Zhao Xiu peeked at Gao Zhen weakly, his heart beat a drum, he thought about it again and again, and simply turned his heart sideways and decided to hold on to the lie to the end.

She said to Gao Zhen: "The Western books and picture books collected by my brother are mixed with a handwritten note translated by the old man of our Great Chu State. The old translator spoke English very well, and he studied very hard, and wrote down the tips of his learning, all in that notebook. The above imitates the pronunciation of English with our Da Chu script, which is very simple and easy to understand. He said that the words in English are all twenty-six letters combined, the same combination, in most cases, the pronunciation is the same, only a few differences. He listed these combinations one by one and marked them with the Da Chu script for reference, so that he could remember the pronunciation of these words. When I first started learning English, I learned simple sentences in this way. ”

Gao Zhen listened and suddenly said: "I see, this old translator is really rare, I don't know who his surname is, and where does he live?" Honglu Temple and the City Division are in great need of such talents. ”

It was originally made up by Zhao Xiu, of course she couldn't say the name of the old translator, she could only say: "The handbook I got is a remnant, it looks like it has been some years, the cover and the second half of the book have been torn up, and I have to copy it again so that I can learn it with confidence, otherwise I will flip it and the handbook will be scattered." I don't know if it's the name of this old translator, but seeing that his handwriting is so old, I guess the master must be very old, at least it must be someone from the former Ming Dynasty or the early period of the First Emperor's Dynasty, right? ”

Gao Zhen was very sorry: "That's a pity." But then he thought, "Since he has this fragment of the notebook, it is not impossible to find the other half." Sister Zhao. Where did your brother find this note? If he were to inquire further, perhaps he would have found other objects of the old translator, which might have helped to find out the origin of his name. ”

Zhao Xiu secretly wiped his sweat. There was no abnormality on his face: "I treated his handwriting as a treasure at that time, of course I would let my brother look for it again, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find it for more than two years." The notebook was already so old and broken, I think, if it falls into the hands of others, others will burn it as a waste book, right? Because it was too tattered. If I hadn't recopied it at the time, I wouldn't even dare to flip it through now. ”

It was the second time she had mentioned this matter, and Gao Zhen was a little puzzled: "Since this fragment is not complete. Did you learn English with it? I hear you speak very fluently, and that notebook is so good. ”

Zhao Xiu smiled dryly: "It's not just this notebook. Wasn't His Royal Highness King Quang Binh injured that year? My grandmother took my brother to Beijing to see you, and I was alone at home, and there was no elder to take care of me. He also holds the power of stewardship. As soon as the interest came, he became bold, and concealed from Lu's mother and the two of them, and quietly asked someone to find an interpreter from Nanhui to teach me English, he came more than once, and I saw him near the back door, and I didn't dare to alarm others......"

Maybe it's a lie. The uneasiness on her face no longer needs acting skills at all, so that people can see it: "Brother Zhen." Neither my grandmother nor my brother knew about it, so don't tell anyone about it, okay? They're going to scold my ......."

Gao Zhen was already dumbfounded: "You...... You didn't let the housekeeper of the house know, so you casually summoned someone of unknown origin into the house? Is it a man? ”

Zhao Xiu whispered: "It's an old man." At that time, I was still young, only seven years old, and I didn't think about things well enough, and when I was dizzy, I ......."

Gao Zhen glared at her with a straight face, she bit her lip, lowered her head, and pulled his sleeve pitifully: "I'm sorry, I knew I was wrong, I called him two or three times, and I didn't dare anymore, and then I taught myself by myself." Brother Zhen, don't sue people to go, let people know, and my grandmother will definitely scold me to death. ”

She is wearing a rain-swept muslin cotton jacket today, plain material, only embroidered a little light-colored small flower on the cuffs, indescribably elegant and fresh, the lower body is tied with a bean-green pleated skirt, and on the outside of the clothes, a half-sleeved pine green square collar jade bead buckle cotton armor, which is not only cold, but also conducive to action, and sets off the whole person like a willow branch in March, fresh and pleasing. At this time, she lowered her head, stood pitifully in front of Gao Zhen, held the corner of his robe sleeve, and begged for mercy softly, her white and tender little face was about to wrinkle into xiaolongbaozi. Gao Zhen somehow, his heart softened first: "It's okay if you want me to keep it a secret for you, but you won't be allowed to do this in the future." ”

Zhao Xiu nodded hurriedly: "I haven't done this for more than two years, and I know that it's wrong, and I will never dare to do it again." ”

Gao Zhen relieved a little: "Well, you are not very out of proportion, you were still young at that time, and you called an old man, and besides, you didn't go outside to find someone, but called someone to your house." Although it is to avoid the eyes and ears of others, there must be a family member on duty near the back door, and if you call for something, someone will come, but you are not afraid of being bullied. But now that you are getting older, no matter how much you want to learn those things, you can no longer ask people who don't know the details to teach you. If you really want to learn, it's a big deal that after things settle down in the future, I will go to Honglu Temple to find one or two old and talkative officials, and I will teach you in the palace, and I will accompany you to learn, okay? ”

Zhao Xiu's eyes were shining and nodded: "Thank you, Brother Zhen, you are so good!" "I secretly wiped my sweat in my heart, and finally passed this hurdle.

