Ru Bei from Lu state was once an admirer of Confucius. Now he wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius said he was ill and refused him. However, when the messenger went out to deliver what Confucius said to Ru Bei, Confucius began to play the se (a twenty-five-stringed plucked traditional Chinese musical instrument). He deliberately made Ru Bei hear it, in an attempt to show that he was not really ill, but just didn't want to see him.