Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 160: The Real Little Black Room
In the evening, when Zhang Shou got off the bus in front of the Imperial College, he found that Lu Sanlang had been waiting under the archway of the university. Thinking that the fat boy would be teaching in the afternoon, he was about to ask, but Lu Sanlang rushed over anxiously.
"Young sir, it's urgent. My mother just sent me a message secretly, saying that my father has chosen a girl from an unknown family for me and is about to prepare for the engagement!" Lu Sanlang had a sad face, and he looked like he was in a bad state. "I didn't expect him to be so anxious. If I don't find a solution, I'm going to fall into a fire pit!"
Zhang Shou was greatly surprised. He had dealt with Lu Sanlang's father, Minister of War Lu Wan, twice, and felt that he was a cunning and sly official. No matter what grudges he had with Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing, when he found out that his youngest son, whom he had always ignored, had become a mathematical genius praised by the emperor himself, he would not change his attitude immediately, but at least he would not easily cheat his son.
Besides, marrying a daughter-in-law is not marrying a daughter. She will live with the Lu family in the future. If you marry a troublesome daughter-in-law, and there will be quarrels in the future, will Lu Wan not have a headache? However, he couldn't help but laugh when he heard what Lu Sanlang shouted next.
"I don't like those kind of virtuous women. I can't stand my mother's personality, which is that she always listens to my father! In fact, Miss Zhu's straightforward personality is quite good, but she is too fierce. Except for you, young master, no one can stand it. Besides, if a virtuous woman meets someone like me who is so reckless, she will probably be pissed to death in a few days!"
You also know that you will make people mad?
Seeing Zhang Shou staring at him from head to toe, Lu Sanlang's righteous momentum gradually weakened, and he muttered in a low voice: "Although blind marriages may not necessarily lead to resentment, there are still many couples who treat each other like ice after marriage - that is, ice in ice - and I don't want to have a headache when I think about going home after getting married. Anyway, young master, please help me!"
As if he was afraid that his words were not enough to impress Zhang Shou, he added: "Since you stole my fiancée and became my teacher, you have to help me too!"
The excuse you came up with is simply... you think I won't hit you with a ruler, right?
Zhang Shou didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Yingying has already helped you to arrange a match, who knew your father would be so impatient! Okay, I'll ask Liu to send her a message later. By the way, I finally made some time to come here, where is the craftsman you promised me?"
"Needless to say, I have already invited all those people here, provided them with good food and drink, and provided them with a big house to live in. I'm waiting for you to come and see them whenever you are free, young master." When Lu Sanlang saw that Zhang Shou had agreed, he immediately went to inform Zhu Ying, and the anxiety on his face disappeared immediately - needless to say, the fat guy was three parts anxious and seven parts pretending.
Matters like marriage take several days to discuss. Given his reputation, any family that wants to marry their daughter to him would have to make inquiries for a while. So as long as Miss Zhu is decisive, she should be able to make it.
After hearing what Lu Sanlang said, Zhang Shou looked at the sky and immediately said with a smile: "Then how about this, it's better to do it today than to wait for a better day. You should accompany me to meet these people now."
"Now?" Lu Sanlang looked up at the sky that was about to get dark, and couldn't help but stammer, "What if Miss Zhu comes to see you, or Duke Zhao's mansion comes to deliver dinner..."
Before he finished speaking, Ah Liu's calm voice came from the side: "The eldest lady has gone to check the accounts, and no one will deliver dinner tonight."
Zhang Shou smiled immediately, "Yes, I heard that Yingying has been doing accounting in the shop of Duke Zhao's mansion these days. It was an accident last night. She may not be free to come to me today. As for sending food, Ah Liu said there was no one, so there was definitely no one. In this case, I will go to your place and have a meal. You can't say that you have money and a bookstore, but you can't afford to treat me to a meal, right?"
"How can this be possible?" Lu Sanlang smiled apologetically but complained in his heart.
How could Zhang Shou launch such a surprise attack? He had no prior preparations. This was going to cause big problems!
However, Zhang Shou, who saw Lu Sanlang's resistance, would never give the fat boy a chance to shirk or even perfunctorily deal with him? In addition, with Ah Liu beside him, he easily suppressed Lu Sanlang's last bit of dying struggle and carried him to the carriage.
Along the way, Lu Sanlang smiled and made various excuses. He said that the bookshop where he hired the craftsmen was located in a remote area and it was inconvenient to go there; he also said that he had to send a letter to his manager and his assistants first, asking them to prepare delicious food; he also said that his mother was still waiting for his reply, so he had to find a servant to send back home... But no matter what the excuse was, Zhang Shou blocked it calmly.
Zhang Shou could see that there was something wrong with the place where the fat man claimed to provide good food, drink and good houses for the craftsmen. Otherwise, why would he keep trying to find a way to send the letter first?
