Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 813 Relaxation and Tension
The next day, when Zhang Shou came to Ciqing Palace to give a lecture, he was met with the sincere apology of the Third Prince almost as soon as he entered. In response, he had to smile helplessly and said, "I was just dragged here by the Emperor that day, and this happened to be the right time. If His Royal Highness wants to apologize, it would be better to instruct Lu Gaoyuan next time to calculate the time carefully, at least to let the Emperor come back to the palace before he can catch me."
"In this way, at least I won't be dragged to the scene by the emperor in such an embarrassing way."
After making a few jokes, Zhang Shou glanced at the other tutors and said with a smile, "If His Royal Highness really wants to apologize, he should say it to the tutors. After all, they knew nothing and still endured the emperor's wrath."
As soon as these words came out, the several attendants who had just lowered their heads and kept silent like quails immediately panicked. One said that His Royal Highness had already apologized, but as soon as he said it, he realized that it was wrong and quickly changed his words to say that His Royal Highness had already comforted them; another said that they had neglected their duties in the first place and forgot to advise His Royal Highness to combine work and rest...
In this panic atmosphere, Lu Sanlang finally spoke with resentment: "Teacher, the Crown Prince has really apologized one by one, which scared everyone. Now that you reminded us, the Crown Prince will really apologize again, and everyone will be frightened for nothing. Fortunately, you took the blame this time, otherwise I'm afraid everyone outside would definitely shout for Lu Sanlang to be executed!"
"Wrong, please kill Lu Zhu, they don't care whether you like your scientific name or not!"
Zhang Shou mocked Lu Sanlang a little, and his face immediately became even more sad. The Third Prince was about to speak but stopped. He smiled and said, "Well, there is a saying that goes, if you are not impeached, you are mediocre. So you should learn from me in the future. If you are impeached by those old masters a few more times, you will become thick-skinned and don't care. Well, no more nonsense, let's go to class!"
If one is not envied by others, he is mediocre. But for Zhang Shou, it became if one is not impeached, he is mediocre. The third prince's guilt suddenly turned into a smile, especially when he saw Zhang Shou really started to teach the class freely. He put away his thoughts, listened carefully, asked questions, and took notes... Before he knew it, the class was over. He had not slept well in the past few days and wanted to yawn, but he forced himself to hold it back.
But what he didn't expect was that Zhang Shou not only saw it, but also suddenly said: "Pay attention during class. Now it's time to get off get out of class. It doesn't matter if you stretch, yawn, or stand up and move around. I'm not one of those old adults who are strict with rules. I don't have so many rules."
"If you think my explanation is too profound or too difficult, you can also point it out... Lu Gaoyuan!"
Zhang Shou's sudden voice frightened Lu Sanlang so much that he jumped up. But after he stood up, he looked around in confusion. He was distracted just now. What on earth did Zhang Shou say? He could make a blind guess about other teachers, but he dared not do that about Zhang Shou!
"Take the lead, stretch yourself, yawn, and relax." Seeing that the little fat man was confused by this special request, but then he did it without hesitation, Zhang Shou glanced at the others who were hesitating, and suddenly waved to call the third prince to the inner room. After completely avoiding the sight of the attendants, he turned his head to look at the little prince.
"If you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't be so burdened. Ah Liu told me that he told you that he thought it was a good idea for you to skip classes and go to Tongzhou to see the Fourth Prince. I scolded him."
Zhang Shou stretched out his hand to signal the Third Prince not to interrupt him, and smiled, "I scolded him to say that it's good for you to go out and relax often, but if you always escape from the palace to relax, others will be scared to death. However, you are now away from home to study, and you should take a day off every ten days. I even think that taking a day off every ten days is too little, but I'm sure those old adults don't think so."
"You are still young. If you have too many classes, it will be too much of a burden. If you don't understand anything in my class, just tell me. If you don't understand something in other people's classes, you can also tell me. Of course, I can't be proficient in their majors, but I can at least think of ways to talk to some people privately."
"teacher……"
Seeing the embarrassed expression on the Third Prince's face, Zhang Shou smiled and gently touched his head, thinking that only in this kind of situation could he do such an action without being afraid of being attacked: "You can move around here, stretch, yawn, kick your legs and turn your waist, anything is fine, come out later."
When Zhang Shou came out from the inner room, he saw that this place had turned into a large-scale stretching exercise. Some were rubbing their shoulders, some were shaking their arms, and some were twisting their necks... But as soon as they saw him coming out, they all stiffened like robots. Seeing everyone like this, he didn't say much, but just smiled and moved his hands, feet and neck.
