Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 844: Unwelcome Request
When Liang Jiucheng returned to Zhang Garden after a long journey, he only saw his blond student who was reciting ancient poems with a sincere face and nodding his head. Of course, he knew that he was not such an honest person, but he was too lazy to ask him whether he had cleaned and tidied Zhang Shou's study room and came back to study hard during his absence.
He casually asked someone to copy all the poems he had taught before, and then hurried out. However, he came back today on the emperor's orders, but he came back empty-handed. Because Zhang Shou was not in the study at all, he went to the Duke of Zhao's mansion. Although he wanted to go directly to the Duke of Zhao's mansion, after thinking about it, he returned to his own small courtyard.
After entering, he saw Wu Dawei sitting there with a sad face, copying poems with a brush in his hand. Thinking of how people had proposed the concept of a goose feather pen like offering a treasure before, and how Zhang Shou had actually asked someone to make two of them, but he did not allow this kid to use them, and how people were in great grief at that time, he could not help but raise the corner of his mouth and smile wistfully.
People from foreign barbaric lands think that everything is theirs alone - but how could this kid know that the same thing had been made by Emperor Taizu a long time ago . However, even with the dignity of an emperor, he still failed to promote the quill pen. In the end, people only used it occasionally when writing letters. After Emperor Taizu disappeared, the quill pen never appeared in the court again.
Liang Jiucheng certainly would not wait until his student finished copying these relatively simple poems. He walked to his desk, picked up a pen and wrote two lines of words, then came to the other party and suddenly handed him the paper.
"Look, do you recognize the words on it?"
Wu Dawei was startled by his teacher's sudden action. When he came to his senses, he saw two lines of letters written on the paper. He immediately became interested and quickly put down his pen to take it. He looked at it carefully for a long time and couldn't help frowning. After a long while, he raised his head with a bitter face.
"Sir, this is not Italian, nor is it Tuscan or Latin. I can't understand it. It seems to be the language of an island country, um, that Britanni a."
This was the answer Liang Jiucheng had expected. After all, during the years when the royal ships were sailing overseas, the superiors often had their confidants excerpt some words from Taizu's letters and make inquiries. They had already determined that some words seemed to be very similar to the writing of a certain Western island country. However, when viewed individually, they were true, but when viewed together, they were completely different.
Even if we copied out a portion of it and asked the fleet to take it out for identification, no one would be able to understand the complete sentence!
However, after receiving Wu Dawei's feedback, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After all, a foreign boy who was right in front of him and had a strong learning ability was more credible than the foreign people brought back from the ships in the past.
So, thinking of Chu Kuan's words, his last hope fell on Zhang Shou, the owner of Zhang Garden, who had not returned yet. Fortunately, his wait was not in vain. Zhang Shou did not stay at the Duke of Zhao's mansion like he did the night before, but returned with Zhu Ying late at night.
Although he knew that the other party had been busy all day, Liang Jiucheng, who had been waiting for Zhang Shou to come back, still went to ask for an audience as soon as possible. As a result, when Zhu Ying, who had taken the initiative to invite this eunuch Liang from the palace to her home as a tutor, heard such a report, she immediately became a little annoyed.
"It's so late now. Does Eunuch Liang understand the ways of the world? Is there anything that can't be discussed tomorrow?"
Zhang Shou certainly knew why Zhu Ying was upset. In fact, he also felt that Liang Jiucheng came to see him so late, which must be a big deal. Maybe there was some shit going on in the palace again. Although he didn't want to get involved, he could only sigh when he thought that he was the master of the East Palace after all.
"Please ask Eunuch Liang to come in and talk. I think what I can know can also be known to Yingying."
Hearing such an order, Zhan Jin agreed verbally, but secretly praised her son-in-law for being so sincere to her daughter. Therefore, when she went out to tell Liang Jiucheng, she told him exactly what Zhang Shou said. Not a word more, not a word less.
Liang Jiucheng hesitated for a while, then finally nodded calmly and said, "Young Madam has been in and out of the palace since she was young. The emperor treats her better than the princess. Although what I said is confidential, it doesn't matter if she listens."
Zhu Ying had sharp ears and eyes. Although she was in the room at this time, she heard Liang Jiucheng's words clearly. She couldn't help but feel angry and amused. Can such an exaggerated method be used on me? I want to hear what you have to say! However, when Liang Jiucheng calmly walked into the room and made his opening remarks, she almost jumped up.
