Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 79: One thing conquers another
When Princess Yongping hurried up to the third floor, she saw Ge Yong dragging Zhang Shou in the corner to act like a strict teacher, Chu Kuan standing alone in front of the window watching the eight-legged essay battle below, and Chang Ning chatting with Concubine Yu.
She suppressed her suspicion and walked quickly to her mother. Although she wanted to ask what they had just said upstairs, the only thing that came out of her mouth was the faint address: "Mother."
"Yes." Concubine Yu nodded. Seeing Zhu Ying supporting the lady coming up from behind, she glanced at Princess Yongping and smiled at the two of them. "It's rare for you to come out and join in the fun. I don't understand eight-part essays, so listening to them is boring. Mingyue can't get away from the Yuehua Tower literary gathering. Yingying, can you accompany me to Zhaoming Temple? I haven't seen Jiuniang for a long time."
Zhang Shou, who was distracted, noticed at a glance that Zhu Ying's face immediately showed joy, while in comparison, Princess Yongping's expression looked quite ugly.
Thinking back to when Concubine Yu told him about her life story just now, she mentioned that her biological mother, Widow Zhang, was deceased, and when she referred to Zhu Ying's biological mother, she used the word Jiu Niang but did not mention her current whereabouts, he suddenly realized.
When Concubine Yu said this, didn't she mean that Zhu Ying's mother was not in Duke Zhao's Mansion, but in Zhaoming Temple?
"Okay, I've been wanting to take Shou to see mom for a long time. Every time I went to see her before, she would just touch my head gently, not saying anything, not smiling, always treating me like a child, and even more refusing to go back. This time I'll let Shou go and beg her together, she won't refuse! Didn't he just have a fight with dad? At most, mom can just give him a beating, why is she ignoring me like this!"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but wipe his sweat at the eldest lady's fierce speech. Especially when he saw the lady shaking her head helplessly, he finally couldn't help coughing. But this time he didn't have a chance to speak, because Concubine Yu had made the final decision first.
"Yingying, don't talk nonsense. Your mother would never hit your father! Ah Shou and Master Ge have to stay here to make a judgment. After all, he offended a selector today, and he can't offend all the scholars here. Just the two of us will go, and your grandmother won't go. Your mother is stubborn, and it will be worse if more people go. I don't bring many followers with me, so I rely on you to protect me!"
Seeing that Zhu Ying couldn't persuade Concubine Yu and finally agreed reluctantly, Zhang Shou hurriedly called Yingying and pointed to an empty corner. Seeing her coming quickly, he left Ge Yong and flashed past.
"Don't worry about me, the teacher will take care of everything. Besides, your grandmother is here too."
"Humph, I'm not afraid of those useless guys, I'm afraid that Princess Yongping will say something sarcastic to hurt you." Zhu Ying snorted unhappily, and finally said unwillingly, "I really want to take you to see mother. She is very kind to me. Every time I go there, she will give me new clothes made by herself... Ah Shou, it's a deal, I will take you next time!"
"Okay, okay." Zhang Shou quickly nodded in agreement. Seeing that Zhu Yingfu was in high spirits again, he asked, "By the way, where are Mr. Qi and Xiao Qi, Xiao Dai, and Ah Liu?"
"Grandpa Qi is testing them!" Zhu Ying chuckled, revealing a gloating expression, "Xiao Qi and Xiao Dai are okay, but Liu's expression of "I didn't hear you say anything" is so funny, he's pretending to be deaf and dumb!"
Zhang Shou was originally worried about the three people he brought with him, but when he learned that Ah Liu dared to deal with a famous scholar and high-ranking official like Qi Jingshan, he couldn't help but laugh. After laughing, he looked at Zhu Ying and said softly: "When you go to see your mother, say hello to her for me. If possible, tell her that I know what happened back then, and I have lived a peaceful, happy and contented life these years."
Zhu Ying's eyes suddenly sparkled with surprise, but after staring at Zhang Shou for a long time, she saw that he had no intention of telling her the inside story, so she could only say unhappily, "You're not going to tell me? Humph, I'll interrogate you when I come back!"
Seeing the eldest lady returning to Concubine Yu like a gust of wind, she immediately pulled her up after a few jokes, but she greeted everyone else one by one, but ignored Princess Yongping and him, and just walked away. Zhang Shou, who had long been accustomed to her temper, couldn't help but laugh. Not long after the group went down, he saw Qi Jingshan coming up with Qi Liang and Deng Xiaodai.
However, Ah Liu fell behind by several steps. When he reached the third floor, he still had no expression on his face and had even less sense of existence. How could one tell that he had once made people so angry with just a few numbers?
