Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 805: A Thousand Feelings in My Heart
Having already lost two sons, the emperor's biggest taboo or reverse scale is undoubtedly the crown prince in the palace. Even though the empress dowager has sent people to pick up the third prince in recent days, he, as a father, can't see this son. However, he has summoned the hospital envoys and judges many times, and the imperial doctors have also been questioned, so he is furious at this time.
"Who is gossiping behind my back?"
Facing such an angry emperor, Chen Yongshou suddenly regretted that he should not have rushed to report such a thing that was definitely not good news. But it was too late to regret now. He could only bite the bullet and whispered, "Yes... It is said that it was spread by a certain tutor in Ciqing Palace. Someone in the Imperial Household Department heard it and came to tell this servant when he left the palace."
Seeing the emperor's face was as dark as the eve of a storm, Chen Yongshou's heart was beating fast, wondering if the attendant who spread the news had lost his mind, and if the eunuch who passed the news to him had heard it wrong. However, when the person rushed over before, he didn't know if he was too angry and shouted these words directly, so he couldn't hide it or delay.
Of course, because others had heard it, he had no time to ask in detail, so he could only tell the other party to keep silent and he would report immediately. As a result, the emperor was just like the eunuch, and he was so angry that he directly revealed the secret.
At this moment, the emperor had no time to think about Chen Yongshou's entanglement, and he had thrown all his previous purpose of leaving the palace to relax out of his mind. He walked out without even thinking about it. However, after walking a few steps, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhang Shou.
"Zhang Qing, you are also a lecturer in the Eastern Palace, and the tutors in Ciqing Palace are also your students. Please come with me into the palace! I want to ask them what Sanlang has done to offend them that they have framed him like this!"
Although Zhang Shou had thought about the possibility that the Third Prince was faking illness, when this was exposed, he felt it was absurd and unbelievable - which tutor was so stupid as a pig to spread such rumors? Especially now that no one was competing with the Third Prince, and the court and the public were praising this wise prince, was he courting death?
However, he didn't want to go to the palace to face the farce of the prince pretending to be sick and escaping the palace. However, the emperor didn't leave after saying this, but stood there waiting for him, as if asking him to go over and be a witness. He really couldn't refuse. Thinking that the Queen Mother and Zhu Ying might have played corresponding roles in this play, he sighed helplessly.
He immediately turned around, nodded to a group of students and said, "You will preview the fourth section first. Do exercises one to nine. Some questions have two or even three solutions. Think about them first."
Seeing Zhang Shou walk out after he finished speaking, everyone else was fine, but the blond boy who had been trying to understand what the conversation just meant suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Master Zhang, are you going to go to the palace with this uncle... No, the emperor? Aren't you going to continue your class today?"
The emperor didn't expect such an outsider to suddenly appear. After being despised just now, he was praised again, saying "Uncle, you are very strong". He felt that this foreign boy had some vision. Most importantly, he was quite young, and in the future, maybe he could let the third and fourth princes learn the foreign language... Therefore, he spoke in a flash.
"This kid is interesting, but he can't eat and drink for free in the public school. Let him do odd jobs when he's free. Otherwise, you can't pay for his living expenses and tuition. If he has a good foundation in mathematics, he may be able to rank among the top in the monthly exams and study at Ciqing Palace in the future."
Zhang Shou glanced at the confused blond boy, thinking that if it really turned into a scene where Wu Dawei was studying at Ciqing Palace, it would be a really beautiful scene. However, this was not the time to think about this. He could only wink at Ji Jiu and ask him to explain it to the blond boy, and then gave instructions to the others.
"What you just heard must not be spread outside. Those who violate the rules will bear the consequences at their own risk!"
After warning the students to keep their mouths shut, Zhang Shou quickly followed the emperor out of the school gate. He saw Zhu Hong had heard the news and was waiting there with his horse, while the emperor had already galloped out first. After he got on his horse, he immediately whispered to Zhu Hong, "Go to the girls' school and send a message to Yingying, saying that the emperor forced me to go to Ciqing Palace."
