Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The morning sun was shining brightly, and laughter filled the courtyard.

The children made good progress in their calligraphy practice today, so Zhou Wenqing rewarded them by asking them to tell him a story.

Zhou Wenqing naturally had no objections and was telling the story of "The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Power".

When the story of the fox walking ahead with its head held high, claiming to be a messenger of the gods, and followed by a suspicious and trembling tiger, all the children in the courtyard burst into laughter.

Just at this most joyous moment, an uninvited guest arrived.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, yet still vigorous, frowned deeply upon seeing the scene in the courtyard through the low fence.

He pushed open the courtyard gate, slamming his polished cane on the ground with two muffled thuds that instantly drowned out the laughter filling the courtyard.

"Whose children are these? Scatter, all of you! Don't linger here, go home now!"

The children were startled by the sudden reprimand, their laughter abruptly ceasing as they looked at the teacher with alarm.

Upon seeing that it was an elder, Zhou Wenqing immediately stood up, grabbed Li Yi who was about to move and had his right hand pressed against his waist, and gently comforted the student for a few words before stepping forward to greet the old man amidst their worried gazes. He then bowed to the old man.

"May I ask who you are, esteemed elder? And why have you come to my humble abode and driven away the students from the school?"

"Hmph! This child is talking nonsense. What scholar? I haven't seen him anywhere!"

The old man's face was gloomy as he looked him up and down, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

"I am honored by the trust of my fellow villagers and have been given this position of education. You, young man, are you from out of town?"

He paused, his voice growing deeper: "Look at you, so young and decent-looking, how can you be so reckless and arrogant? You haven't even mastered the Qin laws, yet you dare to come out and mislead other people's children?"

The old man slammed his cane down again, his voice suddenly rising: "Instead of studying properly, you've set up your own private school at home, gathering children to teach—are you trying to ruin all the children in my village?!"

Zhou Wenqing's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized the old man's identity—the Third Elder.

Although the three elders were not officials of the imperial court, they were highly respected in the village and were elected by the villagers to preside over moral education and discipline the children.

His gaze involuntarily drifted toward Li Si, who had just come out of the study, his expression somewhat complicated.

No... Brother, you guys are taking this "undercover investigation" act a bit too far. I'm running a school from home, and nobody in higher up gave me a heads-up beforehand to prevent anyone from causing me trouble.

Li Si also heard the old man's words and secretly thought something was wrong. He glared at Li Yi, who was listening intently to the lesson next to him.

Li Yi: "..."

Well... no one told me that I, as a personal bodyguard, would have to do this kind of job too?

Zhou Wenqing took in the tense exchange between them, his lips twitching slightly, speechless.

Well! This really proves the old saying, "Three monks have no water to drink." It seems we're in a difficult situation now.

At that time, private teaching of knowledge was considered illegal, and only officials had the legal right to teach knowledge. Zhou Wenqing was not an official at the time, and running a private school at home was a crime of misleading the people. Not only would he be executed along with his entire family, but all the children under him would also be implicated and punished.

Zhou Wenqing felt helpless, but maintained his composure on the surface. He cupped his hands again to the three elders, his tone still gentle:

"Please calm down, sir. My teaching here is truly well-intentioned, and I have absolutely no intention of harming the village. It's just that..."

"Stop! Stop! Hold on!"

The old man slammed his cane heavily on the ground, creating a small crater in the mud, and his suddenly raised voice cut off Zhou Wenqing's words.

He glared at Zhou Wenqing, his white beard trembling slightly with anger: "You young man, you're spouting nonsense! I'm old and hard of hearing; I don't have time to argue with you!"

He pointed his cane towards the courtyard gate, his voice firm and decisive: "Hurry up! Send all these children home! Disperse!"

Are you hard of hearing? That's quite a loud voice!

Zhou Wenqing's gaze swept over the group of children who were shrinking their necks and looking somewhat helpless, before returning to the three old men's tense, deeply wrinkled faces.

In a flash, a thought suddenly struck him—

wrong!

From the moment these three elders appeared until now, despite their tough stance, they have consistently done only one thing: interrupt him, especially when he mentions words like "teaching" and "students."

Moreover, throughout the entire ordeal, the old man only repeatedly emphasized "letting the children go home," but never actually said anything like "reporting to the authorities to arrest them."

This doesn't sound like a strict, impartial law enforcer; it's more like an old man rushing over to pull the village children out of "danger" after hearing they've gotten into trouble.

