Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After Ying Zheng made arrangements for the construction of new agricultural implements, he left Li Si here. Li Si would often wander around the study, searching here and there, and also giving advice on Zhou Wenqing's primer.

They agreed that five days later, when Zhou Wenqing had almost finished compiling the dictionary and the villagers had all received the news, Ying Zheng could come and audit the classes.

What Zhou Wenqing didn't know was that Aunt Liu was so happy when she received the news that she couldn't sleep soundly all night and immediately notified everyone in the village.

She was a warm-hearted and impatient person. She felt that since Master Zhou had agreed to teach the children, it was a great thing. How could she let the teacher wait for the students?

Besides, Young Master Zhou personally praised her Ah Zhu as a "good seedling"! He even asked if she would be willing to let Ah Zhu follow him. Although he only said it was for elementary school, to her it was almost the same as openly accepting him as a disciple!

Good heavens! Her son, Ah Zhu, is going to amount to something!

How could Aunt Liu not be excited?

Although Aunt Liu didn't understand the literary etiquette of scholars, she was clear about one thing: how could one become an apprentice without giving a gift of tuition!

She didn't know exactly what the gift of money was, but she held to a simple principle: this immense favor should be repaid with the most precious and respectable items in the house.

So, just as dawn was breaking, she gritted her teeth and took out the dried meat that she had treasured for a long time, the small piece of which she had only cut off for the New Year. It was marinated and glistening with dark red oil.

They searched the chicken coop thoroughly, leaving none of the eggs behind, and put them all into a bamboo basket. Not satisfied with that, they went from house to house to borrow some more, filling the basket to its capacity. Then, carrying the basket in one hand and pulling Ah Zhu along with the other, they arrived at the door of Young Master Zhou's house.

"Knock knock knock!"

The knocking sounded, particularly loud in the quiet of the early morning.

Zhou Wenqing was having breakfast with Li Si and Li Yi, sitting around a low table in the main room.

Zhou Wenqing disliked separate meals, so he followed the host's lead. The food on the table was plentiful, but the atmosphere was subtly quiet.

First, let's talk about Li Yi. He's always muttering to himself when he's dining with the young master, but right now he wants to shrink himself down and be as quiet as an ostrich.

He glanced at the person opposite him out of the corner of his eye—that was Li Si! The most favored Legalist minister by the king's side!

That's Legalism! Severe punishments and harsh laws, heavy penalties for minor offenses, often involving gouging out noses or cutting off feet, and even worse, dismemberment by chariot or waist-cutting…

And now this Legalist "living Yama" is sitting right across from me...

Li felt extremely uncomfortable and didn't even dare to reach his chopsticks too far, fearing he would be accused of overstepping his bounds. After all, his hands were still useful!

As for Li Si, he didn't really care about these formalities, but... at this moment, his whole mind was focused on the food in front of him.

Waaah~ Brother Zicheng, the food here is so savory and delicious, it's absolutely wonderful!

Don't think he didn't know that the king hadn't obtained the recipe for making refined salt yet, and there was only a little left in stock. As a result, when he left, that Meng Wu guy was unethical and insisted on taking most of it out of the jar.

Now, if you say one more word, you'll eat less!

Seeing that the two were so focused on their meal and their postures were unusually "proper," Zhou Wenqing wondered if the rule of "not speaking while eating or sleeping" was being enforced so strictly at this time.

So he quieted down and silently picked up his chopsticks.

For a moment, only the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks could be heard at the dining table, an eerie silence.

Just then, the sudden knock on the door broke the atmosphere.

Zhou Wenqing put down his chopsticks and reached out to stop Li Yi, who was about to get up.

"It's alright, keep eating." He said lightly, as if relieved. "I'll go check on things."

"No, young master, let me do it..." Li Yi said urgently.

Zhou Wenqing had been holding back for a long time, and now that he had a chance, he acted even faster than he spoke. Before he finished speaking, he had already left his seat, stepped over the threshold in a few steps, and headed straight for the courtyard gate.

Li Yi hesitated for a second, his outstretched hand freezing in mid-air. He watched helplessly as his young master personally went to answer the door, and then glanced at Li Si opposite him, his whole demeanor turning ashen...

"It's Aunt Liu!" Zhou Wenqing opened the door and greeted her with a warm smile. "Coming over so early in the morning, is there something important?"

He glanced to the side and saw Ah Zhu behind Aunt Liu, rubbing his eyes and nodding his head like a chick pecking at rice, looking drowsy and not yet fully awake. He couldn't help but chuckle and waved to the child.

"Ah-Zhu is here too? Come in quickly, it's chilly outside." He stepped aside, his tone familiar and natural.

Aunt Liu looked pleased and was about to speak when her gaze passed over Zhou Wenqing's shoulder and fell on the other two people sitting and eating in the main room. She immediately felt a little embarrassed.

"Oh, Young Master Zhou, how inconsiderate of me to disturb you during your meal... It's all my fault, I was in such a hurry, I came at such an inopportune time."

