The Deepest Affection in Qin's Time

Have you forgotten your promise?

Jingni spoke coldly, her gaze equally cold as she looked at Cao Yuan, who was only wearing underwear.

Cao Yuan was slightly taken aback.

As a former "sea king" trainee, his promises to the girls are gone, forgotten as soon as they're over. Who knows which one Jingni was referring to?

"Aren't you planning to visit the child at Wuming's place today?"

Jingni narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly.

Even without Cao Yuan looking, he could feel that he was enveloped by a strong killing intent.

Despite the sweltering heat, he was still freezing cold.

"Go, go, I'm going right now!"

Cao Yuan sprang to his feet and quickly dressed in front of Jing Ni.

Jing Ni seemed to have a slow reaction time; it appeared that she only realized at this moment that Cao Yuan had gotten up almost naked.

"Cough..." Jing Ni used a cough to cover up her embarrassment, "I'll go call Li Wu, we'll go together."

Cao Yuan had just finished tying his long, wide sash when he heard this and was slightly taken aback: "Going together?"

Suppressing her embarrassment, Jing Ni, cradling the enormous sacred object, coldly said, "Is it not allowed?"

Cao Yuan seemed to have thought of something, and glanced longingly at Jing Ni's magnificent figure, "Oh, okay, okay."

He had almost forgotten that Jingni and Liwu were now his wife and concubine.

He could guess with his exposed iron rod that Jingni and Liwu probably wanted to sneak in with him.

After a while.

Jing Ni and Li Wu stood at the shop entrance, and Cao Yuan brought Xiao Meng Jiang out.

"You're taking her with you too?" Li Wu laughed. "It seems my husband really can't bear to part with this little sister; he takes her everywhere he goes."

Cao Yuanyi said righteously, "Of course, what if bad guys come to our door?"

Having just offended Chang'an Juncheng and Prime Minister Hou Sheng, even though Jing Ni said it was nothing, he didn't dare to gamble.

In particular, he had heard in the streets that Hou Sheng had a particular fondness for delicate young girls or even little girls, and in later generations, he would definitely be the most loyal customer of a certain island.

Xiao Mengjiang looked at Li Wu and Jing Ni with a strange expression.

Even if she wasn't very bright, after these two days, she could tell that something was wrong.

For example, Cao Cao would not sleep with her in the middle of the night, nor with his wife and concubines, but would sleep alone.

Furthermore, the way that Sister Jing and that Sister Wu treated Aman was nothing like how a wife and concubine would treat their husband.

They were like friends, and also like superiors and subordinates...

So messy...

Xiao Mengjiang couldn't figure it out and expressed that she was feeling a bit tired.

……

The nameless mansion remained largely abandoned.

Faced with Cao Yuan's arrival with his "family," Wuming, who always preferred quiet solitude, felt a slight resentment but didn't say much.

The main reason was the "principle" expounded by Cao Yuan through "Human Nature is Good and Human Nature is Evil". Even though it did not conform to his own philosophy, it still inspired him greatly through analogy. It even made his long-standing bottleneck as a Grandmaster show signs of loosening.

"The thought of 'Lu' being all alone now fills me with sorrow, so I brought my family to visit him."

"I am deeply sorry for disturbing you, Sword Saint."

Cao Yuan was well aware of Wuming's personality, and he was also aware that his actions would be disliked.

But he had no choice but to endure being caught between Jing Ni and Li Wu every day, and he could only grit his teeth and be disliked.

"It's alright," the nameless man said gently. "Young brother, please wait a moment. I'll finish today's lessons with Yan Lu first."

Cao Yuanyuan is fine with it; he's just here to appease Jing Ni and Li Wu anyway.

Jingni and Liwu exchanged a barely perceptible glance, then left Cao Yuan's side under the pretext of taking a walk around the mansion.

Cao Yuan secretly broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that Wuming was a peak Grandmaster with unfathomable strength, and who knew what special abilities he might have.

He could only hope that Jingni and Liwu would be reliable and not expose him, at least not before he obtained and opened the bronze treasure box.

"Yan Lu, do you still remember the strategic locations and natural barriers of the seven kingdoms that I told you about yesterday?"

The nameless man knelt before the stone table and said, "Repeat it once more."

Cao Yuan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Wuming would teach "geography" worldview first, instead of the Analects or something similar.

Xiao Yanlu pondered deeply and said, "Qin is located in the west, with the natural defenses of Mount Xiao and the fortified Hangu Pass..."

Cao Yuan listened attentively as Xiao Yanlu recounted the story.

When Xiao Mengjiang saw Cao Yuan listening to the lecture, she also started to listen attentively with a serious expression.

After a cup of tea, Wuming nodded slightly, "You have a very good memory, but a good memory alone is not enough. You also need enlightenment and understanding."

