White-robed Minister

57【Why not chant and stroll leisurely?】

In Guangzhou in the third month of the lunar calendar, the weather has already warmed up, and today there is still warm sunshine, so Pianpian is dressed rather lightly.

She wore a light green crepe silk jacket, which was knee-length, with a magnolia branch about an inch wide embroidered along the edge of the front.

Her lower body was clad in a plain-colored silk skirt, without any extra patterns, adorned only with a few vertical pleats in gold leaf. The skirt was very high at the waist, almost reaching her chest, and was tied with a silk sash.

Beneath her outer garment and silk skirt, a pale yellow bodice and the girl's snow-white skin were visible.

Her hair was still styled in two buns, decorated with a white jade hairpin and a small gold comb back inserted into each bun.

As she tilted her head to examine Xu Lai, the jade hairpin's pendant dangled and swayed.

Xu Lai glanced at the strapless dress subconsciously, then realized he shouldn't be staring at the girl's chest, so he quickly looked away and bowed, saying, "This humble one is Xu Lai, greetings to the young lady."

With a graceful smile, she bowed in return, saying, "Greetings, Scholar Xu."

Yu'er quickly followed suit and bowed, stealing glances at Xu Lai as she did so. She was both pleased and annoyed; pleased that Xu Lai hadn't noticed her blushing, but annoyed that he hadn't even looked at her properly.

A young girl's heart is always filled with poetry, and Yu'er really fantasized about marrying Xu Lai.

Not as a concubine!

She was actually surnamed Yu as well, and was actually Pianpian's cousin. However, her family was very poor, and she was sold to Yu Jing's family as a foster mother when she was young.

The term "yangniang" literally means "adopted daughter," but in reality, it refers to a maid or wet nurse.

This practice is similar to how wealthy people in the Ming Dynasty adopted sons and daughters as gods; both were ways to circumvent legal regulations and keep servants.

But because of her clan affiliation, Yu'er really does have a bit of an adopted daughter feel to her. If she takes a fancy to any man, Yu Jing will set her free and even prepare a dowry for her.

However, Yu'er has been following Pianpian around all this time, and her taste has become quite discerning.

She wouldn't even look at an ordinary man.

The man she had her eye on was of a very different social status from hers.

Xu Lai's situation was just right: he came from a poor family, was talented, and was quite handsome. Yu'er felt that he was the perfect match for her.

Yu Jing's wife, Lin, also came out when she heard the commotion.

Xu Lai and Chen Congyi quickly bowed and greeted him.

Madam Lin invited them to the reception room, and had the servants bring some dried fruit and pastries. She then set up a stove to boil water and brew tea.

After chatting for a few minutes, Mrs. Lin made another excuse to leave and went to instruct the cook to prepare lunch.

Yu Jing sat down and asked, "Did you attend Professor Chen's lecture?"

Xu Lai replied, "Professor Chen's lectures are too advanced; I'm still reading introductory texts."

Yu Jing then asked, "Did you initiate the trip of more than twenty students from various prefectures to survey Pujian Mountain?"

Xu Lai replied, "I noticed an odd smell in the well water, so I inquired about it and learned that the entire city was experiencing a drinking water shortage. I then devised a plan to pipe water into the city. The scholars of the prefectural school all prioritize benevolence and righteousness; I only mentioned it casually, and more than twenty classmates participated. One of them, Ding Zhengchen, even paid for a materials craftsman to accompany us."

Yu Jing laughed heartily: "You're not taking credit for it."

"This is all thanks to the efforts of my fellow students and Cai Du. I dare not take credit for it," Xu said.

The more Xu Lai said this, the more Yu Jing liked him: "You interpret the Analects haphazardly, do you still have the same problem when you read Mencius?"

Xu Lai replied, "I have skimmed through Mencius twice and am now reading and memorizing it chapter by chapter, but I have indeed written down many of my own humble opinions. Some of them have caused endless debate among my classmates."

Chen Congyi interjected with a laugh: "How did you interpret it? It actually caused a debate among the state students."

"Fixed to one," Xu said. "The student interprets it as: fixed to great unification."

