Chapter 77 I wish you bad luck
Gongsun Yi's arrival brought more vitality to the school.
Because Gongsun Yi had no teaching experience and was young, he did not know how to keep a stern face and act serious, or perhaps it was because of his timid personality that he did not dare to argue with the nobles in the palace. As a teacher, he was and did not dare to speak too loudly in class.
However, there is one difference from before, that is, the school now has a permanent teacher, and Zhu Hao is no longer needed to teach for the time being. The study life seems to be on the right track.
A few days later, on the evening of August 23, on the way back to the West Courtyard after school, Zhu Hao met Lu Song, whom he had not seen for a long time.
Lu Song came forward and continued to walk forward calmly after seeing Zhu Hao. As they passed by each other, he said, "The matter has been resolved. Don't worry."
Zhu Hao's heart moved.
Could it be that he had received a notice from his wife, Ms. Fan, and had resolved the problem satisfactorily through some little-known means?
This way, after I return home on August 25th, I won't have to worry about being arranged by my family to meet with the palace's spies, right?
Is it really that smooth?
Zhu Hao was still confused.
At this time, Lu Bing ran over and threw himself into Lu Song's arms excitedly.
The father and son have a very good relationship. Since childhood, Lu Bingdu has regarded his father as a role model.
Although it was only a short separation, it was the longest time they had been apart since Lu Bing could remember, not to mention how affectionate they were!
"Lu Dianzhang, is it your turn today?"
Zhu Hao turned around and asked with a smile.
Even if Zhu Hao didn't explain in detail, Lu Song understood that Zhu Hao was hinting at him to find time to talk in the evening.
Lu Song said, "Today is a day off, Xiao Bing, you can go home with mother later... Tell her that Daddy was delayed a lot by going out on business, so he can't go back today."
"oh."
Lu Bing nodded in confusion.
…
…
After nightfall, Zhu Hao and Jing Hong read together under candlelight.
Zhu Hao took out a book and shook it, saying, "This is the content after Monkey King. Do you want to read it?"
Jing Hong's eyes sparkled, but he was too embarrassed to reach out and take it. Zhu Hao casually threw the book in front of him and said, "Remember to return it to me after you finish reading it. If there are any words you don't know, you can also ask me."
"unnecessary."
Jinghong is so young, but he has managed to read advanced books.
Zhu Hao took the opportunity to go outside. At this time, Lu Song had deliberately sent the guards away and calmly returned to the yard, saying that he wanted to drink water, but in fact he was meeting with Zhu Hao alone.
"Lu Dianzhang, it's very dangerous for you to come to see me like this... What if the palace sends someone to keep an eye on you?" Zhu Hao's words were more of a test.
Lu Song said: "I secretly informed Captain Lin that something had happened... Captain Lin then set up a plan to meet Han Dianzhang, and as expected, the people in the palace discovered it..."
Zhu Hao frowned: "You're harming people?"
Lu Song said righteously: "I didn't harm him. He had been accepting money from Captain Lin, but he didn't work for the Jinyiwei. Even if he got into trouble, he was just transferred to the palace... Do you know how big the impact would be if something happened to me?"
He was very angry in his words, and even more angry that his fate was being controlled by others and he couldn't break free.
Zhu Hao finally understood why Lu Song could return safely. It turned out that he had discussed with Captain Lin and used a trick to find someone to take the blame and push away the suspicion. At present, the Xingwang Mansion has found that the traitor in the cannon is the man named Han, so naturally they will not suspect Lu Song anymore.
"Zhu Hao, I want to ask you, how do you know that the palace suspects me? Captain Lin doesn't quite understand this either."
Lu Song also raised the questions in his mind.
Zhu Hao said, "I guess Captain Lin and the Zhu family have spies from Prince Xing's Palace, but I don't know who they are. The Zhu family just informed me that they would meet with Captain Lin's spy in the palace, and they also said that the spy was a general. Several generals were transferred at the same time. Isn't this too coincidental?"
