How much did I drink? Three pots? Five pots? Or seven or eight pots? I can’t remember. I only know that after laughing wildly for a while at the end, I can’t remember anything.
When Ji Jiu regained consciousness, the first thing he thought of was the hearty drink he had before. However, when he tried to think about why he got drunk, his consciousness finally became somewhat clear.
At that moment, he opened his eyes hard and looked around. He saw that he was lying on a quite spacious bed, with a light gauze quilt covering his body.
After confirming that he was not sleeping on the street, he breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to continue sleeping, he suddenly realized something more important - he didn't seem to be at home! Could it be that who was so drunk?
Which guesthouse did he put him in, or did he take it home? Are any of his friends so kind?
Ji Jiu, who had just woken up from a dream, tried his best to sit up. However, he drank too much wine during his previous indulgence, so that after he reluctantly got up, he fell heavily on the bed again. Because the movement was really loud.
Too big, he soon heard the sound of footsteps, followed immediately by a hand lifting the gauze curtain.
"Are you awake? It seems that the hangover soup works well."
After seeing that face clearly, Ji Jiu couldn't help but blink hard. Then he still couldn't believe his eyes. He shook his head and blinked hard again. When he confirmed that he had seen it right, his face suddenly turned pale.
He felt that all the wine he drank turned into cold sweat. Before he could think of what to say, he realized that he had been pulled up.
Even though the other person was still a little shorter than him, he could see that the person was holding his arm easily and walking out. When he crossed the threshold, his feet were heavy because of his confusion and poor coordination.
Knocking on the threshold, he groaned in pain, and more than half of his remaining drunkenness was gone.
"I'm sorry, you're too tall."
Ji Jiu was choked by this insincere apology and became speechless. Finally, the pain gradually passed, and he asked cautiously: "Where is this? How did I get here?"
"This is Zhang Yuan, I brought you back from the wine shop." Ah Liu's answer was concise and to the point, but then he seemed a little more talkative than usual, "If the young master hadn't wanted to see you, you would have almost been sent away.
Went to spend the night in the hotel courtyard."
Ji Jiu was already sweating all over his body. Hearing this last sentence, he suddenly sweated even more. Although he was already eighteen years old after the New Year, he was older than Zhang Shou.
He has been to many places, and he is already familiar with women, but he still knows how to measure. If he is found to be staying at a hotel tonight, it will be publicized throughout the city tomorrow!
Therefore, he immediately smiled and said: "Thank you, Sixth Brother, you really saved me once!"
This time, Ah Liu didn't answer. He easily carried Ji Jiu forward, and when he arrived at the entrance of a courtyard, he saw Yang Hao poking his head over there. When he saw him, he quickly stepped forward to help, but he directly asked
: "Is there anyone else in the study?"
"No more!" Yang Hao quickly shook his head, but when he was about to explain in detail the whereabouts of the tiger-backed Mr. Zhang San, Ah Liu gave him a sideways glance. At that moment, he was trembling and did not dare to say anything more. He watched Ah Liu directly
Ji Jiu took him to the door of the study, knocked on the door, and ushered him in.
After being carried along the dark corridor outside for a long time, Ji Jiu suddenly entered the brightly lit room. Ji Jiu couldn't help but squint his eyes to adapt to the light, and then saw Zhang Shouzheng sitting on a huge red sandalwood table.
Behind the large wooden desk, he was flipping through a palm-sized book with great interest. With just one glance, he could tell that it was something he had sold.
Although he didn't look back when someone yelled at Zhang Shou for cheating, he didn't need to think about it at this time to know that Zhang Shou must have confiscated it from that stupid guy.
Although he didn't know why Zhang Shou didn't pursue Zhang Big Guy at that time, Ji Jiu was very smart and never mentioned the matter. After Ah Liu let go, he barely stood still and bowed down respectfully.
"I was temporarily dizzy and drunk. Thanks to the teacher, I sent someone to help me out of trouble."
"Haha, Ah Liu said that your wine is good, and you don't talk nonsense when you are drunk. You only know how to fall asleep. However, your drinking buddies are not good friends. Some people run away, some people sneer at you, and some people plan to send you away.
Which hotel is surrounded by red and green trees, even the money for the drink is all pushed to you, and the shopkeeper comes to your house to ask for it. You really don't have a good eye for making friends."
After Zhang Shou finished speaking, he threw the cheat sheet in his hand on the desk. Seeing that Ji Jiu only looked embarrassed, but his eyes looked very calm, he knew that this dear friend might have other considerations for making friends, so he ignored it at the moment.
