After Zhao Hao dried the ink and carefully folded the paper and put it away, Zhao Shouzheng stretched out his hand and said flatteringly:

"Son, can you insult your father again?"

Zhao Hao was shocked when he heard this: "Do I need to pay for asking my father to write for me?"

"That's not the case." Zhao Shouzheng smiled awkwardly, "The day after tomorrow is not the first day of the lunar year, and I am going to attend a literary gathering..."

According to the regulations of the Imperial College, students are only given leave on the first and fifteenth day of each month, and the rest of the days are spent in class, revising lessons, and reciting texts. In short, students only have two days off each month, the first and fifteenth day of each month, and the rest of the time they have to attend classes. The intensity of the coursework is comparable to that of high school students...

Zhao Hao saw that Zhao Shouzheng worked very hard to go to school every day, so he said, "It's so hard to have a day off. Wouldn't it be nice to rest at home?"

"Of course that's fine, but the imperial examination is coming up, and I have to sharpen my sword before the battle, otherwise I will be ashamed of my son." Then Zhao Shouzheng said righteously: "The literary gathering the day after tomorrow will be hosted by Master Xuelang, and the standards are very high."

Zhao Hao frowned slightly: "Oh, it's that slut?"

Xuelang, the first poet monk in the late Ming Dynasty, was a frequent guest in the notes of the late Ming Dynasty. Zhao Hao knew that he had debated with Matteo Ricci and was also the teacher of "The Water is Too Cold". Although he was a monk, he liked fine clothes and delicious food, and had a close relationship with the famous prostitutes in Qinhuai River... In short, as his name suggests, he was a monk who could not be more dissolute.

"Why does my son look down on Master Xuelang so much?" Zhao Shouzheng asked in confusion, "Although he was born in a wealthy family, he voluntarily accepted the precepts and became a monk, studying Buddhism in depth. At the age of 18, he was well versed in the inner scriptures, served as a lecturer, and became a great master of the Huayan School."

"If he is a serious monk, why would he hold a literary gathering?" Zhao Hao asked in return: "Would a serious monk hold a literary gathering?"

"Well, this is understandable." Zhao Shouzheng obviously admired Xuelang very much, and hurriedly explained for the monk: "Not long ago, the Great Baoen Temple was hit by lightning and fire. Although the glazed tower was intact, many halls and galleries were burned down. Master Xuelang made a great wish to rebuild the Great Baoen Temple, and this literary gathering was held to raise funds."

As he spoke, he said leisurely and fascinatedly: "Master Xuelang is not only an expert in Buddhism, but also a leader in the Jinling poetry world. He is a very friendly person. If it weren't for fundraising, an old student like my father would not be qualified to approach him."

"You still say he is a serious monk..." Zhao Hao sneered.

Seeing that Zhao Hao didn't agree, Zhao Shouzheng stopped insisting and said, "Then I won't go..."

After that, he said happily: "It's also great to be able to sleep in."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Hao placed two ingots of ten-liang official silver on the table.

"Hehe, I knew that sons love their fathers the most..." Zhao Shouzheng smiled and reached out to grab the money.

Zhao Hao held down the two silver ingots and said with a smile, "Father, you have to do me another favor."

"Of course, no problem!" Zhao Shouzheng patted his chest, scratched his head shyly and said, "I'm not bragging, my father is best at making things worse..."

"Dad, don't underestimate yourself. Every person has his uses. Even a person's shortcomings can still have miraculous effects if used in the right place." Zhao Hao comforted his father.

"After listening to this, I feel even more sad..." Zhao Shouzheng smiled awkwardly before he thought of asking his son what he wanted him to do.

"You'll know tomorrow." Zhao Hao didn't want to tell him right away: "Let's go somewhere tomorrow."

"I have to go to jail tomorrow..."

Zhao Hao paused for a moment and said, "Father has caught a cold. Please ask Uncle Fan to help him take a leave tomorrow."

