Chapter 4: The Old Man Fishing

The Grand Study Hall is located in the southern part of the Forbidden City, inside the Left Shun Gate.

It takes about two li to walk from the Wan'an Palace.

Along the way, one must pass through three palace gates, all of which are strictly guarded and thoroughly checked.

Each attendant must enter and exit with a pass, even someone like Eunuch Wang, who holds a managerial position, is no exception.

When they arrived at the Grand Study Hall, Wang Defa and his group were directly denied entry.

"Inside is where the princes study. To ensure they can focus on their studies, no one else is allowed to enter," Eunuch Wang said as he handed over the schoolbag. "The prince can only go in by himself, and I will wait here for you to finish school."

"I don't need to, I'm not here to study today," Zhu Zhen replied, not taking the schoolbag, and walked straight into the Grand Study Hall.

The guards of the Archery Corps naturally did not stop the Prince of Chu, but they did not look at him or bow, perhaps to avoid disturbing the class inside, or to remind the princes that once they entered this gate, they were just ordinary students.

As soon as he entered, he heard the clear sound of reading. Zhu Zhen couldn't help but walk more quietly, but he had no intention of entering the classroom. Instead, he circled around to the back of the two-story, five-bay hall.

There was a small garden there, the ground covered with golden ginkgo leaves. There were rock formations, a pond, withered lotuses, and chrysanthemums, a place for the princes to rest during breaks.

At this moment, the princes were in class, and the small garden was empty.

Zhu Zhen carefully observed the scene before him, trying hard to recall the events of that day.

Then he slowly walked through the rock formations, which were layered and winding, and stopped at the edge of the secluded lotus pond, standing in front of a green stone.

He lowered his head and looked at the reflection in the pond, a small, chubby boy in a small blue dragon robe, with thick eyebrows and an innocent face.

After a long time, Zhu Zhen murmured, "Don't be afraid, I'll find the person who hurt you."

This was the exact spot where he had stood before falling into the water that day.

Zhu Zhen returned here not to mourn the past that could never be relived, but to recreate the scene of that day.

He closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and tried to recall the feelings of that moment…

~~

He remembered that the wind that day was very strong, making him feel cold all over, which made the little boy miss his mother even more, and he cried very sincerely.

He was so engrossed that he didn't hear anyone approach from behind.

Until he was pushed from behind…

At this point, the young man's memory became particularly clear. The muscles on his back seemed to still feel the force transmitted by those two hands!

Then his body staggered forward, taking one step, then two, until his right foot was about to touch the water, and he barely managed to stop!

Zhu Zhen raised his thick eyebrows, slightly opened his mouth, and seemed to be thinking deeply.

He first retracted his foot to avoid falling into the water again. Then he took three steps back, raised his hands, and mimicked the attacker.

After a long time, Zhu Zhen suddenly clapped his hands, as if he had grasped something!

First, the push from behind. To be precise, it was two hands pushing him below his shoulder blades on both sides!

This suggested that the attacker's height was likely similar to his own.

If the person was much taller, they would have pushed him on the shoulders.

If the person pushed him from behind, they would have to bend down, crouch, or push downward, none of which are normal ways to exert force.

It would be more efficient to kick him into the water.

Moreover, he took two steps forward before falling into the water.

This indicated that the force was not too great.

When pushing someone into the water, one would use all their strength. If the person had enough strength, he would have been thrown directly into the water without taking those two steps.

Therefore, the attacker was either a child of similar age or a woman of similar build.

Since the Grand Study Hall is off-limits to outsiders and there are no palace maids, the suspect is most likely the former!

This narrowed down the possibilities significantly.

Especially in this place with a fixed group of people, finding the person wouldn't be difficult.

However, given the young man's vague memory, he decided to verify it.

At this moment, Zhu Zhen felt much more relaxed. He looked up at the Grand Study Hall and saw only a corner of the second floor, hidden behind the rock formations.

The windows were open, and someone was likely inside.

