Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 174: Each Looking for Elders
Is it so fast?
Lu Sanlang was dumbfounded at first, then his eyebrows lit up with joy, but suddenly Zhang Shou shook his head and said, "Yingying, you are too impatient."
Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows, feeling a little unconvinced, but Zhang Shou winked at her and said, "We have to put on a good show. If we just send him back like this, the scene where Lu Sanlang and Miss Liu are so well-coordinated will be ruined! So, we have to get Lu Sanlang back to the Imperial College to report to me, and then you and I will meet at the right time, so it will be more appropriate for us to help the Lu family to intercede for him."
That’s right, in this case, it would be perfect!
Lu Sanlang was immediately cheered up, and nodded heavily, "Yes, yes, yes, this is the best way to do it. I'll leave right now, right now!"
After he finished speaking, he pushed the table and stood up in a hurry, and rushed out of the teahouse without saying a word. Seeing this, Zhu Hong sent two people to follow him without thinking. Zhang Shou was simply angry and amused. Lu Sanlang, who was usually a very smart guy, was obviously stupid now that he had a good luck with love!
Of course, a bigger reason might be that having a strong father forcing one to get married is like a tiger chasing a fox. Even if the fox is smart, it cannot escape the tiger's claws, so once a savior appears, one will hug him without thinking.
Therefore, they called Zhu Ying, and a group of people quietly left from the back door and got on the carriage from another alley. Zhang Shou whispered, "Yingying, you'd better go to the palace tomorrow and explain what happened today."
"Are you going to the emperor to complain about the second prince?" Zhu Ying immediately became excited, but Zhang Shou's next words made her wilful.
"Of course not ! The eldest prince is here to complain, so you don't need to add insult to injury. On the contrary, you should tell the emperor that today was just an opportunity for Lu Sanlang and Miss Liu to meet and see if they like each other. So, we never expected that the second prince and the eldest prince would show up, and then things would be completely changed."
Seeing Zhu Ying was a little listless, Zhang Shou patiently explained, "Because Lu Sanlang was about to be forced into marriage by his father, and you also said that Miss Liu was her mother's plan behind the scenes, we planned this meeting on the spur of the moment, and we didn't plan it carefully, so there are actually many loopholes. So, instead of being discovered later and making trouble in front dowager, it's better for you to speak up first."
"As for me asking Lu Sanlang to go back, it may seem like a last resort, but that's for ordinary people to see, not for smart people to see."
"I know." Zhu Ying agreed sullenly, but she was furious. "It's all because of those two guys who got in the way! If it weren't for those two princes, tonight would just be a simple meeting, no big deal, but what a commotion just now! Forget it, let's not wait until tomorrow. There should be a small door left at the palace gate by now. I'll go into the palace and explain it all."
As she spoke, she looked at Zhang Shou and said, "You are Lu Sanlang's teacher, you go to the Lu family, so that I won't say anything unpleasant when I see Lu Wan's face! Ah Shou, I'm leaving first. Anyway, even if the second prince makes trouble to the emperor, the emperor will most likely side with me! Humph, the emperor is also my elder!"
Seeing Zhu Ying said this, she immediately stopped the carriage, got off the carriage and immediately got on her own mount. Zhang Shou, who was already used to her swift and decisive actions, had to lift the curtain and remind her: "Then when you go to the palace, be careful with your words!"
"It's not my first time in the palace, so of course I know what to say and what not to say!" Zhu Ying, who was on the horse, approached the car window and whispered, "But Ah Shou, you should be careful when you go to the Lu family. Lu Wan is a very troublesome person and he always talks nonsense!"
Zhang Shou nodded. Seeing that Zhu Hong had assigned four people to him, and he personally escorted Zhu Ying into the palace, he did not think about it any more. He sat alone in the car, thinking about how to deal with the Lu family when he returned, and whether he needed to go to the Ge Mansion to invite Ge Yong, the great Buddha. However, after thinking it over again and again, he finally gave up the idea.
Although he let Ge Yong take the blame time and time again, that was essentially a good thing. Now it was enough for him to do the thing that would offend the Second Prince!
In front of the Imperial College gate, he met Lu Sanlang, who had returned by a shortcut on horseback, and acted out a very casual scene of asking for help, which happened to catch the attention of Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, who had been busy with the rectification of academic atmosphere and had not returned home lately. Only then did Zhang Shou carry the fat boy, who was a little dizzy from being jolted by the fast horse, into the carriage and headed towards Lu's residence.
When the carriage started moving again, he heard the angry voice of Zhou Xun, the Imperial College Master, in the wind: "This Lu Zhu is simply a troublemaker! For such a big thing, even if Dr. Zhang accompanies him back, won't he be beaten to death by Minister Lu's family rules?"
Zhang Shou glanced at Lu Sanlang and saw that the fat boy, who must have heard what he said, was pretending to be calm, but from the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, he could tell that he was probably very upset. At that moment, he suddenly made a move, grabbed the fat boy's cheek and turned him half a circle.
“Hiss… It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!” Lu Sanlang actually screamed out after Zhang Shou let go of his hand. He then covered his face and gasped, “Young Master, don’t hit people in the face…”
"Who hit you? To prevent you from thinking this is a dream, I can only wake you up! First wipe the sweat off your forehead. It's so shiny that it can be used as a mirror!" Zhang Shou said this, and seeing Lu Sanlang wipe it with his sleeve, he said nonchalantly, "Why weren't you afraid when you were pretending to be a hero before?"
