Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 576 Gratitude

After a pause, Song Yuan continued, "But there is one thing I don't quite understand.

After we entered the school and performed the ceremony of paying respect to our teacher, Mr. He asked us why we were studying. One of my classmates answered, "I just want to improve myself if I am poor, and help the world if I am rich." Mr. He's expression changed immediately, but he didn't say much. I don't understand what's wrong with this statement.

Mr. He was He Guang, a lecturer at the academy. He was also the person in charge of examining Song Yuan and other children that day. He was also the one who taught Yuan Qing the Four Books.

"Our academy inherits the Confucian tradition. We read nothing but the Five Classics and the books of Confucius and Mencius, and we teach nothing but the teachings of the masters of Lian (Zhou Dunyi), Luo (the two Cheng brothers), Guan (Zhang Zai), and Min (Zhu Xi).

Mr. He was unhappy because although this sentence came from "Mencius", it was borrowed by Mr. Yangming as a raft for the School of Mind. When he talked about "reaching the conscience" in "Instructions for Practical Living", he deliberately connected the chapter on poverty and wealth in "Mencius" with the chapter on the study of things in "The Great Learning".

Nowadays, Wang's philosophy is prevalent among the people, so this statement seems a bit offensive to the masters of Neo-Confucianism. However, it cannot be said to be wrong, after all, this statement comes from "Mencius" and is also the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

"So that's how it is." Song Yuan suddenly realized.

Song Tian hadn't even finished his introductory courses, so naturally he couldn't tell the difference between Lianxue, Luoxue, and Guanxue. However, he still grasped the key point, "It's just that your butt isn't in the right place, right?"

Yuan Qing: "..."

Song Yuan: "..."

Yuan Qing cleared his throat and continued, "You must pay extra attention when reading the book 'Mencius'. When the Ming Dynasty was first established, Emperor Taizu ordered the deletion of nearly 30% of the book 'Mencius'. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the original text was gradually restored, and it was not until the Zhengtong period that the 'Jiewen' was completely abolished."

"Isn't Mencius the second-best sage? Why did Emperor Taizu do this?" Song Yuan was stunned and asked curiously, "What content was deleted?"

"In the second part of 'Exerting One's Mind', the people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important; in the second part of 'Li Lou', if the king treats his subjects like dirt, then the subjects will treat the king like an enemy; in the second part of 'The King of Liang Hui', we have heard of the execution of Zhou, but we have never heard of the murder of a king..."

Yuan Qing listed a few and did not elaborate, but Song Yuan immediately grasped the key point, "They are all remarks that may threaten the imperial power."

Yuan Qing nodded and continued, "Although we are not in the Taizu era now, and we will not delve into these remarks, Mr. Yangming transformed many contents of the book Mencius into the teachings of the School of Mind. When you read and write, you must pay special attention to the contents of the book Mencius and avoid committing taboos."

Song Yuan agreed, "I'll look for some books on the philosophy of mind later. Besides the Instructions for Practical Living, do you have any other recommendations for Mr. Yangming's books?"

Yuan Qing's eyebrows furrowed, and he felt a little regretful for telling Song Yuan all this. If he had read the Book of Mind and abandoned the principles to follow his heart, his career path would not have been smooth.

He advised worriedly, "Although the School of Mind is popular among the people, it is still a minor trend. Just learn about it. The imperial examinations should still be based on the School of Principle."

The next day, when Song Ying and others arrived home, it was almost noon and the food was almost ready. They just had to wait for everyone to arrive before starting to eat.

This time, Li didn't scold her for being sneaky and not coming home on time like she did in previous years. She just muttered, "The food is getting cold."

Thus, the Song family reunion dinner this year was unusually peaceful. The midday sun shone brightly on the white meat drizzled with red oil. Second Uncle Song was refreshed and said with a smile, "It seems that our family will have great fortune next year."

Li and Yang nodded repeatedly at these auspicious words. Yang smiled and put a piece of meat into Song Yuan's bowl. "This is really a run of good fortune! Yingwa has reached the age of marriage, and her fiancé is a young scholar. Tianwa is working in the government, and Yuanwa is studying in the academy. They all have bright futures."

Unfortunately, this joyful peace only lasted for a short time.

After dinner, Song Ying sat in the yard to bask in the sun. Yang brought a plate of melon seeds over and sat down beside her. "Yingwa, I have something to tell you."

Song Ying raised her eyebrows, a little surprised. Yang had never talked to her directly about this, and she still looked so serious.

It was for the sake of Song Tian and Song Yuan's future that they wanted her to contribute, and it was through Grandma Li that she was just playing a supporting role.

"You say."

While handing her the melon seeds, Yang said earnestly, "I wanted to tell you this when you were coming of age. Doctor Lin treats you well, and you should be grateful. How could you just accept such a valuable jade pendant like that?

If you don't even try to refuse, people will say our Song family girls are greedy."

Song Ying had heard this kind of social etiquette since she was a child, but now she didn't want to hear it anymore. She asked, "Do you mean that I should pretend to decline and then accept it, or should I just refuse it outright?"

Yang's expression stiffened for a moment. "It's too expensive. We can't afford it, so we'll try our best to refuse it if we can."

'Try your best to refuse' means that you still can't bear to really refuse.

Song Ying smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I can afford to pay back anything no matter how valuable it is."

Yang was speechless for a moment, then changed her train of thought and said, "I know you've become successful now and look down on the principles your grandmother and I taught you, but the things passed down from generation to generation have their own wisdom.

The affection between people must be maintained. We can't just let one side make the sacrifices. That won't last long."

This set of logic sounded reasonable, but for some reason, Song Ying felt annoyed from the bottom of her heart. She had heard Li and Yang say this since she was a child, and she had done this, but it was of no use.

Li and Yang only think that her gratitude is taken for granted, and that nothing she has done is enough to repay their kindness. This set of principles passed down from generation to generation has brought her pain, humiliation, and the huge pressure of being unable to repay the kindness.

On the contrary, she felt most comfortable getting along with her master. The things her master gave her were tokens of his heart, and she accepted them with joy. The things she gave to her master, within her means, no matter how valuable they were, were also happily accepted by her master. He did not feel that she was repaying a favor, and he did not measure whether the value of what he gave was equal to what he received.

She took a breath, stared into Yang's eyes and said, "Didn't you say that Master treats me like a mother? If a mother gives her daughter a jade pendant, shouldn't the daughter be grateful?"

"That's just what you say. After all, she is not your mother, so how can they be the same?" Yang frowned, feeling that Song Ying was becoming less and less self-aware as he grew older.

"Oh~ Second Aunt said she treated me like her own daughter before, but was that just talk?"

Yang was speechless for a moment, and hurriedly explained: "I am your second aunt, we are family, so naturally I am different from outsiders."

Song Ying didn't want to listen to her clichés. "In my heart, Master is my family. She truly raised me as her own daughter, and I also consider her my mother from the bottom of my heart. She taught me and raised me, and I honor her and respect her. This is how we get along as master and disciple. Being too grateful will only make us seem distant and hurt the relationship between us."