Bachelor

Chapter 339 The Last Lesson ([-])

Prison prison.

Lu Fang woke up early and didn't have a meal. He first asked the jailer to bring him a basin of water, washed his face, tied his hair in an orderly manner, and put on a crown.His expression was calm, and he seemed to be different from the past.

In the past month, his life in the prison has been pretty good.Although he was interrogated several times by the officials of the Ministry of Punishment in the first few days and suffered a lot, but as time passed, no one bothered him anymore.

Lu Fang thought that after he was thrown into the sky prison, the case should be concluded in a short time. He no longer cared about his own fate, and the worst would be death.If you can die for your mentor, you will be able to fulfill your wish.

It's strange, since the middle of the year, the people in the criminal department seem to be less willing to talk to him.

Lu Fang also thought for several days to understand this truth. The case of Concubine Zhang's miscarriage involved the dispute between the two palaces, and it was even likely to involve the ownership of the emperor's throne after a hundred years—as long as the two palaces gave birth to a prince.

As for the affairs of the emperor's family, it is better for foreign ministers to be less contaminated.

In things like politics, especially the struggle for succession, one mistake could lead to the loss of the head.

Aside from the empresses of the two palaces, as for Sun Dan, Bi Yun, Huang Jin and others behind them, which one is not powerful, and whoever offends them can't bear to go around.

Therefore, after going through the scene for a few days, the people from the Ministry of Punishment simply suspended the case without trial, and waited for the emperor's order.

But now the emperor has been severely punished by Yang Tinghe, and he has to preside over this year's Spring Enke, so he doesn't have the heart to deal with it.

Therefore, Lu Fang stayed in the dungeon as if he had been forgotten.

However, this is not surprising.The Prison of the Criminal Ministry is different from the Imperial Prison in the Beiya. The prisoners in the Beiya are all imperial prisoners, and they can generally make a verdict in the shortest time.And many of the prisoners in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice have been imprisoned for several years and no one cares about them. For example, the prisoner in the cell next to Lu Fang, I heard that he used to be a county magistrate. It has been nearly three years since Zhengde was imprisoned here 14 years ago.

Lu Fang suffered a lot in the first few days in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. She was about to go to prison and await trial.But as long as you survive those few days, the next days will be easier.

As time went by, the management inside relaxed.And he also knew that Sun Dan would never watch him, his favorite student, live in prison and ignore him.

Sure enough, although Sun Dan didn't show up, he still sent Shi Wanquan to the Ministry of Punishment to work up and down, and the money was scattered like running water.Although it wouldn't make Lu Fang exonerate, it would also make Lu Fang's life better day by day.

Today, the prisoners in the prison have benefited from Shanxi merchants from top to bottom. It can be said that with Lu Fang, each of them can receive two taels of silver from Shi Wanquan every month for charcoal fire.In a sense, Lu Fang really became their cash cow.

Yesterday, Shi Wanquan spent 100 taels of filial piety, finally bought off the prison steward, and hurried in to meet Lu Fang.After entering the prison, in addition to comforting Lu Fang not to worry, and staying here for a while, there is always something to think about, and he also said two things: first, Sun Dan will take part in the examination on February [-]; Well, because Sun Dan offended the emperor, he was dismissed from all positions in Neishutang. From the moment he entered the examination room on February [-]th, he no longer served as the senior.

To be honest, Lu Fang was not worried about Mr. Sun's participation in the examination.After studying under Mr. Sun for such a long time, he still admires Mr. Sun's intellectual accomplishment.If you can't even hit Mr. Sun, that would be a strange thing.

However, when she thought that Sun Dan would no longer be the senior, and that she would no longer be able to serve her husband in the school and listen to his teachings, Lu Fang suddenly felt sad and felt empty.

Putting the crown on with trembling hands, and then tightening her face, Lu Fang sat cross-legged on the ground, looked up at the skylight above her head, but her mind seemed to fly into the study room in the inner study hall.

All together, relative to enjoy the spring breeze.

