Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 856: Family
As soon as he left the palace, the Fourth Prince immediately became a lively and naughty child. The last time he came to the Duke of Zhao's mansion to visit his wife, he and the Third Prince were chased away after not staying for long, and later they were almost chased and intercepted by people with ulterior motives. Of course, there was no way to have a good stroll. At this time, without such a serious matter as a burden, he touched his belly pitifully after leaving Qing'an Hall.
"Teacher, Sister Yingying, I'm hungry."
The Third Prince couldn't bear to look at it. Although you didn't eat much at the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace, at least the Queen Mother filled your stomach with snacks before you came out. How could she be so rude? However, before he could say that he would wait for the Queen Mother to come out, he saw Zhang Shou gently flicking the Fourth Prince's forehead with his finger.
"You really don't consider yourself an outsider! Tell me, what do you want to eat? Hot pot, stir-fried dishes, dim sum, steamed food... we don't have any of them!" He said the last four words, and seeing the Fourth Prince was stunned, he smiled and said, "Isn't that normal? The New Year's Eve banquet in the Duke of Zhao's mansion has ended long ago, and even the servants' rewards have been distributed. If you are hungry, there is only one thing that is not missing, dumplings."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince suddenly turned from annoyance to joy, and then shouted what fillings he wanted to eat, and then bargained with Zhang Shou, the Third Prince felt that his mood, which had been in a mess for the past few days, had unknowingly calmed down. At this time, he felt that someone had touched his head, and when he looked up, he saw that it was Zhu Ying.
"You should learn from that kid sometimes. He holds his head high and acts like a prince when he needs to, but when he doesn't, he acts like a spoiled brat and acts like a child. That way, he won't suffer any loss."
Zhu Ying's lips gradually curved up as she spoke: "Although Ah Shou always complains that the boy is a troublemaker, it can be seen that he still likes the Fourth Prince very much. But children grow up quickly, and I don't know how long it will take for him to become one of those serious and boring adults who always scheme in his mind."
The Third Prince was silent for a while, then he mustered up the courage to whisper, "Sister Yingying, when you are not nitpicking, can you also call me Zheng Rong? The teacher is the same. He has always called Fourth Brother Zheng Rong in private, but rarely calls me by my name."
Zhu Ying was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Okay, that's not difficult! According to my habit, calling you Zheng Rong with both your given name and surname is too formal, so it's better to call you A Rong or Rong Rong, which is closer!"
The Third Prince originally felt lonely because no one dared to call him by his name except a few people. However, when Zhu Ying really said those words as a joke, he immediately looked extremely embarrassed. Before he could agree or refuse, the Fourth Prince suddenly rushed over.
"Third brother, the teacher said that the fillings of the glutinous rice balls in the Duke of Zhao's mansion are not sweet! There are pork and mutton fillings, mushroom and chicken fillings, fish-flavored pork shreds fillings... There are even glutinous rice balls that are fried and then stir-fried!"
The Third Prince was stunned by what he heard. Zhang Shou, who came slowly from behind, said with a smile: "What's the fun of eating the same thing all day long? Just like learning needs to be innovative, cooking also needs to keep up with the times. Not only can glutinous rice balls be salty or sweet, but also tofu pudding, rice dumplings, and the Dragon Boat Festival green rice dumplings can all be made in the same way..."
Seeing Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying tricking the two most noble children in the world into going to the back porch, Zhu Er couldn't help but whisper, "They are really good at dealing with children. It's a pity that those two are so easy to trick!"
"Why don't you try to deceive them?" Zhu Tingfang mocked without any hesitation. Seeing that no one dared to say anything, he said calmly, "Because of their past are the ones who understand the situation the best, despite their young age. Yingying and Zhang Shou treated them as ordinary people from the beginning and treated them with sincerity from the beginning to the end. Only in this way can they gain their true reliance and trust."
"If it were someone else, even if it was us, after the East Palace had its master, would we still be able to treat them the same way as before?"
Zhu Er was even more embarrassed. Since the Third Prince had become the Crown Prince, he had to show respect to him. He also had to show respect to the Fourth Prince. He couldn't treat him the same as before. He looked at his father who was always serious, but he didn't even refute Zhu Tingfang's words. At this time, his stepmother Jiu Niang also smiled.
