Volume 1 In the Countryside Chapter 38 The Most Beautiful Misunderstanding
Ge Weng, whose real name was Ge Yong, was a retired Grand Tutor, the Emperor's tutor, and the prince's tutor. Countless dignitaries tried their best to have their children become his disciples. He was the record holder for the longest time serving as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College in this dynasty, and the nominal president of at least a hundred academies in the country.
Because he was an expert at tasting wine, the old man was the most popular customer in at least dozens of wine shops in the capital. And because he was good at writing poetry, famous prostitutes in brothels would spend huge sums of money to ask for his poems. Unfortunately, the old man stopped writing ten years ago.
Zhang Shou, a country boy who was ignorant and inexperienced, certainly didn't know this information. However, he had a best informant, Miss Zhu, who grew up in the capital and knew all the dignitaries and gossips.
Even though he was not shy in dealing with people, and he was calm when he first met Ge Yong that day, now that he knew the other party's identity and met face to face again, his mood could not help but become extremely subtle. At this moment, Ge Yong had already forcefully driven away those dandies, and was wandering around his small house, looking around, his attitude was so weird that it made people feel creepy.
Finally, the old man came up to him, pointed at his nose and said, "Young Master Zhang, we meet again. Are you surprised to see the fraud you mentioned?"
Zhang Shou was a little nervous at first, but now he was amused by the old kid's behavior. He finally managed to hold back his laughter, and said seriously, "I didn't recognize the great man at that time, I hope Mr. Ge will forgive me. Besides, I didn't know that Cuiyunjian was originally yours. The so-called fraudster is not referring to others, but purely to myself."
Zhu Ying rushed to defend herself, "Grandpa Ge, you can't blame Zhang Shou for this. I was the one who came up with the idea for him..."
Before she could finish her words, the old man tapped her smooth forehead with his finger, and she became speechless for a moment.
"Little Yingying, don't I know you? You've been a beauty lover since you were little. When your father asked me to teach you, you tried to delay at first. But after you met me, you chased after me and called me Grandpa Ge. You saw that I was old but elegant, and not only did I teach in a non-stuffy way, but I also told you jokes all day long."
"Tell me the truth, is it because you saw that the young master of the Zhang family is handsome and has a personality that suits your taste, that you arranged for your people to go to the capital to stir up trouble everywhere? You arranged this so that he could become a teacher to everyone like me, an old man?"
Zhu Ying stole a glance at Zhang Shou, then said in a low voice honestly: "Yes..."
Ge Yong nodded with satisfaction, and then glanced at Zhang Shou, who was smiling bitterly, and said, "As for Young Master Zhang, are you helpless about Yingying's self-willed behavior, but you can't stop those playboys, so you can only do your best to stop a guy like me who comes to seek the master out of curiosity, and you don't hesitate to call yourself a fraud?"
What does it mean that the arm cannot twist the thigh?
Zhang Shou was both angry and amused. Miss Zhu was too active and would indeed cause a big storm if she didn't see the right direction, but as long as she was spoken to nicely, she would at least listen to advice. Moreover, she had not discussed it with him before, so he was kept in the dark, not that he couldn't stop her!
As for him, what he said to Mr. Ge yesterday about the so-called masters who deceived the world and stole the reputation was not just because he was honest, but because he vaguely felt that the old man was unusual at that time, so he was thinking about whether to give him a shot. Of course, after the shot, he immediately became a confidant in the evening and revealed his true face to some people...
But he still decisively took the responsibility on himself: "Although the eldest lady was a bit reckless, it was after all because I came up with that bad idea first, so I was wrong first. I just thought that since the hermit in the bamboo forest had not returned for several years, the bamboo house had fallen into disrepair. Instead of letting it fall into disrepair, it would be better to make use of it..."
Seeing Ge Yong immediately fussing and glaring when he heard the word "waste utilization", Zhang Shou pretended not to see it.
"So, I asked the villagers to renovate it during the off-season, and built some bamboo houses nearby. I named this area Cuiyunjian, and named the bamboo house where you once lived Qingfengxulaitang. I plan to convert it into a school to teach the children in the village."
"After I had no choice but to accept so many students this time, I used Qingfeng Xulai Hall as a lecture hall, thinking that this place where I once lived in seclusion could be used as a lecture hall. I moved to Shuibo Buxing Hall. I chose these names, so I'm sorry to make you laugh. Of course, I know it's wrong to occupy someone else's nest, and I apologize to you."
Ge Yong walked forward a few steps with his hands behind his back, and said slowly: "The breeze is blowing gently, the water is calm , I raise my cup to entertain the guests, recite poems about the bright moon, sing songs about graceful women... Su Shi's "Preface to the Red Cliff" is indeed a masterpiece of all ages. You know I named my bamboo house with these two lines, and I also used the bamboo nickname Cuijun to name it Yashe. Your vision and taste are quite good."
"Although if Su Shi had not been depressed and frustrated, he would not have expressed his feelings at the end, 'I am like a mayfly in the universe, a grain of sand in the vast ocean. I mourn the brevity of my life and envy the infinity of the Yangtze River.' However, I have lived a life of success and now I am half buried in the ground. I have let go of what I should let go of. This peaceful and tranquil life with gentle breeze and calm water is worthy of me."
