Chapter 125: Borrowing Eastern Wind

  Xunzi said: "The way of man is that there is nothing without distinction, and the greatest distinction is division. The greatest division is ritual propriety." He also said: "Therefore, the former kings established rituals and righteousness to distinguish them, making the noble and humble equal, the old and young different, and the wise and foolish able and unable distinct, all of which make people carry out their affairs and each get what is suitable for them. Rituals are the ordering of superior and inferior, noble and humble, large and small positions, and distinguishing between outer and inner, far and near, new and old ranks."

  In the family, the etiquette between father and son, husband and wife, brothers is also different. At night, put pillows and mats for parents, in the morning ask parents for peace, go out must face announcement, come back must face announcement, do not occupy the position of the respected person, when sitting with the elder do not sit in the central position, do not keep private property, etc., these are all the etiquette of a child.

  It is only through different rites that the identity and behavior of various people within a family and under heaven can be determined, so that everyone fulfills their duties, with monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and brothers all following the rites. Even commoners must know the rites, practice the rites; what is meant by "rites do not extend to commoners" is not that commoners have no rites, but rather that commoners are limited by financial resources, material resources, and time, and cannot fully perform the rites, for example, commoners do not have temple sacrifices, so they make offerings in their bedrooms.

  Huang Zicheng's gaze swept slightly, and he didn't know what he saw. He suddenly frowned slightly, tapped the ruler in his hand on the bronze gong, and shouted: "Alright, that's all for today. You can leave, Yang Chong, stay behind."

  The students stood up one after another and bowed their heads in respect as they left. Yang Chong walked to the front of the teacher's desk and stood still with reverence.

  Huang Zicheng is a man in his late fifties, with a clear and stern face, his eyes are piercing, and the wrinkles on his face are shallow, but they give people a sense of ruggedness, just like his personality, meticulous and stubbornly adhering to principles.

  Huang Zicheng glared at his proud disciple, displeased, and said: "Yang Chong, I just saw that you looked distracted and absent-minded. Are you not convinced by what I just told you?"

  Yang Chong was startled and hastily cupped his hands, saying: "The student dares not, the student is listening to the master's words, but inadvertently thought of family matters, so he lost his mind for a moment, please forgive the student."

  Huang Zicheng's expression eased: "Oh, so you were moved by what your teacher said. What happened at home?"

  Yang Chong sighed and said, "The family is unfortunate. Originally, family shame should not be spread outside, but in front of the teacher, students naturally should speak without hiding anything, and the teacher can't be considered an outsider."

  Huang Zicheng's expression became even more gentle, and he chuckled: "Among my students, you have always been calm and composed, cautious in your words and actions. I said so, how could you be so abnormal today? Tell me, what happened at home?"

  Yang Chong said, "The ugly thing about the Yang family started more than 20 years ago. My master also knows that our Yang family in Yiling is the largest clan in the area. At that time, I had a uncle named Yang Dingkun who was not satisfied with his family business and saw that traveling merchants could make a profit. Despite my grandfather's repeated advice, he abandoned the land allocated to him by the family and went to do business elsewhere."

  Huang Zicheng's face sank, and he coldly snorted: "In the time of the former kings, there were no people in the wilderness who did not farm, no women in the rooms who did not weave. There was no fear of floods or droughts, and hunger and cold did not arrive. Since the opening of the market roads and the creation of clever techniques, the farming and sericulture industries have been abandoned. One farmer holds a hoe and a hundred families wait for food; one woman works at weaving and a hundred men wait for her. Can people be without poverty? Merchants do not engage in production, they hoard goods and manipulate prices, these are people who gain without labor. These people abandon their proper occupations and specialize in secondary work, this is truly self-inflicted humiliation."

  Yang Chong said, "Sir, you are right. But he is willing to do so, and my grandfather did not want to force him, so let him go. Unexpectedly, my uncle has been away from home for many years doing business, rarely returning home once, my aunt... she..."

  "Huang Zicheng's eyes narrowed: "Huh?"

  "She... she doesn't follow the proper path of a woman and does indecent things with others..."