May young people, don't forget the power of turning rain.

"Sir, sir, this is your last lesson. Although the students are not lucky enough to listen to it with their own ears, I can still feel your voice and smile when I sit here, as if you are by my side. Then, let the students Finish this last lesson!"

A smile appeared on Lu Fang's face.

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There was a lot of noise in the study room. After all, they were all fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys, and eunuchs were also human beings. In addition, Sun Dan practiced the Western education method of later generations, using more inspiring thinking, and did not have strict requirements on the discipline of the students. .

Therefore, all the students are very casual in the school.

Now that the master has not arrived, there are many students playing around, making Chen Hong's head swell from the noise.

He read only two pages and couldn't read any more.

About half an hour later, seeing that it was almost time for the teacher to teach, some students in charge kept shouting: "Everyone, everyone, can you be quiet, the teacher is coming soon."

But he yelled a few times, but still no one answered.

Chen Hong finally couldn't bear it anymore, he was feeling sad in his heart, and he was very disturbed when he heard the commotion.Suddenly, a wave of anger rose from his chest.

He stood up abruptly and slammed the book in his hand on the table.

"Crack!" A loud voice silenced the room, and everyone turned to look at Chen Hong.

With a sullen face, Chen Hong shouted: "Stop arguing, quarreling, you bird people, the quarreling is giving grandpa a headache, your mother is a bird, if you quarrel again, grandpa will take you off."

Chen Hong's face was cold, and it seemed that the muscles on both cheeks were twisting.

His frightening expression did frighten some people, but none of the people who can enter the inner study hall has no backer, and there are really not many lonely people like Lu Fang, and some people are not convinced immediately.

There is a young eunuch who is the godson of Dacheng, the supervisor of the imperial horse, and he also gathers a few young students who can fight and make trouble.The people in the Yumajian are not afraid of Huang Jin.And some time ago, the people of the Yumajian had a lot of conflicts with Chen Hong, and everyone secretly remembered the hatred.Seeing that Chen Hong spoke harshly, the eunuch snorted: "Chen Hong, don't think that you are a bird now that you are with the imperial concubine. Everyone is so happy now, but you are here to spoil the fun and want to get us a seal? Grandpa is If you don't accept me, what will you do?"

"You!" Chen Hong glared at him.

The student was not afraid, and stared back: "Why, look for a hammer, after school, Chen Hong, if you are a fool, let's find a secluded place to practice. But it's agreed, if you suffer a loss, you are not allowed to ask yourself to do it. Father complained about suffering."

Before Chen Hong could speak, a few eunuchs around the student also started arguing, all gearing up, saying that they wanted to help beat Chen Hong up, and that they had to beat this bird man to death today.

Everyone had suffered a lot from Chen Hong during the day, so they finally took a chance to beat the dog in the water, and planned to show Chen Hong a little bit by virtue of the number of people.

For a while, the crowd was so angry that there was a sense of unity.

But at this moment, an incomprehensible thing happened.

At the beginning, Chen Hong still clenched his fists, his eyes were wide open, and he wanted to rush forward to grab those students, but he beat them violently.But gradually, his clenched fists loosened, his eye circles became red, and he didn't move for a long time.

Seeing that Chen Hong didn't dare to do anything, the young student from the Imperial Horse Supervisor thought he was timid, so he was proud of himself, and said with a sneer, "Why, Chen Hong, aren't you usually a bird, why don't you talk now."

As soon as the words were finished, Chen Hong suddenly burst into tears, "Wow!" His face was covered with snot and tears, and he, who used to be unruly in the past, is now like a poor rabbit.

All the students were stunned by Chen Hong's sudden cry and stared at him blankly.

The little student from the Imperial Horse Supervisor was startled by Chen Hong's crying, and after a long while, he spat out: "Damn it, Chen Hong, in the past I still respected you as a hero who dared to think and act. Now When I saw that there were so many people on my side and I was afraid of being beaten, I was so frightened. You pustule, even if grandpa looked at you more, it would be regarded as dirty eyes. Mr. Sun has taught you for so long, why are you so incompetent? look like that. Get out, get out, grandpa!"