So you are just bragging about yourself after saying all these things?
Zhang Shou finally understood that no matter how great his achievements were, Old Man Ge was essentially just a boastful old child. He thought about it and felt that he had nothing to say, so he just laughed it off, but who would have thought that Zhu Ying would get there first.
"Grandpa Ge, since you and Shou hit it off right away, why not just accept him as your disciple!"
Seeing the spoiled and willful eldest daughter hugging the old man's arm and acting like a spoiled child, and winking at him, Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel deeply moved. After all, Zhu Ying had always been planning for his future.
He didn't care about face. After all, Ge Yong was obviously a real talent. Most people couldn't even ask to be his disciple. But he vaguely felt that this eccentric old man shouldn't be conquered in this way.
So, he made a decision in a flash, and said with a smile: "Mr. Ge said before that what you are most proud of in your life is not your seventh place in the imperial examination, but your mastery of mathematics. Then, the reason why you left without saying goodbye yesterday was that you looked through the exercise books at Qi Liang's house? If so, you should have seen that he has a good talent for mathematics. If you can, can you give him some advice?"
Ge Yong was slightly stunned. He didn't expect that Zhu Ying wanted him to accept Zhang Shou, but Zhang Shou wanted him to accept another kid with poor calligraphy but who could do a lot of math problems in an orderly manner. He stared at Zhang Shou for a long time, but he didn't see any reluctance in his eyes, only full of sincerity, and he couldn't help but snorted.
"Yingying, stop speaking for him. This brat is so ungrateful! At first, your father begged me to let me teach a younger generation here for him. I have lived in this drafty bamboo house for several months. But this stupid brat didn't even come to visit. Only those ignorant children in the village came to watch the fun!"
"Hey, I even walked around the village mysteriously wearing a hat and veil a few times! And he wasn't curious at all!"
At this moment, Zhang Shou could no longer hold back his expression - he was thinking, with Duke Zhao's meticulous and watertight style, how could he just leave his "future son-in-law" in the countryside and ignore him? It turns out that he had already made the most suitable arrangements!
But Zhang Shou in the past...he actually missed the most glittering and brightest road to success!
Seeing Zhang Shou's extremely embarrassed expression, Zhu Ying, who saw him like this for the first time, finally couldn't help but burst out laughing. Then, she smiled and asked Ge Yong, "Grandpa Ge, what happened next?"
"What do you mean later? You have no spirituality at all. When you heard that a hermit had come to the village, you didn't even come to watch the fun. Then you asked me, an old man, to find an opportunity to recruit a disciple. Am I going to be a hermit in that bamboo forest with wind blowing in from all sides, eating wind and drinking dew for the rest of my life? I can't just come to your house and say that you have a special talent and want you to be my student? That would be too superficial!"
"Since we were not destined to be together , I packed my luggage with my servants and returned to Beijing, and then I scolded your father severely!"
Seeing Zhang Shou touching his nose with a wry smile, Zhu Ying couldn't help but laugh so hard that she shook with laughter.
I really want to see how embarrassed my father was back then. He wanted to scold Zhang Shou for being stupid, but he was embarrassed because they were dozens of miles apart!
After venting his anger by scolding someone, Ge Yong's face finally calmed down, but his expression seemed a little subtle.
"It's just that I was asked to do so. Before I left, I left a box of books in the bamboo house, including the Analects, Spring and Autumn Annals, and ten mathematical books. I thought that if he had the chance to learn a little bit, it would mean that your father's request to me was not in vain. But I really didn't expect that the boy didn't even show up when I was here, but after I left, he could actually find those books and learn them by himself."
"Not only did he learn without a teacher, he also solved so many different problems. It's no exaggeration to say that he is a math genius. The most unexpected thing is that this time he pretended to accept students, and he was dressed similarly to me back then!"
"What a coincidence! If I hadn't been unable to bear the nagging of Shuntian Prefecture Governor Wang Datou, I would have helped him come up with a few math questions to embarrass those boys who wanted to take the civil service exam. As a result, a young man from Rongshui Village actually answered all the questions. After I marked the papers, I found out that he was Zhang Shou's student. Zhang Shou told him that he learned all the classics, history, and math from an old gentleman who passed by."
"After asking around, I found out that Zhang Shou was in poor health for a while and rarely went out. As a result, I sent people out to inquire about Rongshui Village, and I heard the news that you, Xiao Yingying, spread. That's why I came here specially yesterday!"
"Well, if that's the case, Zhang Shou has actually been my student for a long time!"
Facing Zhu Ying's surprised and happy look, and remembering that he once told her that he had learned classics, history and mathematics from an old gentleman, Zhang Shou was truly shocked this time.
What the hell is going on here! When did he ever find those secret books of mathematics that Ge Yong mentioned?
Could it be that when he was renovating Qingfeng Xulaitang, the books in the box were unsealed and then decayed and turned into pieces of paper?
How should he explain this beautiful misunderstanding?