Sure enough, under Lu Sanlang's dejected guidance, Zhang Shou discovered that the carriage was heading all the way south. If he hadn't known that the gates of the inner city of the capital would be closed at night, he would have thought that Lu Sanlang was going to take him to the outer city!
Finally, the carriage stopped in an alley near the city wall. As soon as the driver opened the door, Lu Sanlang jumped out, his eyes rolling around, and he didn't know whether he wanted to escape or had some bad idea. But before he could move, a person next to him blocked his way without a word. When he saw clearly that it was Ah Liu, he immediately wilted.
Does he want to die by fighting against this mute boy with superb skills?
So, under Ah Liu's watchful escort... escort, Lu Sanlang could only bite the bullet and walk to the gate of a courtyard and ring the door knocker. In just three knocks, the two black lacquered doors opened. A middle-aged man with a rat-like face poked his head out, and when he recognized Lu Sanlang, he immediately opened the door with a smile on his face.
"Sir, you are here? Are you here to read this issue's manuscript? Don't worry, we brothers will take turns to look at it. After you finish writing, you will have delicious food and drinks, and everything you want. If you can't write, don't even think about leaving the small dark room, just stay in there and die..."
Lu Sanlang was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body. However, when he wanted to stop this guy who couldn't read people's expressions, Ah Liu stared at him coldly. He didn't even dare to wink at him, let alone say anything to stop him. It was not until he realized that if he didn't stop him, something bad might happen that he steeled his heart and shouted, "What nonsense!"
Seeing that the middle-aged doorman finally realized something was wrong and hurriedly stopped talking, Lu Sanlang just breathed a sigh of relief when a voice came from behind him: "Why don't you let him continue? I'm curious, Lu Zhu, you said that you hired a lot of scholars to write the book, is that how it was written?"
Lu Sanlang turned around and saw that Zhang Shou's expression was still as gentle as before, but he didn't dare to take it lightly. Because he knew very well that since he expressed his deep disgust for his scientific name, Zhang Shou would never call him by his name unless in certain occasions. But now he called him directly, which showed that Zhang Shou was angry about what the idiot said just now!
"Young sir, please listen to my explanation. I provide food and lodging, and pay them according to the word. I really didn't pay them a penny less! But some people are really lazy. When they have money, they refuse to write a single word. They indulge in wine and women and waste money without restraint. They don't know how to restrain themselves at all. When they are really out of money, they plan to make a comeback, but by then it's too late to continue the previous article."
As he spoke, he observed Zhang Shou's face. Seeing that he didn't show any reaction, he could only bite the bullet and continue: "So, several books that were popular among candidates and ladies were abandoned halfway. I learned from my mistakes and decided to provide food and accommodation, recruit people to my place, and provide them with good food and drink every day, on the premise that they can concentrate on writing books..."
Although Lu Sanlang's explanation was very convincing, Zhang Shou would not be fooled at all.
Isn't it the real little black room? When Lu Sanlang made that decision, he must have been possessed by the resentment of countless netizens in later generations , right? Of course, if we want to blame someone, we should probably blame Emperor Taizu for creating this method of irregular serialization. Of course, Journey to the West was born in troubled times, and the common people at that time probably didn't have time to read books...
Zhang Shou ignored Lu Sanlang and walked straight in. The middle-aged doorman who had just realized that he had done something wrong wanted to stop him, but was glared at by Ah Liu who was following Zhang Shou. He immediately took three steps back and watched the master and servant pass him and enter the yard. That was not all. When Lu Sanlang hurriedly chased him in, he angrily scolded him.
"idiot!"
After scolding him, Lu Sanlang chased after Zhang Shou again: "Young sir, listen to my explanation! I will prepare whatever those scholars like. Fine wine, delicious food, gorgeous clothes and beautiful utensils... As long as they work hard to write, they will have everything... Really, they now have houses and land under their names..."
Zhang Shou couldn't help laughing secretly. But at this moment, a door was suddenly kicked open, and a sturdy man rushed out: "I quit! I have a mountain of carpentry work to do at home, I don't have time to wait here, no matter how much money you give me! I am not one of those weak scholars, if you don't let me go, I will beat you all the way out!"
After saying this, the sturdy man saw the three young men coming towards him. He immediately spotted the handsome and elegant young man in the middle, and immediately rushed towards Zhang Shou, stretched out his big hand and wanted to grab him, shouting: "Can you, the Minister, just hold someone captive? Some of the fine wooden furniture in my house was ordered by the elders..."
However, his outstretched hand was eventually grabbed by someone else, and then, without even feeling anything, he was lifted into the air. It was not until he heard the voice of Ah Liu that he realized that he was falling suddenly, and then sat down lightly on the ground. As soon as he was filled with fear and utter utter dismay, he saw the handsome young man squatting in front of him.
"Uncle, are you a carpenter?"
