Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 244: Update
Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Youtang came hurriedly with Tan Ji. Before they stepped into the hall and prepared for class, Tan Ji was still whispering a reminder.

"Your Highness, before the class ended yesterday, Mr. Donggong came to tell me that the prince had been distracted in class these past two days and had not been able to listen attentively. He asked me to remind the prince to concentrate on his studies."

Qin Ji's expression was extremely serious.

Zhu Youtang was stunned at first, then he said apologetically: "Ah!? How come even the master noticed my abnormality? I'm so embarrassed..."

Qin Ji sighed, "The prince is newly married, and I happened to bring some books back from outside the palace, maybe that's why..."

"My dear, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not like this because of reading idle books."

Zhu Youtang patiently explained, "I copied the contents of the book and showed it to my father. My wife told me that we should find a way to divert my father's attention, so that he could alleviate the great grief brought about by the death of Grandma Wan and regain his confidence in recovery."

Qin Ji thought, what a mess this is.

Has the Crown Prince been too deeply poisoned by the Crown Princess?

Now, even for doing other things in class, one can find such a legitimate and justifiable excuse?

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "But today, I will study hard. In fact, what the teacher has taught recently, I have already learned before, and I haven't fallen behind in my studies."

Qin Ji said: "I hope so. I am old, and my influence on the prince will gradually decline. I hope the prince can keep his original intention."

I'm almost saying, you'll listen to the Crown Princess more and more in the future, and you don't need an old man like me to make noises anymore, so I'd better be sensible and just take care of your daily life. Why do I have to be a bad guy and correct your mistakes?
……

……

The two of them had just entered the Wenhua Hall when Jiang Cong hurriedly followed in and said in a hurry, "Your Highness, Mr. Qin Yin from the Imperial Household Department is outside asking to see you."

"Oh, he...came to see me for something?"

Zhu Youtang was actually more afraid of the eunuchs in power, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face.

Tan Ji asked, "How about...I should go out and ask first?"

"no need."

Zhu Youtang waved his hand, "Maybe it's because I received feedback on the manuscript I submitted to the emperor this morning... But even if the emperor blames me, I have a clear conscience."

Having said that, Zhu Youtang turned around and took Tan Ji and Jiang Cong out of the Wenhua Hall.

But I saw Tan Chang standing respectfully in front of Wenhua Gate.

In the past, when Qin Chang met the prince, he was only respectful in terms of etiquette, but not like now, when he was full of respect from the inside out. Now he admired the prince's methods even more.

"Qin Daban, is this about the manuscript?"

Zhu Youtang took the initiative to open the conversation.

Qin Chang bowed and said with a smile, "That's right. Your Majesty read all the things written by the Crown Prince in one go early in the morning, and didn't even have time to eat breakfast. After reading it, he was still not satisfied, so he sent me to ask the Crown Prince... Where is the following content?"

When Zhu Youtang heard this, his fear was slightly relieved, and he asked with a look of surprise, "Does the emperor like the storybook?"

"Ah."

Tan Chang smiled and nodded, his eyes falling on Tan Ji and Jiang Cong.

In Qin Chang's opinion, the story was definitely not written by the prince, and must be related to the two eunuchs serving in the Eastern Palace in front of him.

Asking the prince for the manuscript was equivalent to conveying the emperor's oral order, asking them to quickly prepare the manuscript so that it could be presented later.

Zhu Youtang said with some embarrassment: "The original manuscript is too messy, I need to... reorganize it. If your father likes it, I will copy it every day and send it to your father when it is finished."

"what?"

When Qin Chang heard this, he asked, "Is there an original manuscript?"

"Yes."

Zhu Youtang had no intention of hiding anything and admitted generously, "But the handwriting is too messy, and the layout is not good. Uh, that's probably what I meant. If your Majesty is in a hurry to read it, I will ask my wife to help me sort it out so that I can copy it out as soon as possible and send it to your Majesty."

"That's...that's fine."

When Qin Chang heard this, he thought the prince was really capable.

Being able to collect this thing from the public means that... it was the manuscript that Qin Ji got?
Qin Ji's abilities have been improving recently. He has presented rare items such as a telescope and soap as tributes, and has also prepared a manuscript. He is like the prince's military advisor. Does he plan to become a general or a prime minister in the future?