Everyone thought that Chen Hong was intimidated, and they all burst into laughter.

Suddenly, Chen Hong jumped out, grabbed the eunuch by the neckline, and spit in his face.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Asshole, you know a fart, sir won't teach us in the future."

"what?"

"Sir will no longer be our senior from tomorrow, and today is his last lesson."

No one spoke in the room, only Chen Hong shouted at the top of his lungs.

At this moment, the door of the study opened, and Sun Dan walked in with his hands behind his back, with a calm expression on his face: "We are all here, now we are in class!"

Chen Hong let go of the little eunuch and shouted, "Stand up!"

All the students stood up at the same time: "Hello, teacher!"

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Lu Fang sat in the cell for a while, making sure that her mind had completely calmed down, and then slowly began to recite: "The way of great learning lies in clearing morality, being close to the people, and ending in perfection. This chapter is the classic of Confucius. Wen, this section is the outline of the scriptures. Kongzi said that there are three principles for adults to learn. One is to understand Mingde. Shangmingzi is to use effort to understand him; The body that has all the principles and responds to all things. But after birth, it is constrained by the qi..."

His voice was soft and clear, with an indescribable penetration, it echoed sonorously in the prison, and then spread throughout the prison.

That's right, he was reciting Mr. Sun's lesson from memory.

"Huh, you mean "University"?" A prisoner in the opposite cell suddenly got up from the ground, grabbed the wooden fence with both hands, and looked at Lu Fang greedily.

There are many prisoners in this cell, and most of them are people with status.It's understandable if you think about it, you're not high enough, so you really can't get in here.

Each cell is separated by a thick wooden fence, and they hear each other's voices and can see through each other.

During this month, Lu Fang also became acquainted with several prisoners around her, and some of them were able to chat a few words and give each other some food.

However, he could clearly see the contempt the prisoners had for him.

Thinking about it carefully, Lu Fang immediately understood why.Most of the officials here are civil servants who were educated, and many officials of the Ming Dynasty had suffered from eunuchs, so it is inevitable that they have some prejudice against him as an eunuch.

For example, the official on the opposite side seems to be surnamed Gu. It is said that he used to be an official of the river course. In the 13th year of Zhengde, the Yellow River flooded, and the dam burst, washing away three county towns.The governor of the river course had no choice but to throw himself into the water, and it would be over once and for all.He, a subordinate official, was arrested and locked up, and there has been no trial.Later, Emperor Zhengde was busy fighting, and then there was a battle for the heir apparent, but no one paid any attention to him.Therefore, Mr. Gu has been imprisoned here for three years, and he was full of resentment after being imprisoned, and his speech was particularly unpleasant.

Especially after Lu Fang entered the prison, Mr. Gu saw a eunuch coming. When he remembered that when he was in office, he was not less angry with the eunuch He Jian, and he kept teasing Lu Fang every day. .

Hearing such words, Lu Fang could hardly connect this shrew-like prisoner with the former Master Gu who was born as a Jinshi.

Fortunately, Lu Fang has a good temper and a deep personality, so she doesn't argue with him.

Mr. Gu was lying on the ground and sleeping depressed these days, when he heard Lu Fang recite the words, his heart was shocked, and he quickly got up to listen.The officials in the world are all educated, and the words of the sages can be said to have penetrated deep into their bones. They have been locked up here for so many years, and they have no books to read. Suddenly they heard the words in "University", Master Gu The shock in my heart can be imagined.

Lu Fang couldn't stop thinking: "From the emperor to the common people, one is to cultivate one's morality. The other is to understand and do everything. Confucius said that although there are eight items in the university, in fact, from the emperor to the common people, For all the people in the world, self-cultivation must be the root of everything. Gaige knowledge, sincerity and righteousness are all self-cultivation skills. Family harmony, governance, and peace of the world are all pushed away from self-cultivation. Therefore, the dignity and inferiority of people , although there are differences, they should all be based on self-cultivation..."

