Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 199 I'll Listen to You
Whisper...
Even though Zhu Ying was generous, she still couldn't help looking around for a moment, fearing that someone was hiding in the shadows and eavesdropping. When she turned around, her face turned slightly red and she said unhappily, "If you have something inappropriate for others to hear, couldn't you tell me first in Qing'an Hall? In an open-air place like this, who knows if anyone would have heard it."
"How could it be? This is your house." Zhang Shou said this as a matter of course, and then he told her everything that happened in Tingyu Cottage today. Although he was sure that Zhu Ying would not have any misunderstandings due to other people's gossip, some things could be made clear immediately, so don't drag it out, otherwise it would be unnecessary to create any estrangement in the future.
Sure enough, when he finished speaking, Zhu Ying smiled with her eyes curved, "I knew you went there differently from others! When I saw you upstairs today, Yongping heard you said you went to Tingyu Cottage and he mocked me, but I just said a few words and he choked me back! You have always been honest and frank, and you never lie to me!"
Uh... Actually, I'm not that honest. I can be honest about this matter, but I still have some secrets...
Zhang Shou felt that Zhu Ying's trust was indeed quite heavy. After a moment of silence, he asked with a smile: "So, what results did you get from your tea party in Yangzhou Teahouse today?"
Zhu Ying had no big objection to the idea of a boudoir tea party, and even raised her eyebrows happily: "Of course! They all saw you today. Except for Yongping, who had bad intentions, everyone else said that you are good-looking, have a good personality, a good voice, and everything else. They all said that I am blessed and have good taste!"
Zhang Shou was immediately in tears and laughter. However, after being with Zhu Ying for a long time, his skin had grown beyond the limit, so he asked nonchalantly: "This can only be regarded as your unexpected gain, right? What about the business you were supposed to do?"
"Well... there's a long way to go." Zhu Ying's eyes were vague and she was evasive at first, but when she saw Zhang Shou looking straight at her, she smiled and said, "Of course I won't forget! I can tell you..."
She looked around again for a moment, and in a very low voice, she quietly told Zhang Shou what Princess Deyang said about Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. Seeing him frowning thoughtfully, she couldn't help but want to reach out and smooth out the small mark, and her eyes couldn't help but look a little strange. It wasn't until Zhang Shou coughed that she came back to her senses, and quickly retracted her too direct gaze and moved to the black shadow on the side.
"We have almost done what we have done. You might as well go see the emperor and tell him half true and half false." Zhang Shou did not mention Zhang Chen's stupid words about marrying Princess Yongping. He said calmly, "Didn't you say that Princess Qingning's marriage was arranged by her begging the emperor, and she and the emperor chose the girl together? Why not do it again?"
"The emperor hopes that the prince will marry a well-educated and well-mannered wife, and at the same time hopes that the future daughter-in-law's family will not be too ambitious; he hopes that the princess will marry a family that he knows well, and that the future son-in-law will have the grace and generosity of a noble family... These rumors in the palace have spread outside."
When Zhang Shou said this, he saw Zhu Ying looking up at him again. Her eyes flickered for a while, and finally she nodded heavily. He couldn't help but feel relieved. He took a step closer and whispered, "After all, this matter involves the princess. It's different from what the emperor promised you before, asking you to help make connections. As for today, you just asked her to relax with others."
Zhu Ying had no burden in betraying Lu Sanlang, nor in betraying other noble sons who hoped to get a good marriage, but she hesitated to betray the cautious Princess Deyang. Hearing Zhang Shou's instructions, she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Zhang Shou wanted to make today a genuine street encounter.
Following this line of thought, when Zhang Shou admitted in public that he went to Tingyu Xiaozhu, was he trying to make outsiders think that they had not made an appointment? Which fiancé would let his fiancée know that he was so eager to go to such a romantic place in broad daylight...
Thinking this in her heart, her expression softened a little, and she nodded again and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
In the past, even if it was the Madam, or the Duke of Zhao, Zhu Jing, it would be hard to expect to hear such a well-behaved answer from Miss Zhu, but at this moment, Zhang Shou heard it easily. He had not yet realized how difficult this achievement was, and he smiled as he listened to Zhu Ying talk about the little things that happened at the boudoir tea party today, and then reminded her that it was already very late.
After exiting the back door of the Zhaoguo Mansion, Zhang Shou watched Zhu Ying wave and close the door herself. He walked a few steps along the dark back alley and suddenly called out, "Ah Liu, are you there?"
Such a straightforward question also received a simple and clear answer: "Yes."
Zhang Shou did not ask whether there were other people watching him and Zhu Ying when they were talking. After all, if Ah Liu was there, the hypothetical situation could not exist. Therefore, he said directly: "Tomorrow you go to the Sun family and the Zhang family and pick up the three apprentices. At noon, find a quiet place near the Imperial College to wait for me."
