hao sighed, "I was lucky enough not to die. This is what they say: those who survive a disaster will have good fortune in the future."
Zhu San spat, "What's the saying that those who survive a great disaster will have good fortune in the future? I think good people don't live long, while disasters last for thousands of years... Ah Bing, go inside and bring me a chair."
When Lu Bing heard Zhu San calling him "A Bing", he was dissatisfied but didn't dare to say anything. He went straight to the dormitory to move a chair. Jing Hong's voice came from the room: "The teacher is coming soon, hurry up and review your lessons!"
Zhu San smiled and joked: "Xiao Jingzi, you still love studying so much, but you don't have to pretend to be in front of me. Mr. Sui will not come today, so let us review our lessons on our own... If he doesn't come, what's the point of reviewing? We'll talk about it after he comes..."
For children, without a teacher watching over them, of course they will look for opportunities to play.
Zhu San is just a little girl. She was born a princess. As long as the dynasty does not fall, she will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life. Why should she learn so many poems and articles?
The palace has placed all educational resources on Zhu Si. Now this courtyard has a fake prince and Lu Bing, who is equivalent to a family son, and two companions recruited from outside. The palace can just let the teacher teach you something. Do they really have to invite famous teachers to tutor you in turns?
You’re overthinking it!
Zhu San just thought that Sui Gongyan was in trouble, but Zhu Hao knew that Sui Gongyan was probably gone to teach Zhu Si knowledge, and the other little ones were left to their own devices.
"Hey, Zhu Hao, do you still have ice cream? I've been lingering over that wonderful taste these days...it's so delicious."
Zhu San looked at Zhu Hao eagerly.
Jing Hong and Lu Bing were originally very curious as to why Zhu San was so angry with them but so friendly to Zhu Hao. It turned out that he had something to ask for.
Ice cream?
Anything to eat?
The conditions in the palace were so good, but the prince actually asked Zhu Hao for food? Could the prince eat food of unknown origin?
Jinghong was full of doubts. He was originally studying seriously, but because of the conversation between Zhu Hao and Zhu San, he put the book down and listened to the conversation outside.
Zhu Hao said: "That fire burned all my belongings... You know the conditions of my family. I can only wait until I get back to raise materials. It will take some time."
Zhu San looked regretful: "It's all my brother's fault. If it weren't for him... Oh! Forget it, I won't say anymore."
The conversation between the two seemed simple, but it contained a lot of information. Jing Hong remembered it all in his heart. Especially when Zhu San mentioned that she had a younger brother, Jing Hong was very surprised because his father said that Prince Xing had only one son, so why were there two brothers?
Who is the younger brother that the prince is talking about?
Jing Hong seemed to be studying in the palace, but in fact he was also here to gather intelligence, except that he was not gathering information for the Jinyiwei, but to help his father.
Jing Zhongkuan was good at currying favor in official circles. After arriving in Anlu, he tried his best to curry favor with Prince Xing. He sent his son to the palace as a companion to the prince, with the purpose of getting close to the prince. In addition, he asked his son to inquire about the situation in the palace and tell him everything in return, so that Jing Zhongkuan could make plans for the future.
For the Jing family, getting close to the Prince Xing's Palace was a bold political investment.
To a certain extent, Jing Hong and Zhu Hao had the same purpose in entering the palace, both of them were to take advantage of the good relationship with the Xing Palace and strive for the "merit of following the dragon" in the future.
"Where's Zhu Si?"
Zhu Hao asked.
Zhu San spread his hands and said, "I don't know either. Mr. Yuan has been acting crazy these past two days and always calls him away alone. I've only seen that guy twice... Zhu Hao, do you have anything else interesting? Why don't we go out of the palace together to catch rabbits?"
Zhu San knew that Sui Gongyan would most likely not come that day, so she thought about escaping from the palace and letting Zhu Hao, a local kid from Anlu, take her around to play, preferably going out of the city to catch rabbits like last time.
Even though it was dangerous at the time, looking back now...it was probably the happiest day of her life.
Zhu Hao said, "On my first day as a tutor in the palace, I sneaked out of the palace with you... Did you want me to be kicked out earlier?"
Zhu San wrinkled his nose and said, "You stingy guy, you disregarded your friendship just to study... Humph, I look down on you... Let's go, let's go, A Bing, let's go into the house and play with Xiao Jingzi."
Zhu San was angry, and walked towards the classroom with Lu Bing, who was standing dazedly beside him on a stool he had just brought from the room.
The people in Jinghong were almost stunned by what they heard.