Zhou Wenqing's eyes narrowed slightly, and a vague guess suddenly popped into his mind. When he looked at the three elders again, his tone softened, and he tentatively changed his words:

"Sir, please calm down. You see, these children are gathered here because their parents are busy working in the fields. At this hour, the sun has just risen, and it will be a long time before they finish. They simply can't spare the time to look after the children. My yard is spacious enough to let them run and jump around here, which is better than letting them run wild by the river or in the fields. If something happens, their parents will be so worried."

He paused, observing the old man's expression: "Don't worry, when the sun is setting and the work in the fields is almost over, I will make sure to take each of these children home safely and make sure they don't linger outside and cause trouble."

"...Hmph," the old man's anger subsided slightly as he looked at Zhou Wenqing, "You little rascal, you're quite clever."

"A doll? Okay." Zhou Wenqing quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of utmost humility.

"But..." the old man suddenly changed his tone, "that won't do either. Send them all back now, without a moment's delay!"

He lowered his voice and slammed the end of his cane on the ground: "If the news reached me, who can guarantee it wouldn't have reached the ears of the village head? Have you even considered the implications of those four words, 'collective punishment'?!"

The old man raised his cane, almost touching Zhou Wenqing's nose, looking heartbroken as if he were watching his foolish son jump into a fire pit: "You're young and impetuous, you don't know your own limitations! You should thoroughly study and understand your own knowledge, especially that deadly Qin law, before you talk about anything else! Now, do as I say!"

"This..." Zhou Wenqing was truly at a loss.

He himself knew that the King of Qin was backing him up, but the old man was unaware of it, and the villagers were even less aware!

If the children are sent back home and repeat what they hear, his "school" will probably have to close down completely before it has even officially opened for a few days.

The King of Qin hasn't arrived yet; we need to hold out for at least two more days!

Zhou Wenqing wanted to argue a few more points, but the old man had completely lost his patience.

He suddenly turned around, waved his wide sleeves as if chasing away birds stealing food from the fields, and shouted at the group of children who were cowering in the shadows:

"Disperse! All of you, disperse! Anyone who dawdles will have their parents come and pick them up tomorrow!"

The village wasn't big, with only a few people. He knew the children in the village very well, so he immediately started calling out their names one by one.

The children whose names were called shuddered. They glanced at the three old men, whose faces were ashen, and then stole a look at Zhou Wenqing. The timid ones had already left their seats and slunk away toward the gate.

Li Si and Li Yi exchanged an anxious glance.

Oh no! The King is coming today! Everyone's gone, what are we going to let the King come and watch?

Are you looking at the three of them staring at each other?

"Wait, wait, wait!" Li Si couldn't care less about anything else and stepped to the side to block the courtyard gate: "Azhu, keep an eye on the children, don't let them leave."

"Drink up!" The old man, furious, glared at Li Si and raised his cane to strike him. "How can you be so reckless, you brat?"

What could Li Si do? He couldn't very well fight with the old man, so he could only cover his head and dodge, looking quite disheveled for a moment.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Li Yi quickly rushed to the front of the courtyard gate to block it.

"Hiss—" Zhou Wenqing gasped and quickly stepped between the two, supporting the old man's arm.

"Brother Gu'an, don't dodge so suddenly, be careful not to hurt the old man's back!"

"What are you saying, Brother Zicheng!" Li Si said, dodging the attack while simultaneously laughing and crying at the same time.

"...Huff...you young man...don't run away!" The old man, holding his cane, was panting heavily.

The courtyard was in complete chaos!

Children cried out in surprise, wooden sticks whistled through the wind, and clothes rustled. Just as Zhou Wenqing was finding it absurd, he heard a sudden burst of footsteps at the alley entrance!

The village head, accompanied by two soldiers carrying ropes, rushed over and pressed into the courtyard like a dark cloud.

His gaze was like a knife, instantly cutting through the chaos and fixing on Zhou Wenqing, who was being held by the old man's sleeve.

"Who dares to gather a crowd to disrupt the law and set up a private school?!" the village head shouted sternly, giving no chance for explanation. "Take them all down! Especially him!"

"Yes, sir!" Two soldiers, holding ropes, rushed forward.

"Stop right there!" Li Yi immediately stepped forward, blocking Zhou Wenqing's path, his face darkening. "Let's see who dares to touch my young master!"

"How did things get like this? Li Yi, be careful!" Zhou Wenqing hid behind him, her voice filled with tension.

"You dare defy the law?!" Li Dian raised an eyebrow. "Take them all down!"

Li Yi's fingers had already subtly reached for the hidden weapon at his waist, his eyes serious, at the critical moment—

"stop."

A clear, childlike voice rang out from the courtyard gate.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a boy, no more than eight or nine years old, dressed in coarse cloth clothes, standing quietly at the door.

It was Prince Fusu who had rushed over.