Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 306 It Turns Out to Be Him
How much did I drink? Three pots? Five pots? Or seven or eight pots? I can't remember. I just know that after laughing wildly for a while, I don't remember anything else.
When he regained consciousness, the first thing that came to Ji Jiu's mind was the hearty drink he had just had. However, when he tried to think about why he got drunk, he finally regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and looked around, only to find himself lying on a spacious bed with a thin quilt covering his body.
After making sure that he was not sleeping on the street, he closed his eyes with a sigh of relief and was about to go back to sleep, but suddenly he realized something more important - he didn't seem to be at home! Could it be that someone had put him up in a guesthouse when he was drunk, or had taken him home? Was there anyone so kind among his friends?
Ji Jiu, who had just woken up from a dream, tried to sit up, but he had drunk too much wine before, so after he stood up, he fell heavily on the bed. Because the noise was too loud, he soon heard footsteps, and then a hand lifted the gauze curtain.
"Awake? Looks like the hangover soup worked well."
Seeing the face clearly, Ji Jiu couldn't help but blink hard, but he still couldn't believe his eyes, so he shook his head and blinked hard again. When he was sure that he was not mistaken, he suddenly turned pale, and all the wine in his stomach turned into cold sweat. Before he could think of what to say, he found that he had been dragged up.
Even though the other person was shorter than him, he saw that he was holding his arm and walking out easily. When he stepped over the threshold, he was in a state of confusion and his feet hit the threshold hard. He groaned in pain and the remaining alcohol was mostly gone.
"Sorry, you're too tall."
Ji Jiu was choked by this insincere apology and was speechless. After the pain gradually subsided, he asked cautiously, "Where is this? How did I get here?"
"This is Zhang Yuan. I brought you back from the tavern." Ah Liu's answer was brief and to the point, but then he seemed to talk more than usual, "If the young master hadn't wanted to see you, you would have almost been sent to the brothel to spend the night."
Ji Jiu was already sweating all over, and after hearing the last sentence, he sweated even more. Although he was already 18 years old after the New Year, he was older than Zhang Shou, and had been to those brothels and had tasted the taste for women, but he still knew his limits. If he was found staying in a brothel tonight, it would be known to the whole city tomorrow!
Therefore, he immediately apologized with a smile: "Thank you, Sixth Brother, you really saved me once!"
This time, Ah Liu did not answer. He carried Ji Jiu forward easily, and when they reached the gate of a courtyard, they saw Yang Hao peeking out, and when he saw him, he hurried forward to help, but he asked directly: "Is there anyone else in the study?"
"Gone!" Yang Hao shook his head quickly, but when he was about to explain in detail the whereabouts of the burly Mr. Zhang San, Ah Liu gave him a sidelong look. He was trembling with fear and dared not say anything more. He watched Ah Liu bring Ji Jiu directly to the door of the study, knock on the door and carry him in.
After being carried for a long time in the dark corridor outside, Ji Jiu suddenly entered the brightly lit room. He couldn't help squinting his eyes to adjust to the light, and then he saw Zhang Shou sitting behind a huge rosewood desk, flipping through a palm-sized book with great interest. With just one glance, he judged that it was something he had sold.
Although he did not look back when someone shouted that Zhang the big guy was cheating, he knew without thinking that it must have been confiscated by Zhang Shou from that stupid guy.
Although he didn't know why Zhang Shou didn't pursue Zhang the big guy at that time, Ji Jiu was smart enough not to mention the matter. After Ah Liu let go of his hand, he barely stood firm and bent down respectfully.
"I was confused and drunk, and I was lucky that my teacher sent someone to help me out of my predicament."
"Haha, Ah Liu said that you are a good drinker. After you get drunk, you don't talk nonsense, but just fall asleep. But your drinking buddies are not good people. Some of them escape, some mock you, and some even plan to send you to some brothel to have sex with beautiful women. Even the money for the wine is pushed onto you, and the shopkeeper goes to your house to ask for it. Your judgment of choosing friends is really not very good."
After Zhang Shou finished speaking, he threw the notes in his hand on the desk. Seeing that Ji Jiu only looked embarrassed but his eyes were calm, he knew that this gentleman might have other considerations for making friends, so he skipped this issue and did not mention it.
