Adoption brings disaster

I saw that Liushui was scolded and abused by the peasant woman for quite a while because of a word she said. Liushui was in a dilemma and neither could he say anything. He and Qianxi could only look at each other in bewilderment, feeling very pitiful for a moment.

I know in my heart that Liu Shuiqing did nothing wrong, but all living beings suffer, and the people who have no power, no influence, no land and no farmland suffer the most.

The superiors are rich and powerful but still feel that they are suffering, so they maliciously speculate that these tenants are all sneaky and unruly people who are just trying to survive in a dishonest way.

As the saying goes, a full granary is only for etiquette. If one can really live a decent life, who would be willing to beg others in a servile manner, who would be willing to act like a scoundrel and throw a tantrum, and who would be willing to act stupid and ugly to please others.

Liu Shuiqing didn't understand this. He couldn't respond to the woman's sarcastic tone. The farmers also whispered their accusations against Liu Shuiqing.

Originally, these farmers were just complaining to vent their dissatisfaction with Liu Shui Qing for not eating meat porridge. They all spoke very quietly, but Liu Shui Qing was very powerful and heard every word they said without missing a word.

These words were like knives, stabbing Liushui's heart. Liushui's worldview slowly collapsed with these words, and his face became paler and paler.

"This person followed Prince Qianqiu here, but how could he be so different from Prince Qianqiu? He's like a maggot in a cesspool."

"Who the hell is he? How can he be compared to His Highness Qianqiu? His Highness Qianqiu is a god from heaven, who came to this world to save people from suffering. That person is just a leech in the field, who can only suck people's blood."

"Yes, yes, yes. I will go to Qianqiu Temple tomorrow to pray properly. I can't let His Highness Qianqiu blame me."

"You're wrong again. His Highness Qianqiu is a deity in heaven. How could he blame you just for a single word from you? You might as well beg that bastard Liushui to prevent him from holding a grudge and taking revenge on you."

………………

These words made Liu Shuiqing a little confused, but he felt that he was not wrong, so he could only keep saying: "Orphan and widow, how can you be so cruel."

Unfortunately, the education Liu Shuiqing received since childhood destined his voice to be drowned out by the noise of the farmers, without even a splash being heard.

Qianxi walked out from behind Ada with some heartache, stood behind Liushuiqing, and comforted him softly. Unfortunately, Liushuiqing's attention was not on Qianxi at all, and he didn't listen carefully to the comforting words Qianxi said.

I still like Liu Shuiqing very much from the bottom of my heart. Liu Shuiqing is like a good-looking, good-performing and motivated child. It is hard for a teacher not to like him from the bottom of his heart.

I took Liu Shuiqing's hand and comforted him, and his confused expression improved slightly.

Seeing Liu Shui's eyes still in pain, I whispered, "You've been in the palace for a long time, so naturally you haven't seen such a noisy scene. It's normal that you don't know what to do. It's okay, I'm here."

After I finished speaking, I glanced at Li Er, who immediately understood. He stood up and said with a cold face, "Your Highness and the noble ladies are here. What's the point of you making such a fuss?"

As the saying goes, one is not afraid of officials, but afraid of officials. These farmers were still very afraid of Li Er. When they heard Li Er's angry shout, they were all silent and the scene suddenly became quiet.

Seeing everyone quiet, I slowly said, "Losing one's husband in middle age is one of the three greatest sorrows in life. This king..."

"Wang Sanniang." Li Er reminded.

"It's only natural for Wang Sanniang to be grieving," I said. "But there's no order without rules. The rule in the village is that when a man dies, the land must be reclaimed. I sympathize with you, but you can't break the rules."

After saying this, Wang Sanniang was not anxious, but Liu Shui was. They both stood up, took my hand, and said with pleading eyes, "Qianqiu, how can this be done?"

"Your Highness Liushui, according to the rules, only a part of the farmland was reclaimed. Moreover, Your Highness is kind and benevolent, and the farmers followed suit, so the reclaimed land was all poor dry land." Li Er explained, knowing that I valued Liushui.

I waved my hand to quiet Li Er, then took Liu Shuiqing's hand and asked gently, "Liu Shuiqing, have you heard the story of the Buddha cutting off his flesh to feed the eagle?"

