Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 70: Apologizing for the crime
That night, Deng Xiaodai was relatively relaxed, because Zhang Shou's charts and graphs seemed to open the door to a new world for him, but he had no real difficulty understanding them. He knew that he was not as talented as Qi Liang in writing, so he never thought of taking the imperial examination and getting a title, but he always felt that being a minor official for his whole life should not be his end.
But now, although Zhang Shou did not show him a path, he let him see a possibility.
However, Qi Liang was relatively miserable. Because Zhang Shou dictated very quickly, it was difficult to write down some words and sentences without missing a word, but he could only try his best. Although each article was only 500 to 700 words, he still suffered a lot when he stumbled and wrote it down. When Zhang Shou irresponsibly asked him to figure out the words and sentences himself, his eyes were bloodshot.
When Zhang Shou finished teaching the two of them and went to bed, Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai also went to bed after cleaning up, but they couldn't help but look at each other in shock.
Didn't the young master say that eight-legged essays and mathematics have nothing to do with each other and that he knows nothing about contemporary literature? What were those articles just now?
Even Grand Tutor Ge praised the young master's talent for mathematics, but how did he come up with those intuitive tables?
That night, Zhang Shou slept soundly, but Deng Xiaodai and Qi Liang almost had insomnia, tossing and turning and unable to fall asleep. What made them even more amused was that in the dead of night, when they slept in the same bed with their eyes open, they suddenly found a person silently appearing beside the bed. This ghostly scene was accompanied by a very indecent remark.
"If you really can't sleep, I can knock you out."
“No… no need!”
Without a doubt, Deng Xiaodai and Qi Liang quickly refused. After watching Ah Liu return to the temporary soft couch where he slept, he curled up into a ball and soon began to breathe evenly. Deng Xiaodai then let out a long sigh and whispered, "Xiao Qi, if you ask me, the young master must be a star god. As for Ah Liu... this kid is definitely an evil star!"
Qi Liang was about to answer when he suddenly heard a cold snort from the couch, and he was immediately frightened.
Deng Xiaodai will stay in Shuntian Prefecture for a long time in the future, but he will have to get along with this evil star often, so he must not offend Ah Liu! By the way, why didn't he realize that this kid was so scary before?
The next morning, although he slept a little later than at home, Zhang Shou still woke up on time. His biological clock was always very accurate, and the two who got out of bed almost at the same time were Qi Liang, who had to do a lot of farm work and chores at home, and Deng Xiaodai, who had to report for duty every day at the Shuntian government office.
When the noise in the east wing reached the main room, the old lady, who was old and always got up early, couldn't help but laugh.
"After all, they are young people, so energetic."
She said this as if in admiration or with emotion, and then she ordered, "Send someone to find out if there is anything interesting in the morning court today."
Mother Li had followed the Taifu for many years, so she knew what was behind the words, and immediately agreed and went down to do it. After the Taifu washed up, she walked out of the room and stood in the corridor. She heard the sound of two young men reciting in unison in the east wing. Thinking of her eldest grandson who was diligent and motivated, proficient in both literature and martial arts, but the second grandson who was lazy and incompetent, she couldn't help but sigh deeply again.
Zhang Shou did not supervise Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai's morning lessons. In fact, in the village, they supervised themselves. As for him, he would usually run to warm up and exercise when he was in the village, but since Zhu Ying and the children of the rich and powerful came one after another, he changed to practicing Tai Chi in his room at home.
At this time, he was leisurely practicing a set of Yang Style 48-posture Tai Chi in the large open space of the east wing. He also checked the article that Qi Liang had dictated last night. After confirming that he had remembered every word correctly, he ordered: "Memorize it as quickly as possible, and then burn these papers. Xiaodai, don't keep the pattern."
With his order, when Ah Liu personally brought the breakfast sent by Zhu's servants into the house, Deng Xiaodai was fine, but Qi Liang was mumbling something and had no mood to eat at all. When the four of them finally finished their breakfast, Mother Li's voice came from outside the door.
