Zeng Shen tilled on the field in rags. The Duke of Lu sent an emissary to offer Zeng a fief of a town and told him to buy a decent piece of clothing with the revenue from it. Zeng did not accept, so the emissary returned. Later, the emissary came again, but Zeng still refused to accept the gift. The emissary wondered, "Mr. Zeng, you are not asking for the fief; this is the gift that the Duke gives to you. Why don't you accept it?" Zeng said, "I have heard that once a person accepts gifts from others, he would be cautious not to offend them; even the Duke is not supercilious toward me for giving me a fief, but how could I not fear of him ever since?" Eventually, Zeng rejected the gift. Upon being informed of the story, Confucious commented, "The remarks of Shen have maintained his integrity."