"Yingying is always the same to everyone. If she likes someone, she likes them. If she doesn't like someone, she doesn't like them. And Ah Shou can be the same to her. It's obvious that they are a perfect match. But it's so cold, don't talk in the wind. Let's go have a bowl of glutinous rice balls to warm ourselves up."
Zhu Er agreed, and then suddenly realized that because Zhang Shou's adoptive mother Wu had avoided coming, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, who had already passed by, were a couple, and the third and fourth princes were barely company. Add to that his father and stepmother, brother and sister-in-law, and he was left alone. Even the old lady who had been widowed for many years had the Queen Mother with her today!
Therefore, when he arrived at the porch, he finally couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "When can I marry my daughter-in-law?"
Although it was just a small complaint, there were too many people in the room who were very sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, so Zhu Er suddenly felt a lot of eyes on him. He wanted to hide it but it was too late, so he could only pretend that nothing had happened. Then, Zhu Ying laughed softly.
"My future sister-in-law was taken away by Wang Datou to celebrate the New Year. She will be back after the New Year. Don't worry, brother. After February, it will be your turn to get married!"
Seeing Zhu Er standing there with a silly smile, the Fourth Prince snorted, but unfortunately he couldn't speak because of the glutinous rice balls stuffed in his mouth. After swallowing it with great difficulty, he whispered, "It's not like you picked your wife with your own eyes, what's there to be happy about? Father is just arranging a match for you. If you are controlled from head to toe in the future, you won't even have time to cry! "
Of course, the Third Prince heard his mumblings, and he immediately warned him angrily: "In the future, you must find a woman who can control you, otherwise I'm really worried that you will either say something bad or do something bad with your hands."
The fourth prince stared at his always loving third brother in amazement, and then hurriedly begged for mercy: "Third brother, I was wrong. Is it okay to be wrong? It was not easy for father to agree to let me choose my own in the future. You must not force a powerful woman on me. Especially someone like Sister Yingying..."
"What did you say?"
When the quiet voice suddenly came to his ears, the Fourth Prince suddenly jumped up like a frightened deer. When he saw Zhu Ying smiling brightly beside him, his first reaction was to hide behind the Third Prince in a hurry, but then he felt that it was still unsafe, so he quickly added another explanation.
"Because Sister Yingying is such a beautiful and powerful person like you, only the teacher can afford to pay you back. Others are just like chickens and dogs, and you will never take them seriously!"
Zhu Ying had been planning to teach this kid a lesson, but after hearing this explanation, she turned from anger to joy, gave him a look of "you're smart", and then sat back down. The fourth prince, who had finally escaped, touched his chest and let out a long sigh, then stuffed another glutinous rice dumpling into his mouth and said vaguely: "This glutinous rice dumpling with bamboo shoots and mushrooms is delicious!"
"Eat your food and stop talking!"
The Third Prince rolled his eyes at the man, but he calculated the time. Seeing that the Queen Mother had not come out from the Madam's place for a long time, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. However, sitting here, there were not so many old gentlemen reminding him earnestly what to do, and there were not so many restrictions on his words and deeds, so he naturally talked about the little Fifth Prince in the palace.
Zhu Jing and Jiu Niang couldn't help but smile when they saw the Fourth Prince interjecting from time to time, and even nicknamed the child who was not even a month old "Little Fatty". Of course, they also agreed with Concubine Yu's move of opening the door to allow the two brothers to visit their younger brother.
Several people were talking and eating glutinous rice balls. When the fourth prince had eaten eight glutinous rice balls but was forbidden to have more, he shamelessly asked to take two more boxes back. The queen mother finally appeared in the small porch. Although she looked a little tired, she was in good spirits. Zhang said something to Zhu Tingfang quietly and left immediately.
There must always be someone to take care of the lady in Qing'an Hall. At times like this, if the empress dowager has any instructions, it doesn't matter if she is not there, but the others must be there.
The Queen Mother waved her hand to tell everyone not to be polite. After she sat down, she said cheerfully, "I brought two little guys here to disturb your family reunion on New Year's Eve. We are uninvited guests, so you don't have to take us too seriously. My sister is sick, and I am worried about her but can only send her to the doctor and medicine. I am relieved to see her with my own eyes today."
