Chapter 400 Village School]
Although Xie Gao was incorruptible, the salary and savings he had earned as an official throughout his life, plus the annual income from his land in Datong Prefecture, were more than enough to maintain his daily living needs.
This means that Xie Gao's nephew can keep all the one hundred taels he got.
Not only does it not cost a penny, but you can also earn an extra 100 taels of silver every year, and leave behind a reputation for being filial to your elders. Why not do it?
Xie Gao's nephew therefore readily agreed.
Of course, Yuan Xu also made it very clear that this matter must not be revealed at all, and he could only say to the outside world that he was filial. As for the extra 100 taels of income, he could only say that it was extra income because his business had improved in the past two years.
If I let the secret slip, I will no longer get the one hundred taels of silver every year.
The carriage and horse business opened by Chen Fenghe now has several branches in addition to the town and Youzhou City, in other small towns. In addition, a lot of new carriages, horses and mules have been added. In addition, Boss Ding and the brothers from the original "Huling Village" are escorting all the way, which makes it safer than the original escort agency in Youzhou City to escort goods.
Therefore, in Youzhou Prefecture and even the nearby counties and towns, from merchants and shops to small individuals, everyone is willing to come to Gu's Carriage and Horse Trading Company to entrust them with transporting and delivering goods.
As a result, the business scope of many merchants and shops has expanded a lot compared to before, and they are making much more money than in previous years.
Therefore, Xie Gao's nephew said that the one hundred taels were business income, and even his competitors in the same industry would not be able to find any flaws.
Not long after Xie Gao moved to the farm, the news spread among the nearby villages and towns. People knew that the man who had once served as the Prince's Tutor had settled there, and the front of the Yan family's farm became very lively.
Naturally, this matter also reached the ears of the spies who were lurking in Shili Village to monitor Qin Mengyue, Shen Fenghe and others.
However, after extensive investigation, they did not find any flaws or evidence to prove that Xie Gao's move to the vicinity of the exile place of the former Queen and Crown Princess was premeditated.
There was another layer. Qin Mengyue's appearance had been completely ruined. Although she had looked a little better in the past few months with the help of the "antidote" prepared by Chen Fenghe, she was still ugly and frightening. Moreover, Qin Mengyue had once voluntarily refused to return to the palace to be a concubine again, and now the former Crown Princess had remarried. Although the existence of Xiao Yunhao, the "Ninth Prince", made the people of the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince in the palace a little wary, but from the news brought back by the spies, it seemed that the Ninth Prince now spent all day with the children in the village, either catching fish and shrimp, or going up the mountain to collect firewood and dig wild vegetables, or setting traps to catch rabbits and pheasants, he was no different from other children in the village.
Therefore, the palace's attention and vigilance towards Qin Mengyue, Chen Fenghe and others also faded a lot, and the village's spies gradually became negligent, and finally reported the matter as a coincidence.
The palace did not ask any further questions or issue any other orders regarding this matter.
A month or so after Xie Gao moved to the village, Xiao Yunshuo casually mentioned to Village Chief Wu, "Village Chief Wu, I heard that a senior official from the imperial court has retired and settled in a village near our village. I imagine he's unemployed now, and perhaps he'd be willing to teach at our private school, teaching the children to read and write. What do you think, Village Chief Wu?"
When Village Chief Wu heard Xiao Yunshuo say this, he waved his hands and said with a smile, "I've heard of this gentleman. His surname is Xie, and he was a high-ranking official in the capital, the Prince's tutor! I heard that he was the Prince's mentor and a world-renowned scholar! I heard that in the past month or so, many gentry and wealthy families have come to invite him to their homes to serve as a tutor, offering tuition fees of dozens or even hundreds of taels, but this gentleman Xie has politely declined them all. Our village is in a remote and poor area, and there are so many naughty children here. How could anyone be willing to condescend to teach him? Master Yun, you are really too fanciful."
Chen Fenghe had just arrived with some tea and snacks, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but smile. "Village Chief Wu, I think this is worth a try. The village has been talking about this Lord Xie for a while now, and I've heard that he's declined invitations from other families. However, most of the wealthy gentry who invited him reside in town or Youzhou City. I heard that Lord Xie and his nephew lived in Youzhou City for a while before moving to a farm in the countryside. He must have grown tired of the city's hustle and bustle and longed for the quiet, pastoral life of the countryside. It's not surprising that the wealthy gentry would refuse. If my guess is correct, then our Shili Village boasts beautiful mountains and rivers, and the countryside is beautiful. Furthermore, while the country children are playful, they're also incredibly innocent. Lord Xie is old and perhaps lonely. Perhaps he'd appreciate being surrounded by children reading and playing, and would happily agree to an invitation. Who knows?"
