Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 147: Good and evil will be rewarded, Lu San is a difficult person
There was no food allowance, no textbook fees, so Zhang Shou finally made a compromise and finally asked Zhou Xun for ten dormitories for the students. As for how the other party could vacate the rooms, he was too lazy to care.
Once again confirming that Zhou Xun had no support, Zhang Shou thought to himself, fortunately he had anticipated this bad situation, and now he was just coming here to fulfill the final procedure, otherwise he would have nothing in the future, and what was the point of attending classes? Fortunately, he had the support of Lu Sanlang, the rich monk, and he could think of ways to turn things around.
Seeing Zhang Shou bowing without saying a word and then turning to leave, Zhou Xun knew that he was either evading or refusing, and this attitude was indeed a bit unreasonable, so he quickly stopped him and said, "Dr. Zhang, since you are still in charge of Banshan Hall, the students there are either rich or noble. Since they are in awe of you, you only need to say a word, books and rice and so on..."
Before Zhou Xun could finish his words, Zhang Shou said in a deep voice: "The Grand Secretary is wrong. Since we are all students, we have equal status. How can we accept financial support from others for no reason? A gentleman does not accept charity. Maybe the future students of Jiuzhang Hall may not all be gentlemen, but if they are inferior to others as soon as they enter school, it will not be easy for them to stand up straight in the future."
He turned around and saw that Zhou Xun looked a little uncomfortable, so he bowed and said, "I'll find a way to deal with this matter. Thank you, Dasicheng, for your concern!"
Coming out of the east room, Zhang Shou saw the group of school officials outside, all of them looking at their noses and minds, as if they were working seriously . He couldn't help but laugh to himself.
He had taken the time out of his noon to come here for routine reporting - to avoid embarrassing his superiors if he got into trouble later - but all these people in front of him didn't go to eat and were standing outside. Didn't they just want to know his purpose and watch the fun? He nodded slightly and then strode out of the doctoral hall.
I didn't count on official resources in the first place, and now I can completely give up!
Returning to his temporary residence, Zhang Shou pushed the door open and saw a table filled with all kinds of dishes. The fat boy Lu Sanlang was drooling over it, and when he saw him, he hurried over to greet him.
"A Liu just sent it over, saying it was specially prepared by the Duke of Zhao's Mansion." After explaining this , Lu Sanlang asked expectantly, "What did the Grand Master say? Should we do something about the day when the Jiuzhang Hall reopens for classes?"
"Do it properly? It's better to just leave it alone!" Zhang Shou lazily sat down at the table and roughly repeated the conversation between him and Zhou Xun. Seeing Lu Sanlang's disappointed face, he pointed at the food on the table with chopsticks, motioning for him to sit down and eat together, and then ordered, "Prepare the teaching materials first. But don't worry, I won't take them for nothing."
Even if it's free, I don't mind this little bit of money... Didn't you give away my books for free last time?
Lu Sanlang thought so in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He just nodded repeatedly.
"As for the first day of classes, registration will be in the morning, and classes will start in the afternoon. Before that, you, as the head of the hall, should establish your authority." Zhang Shou said with a fake smile, "As for guests, don't invite any openly. I can just tell the teacher when I go to Ge's house one night."
When they returned to the cell at night, Ah Liu sneaked in and reported the results of the cases that had been handled in the Shuntian government office during the day.
The young eunuch who framed him actually confessed in court that he was instructed by Zheng Huai'en, and was then severely beaten with 80 sticks and sent to the imperial mausoleum to plant trees; Liu Cangjiang and Ma Shiye were sentenced to immediate execution without any surprise; as for Zhao Yuan, Qin Yuan and other random people, they were sentenced to various punishments, from flogging to caning. And Zheng Huai'en, who was born in the royal family and whom Zhang Shou was most curious about, happened to run into Wang Jie's target.
That dignified Shuntian prefect ignored the plea of the father of Zheng Huai'en, the grandson of Emperor Yingzong and now the heir to the title and king, and used the emperor's imperial decree that he was in charge of the case as evidence to sentence Zheng Huai'en to 20 strokes of the cane, beating him to death.
