The younger sister-in-law falsely accused the sickly uncle and ran away with the baby

Dean Lin looked at the two of them and had no intention of helping Shen Chou.

Yu Ruyue had never thought that there was school bullying in ancient times, and she was furious. Liang Shulan was so angry that she wanted to take action.

Shen Chou smiled and stepped forward, giving Dean Lin a standard student salute. "Master! Before I answer you, I would like to first answer what this gentleman just said!"

Dean Lin nodded, "Okay! Go ahead!"

Shen Chou bowed respectfully to the two scholars, "My dear brothers!"

"I believe that you all have not understood the doctrine of the mean."

"In Chapter 33 of the book, a poem says: 'Even brocade is embroidered. I hate the conspicuousness of its pattern. Therefore, the way of the gentleman is obscure yet increasingly brilliant; the way of the villain is clear yet increasingly extinguished. The way of the gentleman is plain yet not boring, simple yet elegant, warm yet rational...'"

"If you read this paragraph, you should know that the way of a gentleman is to be plain in appearance without being offensive, to be simple in appearance while possessing literary talent within!"

"Confucius said, 'I judged people by their words, and I lost Zai Yu; I judged people by their appearance, and I lost Zi Yu.'"

"So, my two friends, please don't judge people by their appearance!"

After Shen Chou finished speaking, he saluted Dean Lin again and said, "I will continue to respond to Dean Lin's previous question. I believe that the most important sentence is: The doctrine of the mean values harmony, and the way of a gentleman values keeping to the middle."

Dean Lin laughed heartily, his eyes full of admiration. "Hahaha! What a great example of valuing peace!"

"No wonder Ruyue keeps praising you. You're truly amazing. Bring your things to school tomorrow. Someone will arrange everything for you. Go ahead!"

Shen Chou immediately bowed and left, while the two scholars who were causing trouble were extremely angry.

What a great saying that harmony is the most important thing!

If they continue to refute, they will violate the gentleman's doctrine of the mean and the principle of harmony. They can only shut up and stop talking.

Yu Ruyue and a few others witnessed the whole process and looked at Shen Chou with admiration.

Especially Yu Shi and Yu Tian, they realized for the first time that quarreling could be so easy and civilized. It only took two sentences to silence the scholar who looked down on them. At this moment, they had a deeper yearning for reading and calligraphy.

However, Dean Lin still did not make any arrangements for them, and they felt a little disappointed.

After leaving the academy, Yu Ruyue hurriedly comforted her two brothers, "Big brother, second brother, don't worry, Dean Lin is not a man who goes back on his word. Since he promised, he will definitely do it!"

"Actually, I don't ask you to have excellent grades. I just hope you can learn more words, understand more principles, broaden your horizons, and have more confidence when talking to others in the future, so that you won't be a frog in a well!"

Yu Shi and Yu Tian seemed to have opened the door to a new world. They not only saw the gap between themselves and their peers, but also saw the opportunity to move towards another life.

My sister is right. They used to be like frogs in a well, only able to see a small piece of the world, and even thought that this small piece of the world was everything.

But now, their sister had pulled them out of the well with her own hands, making them realize how narrow their previous vision was.

The two of them remained silent as they rode the ox cart back home.

As a result, as soon as she reached the entrance of the village, she saw Zhou Huan with a resentful look on her face. Her eyes were fixed on Yu Shi. She had heard today that the entire Yu family dressed neatly and carried a lot of things to the town, as if they were going to become apprentices.

Yu Shi clearly said that he would tell his family when he got home that he would not go to town to study, and that he would ask for the tuition money to give to her as a betrothal gift. However, Zhou Huan only received the news that he was going to town to become an apprentice. She was so angry that she went straight to the village entrance to stop him.

"Yu Shi! I want to talk to you."

Yu Shi felt guilty when he saw Zhou Huan, not only towards Zhou Huan, but also towards his family...

He was about to open his mouth to explain when Yu Dehou raised his hand and interrupted him, "Yu Shi, you are already 18 years old. Normally, you should get married and start a family and make your own decisions. So don't look at us. Go and have a good talk with the girl yourself."

Yu Shi saw the knowing looks in his parents' and sister's eyes, and felt even more ashamed. He thought he had hidden it well, but he hadn't expected that his little thoughts were all seen through their eyes...

Zhou Huan was delighted. Yu Dehou's attitude gave her an illusion that as long as she could capture Yu Shi's heart, the Yu family would agree even if she asked for another 50 taels of betrothal gift.

So she smiled and bowed to the people on the ox cart as if they were her juniors. "Huan'er greets uncle and aunt! Thank you for your help."

Yu Dehou and Liang Shulan also smiled back.

Although the two of them always felt that Zhou Huan was too scheming and they didn't like him very much, if Yu Shi loved him so much that he would make a fuss if he didn't marry him, they, as parents, couldn't just watch Yu Shi go to such a dead end.

I just hope that after such a long period of training and broadening of horizons, Yu Shi will know that there is not only love in this world, but also a broader life!

Zhou Huan thought she was good-looking. She was only 16 years old. Although her family was a little poor, it was much better off than the Yu family before. Yu Shi was as his name suggested, his temperament was like a stone, dull and ignorant. For a woman like her to fall in love with Yu Shi was a blessing to the Yu family.

So she felt more confident about the following conversation.

But unexpectedly, as soon as the two of them reached the corner, Yu Shi said with an apologetic look on his face: "Zhou Huan, I'm sorry for you. I really can't agree to your conditions."

"If you truly love me, I am willing to marry you according to the village's standards. I will treat you wholeheartedly, and my parents are not the kind of people who would mistreat their daughter-in-law."

"Don't worry, I'm studying just to gain knowledge and have more choices in the future. I will never neglect my family."

"But if you don't want to, I won't force you. I'll just assume that it's not meant to be for us yet."

Zhou Huan looked incredulous. "How can I compare with those village girls? I tell you, Yu Shi, either give me 20 taels of silver as a betrothal gift, or we will never contact each other again."

Zhou Huan knew that Yu Shi had been fond of her for a long time, and he would never give up the opportunity to be with her easily.

Sure enough, Yu Shi's face was full of reluctance, but he didn't understand why Zhou Huan insisted on taking the 20 taels. In the village, even buying a wife only cost one or two taels of silver. Even in the town, I'm afraid only the rich families could afford 20 taels!

But his family's thatched house was so poor that it leaked, and he had to rely on his sister for food...

Although he knew that his sister would definitely give him money if he asked, he didn't want to...

"Zhou Huan! I'm sorry, let's just assume that we're not meant to be together!"

Zhou Huan's expression suddenly turned ferocious. "Yu Shi! Are you kidding me? Your sister earns 20 taels of silver a day, so what if she gives it to me? Doesn't she want to pay this money? Why? As a widow, she should give all the money she earns to her parents and brother. Otherwise, who will she rely on to support her in her old age?"