Yu Jing couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're really giving a nonsensical interpretation."

Xu Lai said solemnly, "If we do not achieve great unification, the feudal lords will inevitably fight each other endlessly. Can we achieve stability simply by practicing benevolent governance? We will never achieve stability. We must achieve great unification and practice benevolent governance at the same time for the world to be at peace."

Yu Jing wanted to refute, but hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Xu Lai continued, "The world is not yet unified. The lands of Liao and Western Xia are both ancestral territories of the Han people. If we could achieve unification, how much military expenditure could be saved? Without the heavy burden of military expenses, wouldn't the taxes and corvée labor of the Song Dynasty be reduced? If we cannot achieve unification, even if the emperor and officials are benevolent, will the taxes and corvée labor of the people be reduced?"

This makes sense, and Yu Jing remained silent.

As a high-ranking official, he thought more deeply than Xu Lai.

Chen Congyi, who had been smiling throughout, asked at this moment, "Is your ambition to unify the country?"

Xu Lai said decisively, "Surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties!"

"Haha, that's ambitious," Chen Congyi laughed twice, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I thought the same thing when I was young. Once you actually become an official, you'll know what's important and what's not."

After thinking it over carefully, Yu Jing finally spoke: "Write down your rambling interpretations as 'A Preliminary Discussion of Mencius,' and show them to me when you're done. If you have any important business in the future, come directly to the Military Commission to see me."

Xu Lai quickly stood up to express his gratitude, as this granted him the right to enter and exit the Military Commission.

Yu Jing stared silently at Xu Lai, seemingly considering something, then suddenly said, "Since you are a student of the state, we have a teacher-student relationship. From now on, you don't need to call me 'sir,' just call me 'teacher.'"

Xu Lai was overjoyed and straightened his posture to greet his teacher: "Student Xu Lai greets Master!"

Chen Congyi smiled and said, "Congratulations, Master Yu, on taking on such a fine disciple."

Pianpian, who had been sitting beside her, blinked her eyes wide with surprise.

How did things suddenly turn into taking on apprentices?

Yu Jing said, "Since you don't have a courtesy name, then you should use Anzhi as your courtesy name."

It's hard to refuse a name given by a teacher.

Xu Lai forced himself to say, "Sir, my elder brother is named Xu An."

It is indeed extremely inappropriate for the younger brother to use the elder brother's courtesy name instead of his own.

Yu Jing thought for a moment and then said, "Then let's do it in words."

Xu Xingzhi?

Don't listen to the sound of forest hitting leaves, why not scream and walk slowly.

I don't know if Su Shi actually wrote this poem, but Xu Lai really likes this courtesy name.

Xu Lai quickly bowed and thanked him, saying, "This student will certainly not fail your high expectations, Master. What's past cannot be changed, but the future can still be shaped. Although this is a pessimistic statement from the madman of Chu, this student will emulate Confucius, knowingly doing the impossible, forging ahead with unwavering determination!"

Yu Jing was stunned.

Chen Congyi pursed his lips, suppressing a laugh.

"行来" is a commonly used compound word that has been popular from pre-Qin ancient books to Song Dynasty spoken language.

The original meaning of "来" is wheat.

Yu Jing gave Xu Lai the courtesy name Xingzhi, which was based on commonly used words from the past thousand years, combined with the line from the Book of Songs, "He gave me wheat, and the Emperor commanded me to grow it," to encourage Xu Lai to "personally practice the Way of Heaven and nurture the people!"

Xu Lai inexplicably connected this to the Analects, arguing that "what is past cannot be changed, but what is to come can still be pursued."

He's ignorant and incompetent.

But considering that Xu Lai had only read the Analects, Yu Jing was too lazy to say anything more and said with a laugh, "Then let's follow your understanding and learn from Confucius to forge ahead without hesitation."

Shi Xun arrived right after I finished the apprenticeship ceremony.

This is a private residence, so there's no need to be too formal. Shi Xun bowed and said, "Greetings, Uncle Yu!"

He glanced at Xu Lai again, then bowed to Chen Congyi: "Greetings, Judge Chen."