Seeing Zhang Shou whipping and leaving, Zhu Hong didn't have time to ask too many questions, and could only do as he was told with full of suspicion. Of course, the other servants and generals that Zhu Ying ordered to follow Zhang Shou today naturally followed closely behind Zhang Shou.
Therefore, when the group rushed all the way to Dong'an Gate, these followers who originally came from the Duke of Zhao's mansion passed through the gate smoothly, and were not detained until they reached Donghua Gate. After all, the area ahead was the palace city, and even most foreign officials were not allowed to enter without permission, let alone them.
If there were not the Ciqing Palace, Wenhua Hall and the Cabinet inside Donghua Gate, the emperor would have wanted to ride his horse directly in. But it was because he, the emperor, suddenly rode a horse in the palace, which could easily make people think that something big had happened, so he threw his horse at Donghua Gate and walked in angrily.
Zhang Shou, who was following behind, could not catch up with the emperor's super long legs. Moreover, he did not want to follow the emperor into Ciqing Palace and witness the scene, so he simply fell behind slowly.
Since he was a familiar face in the palace and often went to Ciqing Palace for lectures, even though he was completely left behind by the emperor and his entourage and was left alone at the end, his presence was not too conspicuous in the eastern part of the palace where there were the most foreign officials. Until he entered the Huiyin Gate in front of Ciqing Palace, no one asked him why he was here.
It was only here that he encountered people blocking his way. They were seven or eight guards from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion guarding the gate. Because he came and went frequently, the guards just checked his badge as usual. After registering him, the captain who was very familiar with him asked softly, "The emperor just went in angrily. What happened?"
"I don't know either."
Zhang Shou's face was full of surprise, and even revealed a perfect amount of bewilderment. Seeing that the team was laughing as if they knew they had said something wrong, and then stepped aside, he wanted to slow down a bit to avoid the possible storm inside, but thinking that this was under the eyes of many guards, he finally quickened his pace a bit.
So when he stepped into the Ciqing Palace, he was caught in the emperor's rage: "What's going on? Where is the prince?"
Zhang Shou saw Lu Sanlang's innocent face at first sight. To be honest, the little fat boy's face always looked simple and honest, as if he was just a simple and honest fat boy, but people who knew him knew that this kid had a lot of bad intentions, just like he, or the emperor, would not be easily fooled by the expression of the little fat boy in front of them.
In fact, the emperor came in a rage before, and as soon as he entered Ciqing Palace, he became furious at the many tutors. When the confused Yue Shanchang stepped forward to persuade him, he noticed that the fat boy Lu Sanlang was nowhere to be seen, and the third prince, who should have appeared first in the past, was also nowhere to be seen.
With a gloomy face, he saw the screen. After Shanzhang Yue said that this was the prince's move to prevent the disease from being transmitted to other people, he rushed behind the screen with a pang in his heart. Only to find that there was only a desk, an empty chair, and a little fat boy standing there, blinking his eyes and looking at him!
However, at this moment, the ones who were more nervous, or even more terrified, than the fat boy who was pulled out by the emperor himself were the other trembling tutors. They had just said that they knew nothing, but now seeing that the emperor's face was clearly full of disbelief, they trembled even more.
On the other hand, Shanzhang Yue simply felt that it was ridiculous. When he first came to give the lecture, he clearly saw the Third Prince. Although he was hoarse and couldn't speak, he could at least communicate through text, and Lu Sanlang would pass on the message to him to ask questions. The whole lecture process was just a little more complicated than usual...
How come the Crown Prince suddenly disappeared? Could it be that the Third Prince could magically disappear in the Ciqing Palace?
But when he met the emperor's extremely stressful eyes, he suddenly remembered that the Queen Mother had come to visit the Third Prince suddenly before, and she came and left in a hurry. After the Queen Mother left, he clearly remembered that the Crown Prince never left from behind the screen again, and he never saw him again. In other words...
A possibility suddenly came to his mind, but when the words came to his lips, Yue Shanzhang felt that no matter how he said it, it was not appropriate. He could only glance at Lu Sanlang, who obviously knew the whole story, and then lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "When I came to teach this morning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still there."