"Master Hua Qi and Eunuch Chu have found out that the death of the eldest prince is said to be related to the Miao descendants left overseas by Taizu. The second prince may also be in their hands now."
"This is ridiculous!" Zhu Ying was so angry that her eyebrows were raised. "This is clearly a smear campaign against Emperor Taizu! Not to mention that Emperor Taizu suddenly disappeared at the beginning. If he really left his descendants overseas, what would these people have been doing? Besides, what's the point of harming that bastard, the eldest prince? Although the emperor is very sad about his death, in essence, it has eliminated the trouble forever!"
In front of the emperor, Zhu Ying would of course speak more cautiously, but since she was in front of Liang Jiucheng, she naturally expressed her dislike for the eldest prince without hesitation.
"Killing the eldest prince would at most make people question the emperor for killing his son and wife, but the emperor may be angry, but he is not a person who cares so much about his reputation! What's more, what can they do by holding on to a loser like the second prince? The emperor has already announced that the second prince is dead. Can they still stir up trouble by holding on to the son of the deposed queen who was announced by the emperor to have died in a shipwreck?"
"The most important thing is that in the minds of ordinary people, Emperor Taizu died of old age in the capital. Who would believe such nonsense?"
These words were exactly the same as what Liang Jiucheng had said before the emperor. For a moment, he felt like he knew Zhu Ying very well. Of course, he could only agree with the tone of this young lady who treated the first and second princes as trash . Seeing Zhang Shou standing aside as if in a trance, he came here today for Zhang Shou, not Zhu Ying, so he couldn't help but cough.
"Mr. Zhang, the Ancient and Modern Collection contains many of Taizu's handwritten letters, but over the years, very few words have been translated, and now they can only be put aside. Now there are people who claim to be Taizu's overseas descendants, stirring up trouble and even claiming to have established a country overseas. This is really rebellious and arrogant. After thinking about it, I think there may be clues left in Taizu's handwritten letters."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but sneer. What clues? There's nothing in the diary of the time traveler. The one in his hand only records bits and pieces of this era! The time traveler forged such a huge empire. That must be a state of confidence for a time traveler who is invincible and can kill all around. That's why he decided to find a new continent for future generations... How could he have expected that he wouldn't be able to come back?
You know, in those days of war, he survived by killing gods and Buddhas. When Emperor Taizu went to sea, he must have believed that he would definitely turn danger into safety with the halo shining on his head, so he must have been full of confidence. Could it be that he left a contingency plan in his notebook in case I couldn't come back?
Even if they really wanted to leave it at that time, considering that no one could understand that kind of Chinese English in a short time, they would definitely leave it in Chinese characters.
After complaining in his heart, Zhang Shou's face showed a proper solemnity: "After I opened the secret box of Emperor Taizu, I also saw the densely packed letters of Emperor Taizu that looked like a heavenly book. Although I can use some very stupid methods to crack the code of the secret box, these letters are also similar to those I used in mathematics."
"But after so long, I am ashamed that I have tried various methods to interpret it, but I still have not understood the Taizu's handwritten letter. However, once you can learn mathematics to the most profound level, it is said that you can translate a completely unfamiliar language based on the frequency of certain identical words. But to be honest, I am still far from that level."
Zhang Shou said this but he was actually complaining in his heart that the Indo-European people had an innate advantage in deciphering the lost texts of the Indo-European language family, but as for the Sino-Tibetan people to use mathematics to decipher the Indo-European language... that would be really as difficult as ascending to heaven.
What's more, Emperor Taizu's Chinese English is a mixture of pinyin and grammar, which is really bad to a certain extent...
"It is because Emperor Taizu, who did not know the writing system of that small country in the West, used it, that the palace has been worried for so many years." Liang Jiucheng did not know Zhang Shou's thoughts. He sighed deeply, "During the previous emperors, there were several predecessors in the Gujin Tongjiku who knew a variety of Western languages, but in recent years, there has been no one left."
"Besides, they only understand, not master. The people brought back from the West are not used to the local climate, and it takes them a long time to become familiar with our writing, so the efficiency of mutual learning is very low. So, I was counting on this smart guy, Wu Dawei, but I didn't expect such a sudden thing to happen when we just started."