  Huang Zicheng snorted coldly, and Yang Chong hastily said: "There is no wall that doesn't leak wind. As this matter gradually became known to the neighbors, the idle chatter was unbearable, and the entire family was shamed by it. My aunt saw that things were going badly and was ashamed to face my uncle. On the day before my uncle rushed back, she threw herself into a well. Who would have thought that as a result, my uncle, who didn't know the details, would become estranged from our entire clan? In anger, he took his young son and left for distant lands.

  The house left behind by him was ravaged by wind and rain, thieves came and went, years of disrepair, decline and collapse, on the verge of collapse. There were more than a dozen uncles in the clan who saw that the house had been abandoned and could no longer be used, so they changed this family property to other uses, who knew...

  Yang Chong would not dare to lie, if every sentence was not true, he would be afraid of being known by Huang Zicheng, and he would not be liked by him, thus ruining his own career. After listening, Huang Zicheng said angrily: "This person is unreasonable, and it's not about who was right or wrong in the past. The dilapidated courtyard that can't be lived in anymore, even if there are some problems with the clan members, he has come back, and it's okay to take down the cattle and sheep to reason with people. How can one kill in anger? Cattle is a farming tool for farmers, those livestock are all the property of the elder generation of our clan. Yang Xiu has a sharp tongue and a cunning heart, this is a case of using filial piety as an excuse for revenge."

  Yang Chong said with a bitter face: "What the gentleman says is true, this is his cunning place. He has taken up the great righteousness of filial piety, who can do anything to him? The Jiangning County Magistrate had no choice but to follow the ancient example and pardon his crime of slaughtering cattle. Now he is in Xunling Town, building a new house, which is the duty of a son, there's nothing wrong with that. But he has roasted and cooked all the slaughtered cattle and sheep, and every day he feasts with the craftsmen he hired to build the house, intentionally showing off his power to his clansmen."

  The student's uncles and elder cousins came to reason with him, but were all beaten back by his evil slaves. The student's grandfather, as the head of the clan, was deeply worried about the conflict between his grandson and their relatives, so he personally went to advise him, but unexpectedly... he was scolded and chased out by the young man who showed no respect for his elders. The old man was already advanced in age, how could he bear such humiliation? He fell ill after returning home. Those uncles from the clan who had their cattle slaughtered were just waiting for the farming season to arrive.

  Although he got the land, he lost his most powerful farming tool and was in a very difficult situation. How could he argue with him, as the villagers were simple and unsophisticated, and how could they be his match in theory?

  "Humph," said Huang Zicheng, "so it is said that human morality has its distinctions, and the greatest distinction lies in propriety. Filial piety should indeed be promoted, but this person's intentions are not good; what he does is merely to steal the character for 'filial' to cover up his evil deeds of slaughtering the ox and bullying the elder members of the clan."

  Yang sighed again and said: "The student's grandfather did not want the family to lose harmony, so he advised the student's uncles to be willing to spend money from our family to buy them another ox. He hoped that after this incident was over, the descendants of the family would still be able to get along harmoniously. However, the uncles were angry about what Yang Xu had done and wanted to jointly report it to the county magistrate again. The student was just thinking about whether to ask for leave to go back and persuade his uncles..."

  Huang Zicheng's expression turned serious, and he said: "Yang Chong, your ancestors and you, for the sake of the overall situation, have a heart that can be pitied. However, tolerance must have limits, if it exceeds these limits, then it is aiding evil. Rewarding without encouraging is called stopping goodness, punishing without warning is called indulging in evil. Indulging in evil is being evil itself. Your clan uncles are not wrong, such petty people cannot be tolerated."

  Huang Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "Originally, judicial matters are handled by local officials, and I shouldn't interfere. But Yang Xu is very cunning and eloquent, and the official might be deceived by him. If I hadn't heard your explanation of the details, I would have believed that he was acting out of filial piety and had killed the cow in a fit of rage. You go back and don't follow your grandfather's example of being evil, but help your uncle win this lawsuit. I will speak to the official at the Tianfu Prefecture on your behalf."