Lu Song thought about it and felt that it made sense.
"Who do you suspect?"
Lu Song wanted to catch the spy from the Jinyiwei.
Zhu Hao shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.
In fact, he had a suspect, and that was Butler Liu. He first suspected him because Butler Liu had deliberately eavesdropped on his conversation with Zhu Jia. This time, Butler Liu informed him in the early morning of August 16. Judging from his walking speed, Butler Liu did not enter the city when the city gate opened early in the morning, but spent the night in the city... What was the reason that Butler Liu was ordered to enter the city but did not look for him first, but had to wait until the next morning to notify him?
But Zhu Hao also had worries.
When Prince Xing's Mansion catches a traitor, they usually don't kill him for the sake of their reputation, but just transfer him away.
If the Jinyiwei caught the traitor, his life would probably be in danger. This was also an important reason why he did not want to express his suspicion of Butler Liu without any evidence.
Now he just informed Captain Lin through Lu Song that there was a traitor, so that he could be on guard early and not assign any special tasks to himself. This would achieve his goal.
“I didn’t expect this to happen.”
There was a hint of relief on Lu Song's face.
Zhu Hao said, "Lu Dianzhang, I know you didn't tell Captain Lin the true identity of the prince in order to prevent him from harming the prince... But if the Jinyiwei really wanted to kill him, it might put the little princess in danger. I think it's not suitable for you to play both sides."
Lu Song looked at Zhu Hao with strange eyes, as if to say, if I had a choice, would I have to be so entangled?
"In fact, Lu Dianzhang can wait until the storm has passed, and then take the initiative to ask Prince Xing to transfer you to a local garrison for some training. As long as you leave Prince Xing's mansion, you will lose your usefulness to Captain Lin... They don't know that your wife works in the mansion, so they may be able to buy you a stable life in the future."
Zhu Hao offered his own suggestion: "If you don't tell Captain Lin that you took the initiative to request the transfer, Captain Lin will have no way to deal with you... He might bet on you returning to Prince Xing's Mansion, so he won't reveal your identity."
Lu Song didn't expect that his future would depend on a child like Zhu Hao for guidance. For a moment, his brows were furrowed and his face was full of confusion.
He felt that with Zhu Hao's intelligence, it would be impossible for him to sort out his thoughts so quickly, and perhaps there was some conspiracy behind it.
Lu Song didn't say much to Zhu Hao. He nodded and left first. The two didn't have any further conversation.
…
…
On the afternoon of the 24th, when school was over.
Zhu Si asked a few people to stay and play Cuju with him. Zhu Hao did not refuse. He was not hungry anyway, and he had not finished the dry food and snacks he brought with him, so it did not matter much whether he went to the cafeteria for dinner or not.
While they were playing, they saw Lu Song coming with two guards.
"Master Zhu, Master Jing, the higher-ups have sent word that you can leave the palace today and come back the day after tomorrow morning."
Lu Song brought news.
Zhu Hao was a little surprised by this, but seeing Lu Song's pointed look, he thought that he was reminding himself that the palace might be worried, and thought that maybe after he returned, he would be ordered to meet the insider lurking in the palace.
Even if Han Dianzhang was captured, didn't Captain Lin plant other accomplices?
Therefore, it was decided to let Zhu Hao go back early. This would make things convenient for the Jinyiwei and also create conditions for catching spies in the Prince Xing's Mansion.
Zhu Hao said: "Then Jing Hong and I will go back and pack up and leave."
Zhu Si was reluctant to leave: "Let's play Cuju together before leaving. It's still early before dark."
Lu Song stepped forward and saluted: "Fourth Prince, this is Yuan Changshi's personal order. In fact, it is already late. They still have a long way to go home. It is not safe after dark."
Zhu Si pouted.
They had just been playing for a while when their fun was ruined. Zhu Si kept glancing at Lu Song with resentment.