After hearing what Shen Fenghe said, Village Chief Wu, although still somewhat skeptical, agreed to personally inquire: "Since Miss Shen said so, I will pay a visit tomorrow. If Mr. Xie agrees, that would be great. If he refuses, I will still have the advantage of meeting an important figure. It's not a loss."
On the second day, Village Chief Wu took some homemade bacon and chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, and drove out in a mule cart.
When everyone heard that Village Chief Wu was going to invite Mr. Xie to be the teacher of the village private school, although they all felt that Mr. Xie would not agree, they still waited at the village entrance and discussed the matter enthusiastically.
"If our village could really invite this gentleman to be our teacher, the children in the village would be blessed. Wouldn't they produce several top scholars?"
"You're dreaming! Is it that easy to become the top scholar? However, a good teacher produces excellent students. We don't even dream of becoming the top scholar, but even if we can get second or third place, or at least a few Jinshi or Jushi, then our village will be enough to make people look up to us!"
"Come on! You say others are wishful thinking, but you are wishful thinking too! Jinshi and Juren? I think if we can produce three or five scholars, that would be good enough. Then, we can change the name of our village!"
"Change the name? If not Shili Village, what should we call it?"
"Of course it's called Scholar Village!"
"Tsk! I thought you could come up with a catchy village name, but it turns out it's just 'Scholar Village'?"
"Stop talking nonsense! You're acting as if Master Xie has already agreed to be our teacher. He's been a teacher to the Crown Prince, so why would he be willing to be the enlightenment teacher for a naughty boy? I think... our village chief will probably return home disappointed!"
In fact, no one was very hopeful, but that didn't stop them from chatting about this topic for a while.
At dusk, everyone was still reluctant to leave, obviously wanting to wait for the village chief to come back so as to hear the result. Therefore, one by one, they stretched their necks from time to time and looked towards the official road outside the village.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "Look! Isn't that the village chief's mule cart? The village chief is back!"
When everyone heard this, they all looked over with wide eyes. After confirming that it was the village chief, everyone couldn't help but feel excited and nervous.
"I don't know if Mr. Xie agrees or not..."
"I think it's hopeless! Don't get your hopes up too much..."
As they were talking, the mule cart had already arrived at the village entrance. Everyone came forward to greet it, and asked in a flurry, "Village Chief, what's the matter? Did Mr. Xie agree?"
Although everyone says that they don’t care, in fact, parents all over the world are pitiful. Which parent doesn’t want their children to have a bright future?
If one's children really have good teachers to teach them, and can pass the imperial examinations to become scholars, juren, or even jinshi and hanlin, it would be a great honor for the family. The whole family can directly jump from farmers to officials, which can be said to be a direct improvement in class.
Therefore, everyone stared at the village chief, waiting to hear the result.
The village chief waved his hand and said with a bright smile, "You're a little too impatient. Do you have any water? Let me have a drink first."
Someone immediately rushed to fetch some water, while anxiously urging, "Oh, my village chief, it's just a matter of one sentence, don't keep us in suspense, tell us quickly!"
The village chief finally drank a few sips of water to moisten his throat before he said with a smile, "Thank you, sir... I agree!"
When everyone heard the result, they were stunned at first and didn't dare to believe their ears.
Some people didn't react at all. They sighed and said, "I told you, how could Master Xie possibly..."
Halfway through his words, he reacted and his eyes widened. "Wait... Village Chief, what did you say? Did Master Xie agree? Did he really agree to come to our village and be a teacher for our children? Village Chief, say it again, you're not lying?"
Village chief Wu repeated it again with some excitement, and then the people at the village entrance cheered happily, as if with this good teacher, their children would surely become successful and pass the imperial examinations!
Village Chief Wu laughed and said, "Master Xie... No, from now on, when you see me, you should all call me Master Xie. Master Xie said he's resigned from his position and won't be a master anymore. We shouldn't call him that anymore, understand? Master Xie said he'll be teaching in the village in three days. Go back and tell your children to listen carefully in class. If anyone dares to act naughty and anger the teacher, I'll personally spank them with a willow branch!"
Everyone agreed and went home happily to give their children advice.
Xiao Yunshuo and Shen Fenghe were not surprised that Xie Gao agreed to this. After all, this was the result of their careful planning.
However, the children in the family looked worried and sighed when they heard that they would be going to a private school in three days.
Xiao Yunhao was especially worried when he learned that the teacher was Lord Xie who had taught him in the palace before.
"You don't know, Master Xie is very fierce. If you fail to complete your homework, you will be hit on the palm with a ruler. It hurts so much!" Xiao Yunhao described it vividly to Shen Yichuan and Shen Qingxing.