"Mr. Shou, the Madam asked me to come in and give you a message."
"Mom, come in." Zhang Shou agreed, and the next moment, Mother Li opened the door curtain and came in.
"Just received news that someone ridiculed Wang Fuyin before the morning court session, saying that the rankings of the Shuntian Prefecture exam were unfair and that they wanted to ask the Metropolitan Censorate to send someone to re-examine. Shuntian Prefecture Yin Lord Wang retorted, saying that a small prefectural exam could be a big deal, because they thought that he had mobilized too many clerks since he took office, that he was serious about investigating the land, and that the disciple of Grand Tutor Ge was on the list?"
"Should all the ministers and grand secretaries in the court be involved? Why not take it a step further and directly raise this issue in front of the emperor at the court meeting today and ask the emperor to make the final decision. It will be fun and everyone can see the truth!"
No wonder Wang Fuyin and his teacher Ge Yong seem to be quite close, their “straightforward” temperaments are quite similar!
Zhang Shou thought and laughed, "I thought that court officials must be very dignified, but I didn't expect that they would argue and ridicule with ordinary people in the vegetable market before the morning court. What happened later? What was the result?"
Mother Li saw that Qi Liang was shocked when he first heard the news, and then hurriedly concentrated and recited something silently, while Zhang Shou seemed to have nothing to do with it, and listened with great interest, and even had the mind to make jokes. She couldn't help but admire him.
"How can there be any result? The court will be in session later. It is hard to say whether the quarrel will continue to reach the court meeting. The emperor was previously sickened by the incident at the Linhai camp, and the court meeting was suspended for two days. Today, he will definitely discuss this matter first, and then discuss other things."
"As for the quarrels between these officials and peddlers, that's nothing. The Grand Secretaries and Ministers even fought! When scholars throw tantrums, their manners are ruined. How can they be decent? Madam Tai specially inquired about this because she wanted you to be prepared."
"Okay, thank you for your concern. I will go and thank her in person later."
Seeing Zhang Shou's thoughtful manner, Mama Li smiled and nodded at Deng Xiaodai, "Also, the people in Rongshui Village rushed back home after selling their grain last night. Since Mr. Shou is not going back for the time being, he cannot be taken care of by only Ah Liu. The government has sent someone to the Shuntian government office to ask for leave for Mr. Deng. Madam Tai said that it is rare for Mr. Shou to come to the city, so Mr. Deng will be by his side to take care of him."
Deng Xiaodai was just thinking about whether he should say goodbye and go to Shuntian Prefecture Government Office to serve on duty, but he didn't expect that the Zhu family had already got there first. He was stunned for a moment before he realized that he didn't go home last night and forgot to inform his uncle in advance. He couldn't help but lightly hit his forehead in annoyance.
I just hope that after my uncle’s people in Duke Zhao’s mansion ask for leave for him, they won’t get carried away and spread the news everywhere, because that would be so embarrassing!
Seeing that Mama Li had finished her kneeling greeting and seemed ready to leave, Zhang Shou was about to call her, but he didn't expect the door curtain to move, and it was Zhu Ying who rushed in. Compared to when she was in the countryside, Zhu Ying, who returned home, was not only beautiful, but also more willful. She raised her chin slightly and said with a smile: "A Shou, my second brother is here to apologize to you!"
Seeing Zhang Shou stunned, Mother Li saw the dejected Second Young Master behind Zhu Ying, carrying a bramble on his back, many of the brambles even with thorns, and she felt like the sun was rising from the west.
You know, compared to the eldest master and the eldest lady, the second young master is a stubborn stone. Beating him is not good, and scolding him is even worse. Even though the lady seemed to be so angry that she wanted to pick up a sword and kill someone yesterday, when the master was around, this kind of thing of picking up a sword and chasing and killing people happened more than once!
But the second young master takes it as a common occurrence to admit his mistakes and forget about it the next day. Will he learn his lesson after apologizing this time?