"Zhu Si, let's play again when we come back... This time I will go back to find materials and make a leather Cuju, and by the way, find something good for you to play with."
Zhu Hao smiled and comforted.
Zhu Si nodded heavily and said, "It's a deal."
…
…
Zhu Hao and Jing Hong left the palace and went home.
The county government was notified in advance and sent a carriage to pick him up, but Zhu Hao walked home.
On the way back, Zhu Hao didn't notice anyone following him, but when he returned to his rice shop, he finally discovered that there were suspicious people hiding in the surrounding streets.
Zhu Hao immediately understood that Prince Xing's Mansion was changing its strategy.
Anyway, if he wants to go out to meet someone, he must start from home, so it would be better to arrange people to watch near the shop, and probably send someone to follow him at night.
Neither Zhu Niang nor Aunt Li expected that Zhu Hao would come back early. With some surprise, they quickly asked Xiaobai to go to the market to buy meat and vegetables and prepare delicious dishes to improve Zhu Hao's meals.
They never thought that they were being followed and were not aware of the changes outside.
"Mom, I'll help you."
Zhu Hao pretended nothing happened.
He knew that since Lu Song had sent someone to inform Captain Lin, Captain Lin would not be stupid enough to let him meet anyone else, right? Unless it was a deliberate trap!
But if this happens, is there any point in staying in the palace? If the Zhu family knew about this, they probably wouldn't let Zhu Hao see anyone again!
The night passed without incident.
After all, Zhu Jia didn't know that her grandson would come home early, unlike last time when she went to the city early to live with her daughter-in-law.
The next morning, Zhu Jia did not show up, but an unexpected guest came, who was the second uncle Zhu Wanjian.
"Ask your little Haozi to come over and talk."
Zhu Wanjian walked straight into the shop and shouted at Zhu Niang with a haughty look on his face.
Zhu Niang wanted to ask why the old lady didn't come, but Zhu Hao appeared at the right time and greeted her with a smile: "Hey, isn't this Second Uncle? Mother, let me talk to Second Uncle for a few words... I guess Second Uncle is very busy and doesn't want to listen to my nonsense."
After her son's reminder, Zhu Niang probably understood that the old lady was not convenient to come and ask questions today, so she sent her second son to come. As for why it was Zhu Wanjian instead of housekeeper Liu, she found it difficult to understand.
However, Zhu Hao understood that since the Zhu family knew that there was a spy on his side, they would be on guard. It would be better to use Zhu Wanjian than Butler Liu. The old lady would inevitably think that no matter how unreliable her son was, he still had the surname Zhu, so he would not secretly defect to Prince Xing's Mansion to frame the Zhu family, right?
Zhu Hao pondered, considering Zhu Wanjian's inability to keep secrets, is it sure that sending him is the best solution?
"Uncle, did grandma ask you to bring a message to me?"
Zhu Hao sent Zhu Niang to the backyard, then turned back and asked Zhu Wanjian with a smile.
Zhu Wanjian looked groggy from a hangover. It seemed that he had entered the city after dark yesterday and wandered around the red-light district. He stared with his swollen eyes and said impatiently, "Didn't I ask you to tell me? Why do you want me to tell you?"
Zhu Hao said: "So you wanted to listen to me...Okay, then I will tell you what happened in the palace these days. A new instructor came to the palace, his name is Gongsun Yi, he should be from the city..."
What Zhu Hao wants to say is not a secret. Would it be considered betraying the palace if I told others who my husband is?
How could the Imperial Guards not even be able to investigate such low-tech intelligence?
As for how you plan to deal with Gongsun Yi, that is none of my business.
Dealing with Zhu Wanjian was much easier than dealing with the old lady. Zhu Wanjian was very impatient and had no intention of asking detailed questions. He just listened to Zhu Hao's report in a hurry and staggered out of the shop.
Little did he know that as soon as he left the shop, someone secretly followed him.
Zhu Hao glanced outside intentionally or unintentionally, thinking: "I wish you bad luck!"