Not mentioned in this section.
"I asked Ah Liu to find you. I just want to ask if the notes you sold to Zhang Sanlang and the others were in your handwriting. I actually worked so hard to copy out six copies. This kind of determination is really commendable, no.
It should only be used to exchange money, right?"
Ji Jiudeng's heart skipped a beat. Of course he knew that this matter would come to light sooner or later, but he didn't explicitly let that idiot Zhang Wuji cheat by doing this. Others who hadn't been caught wouldn't have leaked this information even if they thought about it. But he definitely didn't.
To think that this happened on the night after the branch exam ended! Zhang Shou actually knew that he had copied six copies!
He tried hard to sort out his somewhat chaotic thoughts, but before he could say a word, he was frightened into a cold sweat by Zhang Shou's next words: "I have read these three notebooks. The contents are detailed and the records are clear. To be honest,
I didn’t expect someone to be so attentive. So, you were the one immersed yourself in recording what I said during class?”
Zhang Shou suddenly paused as he spoke, and then said with a half-smile: "If you really record what I said completely and sort it out afterwards, it will be really difficult. After all, Banshan Hall is different from other halls. I
There are more times when you give lectures as you like, and less time when you follow the rules. Therefore, these three notebooks are packaged and sold for 50 coins. It is not that they are expensive, but that they are cheap."
Ji Jiu felt that the clothes on his back were completely stuck to his body, and it was wet and uncomfortable. He shook his heavy head and didn't even notice that Ah Liu had left quietly. Until this moment, he was a little annoyed with himself.
He was too frivolous and went to drink after the exam, so that his head was so muddy that he was unable to respond appropriately.
But at least he knew what the focus of Zhang Shou's questioning at this time was - but he wouldn't dare to reveal who those three notebooks were for. But he couldn't think of anyone who could make Zhang Shou take them.
Shou made excuses in the past, and now he could only choose to remain silent. However, the next moment, he almost didn't jump up.
"Ji Jiulang, I didn't expect that you have always been secretive, but you have connections in the palace. It's really not easy!"
How did Zhang Shou know!
Ji Jiu suddenly raised his head and met Zhang Shou's eyes. When he saw a smile on his face, his heart suddenly shrank and he realized that his reaction had given the other party a chance to confirm! He was sweating profusely and hurriedly lowered his head.
He nodded his head and just when he made up his mind to never admit it, Zhang Shou spoke slowly again.
"In this branch examination, the last few questions were asked by the Emperor. The Emperor has never wandered outside Banshan Hall every day like Xu Jiancheng. Even if the Third and Fourth Princes often go back and talk to him, he can only
I can get a rough idea. So, I have long heard that there is someone in Banshan Hall who records the class content and sends it to the palace for the emperor to read, but I didn’t expect that it is you who is so secretive."
Ji Jiudeng felt like he was struck by lightning. It turned out that Chu Kuan, the chief minister of etiquette, had ordered him to secretly write down the content of the class, not to read it himself, but to show it to the emperor! When the emperor read those notes, did he know that he had written them? He
How could such an insignificant person come into the emperor's eyes because of this?
No, it's impossible. With Chu Kuan's caution, he might let someone copy it again so that no one can see his handwriting...
His heart was like being bitten by thousands of ants, sometimes happy, sometimes confused, sometimes angry, sometimes frightened... The expression on Ji Jiu's face kept changing like a revolving lantern. He knew that this was because he was still confused due to the fact that he was still drunk.
However, he had no chance to calm down at this time. He only regretted that in order to get out of trouble and make some money, he attracted Zhang Shou's attention.
After weighing it again and again, he finally decided to confess. Although Chu Kuan was always a low-key person and was a close servant of the emperor, the county magistrate was not as good as the current one. Not to mention Zhang Shou was in charge of the Imperial College, even now, he is still there
on the territory.
So, he simply said calmly: "The teacher is right. Mr. Chu, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, asked me to record the teacher's lectures, sort them out, and give them to him regularly."
It turned out to be Chu Kuan? Zhang Shou had an unexpected and reasonable feeling.
It was unexpected because he did not expect that Chu Kuan, the chief minister of rites who always did not make friends with foreign ministers, would secretly hook up with a son of an official. You know, Ji Jiu's father was the left deputy governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Shi, one of the top bosses in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It is reasonable because if it were not for someone like Chu Kuan, Master Ji Jiu, who seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages, would not have succumbed.
