After discussing it for a while, the second sister-in-law took out a box of rouge from the wooden cabinet, rubbed some on with her little finger, and fiddled with it on Ah Mian's face.

"Ah Mian, you don't seem to cry much."

Meng Chijian looked at A Mian and saw that her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying a lot. "No, she sometimes sheds tears... cough, but it's not like other people's tears."

When others cry, they close their eyes tightly and wail loudly.

Ah Mian kept her eyes open, as if she couldn't cry, with a somewhat confused expression on her face while tears streamed down her face.

Ah Mian said, "I only cry when I really want to cry."

Second Sister-in-law messed up her hair bun, then had A-Mian change into a set of plain clothes, and went with Meng Chijian to the academy to ask for a bereavement leave.

Many people saw Ah Mian's grief and heartbreak over her father. Seeing Ah Mian so sad, Wang Wang quickly stepped forward to comfort her, saying that he would go to the funeral with his family.

Amian suddenly realized something, and forcibly suppressed the upward curve of her lips, continuing to pretend to be a "wooden person".

"By the way, when you come back, you'll be transferred to the study hall next door. You got a top grade in the last monthly exam. Everyone in the academy was talking about it. If you don't want to go to the university hall, you should tell the teacher."

"Okay. Come to my house tomorrow and help me distribute some things," A-Mian whispered.

As A-Mian passed by the window, she saw Ji Hengzhi flipping through a book. Since returning from Zhoucheng, he had changed his behavior and no longer caused trouble in the academy.

Despite his diligent studies, he still only achieved a grade of C this time.

The two returned home and closed the gate. Meng Chijian felt uncomfortable looking at A Mian like this, so he soaked a handkerchief in warm water and wiped A Mian's face clean again. He combed her black hair neatly. He was very skillful and could weave straw sandals and bamboo baskets. This hair was no problem for him. He finished combing it in no time.

Ah Mian ignored what he was doing, took out paper and pen, and frowned as she wrote something down while thinking.

If he felt that his writing was wrong, he would use a brush to heavily cross it out. After thinking about it repeatedly for a long time, he finally wrote a passage.

Meng Jing curiously leaned closer to look and read it aloud word by word: "A letter to the villagers... My late father, Lu... What does this mean? Oh, my late father, Lu Weng, said a few months before he passed away that he had been ruined by alcohol all his life and regretted it too late. He hoped that his daughter would do good deeds on his behalf, to thank the villagers with 'filial piety,' and to refrain from this evil practice. For every bowl sold, donate one coin to the Qingshan Temple, so that my father may accumulate blessings..."

"Ah Mian, you...you're going to sell noodles at a funeral?!" Meng Jing exclaimed in astonishment.

Amian said solemnly, "This isn't about selling noodles; it's my father's last wish."

Who would have thought that sending her to the academy would not only teach her to read, but also to bluff!

She ran into the room, looked around, and brought out a jewelry box. She thought it was too small, so she ran to the all-powerful person and said, "I want a bigger wooden box, with an opening at the top and a bottom that can be opened."

"Can we make one out of bamboo?"

"Uh-huh."

After saying that, he ran away.

Meng Jing put down the paper and saw her third brother grab Ah Mian, burying his face in her shoulder and sniffing her like he was playing with a cat, seemingly enjoying it immensely, until Ah Mian protested and he finally let her go. Meng Chijian always said that Ah Mian smelled of flowers and plants, but everyone clearly used the same bath soap, so how could they be different?

This young girl, who has just grown up, is different from before. Many thoughts she has never had before have popped into her head: What kind of husband will she look for in the future? She would not want to be like Ah Mian, who is always being controlled in every way.

However, her worries were meaningless.

At this time, as long as the elders of both families have agreed, it is not uncommon for couples to have an arranged marriage and not see each other until their wedding night.

Amian copied the "Letter to Neighbors" into thirty or forty copies. The next day, she gave some to Wangwang to distribute at the academy. The two discussed where to post it in the city.

And so it was publicized.

Filial piety is actually quite complicated.

Ah Mian once read in a book about a boy who lost his mother at a young age. His stepmother and father were very harsh on him. However, when his stepmother was seriously ill and wanted to eat carp, the boy took off his clothes in the freezing cold and used the warmth of his body to melt the frozen lake water, which allowed him to catch the fish.

After the stepmother ate the fish, her illness gradually subsided.

Confucius said that this story illustrates the principle that "filial piety and brotherly love reach the divine." No matter how parents or elders treat their children, children must be extremely filial to them in order to follow the great way.

She nodded in agreement along with the other students.

However, she actually had many questions about this story.

It wasn't that she had any groundbreaking insights into the ethics involved, but rather that Ah Mian couldn't understand why the boy insisted on using his own body to melt the ice. Wouldn't he get sick? Why didn't he use his brain to find a big rock to break the ice? Or gather some dry branches and light them; that would melt the ice just the same way.

This is all what Ah Mian told Meng Chijian in her room later that night.

Meng Chijian hadn't read many classical texts and, like most people, considered filial piety to one's parents a matter of course. However, he enjoyed listening to A-Mian talk; her words were sometimes particularly novel and thought-provoking. Therefore, he asked, "Why do you think that is?"

Ah Mian was silent for a while, the candlelight illuminating her eyes, and she said very softly, "Because if he uses stones or a bonfire, no one will think he is a very filial son."

Filial piety is something that needs to be performed for others to see.

For a moment, Meng Chijian wondered whether sending her to the academy was a good thing or a bad thing. Amian was too intelligent. She had been in the academy for less than a year, and she had gone from respecting the teacher to questioning him. In some ways, she had even immediately grasped the essence of "filial piety" in this era.

This isn't even the kind of talk like "the emperor is useless," which would lead to death.

Rather, she genuinely believed that the world and the set of "etiquette" that people had always believed in were hypocritical.

"Don't say these things to anyone other than me." In the end, Meng Chijian could only give this advice to this "rebellious" fellow.

"Hmm." Ah Mian rarely speaks outside.

In short, Ah Mian had made many preparations in the past two days, making a big fuss about her "fulfilling her father's vow" and "atoneing for her father's sins." Many people in the city knew that their area had produced a very filial daughter. Ah Mian said she would also donate money to the temple, so even the young monks who came down the mountain to beg for alms couldn't help but praise her.

"We will definitely go to offer our condolences then, so that Benefactor Lu's efforts will not be in vain."