Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 294: Spring Poetry
For the two young princes who were well protected by the emperor, court disputes were extremely far away. As soon as they left the capital, they were in high spirits. The fourth prince wanted to get out of the carriage and ride a horse immediately. However, Zhu Ying was watching him closely, so he could only accept his fate, but his little head kept poking out.
He was really tired of the straight and straight streets and alleys in the capital, as well as the palace that seemed tall and magnificent , but was actually gloomy! If Zhu Ying hadn't been pulling his collar hard, the fourth prince would have wanted to roar to express his joy of escaping the cage. He even calculated in his mind when he could persuade his father to come out again next time after leaving the capital for a short stay.
The Third Prince was much more obedient than the Fourth Prince. But even so, he would occasionally peek out through the curtains opened by the Fourth Prince, until he was suddenly poked on the forehead by Zhu Ying. He suddenly came to his senses and quickly smiled, "Sister Yingying..."
Zhu Ying only has an older brother but no younger brother. She felt that Xiao Cheng, who was adopted by her eldest brother, was extremely rare. When she heard the soft voice, her original intention of bluffing the two of them suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by a little regret.
She didn't dare to let the eldest brother come, for fear that with him being so smart, the second brother would not be able to escape... And if the eldest brother didn't come, Xiao Cheng also said that he would study hard at home and would not go out of the city to disturb her and Zhang Shou. Of course, she knew that the bigger reason was that Zhang Shou had deceived Zhu Tingfang with a few words to accompany the little guy who rarely "rested", so as to avoid the eldest brother suddenly coming to Zhao Garden.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince also quickly came to his senses, lowered the curtains and did his job obediently, with a pitiful expression that said "Don't scold me", she couldn't help but poke him on the forehead, and then smiled and said, "You can look outside when you are in the car, but you are not allowed to stick your head out. What if someone recognizes you? You know, most of the people in Banshan Hall like to stay out of the city for two days when they have a day off."
"But aren't they preparing for the division exam this time?" The fourth prince chuckled, his face full of pride. "Ever since they heard that they would be divided into the first, second and third divisions, they all had to cram at home. Who can be as leisurely as me and my third brother?"
He had used the idiom very well, and when he looked up with his head held high, Zhu Ying couldn't help wanting to pinch his face. But when she heard what he said next, she immediately put her impulse into action.
"Besides, they are not as hardworking as my third brother and I, nor do they have special tutoring from our father every day like my third brother and I!"
Zhu Ying pinched the soft flesh on the Fourth Prince's cheek with all her strength, and only let go when he cried out in pain. She said with a hint of anger but in fact joy: "You are so ungrateful! Not to mention the Emperor, even among ordinary fathers, how many of them would personally teach their sons? My father only taught my eldest and second brothers martial arts, and he also hired a teacher to teach them how to read. Remember, you two are not allowed to talk about such things carelessly in the future!"
"Fourth brother, I've already told you, don't show off about this!" The Third Prince glared at the Fourth Prince, then whispered, "Sister Yingying, Father has always warned us not to show off. He privately read the books recently published by Grandmaster Ge and Teacher with great interest, and he learned with great interest, so he taught us by the way."
Outside the carriage, Zhang Shou heard the quiet discussion inside, and then saw the guards in front and behind him moving far away. He couldn't help but feel fortunate that Zhu Ying had the foresight to tell the others to disperse early while Ah Liu was driving.
The news that the emperor personally teaches his sons should not be spread to outsiders, because it is impossible for the supreme emperor to personally teach the eldest prince and the second prince in his early years. In this case, how could the third prince and the fourth prince, who were taught by him personally, not have a deep relationship?
However, judging from this, in the future, the emperor may have to establish the youngest or the favorite prince again... Even if the emperor lives long, the youngest or the favorite prince may not be the current beautiful third and fourth princes, and the emperor may have more sons. So, will this seemingly warm and harmonious scene continue in the future?
Thinking this, Zhang Shou unconsciously rode his horse closer to the carriage. He pondered for a moment and gently knocked on the wall. When the curtain was lifted, revealing Zhu Ying's face, he smiled and said, "Don't be too strict with them. The weather is just right for an outing. Everything is coming back to life. The fields are full of vitality. The wheat is about to be harvested. If they want to watch, let them watch."
"Yes, my third brother and I came out just to see the busy farming scene!"
The fourth prince was overjoyed and squeezed next to Zhu Ying. His round little head was so adorable: "My father taught me those two poems about pity for farmers a long time ago. In spring, one grain of millet is planted, and in autumn, ten thousand grains are harvested. There is no idle land in the world, but farmers still starve to death. My father also said that if there is a bumper harvest in the world, but farmers still starve to death, then the world will not be far from being turned upside down!"