"There's no need to disturb us, Aunt Liu, you're being too polite." Zhou Wenqing smiled and waved his hand, ushering the mother and son into the courtyard.

"Is there something urgent? It's not convenient to talk outside. Let's go inside and sit down, eat and chat. Ah-Zhu hasn't had breakfast yet, has he?"

He noticed the child twitch his nose, instantly waking up with bright eyes and a subtle swallowing motion, which made him chuckle.

Once Aunt Liu entered the courtyard, she refused to walk towards the main room no matter what.

"No, no, Young Master Zhou, we'll just talk in the courtyard. We can't delay your meal with our distinguished guests."

Seeing her insistence, Zhou Wenqing didn't press the matter, assuming she was genuinely in a hurry. His expression became more serious as he gently asked, "Alright, Aunt Liu, what difficulties have you encountered?"

"It's not a problem, it's not a problem, it's a good thing! A great thing!" Aunt Liu hurriedly waved her hand to explain, her face flushed with eagerness and excitement, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out a lot.

"Well, didn't you ask someone to pass on a message yesterday saying that all the children in the village could come to you to learn to read? Everyone was really grateful when they heard that, and... we're also eagerly looking forward to it, wishing it could start right away. You even specifically asked if we'd like Ah Zhu to learn more from you... Of course we would, a hundred percent willing!"

As she spoke, she shoved the heavy bamboo basket in her hands into Zhou Wenqing's hands without saying a word.

"Please accept this! We rough folks don't understand the rules for scholars, we only vaguely remember the three elders in the village mentioning something about 'a gift of tuition' for becoming an apprentice. This... this is what I prepared for Ah Zhu! It's not very nice, please don't mind!"

She spoke very quickly, clearly having pondered these words for a long time.

After saying that, she immediately turned around, forcefully pulled Ah Zhu, who hadn't reacted yet, forward, and raised her voice suddenly: "Ah Zhu! What are you standing there for! Come here quickly and kowtow to your master! From now on, you must learn from Young Master Zhou."

When Zhou Wenqing saw that Azhu was being dragged forward by his mother and was about to kneel down, he quickly stepped forward and firmly supported the child's arm.

"No, no, you mustn't!"

He applied slight pressure and lifted Ah Zhu up.

"Aunt Liu, Wenqing understands your intentions perfectly. I really like Ah Zhu. As long as he is willing to learn diligently, I will definitely teach him everything I know and teach him well."

He changed the subject abruptly, gently patted Ah Zhu on the shoulder to make him stand aside, and then handed the bamboo basket back to Aunt Liu with both hands.

"But as Wenqing has said before, I absolutely cannot accept this gift of tuition. I teach my children to read and understand principles because I feel this is the proper thing to do. If I accept your generous gift, it would go against my original intention, and I would feel uneasy."

He paused briefly, his voice growing deeper: "Moreover, since I have promised to teach all children who wish to learn, I must treat them all equally. If I accept your gift today, those who know will say you sincerely wish to become my student; those who don't might think that my school has set up a threshold, prohibiting entry to those who are not polite. If families that are not well-off to begin with are thus hesitant to send their children, wouldn't that completely contradict Wenqing's original intention of benefiting his neighbors?"

"Please take these things back quickly."

Zhou Wenqing handed the bamboo basket closer, fully aware of the significance of this gift.

The people in this village don't even have an easy time getting enough to eat every day, so this gift is far too much for him to accept.

"Young Master Zhou, how can these be the same?"

Aunt Liu's hand froze in mid-air, unsure whether to accept it or push it away; her face was full of conflict.

"But Ah-Zhu..."

In her mind, since Ah Zhu was formally becoming an apprentice, he had to follow proper etiquette; otherwise, it would be disrespectful to his teacher and would make her family appear insincere.

But what Young Master Zhou said made sense; her family was considered well-off in the village, which was why they were able to scrape together these funds.

If our gift ruins the young master's good intention of enabling all children to study, then the sin would be grave.

She was anxious, torn between her own reasoning and her own, and her eyes involuntarily reddened slightly as she unconsciously clenched the corner of her coarse cloth dress.

Zhou Wenqing saw this and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Aunt Liu," he softened his voice, "how about this? Today, right here, let Ah Zhu formally call me 'Teacher,' and the teacher-student relationship will be established. We won't accept any gifts, but I acknowledge Ah Zhu as my student. Are you at ease now?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu's eyes lit up with joy, but then hesitation crept into her expression.

She rubbed her hands together, hesitatingly saying, "Isn't...becoming an apprentice just like this...a bit too simplistic?"

In her view, becoming a disciple is a very solemn matter. Simply saying it verbally feels too light and lacking in weight. She is afraid that she is not doing justice to Master Zhou's knowledge, and also afraid that it is not serious enough and will jeopardize her child's future.

"That is indeed somewhat inappropriate, Brother Zicheng!"

Li Si, having unknowingly put down his chopsticks, hurriedly came out of the main room, blocking the way as he went.