Chapter 158: Unusual Movement

"Lan Zhang, wait for me!" A young man in a green shirt quickly caught up and hooked Su Lan Zhang's shoulders.

Su Lanzhang looked back at him, and seeing that he was sweating profusely, she smiled: "Why are you in such a hurry? Didn't I agree to wait for you?"

Lin Bo wiped the sweat from his forehead, shrugged, and said, "I'm just worried you'll leave. You're going to study in a new place, and I don't know if we'll ever see each other again."

Su Lanzhang smiled and said, "I'm just changing academy to study, not leaving the capital. We can still meet during my vacation."

Lin Bo shook his head and said, "How can this be the same?"

Su Lanzhang was helpless when he heard this. The emperor had given their family a house, and this house must not be empty. After a month of hard work, they have now moved into the new house.

Everything about the new home was good. The house was big enough, the rooms were spacious enough, and even the furniture was much more expensive than the rented one. There were even rare varieties planted in the back garden. It was also close to Su Fengzhang's office.

The only downside was that it was too far from the academy where Su Lanzhang was studying. After much consideration and consulting his brother, Su Fengzhang found a new academy for him near his new home. The teachers there were better.

This day was Su Lanzhang's last day in this academy. He made an appointment with his friends to get together and say goodbye.

Seeing his lost look, Su Lanzhang comforted him, "What's the difference? When the time comes, you can come to my house to play, and I can also come to your house to play with you, just like now."

Lin Bo touched his nose and smiled, "Okay, I haven't been to the imperial house yet."

Lin Bo's father was also a minor official in the capital. In terms of family background, the Lin family was slightly better than the Su family. However, he did not expect that in just over a year, Su Fengzhang's reputation had risen rapidly, and he also had a mansion granted by the emperor. It seemed that he was about to soar to fame.

Su Lanzhang smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Let's go. Don't keep everyone waiting too long."

The two walked shoulder to shoulder towards the agreed teahouse, but before they had taken a few steps, they heard a commotion in front of them.

There was only the sound of horse hooves coming quickly, and the people who were originally walking on the road all moved away, and even some carriages with luxurious roofs gave way.

Su Lanzhang and the other person quickly followed and dodged. When they looked up, they saw a white horse galloping past. A cloud of yellow dust rolled by, and the horse galloped past without stopping for a moment.

Su Lanzhang and the other man looked at each other with unfathomable expressions. They were both scholars, so they naturally knew that this was not someone who dared to gallop on horseback in the capital, but a rider with an urgent mission of 800 miles.

Lin Bo grew up in Beijing, but this was his first time seeing such a scene. He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "What happened?"

How could Su Lanzhang know, but his second brother was watching in the court, and he couldn't help but feel worried when he saw this.

The cavalry that had passed them arrived at the palace gate in a moment. With a flash of light, the rider dismounted and shouted, "Hurry, Yunzhou, eight hundred miles!"

Inside the palace walls, the emperor looked leisurely as he was carefully painting a picture of peonies. Although he was the emperor, his skill in painting flowers and birds was very impressive, and the painting under his hand was exquisite.

After finishing the last stroke, the emperor nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Master Zhang, come and take a look at this peony painting. What do you think?"

Zhang Taishi still had a serious face. After hearing this, he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty's peony painting is naturally good."

The emperor was not impressed and said calmly, "After so many years, you are still so boring, Mr. Zhang."

Grand Tutor Zhang didn't frown at all, but continued, "Your Majesty is the monarch, and the monarch rules the world. What does it matter whether the painting is good or not? After all, no one dares to say it's not good."

This was quite disrespectful, but the emperor was not angry. Instead, he asked, "Why? Now that the world is at peace and the people are living and working in peace, can't I paint a picture of peonies?"

"I dare not." Grand Tutor Zhang said hurriedly.

The emperor sighed and said, "If you didn't dare, you wouldn't be standing here today."

Grand Tutor Zhang simply lowered his head and said, "I, your humble servant, have come to see Your Majesty today solely for the Fifth Prince's matter."

The emperor dropped his paintbrush and finally raised his eyelids to look at him: "What's wrong with Xiaowu?"

Grand Tutor Zhang continued, "The Fifth Prince and Su Fengzhang's affair has become a hot topic, and His Majesty has even issued an edict to reward Su Fengzhang. This is simply encouraging crooked ways, and it's extremely inappropriate."

Who knew that the emperor would just laugh and ask, "What's going on between Xiaowu and Su Fengzhang? What's this crooked and evil thing?"

Zhang Taishi's face froze for a moment, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, isn't the homosexual habit a crooked path? Su Fengzhang was originally an orthodox scholar, but now he relies on this to advance his career. It shows that he is short-sighted and a treacherous person."

When these words were spoken, Grand Tutor Zhang had already prepared himself for the emperor to become furious.

Unexpectedly, the emperor was not angry at all. Instead, he asked with great interest, "Oh, Minister Zhang, do you also think these two are a perfect match?"

