Chapter 3339: Backdoor
The scroll was slowly unrolled, and Kong Jijiu's brows jumped. By the time half of the painting was finished, he was completely stunned.
"This painting..." Kong Jijiu's first feeling was that this fake painting was very realistic; his second thought was that his extremely smart student had been deceived; finally he realized that this painting seemed to be the real one in Bai Shan's hand.
Kong Jijiu looked at the painting in Yang Heshu's hand and was speechless for a long time.
Yang Heshu asked with a smile, "Sir, what do you think of this painting?"
Kong Jijiu: "...Isn't this painting in Bai Shan's hands?"
Bai Shan and Zhou Man are at the peak of their careers, so they don’t need to sell their paintings, right?
"It's from Zhishan's hand. What do you think of this painting, sir?"
That's great!
Kong Jijiu's hand hovered above the painting, not daring to touch it. He lowered his head to look at it carefully. Even though he had seen it three times, he was still impressed by the painting.
Kong Jijiu had already vaguely guessed why Yang Heshu had come. He looked at the painting, then looked up at Yang Heshu, straightened up and said, "Let's go to the study and appreciate it carefully."
Yang Heshu readily agreed.
When Yang Heshu left the Confucius Mansion again, he had nothing.
As soon as he left, Kong Jijiu hurriedly closed the study door, then lay down on the table to look at the paintings with a big smile on his face.
The housekeeper couldn't stand it and reminded him, "Master, didn't you say that you would set an example this year and never let anyone take advantage of you?"
Kong Jijiu said, "Master Zhuang's grandson is still of school age, so it can't be considered backdoor admission. Furthermore, what Changbo said makes sense. Master Zhuang is already old, and if he doesn't let his grandson enroll this year, I'm afraid his place will eventually go to someone else."
Kong Jijiu said with a straight face, "Master Zhuang has made great contributions to the country by teaching the Crown Prince. We must not let him down."
Butler: "...You are right."
Now that Kong Jijiu agreed, other things will be easy.
Yang Heshu went to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, and the paperwork was done. He sent a copy of Zhuang Jiran's books and Mr. Zhuang's official letter to the Imperial College.
Kong Jijiu approved it directly and also gave him a note, "He can postpone his enrollment, but not too late."
Yang Heshu agreed with a smile, took Zhuang Jiran's admission letter and note, and then said goodbye and left.
Of course, Bai Shan and the others didn’t know about this yet. They were packing up and preparing to return to Beijing.
Mr. Zhuang is going to take Zhuang Jiran back to Beijing to attend school, while Bai Shan and Zhou Man are going to take the children to Shangzhou to worship and build a family tree.
Because he didn't know the situation in the capital, Bai Shan asked Mr. Zhuang and his men to return by water, which would be faster and shorten the journey by half. Bai Shan and his men then took the land route.
Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian stayed in Qili Village with the eldest wife and her husband, planning to return to Beijing after the New Year. Zhou Silang took his two younger brothers and the children at home and went back with Mr. Zhuang's family.
In fact, Bai Shan wanted his grandmother and mother to go back with them, but Old Lady Liu thought that building a family tree was a big deal. This was her dear great-grandson, so she insisted on going to see it in person.
So Bai Shan had no choice but to take them with him.
They set out on the same day and separated when they arrived in Longzhou. Zhou Silang and his companions took the water route, and their boat was still the same as before. However, without Bai Shan and his companions, their boat was much more spacious.
Bai Shan handed the official letter to Zhou Silang and reminded him, "Be careful on the road." Although the Great Jin Dynasty is now peaceful and prosperous, there are still mountain bandits and water bandits in some places.
After seeing them off, Bai Shan got on the carriage and said to the driver, "Let's go."
There were not many of them. Apart from a dozen guards, there were only a few servants who served them personally.
Four carriages slowly headed towards Shangzhou.
Land transportation is slower than water transportation. Bai Shan and his companions were still on their way to Shangzhou, while Mr. Zhuang and his companions had already arrived in the capital.
It was the first time for Zhuang Jiran and his wife to travel far away, and also their first time to visit Beijing. From the moment they entered the city gate, their eyes were glued to the outside of the car and they couldn't take their eyes off it.
The streets here were bustling with people, the houses were taller than any they had ever seen, and the streets were wider.
Zhou Silang asked Zhou Wulang to take the Zhou family back to the Zhou residence, while he sent Mr. Zhuang and others to the Princess's Mansion.
When Zhuang Jiran saw the gate of the Princess's Mansion, he was so surprised that he was speechless for a long time, "This, this is..."
"This is your master's house."
Zhuang Jiran couldn't believe it. "Can the Zhou family afford a house like this now?"
"I can't afford it," Mr. Zhuang said, "This is a reward from His Majesty. I have made great contributions to the country, so I will naturally be rewarded with generous rewards. You will understand later."
Liu Gui had received the news in advance and arranged another courtyard for the Zhuang family. It was a guest courtyard, close to the front yard, but not far from Mr. Zhuang's courtyard.
He led his servants to carry all the luggage inside and said to Zhuang Jiran, "The bedding and ornaments here are all new. Master Zhuang, if you find anything missing, please let me know and I will have someone get it for you."
Zhuang Jiran was a little reserved, "That's good."
Liu Gui smiled and said, "This courtyard is not far from Mr. Zhuang's Nanshan Residence, and it's also close to the corner gate. It's very convenient for Mr. Zhuang to go out or visit Mr. Zhuang."
Zhuang Jiran agreed awkwardly. After seeing Liu Gui off, he went to find Mr. Zhuang. "Grandfather, are we all going to live here from now on?"
Mr. Zhuang knew what he was thinking at a glance and said, "Don't worry about these mundane matters. Just study your books and educate your wife, sons and nephews."
Once he lives there for a while and becomes familiar with both the Bai and Zhou families, this awkwardness will disappear.
Mr. Zhuang said, "You just need to remember the kindness I showed you today."
Zhuang Jiran scratched his head and said, "Grandfather, Father said we shouldn't take advantage of others. Why don't we go out and rent a house?"
Different from Mr. Zhuang's casual nature, Zhuang Jiran was greatly influenced by his father. He was unwilling to take even a needle or a meal from others for free, for fear of being looked down upon.
No one knows a son better than his father. Mr. Zhuang naturally knew where his biggest disagreement with his son lay. He paused and said, "I am Bai Shan Zhouman's teacher. It is only natural for a disciple to support his teacher."
"But I'm not," Zhuang Jiran said shyly, "Grandfather, it's not good for you to bring your family along, right?"
Mr. Zhuang was a casual person, and his three disciples were even more casual than the last. He hadn't worried about this sort of thing in a long time. He had wanted to reason with his grandson, but when he saw his son's reflection in his face, he simply hit him on the head with his fan and gave a firm order, "I said stay, so stay. Don't talk nonsense."
"Okay." Zhuang Jiran lowered his head and turned around to leave silently.
"Stop," Mr. Zhuang said, pointing to the dusty study. "Go get some water and clean the study."
These are all idle things. When he is too busy to have time, does he still have time to think about these things?
Zhuang Jiran agreed honestly and went to ask someone for a wooden basin and water to wash.
(End of this chapter)
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