The emperor spoke in a lighthearted and interesting way at first, but Chu Kuan spoke solemnly. Zhu Ying, who was standing by, was confused and suddenly snatched the wooden figure when the emperor was not paying attention. She couldn't help laughing and said, "Could it be that the craftsman who originally refused to carve for the emperor actually carved such a wooden figure based on the emperor's ferocious posture with his sword drawn at that time?"
Even if others had thought of this, they would not dare to say it out loud. However, Zhu Ying had been used to playing with the emperor on the lap of the empress dowager since she was a child, so she told the truth without hesitation, and even used the adjective "ferocious". However, there was an outsider like Qin Guogong Zhang Chuan here, and she realized her mistake as soon as she said it, and immediately changed her words.
"If that's the case, this craftsman is really a coward! Wouldn't he have agreed earlier?"
The emperor said nonchalantly, "At that time, I was young and hot-tempered, and my temper was much worse than it is now. I would fly into a rage if provoked by someone, not to mention that I invited him with courtesy and offered him benefits, but he still rejected and drove him away. It was not until I saw that man was able to carve such a lifelike wooden figure under the threat of my sharp blade that I was truly convinced."
"The most amazing thing is that the skilled craftsman directly gave the wooden figure to me, and then drove him away in a bad mood. He said that people with skills are inevitably arrogant. Although they dare not say that they are arrogant to the nobles, they are all very stubborn, just like some officials in the court who knew they were wrong but refused to repent, and finally ended up in a dispute of pride."
"He is good at carving, but he is even better at shipbuilding. Unfortunately, he was kicked out of the shipyard and has no chance anymore, so he once swore that he would never carve for those rich and powerful guys. But he still cherishes his life and doesn't want to die under my sword, so you can leave as soon as you finish carving."
At this moment, Zhang Shou couldn't help but blurt out: "And the emperor gave him a shipyard?"
“How is that possible!” Duke of Qin Zhang Chuan couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “The emperor was about sixteen or seventeen years old at that time and had not yet taken power. Even if he did, the empress dowager would not agree…” As he spoke, his voice became lower and lower, because he suddenly discovered that the emperor actually nodded slightly at Zhang Shou with an extremely appreciative look.
"Zhang Shou, you guessed it right. Although I cannot give him a shipyard, I have my own shipyard and I directly recruited him to be the master craftsman. Over the past ten years, he has built seven large ships in the shipyard. He has lived up to my expectations. I just don't know how much of his carving skills he still has."
Zhang Shou just said it casually, but he didn't expect that the young emperor back then would actually be so simple, rude and willful. He could only laugh awkwardly and said, "I'm just guessing..."
Chu Kuan on the side could not help but frown. He had clearly revealed the connection between today's incident and the theft case in the palace, but Zhu Ying interrupted him and everyone's attention was diverted.
Zhu Ying is a person who does what he wants and says whatever he thinks. When Zhang Shou is with the emperor, he seems to be very relaxed and casual most of the time. He also says whatever he thinks. No wonder the emperor, who is not bound by common sense, has always been fond of Zhang Shou. As for Zhang Chuan's attitude, Chu Kuan thinks that he is deliberately avoiding the main issue.