Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 295 The Grape Rack Collapsed
For the third and fourth princes, who had spent too much time in the capital and the palace, leaving Beijing and coming to Haidian Zhaoyuan was a rare opportunity to live in the countryside. For Zhu Ying, who often came and went, this was probably just an occasional change of taste and environment. As for Zhang Shou... he felt that this was a very leisurely vacation.
Moreover, unless one is extremely wealthy, how could three or five people live in such a garden like the Grand View Garden and have so many people around them? If we add the prerequisite of living in the suburbs of Beijing or Haidian, then it is even more impossible.
On the afternoon when the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince arrived, the two brothers almost had too much fun in Zhao Garden - even the Third Prince, who always appeared calm, ran around happily, and the guards who followed them complained bitterly and chased them, fearing that something might happen to the two little ancestors.
As the host, Zhu Ying had to take the third and fourth princes for a walk in her garden. When she found that the two began to let themselves go, she simply left them to the servants and royal guards who stayed in Zhao Garden, and went back to find Zhang Shou. As a result, she didn't see anyone along the way, and because the servants were all taking care of the two princes, she didn't even find anyone to ask.
After searching for a long time, she couldn't really enter every house. She was sweating and thought that Zhang Shou was playing hide-and-seek with her. She couldn't help but get angry and shouted loudly: "A Shou, where have you been!"
“Here it is!”
Zhu Ying was slightly startled, then looked in the direction of the sound, and saw that the sound came from behind a wall, and that was clearly Qiu Shuang Zhai, where she usually stayed every time she came here. She couldn't help blushing, and hurried over. But there was no one in the front yard or back yard, until she found the grape trellis at the back, and then she found Zhang Shou lying on a bamboo lounge chair, lazily flipping through the book in his hand.
At this moment, she immediately laughed and scolded: "Well, you brought those two little troubles here, but you are lazy here, how dare you! It's not summer yet, it's good to sit under the grape trellis to cool off. In this weather, you don't feel cold sitting here!"
"Isn't this just to find a place where no one else can find you and enjoy some quiet time?" Zhang Shou chuckled, still lying there leisurely, and said with a smile, "I'm curious, the three rooms in Qiu Shuang Zhai are not partitioned. You said that every time you come to Zhao Garden, you like to stay there the most. Is it because you think it's spacious and refreshing, which suits your temperament?"
"Yes!" Zhu Ying answered without hesitation, "Looking up, you can see the roof, and looking down, you can see the white walls. It's spacious and makes people feel comfortable. It's not like other houses, which are already small enough but have to be separated into rooms. It makes people feel suffocated! I also have three rooms like this at home, which are large and bright. I feel good living like this!"
Zhang Shou knew that this was probably the answer, and thought that Tanchun was just being fake and calculating, while Zhu Ying was really being straightforward - different moods naturally led to very different tempers. He raised his lips slightly, then pointed to the grape rack above his head and said, "I'm curious about one more thing. Can the grapevines on this rack really produce grapes?"
"Of course!" Zhu Ying smiled. "When I was a kid, I climbed up there and ate some secretly. I almost cried because of the sour taste! If the Third and Fourth Princes come here in the summer, they will definitely be like me back then and can't help but climb up the grape trellis to pick grapes... I still remember my eldest brother's nervous look as he stood below, ready to catch me at any time!"
Zhang Shou imagined Zhu Tingfang standing under the grape trellis with a serious face, opening his arms to catch his sister, and then he couldn't help laughing: "Since big brother has been a martial arts master since he was a child, why don't you go up and bring you down?"
"I was only five years old at that time, and my eldest brother was less than ten years old. He had the will but not the ability!" Zhu Ying smiled happily when talking about the old days. She walked up to Zhang Shou, jumped lightly and grabbed a piece of grape vine, but then let go. After landing, she clapped her hands.
"I took a lot of effort to climb up there. The grapes were so sour that I cried and screamed. I wanted to come down but couldn't. I crushed several bunches of grapes and stained my new clothes. I cried and screamed. But a guard wanted to come up to save me. As a result, he just climbed up with a ladder and was hit by two bunches of grapes I picked. The whole grape rack shook."
"My eldest brother was so scared that he repeatedly told people to move away quickly. Then he tried to persuade me to crawl to the side and he would catch me. But I was so sad that my new skirt was stained purple that I refused to crawl. That time, my father had to go back to the capital for something, so my eldest brother took my second brother and me to live in Zhao Garden. As a result, my eldest brother scolded me for the first time in his life. I was so angry that I stood up directly."
