Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 184: The Miss Who Tipped Off the News
When Zhu Ying excitedly walked through a door along the corridor, she saw Zhang Shou walking out from the other end at a leisurely pace. He was wearing an ordinary green official uniform, just like a willow tree sprouting new buds in spring, full of lush green, which was pleasing to the eye at first glance. Facing this scene, her eyebrows curved and she unconsciously smiled.
"A Shou!"
Zhang Shou saw the girl running towards him briskly, so he smiled and walked forward to greet her: "Yingying, thank you for your hard work!"
Zhu Ying was so happy to hear such a simple "thank you for your hard work" and said with a smile: "It's not hard at all if you say that! Besides, I slept well in the palace last night, and I didn't have to get up early in the morning, so I slept in!"
After a few words of idle chatter, she suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit and hurried forward. Seeing that the servants of the Liu Mansion had tactfully avoided them, she was very satisfied and immediately motioned Zhang Shou to come closer. Then she whispered, "After the court meeting was over and the emperor returned to the Qianqing Palace, he had the Second Prince, that annoying guy, tied up in the yard and personally supervised the execution, beating him with thirty sticks!"
hiss--
Zhang Shou took a deep breath and was truly amazed. The emperor actually got so angry that he used the family law!
Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows proudly: "The eldest prince even pretended to beg for mercy in front of the emperor, but the second prince got angry and insisted that it was the eldest prince who leaked the news and instigated him to cause trouble for Liu Qing. The emperor didn't say whether he believed it or not, but said that if you ask for mercy, you will have to share the hardship, and even the eldest prince was punished with ten strokes of the board. The queen came to plead for mercy in person, and she was beaten, but the emperor still blamed her for not teaching her well!"
When she said the last sentence, Zhu Ying lowered her voice. It didn't matter if she said bad things about the two princes, everyone knew that she never had to look at them straight in the eye, but she couldn't say bad things about the queen... Although the queen's family was a thing of the past, as the queen who was the mother of the country, she had to show some respect. Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of surprise, she winked at him secretly.
"The Emperor personally supervised the execution. The two guys who wanted to fake a fight to curry favor with Kunning Palace were exposed, and they both received a good beating. The eldest prince was better off. The Emperor said that since he was protecting his brother, he should be tied up with the second prince, and ten strokes of the cane would be a lesson for him. The second prince's buttocks and legs were broken !"
"The emperor hasn't used family discipline for several years. I remember that he used to beat them until they cried for their parents!"
Zhang Shou was quite surprised to hear Zhu Ying's words: "Oh? The Emperor actually beat the eldest and second princes before?"
"At that time, they were still young. When they were pushing each other, they accidentally broke a vase, but they framed each other and neither of them admitted it. As a result, the emperor was so angry that he took the handle of the whisk and beat them both on the buttocks. When the queen came, she cried bitterly. Although there were many such messes between the two of them later, the emperor was too lazy to care about them and mostly left them to the queen to deal with."
At this point, Zhu Ying sneered, "It was only when the two of them instigated each other over the matter of being crowned kings last time that the emperor got angry and confined them to the palace for three full months that they seemed to have calmed down a little. As a result, it has only been a short time since these brothers were released, and this time they caused such an unheard-of incident. Liu Qing is really unlucky!"
At this point, she moved closer to Zhang Shou again and whispered, "Oh, Ah Shou, I have something to ask of you. Which student in Banshan Hall do you think has a good personality and is more reliable? I promised Princess Deyang that I would help her find a husband to spend her life with, but look at the mess it is now. I am too embarrassed to go see her if I can't get it done!"
Zhang Shou had never heard Zhu Ying mention this before. He was stunned for a moment, then he burst out laughing and said, "You are trying to matchmake Lu Sanlang this time. Do you know that the girl from the Liu family you matched up with was originally the future daughter-in-law that Minister Lu was going to choose?"
"Ah?" Zhu Ying was stunned. When Zhang Shou explained the whole story to her in a low voice, she was so angry that she banged her fist on her head. Zhang Shou quickly grabbed her wrist, but let go in an instant. She said angrily, "Lu Wan, that old fox, is so cunning!"
Originally thought to be a very successful matchmaking, but in the end found out that Lu Wan had already decided on the Liu family, Miss Zhu couldn't help but feel that the boss was boring and even a little frustrated. But Zhang Shou's teasing immediately made her put aside her little annoyance, and turned her anger into joy, smiling.
"If you take over all this kind of matchmaking work in the future, will those ladies who are responsible for going from house to house and talking to people for matchmaking still have a way to live? Since you have agreed to Princess Deyang's matter, I think she must be a good girl. Do you have any other requirements? If not, I am not bragging, but Zhang Chen and Zhang Wu are both good."
"Everyone knows that the melons in your hand, Shou, are the most popular! The news that Lu Sanlang scolded Minister Zhao of the Ministry of War for being a bunch of crap has spread, and his endless narration of calculations has stunned the elders. Even people in Qingning Palace are talking about it. Many people say that like teacher, like disciple. You are indeed your disciple!"
After praising him, Zhu Ying frowned and said, "Isn't Zhang Chen suitable? He is of too high a status, he may not be willing to marry the Lord. Besides, even if he is willing, his father may not agree. Zhang Wu is a bastard... But it doesn't matter. Zhang Wu is a motivated person with a good personality. Wasn't he the first one to come and see you that night in Cuiyun Room? So, you can go back and test his attitude..."
