Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 186 You have to compensate me for my beauty!
When Zhang Shou stepped into Banshan Hall, he saw faces that looked like they wanted to die. That's right, they weren't sad, but they looked like they had no interest in life and were living a life worse than death. Only a few people were still writing furiously, pinching their fingers and mumbling something as if they were not going to give up. He even had to cough several times to finally get some people's attention back.
Zhang Chen, who was looking at people with a ruler in his hand, was the slowest to react. When he turned his head and saw that it was Zhang Shou who came back, he couldn't even put away his fierce expression immediately.
"I stayed at Lu's residence last night because of a small matter. I didn't expect to hear that I had to take Lu Sanlang to the court, so I didn't have time to tell you and missed half a day of class." Zhang Shou walked slowly to the podium. Seeing Zhang Chen was eager to give up his seat, he suddenly quickened his pace and walked forward to grab him. Then he smiled and said, "But I didn't expect that you, Zhang Chen, are so powerful."
Zhang Shou turned around and took a look at the various questions with ink dripping on the wooden shelf behind the podium. He smiled and said, "This is what I taught Zhang Chen and his classmates when they were studying mathematics with me in Cuiyun Room in Rongshui Village outside Beijing. Of course, there were too many questions at that time, and most people probably didn't remember them clearly, so it's not surprising that they got them wrong."
"And it's not surprising that you can't do it. After all, the compulsory courses in Banshan Hall are only history and nature, not mathematics. However , since Zhang Chen gave you so many questions today, and no one can solve five of them, and walk away with your head held high, enjoying a half-day holiday freely, then I have to say a few words."
After a pause, Zhang Shou continued, "As a local leader, you need to know how much land there is, how many people there are, how much tax there is, how many post roads there are, how many bridges and canals there are; as a commander, you need to know how many soldiers, horses, and weapons you have; as the head of a prefecture, you need to know how many slaves you have, how much your monthly income is, and how much your expenses are... Therefore, a basic understanding of mathematics is the foundation."
"Otherwise, if you are the chief officer of a region, you will be sidelined by the subordinates; if you are the chief general of a region, you will be controlled by the partiality; if you are the head of a prefecture, you will be easily deceived by the servants. Even if you may not really become an official in the future, I think you don't want to be played around by one or two servants. So, starting from tomorrow, every other day, you will naturally change to the arithmetic. Instead of talking about these complicated applications, you will talk about the practical application of the arithmetic."
Having said that, he smiled and recounted the "adventure" of Lu Sanlang last night, and then briefly talked about what happened in the court meeting this morning. As a result, except for the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince who were too young and only understood that the Second Prince was trying to be arrogant and was crushed instead, the others more or less understood what happened last night, and their expressions and reactions at this time were really wonderful.
Although he had been praised by the emperor, with Lu Sanlang's image and reputation, he was able to marry the pretty little girl of Liu Shilang's family? And he also received the emperor's reward and even promised to give him a name when they got married?
The most important thing is that Lu Sanlang confronted the Second Prince for this and even won!
If they could get a beautiful wife and the grace of the emperor, they would be willing to turn back! After all, isn't it because of this that they would return to Banshan Hall and serve as students?
Especially those noble children who had stayed in Cuiyun Room and were acknowledged by Ge Yong as Ge's disciples, they thought of the promise Zhang Shou had made to them - at that time they still thought Zhang Shou was a trusted aide to the Duke of Zhao's Mansion, recruiting them on behalf of Zhu Ying. That night, there were more than one or two people like Zhang Wu who received hints that they could be helped to find a good marriage!
Now that Lu Sanlang is so lucky, who knows if Zhang Shou is guiding and helping him behind the scenes?
Therefore, as Zhang Wu was the first to stand up and righteously expressed his support for the change of the curriculum, Zhang Chen suddenly realized and joined the ranks. In the huge Banshan Hall, there was no noise in the end, and everyone acquiesced to the temporary change of the curriculum. Even when Zhang Shou announced the early end of the class, many people not only did not leave, but also gathered around to inquire about the details of the court meeting.
Zhang Shou would never brag about this to anyone, so he just evaded the question and asked someone to ask Lu Sanlang, but he directly called Zhang Chen and left. He did not return to the doctoral hall, but took Zhang Chen to his own cell. After entering the room, he saw that everything was clean and tidy, and there was even a cattail bag on the table in the middle. He went up and opened the lid, and saw a pot of warm tea inside, so he knew that Ah Liu had been there.
Taking two cups from the tea tray on the other side, Zhang Shou casually poured a cup of tea and handed it to Zhang Chen. Seeing that Zhang Chen was stunned for a moment, he hurriedly took it. He then poured the tea and said, "You have established your authority as the head of the temple today, but you are so tough, aren't you afraid that others will hate you? Zhang Chen, Lu Sanlang is already engaged, what about you?"
"There are so many people who hate me, I don't have the time to care about so many." Zhang Chen answered the first question confidently, but when he heard the second question, his expression became extremely complicated.