Shen Qingxing's eyes widened in fear and she asked, "You were a prince before. How dare he hit a prince?"
Xiao Yunhao nodded heavily, as if this could further confirm what he said, and said, "Of course! He even dared to hit the Crown Prince! He also said that we didn't study hard and do our homework. Even if the emperor issued an imperial decree, he would still beat us. Sigh... In short, our lives will be difficult from now on!"
After hearing this, Shen Yichuan couldn't help but say, "Look how scared you are. Even if you get hit with a ruler a few times, what's the pain? Even if I get hit, I'm not afraid of the pain!"
Xiao Yunhao was very angry when he saw that he was suspected by Shen Yichuan, and said unconvincedly: "Humph! Wait until you get beaten, I'll see if you can still say that!"
Chen Fenghe couldn't help but come over and pat each of them on the head when she saw the three little guys talking. She said with a smile, "Look at your lack of ability. Can't you just complete the homework assigned by the teacher properly and avoid being punished with a ruler? You just think that being punished with a ruler won't hurt, right?"
Shen Yichuan said "Oh!" and touched his head with his hand, saying, "Sister, please don't hit me on the head. Grandma Yang next door said that hitting a child's head makes them dumber. Then they won't be able to memorize their lessons!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh like a little adult, and turned to look at Xiao Yunshuo: "Brother-in-law, you promised the other day to take me up the mountain and teach me archery and hunting roe deer! Don't go back on your word!"
Xiao Yunshuo smiled and said, "As long as you study hard, your brother-in-law will not regret it."
After hearing this, Shen Yichuan happily went to tinker with his little bow and arrow, and said excitedly: "Sister, brother-in-law, don't worry, even if it's just to learn archery and hunt wild roe deer, I will definitely memorize it well!"
After hearing this, Chen Fenghe couldn't help but smile, and didn't say anything to undermine their self-confidence.
Things in the world are always beautiful in imagination but cruel in reality.
When school really starts in a few days, these little ones will deeply experience how difficult it is to achieve the goal of "I will definitely memorize it well".
Three days later, Xie Gao indeed took a carriage to Shili Village.
Almost everyone in the village came out to greet them at the village entrance. Xiao Yunshuo also "went out" for a rare occasion, but he stood at the back, some distance away from the crowd. He was wearing a cloak and a hood, and still looked sickly.
Xie Gao saw Xiao Yunshuo from a distance in the carriage - although Xiao Yunshuo had changed his appearance now, Xie Gao naturally knew about this, so his eyes couldn't help but tear up for a moment.
Fortunately, the carriage curtains blocked his view, and he quickly calmed himself down. When he got off the carriage, everyone gathered around him and talked a lot.
Xie Gao was not annoyed, he just responded with a slight smile and was surrounded by the crowd as he walked towards the village school. When he passed by Xiao Yunshuo, he just nodded slightly and walked away.
Village chief Wu introduced the furnishings of the school one by one, and then led him to the school to meet the children who were already sitting neatly.
Xiao Yunhao had been taught by him before, so he stood up early. Despite his small stature, he clasped his fists and gave a student salute with great grace, saying politely, "Teacher, I am honored to meet you. It's been a long time since we last met. I hope you are well."
Xie Gao's heart surged with excitement upon seeing Xiao Yunhao. He hurried a few steps and, when he reached Xiao Yunhao, he bent his knees tremblingly and said, "This old minister... no, it should be this humble servant who pays homage to His Highness the Ninth Prince. His Highness has grown quite a bit taller..."
When Xiao Yunhao began his education with Xie Gao in the palace, he was just over four years old and still a baby. He couldn't help dozing off during class. Now he is six years old and has grown a lot taller. He looks very healthy because he plays in the countryside every day.
The children and adults around were slightly shocked by this scene and stared blankly at the old man and the young boy.
Everyone has been living in the same village for a long time, and Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe are both humble people, so everyone has almost forgotten their original identities.
Now seeing that the high-ranking official in the court, whom they had thought was unattainable, was actually bowing so solemnly and seriously to a six-year-old child, the shock in their hearts was still quite strong.
How could they forget that no matter how small the little guy in front of them is, he is still a prince in the palace!
Xiao Yunhao immediately stretched out his little hand and hurriedly helped Xie Gao up. He said in a childish voice, like a little adult, "Teacher, my mother has left the palace and was demoted to a commoner by my father. Since I am with my mother and no longer in the palace, I am naturally not a prince. Teacher, just treat me as an ordinary student from now on. Otherwise, I will definitely be scolded by my mother and sister-in-law!"
These words, as well as Xiao Yunhao's behavior and language when he saw Xie Gao just now, were naturally taught to him at home by Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe.
They knew very well that there were spies from the palace in the village.
