Confucian Cultivator Under One Person

Fu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "It seems like there are seven daughters... Hehehe!"

Feng Yao was speechless. "I know you're thinking about the story of the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong. I can't possibly spy on them bathing and take their clothes like Dong Yong did... You're the instructor at Chen Family Academy, after all. Don't you have any information at all?"

Fu Yuan shook his head and said, "The Chen family is conservative, and feudal ethics prevail. Their daughters don't even go out of the house, let alone go to school. Anyway, I haven't seen any of them..."

Having said that, Fu Yuan deliberately looked at Feng Yao's expression, and saw that there was no sign of disappointment on his face. Instead, he looked at him with anticipation.

The two people who understand each other also have their bad points.

Fu Yuan sighed and said, "I heard... I just heard from the children in the school that the third young lady categorically refused to bind her feet. She was even punished and had the Buddhist temple closed down, but she didn't give in."

Feng Yao slammed the table and said, "Third Miss, right? I've got that!"

……

The next day, the Chen family began to prepare for the wedding, and the person getting married was the third daughter of the Chen family.

The Chen family is said to be conservative, but in fact it is nothing more than a conflict of interests. They are conservative because innovation will harm their own interests.

This era was a period of intense collision between new and old ideas. The upper class lived a lifestyle similar to that of the West, advocating new ideas and new culture, while the lower class's lifestyle and ideological beliefs were no different from the past few hundred years.

The Chen family undoubtedly belongs to the upper class. Although they are conservative, this does not affect the fact that several of the Chen family's sons are now studying abroad in the West, nor does it affect the strict hierarchy and numerous rules in the family.

Ultimately, it’s all about interests!

Being able to marry their daughter to Feng Yao is, to put it bluntly, also a matter of interest. The people in Chenjiazhuang don't understand why the Chen family would fall in love with a poor boy who grew up in Yizhuang, has no parents, no money and no power, but Fu Yuan knows the reason very well.

Feng Yao possessed extraordinary abilities, and in later words, he was an extraordinary person.

In the eyes of the Chen family, using a daughter they don't value to win over an outsider is a worthwhile deal!

In addition to a daughter, the Chen family also gave a lot of dowry, including a yard, which was directly given to Feng Yao and his wife to live in.

The courtyard is also in Chenjiazhuang, right next to the Chen family. Feng Yao's wedding was held in this courtyard.

The wedding was prepared for a month. Miss Chen San was born to a concubine after all, so there were not many guests. However, Master Chen also sent someone to deliver a gift for Feng Yao.

Fu Yuan was also invited to the wedding, but he never saw Miss Chen San's true face from the beginning to the end. It was not until the next day when Feng Yao invited Fu Yuan to his home for a drink that Fu Yuan knew what Miss Chen San looked like.

She is naturally good-looking, and has the gentle temperament of a lady from a noble family, but she also has a hint of stubbornness that ordinary women of this era do not have!

Feng Yao took Miss Chen San and toasted Fu Yuan with a glass of wine. He said to her, "Just call him A Yuan. He and I are very compatible. If you have any trouble in the future, just go to him directly."

Fu Yuan glanced at Feng Yao, then stood up and picked up the wine glass. He said, "Hello, sister-in-law. My surname is Chen, and I am also from Chenjiazhuang. Although I don't know how many generations I have been away from, my ancestors are of the same clan as the Chen family. There is no need for us to be so formal."

Miss Chen San looked at Fu Yuan shyly, without saying a word. She just took a sip of wine and said goodbye.

After everyone left, Feng Yao spoke up, "I'll be away from home in the future, and I hope Ayuan will take good care of the family."

Fu Yuan was amused and asked, "You just got married and you're already thinking of leaving?"

Feng Yao drank a glass of wine and said, "Actually, I've had this idea for a long time, but my master wants me to get married before traveling. Isn't it said to "start a family and build a career"? Now that I have a family, I naturally want to go out and start a career."

Fu Yuan was silent. Staying by his wife's side was a concept he had only come up with later. In this era, men focus on their careers and stay away from home all year round, leaving women to stay at home.