"Today, I will use the strategic locations of the seven kingdoms to explain to you the current global landscape and trends. You may not understand it, but you must remember it and ponder it carefully."

Cao Yuan narrowed his eyes. Was Wuming trying to get Yan Lu into politics? Or was he simply trying to popularize common sense?

He thought it should be the latter, because judging from the anime, Wuming and Yanlu are similar in temperament, with no competitive spirit, content with their lot, very indifferent to worldly affairs, and prefer quiet to activity.

It didn't matter; he could take this opportunity to hear about the current situation of the seven states, so that he wouldn't be completely clueless about the others, only knowing that the five states of Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, and Chu were able to successfully form an alliance and attack Qin this year.

While Cao Yuan was attending the lectures for free, Fu Nian traveled day and night to return to Sanghai, 500 li away.

Instead of rushing to pay his respects to his master, he first copied the entire text.

The only thing to blame is that Cao Yuan's handwriting is too ugly to be presentable.

Xiaoshengxianzhuang, behind the mountain.

Holding the transcribed copy of "Human Nature is Good and Human Nature is Evil," Fu Nian knocked on the wooden door of the cabin with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"Uncle-Master, Fu Nian requests an audience."

"I am here."

Under a large tree outside the wooden house, an elderly man dressed simply with white hair and a weathered face knelt before a table, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in one hand and stroking his beard from time to time, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.

Fu Nian then noticed his martial uncle and immediately went over to him.

"My master's cultivation level has improved, yet Fu Nian has not noticed at all."

Xunzi put down the bamboo slips, on which was written the words "Five Vermin".

"That's because your mind is unsettled and your spirit is restless."

Fu Nian said with embarrassment, "Uncle-Master is right."

"Tell me, what's making you so flustered?"

Xunzi spoke solemnly. He knew Fu Nian's character very well; Fu Nian would never be so impulsive unless something truly important had happened.

Considering the current situation where alliances between states are re-emerging and envoys from various countries are traveling around lobbying, Xunzi became even more serious.

Fu Nian respectfully handed over the silk scroll, the title of which read "Human Nature is Inherently Good and Human Nature is Inherently Evil".

Xunzi took it, glanced at it, recognized it as Fu Nian's handwriting, and continued reading.

The debate on whether human nature is inherently good or inherently evil has been a long-standing topic within Confucianism. He himself used this topic to have his disciples write essays and take exams on many occasions.

Logically speaking, there's nothing to be surprised about.

It's simply a matter of supporting Mencius's theory that human nature is inherently good, or supporting his theory that human nature is inherently evil.

Regardless of which one it is, as long as the argument is rigorous and the reasoning is convincing, it doesn't matter if the theory is refuted.

Is there anything special about Fu Nian's essay, "Human Nature is Inherently Good and Inherently Evil"?

As you read on.

The more Xunzi looked, the more solemn his old face became, and the more alarmed he became.

Finally, Xunzi suddenly stood up, almost losing his voice.

"Fu Nian, you succeeded?!"

Chapter 18 Xunzi's Shock

Xunzi gripped the silk in his hand tightly, looking at Fu Nian before him, his heart surging with emotion.

The surrounding sky and earth darkened, and a strong wind suddenly rose within a radius of several hundred meters, making the trees rustle.

This was simply due to Xunzi's drastic emotional fluctuations.

Fu Nian quickly said, "Uncle-Master, this was not written by your junior disciple. Your junior disciple has not yet attained enlightenment; you merely copied it once."

He could understand the "success" his uncle spoke of. In Confucianism, this word carries great weight, representing the establishment of a unique system, the qualification to open a new lineage of Confucianism, and the respect of the world.

Just like his uncle Xunzi!

Xunzi looked at Fu Nian with an incredulous expression.

The word "reason" used throughout this essay is almost the culmination of Fu Nian's thoughts and learning, representing absolute order.

Fu Nian smiled wryly and said, "Uncle-Master, my understanding is still shallow. How could I possibly write such an original essay? This was written by Mr. Cao Yuan."

"...Cao Yuan? Which lineage is he from? Zizhang? Zisi? Yan clan? Or Meng clan?"

Xunzi was completely baffled. The only people who could write this were the old guys from the eight major literary traditions, but he knew all of them and had never heard of anyone innovating.

Fu Nian said, "No, he is a good friend of Master Zihan, the owner of the 'Golden Key' locksmith shop, and is about twenty-nine years old."

"The locksmith...owner?"

Xunzi looked at the serious-looking Fu Nian, blinked, and kept stroking his beard.

That is, Fu Nian. If it were Han Fei who dared to say that, he would have slapped him long ago.

Are you just teasing the old folks?

"That's right. He is currently in Linzi and has arranged to discuss Dao with his junior brother at his residence."