"Why not? In the past, when an unreasonable guy like the Second Prince showed up, I would definitely take a detour!" Lu Sanlang sighed, then straightened his chest and said, "But how can I be so cowardly in front of a girl? The fourth lady of the Liu family saw me before!" If they hadn't seen each other, he might have just slipped away...
That's right, most men will try their best to pretend to be fat in front of women...but Lu Sanlang doesn't need to pretend, he is already fat.
Zhang Shou was just thinking this when Lu Sanlang coughed again and said, "Besides, I still have you and Miss Zhu to help me. I have to act like a real man. If the sky falls, I have tall people like you to hold it up!"
" Oh, you wish! Aren't you afraid that I will tell Miss Liu your honest words?" Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh and cry.
"Sometimes you should be honest." Lu Sanlang smiled very honestly, "Otherwise, if she thinks that I am the kind of person who is fearless and rushes into battle in the future, that would be bad. I never cause trouble, but I am timid. But even rabbits will bite when they are cornered, let alone me?"
This kid!
Zhang Shou was simply amused and confused by this analogy. People like Lu Sanlang would shine wherever they were, and would be successful as long as they had the opportunity. Therefore, he felt that he didn't need to tell Lu Sanlang what to say after meeting Lu Wan, because the fat guy would definitely choose the statement that was most beneficial to him.
When the carriage finally stopped in front of the Lu Mansion, Zhang Shou found that compared with the last time he came, the Lu Mansion was now much more deserted. He certainly didn't think that this was because Lu Sanlang's father was fined because of the conspiracy between the Ministry of War and the Linhai Camp, so people didn't dare to come.
He had already figured out the common sense of the officialdom these days. Nowadays, officials are subject to a myriad of punishments. A governor-general might even be suddenly stripped of all his official positions and forced to serve in plain clothes because of a defeat or other crimes, but once the incident was over, all his official positions would basically be returned the same way they were taken. For officials in Beijing, a mere salary deduction or even demotion was more of a warning than a real punishment.
Sure enough, when he was about to get off the car, he caught a glimpse of Lu Sanlang, who had landed earlier, talking to a doorman who came forward to greet him.
"Third Young Master, the master has been back for a while. But because the Madam sent a message early that the master would not receive guests tonight, all visitors have been turned away. Third Young Master, please go to the upper room quickly. I heard that the eldest and second young masters were scolded away by the Madam, and it seems that the Madam and the master have even had an argument."
When he saw Zhang Shou getting off the car, the doorman suddenly realized what was going on and felt a little sorry for talking about the family affairs of the Lu family in front of outsiders. However, when Lu Sanlang patted his arm calmly and something suddenly fell into his hand, he was immediately delighted. So, when Lu Sanlang said that he had brought teacher Zhang Shou here and had something important to report to his parents, he just hesitated for a moment.
"Hurry up and report it. Just say you can't stop me. Don't worry about the rest!"
The doorman immediately understood that Lu Sanlang was rewarding him for explaining the whole story, so he instructed him to pass the blame to other doormen, so he turned around and ran away. Lu Sanlang, on the other hand, forced his way in with Zhang Shou without saying a word. Although some servants reacted and tried to stop them, they were all spitted on by Lu Sanlang without exception.
"I have something urgent to do. I need to take the teacher to see my parents. If we are delayed, you can't afford the compensation even if you die ten times!"
When he met the cronies of his father and two brothers, he threatened them. When he met the people he had bribed in the past, he spent money to make way for them. Relying on this combination of soft and hard tactics, Lu Sanlang and Zhang Shou ran rampant in the Lu Mansion and arrived at the courtyard of Mrs. Lu Zhen before the informant. The gatekeeper who took Lu Sanlang's money went to find the housekeeper first, tacitly delaying time.
Here, Lu Sanlang would naturally not encounter any obstacles. Although Jin Mama, who was guarding the gate, was surprised, she immediately gave way when she heard Lu Sanlang say that it was urgent. Almost at the same time, Lu Wan's roar could be heard from inside the house.
"Lu Zhu is also my son. Would I harm him? I didn't tell you because loving mothers often spoil their children..."
"A loving mother often spoils her son? I am a mother who is strong because of her son! If I hadn't protected him all these years, would you have strangled this disappointing son to death? But now everyone knows that my Sanlang is a talented man praised by the emperor and Grand Tutor Ge! Lu Wan, you have read so many books by sages, don't you know that judging a person by his appearance will lead to the loss of Ziyu?"
His mother had always been a person of virtue, but at this moment she spoke a sentence from the Analects of Confucius. Lu Sanlang was surprised and moved. Even Zhang Shou could not help but marvel at the sharpness of Zhen's words when she became tough.
But at this moment, he knew that if he and Lu Sanlang continued to listen like this, Lu Wan would definitely be furious when she knew it, so he immediately winked at Lu Sanlang.
Although Lu Sanlang really wanted to see how his mother would continue to confront his father, he certainly understood the truth that Zhang Shou understood, so he could only come to the door of the house in a huff and said loudly: "Dad, Mom, I have something important to discuss with you!"
At almost the same time, the eldest and second princes also arrived in front of Kunning Palace. They looked at each other, snorted angrily, and turned their heads away.
