Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 799: The Prince's Temper
The third prince was indeed very diligent, very hardworking, and very hardworking... Because if he didn't work hard, he would never be able to cope with the huge group of trial teachers. Fortunately, the new teachers had not yet been selected, and a big discussion had already started outside. His current teachers all had a deep sense of crisis, and fewer and fewer people read from the textbook.
Of course, the content of the lectures was much more lively and novel, no longer as boring as usual, which made him, who was still a child, feel a little more relaxed.
However, he had just experienced an accident yesterday, and his mood was full of ups and downs. Even though Xu Shanzhang, who was teaching this morning, was full of witty remarks, he still hoped that the person who would give the lecture today would be Zhang Shou. In this way, even if he could not tell others about what happened last night, he could still tell others about the old story of Emperor Ruizong and the Empress Dowager, and at least vent his feelings.
However, Zhang Shou's classes were no longer held every day, so he could only keep the thought of sharing in his heart. But after he finished his lunch class, he found that Chu Kuan was also missing, and the young prince became even more anxious.
He even thought of some legends that the Fourth Prince had solemnly instilled in him - for example, someone did something he shouldn't have done, so he was punished and disappeared from the palace. And this was not just a legend. It was said that Liu Feng, who bewitched the Fourth Prince and was beaten to death by his father, disappeared silently like this!
The third prince became even more worried when he thought that it was Chu Kuan who tipped him off, so he rushed to Qingning Palace yesterday. Even though he and Chu Kuan did not have such a deep relationship, during the time he was in Ciqing Palace, he was always by his side, keeping silent when he was not needed, but providing all kinds of advice when he was needed. He had long been accustomed to this person.
So, after thinking it over, and seeing that Chu Kuan had not returned yet and the afternoon class was about to begin, the little Crown Prince made a prompt decision and instructed Lu Sanlang and several other tutors to help him here, and then he left without even leaving a reason.
The Crown Prince, who never skipped classes, didn't care about the consequences of his departure, and walked almost as fast as he could - if he wasn't seen by others, they might stop him and make suggestions, so he almost wanted to jog. When he finally arrived at the Qianqing Gate after hurrying, he saw two unexpected figures.
Although they came out together, there was obviously no master-servant relationship between the two people. They did not walk one in front and one behind, but there was a distance of three or four steps between them, as if they disliked each other.
When they saw him, they both showed surprised expressions. Even more surprised, or even more confused, was the Fourth Prince. He stared at the two of them blankly for a long time, with a puzzled look on his face. It was not until a long time later that his face seemed to calm down, and his tone could not help but seem a little aggressive.
"Eunuch Chu, why are you here?"
Chu Kuan wanted to say, this is what I want to ask, but regardless of their identities, he vaguely realized that the Third Prince came to the Palace of Heavenly Purity at a time when he should have been in class, probably because of his sudden absence. Even if this was not certain, for him who had been working towards a certain direction, this was a pleasant surprise.
Therefore, Chu Kuan did not push all the responsibility onto Hua Qi. He just lowered his eyelids slightly and whispered, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I have no choice but to do my duty."
He pushed all the blame onto the emperor!
Faced with such an expected answer, the Third Prince did not feel relieved, but frowned even more. He glanced at Hua Qi, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. Then his voice became sharp, and even his tone became stern: "Did the emperor ask you to go with him to investigate the case of...?"
It is said that death is like the extinguishing of a lamp, but when the Third Prince thought of the dispute between the Queen Mother and his father yesterday, he really couldn't call him "Big Brother". And when he saw that his straightforward question really made Chu Kuan pause, and Hua Qi turned his head away with guilt, he felt even more that his father was just being picky.
In an instant, the little prince completely forgot the purpose of his visit and said angrily: "I will go to see my father now! I want to ask my father what kind of result he wants to be satisfied!"
Although the Third Prince left immediately after saying this, Chu Kuan and Hua Qi were very skilled. The latter dodged and blocked the man, while Chu Kuan grabbed the Third Prince's arm without any regard for etiquette. However, before Chu Kuan could think of a reasonable exhortation and take advantage of the situation to increase his weight in the eyes of the Prince, another person came out of the Qianqing Palace .