Xie Gao's arrival as a village teacher meant a meeting with Xiao Yunhao was inevitable. Rather than feigning ignorance or downplaying the reunion, which would go against common sense and arouse suspicion, it would be better to greet him openly and openly, which would appear natural and trustworthy.
Xie Gao originally wanted to control his emotions, but the principle of "ruler-ruler, subject-subject" that he accepted in his bones made him unable to control himself for a while.
Seeing Xiao Yunhao speaking in such a childish voice, he finally nodded and said, "Jiu... You're right. It's me who's being pedantic. I'm no longer an official in the court. From now on, let's treat each other as teacher and student."
After this little incident, the other children all bowed to Xie Gao politely, and Xie Gao nodded in response.
There was no need to go to school that day. After seeing the teacher, the group of children scattered like birds and beasts to enjoy the last bit of freedom before school started.
Village chief Wu took Xie Gao to take a look at the courtyard in the village school that was specially prepared for the teacher.
"This room has all the necessary beddings and furnishings. If Mr. Xie is tired of teaching, or wants to take a nap at noon, or is too lazy to go back to the village and wants to stay overnight, he can use this room. There is a small kitchen over there, but the daily meals are prepared by the villagers and delivered to Mr. Xie on time. If Mr. Xie wants to eat something special, just ask the children to tell me, and I will ask my wife to cook it and send it to me. Mr. Xie, just treat our village as your own home and don't be restrained." Village chief Wu said.
Xie Gao didn't say much, but just thanked him politely.
Finally, Village Chief Wu said with a smile, "Today is the first time that Mr. Xie has come to the village. The Yun Mansion in the village has specially prepared a banquet to welcome Mr. Xie. I hope Mr. Xie will be able to come and enjoy it."
When Xie Gao heard that it was the prince's family who was inviting him to dinner, he naturally agreed. He said, "Thank you for the trouble and the expense," and accepted it.
Village chief Wu took Xie Gao for a walk around the village, and recognized each house before they went to the Yun family together.
In addition to the village chief Xie Gao, many other villagers were naturally invited to come and meet the guests.
The food on the table was all home-cooked dishes, but they had the flavor of the countryside, were fresh and light, and paired with the villagers' homemade wine, the meal was a great enjoyment for both the host and the guests.
After dinner, the guests dispersed.
Xie Gao drank a few more glasses of wine and began to feel a little drunk.
Xiao Yunshuo smiled and said, "I have a furnished guest room. Let Master Xie rest here for a while. Once he sobers up, it won't be too late to return to the manor. The village chief can go and do his work. Once Master Xie sobers up, I'll send someone to call him over."
Village Chief Wu was completely confident in Xiao Yunshuo and immediately said with a smile, "That's fine. I just happen to have some work to do, so I'll be back soon. Please don't neglect Master Xie."
Xiao Yunshuo nodded in agreement, and Village Chief Wu left after giving him many instructions.
Xiao Yunshuo ordered his men to help Xie Gao to the guest room and to send all the outsiders away.
Xie Gao, who was originally bleary-eyed from drunkenness, suddenly opened his eyes, stood up from the bed, and knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, this old minister pays his respects to Your Highness!"
As he spoke, tears streamed down his face and his voice was choked with sobs.
Xiao Yunshuo quickly raised his hand to hold Xie Gao's hand and helped him up. He was also a little touched and said in a trembling voice, "Teacher, please get up quickly. I am relieved to see that you are well."
As he spoke, he took Xie Gao to sit at the table and whispered, "Since we parted in the capital a few months ago, I heard that after Teacher pleaded for me, he was constantly suppressed in the court. I am sorry for causing you so much trouble."
Xie Gao sighed and said, "I, an old minister, was ultimately valued by the late emperor. Those clique-bound villains didn't dare to do anything to me. However, other upright officials, due to their low position and lack of influence, were persecuted for no reason. Some were even wrongfully imprisoned and tragically died in prison. Compared to them, I, an old minister, was fortunate to escape unscathed."
After Xie Gao finished speaking, he couldn't help but stand up again, knelt down, and said sadly: "Your Highness, now the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince have formed their own factions in the court, scheming against each other and appointing people based on personal connections. Local officials in various prefectures and cities in Dayu have also been implicated and affected, and even factional disputes have occurred in the army. This old minister and a group of officials who refuse to align with the two factions have submitted memorials, begging the emperor to stop this trend of meaningless disputes and restore the order of the court. However, the emperor turned a blind eye and allowed the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince to act recklessly, causing chaos in the court. Your Highness, since Your Highness is safe, this old minister dares to beg Your Highness to resume your status as soon as possible, return to the palace to preside over the overall situation, clear out the chaos in the court, and restore the order of the court!"
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