When he did this, everyone who had been suffering from back pain due to tension suddenly felt relieved. Although it was not the first day for them to serve as tutors in Ciqing Palace, they had to go back to their original place to take the monthly exam within 30 days, otherwise they would have to give up their position to others. In addition, they had to pay attention to their appearance, words and behavior at all times. After a long time, everyone naturally felt exhausted physically and mentally.
When Lu Sanlang saw that the Third Prince did not follow him out, he immediately stepped forward with a smile and whispered, "Great, this is a really great move..."
"If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb." Zhang Shou knew that although Lu Sanlang was extremely smart, he also had a mean temper. He interrupted him immediately to clarify what he was going to say.
Soon, the Third Prince came out from the inner room. Although no one was sure whether he had exercised, seeing that the Crown Prince was in high spirits, the attendants at least knew that Zhang Shou's private conversation with him had no negative effect.
Therefore, the second class went smoothly. When Zhang Shou announced the end of the get out of class, the students who used to listen to math classes as if they were listening to a book of heaven, all seemed to be quite calm. After all, just like the classics and history subjects, Lu Sanlang usually muddled through them. There was no mandatory requirement for others to attend math classes, otherwise many people would want to die...
As the next gentleman had not arrived yet, the Third Prince personally sent Zhang Shou off as usual, and the other tutors followed him. But when they arrived at the gate of Ciqing Palace, they saw a graceful figure. Wasn't it Zhu Ying? Seeing the person coming forward gracefully, most of the tutors hurriedly avoided their sight, while the Third Prince hurriedly called Sister Yingying.
"I have asked the Queen Mother and the Emperor to take Ah Shou to visit the Imperial Concubine."
Although she still liked to call Concubine Yu by her old title in private, Zhu Ying certainly would not make such a mistake in front of others. After she finished speaking, she saw the Third Prince suddenly realize what had happened, and the other tutors looked at each other in bewilderment. However, she did not explain, and waited for Zhang Shou to come down the steps and stand side by side with her. Then she bowed her knees slightly to the young Crown Prince as a farewell, and then took Zhang Shou away.
And seeing the two of them holding hands, they were not even afraid to be intimate in front of others. People like the Third Prince and Fatty Lu, who were familiar with the couple, just treated it as normal. Several tutors from Jiuzhang Hall acted as if nothing had happened, but the others had never seen such a thing before, and they almost popped their eyes out.
Fortunately, no one was stupid enough to show disapproval in front of the prince. After all, everyone heard the prince's solid call of "Sister Yingying" clearly. However, those with families envied the loving couples, who were like one body, while singles envied the husband's prosperity and wife's wealth, and they even lamented in their hearts why the sky couldn't drop a peerless beauty like Zhu Ying for them.
Zhu Ying naturally didn't care about other people's jealousy or envy. She had been the focus of countless people's attention since she was a child. If she couldn't ignore these gazes, she would have been unable to bear it. When she got out of Huiyin Gate, she smiled and nodded at Yuquan who was waiting here, and then said to Zhang Shou: "Aunt Yuquan will personally take us there."
Compared with his real mother-in-law, Lady Jiuniang of the State of Zhao, Zhang Shou had only met Concubine Yu a few times in total. But this was also due to the fact that the rules of this dynasty were slightly more relaxed and the emperor made things convenient for Concubine Yu. Otherwise, not to mention him, even Concubine Yu's brothers might not be able to see this concubine in the deep palace.
Therefore, he was not surprised that the person who escorted them today was not Chen Yongshou who was beside the emperor, but Yuquan. However, when he smiled and saluted Yuquan, he saw that the other party turned sideways and saluted him deeply in return.
This time, he was caught off guard. The last two times he met this capable palace lady beside the Queen Mother of Qingning Palace, she was not so polite to him. Could it be that because he became Zhu Ying's husband, people treated him with extra respect as a son-in-law? When he was full of doubts, Yuquan spoke up to clear up his confusion.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince has been living in Qingning Palace for a while. Not only has he relieved the Queen Mother's loneliness, but he has also allowed her to experience the rare joy of playing with her grandchildren. This is all thanks to the guidance of Master Zhang."
Zhang Shou was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Was it because of the Third Prince that the Qingning Palace, which had always been rather cold to him, changed its attitude? He wanted to say that it was not necessary, but when Zhu Ying let go of his hand with a smile and went forward to hold Yuquan's arm and act coquettishly, he simply stopped talking.