This is Chen Yongshou who ran errands several times today. Although it was winter, he was sweating profusely. It was not known whether it was because he was in a hurry or because he was in a hurry. He seemed not to notice that Chu Kuan and Hua Qi were blocking the Third Prince from meeting the Emperor. He walked quickly to the three people with a smile on his face and saluted the Third Prince.
"Your Highness, the Emperor said that after you finish your classes this afternoon, you can go to the public school to meet with Master Zhang."
Seeing that the impatience and anger on the Third Prince's face were replaced by astonishment, and he was completely stunned, Chu Kuan and Hua Qi were also very surprised. Chen Yongshou smiled and said, "The thing is, didn't the emperor give some mathematical scriptures to Old Master Ge before? They are all from foreign countries, written in foreign languages, so they need to be translated..."
He used the simplest sentences to describe the whole process, including the blond boy he sent to the public school. Seeing that the Third Prince's mood had gradually calmed down, he said carefully: "Although Master Zhang has always been a specialist in dealing with all kinds of disobedience - this is what the emperor said - this is after all a foreign boy who does not know etiquette, so it is hard to say whether he will disobey discipline."
"So, Your Highness, why don't you go and take a look yourself, and also take a look at those books in foreign languages?"
The Third Prince felt that his mood was once again up and down after yesterday. He had come here because of Chu Kuan's matter, but when he found out that Chu Kuan seemed to want to go with Hua Qi to investigate the death of the First Prince, he immediately remembered what happened last night and almost couldn't help himself; but now, his father had given Zhang Shou a very difficult task. Was this a deliberate embarrassment or a distraction?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt depressed. The Third Prince finally agreed with a sullen face, but he was too lazy to say anything more and turned around and left. Seeing him walk away like that, Hua Qi couldn't help but frown, and then glanced at Chu Kuan who seemed to be thinking about something.
Even though he didn't have a deep understanding of the Third Prince, he was sure that the Crown Prince was in a rare temper! When he met him just now, he was even a little aggressive. This was definitely not directed at him, and Chu Kuan was very suspicious!
The only one who didn't know what the situation was and was just running around to pass on messages, Chen Yongshou, looked at Chu Kuan, then at Hua Qi, and finally chose to slip away quietly. On the one hand, he needed to report to the emperor, and on the other hand, he didn't want to get involved in this complicated incident at all.
So, when Hua Qi had no choice but to take Chu Kuan, whom the emperor had asked for but now somewhat despised, to investigate the death of the eldest prince, Chen Yongshou, who had completed his mission, continued his busy day as the manager of the Qianqing Palace. The third prince was late for a lecture in the Ciqiong Palace for the first time in his life, and was absent-minded throughout the whole process.
Of course, the Crown Prince has now learned to remain in a daze without changing his expression or heartbeat. People who are not familiar with him cannot even detect his state of mind from his eyes and movements. Because he still nods slightly from time to time, and even buries his head to write a few words like taking notes. Only a senior brother and tutor like Lu Sanlang can see the poor state of the Third Prince.
The afternoon lecture was finally over. After seeing off the ambitious lecturer, Lu Sanlang was just about to ask the third prince indirectly why he was distracted when he saw the little prince rushing over in a hurry.
"Brother Lu, my father asked me to go to the public school... Well, it's getting late, I'll tell you the details on the way!" At this point, the third prince nodded slightly at the other tutors, "You guys are from Jiuzhang Hall, come with me... And you, if you want to go, come together!"
Seeing that the people from Jiuzhang Hall, the two guys from Banshan Hall, and the people selected from the Imperial College all agreed with joy on their faces, and being sure that there couldn't be any unexpected situation on Zhang Shou's side, Lu Sanlang certainly would not refuse.
However , when he was dragged into the same carriage by the Third Prince, he saw that the Crown Prince hesitated for a long time and only said to him hesitantly that the Emperor had given Zhang Shou a batch of foreign-language books that were said to be mathematical classics, and the condition was that Zhang Shou would bring the students of Jiuzhang Hall to translate them.