Zhu Youtang asked, "Does Tan Daban have anything else to ask?"

Qin Chang asked cautiously, "Then, Prince, when can you hand in... the next draft?"

Zhu Youtang thought for a moment and asked, "Is it okay to pay once a day?"

"Okay, okay."

Qin Chang smiled and said, "Then I will go back and report to His Majesty. Your Majesty, I am not talking nonsense. After reading the manuscript this time, His Majesty seemed to have put down a heavy stone in his heart. He was much happier and praised Your Majesty for his filial piety."

"is it?"

Zhu Youtang asked expectantly.

Qin Chang thought, of course not, am I not encouraging you to write the manuscript well?
"Your Majesty, please write as soon as possible. His Majesty is waiting to read the rest of the content. I will take my leave now and will not disturb Your Majesty..."

……

……

As soon as Qin Chang left, Qin Ji was dumbfounded.

It turns out that playing by unconventional means often produces miraculous results!

The prince inexplicably didn't study hard for two days and caused such a big incident. He was also criticized by the lecturer of the East Palace. But in the end, he wrote a book that made the emperor feel comfortable and even got praised?

The prince said before that he was not idle, and it seems to be true.

Think about it carefully, what kind of person is the prince?
How is it possible that one's personality changes suddenly just because he gets married and reads a few books?
"Prince..."

Qin Ji wanted to express his apology, but didn't know how to start.

Zhu Youtang seemed to have forgotten what happened before and reminded him, "My dear, you heard what I said to Tan Daban. The emperor is anxious to read the manuscript, so I'm afraid you need to help me sort it out."

Jiang Cong asked: "Since you have the original manuscript, why don't you just hand it in?"

Tan Ji said: "If it is handed over as it is, will it reflect the prince's filial piety?"

"Oh, yes, yes."

Jiang Cong understood everything instantly and said hurriedly, "I can also help to transcribe it."

"Then let's do it together!"

Zhu Youtang said, "Many hands make light work. If we divide the work and cooperate, the speed will be much faster... The only thing to worry about is that I don't have many manuscripts on hand, and I may need you to leave the palace..."

"clear."

Tan Jishang answered sensibly, "Can the book presented by the Zhang family be called a leisure book?"
It can be called a magic weapon that will help the prince ascend to heaven in one step!

What about trying to kill time for the Crown Princess? Those were all excuses. Those were things taken from the Zhang family, the foreign relatives. Just the telescope and the soap alone were a huge favor to the Crown Prince.

The Zhang family has a purpose for everything they do, and it's just a pity for you to worry about nothing.

How could someone possibly harm the prince?
The prince's interests must have been taken into full consideration, and the path to success must have been paved clearly for him.

……

……

After receiving the instructions, Qin Ji hurried back to get the manuscript and copy it.

Jiang Cong followed closely behind him, both of them walked quickly, and both seemed to have great expectations in their hearts.

The prince's words "many hands make light work" made them realize that they were doing something very great with the prince. They wanted to make the East Palace, which had never been exposed before, visible to the emperor, and let the emperor realize that his son was capable...

With this opportunity to show his face, the emperor will appreciate the prince more and will not think about deposing him all day long...

"Awesome, awesome."

Jiang Cong's heart was filled with emotion and he expressed his feelings sincerely.

Tan Ji asked, "What do you want to say?"

Jiang Cong asked, "Eunuch Tan, where did that manuscript come from? That day, Miss Fang said that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were reading late into the night. Is this what they were reading?"

"Yes."

Qin Ji warned, "This news must not be leaked. In fact, the book was taken from the Crown Princess's residence."

"Public manuscripts...what if they are discovered by Eunuch Liang and others, and they also present them as tributes? What should we do then?" Jiang Cong asked worriedly.

Tan Ji said, "Do you think Eunuch Liang has found the telescope from before?"

"We found it. Didn't His Majesty no longer question him after he presented it to the emperor? Could it be that..." Jiang Cong suddenly realized something and asked, "The telescope and soap were also made by the Crown Princess's family?"

