Concubine Yan stretched out her hand and stroked the soft fur of the cubs, and the two little ones trembled as they slept soundly.
"Are you sure this is the iron-eating beast?"
Gu Xun smiled and nodded, "Yes, as far as I know, this is the iron-eating beast."
"However, they don't have the ability to bite gold and iron. They just have sharp teeth. When they reach adulthood, they will be similar to blind bears."
Concubine Yan sighed, "In this case, the name of eating iron is just an exaggerated legend."
Gu Xun shrugged, "Who knows?"
"It's impossible to say whether the one under Chi You's crotch is gifted with extraordinary talent, or these beasts are just hybrid descendants of the genuine iron-eating beasts, and have long since lost the abilities of their ancestors."
If it were left to the ordinary world, Gu Xun would only regard it as a legend and anecdote spread by rumors, but the world of Qin Dynasty is hard to say.
Concubine Yan shook her head when she heard this, and without thinking much about the ancient legend, she changed her words and asked, "Why are you looking for these two iron-eating cubs?"
"A gift." Gu Xun said with a grin.
"When I came to Shuzhong, I had to bring back some novelties for the children at home. After thinking about it, I decided to bring two iron-eating beasts back to keep as playmates."
"Ah..." Concubine Yan didn't know what to say about the 'little gift' chosen by Gu Xun.
"When you grow up, you will look like a bear... How can you be a playmate for your children?"
Bears and ferocious beasts, you can just keep one for your own enjoyment and give it to your children...
Gu Xun replied nonchalantly, "This iron-eating beast is relatively gentle in temperament, and I have special beast-taming skills, so don't worry."
"As long as you think it's appropriate." Seeing his confident performance, Concubine Yan didn't worry much and asked instead, "What do you want to do next?"
"There's nothing left to do." Gu Xun shook his head, "Next, we can set off back to Xianyang."
"But on the way back, I stopped by Shushan. I still need to pick up some things. I lost too much power last time, so I forgot about this one."
"What?" Concubine Yan asked curiously.
Gu Xun pursed his lips and smiled, "It's a very important thing."
………………
The stars move around, the sun rises and the moon sets.
Gu Xun's return journey was leisurely and carefree. He indulged in the mountains and rivers along the way and climbed up to Shigu. It took him a full month to finally return to the boundary of Xianyang.
It is now July, the midsummer is gradually ending, and the weather is getting cooler, but Xianyang is still unbearably hot.
The little iron-eating beast that Gu Xun brought back was very popular with Ayan. He hugged it by his side every day, regardless of the warmth brought by its fur.
Of course, she still couldn't hold the iron-eating cub. The one responsible for holding it was Ah Ci, and she was only responsible for rubbing it.
However, not all of the two iron-eating beasts stayed in the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion. One of them, Gu Xun, was given to his cheap student Fusu.
Maybe it's because young people grow up quickly, but after not seeing him for a month or two, Gu Xun felt that his student had grown a lot taller.
"Haha, in a few years, Fusu, you will grow up to be an adult." Gu Xun sighed with a smile.
Fusu pursed his lips and smiled indifferently, and responded, "No matter how old he is, Fusu will always be his teacher's student."
Hearing this, Gu Xun shook his head and smiled, "I gave you that iron-eating beast. Do you still like it?"
Fusu nodded, a hint of affection flashing across his serious face because he liked to imitate his father.
"The students like it very much, thank you teacher."
"But it spends most of the day sleeping and doesn't seem to be active."
Gu Xun waved his hand and reassured, "Don't worry, this is normal."
"This kind of beast likes to sleep deeply. The environment in Xianyang is not suitable for its life, so it will inevitably be a little tired. As long as you take care of it according to my instructions, there will be no problem."
"That's good." Fusu nodded, "Students have always been worried that if they don't take good care of it, they will raise it to death."
"Haha, it won't happen, it won't happen." Gu Xun smiled and said, "That's a gift from me. It's not a burden. It can't be that easy to happen."
After saying that, Gu Xun picked up the teacup and took a sip, and exclaimed, "This Mengding tea tastes really good, with a refreshing taste and a long aftertaste."
Gu Xun doesn't like anything with an overly strong flavor whether he drinks wine or tea. This top-quality green tea produced in Mengshan is exactly what he likes.
Seeing this, Xiao Fusu, who was sitting opposite, also took a sip and narrowed his eyes, showing a comfortable look.
As a prince of the royal family, he is naturally exposed to things like tea and wine early on. However, he is different from most princes who like to drink and have fun - here is a certain Korean ninth prince - he likes to be close to his Uncle Wang, who died young.
, likes to drink tea, and the taste is similar to that of the teacher Gu Xun.
Therefore, I also like this top-quality Mengding tea.
"Teacher, what is the name of this tea?"
"Uh..." Gu Xun recalled the name the old tea farmer said at that time, "This tea is called... Jade Dew Changchun."
"What a good name." Fusu nodded and commented like a young adult, "I didn't expect there to be such good tea in Sichuan."
Gu Xun glanced at his student in surprise, "The land of Shu is very mountainous, especially the high mountains in the southwest of Chengdu. Naturally, it is rich in tea trees. You, the Qin State, have occupied the middle of Shu for decades, and you don't even know this?" "This..." Fusu smiled awkwardly, "Students don't know."
These days, tea is considered a luxury product. The Central Plains does not produce much and the quality is not good. On the contrary, remote and barbaric places like Bashu produce more and the quality is high, but the picking and transportation costs are too high. p>
Besides, tea is not a mainstream drink and the market is not big, so countries don’t care much about it.
By the way, if it weren’t for the abundant grain production in the world during the Qin Dynasty, the brewing industry would not be too developed.
It was normal for Fusu not to understand this kind of thing, and Gu Xun didn't care. Instead, he asked about what he had said to Fusu before going to Shu County.
"I told you before that I will teach you when I come back this time, so... what are you going to listen to?"
"Ah?" Fusu was a little confused and looked at his teacher with his big shining eyes.
Do you ask students about this kind of thing? Shouldn’t it be the teacher’s decision?
This...students don’t know!
"Uh..." Gu Xun looked at his student's confused face and felt that his question was a bit embarrassing. He pondered for a moment and changed his words, "Then let's have a casual chat first."
It felt unreliable to chat casually, but Fusu felt that he couldn't ask for too much, so he nodded hastily, "Okay, everything depends on the teacher."
Gu Xun thought for a moment and started talking, "It just so happens that Confucian leader Fu Nian has taught you not long ago. Please tell me first how you feel about their Confucian academic philosophy."
"Well..." Fusu raised his head and thought about his words before replying, "Mr. Fu Nian advocates the concept of 'inner saint and outer king', cultivating the virtues of a saint internally, and applying majestic and royal government externally.
Rule the world."
"The inner sage is the foundation of the outer king, and the outer king is the manifestation of the inner sage. Only when they are unified can the highest realm be achieved."