Zhang Shou thought about the little girl who frowned because of her greed and felt sour, and then was mad at her brother because her dress was stained by the grapes. He felt angry and funny at the same time. But when he heard Zhu Ying say that she was standing on the grape trellis at that time, he remembered that she had said before that the trellis was shaking because of her tossing and turning, and he couldn't help but gradually put away his smile.
He asked with a subtle look: "Yingying, you're not saying that this grape rack has fallen over once, are you?"
"Who told those guys to make the grape racks so flimsy?"
Zhu Ying snorted, not showing any remorse at all. "I was just stomping my feet and getting angry with my eldest brother. As a result, the shelf collapsed! Fortunately, when it fell, Uncle Hua jumped out from nowhere and jumped down to the ground holding me. As a result, my eldest brother was so angry that his face turned blue, and he punished my second brother by locking him in a small dark room."
Zhang Shou was simply amazed: "The mistake you made is that your second brother is imprisoned?"
"Who told my eldest brother to let my second brother take care of me? But my second brother went to call someone to fight cocks!" Zhu Ying couldn't help but smile when she said this. "My eldest brother didn't even send dinner to my second brother, so I secretly hid two steamed buns and sent them to him. I still remember my second brother's pitiful look and what he said to me."
"Yingying, for the sake of the favor I, your second brother, have suffered on your behalf, you must share more of the benefits with me in the future."
Zhang Shou almost burst out laughing when he heard Zhu Ying imitate Zhu Er's tone. After laughing, he said nonchalantly: "I didn't expect that the grape rack in your Qiu Shuang Zhai really fell down once... By the way, Yingying, haven't you heard the old story about the grape rack falling down?"
Zhu Ying suddenly became curious: "What's the story about the grape trellis falling down? Ah Shou, tell me about it!"
Zhang Shou was a little surprised. Emperor Taizu brought so many messy poems, stories and various nouns to the world, but he didn't popularize that classic joke? Well, Xiaolin Guangji is said to be from the Qing Dynasty, but it is said to be excerpted from various jokes in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Is it true that there was no such thing at that time? Yes, that's right. Without Su Shi's famous quote, there would be no Hedong Lion Roar in the Tang Dynasty.
After a brief thought, he coughed twice and said, "Forget it if you haven't heard of it. It's just a very boring story..."
"How can you be like this? You keep me in suspense right from the start!" Zhu Ying saw Zhang Shou looking away, clearly intending to change the subject. She immediately rushed forward without thinking and pressed his shoulders. "Will you tell me or not? If not, then forget it! If you don't, I have an ultimate trick. I don't believe you are not afraid of being tickled!"
Zhang Shou was stunned at first, and then he had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender. Of course, he couldn't handle the flaw that people couldn't solve, such as being ticklish!
"Okay, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, if you don't say anything now, this grape rack will really fall down!" After saying this strange double-entendre, Zhang Shou quickly cleared his throat when he saw Zhu Ying had started to blow on his hand.
"Once upon a time, there was a petty official!" He used the same opening as when he gave a lecture in the Banshan Hall of the Imperial College. Seeing that Zhu Ying refused to let up, he could only sigh and continue, "The petty official was most afraid of his wife at home. One day, she scratched his face. When he was in class, the governor saw the scratch on his face and asked him about it. He gritted his teeth and said that he was enjoying the cool air at night and the grape trellis fell down, and he was scratched by the trellis."
Seeing Zhu Ying suddenly realize and glare at him angrily, Zhang Shou continued to speak slowly, "The governor didn't believe it and said that it must have been scratched by your fierce wife. It's not right for a wife to bully her husband. Send the officers to arrest the person immediately! Unexpectedly, the governor's wife happened to be eavesdropping in the back hall. When she learned that the governor was actually meddling in such trivial matters, she rushed out in anger. The prefect was immediately frightened."
At this point, he pretended to push Zhu Ying, and when he saw that she really let go of his hand, he cursed in all seriousness: "It's all your fault! Get out of here! My inner court grape trellis is about to fall down!"
Zhu Ying was stunned at first, then she laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She cried out "ouch" and was about to squat on the ground, but she lost her balance and fell on Zhang Shou. Although the two of them had had an intimate relationship that ordinary unmarried couples would never have, she was still shocked when she ran into Zhang Shou's arms.
