Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 277: Going all the way to the end
"Of course I do! What I love most is to go against my father, oh... no, it's to be rebellious!"
Although he suddenly heard his name that he was very reluctant to be pronounced, Lu Sanlang immediately forgot his slight unhappiness and showed an excited expression. Seeing Zhang Shou looking him up and down, he was afraid that Zhang Shou would think he was talking nonsense, so he swore solemnly: "Young Master, I can't stand those fake moralists the most. If you want to fight against them, you must count me in!"
"Haha, it's not as serious as you think. It's just an initial idea."
Zhang Shou shrugged slightly, then glanced at the empty room, and said nonchalantly, "Ah Liu is busy these two days, let's go out for lunch."
Lu Sanlang was a little surprised. Did the Duke of Zhao's mansion really not send anyone to deliver food? This engaged fiancé is worse than a wild man without a marriage certificate... Ahem, the word "wild man" is a bit harsh, but isn't this kind of differential treatment a bit obvious? However, when he followed Zhang Shou out of the university archway of the Imperial College, he did not see the usual Zhu family members, and he was even more puzzled.
Zhang Shou was not surprised. Without Liu, others could not break into the Imperial College like that kid did, sneaking around at first and then brazenly breaking in. He felt that there was no need to let the Zhu family members show up at the gate - to avoid making Zhu Jing, the father, feel uncomfortable. So he told Zhu Ying in advance and asked the Zhu family to stop sending lunch and dinner.
After all, if Ah Liu wasn't watching, his room in the Imperial College was never closed, and anyone could enter. If there was food on the table, he wouldn't dare eat it. Putting aside the most extreme case of poisoning, if someone added some random ingredients to the food, or even spit, it would make people nauseous. As for whether someone would randomly put things in his room, he was looking forward to it.
While Zhang Shou took Lu Sanlang out to find food and have a long chat, Zhu Er excitedly returned to Banshan Hall, and then looked at the empty place in a daze. Fortunately, he knew the various restaurants and wine shops where the nobles had lunch, so he ran to find them. But when he arrived at the door of the highest-end wine shop nearby, he heard a loud shout.
"I thought that when Duke Zhao came back yesterday, Zhu Tingjie would be punished so badly that he couldn't get up from the ground. I didn't expect that he could come to the Imperial College intact. I really misjudged Duke Zhao!"
Zhu Er was immediately furious. His best friend in the past was Lu Sanlang, and naturally there were a few other people he was on good terms with as well. But later, seeing that he was severely punished because of Zhu Ying's marriage and was put under house arrest for a time, these ungrateful people naturally did not dare to visit him and cut off all contact with him. It was not until he returned to Banshan Hall later that they saw that he, the second young master Zhu, seemed to be okay, and they came up to him again.
However, since they both understood each other's personalities through the Zhu Ying incident, the similarities they had in the past naturally no longer existed.
Zhu Er took a deep breath, suppressed his anger and strode into the tavern. He saw that the lobby on the first floor looked quite deserted, as if there were not many customers, but the sound of talking and laughing could be heard from the second floor, laughing and cursing without restraint. He knew that these students from noble families loved to show off their wealth, and they often gathered in groups of three or five in each private room, so he stood downstairs and took a deep breath.
"Why, my father didn't fly into a rage and start a massacre after returning to Beijing, so you all think there's nothing good to watch? Are you saying that my father's return means that I, his son, will definitely be in trouble? You are blind!"
With his sudden roar, the sounds of clinking glasses and chatting upstairs came to an abrupt end. Facing this dead silence, Zhu Er thought of himself as one of those second-generation rich kids who used his family background to comment on the world and judge people, but immediately became timid when he met a big shot. He couldn't help but feel bad.
"I am too lazy to expose your true colors. Just listen to me! Since Banshan Hall is going to be divided into three halls, there will be no need for such a large place in the future. Dr. Yang of Ruxing Hall happened to complain that his place was too small, so Dr. Zhang proposed to the Grand Master to swap Banshan Hall with Ruxing Hall and move the first hall of Banshan Hall there in the future. Okay, I have conveyed Dr. Zhang's words."
When there was no more sound downstairs, Ji Jiu supported himself and leaned out of the window to confirm that Zhu Er had really mounted his horse and left. He couldn't help but smile at the unlucky guy who had just talked loudly and criticized Duke Zhao and Zhu Er and his son, but was caught in the act. Then his eyes lit up.