Grand Tutor Zhang's face froze. He kept saying, "Since ancient times, yin and yang have been in harmony. The Fifth Prince's actions are not only disregarding the reputation of the Great Zhou and the Qin Imperial Family."

The emperor simply said coldly, "The Great Zhou belongs to the Qin family, and the Qin family belongs to me. I don't care what you care about."

Grand Tutor Zhang said urgently, "Your Majesty, this humble servant is doing this for the Great Zhou, for Your Majesty! Back then, the Fifth Prince was sent to Qingzhou because of this incident. He imposed heavy taxes there, forcing the local students to work along the riverbanks. This caused widespread resentment among the local scholars, and there are still complaints among the literati today."

"It's fine if the Fifth Prince doesn't want fame for himself, but wouldn't this statement anger the scholars of the world and harm the Great Zhou royal family?"

"Now, look what's happening. He's being so independent and refusing to marry the Crown Princess. Instead, he's getting involved with a man, even causing a quarrel with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is wholeheartedly trying to work for the Great Zhou royal family, but who would have thought that he would blame him..."

"Okay, that's enough." The emperor rudely interrupted Master Zhang.

"Xiao Wu was indeed a bit rough in Qingzhou back then, but the result was good. Did the silver he brought back actually benefit the people? Did the repairs in Qingzhou in recent years prove effective? Are those scholars more down-to-earth?"

This is true. The fifth prince took the blame himself, but the result was indeed good.

Zhang Taishi said, "The scholar is weak, so it's a stroke of luck that no one died, but..."

"If it is luck, it is Xiaowu's luck and the luck of Da Zhou." The emperor said coldly.

Grand Tutor Zhang frowned and said, "But Your Majesty, this..."

The emperor raised his hand and said, "Alright, I know what you are worried about."

"Lord Zhang, you are my subject, not the Crown Prince's. Do you still remember this in your heart?"

Zhang Taishi's expression changed slightly, and he quickly knelt down and shouted, "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no second thoughts in my heart."

The emperor simply raised his eyelids and continued, "When the Crown Prince was young, I was worried that he wouldn't become a successful person, so I asked you and Grand Tutor Chu to teach him. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"Master Zhang, now do you think the prince has become a successful person?" the emperor suddenly asked.

Zhang Taishi's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he kept saying, "It's my humble servant's incompetence."

The emperor sneered and said, "So you have self-awareness in your heart."

"If that's the case, why don't you teach the prince a lesson instead of causing them to turn against each other? Or do you think a foolish and impulsive prince is more suitable for the position of crown prince than a shrewd and capable one?"

This was a bit hurtful. Grand Tutor Zhang kowtowed repeatedly, saying he dared not.

The emperor waited for a while, until Master Zhang's forehead was bloodshot, then he said calmly, "Alright, get up."

"Lord Zhang, I thought you were a smart person who always knew the importance of things. Don't be like Chu Jiang, who is so obsessed with the position of crown prince that he can't see anything else."

"Go back and tell the Crown Prince that neither the Fourth Brother nor the Fifth Brother can threaten his position as Crown Prince. But if he continues to behave like this, I'm afraid his reign as Crown Prince will come to an end."

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant... Your Highness, have absolutely no such intentions. Today's incident was caused by your humble servant's disapproval of the Fifth Prince's actions, which is why I insisted on appearing before Your Majesty. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Crown Prince."

Grand Tutor Zhang's face turned pale. He had not expected that the emperor had really intended to depose the crown prince, and even said it in front of him, a royalist.

"Shut up! You're still covering up for him today!"

Seeing Master Zhang's expression, the emperor felt even more depressed. He continued, "I know what the Fourth Prince is thinking, but the Crown Prince is the eldest son, so he should be tolerant. Now he is so good that he can't even tolerate the Fifth Prince."

"Whether it's what happened back then or what happened in Qingzhou, I don't want to hear anyone mention it again. Master Zhang, do you remember this?"

"Your humble servant will bear this in mind." Grand Tutor Zhang kowtowed hurriedly, but he was very confused about the emperor's protection. Grand Tutor Zhang knew what kind of person their emperor was. It was obvious that the emperor would never tolerate these quirks of the fifth prince!

"Since you have remembered it, please step down." The emperor said lightly.

"I'll take my leave." Grand Tutor Zhang swayed twice when he stood up. He was old and his health was getting worse. He was even weaker after the ordeal he had just experienced.

Before Grand Tutor Zhang could leave the palace, a eunuch hurried in, "Your Majesty, there's urgent news from Yunzhou, eight hundred miles away!"

"Pass it quickly!" The emperor's voice changed!

Grand Tutor Zhang looked up and saw a dusty messenger walking into the palace. He was not even wearing light armor, and his beard was untidy and there was a strange smell on his body. Under normal circumstances, such a messenger would never be allowed to enter the palace to meet the emperor!

Something must have happened in Yunzhou. This thought entered Master Zhang's mind.