Didn't they say Zhu Hao had entered the palace a long time ago? Why did he say that it was his first day as a tutor? And what about catching rabbits... If Zhu Hao had been a tutor here for a long time, it would be understandable that he was so familiar with Zhu San, but this clearly contradicted Zhu Hao's statement, so how did they know each other?
…
…
Zhu San, Lu Bing and Zhu Hao entered the room one after another and each took out their books and four treasures of the study.
There are six tables inside, four of which are obviously new. The desks are very low and there are no chairs, so one can only kneel on the cushions to read and write.
After Zhu Hao came in, the first two tables were already occupied by Jing Hong and Zhu San, and Lu Bing sat in the second row. He sat down in the last row without thinking.
Zhu San looked back at him and said, "Hey, you can come to the front... Ah Bing, you can sit behind Xiao Jingzi. Zhu Hao can sit in your seat."
She had been giving Zhu Hao the cold shoulder before, but in the blink of an eye, Zhu San actually took the initiative to invite Zhu Hao to sit behind her.
Lu Bing reluctantly stood up and prepared to pack his things, but he heard Zhu Hao say, "No need, I'm fine here."
"I couldn't hear what the gentleman said afterwards..."
Zhu San was just trying to scare Zhu Hao. The room was not big to begin with, and there was no blackboard back then. There was no need to copy, so it didn't matter where he sat.
What's more, when Zhu Hao said he was going to the palace to study, he was actually looking for an excuse to get close to Zhu Houcong and get a chance to rise to the top.
But this is not 100% reliable. Maybe his time travel caused a butterfly effect and Zhu Houzhao had a son, or maybe Zhengde figured it out and found an adopted son from among the princes... Or maybe Zhu Houzhao did not die young a few years later, and lived to be 70 or 80 years old, but Zhu Houcong still could not become emperor...
Therefore, what Zhu Hao hoped most was to find a reasonable origin for his talent. With the record of studying in Prince Xing's Palace, he would have a reason to take part in the imperial examinations in the future.
It is better to rely on yourself than on others!
But right now…
The sun is shining in the sky, and the flowers are smiling at me...
I’m so sleepy. Having a good sleep is more important than anything else.
While Zhu San was making fun of Jing Hong, Zhu Hao was already fast asleep on the table and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Zhu Haozhen might not be able to fall asleep so quickly at night, but for some reason, the classroom environment gave him a familiar and comfortable feeling, as if it was such a beautiful morning, with the warm sunshine shining on the table. If he didn't take a nap at his desk, he would have let his life down.
…
…
Zhu Hao was sleeping soundly.
Suddenly he felt something moving on his nose, and before he opened his eyes, he heard laughter.
It goes without saying that Zhu San is playing a trick on him.
"Is this interesting?"
Zhu Hao closed his eyes and questioned dissatisfiedly.
Zhu San said with a grin, "Zhu Hao, how sleepy are you... Didn't you sleep well last night? Get up quickly, the sun is shining on your butt!"
Zhu Hao frowned.
It sounds normal, but it sounds weird coming from a little girl. You are a princess, don't you know how to be reserved?
Confucius said: Do not look at what is not proper, do not listen to what is not proper, do not say what is not proper, and do not do what is not proper.
Zhu Hao straightened up and opened his eyes, only to see that Zhu San had moved her cushion to his desk and sat opposite him, grinning, with one hand on the desk and the other holding a straw stick. As for Jing Hong and Lu Bing, they looked at the two as if they were monsters, and really could not understand Zhu Hao and Zhu San's bad taste.
Zhu Hao looked at the sun which was already high in the sky outside and realized that he had slept for a long time.
This shows that Zhu San still gave her face and slept soundly, so she came to make trouble after a long time.
"When will you come, sir?"
Zhu Hao asked casually.
Zhu San pouted: "Didn't I tell you before that the master wouldn't come? Why don't you believe me? Humph, you just sleep alone and don't care about others... It's so boring, why don't we go out and play, how about Cuju?"
Zhu Hao rolled his eyes: "Don't you know how to study? You only know how to play."
The three children looked at him in unison with strange looks in their eyes.
It's clearly you who doesn't study and just sleeps soundly, and now when you wake up you lecture us about not liking to study?
"Forget it. If the teacher doesn't come, I'll teach you. Well, come with me to order a blackboard. It will be very useful for teaching."
Zhu Hao proposed his own solution.
Zhu San laughed and said, "Just you?"
Zhu Hao frowned and asked, "Do you want to listen to Mr. Zhu's lecture?"
"listen!"
Zhu San agreed without thinking, "What is that blackboard you mentioned? Is it fun?"
