On the way back to Wenhua Hall from the Three Main Halls, Wang An did not talk to Zheng Haizhu.
The little palace maids and little firemen who met along the way were more respectful and timid when they saw Wang An than when they faced Eunuch Xue.
Just as he was approaching the Royal Pharmacy, he came face to face with a group of pink figures, like a burst of peach petals blown by the wind.
"Ah, Eunuch Wang, is this the Master Zheng that I want to tell my brother Jin about?"
The person in the pink dumpling stood in front of Wang An and asked softly.
"What are you doing here, Aunty?" Wang An's retort was filled with a chill, and his steps stopped.
"Oh, my brothers have been waiting in the Wenhua Hall for almost two sticks of incense. I still haven't seen the master coming, so I made a fuss and asked the slaves to come out and ask."
As Ke Yinyue said this, he quickly looked at Zheng Haizhu behind Wang An.
Zheng Haizhu caught the other person's gaze without any expression of greeting.
There is no rule for court officials to greet their maids.
But Zheng Haizhu sensitively judged in her heart that this must be the famous wet nurse in history...
Ke must be around thirty years old, and she does look a bit like a beauty, with picturesque features and a hint of amorous feelings.
Relying on intuition, Zheng Haizhu caught Hakka's glance, which suddenly lost its sharpness and gave way to a hint of relief.
Women with shallow knowledge often show such expressions. They feel relieved after they estimate that the skin of the person of the same sex who suddenly intrudes will not affect their ability to compete as a female under this narrow sky.
Wang An's cold voice sounded again: "Brothers, I have a companion to read, and there are clerks on duty in the Wenhua Palace. Auntie, you are not a female official in the palace. Please don't come here to make money."
"Hey, remember your father-in-law's teachings." Ke Yinyue replied in a low voice.
While they were talking, they arrived at the side hall behind Wenhua Hall, where a female official came out and welcomed Zheng Haizhu to change clothes.
"Mommy, you stand here and are not allowed to go to Wenhua Hall until the get out of class is over," Wang An ordered.
Ke Yinyue smiled softly: "My father-in-law has such a serious face, it scares the slaves."
Wang An glared at her fiercely and scolded her in a low voice: "Keshi, don't think that you are the wet nurse of the eldest son of the emperor and the food of the Wei Dynasty, but your bones are so light that they float around in the palace. According to the ancestral system, When my brother is six years old, you should leave the palace. If you have been in the palace for many years, if you still know a little bit about what is good and bad, you should restrain yourself. Don't behave in a dishonest manner and cause trouble for my brother!"
Ke Yinyue lowered her eyes, but the corners of her mouth were still curled up with affection, but her heart was filled with murderous intent.
The eunuch named Wang, don't think that you are the first companion of Long Live Lord to show off your power when you start your career. I will take care of you one day.
Zheng Haizhu put on the scarlet robe prepared by the Ministry of Etiquette and came out to see her guest Yinyue standing in the corridor. She stood quietly and acted obediently. She must have been disciplined by Wang An.
"Master Zheng, I dare to ask, how long will your lecture last?" Ke Yinyue asked earnestly when Zheng Haizhu passed by her.
"What's wrong?"
"Usually at this time, it's time for a snack."
"Prince, didn't you have breakfast today?"
"I used it, but every day, at the turn of the year, I have to eat a meal of naipizi or Wuren glutinous rice cake."
Zheng Haizhu stared at Ke Yinyue, but his tone was gentle: "The Ministry of Rites has never told me that eating snacks is more important than giving lectures."
Ke Yinyue's eyes flashed, and he immediately said: "This slave deserves to die, this slave has offended the master."
Zheng Haizhu stopped talking nonsense with her and walked towards Wenhua Hall.
Lu Xiangsheng, who was waiting at the bridge and did not dare to move, but was already anxious, was finally found by Wang An and hurriedly came to meet Zheng Haizhu.
"Nothing, let's go into the palace. Let's talk first and elaborate later." Zheng Haizhu softly comforted Lu Xiangsheng, who was still worried.
…
In the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian saw Wang Gonggong leading the red-robed officials in. They both got up without hesitation and walked around to the front of the desk.
Zhu Changluo had just ascended the throne, and Zhu Youxiao had not yet been crowned prince. Therefore, he did not have to salute him when he entered the lecture hall. Instead, the two princes had to salute their teacher.
The two brothers had already gone through this process yesterday with Sun Chengzong, who was teaching the Four Books, but when they raised their heads after bowing today, the curiosity in their eyes overshadowed the respect.
After all, she is a female master.
Well, this Master Zheng looks to be about the same age as the two ladies-in-waiting. However, he doesn’t have the arrogance of Empress Li in the East, nor does he have the annoyance on Empress Li’s face that always dislikes everyone.
