Elder Cen laughed. “You guys, don’t be so polite to each other. Chen Dong, Hong Shan, Xue Rong, this old man let you stay today to listen to your assignments. Although you three are not my students, this old man has always been optimistic about you. For the August examination, you should do your best.” The three of them immediately stood up and saluted. “This student wouldn’t dare to forget the dean’s teachings!”

Elder Cen motioned them to sit down and then said, “As for the second reason, it was because I wanted to let you meet Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing. I am sure you’ve already heard about them, since I am very fond of them and the county magistrate recognized them as sworn brothers. In the future, regardless of your official position, give this old man some face and protect this family.”

The three students were shocked and even Kang Rui frowned slightly. Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing were also surprised. They were aware of Elder Cen’s protectiveness of them, but they didn’t expect Elder Cen to say it so bluntly in front of the others.

The old man stroked his long beard and said, “In my life, I have had many sorrows and joys, moments of laughter, and anger. I thought I would never be surprised again, but I never thought that I would meet a pair of friends like Yunan and Shijing in my old age. That I and my wife would not feel lonely, even if we don’t have our own children by our side. What’s more, one of their children is my wife’s disciple and the other is this old man’s disciple, so they are almost like my family.”

“Elder Cen!” Shao Yunan exclaimed. Wang Shijing was also shocked, but Jiang Kangning just laughed in understanding after the initial shock. The three students looked at each other, suppressing the surprise and curiosity in their hearts.

Elder Cen showed a loving smile to Shao Yunan. “Wang Qing may not be quick-witted enough, but he is a good boy who is completely devoted to learning. He and Nizi have also comforted my and my wife’s loneliness of not having any grandchildren nearby to love. Yunan, Shijing, I would like to take Qing as my disciple, are you two willing?”

Wang Shijing pulled Shao Yunan and stood up. Shao Yunan’s eyes were actually a little red. Wang Shijing bowed deeply to Elder Cen. “Elder Cen, it is a blessing for this husband and wife pair to be valued by you and even more for my son Qing.” Shao Yunan said with a snuffled voice, “Elder Cen, I want to hug you.”

“Haha.” Elder Cen opened his arms and Shao Yunan stepped forward and bent over. When he hugged Elder Cen, his voice choked. “How can you treat me so well?” Elder Cen’s arms froze, then he laughed out loud. “You little fox, you always try to flatter me.”

“I am telling the truth.”

“Haha.” Elder Cen patted Shao Yunan quite hard. Shao Yunan let go of Elder Cen and straightened up, saying, “Qing has no grandfather, so from now on you will not only be Qing’s teacher, but also his grandfather. While Shijing and I will be your sons.”

This time the person who froze was Elder Cen. Shao Yunan pulled Wang Shijing over. “Elder Cen, Shijing and I don’t have any parents, so we will be filial to you from now on!”

Elder Cen finally came back to his senses and laughed again, with a pleasant smile. “Good! Haha, I’ve changed my mind! This old man is going to recognize you as his adopted sons!”

Shao Yunan sniffled. “No.”

Elder Cen’s face sank. “What did you just say?” Shao Yunan said, “It’s not like you don’t know my family’s situation. If you want to recognize me and Shijing as your sons, you will definitely be in trouble in the future. Shijing and I will just treat you like a father in our hearts. When those troubles no longer exist in the future, we will hold the ceremony of recognizing relatives. Now just choose a good day to accept Qing.”

Elder Cen was speechless as he pointed at Shao Yunan, “You, you, why do you always have so many thoughts. Okay, I’ll listen to you. I will first choose a day to accept Qing as a disciple and when you think it’s suitable, I will let you two become my sons!”

“Father~” Shao Yunan let out a goosebump inducing whine, which made the crowd tremble. But Elder Cen couldn’t help laughing, his heart feeling extremely warm. Shao Yunan’s straightforward ‘flattery’ and thinking for Elder Cen’s sake made all three students have a good impression of him. They naturally wouldn’t take lightly a person liked by Elder Cen. As for the fact that his wife found a father for himself, Wang Shijing left it for him to decide. Elder Cen’s blessing of being a father to the two of them was something that no one else could ask for. But Wang Shijing only felt that his wife was getting more and more powerful.

This recognition of being a father was settled in a half seriousness and half joking manner. Shao Yunan was making a lot of noise, but both he and Elder Cen were clear that this matter was only waiting for the right time. When the atmosphere was restored, Elder Cen continued. “Qing is very diligent in his studies, according to this, it will not be difficult for him to get his child student status. But don’t tell him \ about that yet, so he will not feel proud.”

Shao Yunan nodded and said, “Even if he goes to the Imperial College in the future, I think we should let him take it one step at a time. It is better to start with the child student examination. As long as his understanding is deep, it’s not a problem even if he starts as a child student. If you have knowledge, you should not be afraid of the exam. Being afraid in your heart is a sign of weakness, which means that your studies are not solid enough.”