~~

Zhu Zhen left the garden and returned to the front of the Grand Study Hall.

This two-story, double-eaved building, covered with black glazed tiles, had green doors, windows, and railings, making it stand out in the red-walled, yellow-tiled Forbidden City.

It was also the imperial library, and black was said to represent water, which could suppress fire, while green could avoid fire.

But what truly protected the library were the pools of water in front and back of the building, as well as strict fire prevention measures.

The first-floor lecture hall was still in session. Zhu Zhen walked quietly and went up the stairs on the left side of the building.

The second floor was the library, with neatly arranged bookshelves reaching the ceiling, blocking the light from the windows. To prevent fires, no lamps were allowed, making it quite dark inside.

After his eyes adjusted, Zhu Zhen followed the numbered bookshelves to the east end of the library.

There, in the duty room of the library supervisor, the door was slightly ajar.

Zhu Zhen knocked lightly, but no one responded.

He pushed the door open and walked in.

He saw an old man with gray hair sitting at a desk by the window, wearing a simple robe, reading intently. Because the room was dim, the window was still open, even though it was late autumn.

Zhu Zhen didn't rush. He walked in, found a chair, and sat down, picking up a book from the table to read.

After a few lines, his eyes started to blur… The traditional Chinese characters and classical Chinese text made his head hurt.

Before long, he fell asleep, face down on the table.

~~

"Wake up, wake up."

After an unknown amount of time, a hoarse but magnetic voice woke him up.

Zhu Zhen rubbed his eyes with his chubby little hands and saw the old man's face clearly.

It was an old man with deep wrinkles, a sharp face, a long beard, and a very handsome appearance.

"Is the prince here to sleep?" The old man looked at the book "The Correct Seal of Literature" that Zhu Zhen had used as a pillow, which was now wet with saliva, with a helpless expression.

Zhu Zhen, unaware of the situation, wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and asked, "Sir, have you finished reading the book?"

"If I waited for the old minister to finish reading, this 'The Correct Seal of Literature' would become 'The Water Seal of Literature.'" The old man's heart was bleeding; it was a Song dynasty rare edition, and he couldn't hide his displeasure.

"It's fine, it won't affect reading once it dries," Zhu Zhen said, showing no guilt for the drool he left behind.

"You are so careless!" The old man almost lost his temper, and said in a low voice, "What brings the prince here? If there's nothing, go back to class."

"There is something, of course there is," Zhu Zhen quickly smiled and said, "I want to ask the sir, how many children my age are there in our Grand Study Hall?"

"Is the prince testing the old minister?" The old man's face turned even more sour.

In his view, although Prince Chu was usually simple-minded, he had been studying in the Grand Study Hall for several years. How could he not know such a simple fact?

Even a fool like Prince Qin wouldn't be so ignorant!

He was already suspicious, and now he thought that Prince Chu was mocking him for hiding in the library all day and not teaching.

"Uh, not testing, just discussing," Zhu Zhen, since accepting his princely identity, no longer cared about others' expressions.

"Ha, so the prince thinks the old minister is just occupying a position without doing anything?" The old man felt a pang of sadness. Not only was he bullied by the father, but now the son was mocking him too.

"Come on, sir, why are you so upset?" Zhu Zhen, being a good person, quickly went to pat the old man's back and brought him a cup of tea.

The old man took the teacup and felt a bit better.

"Oh, right, I haven't asked for the old sir's name yet." Zhu Zhen asked sincerely, "Are you a teacher or a librarian?"

The old man almost sprayed tea in his face. "If I'm in the duty room, must I be the duty officer? Then why isn't there a lion in the braised lion's head?"

"Oh, so you're a teacher." Zhu Zhen suddenly realized.

"I am your teacher, Liu Bowen. How could you not recognize me?" The old man put down the teacup heavily and said angrily, "Is the prince still mocking the old minister for hiding in the library all day? Is the emperor going to dismiss me?"

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