If they were starving, no matter how much they admired Yi Zhixie, they probably wouldn't invite him to stay.
Because, if they invited him, what would the Grand Tutor eat?
They couldn't possibly eat the northwest wind, could they?
Yi Zhixie waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then said, "This Grand Tutor has been in the Imperial Capital for half a month already, and will be staying for a longer period. Therefore, everyone need not worry about not seeing me."
"As for the matter of accommodation, if this Grand Tutor couldn't even resolve that, what would be the point of being Grand Tutor?"
Yi Zhixie's final sentence stirred everyone's spirits.
That's right, this was their Grand Tutor, the all-powerful Grand Tutor, how could he not have a place to stay?
After understanding this, everyone slowly stood up, following Yi Zhixie's words.
Zheng Xiang looked at these people, all of whom had stood up, and felt a mix of emotions.
"Grand Tutor, you haven't been to the capital in a long time. Do you need someone to guide you? Do you know where the Grand Tutor intends to go next?"
"The carriage the Grand Tutor was traveling in has now been damaged. Our home is nearby. If we rush our carriage over, we can give the Grand Tutor a ride?"
"The Grand Tutor has a large group of people. Our carriage is large and spacious. How about we give it to the Grand Tutor as a token of my sincerity?"
...
No one knew who started it, but everyone began to discuss heatedly about where Yi Zhixie was going and how he would get there.
In the end, they all rushed home to fetch their own carriages to give to Yi Zhixie.
Facing such a scene, Shen Xiaoyan felt infinite emotion.
The carriages of this era were on par with the cars of her previous life.
They were meeting for the first time, and they were already offering their cars. What hospitality!
Of course, this was mainly because this person was the Grand Tutor.
The influence of a national tutor was indeed very significant.
Zheng Xiang, standing by, looked increasingly displeased at these words.
Just now, Zheng Fan had quietly told him the details of the incident, and knowing that Zheng Caiying had damaged the carriage, he glared fiercely at Zheng Caiying.
Zheng Caiying, seeing Zheng Xiang's gaze, flinched and retreated a few steps.
At the same time, she thought to herself, it couldn't all be her fault.
Who knew that the person sitting in such an inconspicuous carriage was actually the Grand Tutor?
Besides, it was just a carriage, nothing extraordinary.
Their Prince's mansion had many larger, more luxurious, and more comfortable carriages. It would be easy to compensate him with one.
Zheng Fan had the same idea as Zheng Caiying.
However, unlike Zheng Caiying, he voiced it directly.
He chose his words carefully.
After all, his careless words just now had caused him great embarrassment in front of everyone.
"Father, sister was wrong to damage the Grand Tutor's carriage. It is her fault. But no matter how much we scold her now, it is useless. It would be better to think of a way to make amends."
Zheng Xiang listened and slowly nodded.
Finally, his son, whom he had painstakingly educated for twenty years, was not entirely foolish.
"Then tell me, what should be done?" Zheng Xiang said in a deep voice.
Zheng Fan's face lit up with joy, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Although the Grand Tutor just said he has a place to stay, it surely won't be as comfortable as staying in the Prince's mansion. How about we first invite the Grand Tutor to stay at our mansion, and then Father can report to His Majesty in the palace? After all, there is still the matter of the Fifth Prince, isn't there?"
"If the Grand Tutor refuses to stay at our mansion, Father can also say that sister damaged his carriage and should compensate the Grand Tutor with a new one. For now, we can temporarily send the Grand Tutor and his party back to their residence. We can't let the Grand Tutor and his group walk back, can we, Father?"
After Zheng Fan finished speaking, he looked at Zheng Xiang with anticipation.
Zheng Xiang remained silent for a long time, then slowly nodded, "A good suggestion."
After speaking, Zheng Xiang walked up to Yi Zhixie and repeated what he had said.
The surrounding people who had been talking about giving Yi Zhixie a ride fell silent upon hearing Zheng Xiang's words.
