Chapter 8: The Palace Examination Ruined (8)
The hall was filled with warm fragrance and clinking glasses.
Zhu Qingchen has the same taste as the old school officials, they all like to eat sweet and sour dishes.
Except for the senior officers who took him up to toast a few times, the rest of the time, their table was just -
Eat, eat, eat as much as you can.
Zhu Qingchen likes to sit at the same table with the elderly the most.
The old man chewed his food slowly, picked up food for him, and placed his favorite dishes in front of him. He was always involved in everything he did without being impolite, and no one dared to force him to drink.
After a while, they had almost finished the dishes on the table.
Zhu Qingchen put down his chopsticks and smiled embarrassedly at the old school officials. He ate too much.
One of the old scholars glanced at the emperor, and while he was not paying attention, he picked up the entire plate and put the remaining pieces of cherry flesh into Zhu Qingchen's bowl: "Little Zhu, eat quickly, it will taste better with more sauce."
"Okay." Zhu Qingchen responded and happily ate all the food in the bowl.
Another old scholar wanted to ask the palace servants next to him to serve another plate, but Zhu Qingchen stopped him quickly: "I'm full, full."
The old scholar looked at him suspiciously: "Are you really full? This is your first time here, don't be shy, eating is the most important thing. Can I get you another plate?"
“I’m really full…”
Zhu Qingchen covered his mouth and couldn't help but burp a little. Only then did the old official believe him.
After eating and drinking, they started chatting at the table.
The old scholar waved his sleeves under the table and said, "It's hot after eating."
Zhu Qingchen's face was slightly red, but there was nothing else wrong with him: "Really? I think it's okay. It's warm like this."
The old student patted the back of his hand, and it was indeed not too hot: "You are young, why are you still so afraid of the cold?"
Zhu Qingchen had poor health since childhood, otherwise he would not have died at the age of twenty.
He did not answer, but turned his head to look around and asked in a low voice: "Didn't His Majesty say that we should enjoy the snow together? How can we enjoy the snow when the doors and windows are closed?"
"Perhaps His Majesty is afraid of the cold." The old scholar lowered his voice, "His Majesty likes banquets, and this time he is probably just looking for an excuse to hold a banquet."
"Oh." Zhu Qingchen nodded thoughtfully.
After a while, he whispered to the old school officials, "I'm going to change my clothes."
"Go ahead. It's in the back hall."
"Hey." Zhu Qingchen held the hem of his heavy official uniform, stood up carefully, walked around the table, and quietly slipped away from the back.
The palace maid led him to the back hall, where Zhu Qingchen dealt with the matter briefly, washed his hands, and prepared to go back.
It was very cold outside. Zhu Qingchen shivered, clasped his hands together, and walked quickly in the corridor.
Run! It's warm inside the palace!
Suddenly, King Jing's voice came from behind him: "Master?"
Zhu Qingchen paused, turned around reluctantly, and adjusted his expression: "Your Highness, Prince Jing."
King Jing stepped forward and said, "Master, I heard that you have accepted several apprentices these days. It is winter now, and you should take care of your health while teaching your students."
"Yes." Zhu Qingchen nodded, "I know, thank you for your concern, Your Highness."
"I heard that this time the master not only taught the children of aristocratic families, but also some poor students."
"yes."
"The children of the noble families are arrogant. Asking them to receive instruction from the master together with the children of the poor families, I wonder if they would be dissatisfied?"
"No, the students are very obedient."
"That's good. Master, you are a noble man, but I know nothing about civil and military affairs. I usually only know how to go out hunting. But it's snowing these days, so I'm afraid I can't go."
The two of them stood in the windy vent of the corridor, where the cold wind mixed with snowflakes was blowing. Prince Jing was talking about this and that, in a roundabout way, and no one knew what he was saying.
It's too cold.
Zhu Qingchen clasped his hands together, sniffed, and regretted not bringing out his own small hand warmer.
Suddenly, King Jing said, "If the master doesn't mind me, I would also like to go to the master's house and discuss and write with them. I won't take the imperial examination, but it's good to be with the master and cultivate my character."