That’s not all. Wang Jie threatened to report to the emperor and remove Zheng Huai’en from the clan register, and his words sounded very convincing - after all, Sihe Wang, you have more than one son!
Hearing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but wonder if the emperor had seen through Wang Datou's strengths and therefore threw all the problems to him?
Since Wang Datou had sorted out everything, he let it go. When the morning came on the day when Jiuzhang Hall reopened for classes, when he started a new day of classes in Banshan Hall as usual, Lu Sanlang and Qi Liang had a clear division of labor.
Qi Liang directed the servants to clean the inside and outside of Jiuzhang Hall and check the arrangement of tables and chairs. Lu Sanlang was waiting under the university archway early. After all, he knew everyone as he followed Zhang Shou throughout the interview.
He took special care of his appearance today.
Although theoretically only students could live in the Imperial College's dormitory and not family members or even servants, he had his own way. He simply arranged for two personal servants to rent a house nearby. They pretended to be family members when they visited him every day, but in fact they took care of his daily life throughout the whole process and went to sleep in the rented house at night.
Therefore, under the careful care of the two servants, the chubby boy now looked radiant and looked very good. He also fully demonstrated his ability to speak to people in a way that suits them and to speak to ghosts in a way that suits them. No matter how others behaved when they saw him, he could calmly say a lot of welcoming words and then tell the servants to take them to Jiuzhang Hall.
He had originally expected to stand for the entire morning, but to his surprise, all twenty-one admitted students arrived extremely early, and everyone was there in less than two quarters of an hour.
"Didn't the teacher say that you can come any time in the morning? Why are you in such a hurry?"
"It's better to hurry up sooner rather than later. What if Doctor Zhang is testing us?" Yan Fang, who was not young, panted for a while before whispering, "I never thought I could enter the Imperial College in my life. Now that I can join it, how can it be too late?"
Lu Sanlang had always disagreed with the title of "Jiansheng" and even sneered at it. Although it was still difficult to understand at this time, when he thought about Yan Fang's family background mentioned by Zhang Shou, he finally did not laugh at him.
"Okay, you're the last one, everyone else is here." Seeing Yan Fang's face change slightly, he said unhappily, "Don't think too much, the teacher is still giving a lecture in the hall halfway up the mountain, so it really doesn't matter if you arrive early or late, as long as you arrive before the afternoon class starts. By the way, the students of the Imperial College now have no stipends, no meals, and no books. The teacher only needs to come to ten dormitories."
Yan Fang nodded calmly, "I am from the capital, so of course I know the difficulties of the Imperial College. It is enough to have a place to live. I just sold my ancestral house, and the money should be enough for me to study in the Imperial College."
Even though Lu Sanlang had tried to figure out Zhang Shou's intentions before accepting Yan Fang's gift, he still couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at this moment.
"Aren't you afraid that you'll invest so much money but still not see any future?"
"In my life, Dr. Zhang is the first person who, knowing that I had done something wrong, still gave me a book and encouraged me with a friendly face."
Is Zhang Shou really that good?
Although Lu Sanlang admired Zhang Shou's mathematical talent and skills to the extreme, and he also had a high opinion of Zhang Shou's way of dealing with people, he never thought that Zhang Shou was a good person - in his mind, good people and good-for-nothings were equated. So, he stared at Yan Fang for a long time, and finally laughed.
"It's a courageous decision to walk across the single-plank bridge. Okay, okay, let's go!"
When Lu Sanlang brought Yan Fang to the Jiuzhang Hall, he saw Yan Fang looking up at the newly renovated Jiuzhang Hall and the plaque inscribed by Taizu covered with red cloth and hanging high in the center. His face was clearly excited. He then looked at the other students who were still in front of the Jiuzhang Hall and had not yet entered.
There is no doubt that compared with those noble children in Banshan Hall who do not like to abide by the rules, most of the people here have suffered hardships and setbacks, so they are extremely cautious and abide by the rules.
