hsntnovel Chapter 1936 I Don’t Dare
Chapter 1936 I Don’t Dare
Shuxiu is a gift for becoming a teacher, which means jerky meat, and was quite popular in the Han Dynasty.
In the beginning, the gift of ten pieces of dried meat was given as a gift, but as dynasties changed, the form of the gift also changed.
It not only refers to dried meat, but also becomes a gift for apprenticeship, or in other words, tuition fee.
The Tang Dynasty had a strict set of regulations on tuition fees, which were divided into official schools and private schools. Official schools were government-run colleges, which were divided into two levels.
For institutions like the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy, the tuition fee was five pieces of silk, a pot of wine, a plate of meat, and ten pieces of dried meat. In the traditional tuition fee, each piece of dried meat had to be six inches long.
The other officials learned to cut the silk into three pieces, and everything else was the same.
The situation in private schools was simpler because the students were poor, so the gifts they prepared were cheaper, such as a bushel of corn, a basket of dried vegetables, a set of pens and ink, or lotus seeds, celery, etc.
Wang Yuangan was a scholar, so he naturally knew this rule.
Being a teacher in Prince Ji's mansion should be considered a private school, but Prince Ji is of noble status, so in his opinion, the tuition should be prepared according to the highest standards of the Imperial College.
Even if the Prince Ji’s Mansion did not offer any tuition, Wang Yuangan would not find it strange, because being the tutor of the children of the Prince Ji’s Mansion was considered high-class for him,
There is no need for the six rituals of recruitment.
But what he never expected was that Prince Ji not only prepared a gift, but also a huge gift.
Everything here is a priceless treasure and is regarded as the finest in the outside world.
With his salary, the value of all these things combined would not be enough for his salary for a hundred years.
Although he was a scholar and always said that he regarded money as dirt, but when he saw the gifts in front of him, it was impossible for him not to be tempted.
Fortunately, he still retained a bit of the character of a scholar and politely declined Li Shen's offer.
"Hahahaha, don't be polite, my lord. This is the gift for my two children to become their apprentices. This is just a simple gift of tuition. I have no other intentions.
If anyone asks, you can just say generously that it was given to you by the king, and nothing will happen. Even if the crown prince or His Majesty asks, it’s fine.
"Please don't reject my sincere wishes, my lord." Seeing Wang Yuan's flattered look, Li Shen laughed.
Li Shen saw the change in Wang Yuangan and nodded secretly in his heart. His choice was indeed correct. Wang Yuangan did have the stubbornness of a scholar.
Although Li Shen could see greed and reluctance in Wang Yuangan's eyes, this was very normal.
The fact that he was able to remain rational at the last moment shows that Wang Yuangan still has a sense of righteousness in his heart.
Everyone is greedy, it’s just a matter of seeing whether the things in front of them are valuable enough.
Although the things Li Shen prepared were useless to him and were just decorations in the warehouse, their total value was something Wang Yuangan could never earn in his lifetime.
It is very rare to be able to remain sober in the face of such temptation.
Li Shen is not afraid of greed, as long as greed is easy to control. What Li Shen fears most is the kind of people who are not greedy, because that is a headache.
If Wang Yuangan had no desires or demands, Li Shen might not dare to hand his children over to him. Such a person would either be cultivating immortality or have great ambitions.
"But this... this is really too precious. I feel unworthy to accept it." It's not that Wang Yuangan didn't want it, but he didn't dare to take it. The amount was beyond his imagination and made him a little scared.
Seeing Wang Yuangan like this, Li Shen gave a look to Wang Xuance opposite him.
Wang Xuance understood and stepped forward to persuade him:
"Don't refuse, my lord. You must have heard that Prince Ji's Mansion is financially strong, and His Royal Highness Prince Ji has always been generous.
The princes thought these things were very valuable, but to be honest, they were not presentable in front of His Royal Highness Prince Ji.
Normally, His Royal Highness Prince Ji would use these things to reward me and others, and after a while, Prince Wang would understand whether what Wang said was true or false.
So you don’t have to worry about this, Lord Wang.”
Hearing Wang Xuance's words, Wang Yuan was dumbfounded. So many top-quality things were not even in the eyes of Prince Ji. No wonder people outside said that Prince Ji's mansion was rich enough to rival a country.
It turned out to be true. His Royal Highness Prince Ji was so generous.
"Yes, Brother Wang, these things are indeed priceless, but in the eyes of His Royal Highness Prince Ji, they are not worth mentioning. You should accept them." Pei Mingli knew Wang Yuangan and followed suit to persuade him.
"Ah~~~~" Wang Yuan sighed. He bowed to Li Shen and Lu Dingniang first, and then bowed to Wang Xuance and Pei Mingli.
"Then I would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Ji for the reward. To be honest, I was born in a poor family, and this is the first time I have seen so many rare treasures.
I am sorry to make you laugh. "
"Mr. Wang, this is human nature. Don't take it to heart." Wang Xuance counselled.
Li Shen also spoke up:
“Wang Qing, people eat grains and cereals, so they naturally have seven emotions and six desires. Greed is not necessarily a bad thing.
The so-called greed can also become a driving force for people to move forward as long as it is not pursued excessively.
Greed is not necessarily about money. Before you take the imperial examination, you must have hoped very much that you could pass. This is greed. For this reason, you would work hard and study hard, and that is why you were able to pass the examination.
People work as farmers, hoping for good weather and a good harvest. Isn’t this just a desire?
It is the same for me. Everyone knows that I am greedy for money. If I were not greedy for money, how could I have such a large family business? If I were not greedy for money, where would the thousands of strings of money that are contributed to the national treasury every year come from?
So it’s not wrong to be a little greedy, as long as you have reason in your heart and stick to your bottom line.”
As Li Shen finished speaking, Wang Yuangan's eyes gradually regained clarity. Li Shen's words made him slowly wake up and no longer obsessed.
"Thank you for your teachings, Your Highness. Listening to your words is better than reading for ten years. I am obsessed with appearances and too persistent.
His Royal Highness Prince Ji is extremely talented, and I admire him greatly.
Don't worry, my lord. I will do my best to teach the two young gentlemen and young ladies."
Wang Yuangan seemed to have come to his senses. Li Shen's nonsense actually made him understand.
Li Shen is right. As long as you are not overly greedy, this is a motivation.
"Okay, let's continue. By the way, my Lord, you have to remember that when I say greed, I don't mean you should embezzle money. Embezzlement is against the law.
You must remember this.”
Li Shen suddenly thought of this and reminded him that he didn't want to create a corrupt official because of his few words.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will never disgrace the teachings of Your Majesty Prince Ji, and I will never do anything that would cause me to be disgraced. Otherwise, I would be unworthy of being a scholar."
Wang Yuangan bowed and assured.
Li Shen just nodded and said nothing more. After the gift was given, the process of returning the gift began. Wang Xuance shouted again, "Return the gift!"
Wang Yuangan opened the two packages and everyone looked carefully. There were several books in each package. Li Shen saw three big words written on one of the books: Thousand Character Classic.
(I was having dinner with a friend in the evening. He was drinking and I was drinking a beverage beside him. I couldn't finish the drink after a long time. I couldn't sit still because of the pain from the hemorrhoids.
I said to him, "Can you drink faster?" He replied, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
I retorted, "Don't you know my butt hurts? If I lie down, I can stay with you all night."
The voice might have been a little loud, and as a result, everyone in the restaurant looked over at once, with strange looks in their eyes.)