The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 58: Far-reaching plans

"Woo."

After being scolded by the old scholar, Dong Bai had no choice but to continue lying on the table, copying scriptures and books whose meanings he did not understand.

"Straighten your back!"

Dong Bai, who was already feeling aggrieved, could no longer hold back after being scolded by the other party, and tears as big as beans kept rolling up and down in his eyes.

But the old scholar simply raised his eyes slightly upwards, thinking, out of sight, out of mind.

At this moment, Dong Zhuo also came to the outside of the school as soon as he entered the fortress.

When the old scholar saw Dong Zhuo, he just nodded slightly and said nothing else.

Dong Bai also saw Dong Zhuo's figure out of the corner of his eye, and immediately looked up at Dong Zhuo with his big watery eyes, as if asking for help from his grandfather.

Dong Zhuo's hardest heart melted when he saw Dong Bai's look, so he made tentative eye contact with the old Confucian scholar.

But the old scholar just shifted his gaze elsewhere, as if to say, "I didn't see you, Grand Master."

Seeing the other party like this, Dong Zhuo looked at his granddaughter apologetically for the last time and turned away.

Dong Bai never expected that his grandfather, who had always loved him, would leave him like this, and he finally burst into tears with a "wow".

"I don't want to study, I want to go play with my grandfather!"

Tears rolled down her face and fell onto the bamboo slips, blurring the ink on them.

The old scholar took a calm look.

"The handwriting is illegible, so this copy doesn't count. Write another one!"

"Ouch!!!"

……

Dong Zhuo, who had not walked far, also heard Dong Bai's crying. The big Han master, who could kill people without blinking an eye, suddenly felt a tremor in his heart and wished he could go back and hug his granddaughter right away.

But when he thought of the old Confucian scholar sitting opposite Dong Bai, Dong Zhuo gritted his teeth and quickly walked out of the school.

"What Bojie said before is right. I usually spoil Bai too much. Girls should be more reasonable."

Dong Bai's teacher was Cai Yong, the Confucian scholar whom Dong Zhuo trusted second most before him.

Compared to Wang Yun who was good at government affairs, Cai Yong's ability lay entirely in literature.

Cai Yong once continued to write "Dongguan Hanji" and engraved "Xiping Stone Classics", and was evaluated by Taichang Ma Riti as "a rare talent who knows a lot about Han affairs". In today's world, when it comes to classics, there may be great Confucian scholars such as Zheng Xuan and Kong Rong who can be compared with Cai Yong, but when it comes to literature, history, and even music, poetry, and calligraphy, Cai Yong is really the best and the best among the Han people.

Moreover, Cai Yong was an upright person with a strict family tradition. With such a person teaching Dong Bai, Dong Zhuo could feel at ease even if he was a little strict on weekdays.

But even so, Dong Zhuo was still quite worried about Dong Bai's crying just now. Even the sweet yogurt drink seemed like plain water when he poured it into his mouth, without any taste at all.

After several hours had passed and the sky had grown darker, Dong Zhuo finally saw the angry figure of his own Dong Bai.

Dong Zhuo bent down with great effort and spread out his hands, wanting to be intimate with Dong Bai.

Unexpectedly, Dong Bai ignored Dong Zhuo completely. He turned his head away angrily and vented his anger on Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhuo had no choice but to walk over in person, slowly bent his knees which he hadn't bent for many years, and half squatted on the ground: "What's wrong? Who messed with my baby?"

Dong Bai raised his fist and punched Dong Zhuo: "Grandfather, you ask even though you already know the answer!"

Seeing that Dong Bai was willing to talk to him, Dong Zhuo immediately smiled and said, "Yes, yes, it's my grandfather's fault. But your teacher is a capable person. Even if you look around the whole world, it's hard to find someone who can surpass him in knowledge. You should learn from him well." Dong Bai pouted and said, "He's just a fierce old man. How can he be considered a capable person? The things he taught me are all stupid. I don't have the heart to learn them."

Dong Zhuo rubbed Dong Bai's head and said, "How can there be such stupid knowledge in this world? It must be that you haven't learned it thoroughly."

Hearing his grandfather questioning him, Dong Bai immediately became unhappy and argued vigorously: "That's right!"

Dong Zhuo was afraid that Dong Bai would get angry at him again, so he quickly coaxed him, "Okay, okay, it's just some stupid knowledge."

However, Dong Bai also heard Dong Zhuo's perfunctory response, so he argued: "Today, Master Cai taught me the "Instructions for Women"!"

"'Nujie' is a family motto created by everyone in the class. How could it contain such stupid principles?"

"Of course!"

Dong Bai's eyes welled up with tears again. It was obvious that she had just argued with Cai Yong about the principles in this family motto, but she was probably taught a terrible lesson by Cai Yong.

"Grandfather, in the Instructions for Women it is said that on the third day after a girl is born, she should be laid under the bed, played with tiles and bricks, and fasted and announced to the ancestors. Laying her under the bed shows that she is humble and weak, and will be a servant. Playing with tiles and bricks shows that she is used to hard work, and will be diligent. Fasting and announcing to the ancestors shows that she will be the successor of the sacrifices!"

"Is it really right to do this? At least my grandfather never treated me like this!"

A few months after a girl is born, she is made to lie under the bed, with a spinning spindle as a toy, and the birth of a girl is reported to the ancestral temple. Sleeping under the bed is to show that she is weak and of low status. Giving her tiles is to show that women should work hard and do not mind the hardship. Reporting the ancestors is to show that she has to prepare wine and food to help her husband offer sacrifices.

But who is Dong Bai?

Dong Zhuo's descendants died early, and Dong Bai is Dong Zhuo's only blood relative in the world. Who dares to let her sleep on the floor, play with garbage, and do odd jobs?

It is no exaggeration to say that Liu Xie, who is now the emperor, may not be as well-off as Dong Zhuo's beloved daughter in terms of food, clothing and daily expenses...

So it was really difficult for Dong Bai to understand the meaning of these words.

Dong Zhuo looked embarrassed at this time.

If it is about etiquette or military strategy, he can still talk to Dong Bai about it.

But "The Commandments for Women"... he really has never learned this thing!

Dong Zhuo just touched Dong Bai's hair and said, "It's okay. Just listen to the principles in the book. If you really do it, you will become a fool!"

"Cough cough!"

Just as Dong Zhuo was chirping, Cai Yong's cough was heard from behind.

Seeing Cai Yong coming, Dong Bai immediately hid behind Dong Zhuo and made faces at Cai Yong.

Dong Zhuo also knew that what he had just said might have been heard by the other party, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"Lord Weiyang, I should have explained this to you just now. The words of the Ban family are to help women gain a good reputation after they marry into their husband's family. This reputation is not for women themselves, but for their offspring. As the saying goes, if you worry about your children, you will have far-reaching plans. If a mother has a good reputation, it will be the greatest help to her offspring! If the mother has a bad reputation, how can her offspring live with dignity?"

"Besides, Ban is a woman herself, how could she belittle herself? Her remarks are all sacrifices made by the elders for their children and grandchildren!"

After teaching Dong Bai a lesson, Cai Yong said to Dong Zhuo in a serious tone: "These words are also my advice to the Grand Master."

"If you have a reputation, you can get twice the result with half the effort. If you don't have a reputation, you can get half the result with twice the effort."

"If a person only pursues profit and disregards reputation, what he leaves behind for future generations will surely be endless disasters!"

Dong Zhuo's expression was solemn: "I will definitely keep Bo Ji's words in mind."

(End of this chapter)