He nodded and smiled again: "You sold this note to Ji Jiu and the others without letting them cheat. There is nothing wrong with it. But your note is of such a size that it is just suitable for cheating. It will inevitably attract people's attention.
.So, even if you do well in the branch exam this time, are you not afraid of attracting criticism or even slander? Are you still thinking of drinking and having fun outside at night? "
"I..." Ji Jiu didn't expect that Zhang Shou was like a chain of hands, peeling off cocoons and digging directly to the deepest level. But the most important thing, Chu Kuan, had already confessed, so he felt relieved and simply told the truth.
.
"If I can get the first place in Banshan Hall, but I am questioned about cheating, I will pretend to be angry and quit Banshan Hall to prove my innocence. At that time, Eunuch Chu will promise to find me a job outside the capital, although it may not be a good one.
, but it’s better than looking at family members in the capital. I’m not as talented as Lu Zhu, and I’m not as talented as Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu, and Zhang Lu who were trusted by teachers early on, so..."
"I understand what you mean." Zhang Shou raised his hand to indicate that Ji Jiu didn't have to continue speaking, and then he chuckled, "There are so many people in Banshan Hall, I really can't cover everything, and sometimes it's inevitable to favor one over the other. In the past, Cuiyun
I have made a promise to those people here on behalf of Yingying, so it is inevitable that I have to take more care of them. You already have a connection, and it is normal to have any ideas."
Zhang Shou's words were so calm and gentle, but Ji Jiu was so frightened by them. He never dared to bet that other people's big bellies could handle the world's problems. At this moment, what he was most afraid of was what happened in Zhang Shou's examination room.
That scene is all related to myself!
He hurriedly explained: "Teacher, Wu Silang accused Zhang Wuji of cheating. I think it was just because Zhang Wuji used to bully the weak and fear the strong because of his background in Xiangyang. This time, someone happened to see the note. But I know that Wu Silang wanted to fan the flames and make trouble.
I heard that Tang Laoshi, who belongs to Commander Tang’s family, used an IOU to force him to write someone else’s name on the exam paper!”
Sure enough, someone is going to cause trouble... But now it sounds like the mantis stalks the cicada, with the oriole behind?
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart and asked calmly: "Does the Chief of Ceremonies, Eunuch Chu, know about this?"
"Should... know." Anyway, he has already sold Chu Kuan once, so Ji Jiu doesn't mind selling him a second time. "Eunuch Chu said, Spring Thunder is like a dragon and a snake. Teacher, you have done so many things since you came to Beijing.
Not to mention those who have a grudge against Zhao Guogong will never miss this opportunity, even those who are jealous of your position as teacher, or those who have been involved in good things, will also take advantage of it. "
Afraid that Zhang Shou would go to Chu Kuan to cause trouble, which would involve him, he quickly added: "Eunuch Chu said that just when those people were about to jump out one by one, the emperor could clean up the situation." Chu Kuan should have been ordered by the emperor.
……probably?
Haha, sure enough, didn't you just see me in a critical situation first, and then reach out to rescue me, so that you can have a good relationship? Now think about it, when Princess Yongping held the Yuehua Tower Cultural Reunion, Chu Kuan, who was the director of etiquette at the time, seemed to
Just do it.
Zhang Shou nodded slightly as he thought: "Okay, now that you have confessed, have you thought about what to do next?"
Can I say that I haven't thought about it? Ji Jiu felt like a meat pie being squeezed by two mountains. He simply cupped his hands and said, "I was about to ask the teacher for advice."
"I have nothing to advise you. Just follow Eunuch Chu's instructions. That is to avoid the limelight after provoking the matter. There is another way out. You have helped him so much, I don't think he will
I'll leave you alone so easily." Zhang Shou smiled and then said nonchalantly, "And if you want to break this game, there is another very simple way."
He paused and said lightly: "You can learn from Xie Wanquan, a ready-made role model. I recommend him to help Lu Sanlang's father. In addition, Zhang Wuji, who bought the three notebooks, is also in Zhangyuan. You guys
The two might as well add up."
Ji Jiu was stunned at first, and then gradually became more alert. Of course he did not dare to confront Chu Kuan, but according to Chu Kuan's arrangement, leaving the capital seemed like a vast world, and he might not be able to come back in this life. Instead of this, he
Indeed, we might as well learn from Xie Wanquan, the man who tried to destroy everything! As for that idiot Zhang Big Guy, he also needs to ask questions!