Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 78 The Pedantic Liu Nayan
When Li Xian and Liu Jianjun returned to the Prince of Pei's residence, the gatekeeper immediately came up to them and reported: "My lord, Chief Secretary Liu, a foreign merchant brought twenty Kunlun slaves earlier. The merchant accepted two hundred strings of cash, saying that the change was offered to His Majesty."

Liu Jianjun exclaimed "Wow!" and praised, "You're quite adept at handling things!"

Then he looked at Li Xian and asked, "Xianzi, shall we go and take a look?"

Li Xian thought there was nothing else to do at the moment, so he nodded.

……

The group of Kunlun slaves were led by servants from the manor to Liu Jianjun's land. On the way, the servant leading the way reported to Li Xian and Liu Jianjun: "My lord, Chief Secretary Liu, I checked them beforehand. These Kunlun slaves have all been castrated, and two of their lower front teeth have been knocked out..."

Liu Jianjun interjected curiously, "Speaking of which, I was curious when I was selecting these Kunlun slaves. I know the reason for castrating these Kunlun slaves, but why knock out two of their lower front teeth?"

Li Xian explained with a smile, "This is probably a custom of the Hu merchants. They say that knocking out two of the Kunlun slaves' front teeth will make them forget the way back."

Liu Jianjun scoffed.

Seeing that Liu Jianjun and Li Xian remained silent, the slave leading the way continued, "I've checked their slave registration documents, and there are no problems. When those Hu merchants brought the Kunlun slaves, they included a day's worth of rations. Normally, they'd be starved for three days first..."

“No need to go hungry,” Liu Jianjun said again. “I’m counting on them to dig that piece of land in Nanyuan. San Dezi and his group can’t even dig ten zhang a day. If we starve these Kunlun slaves for another three days, will I still be able to dig that irrigation canal?”

The servant leading the way was used to obeying Liu Jianjun's orders, so he hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, sir," and added, "That's all."

Before long, the three of them arrived at the land in Nanyuan.

Li Xian spotted the group of Kunlun slaves, who looked like black towers, from afar. The slaves were not wearing shirts, but only coarse linen cloths covering their crotches. The winter in Chang'an was very cold, and their originally dark lips had turned bluish-purple.

Turning to look at Liu Jianjun, I saw him looking down, searching for something.

Li Xian asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"

"No, the moment I saw them, I wanted to grab a whip..."

Li Xian said irritably, "These Kunlun slaves are all domesticated. There's no need for you, an amateur who can't even tame a horse, to tame them again!"

Liu Jianjun can't even ride a well-trained horse, yet he's thinking of training people.

But then, another figure, whose face was frozen blue, walked over.

Liu Neyan.

Li Xian actually had very complicated feelings about this former husband.

Liu Neyan's personality is like that of a stereotypical, pedantic old scholar: inflexible, rigid in his manners, and, in Liu Jianjun's words, the kind of person who is most easily morally manipulated.

But he treated me extremely well.

At least they treated me very well at one point.

When he was surrounded by gluttonous gazes, only he saw himself with the same look a teacher would give a student, or a subject would give an emperor.

But Liu Jianjun said that he is not entirely trustworthy now.

So Li Xian was also very troubled, not knowing how to treat him.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Liu Neyan ran over and cried out in tears, "Your Highness! The three young princes... have been swinging pickaxes all day! This old minister prepared a copy of the 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion' this morning, but by the time the sun was almost setting, the inkstone had frozen into a block of ice, and the wolf-hair brushes were stiff and brittle, yet the three young princes still had no time to practice calligraphy!"

Before Li Xian could speak, Liu Jianjun said with a laugh, "Old Liu, didn't I tell you this morning that you don't need to rush? Just wait until they have some free time before you start teaching them, even if they only practice one character a day..." "Liu Changshi!" Liu Neyan interrupted with a look of grief and indignation.

"Do you know what the three young princes have become? The eldest prince used to be eloquent, but now he only knows how to dig the land. The third prince has always respected his teachers, but now he turns a deaf ear to what I say. The most lamentable one is the second prince, who actually said to the 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion', 'The spacing of these characters is just like the pit I fell into today!'"

Li Xian's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Guangshun has actually learned to shut up?

But at this moment, Liu Neyan suddenly knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the frozen ground heavily: "This old minister is incompetent! He actually made the imperial family nobles do such menial work. If he cannot teach the three young princes calligraphy well, how can this old minister have the face to receive the salary of the Prince of Pei's mansion?"
"Your subject... requests to resign!"

Now, Li Xian was in a bit of a headache.

That's just Liu Nayan's personality; she always carries out and completes what she promises meticulously.

Liu Jianjun instructed him to teach Guangshun and the others calligraphy, and he would definitely put it into practice. If he failed to do so, things would turn out like this.

Li Xian thought of Liu Jianjun's saying, "First cry, then make a scene, then threaten suicide."

But then, Liu Jianjun suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Great! Great!!"

Li Xian snapped out of his daze and glared at Liu Jianjun with annoyance.

He knew that Liu Jianjun had always wanted to get rid of Liu Neyan, this destabilizing factor.

Liu Jianjun noticed his gaze, scoffed, and said to Liu Neyan, "Old Liu, wait here for a bit, I have something to discuss with Xianzi."

As he spoke, he put his arm around Li Xian and walked to the side, lowering his voice and asking with a smile, "Can we get rid of this old man?"

Li Xian's expression showed some hesitation.

Liu Jianjun continued, "I know you're reluctant! I didn't intend to get rid of him anyway. If he really is your mother's man, getting rid of him would only make your mother suspicious of us."

"Then you just..."

"Xianzi, don't feel bad about it later."

Liu Jianjun said something inexplicable and then turned and walked towards Liu Neyan.

Then, Li Xian saw Liu Jianjun say with a serious expression, "Old Liu, you just mentioned 'the matter of straw and fodder,' can you explain to me what the words 'straw and fodder' mean?"

Liu Neyan snorted coldly, his dissatisfaction with Liu Jianjun overflowing. He flicked his sleeve and scolded, "Ignorant! This 'chouyao' comes from the Book of Songs, Daya, Ban. It says, 'The ancients had a saying, consult the chouyao.' It originally referred to a person who cuts grass and gathers firewood, and also meant someone who is shallow or ignorant!"
"The three princes are of noble birth, yet they have been assigned by Chief Secretary Liu to do such trivial tasks..."

Before Liu Neyan could finish speaking, Liu Jianjun suddenly raised his eyebrows and angrily shouted, "Liu Neyan! Do you know your crime?!"

This sharp shout was like a thunderclap, which not only stunned Liu Neyan, but also startled Li Xian who was standing next to him.

Liu Neyan was taken aback at first, then his beard trembled with anger: "What does Chief Secretary Liu mean by this? What crime have I committed?"

"What crime?" Liu Jianjun sneered and stepped forward. "You keep saying that farming is a 'simple matter' and a 'shallow act,' but I want to ask you, during the Zhenguan era, Emperor Taizong personally went to the fields to demonstrate plowing every spring, the concubines in the harem raised silkworms and wove cloth, and the princes and grandsons learned farming."

"In your opinion... could it be that Emperor Taizong was also engaging in 'shallow matters'?"

……

(End of this chapter)