"Ruxing Hall, how many scholars think it is the best hall in the Imperial College? The Grand Master is willing to exchange it with our teacher's Banshan Hall? The Imperial College must be going crazy, right?"
"There are county schools, state schools, prefectural schools, and then the Imperial Colleges in Nanjing and Beijing. Ruexing Hall ranks first among all official schools. However, our Banshan Hall was built extra large because Taizu took care of the children of meritorious officials and officials, so it usually only accommodates more than a hundred people. However, it is larger than Ruexing Hall, which can accommodate two, three, four, or five hundred people. In fact, they are not at a loss in exchanging with Ruexing Hall."
"Whether it's a loss or not is not determined by the size of the house! Haven't you seen the map of the Imperial College? The positions of the six halls on the left and right are symmetrical, while our Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall are scattered on the periphery. So, according to the opinions of those old-fashioned people, they are raised by the first wife, and we are raised by the concubines!"
Ji Jiu said these extremely vulgar words, and seeing that the others were embarrassed, he, who was born as a bastard, tapped his bowl with chopsticks in annoyance: "Why, do you still feel uncomfortable? This is the fact! Although Emperor Taizu said a lot of good things back then, the essence was to throw people into the Banshan Hall. If you have the ability, you can climb out, and if you don't have the ability, you can just stay there. That's all."
"So, if we want to exchange Banshan Hall for Ruxing Hall, I don't know whether Zhou Dasicheng will agree, or whether he will make a gesture of agreement and then think of other ways. But I know that the old officials in the court will definitely not agree. This matter has been exposed!"
Hearing this, several students in the box were shocked. At this time, the curtain of the box was lifted, and other people from the next door rushed in. In an instant, this originally small place was suddenly crowded with people.
"Ji Xiaojiu, you make a lot of sense. So tell me, what should we do about this? Today, Zhang... ahem, the teacher said something so cruel. If we are really swept into the army to lose face, we might as well take advantage of his public outrage this time and try to remove this huge mountain from our heads! I've had enough of studying every day!"
Ji Jiuyi raised his head and drank the liquor in the glass. Then he sneered at the big guy who had come in first, "Tear off the mountain above your head? That's easy for you to say. Ask the others around you if they are willing first!"
Seeing the big guy looking around and finding that no one responded, his expression gradually became gloomy, and Ji Jiu sneered.
"Our teacher is not only the best son-in-law of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, but also a favorite of the emperor. When the emperor was choosing a son-in-law, he sat aside. I don't know what method he used, but Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, a consort and a groom, and the boy surnamed Feng, together, the three of them had wives and a future! "
"After the Minister of Revenue changed his surname to Chen, the people of Jiuzhang Hall were divided into several groups, each of which went to the Ministry of Revenue for three days of internship. Otherwise, do you think that Wang Datou would easily accept the Jiuzhang Hall's "assistance" when he became the Governor ? What kind of assistance? That was simply training! And those people in our Banshan Hall who ranked high in the annual exam, do you think they spent the New Year comfortably at home before?"
Ji Jiu slammed a cup on the ground and said drunkenly, "Zhu Ying represented the Zhu family and provided resources to help those people start a business... Don't ask me what starting a business means. If I knew, I wouldn't be messing around here!"
The big guy's face suddenly turned pale and blue.
Rich families have their own secrets. The first class are the heirs who are gifted in both literary and military talents. Those people all get the best resources and the best connections from their families. Some of them will get qualifications in the Ratexing Hall of the Imperial College, and then fight their way through the imperial examinations; others will join the army, be promoted layer by layer, and rise to very high official positions in a few years.
The second category is talented but not the direct descendants of the heir. They will also be carefully nurtured by the family and will branch out in the future. Among them, there will occasionally be outstanding talents who surpass the heir.
As for those like them who are mediocre and have little training value, they will just roll around in Banshan Hall, get the title of a student, and then rely on the influence of their fathers and ancestors to get a nice-sounding but powerless official title. As for those who cannot get an official position, there are many such cases.
So in the capital, if you meet a poor man in his forties or fifties who tells you that his grandfather was a prime minister, or that his uncle was a duke of a certain country, there is a greater chance that he is not lying but is telling the truth!
The big guy in front of him with vulgar manners was from the Zhang family, a family of one duke, one marquis and one earl, which was considered the best family in the court.