"Of course I've heard of it." Liu Shuiqing was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

I didn't explain, but simply said, "Six Water Lord, please be patient. If what I do doesn't satisfy you, then I'll do it according to your wishes. What do you think, Six Water Lord?"

The gentle environment allowed Liu Shuiqing to slowly calm down from the conflicting situation. His originally panicked expression disappeared, and he became the gentle and elegant gentleman again.

The farmers also heard what I said. Some of them had bitter expressions on their faces, some were about to cry, and some were as deflated as balloons. Of course, most of them had excited smiles on their faces as they watched the fun.

I completely ignored the farmer's expression and just looked at Wang Sanniang and said, "Wang Sanniang, you know the rules of this farm. Although it's pitiful, I can't break the rules for you."

At this moment, a half-grown child rushed up, hugged Wang Sanniang, kowtowed to her, and kept apologizing.

I asked the child to stand up, but he refused, saying, "My mother offended Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will forgive her. I am willing to take the punishment on her behalf. Please spare her. When my father left, my mother was heartbroken and injured. She can no longer bear the punishment."

I looked at the kneeling child and could clearly hear him speak. Although I couldn't see his face, his clothes were patched but clean and tidy. He must be a good kid. Then he smiled and said, "In your eyes, am I a tyrannical and unjust person who punishes people at every turn?"

The child was a little panicked by this and didn't know how to answer. He could only kowtow and say no.

"If you're not, then get up." I looked at the people on the ground and said, "Everyone, get up. You're all kneeling so enthusiastically, and you don't even mind that the ground is dirty."

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing whether to get up or not. Finally, Li Er asked them to get up, and they stood up.

"Have you read those books?" I asked.

"Thanks to your Highness, I was able to study with the teacher and the general. The teacher and the general only taught me some of the Three Character Classic."

I nodded and said, "Recite a few lines for me to hear."

When the child saw me asking him to recite the Three Character Classic, he naturally hurriedly recited it, "When a person is born, his nature is good. Natures are similar, but habits make them different..."

The child recited fluently and clearly, with a strong sense of rhythm. It was obvious that he had put in some effort.

I was delighted and said, "Let's write a few more words and see."

The child picked up the chopsticks on the table and started writing on the ground with the top end.

The child wrote a few words. Although these words are far inferior to those of calligraphy masters, they are much better than those of the dandy young men in Beijing. If anyone says that he didn't work hard, I definitely don't believe it.

I am quite satisfied with this child. Liu Shui admires him and the love in his eyes is overflowing.

"I said that the rules of the village cannot be violated. If you have any complaints, you can speak directly. I won't blame you, and no one else will blame you either."

After saying that, I looked at Liu Shuiqing and said jokingly, "This noble man has said that if anyone dares to cause trouble for you, I will definitely not let him go."

"Your Highness is so kind, I could never repay you even if I worked like a slave, so how could I complain? Besides, what Manager Li said is true. Zhuangzi has done his utmost to treat us mother and son. If I complain, all the principles you taught me will be in vain."

The child spoke seriously, and I couldn't help but tease him, saying with a smile, "Even so, if I punish you, you won't complain, right?"

The child didn't react, but Liu Shuiqing panicked first and came forward to plead for the child.

I gave Liu Shuiqing a look, but Liu Shuiqing didn't understand what I meant and kept pleading for the child.

"Come here, Miss Wang Sanniang has disturbed the Spring Festival and hindered farming for the year. She is punishable by twenty lashes, but because of her filial piety, her son will be punished on his behalf."

I waved the anaconda in my hand, and the child lay down on the chair and waited for punishment.

"Qianqiu, you actually used a poisonous anaconda. This kid can't even withstand one hit, let alone twenty hits." Liu Shuiqing tried to snatch the whip from my hand, so I asked Ada to pull Liu Shuiqing aside.

The poisonous anaconda was alive. I casually waved it and went towards the child. With a snap, Liu Shuiqing closed his eyes in pain.

"Get up," I said.

The child looked a little dazed at the cracked stones on the ground. He looked so funny that I couldn't help laughing.

The child stood up and bowed to express his gratitude, but since he was a new student and had only been with the teacher for a short time, his bow was so awkward that I burst out laughing again.