"Speaking of which, Ayuan, what are your plans?" Feng Yao suddenly asked, "Do you really intend to be a lifelong mentor in the Chen family?"

Fu Yuan held the wine glass in his hand and was silent for a long time before he sighed and said, "I will leave my life to fate. Don't worry about the customs of Qin and Han."

The general idea is that one is stubborn and stupid and cannot adapt to the times.

Fu Yuan's words were vague, but Feng Yao understood what he meant in an instant and wondered, "In such a world, doesn't Ayuan want to make a career?"

Fu Yuan sighed and said, "It is precisely because of the way the world is... I am a Confucian scholar!"

After thousands of years of evolution, Confucianism has now become closely linked with the ruling class and imperial power, but this era has just overthrown the imperial power.

Fu Yuan explained: "My understanding of Confucianism is that it has nothing to do with imperial power, but the world doesn't think so, so there is bound to be some debate.

Nowadays, new and old ideas are colliding, and the new ideas are just in the enlightenment stage. If I achieve something, the new ideas will not only be nipped in the bud, but their growth will also suffer many setbacks.

If I don't achieve anything, I'll just be crushed by the tide of the times... If that's the case, I might as well just stay in ignorance."

Feng Yao understood and sighed with regret, "I will leave this body to the fate of the times, keeping my heart light and listening to the voice of the world... Respectfully, A Yuan!"

Fu Yuan raised his glass: "Cheers to this world!"

Whitebeard said it well, in the new era, there is no ship that can carry the remnants of the old era!

Chapter 119 Entrustment

Feng Yao and Miss Chen San were newly married and their life was very sweet.

Apart from hanging out with Miss Chen San, Feng Yao spends his free time drinking and chatting with Fu Yuan. Apart from that, he has nothing else to do.

The Chen family is attracted by Feng Yao's extraordinary strength, but they will not let the family become a stepping stone for Feng Yao, and naturally they will not give Feng Yao any rights.

To put it bluntly, the Chen family wants to worship Feng Yao, but will not let Feng Yao interfere in the affairs of the Chen family.

Everything Feng Yao ate and drank was Miss Chen San's dowry. In later times, Feng Yao was described as a gigolo, a Phoenix man.

People who don't understand Feng Yao's strength will naturally gossip about him behind his back. Feng Yao had anticipated this, otherwise he wouldn't have planned to go out the day after the wedding. Naturally, he could keep a calm mind.

A month after the marriage, Fu Yuan gradually became familiar with Miss Chen San.

On this day, Feng Yao took Fu Yuan out for a drink as usual. After Miss Chen San brought the wine and food, she did not leave but sat down at the table.

As soon as Fu Yuan saw this, he knew that Feng Yao was about to leave.

Sure enough, the first glass of wine was toasted by Feng Yao and Miss Chen San, who stood up and toasted Fu Yuan.

Fu Yuan raised his glass and stood up.

Feng Yao said, "Ayuan, I'm going to go out for a walk. I'll be taking care of the house!"

Miss Chen San also said: "Please forgive me if I bother Ayuan in the future."

Fu Yuan said seriously, "I will make sure my sister-in-law is safe!"

After drinking a glass of wine, both parties sat down again.

Fu Yuan then asked, "As the saying goes, 'A journey must have a destination.' Where do you plan to go first?"

Feng Yao took out a newspaper, put it on the table, and said, "Shuzhong!"

Fu Yuan didn't see anything else, but he noticed the huge word "Hometown" on the newspaper. He took it and took a look. Sure enough, the author was Lu Xun.

In this era, Lu Xun was still alive and was still wielding his pen, arguing with others through newspapers.

Fu Yuan couldn't help but blurt out, "It seems we can no longer casually say 'Lu Xun said'."

Did Lu Xun say it? Lu Xun himself knows.

Miss Chen San was confused and didn't know why Fu Yuan suddenly said such a thing.

But Feng Yao understood instantly, taking a deep breath and saying, "You scholars keep saying 'Zi said' all the time... Your words make me doubt, did Zi really say that?"

"As long as there's no way to verify it, Confucius has already said it!"

Fu Yuan pointed to a line of words on the newspaper and said, "Look here, Lu Xun said, 'Originally there are no roads in the world, but when more people walk on it, it becomes a road.