"As an emperor, you must always remember that water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. Otherwise, you never know when your boat will be overturned."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Shou saw him being dragged back by someone. Knowing that it was probably the Third Prince who was again pretending to be a brother and teaching his younger brother a lesson, he couldn't help but laugh. Sure enough, the next moment, Zhu Ying stepped aside, and it was the Third Prince who showed his face.
The elder brother, who was only a few months older than the fourth prince, coughed awkwardly, looked around, as if to make sure that no one could hear him, and then said in a low voice: "Teacher, it was indeed father who said that, and my fourth brother said it in a moment of haste. You must not tell anyone else. I heard that leaking forbidden... um, leaking forbidden language, seems to be a serious crime?"
Zhang Shou was amused in his heart, but said solemnly: "That's right, leaking the forbidden words is a serious matter. Even if the prince has committed it, he should not be forgiven lightly."
Seeing that Zhu Ying was already laughing so hard but still trying to turn her head away, not wanting the Third Prince to see her, he continued to say seriously: "However, considering that this is only a first offense, let it go this time. Remember in the future, you must not say a word of what the Emperor said to you. For a prince, sometimes being careless with words and deeds is an unforgivable sin."
The Third Prince's face turned pale immediately, and then he bowed his head deeply and said, "I will learn from your instruction! I will definitely take good care of my fourth brother in the future!"
The fourth prince in the car was simply stunned. He waited until the third prince returned to his seat before he rushed forward. The joy of having escaped from the cage just now disappeared without a trace, and his eyes were a little red. But before he could stammer to explain, Zhang Shou just nodded slightly at him.
"No need to say anything, just remember this in the future. Now that you are enrolled in school, you are no longer children. Do you remember how I taught you last time? Although you know that Yingying and I are not the kind of people who gossip, you still need to be careful about the truth that words can cause trouble. Especially... the better your father treats you, the more you must not tell others about it."
Zhang Shou lowered his voice when he said the last sentence. Although he was not avoiding the guards from the Zhu family and the palace in front and behind him, he did not want too many people to know that he was reminding the two princes something that should not be done.
"Yes!" The fourth prince nodded vigorously, then bowed deeply and said: "Thank you for your teachings, teacher." However, what he got was not a word of praise, but a rub on the head.
Although Zhang Shou realized that he had confused the relationship between ordinary teachers and students and himself and the two princes again after he made the move, he casually looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to this, so he finally decided to forgive himself for his impulse. Because he saw clearly that when the fourth prince raised his head, he touched his head and seemed very happy.
When the Fourth Prince was dragged back by the Third Prince and sat down, Zhang Shou saw Zhu Ying winking at him, as if to say, you only know how to fool children. He smiled helplessly at her, thinking in his heart that although these two princes were precocious, they were not as calm as the old men of precocious children.
This is good. If it was a gloomy old man, he would have declined the offer long ago.
He shrugged his shoulders in response to Zhu Ying, and then said leisurely: "The spring scenery is infinitely beautiful, it is the right time for an outing."
Zhu Ying couldn't help but laugh out loud: "A Shou, why only two sentences? If you want to compile a sentence, it shouldn't be just two sentences, right?"
The fourth prince came over curiously and said, "Sister Yingying, isn't the teacher just expressing his feelings casually? How come it's a collection of poems?"
"Why not?" Zhu Ying looked at Zhang Shou playfully and chanted in a soft voice, "Spring water fills the pond, spring breeze blows the willows. Spring grass is lush and charming. Spring smoke is wafting, and spring colors make people look the same as before. Spring is infinitely beautiful , when flowers bloom. A banquet is held in the spring courtyard, and spring screens are embroidered. Spring wine is served to celebrate the birthday. Spring clothes are warm, and the sound of spring clouds can be heard. Spring never gets old, and pines and bamboos are lush. This is Ye Jingshan's "Spring Water Fills the Pond." "
"The oriole cries through the screen at dawn. A little orchid in the jar peeks at the little person. The spring is early and the screen is cold. Musk coal is golden in Boshan. I can't find her anywhere in my dream. The drizzle wets the pear blossoms. It's the time for an outing. But she is missing in front of me. This is Zhang Yuangan's "Bodhisattva Man"."
Zhu Er, who was hanging at the back of the carriage, naturally heard the conversation between Zhang Shou, Zhu Ying and the third and fourth princes. He was very impressed by the couple's indifferent attitude of not treating the princes as important persons. Even if it was him, even if he felt that it was unlikely that the two would inherit the throne in the future, he would most likely coax them politely to avoid being remembered in the future.