Zhu Qingchen raised his eyes slightly and saw the gleam of light that flashed in his eyes.
Love is waiting for him here.
He had taken great pains to select the best seedlings, and Prince Jing asked them to come over as soon as he was told to.
What's the point of self-cultivation? Isn't it just to attract talents?
If he still uses those despicable means to win people over, such as forcing them with wine, warming the tent with red candles, discussing matters with them during the day, helping them to rebel, and warming their beds at night to enrich their harem.
Zhu Qingchen didn't even know that there was such a good thing in the world?
You wish.
It seems that everything he said to Prince Jing at Pei’s Winery a few days ago was in vain.
If he wanted to attract talents, he should do it in an upright manner, either by spending money or by making friends. How could he just pick up something ready-made like this? Those students were very innocent, and Zhu Qingchen would never let a wolf into his house!
Zhu Qingchen calmed down and said seriously, "I'm afraid that this rustic and uncouth person has offended Your Highness."
Prince Jing still insisted: "If you are worried that I will bring some playboys with me and disturb your peace, you can rest assured. I will go alone and will not cause any trouble to you."
Zhu Qingchen said calmly, "Your Highness, you are worrying too much. Those students are vulgar and shallow. They usually gather in my house just to avoid the urging of their parents, eat, drink and have fun. They have no benefit to their studies."
"I have my heart set on doing good, why do you have to shirk your responsibility like this, Master?"
"The spring exam is approaching, and I have ordered them not to come to my house for fun again. It would be useless if His Highness came."
Prince Jing didn't expect him to say it directly like this, and he was stunned for a moment.
"It's cold out here, Your Highness, please go back early to avoid catching a cold."
After Zhu Qingchen said this, he nodded slightly at him, turned around and strode away.
Prince Jing looked at his back as he left and clenched his fists beneath his sleeves.
What is going on with this Master Zhu?
He has been so humble, and he won't even take a step back?
I was just visiting his house for a short visit, but he treated it as a formidable enemy. In the end, he even overturned the table. Shouldn't anyone just come?
Could it be that he saw something?
Impossible. Master Zhu didn't have much interaction with him, and he acted in a secretive manner, so how could he be discovered?
Prince Jing could only attribute everything to the fact that “Master Zhu has a strange temper” and followed him back to the main hall.
Zhu Qingchen returned to his seat and immediately felt a lot warmer.
The old scholar asked him, "Why did you take so long?"
Zhu Qingchen paused and said, "I just sat outside and enjoyed the breeze for a while."
"Your face is red from the cold. The food has just arrived. Do you want to eat more? Are you hungry now?"
"Yeah." Zhu Qingchen nodded. He was hungry again after chatting with Prince Jing for a while.
Zhu Qingchen scooped up a spoonful of soup, but before he could drink it, he suddenly felt his nose itchy. He quickly put down the spoon, turned his head away, covered his mouth, and sneezed slightly.
Ahh——
Damn Prince Jing, he’s about to catch a cold!
The emperor propped up his head and continued to enjoy the singing and dancing, his eyes gently passing over him.
*
The moon is nearing its zenith and the palace banquet is about to end.
Two rows of palace servants held wooden trays and served the last dish:
A bowl of thick ginger soup to drive away the cold, with brown sugar added.
The eunuch behind the emperor said in a loud voice: "It is getting late and the dew is heavy. Your Majesty, please show your grace. Please thank me, gentlemen."
Zhu Qingchen thanked everyone along with him, scooped up the ginger soup with both hands and drank it in one gulp.
The ginger soup was spicy. As soon as Zhu Qingchen drank it, he felt his hands and feet warm up, his nose was unblocked, and he was no longer so dizzy.
This emperor did not seem to be so foolish. At least he knew how to treat his subjects well.
As for Prince Jing... humph!
He was dragged along, talking about this and that, his mind and eyes were full of himself, and he was stubborn and self-willed.
Zhu Qingchen and all the civil and military officials left the palace together.
He helped several old school officials to get on the carriages one by one, and watched them leave safely before getting on his own carriage.
Zhu Qingchen wrapped in a cloak, sat in the carriage, and ordered the servant: "Hurry, go back quickly."