At this point, she gradually put away her smile, and then said in a deep voice: "After the New Year, the court will probably spend a lot of time and effort on shipbuilding, no matter how many people oppose it. Although the Zhu family has never produced a naval commander and does not understand shipbuilding, you are also knowledgeable people, so you need to pay more attention."
Zhang Shou immediately understood the hidden meaning of this statement, which was nothing more than asking the Zhu family to keep an eye out for someone to recommend. Seeing the doubts and confusion on the faces of the third and fourth princes, and the alertness of Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang, he laughed casually.
"You can learn this even if you don't have to be proficient in it. I think we should select a few children of the noble officials in the capital to learn it well, so that there will be successors in the future."
As soon as he said this, Zhu Er saw a bunch of people in the room all looking at him. He was flattered at first, but then he was scared out of his wits and quickly explained, "I'm afraid of water. I'll get dizzy when I get on the boat..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhu Ying rolled her eyes at him: "Second brother, no one expects you to lead the navy! What everyone means is that if you can supervise the building of a ship or something, maybe you can do it after learning for 10 or 20 years."
Zhu Er laughed awkwardly, but he didn't agree at all. Zhu Gong's life was hard enough as a farmer, and if he had to deal with all kinds of workers, wouldn't he be dead? Building a house is as difficult as ascending to heaven, and it is not something that ordinary people can understand. Moreover, building a house is completely different from building a boat bridge, a garden, or a ship!
The Queen Mother did not ignore Zhang Shou's words because of Zhu Ying's teasing. She nodded slightly, then looked at the Fourth Prince and said earnestly, "Silang, you are a smart boy. You have always supported your Third Brother and helped him. This matter cannot be handled without someone from the Royal Family. Now it happens that many famous scholars have gathered in the capital, and there must be someone who is familiar with sea transportation."
"You can go and learn it. It may come in handy in the future."
The fourth prince opened his mouth, then subconsciously looked at Zhang Shou. Seeing his teacher smiling and nodding slightly, he thought about his future, which he still felt very uncertain about, and finally nodded: "As long as I can help my father and third brother, it's just to learn a few things, of course I am willing."
Seeing the Fourth Prince nod, the Queen Mother's expression was clearly very gratified, so Zhang Shou smiled and said, "With the Fourth Prince taking the lead, there will naturally be many people in the capital willing to study. However, if such a teacher intends to settle down in the Imperial College, I have nothing to say. Otherwise, if he is willing, can he open a separate course in the public school? Or not only open a course, but also recruit students."
This was just one of the ideas that the Queen Mother had just raised. Zhang Shou had actually thought of the next plan and arrangement quickly. Even though Zhu Jing knew that his son-in-law was not an ordinary person, he couldn't help but look at him twice. Zhu Tingfang immediately agreed without thinking: "Queen Mother, the six halls in the Imperial College all have their own purposes. If we set up other courses separately, I'm afraid..."
He paused, and then said meaningfully: "I am afraid that those students who are wholeheartedly studying the books of sages will regard that course as a stepping stone to advancement, and then they will become losers who can only talk about it but are at a loss when it comes to practice."
"So, if you really want to rebuild a large ship and sail across the seas, then the selection criteria must not be based on knowledge first, let alone policy. Shipping is related to astronomy, geography, hydrology, and construction drawings, etc. All aspects of talent must be taken into consideration. Moreover, even if it is not difficult to convince the court officials because of the previous incident, the huge cost still has to be considered."
Zhang Shou was naturally aware of his brother-in-law's pragmatism, so he said, "That's right. Although some old men in the court usually talk about the words of saints, the family rules of their ancestors, and the times of the three generations of saint kings, when they really encounter major events, the biggest reason they use is often that the expenses are too great to cover the expenses. If a large ship sails in the ocean and gets nothing, then the result..."
"The result will definitely be that they will spit on people to death!" The fourth prince rushed to answer, and then asked with sparkling eyes, "Teacher, what you mean is that if the court really builds a big ship to Haidong, it will have to consider the balance of income and expenditure, right?"
The Third Prince saw the Queen Mother's face stiffen, and he quickly chimed in, "The world is bustling with people, all for profit, the world is bustling with people, all for profit, this is natural. But if Haidong is simply a wild land, then trade is naturally impossible. In this case, then we should find out what is produced there, and whether a round trip can enrich the national treasury, wouldn't that be more convincing?"
