Chapter 804: Uprightness and Peace in the World
My mentor Xu Jie had to sell bath buckets to help him pay the fine. How could Zhu Pingan not be "horrified" and "cry with gratitude"?
“Once a teacher, always a father. Speaking of which, you can be considered half of my younger brother. Why are you so polite to our old man?” Xu Fan patted Zhu Pingan’s shoulder familiarly. He acts like an elder brother.
Ahem...
You really can't stop talking without surprising words...
Zhu Ping'an listened to Xu Fan's words and almost missed a somersault. Why did he become half your brother in the blink of an eye? The slope was too fast and he couldn't keep up...
"Zihou is here, you go first Sit down and wait for me to finish writing this. "
When Zhu Ping'an went into the study to visit Xu Jie, Xu Jie was writing. He was wearing a set of gray and white gauze uniforms and a black square soft hat, looking like a Confucian scholar. A common attire for virgins. After seeing Zhu Pingan come in, Xu Jie nodded and asked Zhu Pingan to sit down, then lowered his head and continued writing.
"Teacher, you are busy."
Zhu Pingan bowed his hands and bowed before sitting down.
"Dad, your handwriting is really good. You have the style of Wang Xiyan." Xu Fan saw Xu Jie like a mouse seeing a cat. He stepped forward to help him grind the ink and glanced at Xu Jie. As soon as Jie wrote the words, he started to flatter me.
Xu Jie stopped writing and glanced at Xu Fan. Xu Fan smiled in apology and shrank his neck angrily.
In just three to five minutes, Xu Jie finished writing, put the brush on the pen holder, and waved to Zhu Pingan to come closer.
Zhu Ping'an approached and saw that Xu Jie had just written a couplet:
With righteousness, the world is peaceful;
The breeze on my sleeves makes me sleep peacefully.
Xu Jie is written in regular script. The regular script is neat and fits the couplets. Xu Jie’s regular script is very good and his calligraphy is no less than that of Yan Song. As Xu Fan said, Xu Jie’s calligraphy includes Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing. The feeling is the essence of Yan Zhenqing's regular script and the spirit of Wang Xizhi's regular script.
"How about this couplet from the old man Zi Houjue?" Xu Jie waited for Zhu Pingan to approach and asked Zhu Pingan to comment on the couplet he wrote.
"Lian is like a person, he is full of righteousness. His words are full of aura, and his face is full of spirit." Zhu Ping'an said seriously.
Zhu Pingan's comments are very consistent with the couplet and are not just flattery. The content of Xu Jie's couplet is about righteousness and incorruptibility, and the regular script font has the style of Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing. To be precise, it is the bones of Yan Zhenqing and the spirit of Wang Xizhi, and the whole has an awe-inspiring righteousness.
After Zhu Pingan finished his comments, Xu Jie shook his head with a smile.
"Dad, look, Zihou said the same thing." Xu Fan was overjoyed when he heard this. The Yan Guxishen Zhu Pingan said was similar to the flattery he just flattered, so he excitedly said Xu Jie said, "My son was not talking nonsense just now."
"If you were half as rich, I would be relieved." Xu Jie glared at Xu Fan with a look of disgust on his face.
"Ahem, my teacher said this, and the student is so ashamed." Zhu Pingan said with an embarrassed look.
"He should be the one who is ashamed." Xu Jie smiled slightly.
Xu Fan looked indifferent, probably because he was used to being beaten by Xu Jie.
Okay.
Hitting means kissing and scolding means loving.
Zhu Ping'an finally understood. Although Xu Jie looked disgusted with Xu Fan, he must be very satisfied with this eldest son in his heart.
Next, Zhu Pingan commented on the couplet again, this time more carefully. However, Xu Jie still smiled and shook his head.
"Students are stupid, so please ask your teacher for guidance." Zhu Pingan looked at it for a moment, shook his head, and said frankly with a frustrated look on his face.
“Oh, I discovered, Ping An, the end of the couplet is the word ‘Ping An’.” Xu Fan’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had discovered a new world, he pointed to the end of the first and second lines and said loudly.
A person with righteousness will bring peace to the world;
The breeze in my sleeves will make me sleep peacefully.
Zhu Pingan then noticed that the first line of the couplet written by Xu Jie ended with "ping" and the second line ended with "an". It was really the word "ping" that implied his own name. This was Xu Jie A couplet written to yourself? Zhu Ping'an looked up at Xu Jie.
"You did a very good job in Taicang. You are ahead of the curve, which brings honor to my face. I wrote this couplet for you. I wanted someone to send it to your house. Since you are here, it will save you trouble. I will go directly to you later. Take it back." Xu Jie smiled and nodded, looking at Zhu Pingan with satisfaction.
"The student is ashamed and does not deserve this couplet from the teacher." Zhu Pingan said with a cupped hand.
"You have done a great job. Taicang has been suffering from malpractice for many years, and it is time for it to be cured. With your inspection of the treasury, you have struck a chord, and brought the disease-ridden finances of the Ming Dynasty back to life." Xu Jie stroked his beard and admired Zhu Pingan's errand of checking the library.
"The student is ashamed. This time it just happened to happen, and it also caused the teacher to be fined six thousand taels of silver. The student really has no face to meet his teacher." Zhu Pingan pleaded guilty.
"Money is something external to the body, not to mention six thousand taels, it doesn't matter if it is my entire net worth. Taking it from me will benefit the world, and this is a shameful thing." Xu Jie waved his hand indifferently.
"Besides, it is an indisputable fact that the treasurers and censors took bribes and enriched their own pockets. I also heard about it back then. However, during the routine inspection of the treasury, there was a flood in the south of the Yangtze River and mourning flooded the land. I was borrowed by my mentor Xia Gong. I was transferred to Jiangnan for disaster relief and failed to participate in the bank inspection. By the time I came back from the disaster relief, the bank bank inspection had already been completed. Even so, I was guilty of negligence and should have been fined. What does it have to do with you?" Xu Jie continued.
This is indeed the case. Xu Jie also served as Chaku envoy back then. However, before Xu Jie took office, serious floods occurred in Jiangnan. Xu Jie’s teacher, Xia Yan, who was the chief assistant at the time, My hometown in Jiangxi is under the influence of floods. There was a flood in his hometown, so special care must be taken, so Xia Yan transferred his most trusted student, Xu Jie, to his hometown to provide disaster relief.
So, before Xu Jie, who was supposed to check the treasury, arrived in Taicang to take up his post, he was transferred to Jiangnan for disaster relief by an official document. By the time Xu Jie came back from the disaster relief work, the other treasury inspectors had already finished checking the bank treasury.
So, to be honest, Xu Jie's fine this time was really a mistake.
"Oh, by the way, Zihou, you were also fined more than one hundred taels of silver, can you collect it all?" Xu Jie looked at Zhu Pingan with concern and asked. Before Zhu Pingan could reply, Xu Jie Then he turned to Xu Fan and said, "Fan'er, go and pay one hundred taels of silver into your account, and let Zi Hou take it back with you later."
"Thank you very much, teacher. I am very grateful. However, I don't dare to worry about my teacher any more. Ping An has already been prepared." Zhu Ping'an thanked Xu Jie.
"Well, just get it together." Xu Jie nodded, "You have made great achievements this time, but you were still fined silver. I know you were wronged, but you can't blame the Holy One. This It is also for the sake of the overall situation. Once a precedent is set, it will be difficult to implement the fine."
"The student understands." Zhu Ping'an nodded. (End of this chapter)