Liu Shuiqing next to me was scared by me just now, and he became even angrier when I smiled. He glared at me resentfully, then turned his head away from me in a sullen manner. However, Liu Shui was not really angry with me, he was just venting his dissatisfaction.

"Although the school is owned by Zhuangzi, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone still cost money, no matter how frugal one is." I said, "Your mother wants to rent more land, probably because she wants more money to buy you pens, ink, paper, and inkstone so that you can study."

After hearing this, Wang Sanniang nodded excitedly.

"The rules of this farm cannot be broken, but you are a good child, filial, sensible, and hardworking. If you interrupt your studies because of money, your deceased father and your frail mother will be sad."

After hearing this, the child said, "Your Highness just said that the most important thing in studying is hard work. I am willing to endure more hardships so as not to disappoint Your Highness and mother."

I said, "I have a compromise. Would you like to hear it?"

Before the child could say anything, Liu Shuiqing said hurriedly, "If you have any ideas, just tell us now. Why keep us in suspense?"

"I am the Seventh Prince's lord, and therefore his father. I definitely cannot acknowledge him as his uncle, but it's not a problem for me to adopt him as my adopted son."

When I said this, everyone in the room was stunned. I then added, "I may not be much older than you, but I am of noble status. And you yourself said that you could never repay my kindness even if you worked like a slave. So I think I am qualified to be your adoptive father."

The child reacted and quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Godfather, please accept my son's greetings."

I held a simple recognition ceremony, and after he drank the child's tea, he became my adopted son.

"Since you are my adopted son, then giving you some money to study is not considered partiality, nor does it break the rules of the village."

After saying this, he looked at Li Er and said, "Li Er, calculate how much money a man in Zhuangzi can earn in a year. Based on this standard, I will give it to my adopted son every year as my child support."

The way the matter was handled was something no one had expected. The farmers all had interesting expressions on their faces. Some were happy, some were sinister, but most of them had their eyes rolling around, thinking about something in their hearts.

I looked at them and knew exactly what they were thinking. I continued, "In the future, if there are any good students and virtuous people in Zhuangzi who are facing difficulties at home, as long as they are willing to be my adopted son, I will follow this standard."

After hearing this, everyone gave up their plans. Although it was more cost-effective in terms of money, if there was one less man in the family, they would be bullied a lot more on the farm.

This little episode was over. I looked at Liu Shuiqing with a smile and said, "Are you satisfied with how Liu Shuiqing handled me?"

"No wonder Qianqiu built this temple just a year after acquiring the farm. Just like the Buddha cut off his flesh to feed an eagle, and now Your Highness is helping others by recognizing a son. I've learned a lesson," said Liu Shuiqing. "But the annual payment of less than two taels of silver is a bit too little."

I smiled and said, "What do you think is appropriate, Liu Shuiqing?"

"Twenty taels, maybe? Qianxi's monthly allowance of two taels is barely enough. I have to give him five or ten taels as pocket money. The child still has to go to school, so twenty taels a year might not even be enough."

"Do you know how much money a family of these farmers can earn in a year?" I asked.

"Ten taels?" Liu Shuiqing answered tentatively.

I was a little speechless. He had just said that giving his adopted son two taels was too little. How could he come up with such an outrageous answer? "Think about it carefully, how could it be ten taels? The most is only three taels, and the least is less than two taels."

"How is that possible?" Liu Shuiqing was a little shocked.

"And do you know what would happen if I gave that child ten taels a year?"

Liu Shuiqing's three views exploded, and he asked unconfidently: "What will happen?"

"Men on this farm die in all sorts of accidents."

"how come."

"The world is bustling with people because of profit. The world is bustling with people because of profit. As long as there is profit to be made, people will do anything."

After I finished speaking, I softened my tone and continued, "There's nothing wrong with helping the needy, but if you use the wrong method, it will not only lead to greater evil, but also harm yourself. Liu Shuiqing needs to think twice before doing anything."

Liu Shuiqing was a little bewildered after hearing this. I felt a little distressed and said, "The academy starts this afternoon. It's still early. Liu Shuiqing, why don't you go to the carriage and rest for a while?"

After persuading Liu Shuiqing to leave, I started to prepare a speech for the opening ceremony in my mind. Being a leader is not easy.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.