Gao Zhen looked at her like this, and felt a little helpless: "Why do you like these foreigners' things?" Others like Western toys, but they just bought them from merchants to play with them, how many people like you want to learn foreign languages? ”

Zhao Xiu thought for a while: "There are only a few interesting playthings from the West, and there are only a few common ones, and there is nothing unusual when I see too much." I'm not a craftsman, but I can study the techniques of foreigners, learn how to make clocks, weave blankets, and so on. It's the first time I've collected Westerners' stuff, and I have a few books that look weird and interesting, and I want to know what they write in them. Later, when I learned English, I understood the titles of those two books, one was "On Taxation" and the other was "The Wealth of England from Foreign Trade", although the content was quite profound. There are some absurdities in it, but it's strange and interesting to read, and reading it can make people understand the real thoughts of those Westerners under the friendly smiles. ”

Gao Zhen was a little curious: "What do they really think?" "He was born into royalty. Although he is a smart young man, he still retains the inherent thinking of "the heavenly kingdom is the kingdom of heaven, and all countries are coming" in his mind.

Zhao Xiu read these two books, and it was already difficult to read, and now he couldn't explain them clearly for a while, so he said: "I haven't finished reading these two books yet." I'll give it back to the original owner, Mrs. Wells, but I've asked her to help me find two more copies of the same kind, and I'll do what I can. Translate the content of the book into the text of Da Chu, and you will be able to read it yourself when the time comes. Westerners are friendly now, but they are businessmen who make money. If you can't make money from us. Or on the contrary, let us make money, they will suffer, maybe they will turn their faces immediately. Just like this time by boat to the north, if I were not sure that Mrs. Wells had no other way to take revenge than to rely on us, let alone the enemy, I would not have dared to believe her lightly, and pull His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Brother Zhen to her ship. ”

Gao Zhen was a little surprised. But he was already wary of those strangers, and he didn't think anything of it. If they hadn't trusted the second room of the Zhao family, their uncle and nephew would not have stepped on this ship, but now it seems that they have made the right decision. When the uncle regains his rightful position of power in the future, the owner of the ship wants revenge, and they are happy to help her. But one yard is one yard, and they will not mistakenly think that Westerners are all friendly and trustworthy.

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on his face: "You said that I am also interested in knowing what those two books are about, I never thought of reading Westerner books before." In that case, you should try to translate, and when you are done, you must be the first to show me. ”

Zhao Xiu thought to himself that the two might be separated by thousands of miles at that time, how could they be the first to show him? But her first task at this time was to stabilize Gao Zhen, and she didn't care so much, so she quickly nodded and agreed: "Definitely!" ”

The sea breeze gradually became stronger, and the shouts of the crew came from the direction of the bow of the ship, and they did not forget to remind Zhao Xiu, the little employer who had taught them a lesson: "The storm is coming, hurry back to the cabin!" ”

Zhao Xiu realized that the sky had darkened for some time, and a large number of dark clouds had accumulated on the horizon, as if it was about to rain, the waves became more turbulent, and the boat was shaking violently up and down. Is this what others say, the sea is unpredictable? It was still good weather. She hurriedly said to Gao Zhen: "It's about to be windy and raining, let's go down quickly." ”

Gao Zhen also saw the dark clouds in the sky, nodded, and held Zhao Xiu's hand uneasily, and the two walked towards the hatch together.

The ship was bumpy, and it took them a lot of effort to get to the hatch and climb the ladder to go down. The crew were busy up and down the deck and hatch, Zhao Xiu was almost hit by someone, Gao Zhen was quick to fished her over, and only then did he avoid a crew member with a bundle of thick hemp rope in his hand.

Zhao Xiu was pulled into his arms, his nose was sore, his eyes blinked, and he almost didn't shed tears. She felt that she couldn't even walk steadily, she was staggering, and she had to rely on Gao Zhen to pull her to stand on her feet, which was so embarrassing that she was ashamed of her adult soul, so she held back her tears.

Gao Zhen looked at the chaos around him and said, "Quick, take my hand, don't let go, I'll take you back to the room." ”

Zhao Xiu's face turned red, and he said to himself: "I can go by myself." ”

Gao Zhen frowned and looked at her: "Don't be willful, you are so small, the boat fell down as soon as it was upset, how can you go by yourself?" ”

Zhao Xiu held his breath and insisted, "I can go by myself!" As she spoke, she clung to the bulkhead with her hand, and grabbed the wooden strip on the partition of the cabin all the way, and she really stood firm, although she still walked staggeringly, but she did not use the help of others, and walked back to the door of the room step by step.

She turned her head to look at Gao Zhen with a bright smile on her face: "Look, I did it!" ”

Gao Zhen looked at her stubborn and a little smug little face, as well as those eyes that shimmered with water, and only felt that something hit his heart hard. (To be continued......)