The emperor still trusted the character and integrity of Yue Shanzhang. Since he was said to be there when the class was first given, he believed that the Third Prince must have been there at that time. However, now that he was indeed missing, he looked at the pitiful little fat man with an angry face and asked word by word: "Lu Sanlang, what do you have to say?"
"The Queen Mother took the Crown Prince away." Lu Sanlang, who had been silent since meeting the Emperor, finally told the truth. However, his frankness shocked everyone. Not only that, he blinked innocently and said something shocking.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also specifically instructed that after he left, before the end of the lecture by Yue Shanzhang, this matter should be exposed to everyone. It would be best if the Emperor could come to Ciqing Palace after returning to the palace and discover that he was away. Of course, I was unwilling to do so, but the Empress Dowager also instructed the same thing after she came here, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it."
Seeing the emperor stunned, the other tutors were dumbfounded, and even Director Yue had a bewildered look on his face, as if they were all wondering if there was something wrong with their ears. The only outsider - at least Zhang Shou himself thought he was an outsider in this matter, because he really knew nothing - he had to cough.
"Did the Queen Mother and the Crown Prince tell us why we should do this?"
The emperor suddenly woke up and asked with wide eyes, "Yes, what are they going to do?"
Lu Sanlang did not answer immediately, but said to himself with a look of grievance: "I have tried to persuade His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but His Royal Highness has made up his mind and cannot be persuaded back. And when the Queen Mother came to take His Royal Highness away, she did not allow any explanation..."
He paused here, as if giving everyone a chance to react, and then whispered, "The Empress Dowager said that the Crown Prince is sitting in Ciqing Palace at such a young age, like a little adult. He is sensible, but compared to the Emperor in his youth, she always thinks that the Crown Prince is a little pitiful. So, since he wants to see his brother so much, she will help him."
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall fell silent. The emperor looked at Zhang Shou and saw that Zhang Shou's expression was full of confusion, as if he was shocked. He finally laughed, but his laugh was a little bitter. Zhang Shou saw that the emperor's anger instantly melted away, but he couldn't help but angrily said to Lu Sanlang: "Isn't it possible to tell him in advance about visiting the fourth prince? Will the emperor stop me?"
"That's what I said." Lu Sanlang made a bitter face, as if I had tried my best to persuade him. "But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he just wanted to sneak out of the palace to meet the Fourth Prince for once, and by the way... by the way, he also wanted to experience what it felt like for the Emperor to sneak out of the palace in the past."
This time, the emperor's face was truly black. It had been so many years, and although he had not specifically prohibited it, who else would bring up his dark history except the Queen Mother and Ge Yong? What on earth had the Queen Mother instilled in the Third Prince during the days he lived in Qingning Palace... Would she not tell everyone all his past embarrassing stories?
If that’s the case, how can he act like a strict father in the future?
Zhang Shou wanted to laugh, but seeing that the emperor's face looked like a pot-bottomed cake, he tried his best to keep a serious face. However, the upturned corners of his mouth revealed his mood at the moment.
He scolded seriously, "How could such a steady man like the Crown Prince say such a thing! Are you sure you are not trying to shirk responsibility and put all the blame on him? Besides, the Queen Mother is strict and fair. She has never been one to dote on her grandson. How could she indulge the Crown Prince to do such a reckless thing!"
Lu Sanlang had an expression that made him want to cry but couldn't. "Teacher, I thought that after the Queen Mother came, maybe I could persuade her to do something, but how could I know that not only did the Queen Mother not persuade me, but she even said to me, 'You are young if you don't act frivolously?'"
As if throwing away a broken jar, he raised his head and looked at the emperor, saying confidently: "The Queen Mother said that the emperor's rage when he looked for the prince was exactly the same as when she sent people to look for you after hearing that you left the palace. Fathers and sons are connected by heart, and mothers and sons are also connected by heart. Please be more considerate of him back then, and the young prince now."
The emperor just felt like his breath was choking in his chest, and he felt a mixture of emotions!