Shen Xiaoyan, seeing the huge contrast between before and after, was a little confused, but then suddenly understood.
They were, after all, ordinary citizens. In front of Zheng Xiang, a Prince, their words held no weight.
Since Zheng Xiang had spoken, if they said anything more, it would be a slap in Zheng Xiang's face.
No matter how much respect they had for Yi Zhixie, they did not dare to easily offend a Prince of a different surname who held significant military power.
Some of the more astute individuals said, "Since Prince End has spoken, and is apologizing to the Grand Tutor on behalf of his daughter, we should indeed facilitate this. What do you all think?"
The crowd, which had been feeling awkward and unsure what to do, responded with agreement after hearing this and then made excuses to leave.
It was obvious to everyone.
The Grand Tutor did not seem to favor Prince End much.
Otherwise, after Prince End had said such a thing, he would not have remained silent, creating such an awkward atmosphere.
If they didn't leave quickly now, they might suffer when the gods fought.
The crowd dispersed as quickly as possible.
Even passersby noticed something was amiss and chose to take a detour rather than pass by the group.
The bustling street instantly became as quiet as midnight.
Zheng Xiang, with a faint smile on his face, looked at Yi Zhixie, waiting for his reply.
However, his heart was filled with anger.
The timing was not right, and he did not know how His Majesty intended to deal with Yi Zhixie. He did not dare to break ties with him at this moment and could only smile awkwardly.
Yi Zhixie looked at Zheng Xiang's face for a long time, then said.
"It was a good day today, I wanted to take a walk. After all, the New Year is approaching."
Zheng Xiang smiled even more happily upon hearing this, "In that case, why don't I, this Prince, take the Grand Tutor around? The Grand Tutor hasn't been to the Imperial Capital in years, I'm afraid you don't know where the liveliest places are now."
Yi Zhixie replied noncommittally, "Then I'll have to trouble you."
Zheng Xiang nodded, "But we still need to wait here for a while. I've already sent someone to get a carriage."
They stood in the middle of the road like this. The passing crowds and carriages either detoured or avoided them from a distance, squeezing through cautiously from the side.
Shen Xiaoyan, seeing their cautious demeanor, wondered if they should move aside.
However, she did not understand the customs of this era. Seeing that everyone had expressionless faces, as if they hadn't noticed these things at all, she simply closed her mouth.
After about a quarter of an hour, a carriage rushed over.
This carriage looked very luxurious, but it was not as large as the previous one. Therefore, the few of them had to split into two carriages.
Shen Xiaoyan, Zheng Wei, and Lu Taobao shared one carriage, while Yi Zhixie, Sima Han, and two others shared another.
Seeing this, Zheng Xiang wanted to get into Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan's carriage, but Zheng Wei politely and distantly refused.
Zheng Xiang, having been refused, showed no anger on his face.
He simply walked with a faint smile to the side of the other carriage and got in with Zheng Fan and Zheng Caiying.
As the carriage slowly moved forward, Zheng Caiying repeatedly stole glances at Zheng Xiang, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"If you have something to say, say it."
Zheng Xiang said, giving Zheng Caiying a faint glance.
Zheng Caiying hadn't expected Zheng Xiang to notice her small movements. When she got into the carriage, Zheng Xiang had closed his eyes, and she thought he was resting.
Since she had been discovered, Zheng Caiying simply looked at Zheng Xiang openly.
Although Zheng Xiang's attitude towards her and Zheng Fan today was very unusual, and it made Zheng Caiying find this Zheng Xiang somewhat frightening.
However, over the years, Zheng Xiang had always doted on her.
Therefore, in Zheng Caiying's heart, Zheng Xiang was only acting a little abnormal today, perhaps for specific reasons, which caused him to treat her and Zheng Fan that way in front of outsiders.
Now that only the three of them were in the carriage, perhaps he would return to his normal self.