Zhang Shou also didn't expect that the story he casually told because of the grape trellis would end up with a soft and fragrant jade in his arms. Especially when the two soft balls were tightly pressed against him, it was different from the touch of the previous embrace. He suddenly felt a little dry in the mouth. Almost subconsciously, he reached out and hugged the beauty's waist.
Almost instantly, Zhu Ying felt her face turn red as if it were on fire. With her strength, she could easily break free and stand up, but after stretching out her hands to support herself, she could only barely move her body a little. However, this awkward feeling of almost touching but not touching made her face turn redder and bloody.
In order to avoid losing her composure, she could only glare at Zhang Shou fiercely, her tone more like a grumble than anger: "What a messed up story! It's obviously made up by you!"
Of course, Zhang Shou would not miss Zhu Ying's rosy face, and he immediately asked with a smile: "Even if it is my fabrication, but the grape racks in Qiu Shuang Zhai are ready-made, and they have fallen down once before. Naturally, I can't help but think of this story, and worry whether it will fall down in the future."
"Fuck you!" Zhu Ying finally broke away from Zhang Shou in a rage, then she put her hands on her hips and shouted angrily, "Do you want to say that I'm a shrew?"
"What's wrong with a fierce woman? As long as her fierceness is directed to outsiders, it's fine!" Zhang Shou jumped up and met Zhu Ying face to face, eye to eye. "She is as warm as spring to her relatives and friends, as vigorous as summer to important matters, as ruthless to betrayers as autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, and as cold as winter to her enemies. Don't you think such a person is good?"
Zhu Ying was stunned at first by what Zhang Shou said, but then she turned from anger to joy and said, "That's more like it! You know my personality well! The description of spring, summer, autumn and winter is quite appropriate!"
I even used Comrade Lei Feng's famous quote to finally stabilize the grape racks. It was not easy...
Zhang Shou complained in his heart, and then quickly changed the subject and said, "Do you want to go and see how the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince are doing? I didn't expect them to be so wild when they get crazy. Although there are a lot of servants and guards here, you are the only one who can suppress them naturally! "
"Teacher, don't think you can stay out of this!" Zhu Ying glared at Zhang Shou, then stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, turned around and dragged him out, "Don't forget, when the emperor entrusted the person to you, he also specifically told you to beat him when necessary and scold him when necessary, don't be polite!"
If I were really rude, I would be the biggest idiot in the world! Can the emperor's words be taken seriously? If I use a ruler to beat the eldest and second princes, then I would have a sense of accomplishment as a teacher. What's the big deal about beating two little kids?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, but when he and Zhu Ying walked back and finally saw a group of guards running towards him in a panic, he was still surprised. Then, he saw the third and fourth princes wrapped tightly in blankets and held in the hands of two guards in the crowd. The third prince was embarrassed, and the fourth prince was holding the blanket to cover his face guiltily.
When Zhu Ying asked, she was immediately furious: "What? They fell into the pool because they were having too much fun? Quick, check if the hot water is ready in Daoxiang Village. Throw these two little bastards in there and wash them up. Then go and ask the kitchen to bring the brown sugar ginger soup. It will be too late if they catch a cold!"
After she finished speaking, she rolled up her sleeves and glared at the two troublemakers fiercely: "You little bastards, wait and see how I'll deal with you!"
Thinking of the possible consequences of falling into the water, Zhang Shou couldn't help feeling a little scared. However, when he followed them to Daoxiang Village, he saw the Fourth Prince swiftly stripping off his clothes and escaping into the steaming hot pool, while the Third Prince ran in without even taking off his clothes. The two brothers squatted in the middle, looking pitifully at the angry Zhu Ying across the water. He was finally amused and laughed.
"You two brats still want to avoid this beating? Don't even think about it!" Zhu Ying, who had just told a story about her mischievous childhood, completely forgot what comparison meant. She stamped her feet in anger, but she couldn't go into the water to pick the two up and teach them a lesson. She immediately turned her head and glared at Zhang Shou angrily, "Ah Shou, get down there quickly and give them a good beating!"
Zhang Shou was immediately confused. Seeing the two brothers lowering their heads and whispering to each other, clearly discussing how to evade, he said slowly, "There's no need to punish them. I have a hundred equations here that they can solve later."