Liang Jiucheng looked at Zhang Shou with sincerity as he spoke: "Mr. Zhang is very learned at a young age. I wonder if you can go to the Ancient and Modern Collection Library to take a look at other Taizu's handwritten notes. Maybe after comparing them, you can gain some insights?"
Not to mention now, even if there was such an opportunity when he just traveled through time, Zhang Shou would definitely think twice before acting. After all, some secrets can be told to others, but some secrets need to be kept in the heart forever. For example, Emperor Taizu, even though he has been in this world for decades, has he ever told anyone that he came from the future?
So, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "Even the handwritten letter of Taizu in my hand is put aside and I am helpless, let alone those in the ancient and modern collections?"
"If I really had the ability to master Western languages, those Western-language books that were sent to me before would be considered classics. Would I still need to rely on that kid Wu Dawei to learn the Ming language and then translate it? I would have learned it myself a long time ago, and it would have saved me a lot of effort!"
However, before Liang Jiucheng could persuade him again, he changed the subject and said, "But since you said so, Eunuch Liang, I have heard of the Ancient and Modern Collection Library and I am quite interested in it. If possible, please let me go and take a look... I heard that Yingying often went there in her early years. Can you let her accompany me?"
"If I get dizzy in a place like that, there's someone to remind me."
Zhu Ying was worried that Zhang Shou really couldn't refuse to go, but now she saw that he finally agreed and indicated that she would accompany him. She immediately smiled, but she didn't say whether she agreed or not, and said to Liang Jiucheng: "Eunuch Liang, are you satisfied now?"
Liang Jiucheng also knew that looking for Zhang Shou was just a last-ditch effort. After all, there was no evidence that Zhang Shou could understand books written in Western languages, but the emperor obviously had such expectations. What was even more strange was that Chu Kuan also had such expectations. He thought about the fact that Zhang Shou's mathematics textbook did indeed quote many Western letters as symbols. After thinking about it, he agreed to come and convey this message.
At this time, the mission was accomplished. Seeing a vicious look in Zhu Ying's eyes, Liang Jiucheng knew that he had disturbed someone's good night, so he would not stay there. Of course, he quickly left. When he left, Zhu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately tiptoed behind Zhang Shou who was in deep thought, and suddenly hugged his waist.
"A Shou, I haven't been to the Gujin Tongji Library for a long time. When I was a kid, I could wander around freely, but now they won't let me in like they're guarding against thieves. Humph, now you're begging me to take you, your husband, to have a good look? Actually, I'm just talking, you should go alone."
"Oh?" Zhang Shou immediately smiled and held Zhu Ying's hand, then leaned on her soft body. "Since when have you been unable to get in?"
"Who knows? When I was a kid, I only played hide-and-seek with the emperor there occasionally, and I enjoyed looking at those tall piles of paper. Just a year ago, when I wanted to go in for a look, I was stopped outside the door. They kept talking about the rules and saying they were really inflexible, which made me so angry! Now, even if you beg me, I won't go!" Zhu Ying said this angrily, but she didn't notice that Zhang Shou in front of her frowned slightly.
Zhang Shou thought that Zhu Ying was blocked from the Gujin Tongjiku after he came to Beijing. Was it a coincidence, or did someone do it on purpose? But even if someone did it on purpose, it was normal. Even if a tree stands out in the forest, it may not be destroyed by the wind, but it will at least attract attention and be repeatedly investigated by others. This is absolutely inevitable.
Even if he has a teacher like Ge Yong as a shield to block many prying eyes, as long as he shows that he knows more than others and shows knowledge beyond his age, then the current situation is inevitable.
Therefore, after he smiled, he said nonchalantly: "In this case, I will take you back to the old place to have a good look around and see what kind of heavenly books Emperor Taizu left behind!"
The emperor did not wait for Liang Jiucheng to return to the palace to report, but summoned the third and fourth princes to come to the Gujin Tongji Library at night. It was fine when he came here during the day, but now he was walking in front of the library holding a dim lamp. The light cast a long shadow on the tall bookshelves. The fourth prince could not help but grab the third prince's clothes tightly, feeling a little scared. At this moment, he heard the voice of his father: "A lot of people have died in this Gujin Tongji Library."