Master Gu has been listening for a long time, he can't help but nod in his heart, and secretly said: "Although this little eunuch looks annoying, but his knowledge is very good, he is a character!"

"However, the more knowledgeable these eunuchs are, the easier it is to harm the country."

Although Master Gu admired him, he was secretly wary.

He thought that Lu Fang's words were his own understanding of "The Great Learning", but he didn't know that Lu Fang was reciting Sun Dan's text.

Looking around again, several prisoners in the cell were lying on the wooden fence and listening fascinatedly, as if they were fascinated.

The people here are all from the background of scholars, so it can be said that they cannot live without books for a day.After being locked up here for such a long time, when I heard someone endorse the book, I felt as if I was drunk, and it was hearty to the extreme.

Lu Fang didn't know that the text he recited was "Zhang Juzheng Explains the Four Books" plagiarized by Sun Dan. Zhang Juzheng was originally a scholar, and his works were naturally the first-class in the Ming Dynasty.

The prisoners in the prison are all people who know the goods, and their hearts are shaken when they hear it, and some people's eyes are hot.

Master Gu admired it, but he still snorted, and shouted loudly to Lu Fang's cell: "Eunuch, what are you reading, annotating "University", hum, I think it's just a cliché, and there's nothing new about it. "

Master Gu shouted, Lu Fang's voice stopped.

After a long time, there was a sudden roar: "Old Gu, what the hell are you doing? We are listening intently. You are so awesome. Let the little eunuch read on. We have been locked up for such a long time, and we are bored. You can listen to it. Besides, the little eunuch's knowledge is really good, I don't think you have this ability when you are old."

Master Gu was a little speechless.

After a long time, a voice came from Lu Fang's side: "Excuse me, my lords, the note just now is not Lu Fang's article, it is my mentor's lecture notes in class."

"It turned out to be the handouts of your teacher." For the sake of honor, Lord Gu didn't want to be mean anymore: "I don't know who your husband is, but I heard that the seniors in your inner school are all bachelors of the Imperial Academy. Who is your teacher? Yang Shen or Yang Yiqing?"

Hearing him mention these two names, the prisoners in the cell fell silent.These two are famous, and many prisoners have been their subordinates.

"No." Lu Fang's voice came again.

"Then... is it Wang Yuanzheng or Zhang Xu." The knowledge of these two people is far behind that of Xiao Yang and Yang Yiqing, and there is a hint of disappointment in Master Gu's tone.

"No." There was a hint of pride in Lu Fang's voice: "My benefactor's surname is Sun Mingdan and his name is Jingyuan. He is the No. 1 scholar in the capital and the author of "Rizhilu."

"Sun Dan...never heard of it."

"This person really doesn't know."

The cell was noisy.

Master Gu sneered and shouted: "Quiet, we have been locked up here for so long, and the news has been cut off. It is not surprising that there are a few famous people outside."

"Indeed." Another voice sounded from the cell, obviously agreeing with Mr. Gu's point of view.

Lord Gu asked Lu Fang again: "Little eunuch, from what you read just now, it seems that this Sun Dan is really knowledgeable. He has been a Jinshi for several years in Zhengde, oh, counting, it should be 15 years in Zhengde. Now , what does this Sun man do in the Imperial Academy?"

Lu Fang quickly replied: "My mentor has not yet entered the Hanlin Academy."

"How is this possible? Are you lying to me?" Master Gu became obviously unhappy: "If you don't enter the Imperial Academy as a bachelor, how can you go to teach in the inner school? What is this Sun Dan doing now?"

Lu Fang replied: "My mentor is just a juren now. He is a county magistrate in Fangshan, and he hasn't entered the Imperial Academy yet?"

"What, it's impossible, it's impossible!" The prison broke out again.

"Hahahaha, you're lying to a ghost!" Lord Gu burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)