“Right, right, it’s good for you to think like this.” Elder Cen praised. He liked the manner in which Shao Yunan showed his ambition in certain aspects. Shao Yunan’s awareness made all three students sweat. They were promoted directly to scholars because they went to the Province County school and didn’t need to take the child student examination.

Shao Yunan, also thinking of this point, changed the subject, and said, “Qing has suffered a lot before, but now he is living a good life. If there are shortcuts possible in his studies it would not be good for him. As the saying goes, ‘from frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality is difficult’. In this life, it is impossible for him to return to these hard days of the past, so he has to endure more hardships in his studies. There are still many hardships to be encountered in life, so it’s a good idea to get used to them earlier.

The expression of the people present changed and even Kang Rui’s eyes showed some surprise. Elder Cen also stared at Shao Yunan. “From frugality to luxury is easy… from luxury to frugality is difficult… Good sentence, good sentence! Yunan, what is the source of this saying?”

Shao Yunan paused in his heart and immediately said shamelessly, “No source, I just thought like this.” Everyone looked at Shao Yunan with the same meaning… ‘This person can say such words casually?’ Kang Rui looked at Shao Yunan with a look that no longer held the same contempt as before, while the look of the three scholars were even more different.

The reason why this sentence was known to later generations was because Sima Guang quoted a quote from another person in ‘Discipline and Frugality and Discouragement,’ which made it known to the world. The original source of this quote was unknown to Shao Yunan, but this quote was known to basically everyone in his world. It’s not that Shao Yunan was deliberately shameless, it was because he couldn’t bring out anything written by Sima Guang or other source, so it was better to be a little cheeky, anyway it was not his first time.

Kang Rui, who hadn’t looked at Shao Yunan since the first time he saw him, let alone spoken to him, said, “This is a good sentence! How many scholars have become famous and forgotten their original purpose of being an official, embezzling money and accepting bribes? How many children have become rich and acted recklessly, roaming the countryside, all because of this ‘extravagant’ word.”

“Yes! This is a very good statement!” The three students did not say what was truly in their hearts, but there was admiration on their faces. Their admiration was so great that even Shao Yunan, who had thick skin, could not stand it.

“Haha, good! Good!” Elder Cen laughed openly, no longer knowing what was so good. Jiang Kangning said with a proud expression, “It’s a pity that Yunan didn’t take the examination. After the emperor ascended to the throne, he allowed male wives to take the examination. As long as Shijing agrees, this year’s examination… why don’t you try it out brother Yunan?”

Jiang Kangchen also agreed. “With Elder Cen’s nomination, Brother Yunan can directly take the scholar examination. With brother Yunan, the child student examination would be condescending.”

Kang Rui and the three students all spoke up and encouraged Shao Yunan to take this year’s exam. But Elder Cen did not say anything, waiting for Shao Yunan’s own decision, while Wang Shijing held Shao Yunan’s hand hard and stared at him. Shao Yunan did not look at Wang Shijing, but smiled and said, “I still like to be a farmer. Although I have some knowledge, it is far from the one needed on the examination to obtain a reputation. I also have no big ambition. Doing my small business and having a family is already very satisfying to me. Besides, in three hundred and sixty trades, every trade can produce a unique talent. I don’t want to be a scholar, but I want to help others to study. If we all become scholars, the country will not progress.”

Shao Yunan’s last two words overturned the perception of everyone present. Elder Cen clapped his hands. “Three hundred and sixty trades and every one can produce a unique talent… Yunan just due to you saying that you are qualified to be a scholar of education!”

“We are ashamed of ourselves, ashamed of ourselves.” The three students who originally came here with a curious mind, truly felt ashamed.

Kang Rui looked at Shao Yunan’s eyes glowing, but his mouth retorted. “Scholars, farmers, and merchants. Scholars are the leaders. The reason why scholars study is to gain fame, serve the court, and contribute to the country. If all people were like Shao Yunan, wouldn’t it mean that there would be no officials in our dynasty? If there were no officials, how can we talk about progress?”

Shao Yunan knew that Kang Rui had always looked down on him and did not understand why Elder Cen was defending their family. Now he could also clearly see that Kang Rui was deliberately trying to quiz him. Even if he continued to be thick-skinned, he shouldn’t be showing his cowardice. Since he was going to be tested, then everyone should take part in the debate. Anyway, up to now, his ‘change’ didn’t raise many questions. Even Elder Cen and Jiang Kangning, who knew there was something fishy, had not poked around. Shao Yunan couldn’t help, but boldly guess that these people may want his ‘different perspective.’

Thinking this way, he no longer felt worried.

Edited by: Jaisland

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