When the Third Prince of Ciqing Palace finished listening to the lecture given by Yue Shanchang and sent him away, it was already after the Shenzheng period. It was almost noon when he returned to the palace from the public school. He asked Yue Shanchang to have lunch in Ciqing Palace, took a walk after lunch, and started the afternoon class without taking a lunch break.
After seeing them off, he looked at the sun that was gradually setting in the west, and couldn't help but worry about the Fourth Prince who hadn't returned yet. Of course, he wasn't worried about his own Fourth Prince encountering some kind of situation, but he was worried... that someone would cause trouble for Zhang Shou!
He had a deep understanding of his fourth brother's restless temper. He had accompanied him in Ciqing Palace's classes these days. The classes taught by Dean Yue, Dean Xiao, and Dean Xu were relatively okay, but when the three from the Hanlin Academy taught, it was simply miserable!
It was a rare opportunity for the Fourth Prince to be released from the palace, so he probably either went to Zhang Garden or was running around in the public school...
After waiting for a long time, as the sun was setting, the Third Prince, who was concentrating on copying calligraphy in Ciqing Palace, suddenly heard Chu Kuan's voice: "Your Highness, the Fourth Prince seems to be back."
The third prince's hand trembled, and the stroke he had written was crooked, and the paper that had been copied for half a page was wasted. He crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket, frowning, intending to turn around and reprimand his fourth brother for being lazy, but after hearing some voices outside, the fourth prince rushed in, and his eyes turned red when he saw him.
"Wow, Third Brother, the scarecrow is so pitiful!"
The Third Prince was completely confused by these nonsense words. When he saw the Fourth Prince rushing over, hugging his shoulders and crying non-stop, he was even more at a loss. He didn't care about anything else and hurriedly patted the man's back and comforted him patiently, just like he comforted people in his childhood. Finally, he roughly understood what was going on from the sobbing Fourth Prince.
After he left, Zhang Shou told two stories. Later, Xiao Shanzhang and another scholar from the Hanlin Academy also had an argument. Then, the Fourth Prince asked Zhang Shou to continue telling stories with great interest. He even ate lunch while listening to the stories. Then, he was abused again and again. The scarecrow was just one of them, but he was also the saddest and most desperate one in the eyes of the Fourth Prince!
Full of curiosity, the Third Prince immediately asked the Fourth Prince to repeat the story. However, the Fourth Prince, who had promised Zhang Shou that he could tell the whole story, was dumbfounded when he actually started.
He only remembered that every plot was sad, and every turn was going in a bad direction, but he was at a loss as to how to organize the language. When he finally stuttered to the end about the barren fields, the carp dying, and the sick child dying, he couldn't help but sniffle and shed tears again, as if his nose was completely blocked.
"Woo woo woo, how could this happen!?"
Although the Fourth Prince's narration was incoherent, Chu Kuan was well-informed and had a general understanding of the whole story. When he saw the Third Prince frantically trying to comfort his emotionally broken brother, he suddenly said, "Fourth Prince, are the other stories by Master Zhang also of this style?"
The sobbing Fourth Prince was slightly startled, then he thought about it carefully, and then said gloomily: "Anyway, it's all such dark stories, and it makes me feel choked up and uncomfortable..."