He had experience with this kind of thing, so he drank some ginger soup and went back to sleep for a night and everything would be fine.
If he delays any longer, he will get sick again.
After returning home, Zhu Qingchen changed his clothes, wiped his face simply, climbed onto the bed, wrapped himself up like a piece of candy, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The system deliberately asked him: "Don't you miss home today?"
"Yes." Zhu Qingchen hummed in response, "But I won't roll around today. I'll just quietly miss home."
The system asked again: "Today I saw the 'tyrant'. Who do you think is better as the emperor, the 'tyrant' or the prince?"
Zhu Qingchen said without hesitation: "Neither is good."
"Do I have to choose one?"
"Hmm..." Zhu Qingchen thought for a moment, "Then let's call him 'tyrant'. At least he knows how to prepare ginger soup for his ministers, while King Jing only knows how to humiliate his ministers."
"Too."
"Besides, the 'tyrant' is also quite good. He doesn't have any ulterior motives and only likes to eat, drink and have fun. He is easier to control. The King of Kings has too many ulterior motives and is difficult to control."
The system was shocked: "Control? Are you a loyal minister or a traitor? You actually want to control the emperor?!"
"If the emperor is a wise ruler, then I will be a loyal minister; if the emperor is a foolish ruler, then I will be a powerful minister." Zhu Qingchen lay on the bed, "But wise rulers can be hard to bear sometimes. They are all like Li Yue, who has a stubborn temper. You have to coax him to do anything. It's very troublesome."
The system's electronic voice came: [The Emperor's camp has been automatically selected for the host (can be changed once in novice mode)]
The system wanted to talk to him, but Zhu Qingchen had already fallen asleep, and because his nose was a little blocked, he was snoring slightly.
The little ball of light stopped at the head of the bed. It felt uncomfortable because its host didn't roll around today and slept so properly.
*
Thanks to King Jing, Zhu Qingchen was still sick for two days.
He lay in bed for two days, scolding Prince Jing in various ways.
Instead, when the emperor heard that he fell ill after the palace banquet, he sent the imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau to see him and gave him some medicinal herbs, asking him to take good care of his health.
Zhu Qingchen silently added a point to the tyrant monarch in the little notebook in his heart.
That afternoon, several students came to visit him after school.
Zhu Qingchen was covered with a quilt, leaning sickly on a soft pillow, looking like a "poor and lonely teacher", eating bite by bite of the preserved fruits that his students gave him as a gift.
Before long, more than half of the bag of preserved fruits was gone.
Liu An tried to persuade him: "Master, this is for you to take with your medicine. The doctor said you can't take more, just this one packet. Now it's gone."
Zhu Qingchen stuffed the preserved fruit into his mouth: "My mouth has no taste. Eat another one, and another one."
Liu An moved his things further away, and Zhu Qingchen asked him again: "Did you not understand anything during the lectures given by the old schoolmaster these days?"
Liu An replied: "No, the old scholar explained it clearly."
"Yeah." Zhu Qingchen nodded, then looked at Pei Xuan and the others, "How about you? Have you reviewed your lessons these days? Have you written any essays?"
Pei Xuan said: "Everything is fine, Master, don't worry, I will write articles every day and keep them for your review."
"Hmm." Zhu Qingchen lay back on the couch weakly, and took the opportunity to take a piece of preserved fruit, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it.
Not long after, the attendant announced outside: "Master, Prince Jing has come to visit the patient and is waiting in the warm room."
When Zhu Qingchen heard this, he didn't even bother to eat the candied fruit. He threw back the quilt and stood up suddenly.
Is he not done with this? It's like a dog-skin plaster that can't be shaken off?
Zhu Qingchen stood on the couch, and the students sat around him, looking at him in astonishment.
Zhu Qingchen came to his senses and realized that he seemed to have spoken out what was in his heart.
He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed twice, and fell back on the couch, "soft and boneless" like a piece of Guanchaolou's signature boneless crispy chicken.
"Oh, I feel dizzy... I am too weak to receive guests. Can anyone help me refuse His Royal Highness Prince Jing?"!
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