When he heard Zhang Shou's casual remark, Zhu Ying actually recited the entire poem including the source, his eyes widened immediately. No way? Was his sister possessed by some talented woman? How could she recite such an obscure poem so easily? She had been studying for three days and resting for two days since she was a child. Although she had read a lot of poems, she had never heard of someone who could memorize everything she saw!
Not to mention Zhu Er, even Zhang Shou was equally surprised. Because he had only read 300 Tang poems before, and this life was a powerful memory brought by this magical experience, so he could remember most of the content he had read in his previous life. Otherwise, how could he remember so many physics and chemistry knowledge points.
Anyone who has been away from school for a few years will have long forgotten the exercises that once impressed them.
Of course, even if he had a copy of the Complete Tang Poems and Complete Tang Prose at home, he couldn't possibly read all of them. He had read the famous poems in the Song Dynasty, but only a few dozen or a hundred of them. He certainly hadn't read the unknown works of unknown poets. On the contrary, he had read a lot of eight-part essays out of curiosity for a while, so he remembered more than a dozen of them, but he had no chance of passing the imperial examination.
But he really had no impression of the two poems Zhu Ying had just recited! What if Zhu Ying was actually a talented woman like Princess Yongping, but she had always kept it a secret? What if she wanted to talk to him about poetry and essays in the future? The Complete Tang Poems seemed to be compiled in the Qing Dynasty? The Complete Song Ci was compiled in later times. If he wanted to make up for the Tang and Song poems, how many collections of literati would he have to read?
What's even more embarrassing is... just like what the Fourth Prince said, the two sentences he just said were really just casual remarks! He never thought that "The spring scenery is infinitely beautiful" and "It's the right time for an outing" actually have a source.
Zhu Ying was stared at by the Fourth Prince with admiring eyes. She seemed calm at first, but she could still ignore the Fourth Prince's look. However, she felt a little uneasy when she saw the subtle look in Zhang Shou's eyes, so her true colors were soon revealed.
"In fact, when Grandpa Ge first came to teach me, I had no intention of learning at all. Seeing that the spring scenery outside was beautiful, I wanted to go horseback riding, so I told Grandpa Ge that the spring scenery was infinitely beautiful and it was the perfect time for horseback riding. As a result, Grandpa Ge immediately praised me for my diligence, first told me the origin of the sentence "The spring scenery is infinitely beautiful", appreciated the artistic conception of the poem, and then told me what other sentences could be followed by the sentence "The spring scenery is infinitely beautiful."
Talking about this old story, Zhu Ying couldn't help laughing: "In this class, Grandpa Ge talked nonstop for the whole morning, from poetry collections to the history of the Song Dynasty... Of course, I didn't understand at that time, he just told a few small stories. By the time I realized what was going on, it was already time for lunch. It was from then on that I started to beg Grandpa Ge to come more often."
"So, it's all thanks to Grandpa Ge that I can remember those two poems. By the way, Ah Shou, I went to secretly listen to your class and I think you really look alike to Grandpa Ge."
Zhang Shou was relieved. Otherwise, if Zhu Ying often asked him to discuss Tang and Song poetry, it would be fine once or twice, but if it happened frequently, his interesting life would instantly change. He immediately smiled and said, "I dare not compare myself with Teacher Ge. He is well-read and knowledgeable. At most, I am just standing on the shoulders of giants to see the world."
But he was a great giant who was far superior to Ge Yong, because behind that giant was the wisdom of countless wise men from China and abroad. Unfortunately, he could not remember even a fraction of it.
By the time they arrived at Zhao Garden, the topic of discussion had changed from the initial collection of poems to the "Peach Blossom Fan" which was now all the rage in the capital. Of course, there were many scholars who cursed and swore, but there were also many who applauded. However, because of the novel trend that Emperor Taizu had once started, there were countless novels and scripts that distorted the history of previous dynasties, and "Peach Blossom Fan" was not an outlier.
Although the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince had only been there occasionally with their classmates and relatives like Zhu Er, and they were still far from Mu Shaoai's age, they just shouted that the play was simple, straightforward and easy to understand, and it would be best if all plays were changed to this style.
Because the third and fourth princes obviously liked the countryside, Zhu Ying and Zhang Shouyi discussed and settled them in Daoxiang Village after arriving at Zhaoyuan. Seeing several farmlands outside the courtyard and dozens of chickens running around, the third and fourth princes were so happy that they even said this place was great. They didn't notice that Zhu Er, who came out with them, had disappeared quietly.
Also missing were seven or eight guards from the Zhu family.