Mencius said: The paths in the mountains can be used to make a way, but if they are not used, they will be blocked by weeds.

The paths on the hillsides are often walked on and become a path. If no one walks on it for a while, it will be blocked by thatch again.

If Lu Xun said Confucius said, can you say Confucius never said this?

Feng Yao was speechless and said, "Okay, I can't argue with you."

Fu Yuan then put away the newspaper with satisfaction and said, "Sister-in-law, where did you get this newspaper?"

Miss Chen San pursed her lips and chuckled, "My uncle brought it here from the county town. No one at home wanted to read it, so I brought it here. If Yuan wants to read it, I'll get it later."

Fu Yuan did not refuse and said, "Then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law."

Feng Yao said from the side: "It's not that troublesome. I'll tell my uncle later and I'll send you a copy of the newspaper next time."

"It's all right."

After a meal and a drink, Feng Yao left Chenjiazhuang early the next morning, carrying a small bag.

Fu Yuan was still his enlightenment teacher at Chen's school as usual, teaching the little kids to learn to read, mostly "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Names", "Thousand Character Classic", "Rules for Disciples" and so on.

Although it seems to be an easy-to-understand enlightenment book, with Fu Yuan's level of attainment, he can always see the profound meaning in it, which corresponds to "reviewing the past to learn new things."

From this perspective, Zhu Xi's annotations to the Six Classics have their own logic. So in his spare time, Fu Yuan took out the books he had used to prepare for the imperial examination.

What remained unchanged was that every day Fu Yuan would deliberately pass by Feng Yao's yard, without entering the house, but would greet Miss Chen San across the yard.

While keeping a distance, he clearly told the people in Chenjiazhuang that Miss Chen San was protected by someone.

Miss Chen San also knew her limits and would never cause trouble for Fu Yuan unless it was absolutely necessary.

……

At the end of the year, Feng Yao returned, having accomplished nothing.

But privately, Feng Yao told Fu Yuan that he had joined Quan Xing, and at the same time explained Quan Xing's style in detail.

After he finished speaking, Fu Yuan said, "He doesn't sound like a good person."

Feng Yao, however, didn't care at all and said, "Quan Xing is not a good person. Anyway, I have been with several Quan Xings for more than half a year and haven't seen a single good person."

Fu Yuan asked doubtfully, "Then why don't you join those famous and upright sects?"

Feng Yao held his wine glass in silence for a moment, then said, "Those sects' disciples are trained from a young age. People like us can't join. Only Quanxing will accept them. Besides..."

At this point, Feng Yao took a deep breath and said, "I've discovered that good people are all the same, but bad people are all unique. 'All things are created together, and I observe their return.' Only by following the bad guys of Quan Xing can I see more."

Fu Yuan nodded in agreement and said, "A person will always be constantly wavering between being in and out of the world, like a snake shedding its skin, shedding the calluses in their hearts layer by layer.

Therefore, many elderly people often show exceptional kindness and goodness, even if they were ruthless and murderous when they were young.

Feng Yao said excitedly, "I just want to see how the evil people in Quan Xing behave after they shed the 'evil' in their hearts... I want to be the leader of Quan Xing. I want to help them shed the 'evil' in their hearts!"

Fu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The key to education lies not in reason but in practice. Laozi once said, 'When laws and regulations are promulgated, thieves and bandits will proliferate.' This is the opposite of education."

I do nothing, and the people are naturally transformed; I have no desires, and the people are naturally simple. This is the natural flow of transformation."

Feng Yao nodded after some thought and said, "So I just need to wait quietly until they reach the extreme point, and then give them a push!"

Seeing that Feng Yao understood, Fu Yuan warned him again: "Since you have been traveling the world, you are bound to have grudges and hatreds. Remember, don't bring these messy things to Chenjiazhuang, so as not to bring disaster to your wife and children."

Feng Yao said: "Of course, when I go out, I always go by the name 'Wu Gensheng'. No one in Quanxing knows my real name."

Fu Yuan praised: "Nothingness is the beginning of all things, and existence is the root of all things. The interplay of existence and nothingness is called Xuan. What a good name!"