Chapter 3309: Flexible
Bai Shan lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, I am an only child, and my father died young. Normally, I would have been raised in the palm of my hand, but in my memory, my grandmother never indulged me. When I was young, I would even grow ginger and sell it for money, and work in the fields."
As soon as Bai Shan left the palace, the emperor and the queen's rewards arrived.
Because Zhou Man had made great contributions in treating Old Madam Yin, the emperor and empress rewarded her with some things. When they heard that her eldest son Xia Mu had just celebrated his third birthday, the emperor and empress gave him a longevity lock.
Xia Mu's name appeared on the imperial edict, and his name was finally confirmed. If it were a large family like the Wang and Cui families, they might be able to argue and prevent the emperor from interfering in their affairs. But the Bai family...
The Bai family didn't have the confidence to do so, so after the imperial edict came down, no one in the family argued with Old Lady Liu and Bai Shan about this matter anymore. However, they were also very angry, and made life difficult for those who stayed in Longzhou to manage the family business.
Madam Liu thought for a moment and then went to Bai Shan and said, "Since you've dealt them a heavy blow, you should give them a sweet treat. It's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Besides, we are from the same clan and we can't split up anytime soon."
Bai Shan: "What kind of dates does Grandma want to give them?"
Madam Liu said, "Because of the opening of the girls' school in the capital, academies have also flourished. This year, many teachers have come to the capital to teach, and even more students have come to study. In my opinion, there are still not enough students from our clan coming to study in the capital. Please write a letter and select some young people from the clan to come and study."
She said, "We only consider their character and knowledge, not their family background. We will cover their food, lodging, and tuition in the capital. Also, please organize your notes from previous years of study and send them back to the clan for those who are interested to copy."
Bai Shan opened his mouth wide, "Grandma..."
Madam Liu raised her chin slightly, her face gentle, but her eyes shone with arrogance. "Since we can't split up the clan in the short term, then for the remaining decades, you and Ziqian will still have to face the clan. You two, one arrogant, the other stubborn, both of you are too hard-headed."
"But a real man should be able to bend and stretch. You've grown up and become a father now. It's time for you to learn to be submissive." Old Lady Liu said, "You must handle this matter yourself and not let anyone else do it."
Bai Shan stood there for a while, unconvinced, but finally lowered his head and replied "yes".
At night, leaning on the couch, separated from Zhou Man by a screen, the more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he became. He couldn't help but ask, "Manbao, am I arrogant?"
Zhou Man yawned, pulled the quilt over himself, closed his eyes and asked, "Why do you ask?"
Bai Shan: "I think I'm a flexible person, but my grandmother still says I'm too arrogant. In the officialdom over the years, I've also shown weakness and pretended to be a grandson, okay?"
Zhou Man thought for a moment and said, "Arrogant! Lord Wei once told me that if one day I could kneel down even when I was right, and make everyone in the world believe that I was kneeling down sincerely, then I would be able to bend and stretch."
Bai Shan murmured: "Think?"
"Yes, it's just what people think. It's not that you surrender from the bottom of your heart," Zhou Man said. "I've thought about it. I think the pride in my heart is the extension, and the world's opinion is the surrender."
Bai Shan sat up from the couch, crossed his legs and faced the screen, and asked, "Can you do it?"
"No." Zhou Man said, "I once imagined that one day, the Prince Gong, whom I hate, would arrogantly call me a quack or a poor doctor. I definitely wouldn't be able to kneel down and admit my mistake."
She sighed and said, "So I need more experience. Knowing it in my heart is one thing, but being able to do it is another."
Zhou Man, having talked himself into a good mood, opened his eyes, and propped himself up to look at the screen. "Why are you suddenly talking about this?"
Bai Shan said, "Grandmother told me to build good relationships with the clan. This time, she won't help me and told me to come forward on my own. She said I was too arrogant and that a real man should be able to bend and stretch."
"How can we maintain good relations with them? You just tricked them. They must be furious right now. If they are narrow-minded, they might even hate you to death."
Bai Shan stretched out his arms and legs and lay down on the couch. He said, "Grandmother asked me to select some young men from the clan to study in the capital. We will take care of their food, lodging, and tuition. Then we will send my notes back to those in the clan who are studying to copy them."
Of these two things, not to mention the former, the latter also requires a huge effort.
The most valuable thing for scholars is resources, especially books and materials.
But Zhou Man owned the entire encyclopedia and could casually browse Teacher Mo's manuscripts, so she didn't think it was a big investment. Instead, she focused on the first point. "Grandmother, are you asking you to cultivate your own power within the clan?"
Because Bai Shan has always wanted to split the clan, and he has had a bad impression of the clan since he was a child, he basically has no contact with the clan.
Their family and clan are all maintained by Old Madam Liu, and the two of them only need to work hard to support the family.
Asking Bai Shan to support the children of the clan to go to school is obviously not just to build good relationships.
Bai Shan nodded and said, "I am now the most promising one in the clan. Even for the sake of the Bai clan's status among the aristocratic families, they will not let me branch out. Therefore, if I want to branch out, it will be impossible for the next few decades."
"Grandma means that there are still many decades to go, and we must live a good life. We have a bad relationship with the clan. It's okay now that Grandma is here, but in the future..." Bai Shan paused and said, "I'm afraid we will suffer."
Zhou Man immediately said, "Then go quickly and follow Grandma's instructions."
Bai Shan sighed and said, "You can imagine with your thumb how many people will laugh at me in their hearts when I send this letter back."
"Look at you, aren't you arrogant?" Zhou Man said, "You even mind people mocking you in their hearts. How can you tolerate them humiliating you verbally and physically?"
Across the screen, she shook her head and said, "A real man should be able to bend and stretch!"
Bai Shan pulled the quilt up to cover himself, "I fell asleep."
Zhou Man hummed twice and closed his eyes to sleep.
The next day, Bai Shan wrote a letter to Longzhou and then began to organize his notes.
He was reluctant to give away some particularly important and special notes, so he kept them carefully, intending to leave them to his children when they grew up.
So his notes were a bit incomplete, so he looked through Zhou Man's notes and found some to fill in the gaps.
But after flipping through the study, what I found most were Bai Erlang's notes.
I just don't remember it very well.
Bai Shan flipped through the book with disdain, put it aside, and called the servant, "Go to the princess's mansion and ask the young master. I have a lot of notes and books he left behind. Ask him if he wants them."
The servant responded and left.
There are only two chapters today, I will make up for it tomorrow, good night
(End of this chapter)
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