After all, Lu Sanlang had proved with facts that he was just chasing Zhu Ying for show at first, but he had really admired the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao's mansion. Even now, whenever Zhu Ying appeared, he still thought she was dazzling.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally snorted: "My father is not anxious, why should I be anxious?"
Duke of Qin Zhang Chuan... His father was a civil servant who was a top counselor during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. At the court meeting today, Zhang Shou took a special look at the group of nobles and it seemed that there was such a person, but he was very low-key and there was almost no distinctive feature.
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, and then said calmly: "Yingying is addicted to matchmaking. After Lu Sanlang, she also wants to help those people in Cuiyun's room. Since you are not in a hurry, if you know of any girls that other people like, please tell me. If it is suitable, Yingying will come forward to help. I am looking for you for this matter, so you, the head of the temple, should pay more attention to it."
Zhang Chen was stunned. It was fine for the head monk to take care of Banshan Hall, but he also had to worry about other people's marriages? But when Zhang Shou said the next words, he was unconsciously moved.
"After all, there are too many people in Banshan Hall who were not . Rather than letting the families arrange inappropriate marriages for them out of interests, neglect, or oppression, so that they will feel resentful in the future, waste their lives, or do the wrong thing out of indignation, it is better to try to help."
After listening to these heartfelt words, Zhang Chen finally couldn't help but speak: "Actually, my father... Although I am his only son, I don't think he cares about me that much. People like Zheng Huai'en coaxed and forced their family members to go to the Duke of Zhao's mansion to ask for marriage, but he never took such action. He never cared what I was thinking!"
Having said that, he couldn't help but slam the table top hard. With a bang, the uncovered teacup began to buzz.
"He doesn't care who I want to marry!" He spat out these words painfully and sadly, and then suddenly laughed at himself, "Young sir, do you know? The wife of Duke Zhao had been living in seclusion before, and Duke Zhao actually had a concubine without a title, but my father only had my mother, and he didn't even have a concubine. But that's not because he and my mother have a harmonious relationship, but because he doesn't care about women at all!"
"It's like beautiful women and ugly women are all the same in front of him! He only has eyes for the growing collection of books at home, and his eyes never move away from those books. So, when I was a child, I thought, I must marry the most beautiful woman in the world for him to see. I don't believe he can be so righteous as not to take a look!"
Zhang Shou felt that his forehead was covered with sweat. What kind of logic is this? You marry a beautiful wife to make your father jealous?
Zhang Chen himself felt strange that he had never said anything to anyone before, but suddenly he said something that he had never said to anyone before. But then, another sentence came out of his mouth without even passing through his mind.
"Young Master, since you have taken Yingying away, you have to compensate me with a beautiful woman!"
Zhang Shou stared at Zhang Chen for a long time, and finally said casually: "Say it again?"
Zhang Chen cried out "bad" as soon as he said that, and Zhang Shou's casual tone made him feel a little nervous. But because of his innate pride, he still said, "Young Master, since you have helped Sanlang Lu find his lifelong love, you can't be partial to him! My father is not in a hurry to arrange a marriage for me, and I am not in a hurry either. But I must marry a beautiful woman with both talent and beauty!"
“That’s a nice thought!”
Zhang Shou laughed unhappily, "A beautiful woman with both talent and beauty, can her temperament match yours? Can you definitely be a happy couple? In the Book of Songs, Wei Feng, Shuo Ren, the wife of Duke Zhuang of Wei, Zhuang Jiang, was described as so beautiful that she could overwhelm the whole country. It is said that she was also good at poetry and writing, but in the end, how did she and Duke Zhuang of Wei get along? Aren't they still a pair of resentful couples!"
"That's because Duke Zhuang of Wei was violent and ruthless, and he didn't know how to cherish others. How many people would want a woman as beautiful and talented as Zhuang Jiang, but only a fool would discard her like a piece of trash." Zhang Chen couldn't help but slap the table and blurted out another thoughtless sentence, "For example, young master, if you meet a stunning beauty like Miss Zhu who loves you, would you not be tempted?"
The brat actually used me as an example, he really deserved a beating! Zhang Shou gave Zhang Chen a slap without even thinking about it. Seeing Zhang Chen jump away quickly after being hit, and then staring at him unconvinced, he almost wanted to say, I was not tempted at first... But thinking about how he had already gotten used to and accepted that lively and bright girl, he couldn't say anything.
He could only sneer and say, "If you want to marry a beautiful woman, you must have a goal. Otherwise, how can you two be attracted to each other? If the man has feelings for her and the woman has intentions, then it will be easy to match them up. Otherwise, it will be a blind marriage. When the veil is lifted, if you are satisfied and she is not, then you are still a couple of resentment."
"Since you have robbed Miss Zhu, then I...I want to marry Princess Yongping!" Zhang Chen suddenly had an idea and thought of Princess Yongping, who was as talented and beautiful as Zhu Ying. Seeing that Zhang Shou was not dumbfounded but looked at him up and down with a strange expression, he could not help but get angry and said, "I will definitely be the Duke of Qin in the future, how can I not be worthy of her!"
Thinking of Princess Yongping's Yuehua Tower literary gathering, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh: "Can you write eight-part essays?"