"I'm fine, oh..." Zhao Shouzheng paused and then said, "You want me to take a day off? That's fine, but I missed too many classes before, so Gou Xuezheng will probably remember me again."

"It's okay. Your father will be back in prison in the afternoon. Just cough a few more times in class. Gou Xuezhen will not only not scold you, but will also think that you really took his words to heart." Zhao Hao gave his experience. "Maybe, he will choose to forgive you."

"Great, great, great idea!" Zhao Shouzheng's eyes lit up, but he couldn't help wondering: "Why is my son like an old senior who has been in prison for many years?"

"Hehe..." Zhao Hao was speechless, thinking that in terms of studying time, I have not spent any less time than you.

~~

The next morning, Gao Wu followed Zhao Hao's instructions and spent two cents to rent Shen Laoyao's carriage for half a day.

Normally, if you rent a carriage without a driver, you must at least pay a few taels of silver as a deposit before the owner feels at ease. But Shen Laoyao wanted to curry favor with the rich man, so he didn't ask for a deposit and kept volunteering to help. Gao Wu naturally wouldn't agree.

The Qi family army fought in many battles in the south and the north, and Gao Wu was an expert at riding and driving. He sat sideways on the shaft of the carriage, skillfully controlling it, carrying the father and son south.

The carriage passed through the streets and alleys, and soon passed the Bell and Drum Tower. It continued to travel south for a long time before slowly stopping.

Zhao Shouzheng got off the car and saw the familiar stone bridge. He asked curiously, "Are we going to Hubu Street?"

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded, jumped out of the car, stretched his muscles and said, "Let's go to the place where my father went last time..."

"You said Deheng was responsible..." Zhao Shouzheng answered casually, and then immediately said with a shy face: "So you know everything?"

"Haha." Zhao Hao passed it vaguely and handed an envelope to Zhao Shouzheng, saying, "This is what I asked my father to do."

"You little brat, you're so secretive." Zhao Shouzheng took the empty envelope, pulled out the papers inside and unfolded them, only to become more confused.

"Isn't this the irrelevant stuff you asked me to copy last night?"

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded and stared at the three-story pawnshop that stood out from the crowd on Hubu Street. He remembered vividly what happened to his father that day. He still felt hatred when he thought about it.

What he has been thinking about these days is how to get this debt back!

Zhao Shouzheng then listened to Zhao Hao saying word by word: "Father took this thing and pawned it."

Today he would rely on a piece of torn paper to extort enough money from Zhang to buy raw silk, so as to vent his hatred!

"This piece of torn paper is so dirty that it's not even suitable for wiping your butt..." Zhao Shouzheng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Son, I'm afraid you'll get beaten up."

"With this, that won't happen." Zhao Hao said, taking the paper box handed to him by Gao Wu.

Zhao Shouzheng opened it and saw a bag of white sugar inside. He remembered that when they were weighing at the blacksmith shop last time, Zhao Hao specifically asked to leave more than a pound, so this must be it.

Zhao Shouzheng picked up the paper bag and weighed it. It was indeed more than one pound. Just as he was about to put it back, he saw Zhang Wenshu at the bottom of the box.

"This is..." Zhao Shouzheng asked.

"This is the delivery document with Tang Ji that day..." Zhao Hao explained.

"Hey, why is there my signature and seal?" Zhao Shouzheng unfolded the document and saw that the seller's name was clearly written on it, as well as a genuine signature and seal.

"Father is such a forgetful man..." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes at him helplessly. This was why he had to wait until he arrived at the other person's door before explaining things to Zhao Shouzheng.

He was afraid that if he spoke too early, his old father would forget the key points and speak out of turn after entering, which would backfire.

After he reminded him, Zhao Shouzheng slapped his head and said, "I remember that before you entered Tang Ji, you asked me to sign on two pieces of white paper."

After saying this, Mr. Zhao said shamelessly: "It can be seen that my father has entered a state of forgetting both himself and the world while studying."

ps. The second update is here, the exciting plot will be staged soon, please recommend and comment~~~