However, he thought, if it was just because of this little thing, how could the calm and steady Third Prince, who is now praised by everyone, be so out of control today? Fortunately, Fatty Lu's advantage is that he never gets stuck in a rut and throws things aside when he can't figure them out. Therefore, instead of digging into the topic of the Third Prince, he seriously went deep into it.
"Eunuch Chen's words are too simplistic. What kind of background does this kid have? How dare he get on board so casually? And how can he say he can understand the text on the arithmetic scripture? Just thinking about it will give you a lot of questions! If such a kid is thrown directly into the public school, is the emperor asking the teacher to help him identify spies, or is he really translating a foreign arithmetic scripture?"
Although he was doubting others, Lu Sanlang didn't think so at all.
Compared to the intrigues and struggles in the capital, the blond boy who came from a small foreign country and sneaked on a ship across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty, even if he really had some plan, it would be much more interesting than what is happening now!
Why bother with those complicated disputes, plots, or conspiracies? His extraordinary talent is used to calculate those complicated problems, not to calculate the situation and intrigues. How boring! Solving problems and making money are the most interesting!
After hearing Lu Sanlang's few words, the Third Prince's originally troubled mood gradually eased.
No wonder Senior Brother Lu has always been regarded as an uneducated and obese person in the past years, but he has always had such a good attitude. This is simply because he has a broad mind and a big body, and he can tolerate everything!
Although the Third Prince came out in a hurry, he came by imperial decree, so the soldiers and horses escorting the carriage were in plain clothes, but there were quite a few of them. At first glance, looked well-trained. Moreover, the gatekeeper of the public school had seen the sudden arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more than once. At this moment, when the carriage stopped in front of the public school, the Third Prince jumped out first, and the two gatekeepers immediately split up to act.
One of them hurried forward, while the other ran to tell Zhang Shou the news.
However, the person who ran out to report the news was caught up by a fat figure before he could even take a few steps away. The little fat man has now fully realized the true meaning of life lies in exercise. After all, he is also a famous busy man in Beijing, so he never forgets to exercise every morning. The only regret is that he can't lose weight, but at least he has advanced to become an agile fat man.
While stopping the doorman, Lu Sanlang said in the most amiable manner: "Your Highness the Crown Prince wants to see what the blond boy is doing. There is no need to mobilize a large number of people to come out to greet him. He is a frequent visitor, so there is no need to be polite."
If the Third Prince said this, others would be very terrified but it would not be difficult to accept it. However, Sanlang Lu actually stepped in and the concierge couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. However, at this moment, he heard the Third Prince's voice from behind: "Listen to Senior Brother Lu, I'm just here to see you, no need to be polite."
Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had said so, the gatekeeper had no choice but to give way reluctantly - Ah Liu was not at home today, and if he did not go in to tip off, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would probably break into Jiuzhang Hall directly. Now he could only pray silently in his heart, hoping that Jiuzhang Hall would be there for classes and nothing else.
The Third Prince had no idea what the gatekeeper was struggling with, so he took advantage of Lu Sanlang's blocking of the way and rushed in alone. The several attendants behind him looked at each other and hurried to catch up. Lu Sanlang, who had just shown off his agility, lagged behind and spoke a few words to the gatekeeper earnestly.
"Next time you see His Royal Highness, just come up to greet him. Why are you running away? His Royal Highness doesn't like to think too much. If it were someone else, they might think that our public school is saying one thing in front of you and another behind your back, and that there is something shameful going on."
"But..." The concierge looked aggrieved. He tried to hold it back, but couldn't help whispering, "But this was specially ordered by Lu Jijiu. He said that our public school is not a market, and we can't let anyone in. No matter who comes, we have to inform them... Ouch!"
After being hit on the head, he cried out in pain while holding his head, and then was choked speechless by Lu Sanlang's words: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is an outsider? Even if my father heard it, he would definitely make you dizzy!"
When the Third Prince hurried to the outside of the Nine Chapters Hall, he could only hear the sound of gasps. He thought something had happened, so he rushed in in a hurry. He was stunned - he saw a blond man wearing a green silk jacket, writing furiously on the blackboard. The string of beautiful cursive letters was dazzling!