Although the answer he got was just a simple "hmm", Zhang Shou knew that he would definitely meet someone at noon tomorrow.
Although he didn't get enough sleep that night, when Zhang Shou returned to the Imperial Academy the next day to continue teaching, he still maintained a good mental state. However, this mental state was crushed in the second basic mathematics class in Banshan Hall. The reason was simple. Even the third and fourth princes could recite the Nine Nines Song easily, but someone couldn't do it!
And the guy who can’t… is already eighteen years old!
At that moment, Zhang Shou truly felt the pain that a primary school teacher felt when facing a poor student. He immediately threw the loser aside without hesitation and started to teach the simple four arithmetic operations. As for the guy who couldn't recite the Nine-Nine Song, he threw him to the head of the dormitory Zhang Chen without hesitation afterwards. As for how Zhang Chen made people recite the Nine-Nine Song, he didn't care .
At noon that day, Zhang Shou went to Jiuzhang Hall and called Lu Sanlang to come to the Imperial College under the university archway, but he saw Ah Liu waiting there. Lu Sanlang didn't see Ah Liu driving the carriage until he got on the carriage with Zhang Shou. He whispered in awe, "Young Master, there are no classes in Jiuzhang Hall this afternoon?"
"Of course I'll be in class. It'll only take up a short period of time at noon."
Although he had brought Carpenter Sun to Zhang's house with a black cloth hood, there was nothing unusual about the place that Ah Liu arranged for Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang to stay at noon. It was a small teahouse located in a secluded alley, so quiet that there were no customers. Of course, there was no shopkeeper or waiter either.
When Zhang Shou stepped into the room, he saw more than a dozen bowls and plates in front of the three nervous apprentices. There was everything from cold dishes to hot snacks. The hot dishes were heated with a small charcoal stove underneath, and all the food could be kept warm. Judging from the presentation and the variety, it was definitely not the standard of this small teahouse.
Sure enough, Lu Sanlang, only took one look and shouted, "Isn't this the Eighteen Dishes that the Zhaoguo Mansion is best at?"
Before Zhang Shou could ask, the fat boy took the initiative to explain, "Eighteen hot and cold snacks, this was the most common dish used by Duke Zhao's mansion for banquets in the past. When Zhu Er and I were close, I went to Zhu's house to eat there twice, so I had a deep impression of it."
Of Carpenter Sun's two apprentices, Guan Qiu was oblivious to the outside world and only wanted to ask why, while Zhao Si was only interested in improving his carpentry skills and had no . And Zhang the blacksmith's apprentice Luo Xiaoxiao, who was almost a master, was also skilled in craftsmanship, but a bit naive.
Therefore, they had already been numbed by the shock of such a grand spectacle and did not hear the hidden meaning of Lu Sanlang's words at all.
Zhang Shou saw that Lu Sanlang smiled and brought out a stool without saying anything, and asked him to sit down first. He was about to call Ah Liu to come over and eat, but when he looked back, the boy had already run away. He called out but no one answered. So he could only shake his head helplessly and sat down by himself, and then nodded to the three people.
"I picked you up so early in the morning. You must be hungry, right? How about this, we can talk while we have lunch."
Although Ah Liu had just left them in the teahouse and left with the table full of dishes, none of the three dared to pick up their chopsticks. After Zhang Shou said this and saw him start eating, they picked up their chopsticks hesitantly. However, except for Guan Qiu who quickly started to eat, the other two were still cautious.
Zhang Shou first ate half his fill, then put down his chopsticks and said, "I asked you to come here because I need you to make some difficult things for me. But since I am often in the Imperial College, I will rent a small courtyard near the Imperial College and buy the corresponding tools. Of course, the tools needed for carpentry are relatively simple, but blacksmiths need more professional tools."
He paused, then smiled and said, "So, Ah Liu said that he has found a blacksmith shop not far from the Imperial College. Although it's not big, and it usually only makes kitchen knives and farm tools, it's basically enough for what I want to make, Xiao Luo. When you're free, you can do something else so as not to waste your skills."
Lu Sanlang came along today because Zhang Shou brought him along. Now he realized that this was the follow-up to Zhang Shou asking him to hire a craftsman last time. He immediately became excited and said without hesitation, "Which blacksmith shop do you like, young master? I'll go buy it right away!"
Luo Xiaoxiao was simply amazed. Even if he became an apprentice, he would still have to work for his master, Zhang the Blacksmith, for several years or even more than ten years before he could earn enough money to open his own shop. Now people just buy blacksmith shops because it is convenient to make things? He swallowed hard, and couldn't help but be extremely excited.
Zhang Shou did not respond to Lu Sanlang's offer, but took out a blueprint from his sleeve. "This is one of the things I want to make. It has many similarities with lathes and grinders, but I hope it can be driven not only by manpower, but also by water power or other external forces. I drew a few strokes, you can take a look first."