But Lu Sanlang was not willing to let all these people follow the rules. He walked to the front, stood under the plaque of Jiuzhang Hall, and cleared his throat vigorously.
"This Jiuzhang Hall was reopened by the Emperor's order, and the enrollment was also based on the Emperor's order. So no matter what you were like in the past, you are all students of Jiuzhang Hall now. The teacher is still teaching in Banshan Hall. He is a very easy-to-talk person and has only one goal for his students. Study hard and make progress every day!"
He had heard Zhang Shou say these eight words, so he directly pointed out the main idea and then began to introduce himself: "As for me, I am the head of the hall selected by the teacher himself. I know that some of you are older than me, and you probably think that you are more knowledgeable than me. If you want to replace me, it's very simple. You ask a question and I answer it, and I ask a question and you answer it."
Lu Sanlang held his head high and said, "Whoever falls behind by two questions will lose. Who wants to try?"
Yan Fang, who had been tortured by cruel reality many times and had been sweating profusely when asked by Lu Sanlang on the day of the interview, naturally had no desire to compete. However, Lu Sanlang's round, fat head and big ears were too deceptive . Although many people recognized him as the one who accompanied Zhang Shou on the day of the interview, they all thought he was the kind of rich kid who was well fed all day.
But even so, no one dared to step forward rashly.
This kind of situation without any challenge was not what Lu Sanlang wanted at all. He frowned unhappily and said, "There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. The same is true for calculations! Many of you are not young anymore. If you are not confident in your own talents and want to make further progress, why would you try so hard to take the Jiuzhang Hall entrance exam?"
After being provoked by him, a scholar in shabby clothes stepped forward and said loudly: "Okay, then I'll do it!"
"Now there is a bamboo with nine sections. The lower three sections can hold four liters, and the upper four sections can hold three liters. How much can the two middle sections hold equally?"
Hearing this question, Lu Sanlang was speechless. Was this a challenge? Or was it a deliberate flattery?
He sneered unhappily, "I can recite the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art backwards, but you dare to test me with a question that is right out of the sixth volume of the Equalization of Numbers?"
"The first one is twenty-nine of sixty-six liters. The next one is twenty-two of sixty-six liters. The next one is fifteen of sixty-six liters. The next one is eight of sixty-six liters. The next one is one of sixty-six liters. The next one is sixty of sixty-six liters. The next one is fifty-three of sixty-six liters. The next one is forty-six of sixty-six liters. The next one is thirty-nine of sixty-six liters."
He recited the numbers as if he knew them by heart. Seeing the scholar's surprised face, he said unhappily, "Let me ask you, a carriage pulled by a poor horse can travel 40 miles a day. It has been ahead for two days. A carriage pulled by a good horse can travel 80 miles a day. How long will it take to catch up with the carriage in front?"
"This... will only take two days!" The scholar calculated carefully for a while and finally gave the answer. But before he could ask the next question, Lu Sanlang revealed a sinister grin.
"That's right! So if we change it, there are three carriages, A, B, and C, each traveling from the capital to Tongzhou at a certain speed. Carriage B starts a quarter of an hour later than Carriage C, and catches up with Carriage C half an hour after starting. Carriage A starts two quarters of an hour later than Carriage B, and catches up with Carriage C one hour and two quarters of an hour after starting. How many minutes does it take for Carriage A to catch up with Carriage B?"
He glanced at the scholar who was frowning and calculating, then said with a smile: "The rest of you can also calculate together. As long as you can figure it out, it will be considered as winning a problem from me. See, isn't this a good deal?"
Qi Liang, who had just brought in these twenty people, felt both amused and annoyed. It is said that one should not impose on others what one does not want others to do to him, but Lu Sanlang is simply such a person that he must let others have a taste of the suffering he has endured! When he first entered the Cuiyun Room, this pursuit problem simply tortured Lu Sanlang to exhaustion and distress. Now, it was Lu Sanlang's turn to torture others!