  Yang Chong was overjoyed, but he didn't dare show it on his face. He just bowed deeply and said respectfully: "Your student has learned a lesson, your student will now return home and follow the master's instructions."

  The Yang family supplies cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks in unlimited quantities. Where can such a host be found? Those workers and artisans are also working hard, the newly designed houses have already started to lay foundations one after another, and now they are being built on the ground. Xia Nuan's family cannot stay outdoors or live in their carriage all day, so they are currently staying at the only inn in town, Gaojia Xiaolou.

  This inn was not run by the Yang family, under the insistence and control of Old Master Yang, the Yang family had always adhered to the life of "becoming an official if successful, or farming and reading if not", and would not engage in such a lowly occupation. Because this place is extremely close to Jinling, whether it's traveling merchants coming or going, very few stay overnight here, so the inn industry is not developed, and the whole town only has this small inn, Xia Xian and his family moved in, squeezing the small inn full to bursting, and no other guests can be accommodated.

  The two brothers who ran the inn were named Gaofeng and **. At that time, this word didn't exist, so when others heard it, they didn't think much of it, but Xia Jiu would always let out a strange, awkward laugh whenever he heard the older brother call the younger one by name. The two brothers would feel a chill run down their spines, thinking that this young master had some kind of mental issue, and so they served him even more carefully.

  Originally, the people in the town did not dare to approach, chat with, or accommodate this family. They didn't even dare to do business with them properly. However, Xia Jiu first slaughtered over a dozen livestock from his uncle's and aunt's families, then "ate their meat and drank their blood", being very arrogant. The next day, he went to the government office, took a stroll around, and returned with great fanfare. It is said that he beat up more than ten of his uncles and aunts until they were bruised and swollen, even scolding Yang Lao Yezi by pointing at his nose. Now, other families in Muling Town see him with both respect and fear, not daring to offend him again.

  It's just after lunch now, what should be done after lunch?

  In the summer house, Zhi Yi's clothes were half-naked, her powdered skin was exposed, and she was twisting and struggling on Xia Nuo's body like a snake. Xia Nuo's hands were wandering, while hers were weakly chasing after him, trying to shake off his caresses: "No, no, in broad daylight..."

  "Be careful, it's not easy to get Xiao Di to leave with her mother using the excuse of limited housing. What a rare opportunity." Xia Yu coaxed, finding Zhi Xi's evasive lips and forcibly kissing him.

  "Hmm..."

  This move was indeed effective, and Zhi Ke quickly calmed down. A pair of soft arms slowly changed from pushing him away to resting on his shoulders and wrapping around his neck, actively reciprocating. For a long time, she finally opened her dazed beautiful eyes and panted: "You... you rascal, where did you learn so many new tricks?"

  Before Xia Huai could respond, she had already closed her shy eyes and pressed her slightly swollen lips to his again, whispering: "I want more..."

  The most passionate kiss, and then Xia Yu's hands roamed all over her body. Peng Qi was kissed until she was gasping for breath, her body as soft as mud. Although they hadn't gone all the way, she was already drunk with desire, unaware of anything around her, leaning against him like a boneless thing, looking like she would give in to whatever he wanted.

  "Want a kiss?" Xia Jie smiled mischievously: "Isn't that just teasing? Come on, little cutie, let brother take off his shirt."

  "I don't...don't want to..., the sky...the sky hasn't darkened yet..."

  Her voice was intermittent and weak, Peng Ziqi gradually softened under Xia Xun's offensive, already somewhat half-pushing and half-allowing. With victory in sight, they could soon conquer the city. Suddenly, a hurried knock at the door came, Xia Xun was greatly disappointed, hastily made a hand gesture to Ziqi, pulled over the quilt to cover her, then circled around a screen, tidied up his appearance, and opened the door.

  Outside the gate stood two constables wearing crimson official robes with a right-facing lapel and a high hat, who were staring at him with raised eyebrows.

  PS: Yang Chong borrowed the east wind, and next Xia Xiao also wants to borrow the east wind. Guan Guan wants to stand firm on the monthly ticket chart and recommendation chart, and also needs to borrow your east wind, those who have votes, please cast them!