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Chapter 4: Four Treasures ?

Of course, this wasn't without the original owner's efforts. If all the money were earned by Xu Zhen, she wouldn't have spent it so generously back then.

Little Beggar continued chopping wood.

Xu Zhen said, "Don't ignore me. Talking to myself is boring."

Little Beggar replied, "You don't have to accompany me every day."

Xu Zhen laughed, "I can't be with you every day. Do you find me annoying? If you do, I'll go inside and watch you from afar."

Little Beggar paused her hand movements.

After a while, she resumed and said, "No need."

Xu Zhen didn't understand if Little Beggar meant there was no need to watch her from afar or no need to accompany her.

She was about to ask.

Little Beggar said again, "No need to go inside."

"That's good," Xu Zhen was happy. "You're finally talking more. We're living together now, and if you continued speaking so little, I'd feel quite troubled."

Little Beggar did not respond to her.

Xu Zhen, bored, ran inside to fetch a book and read out loud to Little Beggar: "The Son of Heaven is someone who stands with Heaven and Earth. Thus, virtue matches Heaven and Earth, benefiting all things, shining bright with the sun and moon, illuminating the four seas without neglecting the smallest..." (Record of Rites · Explanation of Classics)

She flipped from the Explanation of Classics to the Mourning Rites.

Seeing the words "A filial son mourns deeply when a parent dies" reminded Xu Zhen of Little Beggar's deceased parents, and she stopped reading, closing the book and picking up another.

The second book began with the chapter on Benevolence and Righteousness.

As she read, Xu Zhen felt sleepy.

Little Beggar suddenly asked, "What is benevolence?"

Xu Zhen, leaning against a rattan chair, rubbed her eyes and replied, "It's about loving others."

Little Beggar said, "I don't understand."

Xu Zhen explained, "It's about doing what you ought to do, out of true feelings."

Little Beggar asked, "Then a malicious person, pursuing true feelings, can also achieve benevolence?"

It was the first time Xu Zhen heard Little Beggar speak such a long sentence, and after a moment of surprise, she quickly explained, "Of course not! Benevolence is just one part; a gentleman must learn benevolence, righteousness, and propriety. Propriety is the rule and path to regulate benevolence. Without it, one cannot claim to have achieved benevolence."

Little Beggar was silent. She sheathed her sword and stood up to look at Xu Zhen, asking in a low voice, "Why did you save me?"

Her voice, perhaps entering a period of change, was indistinctly gendered, carrying a hint of authority.

Xu Zhen rested her chin in her hand, doodling with a bamboo stick on the ground.