However, his father was not Zhang Rui, Duke of Chu, but Zhang Qiong, Earl of Xiangyang. He was the third son in the family, with an elder brother who had joined the army early and an elder brother who was good at socializing. But he had accomplished nothing and was a bastard, so he was naturally not well-received.
At this time, he sat down with a gloomy face, and then said angrily: "Ask yourselves, how many of you can enter the first class?"
This sentence made the box fall into silence. However, Ji Jiu, who was a little drunk, laughed and said, "Can you blame others for not being able to enter the first class? I believe that the third and fourth princes are talented, but to say that they are talented enough to surpass most of us is simply nonsense! As long as we pay a little attention to what we learn, how can we not learn it well? Haha! But how many people pay attention?"
The big guy then remembered that although Ji Jiu seemed to be unruly and unloved by his father and mother, he was indeed among the top students in the monthly and annual exams these days. If this guy had not been a skipper in Banshan Hall before, he would have suspected that he was just pretending.
In a rage, he slammed the table and said sternly: "So what? Ji Jiu, do you think you are Zhang Chen Lu Sanlang, or Zhang Wu Zhang Lu, or Zhu Er of the second uncle? Even if you are good at learning, so what? The Duke of Zhao's Mansion didn't help you start... start a business, right?"
"No." Ji Jiu laughed and poured himself a glass. But when he raised the glass to his lips, he suddenly stopped and poured the glass of wine directly on the big guy's face.
Seeing the other party's eyes were as red as copper bells, he sneered and said, "Do you believe that if you fight here, you will be punished when you get home, and you will be kicked out of Banshan Hall tomorrow? Big guy, don't you see that those who have received funding from the Zhu family are all guys who are willing to rely on them, and they are all guys who have stayed in Cuiyun Room?"
"I bet they have made promises, and maybe even signed a contract! If you are not willing to stand on their side, why should they support you? As for me, my father once followed others in scolding Duke Zhao for defeating the army and humiliating the country, and he became disgraced. Unless I go against my father like Fatty Lu, why should others help me?"
The big guy's rage was gradually extinguished by Ji Jiu's words. But he was unwilling to be outdone. He took a deep breath and said angrily, "If you want to stand out, you have to join the Zhu family. How many people in Banshan Hall have this opportunity?"
"That's right. At least you, who comes from a family of mortal enemies of the Zhu family, have no chance at all." Seeing the big guy trying to hold back his anger and wipe his wine-stained face with his sleeve, Ji Jiu laughed and said, "But you should have seen what kind of person Dr. Zhang is. He has a lot of ideas, and he can even get a place like Lu Wang Villa. It is certain that he will set up his own business in the future. How could he be a vassal of the Zhu family?"
Seeing the big guy and the others suddenly realize, Ji Jiu said with a smile: "If you can't get into the first class, then the second one. Anyway, you can always think of some other talents besides civil and military, right? If it doesn't work, you can work harder and you should be able to get into the third class, right? If we can be tempered in the army, why do we need to spend our days in Banshan Hall?"
Ji Jiu has always been known for his cleverness and cunningness. He then presented facts and reasoned, fully demonstrating the prospects to everyone - for playboys like them to run errands for the big guys, at best they would just be icing on the cake, and if something went wrong they might even be thrown out as scapegoats. On the contrary, standing on Zhang Shou's side might even be a timely help.
So when the lunch was over, although the box was in a mess, everyone left in a state of dismay. Especially the two who had accepted bribes to help others get information, they regretted it deeply.
If the impression they had made on Zhang Shou had already been ruined, was there any chance they could reverse it?
On the way back to the Imperial College, Ji Jiu found an excuse to turn into another alley, went to a small southern goods store and bought some things. Then, seeing that there was no one around, he turned into a dark alley.
When he came out from the other side and saw a carriage parked at the intersection, he took two or three steps forward, without even looking at the driver, and got into the carriage with familiarity. Seeing a middle-aged man sitting there with his hands in his pockets, he greeted him with a smile.
"Eunuch Chu, Dr. Zhang said today that he wanted to divide Banshan Hall..."
He explained the whole story in a few words. Seeing Chu Kuan listening thoughtfully, he repeated what he had said to the big guy and other students at noon . Finally, he smiled and said, "Most of those bullies in Banshan Hall will have to follow Dr. Zhang to the end in the end."
Chu Kuan laughed and said, "That's a good road to heaven, of course you should follow it. Don't worry, you won't suffer any loss!"