After Wang An exited the hall, Zheng Haizhu smiled slightly and said: "Your Highnesses, let's start the lecture. Let's put the books together in one place first. I need a larger desk."
"Wang Chengen, move the table." Zhu Youjian ordered his companion.
His reactions always seemed to be a beat faster than his brother's.
Zheng Haizhu glanced at the little eunuch who came up to push the table.
Wang Chengen?
Is this the one who accompanied Emperor Chongzhen to hang himself on the Meishan Mountain after Li Zicheng captured Beijing?
She couldn't help but glance back at Zhu Youjian.
In another time and space, the future Emperor Chongzhen is still a young man in his early ten years, with handsome features and sparkling eyes.
In comparison, Zhu Youxiao, who doesn't know whether he will become the Emperor of Tianqi in a month, although the straight lines of his facial features are closer to those of an adult man, the expression on his face is more childish.
After the two desks were quickly put together, Zheng Haizhu motioned to Lu Xiangsheng to open the big box they brought.
A large number of mortise and tenon mechanisms were spread all over the table.
Zhu Youxiao's eyes suddenly became brighter than his brother's.
He was about to ask what was going on when he heard a cough outside the hall.
Everyone turned around and saw Sun Chengzong, dressed in a fifth-grade official uniform, walking into the hall.
Zheng Haizhu had already been told that Sun Chengzong, who was originally an official in the East Palace and was now waiting for promotion in Zuochunfang, was in charge of the prince's education.
"Mr. Sun." Zheng Haizhu saluted Sun Chengzong.
Sun Chengzong looked solemn: "I heard that Mr. Xu, who is leading the lecture, is ill today. What is Master Zheng going to say to your two highnesses?"
"Mr. Sun, I have been ordered to explain firearms techniques to the princes."
Sun Chengzong glanced at the wooden lumps on the table and said coldly: "When it comes to firearms, do you want to learn Luban first?"
Zheng Haizhu came prepared and immediately took out the first volume of "Elements of Geometry" from the book box.
"Please read, Mr. Sun, this is a Thai-Western work written by Mr. Xu. When talking about firearms, artillery should be mentioned before blunderbuss, because the system is simpler. But firing artillery on the battlefield is actually much more difficult than firing blunderbuss, because The angle of incidence of the projectile must be calculated with a degree board and a gun gauge. This requires a talk about geometry. As for the wooden blocks on the table, since they all have tenons, the lower official worked with Lu Juren to splice them into squares, circles, and triangles. Waiting for shapes, assisting in explanation.”
Sun Chengzong listened to the woman's unhurried and well-organized speech, and the doubts in his heart faded by three points.
He walked to the desk and picked up a curved piece of wood.
Zheng Haizhu said: "This is the edge of a fan shape. It has four sections of fan shape, connected by a tenon and tenon structure. It is a perfect circle."
The emperor's eldest son Zhu Youxiao, who was opposite, said enthusiastically: "I can do this."
He was about to reach out to join the tenons, but suddenly he pulled back.
The sixteen-year-old boy, after many years of being submissive under the control of Concubine Zheng and Li Xuanshi, now even Sun Chengzong, a minister who is definitely his father's confidant, is a little afraid.
Zheng Haizhu said, "Your Highness, please take over."
As he spoke, he pushed four arcs in front of Zhu Youjian, and then pushed three straight logs to Zhu Youjian: "This can be made into a triangle. We calculate on the battlefield what elevation angle the gun barrel needs to be adjusted to, so that the cannonball can To hit the enemy, you must use the triangle. I, the Ming Dynasty, defeated Hou Jin’s white-armored cavalry at the head of Fushun City because I adjusted the angle of the artillery."
When Sun Chengzong failed to become a Jinshi in his early years, he went to Datong Prefecture with an official who hired him as a tutor. It was on the border of the empire, and Sun Chengzong learned a lot of military combat experience while wandering there.
Hearing Zheng Haizhu talk about actual combat, he suddenly felt friendly and his face finally became warm.
"Well, today's lecture seems to be more interesting than when I took you to read the classics yesterday." Sun Chengzong even laughed at himself.
But the people in front of him were either his students or his subordinates, and no one dared to really smile.
Sun Chengzong waved his hand: "Don't be afraid, I'm just here to see the new tricks. The Six Arts of a Gentleman, Ritual, Music, Archery, and Shu Shu, I looked at it and found that this method of attacking firearms can at least combine the shooting, control, and counting. The Three Arts. Long live the Holy Ming, taught by Duke Xu and Master Zheng, should not be inferior to the Four Books. Your Highnesses, please study hard."