In this situation, even if he said that the third prince had always been a good boy and that you had just paid too much attention to the eldest and second princes, a pair of bastard brothers, others would think he was being pretentious.
Arriving at Yonghe Palace, Zhang Shou let Zhu Ying and Yuquan walk ahead, while he fell behind. As for the distribution of the six palaces in the east and west, he certainly remembered it, having visited the Forbidden City more than once, so when he saw the palaces on both sides were closed, he couldn't help but laugh in his heart as if to mock himself.
In such a huge palace, the emperor was the only adult man, so it was no wonder that others had to guard against thieves. Not only against him, but also against those "female thieves" in the palace who might be tempted by love. Fortunately, the palace maids nowadays can choose to leave the palace when they reach the age of maturity. Otherwise, they would be imprisoned until death, which is even worse than being a maid in a wealthy family.
However, when he passed by a palace gate, he saw the tightly closed door suddenly creak open, and a woman in palace dress came out quickly with her head down, but after walking a few steps, she suddenly realized something and hurriedly looked up, just in time to meet him face to face. She had plump skin and rosy cheeks. Although she was dressed in simple clothes and had simple hair accessories, she definitely did not look like an ordinary palace maid.
Because there were two little palace maids who looked obviously childish following behind the person!
Faced with this unexpected situation, Zhang Shou of course stopped immediately. Even Yuquan, Zhu Ying, and the two older palace maids who were leading the way in front heard the noise and turned around.
Almost instantly, Zhang Shou saw the woman in palace dress and the palace servants retreating in a panic. Then, the palace door slammed shut in front of him, and she exclaimed from inside: "Why are there other men in the palace?"
Yuquan hurried back and looked up at the three-character plaque of Changshou Palace. She couldn't help laughing for a moment, but then she couldn't help but frowned tightly. She walked to the door and asked loudly: "Empress Xianfei, the Queen Mother ordered me to take Zhang Xueshi to see the Imperial Concubine. Although she didn't specifically order all the palaces in the East Six Palaces to close, she did inform everyone. Didn't you hear the news?"
Previously, the Queen Mother had taken Concubine Yu and Concubine He out of the palace to taste delicious food at Xinglong Tea House, but Concubine Jiang refused to go, which shows how cautious she was. But now she suddenly rushed out when Zhang Shou entered the palace, which was really unlike her character. You know, Concubine Jiang and the impulsive Fourth Prince are two completely different extremes!
Hearing Yuquan's voice, the woman who had just exclaimed inside the door exclaimed again: "Hey, it turns out to be Master Zhang?"
Following this question, the door opened again in a moment. Concubine Jiang hurried out with an embarrassed look on her face, and hurriedly bowed to apologize: "I was really confused for a moment, and I forgot that the Empress Dowager had said that Mr. Zhang was going to visit the Imperial Concubine. I'm really sorry... No, no, I forgot about it, but Yuquan Shanggong, that's because something happened in Yonghe Palace, so I..."
Yuquan just thought that Concubine Jiang, who had been promoted to Concubine Xian, was too rash in her words and deeds, but when she heard this, her face suddenly changed. She no longer cared about Concubine Jiang and turned around and ran out. Zhu Ying was also stunned at first, and then she didn't care about Zhang Shou and hurriedly followed. Could it be that Concubine Yu was about to give birth? Or did she encounter something suddenly?
Faced with such a situation, even Zhang Shou himself was a little nervous, but he was neither a miracle doctor nor a god, and knew that it would be useless even if he hurried over, so he simply dodged to the side and then reached out to support the panicked Concubine Jiang: "Your Majesty, Shang Gong Yuquan and Yingying have already rushed over, don't worry, we will go over together."
Although Concubine Jiang looked anxious at the moment, she heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Zhang Shou's calm tone and saw him nodding to her with a smile. She also thought that Yuquan and Zhu Ying had already rushed over. Even if there was any problem, they could immediately dispatch people. "Okay, let's go together... Oh, I was so anxious. The Imperial Concubine had already started early."
Was it a premature birth? This thought flashed through Zhang Shou's mind, and he immediately remembered Concubine Yu's previous disastrous birth. Although Concubine Yu and Jiu Niang had all survived that ordeal, Concubine Yu was about to give birth again at the age of thirty-seven or thirty-eight, and it was really worrying what the outcome would be.
Just as he was thinking about it, Concubine Jiang's voice came from the side again: "I said that the imperial concubine is too stubborn. She is about to give birth and still wipes her swords every day! Swords are unlucky for pregnant women, aren't they?"