Qin Ji had a very secretive look on his face: "It's better if you don't ask about these things."

"Yes."

Jiang Cong quickly shut up.

Qin Ji looked up at the gate of the Duanjing Palace not far away and said, "To be honest, the Crown Prince's move is a risky one. If someone impeaches the Crown Prince for not doing his job properly while listening to lectures and transcribing idle books, it will disappoint His Majesty and all the previous efforts will be wasted..."

Jiang Cong smiled and consoled him, "Eunuch Tan, you are confused because you are in the know! Your Majesty always values ​​intentions the most when doing things. Let alone the content of the story is indeed attractive, even if it is not the case, Your Majesty knows that everything the prince did was to share his worries. Will he blame the prince?"

Tan Ji was stunned.

Then he thought about it and felt that what Jiang Cong said made sense.

We should not only look at the results, but also the motivation and process.

The prince is only concerned about his father's health. How can a father always be so heartless?
Jiang Cong mentioned it again, whether intentionally or unintentionally: "The situation seems to be different from last year."

Another true statement.

Concubine Wan has passed away, and there is no longer someone who whispers in the emperor's ear and sows discord all the time. Now even Liang Fang, the number one general who pushed for a change of crown prince, has been ignored by the emperor. The only people left in front of the emperor are cautious neutrals like Qin Chang.

If no one gossips about him, the prince's actions will be more appreciated by the emperor, and his accumulated merits will also be more recognized by the emperor.

"The prince has a master behind him to help him."

Qin Ji couldn't help but sigh.

……

……

Wenhua Hall.

The lecturer was giving a lecture, and the prince was even more excessive than usual. He didn't even raise his head and just wrote furiously, as if the class had nothing to do with him.

This also made Xie Qian, who was the foreman of the class that day, extremely speechless.

I had just met Tan Ji yesterday and asked him to remind the prince. Tan Ji readily agreed, but why is it that today I can't even see Tan Ji? And the prince is even worse?
At noon, Xie Qian didn't bother to eat and went straight to Zhu Youtang's side.

He watched for a long while, but Zhu Youtang was completely unaware of his presence.

"Your Highness, Mr. Xie is here." Jiang Cong reminded.

Zhu Youtang was startled, and quickly looked up at Xie Qian, then stood up and saluted: "Mr. Xie."

Xie Qian frowned and asked, "Prince, what are you writing?"

Zhu Youtang looked ashamed and didn't know how to explain.

"As a crown prince, you should follow the example of the saints and sages of the past and present and serve the country and the people wholeheartedly. If you cannot listen carefully in class, how can you memorize the strategies of governing a country and use them to govern the country?"

Xie Qian brought up another profound principle.

Zhu Youtang did not evade the question and said directly: "In reply to your question, my father has been ill recently, and I am... helping him to share his worries."

Xie Qian asked curiously, "Are you copying Buddhist scriptures?"

Since ancient times, when parents were sick, their children would copy Buddhist scriptures to pray for their ancestors. Some even wrote with their own blood to show their piety.

This is a manifestation of benevolence and filial piety.

“It’s not a Buddhist scripture.”

Zhu Youtang is very honest.

Xie Qian almost fainted from anger, and shouted: "Then the prince should focus more on studying."

Zhu Youtang said, "Thank you, Mr. Xie! My father is in poor health and has been depressed for a long time. If reading what I wrote can make him happy and relieve his boredom, it will definitely be beneficial to his recovery. As a child, filial piety comes first. I think doing this... should not be too much."

"oops."

Xie Qian sighed, "Prince, you are young and don't understand many things. Your greatest advantage is your diligence and love of learning. If you can't even guarantee this, how can you... Alas!"

It’s almost like saying that if you don’t even have this advantage, you will be abandoned soon.

Zhu Youtang lowered his head and said, "Thank you for your reminder, sir, but I still have to do this. I hope you can understand."

From the beginning to the end, Zhu Youtang was embarrassed to say that what he wrote was a storybook, because he also felt that copying a storybook in class was too absurd.

But even if he didn't say it, Xie Qian could get the general idea just by taking a few glances.

Xie Qian even believed in his heart that...the prince had become a bad person.

(End of this chapter)