Zhu Ying happily whispered about Princess Deyang's temperament and personality. Zhang Shou listened with a smile and asked questions from time to time. When they were about to reach Minister Liu's study, he suddenly stopped and asked, "I almost forgot. You are here to see the fourth daughter of the Liu family, right? Do you want to go in and see Minister Lu and Minister Liu with me?"
"Uh... I'm not going!" Zhu Ying stopped immediately. Although she was familiar with Liu Qing's father, Minister Liu, she didn't want to see Lu Wan, that old fox! But just as she was about to turn around and avoid him, she suddenly remembered another important matter, and quickly slipped back, saying to Zhang Shou unhappily: "It's all because of you, Shou, you always change the subject. I almost forgot the main thing because of you!"
Zhang Shou was immediately confused. Miss, your thoughts jump too quickly, is this my fault?
"The Emperor said that in the future, when the princes and members of the royal family choose their concubines and wives, they must choose from officials below the seventh rank. Moreover, blood relatives within five generations and in-laws within three generations will not be selected from the incumbent Grand Secretaries, Ministers, Vice Ministers, and Governors-General of various regions. Cabinet Minister Wu has already drafted the edict in person, so I am not leaking secrets. Hey, I finally let out a sigh of relief!"
The second prince thought his third-rank official position was too low? In the future, his father-in-law would be a seventh-rank official at most! Zhang Shou understood the emperor's intention and felt that the emperor really did whatever he wanted in some aspects.
However, he knew that the selection criteria for concubines in the middle and late Ming Dynasty were lower than this, so the possibility of foreign relatives causing trouble for the country was greatly reduced, but it was almost wishful thinking to expect the concubines to teach their children well. However, he had just revealed a subtle expression of disapproval when he was shocked by Zhu Ying's whispered theory of child brides.
Zhu Ying specifically stated that these were the exact words she heard the emperor say to the empress dowager, and then added two more sentences.
"So, Ah Shou, if you weren't so outstanding, the emperor wouldn't have thought of this. But I tell the emperor, Ah Shou, you are not a child son-in-law. You are self-taught by reading Grandpa Ge's book. You are good because you have good talent and good character. My father at most paid a little money, but your mother helped me and Concubine Yu in the past, so you deserve it!"
Zhang Shou smiled again. How could such a girl who always stood by him not be lovable?
"Then I have to be better in the future, otherwise, won't people laugh at you for having poor taste?"
Zhu Ying was stunned at first, but then her eyes were filled with joy. She smiled at Zhang Shou happily, then turned around and left. Obviously, she was going to see her best friend who had experienced great joy, anger, and great joy again from last night to today.
When Zhang Shou returned to the study room of Liu's mansion, he did not mention the topics such as the two princes' punishment and marriage that Zhu Ying had just revealed. Zhu Ying did not hide anything from him because she trusted him, but he did not need to discuss such topics in front of two strangers who were not related to him. Of course, if the extremely smart Lu Sanlang was here, he might have revealed a little.
Lu Wan and Minister Liu, who had just reached a further agreement, also did not mention Zhu Ying's visit to Liu's house, but went straight to Zhang Shou first, and even seemed to have forgotten such an important visitor, and only warmly thanked Zhang Shou for his help in the marriage between the two families. After several rounds of such official speeches, Liu Qing came out to pay his respects, and then he left on the pretext of returning to the Imperial College to teach.
Minister Liu insisted on seeing him off, and Lu Wan also said with a smile that it was time to go back to the Ministry of War, so Zhang Shou and the two of them went to the gate of Liu's house. After saying goodbye to Minister Liu, seeing Lu Wan smiling and pointing at the carriage of Lu's house, Zhang Shou smiled and declined, saying, "I'm going to the Imperial College in the north, and Minister Lu is going back to the Ministry of War in the south. These are really going in opposite directions and are not on the same route at all. Let's go our separate ways. My carriage is here too."
Lu Wan saw Zhang Shou's famous young servant sitting expressionlessly in the driver's seat in front of another carriage, holding a box in his arms, and he immediately shut up. When they were riding back to Lu's house, Zhang Shou handed the box containing Taizu's relics to Liu as soon as he saw him at the door. He never asked for it back until Liu's house, which showed his trust in him.
Moreover, he also learned from his son Lu Sanlang that this person was a master...
Minister Lu, who was used to avoiding troublesome people and troublesome things, left in a hurry. When Zhang Shou came to Ah Liu, he saw someone jump off the shaft of the cart and hand him the box first, and then helped him get on the cart. He casually asked, "Have you seen what's in the box?"
"I haven't seen it." Ah Liu helped Zhang Shou get into the car steadily, and after closing the door and sitting back down, he waved his whip lightly with his back to the door, and then added in a deep voice, "I also locked the box."
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, then he couldn't help but scold with a smile: "Aren't you afraid that I will forget those fourteen words?"
"Just count it again."
Faced with this explanation that couldn't be more serious, Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel angry, but he quickly fiddled with the lock and soon opened the box. When he took out the watch inside, he stroked the knob on the right side of the dial and subconsciously turned it several times. When he found that the pointer began to move, he couldn't help but smile.
It’s actually a mechanical watch, and it still works. What quality!
Next, let's see what Taizu wrote in his last letter. Since the Thousand Character Classic was used to set the shift code, then Taizu's handwriting, which the emperor had obviously given up, wouldn't it also be a cipher?