"I asked Ah Liu to find you. I just want to ask you, these notes you sold to Zhang Sanlang and the others were in your handwriting. You actually took the trouble to copy out six copies. Your determination is really commendable. You shouldn't just use them to make money, right?"
Ji Jiu's heart skipped a beat. He knew that this would be exposed sooner or later, but he didn't tell Zhang Wuji that idiot to cheat, and the others who were not caught would not leak it. But he never expected that it would be exposed on the night of the end of the division test! Zhang Shou actually knew that he copied six copies!
He tried hard to sort out his confused thoughts, but before he could even say a word, he was frightened by Zhang Shou's next words: "I have read these three notebooks. The contents are detailed and the records are clear. To be honest, I didn't expect someone to be so attentive. So, you were busy recording what I said in class?"
Zhang Shou paused, then said with a half-smile, "If you really recorded everything I said and sorted it out later, it would be very difficult. After all, Banshan Hall is different from other halls. I teach more freely and less by following the rules. So, selling these three notebooks for fifty strings of cash is not expensive, but cheap."
Ji Jiu only felt that his clothes were completely stuck to his body, wet and uncomfortable. He shook his heavy head and didn't even notice that Ah Liu had quietly left. Until this moment, he was a little annoyed that he was too frivolous and went to drink after the exam, so that his mind was a mess at this time and he couldn't make a proper response at all.
But at least he knew what Zhang Shou was asking about - who were the three notebooks for? He would never dare to reveal it. But he couldn't think of an excuse to fool Zhang Shou, so he could only choose to remain silent. But the next moment, he almost jumped up.
"Ji Jiulang, I didn't expect that you, who have always kept a low profile, have connections in the palace. You are really amazing!"
How did Zhang Shou know that!
Ji Jiu suddenly raised his head and met Zhang Shou's eyes. Seeing a smile between his eyebrows, his heart suddenly shrank, and he realized that his reaction gave the other party a chance to confirm! He lowered his head in a hurry, sweating profusely. Just when he made up his mind not to admit it, he didn't expect Zhang Shou to speak slowly again.
"The last few questions in this classroom test were set by the emperor. The emperor has never been around outside the Banshan Hall like Xu Jiancheng, so even if the third and fourth princes often go back and talk to him, he can only hear the general idea at most. So, I have heard that there is someone in the Banshan Hall who specializes in recording the classroom content and sending it to the palace for the emperor to review, but I didn't expect it to be you who is so low-key."
Ji Jiu was immediately shocked. It turned out that Chu Kuan, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, had asked him to secretly write down the contents of the class, not for himself, but for the emperor to see! When the emperor was reading those notes, did he know that he wrote them? How could such an insignificant person like him enter the emperor's eyes?
No, it's impossible. With Chu Kuan's cautiousness, he might have someone copy it again so that no one can see his handwriting...
His heart felt like it was being bitten by thousands of ants. Sometimes he was happy, sometimes confused, sometimes angry, sometimes terrified... The expression on Ji Jiu's face kept changing like a revolving lantern. He knew that this was due to his confused mind as he was still drunk. However, he had no chance to calm himself down at this moment. He only regretted that in order to get rid of the trouble, he wanted to make some money, which attracted Zhang Shou's attention.
After weighing the pros and cons, he finally decided to confess. Chu Kuan was a very low-key person, and he was also a close attendant to the emperor, but the county magistrate was not as good as the current one. Not to mention that Zhang Shou was in charge of the Imperial College, even now, he was still on someone else's territory.
So, he simply said frankly: "The teacher is right. It was the eunuch Chu from the Imperial Household Department who asked me to record the teacher's lectures, sort them out, and hand them over to him regularly."
It turned out to be Chu Kuan? Zhang Shou felt that it was both unexpected and reasonable.
Unexpected because he did not expect Chu Kuan, the head of the Imperial Household Department who never made friends with foreign officials, to secretly hook up with an official's son - you know, Ji Jiu's father is the Left Vice-Chief Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, one of the top leaders of the Metropolitan Censorate. And reasonable because if it were not for a person like Chu Kuan, the profit-seeking and harm-avoiding Master Ji Jiu would not have succumbed.