Yu Jing smiled kindly and said, "Meizhang, this is my newly accepted disciple, Xu Lai. I gave him a courtesy name, Xingzhi."

The warning is very clear.

Shi Xun seemed to have forgotten about that incident, and said with a fawning smile, "Congratulations, Uncle, on taking on such a fine disciple."

He doesn't seem to be a fool.

It's nothing but sycophancy and servility.

This kind of person will kneel down and lick someone's boots if they're more capable than themselves. But if they're less capable, they'll trample on them to death if they're in a bad mood.

After they finished speaking, Pianpian came over to bow.

Shi Xun spoke softly and gently to Pianpian, as if she were his own sister.

His son also came to Guangzhou. On the day of the Shangsi Festival, he took a liking to Pianpian at first sight and even wanted him to propose marriage.

Shih Hsun slapped her son across the face and scolded him, "What are you talking about? She's my generation, you should call her aunt!"

Everyone sat down and chatted.

Yu Jing sat in the main seat, followed by Chen Congyi, then Shi Xun, and finally Xu Lai.

Pianpian casually sat on a chair, leaning lazily to the side, resting on the armrest. Yu'er stood next to her.

"Ahem!"

Yu Jing coughed twice and glared at his daughter.

Pianpian quickly sat up straight.

When the men started chatting again, Pianpian felt increasingly bored and quietly slipped away with her maid.

They slipped into the garden and asked gracefully, "Why are you unhappy?"

Yu'er said dejectedly, "My husband has taken Xu Sanlang as his disciple."

"You like Xu Sanlang, you should be even happier," Pianpian said, puzzled.

Yu'er lowered her head and muttered, "If I become my husband's disciple, I'm no longer worthy of him."

Pianpian comforted her, "It's alright, I'll find you someone better in the future."

"I think Xu Sanlang is very good," Yu'er said, blushing.

Pianpian asked with a smile, "What's so good about him? If we're talking about handsome looks, he's not even as good-looking as Shi Ranran's older brother."

Yu'er looked around and whispered, "I don't like Shi Dalang. He's all greasy and effeminate, and he looks like he's not serious at all. My dear wife, you have to be careful. The way Shi Dalang looks at you is weird. Last time we met, he looked like he wanted to eat you up."

Pianpian said, "I don't like Shi Dalang either. The makeup on his face is even thicker than his sister's."

Yu'er then brought up Xu Lai again: "Wife, don't you think Xu Sanlang's eyes are very beautiful? They're so bright, so very bright. What's that word again? Right, 'bright and piercing.' Xu ​​Sanlang's eyes have light in them, while Shi Dalang's eyes don't."

"Haha, without light, you'll be blind!" Pianpian laughed heartily.

Driven by selfish motives, Yu'er began to urge, "Wife, why don't you marry Xu Sanlang?"

Pianpian turned her back to the maid and asked, "Why should I marry him?"

Yu'er analyzed, "When Fifth Sister got engaged, she had only met her fiancé once. I could tell that Fifth Sister was not satisfied with her fiancé. But she is gentle and doesn't express her thoughts. What if one day she gets engaged to someone she just met? Rather than that, it would be better to choose Xu Sanlang."

Pianpian said, "I'm not Fifth Sister. If I don't like something, I'll definitely say so. I won't force myself to do it."

Yu'er continued to urge, "Xu Sanlang is perfect. He's handsome, talented, and even my husband has taken him as his disciple."

Pianpian kicked at the fallen leaves on the ground and said, "Hmph, don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"

Yu'er shrank back in fright and dared not mention the matter again.

She strolled around with Pianpian for a while, then excused herself to go to the restroom and ran back to her bedroom. She stuffed a sachet into her bosom, intending to find an opportunity to secretly give it to Xu Lai.

"My lady, I'm back." Yu'er ran to Pianpian's side.

Pianpian asked suspiciously, "Why did you take so long in the bathroom? If you hadn't come back soon, I would have gone to eat... Wait, it seems like you came from the bedroom."

Yu'er lowered her head in a panic and secretly stuck out her tongue.