It was only then that Princess Yongping let out a long sigh, barely getting rid of the lingering negative emotions. However, when she saw Ge Yong calling Qi Jingshan and others without saying a word, taking over the large desk, spreading out paper, picking up a pen and starting to write and calculate, she couldn't help but feel impatient, and the handkerchief in her hand was almost crushed by her.
Zhu Ying only knows how to judge people by appearance. Her mother always treats her better than her own daughter...
Famous scholars of classics like Ge Yong and Qi Jingshan were obsessed with mathematics...
It was clear that her father and the Queen Mother had not been on good terms over the years, but she had no idea what they wanted...
The high-ranking officials who had been helping her to become famous among the talented scholars in Beijing also had ulterior motives...
When the Yuehua Tower literary gathering ended, it was already afternoon. Zhang Shou had been dragged by Ge Yong to solve an extremely tedious repetitive calculation problem. Although the lunch was carefully prepared by the chef of Yuehua Tower, he had no taste for it and ate it in a hurry . He couldn't help but feel sad that he came to attend a literary gathering today, but it turned out to be a mathematics seminar.
However, he was just sighing, while most of the scholars attending the meeting today were frustrated. When the more than ten articles carefully selected by the selectors were sent to Ge Yong and Qi Jingshan, they were criticized from all angles, and only three articles stood out in the end. But after praising the three articles, Master Ge spoke condescendingly and with full of energy.
"I passed the exams one after another and finally won the top seven places. Perhaps most people think it's very glorious, but you might as well think about it. From the Tang and Song dynasties to today, how many top scorers have there been? How many of them can you remember? The essay test in the art exam is about your understanding of the books of sages. After understanding them, if you pass the exam in the future, can you write an essay that will be remembered forever?"
"My last disciple Zhang Shou has no intention of competing with you for the first place in the imperial examination. Don't treat him as a soft persimmon just because someone has instigated and promised you to become famous. You should know that the person who blocked my door yesterday pretending to submit an examination paper had already cried and confessed on the spot that he was instructed by someone. People should live an honest life. Don't fail the imperial examination and get tarnished with a bad name. Does the word "parasite" sound good?"
It was not until they left Yuehua Tower that Zhang Shou felt relieved . The Madam invited him, Ge Yong and Qi Jingshan to get on the carriage together. As soon as they sat down, he saw Ge Yong glaring at the Madam unhappily: "It's not appropriate for Zhang Shou to live in your house. Tomorrow, arrange for him to move to my place, so that people won't gossip about him."
The lady still smiled calmly, but her words were not lenient at all: "Someone caused trouble at your place yesterday. Can you guarantee that there won't be any trouble in the future? Today, everyone knows that he is your last disciple, but someone still caused trouble? Besides, Ah Shou is Jing'er's son-in-law. No matter where he lives, this matter is set in stone. Why should you be afraid of gossip? Ah Shou, what do you think?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but feel a little headache. On one side was Zhu Ying's grandmother, the mother of Duke Zhao who had raised him for so many years, and on the other side was his teacher who was very kind to him and never turned against him even after he had been blamed many times. Who should he speak for? In just a moment, he made up his mind.
"I plan to go back to Rongshui Village today." Without waiting for the two old people to argue, he said calmly, "Even if I want to become the Imperial College Doctor, I have to go back home and tell my mother. As for where to live next time I go to Beijing, we can talk about it then. There's no rush."
Qi Jingshan, who had been smiling but not saying anything until this moment, smiled slightly and said, "I have a small courtyard with two entrances in Tangzi Hutong, west of the capital. That was my old residence. Later, it was just used to store miscellaneous items. It was empty anyway. If you, Zhang Shou, have nowhere to live, I can have someone clean it up and rent it to you at a lower price."
He seemed not to notice Ge Yong's murderous look, and nodded slightly to the lady: "Tangzi Hutong is just behind Zhaofu Street, so it's convenient for us to take care of each other..."
"Qi Jingshan!"
Seeing Teacher Ge's angry look, Zhang Shou immediately supported the old man without thinking and gently stroked his back: "Teacher, if I really went to the Imperial College, I would not have time to come back often. It is true that Mr. Qi asked the lady to take care of my mother. Think about it, is the Imperial College closer to the Ge Mansion or to the Duke of Zhao's Mansion?"
Seeing that Ge Yong became happy almost instantly, the lady and Qi Jingshan couldn't help but smile at each other.
Judging from the situation, Zhang Shou has already figured out Ge Yong's weak spot. It's hard to say whether the teacher will manage the students or the students will manage the teacher in the future!