He nodded and smiled, "You sold the notebook to Ji Jiu and the others, but you didn't let them cheat, which is understandable. But the size of your notebook is just right for cheating, so it's bound to attract criticism. So, even if you do well in the test, aren't you afraid of being criticized or even slandered? And you still want to drink and have fun outside at night?"
"I..." Ji Jiu didn't expect Zhang Shou to be like a chain hand, unraveling the mystery and digging directly to the deepest layer. But the most important thing, Chu Kuan, had already confessed, so he made up his mind and simply told the truth.
"If I can get the first place in Banshan Hall, but someone suspects me of cheating, I will pretend to quit Banshan Hall in anger to prove my innocence. Then, Eunuch Chu will promise me a job outside the capital. Although it may not be very good, it is better than having to face the faces of my family in the capital. I am not as talented as Lu Zhu, nor am I as trusted by the teacher as Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, so..."
"I understand what you mean." Zhang Shou raised his hand to signal Ji Jiu not to force himself to continue, and then he laughed, "There are so many people in Banshan Hall, I really can't take care of them all, and sometimes it's inevitable that I favor some over others. I once made a promise to those people in Cuiyun Room on behalf of Yingying, so it's inevitable that I have to take care of them a little more. You already have a connection, so it's normal for you to have some ideas."
Zhang Shou said it calmly, but Ji Jiu was frightened. He never dared to bet on others' tolerance of the world's affairs. At this moment, what he feared most was that Zhang Shou would link all the scenes in the examination room to himself!
He hurriedly explained, "Teacher, Wu Silang accused Zhang Wuji of cheating. I think it was just because Zhang Wuji relied on his family background in Xiangyang Earl's Mansion and bullied the weak and feared the strong. This time, someone happened to see the notes. But I know that Wu Silang wanted to fan the flames and stir up trouble. I heard that Tang Laoshi, who is from Commander Tang's family, used the IOU to force him to write someone else's name on the test paper!"
Sure enough, someone is trying to cause trouble... But now it sounds like the mantis is stalking the cicada, while the oriole is waiting behind?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart and asked calmly, "Does the eunuch Chu of the Imperial Household Department know about this?"
"Should... know." After having sold Chu Kuan out once, Ji Jiu didn't mind selling him out a second time. "Eunuch Chu said that when spring thunder strikes, dragons and snakes move. Teacher, you have been in trouble since you came to the capital. Not to mention that those who have grudges against Duke Zhao will definitely not miss this opportunity. Even those who are jealous of your position, or those who have been messed up by your good deeds, will take advantage of the opportunity to move in."
Fearing that Zhang Shou would cause trouble for Chu Kuan and implicate himself, he quickly added: "Eunuch Chu said that the emperor needed to get those people out one by one so that he could clean up the situation." Chu Kuan should have been instructed by the emperor... should... right?
Haha, as expected, isn't it that you first saw that I was in a critical situation, and then you reached out to rescue me, so there is a favor to talk about? Now that I think about it, when Princess Yongping was at the Yuehua Tower Literary Meeting, Chu Kuan, who was the chief writer of the Silijian at the time, seemed to have done the same thing.
Zhang Shou nodded slightly as he thought about it: "Okay, now that you have confessed everything, have you thought about what to do next?"
Can I say I haven't thought it through? Ji Jiu felt like a meat pie squeezed between two mountains, so he simply bowed and said, "I was just about to ask the teacher for some advice."
"I don't have anything to advise you. Just follow Eunuch Chu's instructions, which is to stir up trouble and then stay out of the spotlight. There is another way out. You have helped him so much, I don't think he will abandon you easily." Zhang Shou said with a smile, and then said nonchalantly, "And if you want to break this situation, there is another very simple way."
He paused and said lightly, "You can learn from Xie Wanquan, the ready-made example. I recommend him to help Lu Sanlang's father. In addition, Zhang Wuji, who bought the three notebooks, is also in Zhang Garden. You two may wish to discuss it."
Ji Jiu was stunned at first, but then his mind gradually became active. Of course, he didn't dare to go against Chu Kuan, but if he left Beijing according to Chu Kuan's arrangement, it seemed that he would never come back in this life. Instead of that, he might as well learn from Xie Wanquan who burned his boats! As for that idiot Zhang Dakua, he had to ask him carefully!
