Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 89 Returning the Gift

Lu Chuan's heart stirred, and he immediately understood Lord Zhou's deeper meaning.

This banquet was ostensibly a gathering for students, but in reality, it was an opportunity for Lu Chuan to make a formal appearance in the academic community.

He cupped his hands to Butler Zhao and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Zhao. Please inform my teacher that Lu Chuan will be there on time."

Back at Qingyou Residence, the sound of my ears finally subsided.

Lord Zhou's words were like a knife, cutting through the hypocrisy of this world.

The chilling truth that Sima Qian wrote in "Biographies of Merchants" came to mind: "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for profit."

Even the emperors of a thousand chariots and the lords of ten thousand households worry about not having enough wealth and status, let alone the common people among the masses?

"If I had failed the imperial examination today, and remained just a peasant boy from Qingyang County, how could Lord Zhou, even with his thirst for talent, have bothered to give me such a warm lecture in this Qingfeng Hall?"

Status determines treatment, and value determines quality.

Although Yan Hui was virtuous, without the Confucian school's reputation, he would have been nothing more than a poor scholar living in a humble alley in the eyes of the powerful and wealthy at the time; while people like Su Qin and Zhang Yi, even with mixed reputations, could still wear the seals of six states as prime ministers with their tongues that could be worth a million soldiers.

The respect, books, and the hefty fifty taels of official silver he received today were essentially all "green seed money" invested by Lord Zhou. The other party was betting that he, the eleven-year-old top scholar, would become a solid foundation for him in the imperial court in the future.

Lu Chuan, what you need to do is not to slack off and to continue to work hard in future exams.

He hadn't rested for long.

Lu Shouye came downstairs and said, "Chuan'er, Steward Zhao from the government office sent fifty taels of silver and two books."

Upon entering the house, one could see that congratulatory gifts were piled up everywhere, on the tables and beside the beds.

Besides what the government sent, most of what was given to Lu Shouye in the past three days was forcibly given to him by various local gentry and wealthy merchants while Lu Chuan was away.

Lu Chuan glanced at it, but there was no joy in his eyes.

"Father, please show me the list of gifts I've received these past few days."

Lu Shouye was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly pulled out a piece of rough paper from his pocket, on which some names were scrawled in crooked handwriting: "The Wang family in the east of the city sent ten taels of silver and two bolts of Shu brocade; Master Li in the south of the county sent five taels of silver and a box of Huizhou ink; and the Qingyang Fellow Villagers Association contributed twenty taels..."

Lu Chuan did a rough calculation and found that, apart from the fifty taels of silver that Lord Zhou had given him, there were nearly a hundred taels more in the room. For the Lu family of Liutang Village, this was not just a windfall, but a fortune that could buy half the village.

"Father, do me a favor." Lu Chuan pointed to the pile of various gift boxes, his tone as cold as ice. "Except for the book and silver that Lord Zhou gave me, all the rest, including all those who sent silver notes, gold, silver and valuable fabrics, should be sealed up exactly as they were. Tomorrow morning, return them all, without exception."

"Huh?" Lu Shouye was so surprised he almost bit his tongue, his eyes filled with reluctance. "Take it back? Chuan'er, this is all the goodwill of the villagers and the bigwigs in the city."

"If we back out, wouldn't that be like publicly humiliating them?"

Seeing his father's distressed expression, Lu Chuan knew he had to explain things to him thoroughly.

He pulled his father down to sit, pointed to the gift list, and said:

"Father, look closely. How many of these people who are giving gifts are people we used to know? They're not giving us favors, they're giving us shackles."

"Today we received ten taels of silver from the Wang family. If they break the law or try to seize farmland in the future and come to me for help, should I help them or not?"

"If I help, I will be breaking the law and betraying Lord Zhou's kindness; if I don't help, I will be a treacherous and shameless person who takes money but does nothing."

Lu Shouye opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Furthermore," Lu Chuan said, his eyes gleaming, "Lord Zhou just taught me to guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and to face reality. If I were to pocket this ill-gotten windfall the very next day, and it got back to him, what would he think?"

"He'll think I don't value knowledge, but rather use his name to make money. In that case, not only will the authorities withdraw his protection, but they'll probably destroy this greedy person of mine with their own hands."

Lu Shouye broke out in a cold sweat as he listened. Looking at the silver on the table, he suddenly felt that it was burning hot.

"But... we should keep some, right? Shouldn't we also return the money from the Qingyang County Association?"

"Refund. Leave nothing behind."

"Father, remember this. Retreating now is for gaining later. Once we accept this hundred taels of silver, we'll stop here."

"Returning this silver will earn us Lord Zhou's absolute trust."

Lu Shouye remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a heavy sigh and folding the gift list.

"Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll go and cancel the order first thing tomorrow morning."

The next day, dawn broke in the east.

Lu Shouye got up very early. He found some clean coarse cloths, wrapped them up according to the names on the gift list, and neatly stacked them on the cart.

Lu Shouye's first stop was the Wang family in the east of the city.

The head steward of the Wang family was originally standing at the door with a smug look on his face, thinking that since this young scholar had received such a generous gift from his family, they would finally be considered one of the family in Yingnan Prefecture.

But when he saw Lu Shouye pulling that cart full of packages and opening them in front of everyone to return them unopened, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Brother Lu, what are you doing? This is my master's special congratulations to Young Master Lu!" The steward was so anxious he was jumping up and down.

Following Lu Chuan's instructions, Lu Shouye bowed slightly and said, "Please don't be offended, Steward. My son Chuan said that Lord Zhou instructed him to guard against arrogance and impetuosity. He is young and I'm afraid that if he accepts such generous gifts, he will find it difficult to concentrate on his studies."

"We appreciate your kindness, but this gift is absolutely unacceptable."

From the east to the south of the city, from county gentry to fellow townsmen.

That morning, Lu Shouye's figure moved through the streets and alleys of Yingnan Prefecture.

At first, the families whose gifts were returned did feel embarrassed, and some even turned cold on the spot.

But as news of the return of the gifts spread rapidly throughout the city, the tide turned.

"Have you heard? That Chief Case Officer Lu actually returned all his belongings without exception."

"They didn't even leave any money for the hometown association! This Lu family father and son really have backbone."

"What backbone? That's foresight. Look at how well he said his refusal of the gift, every word of which is in line with Lord Zhou's teachings."

In a short time, the news that Lu, the top scholar, refused to accept ill-gotten gains spread even faster than the news that he had won the top scholar position in the prefecture.

At this time, the news naturally reached Lord Zhou's ears as well.

Inside Qingfeng Hall, Steward Zhao was bowing as he refilled Lord Zhou's tea, whispering the rumors circulating outside: "My lord, that Lu Chuan is indeed exceptionally clever. The men we sent to follow him reported that Old Man Lu, pulling his cart, cleared out each house cleanly, his mouth full of your instructions, my lord."

"Now everyone outside is saying that you have taught well and have taken on a good student."