“If Yang Ziqian hadn’t taken up his post in Qingzhou, we could have pushed this task to him,” Zhang Shen said. “Among us, he’s the most skilled in this area.”
The mountain breeze swept into the room, making Chen Tai’s long beard flutter. He smiled and said, “Brother Jinyan is more suited for official duties at court than I am.”
“Old codger, are you mocking me for passing the buck?” Zhang Shen didn’t get angry, instead adopting a carefree attitude. “If you think you can do it, go ahead. I’m all ears.”
Just as another argument was about to break out, Zhang Shen’s student assistant hurried in with his head bowed and said respectfully, “Sir, your student Xu Cixiu has arrived.”
Xu Cixiu? What’s he doing here? Has he finished copying the Sage’s sayings 300 times? Zhang Shen nodded, “Show him in.”
After the assistant left, Zhang Shen glanced at Chen Tai across the chessboard and said with a smile, “Speaking of which, I recently took on a new student, Xu Cixiu’s cousin. His poetic talent is astonishing.”
Li Mubai immediately added, “He’s my student too.”
Chen Tai looked at Zhang, then at Li, his mind stirring, “The poet who wrote ‘Don’t worry about having no confidant on the road ahead, for who in the world doesn’t know your name’?”
Li Mubai and Zhang Shen smiled proudly.
“Hahaha…” Chen Tai burst out laughing, pointing at his two friends.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at how fame and fortune have blinded you, oh, and jealousy too.” Chen Tai stopped laughing, half-admonishing and half-mocking:
“Yang Ziqian’s name will surely be passed down through history because of this poem, which is indeed enviable. But have you two considered that great verses are rare? Many scholars only produce a few good poems in their entire lives, and even fewer make it into the history books.
“Creating a line like ‘Don’t worry about having no confidant on the road ahead, for who in the world doesn’t know your name’ is already a stroke of genius, delightful to hear. Do you expect him to produce another one, no, two more, just so you two can also go down in history?
“If you focus too much on fame and fortune, how will you maintain the righteous qi in your hearts over time?”
After this rebuke, Li Mubai and Zhang Shen felt somewhat embarrassed.
They knew in their hearts that Chen Tai had a point. Verses that are passed down through the ages aren’t easily created. Moreover, the young man wasn’t even a scholar; it was already a great fortune that he had composed such a marvelous piece by chance.
Expecting a petty official to continually produce excellent poetry, allowing them to leave their names in history, was indeed somewhat delusional.
“Youping speaks the truth,” the two bowed and said solemnly. “For scholars, there are three ways to achieve immortality. Even if we wish to leave our names in history, we should walk the righteous path, not take shortcuts. We were misguided.”
“To know one’s faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue,” Chen Tai nodded slightly.
Moments later, the student assistant led Xu Qi An and Xu Xinnian into the gallery.
Both bowed simultaneously: “Students pay respects to the teachers.”
Li Mubai and Zhang Shen exchanged glances, both surprised and pleased by Xu Qi An’s arrival.
“Please, sit,” Zhang Shen said.
“Ning Yan, have you come to the academy to share some excellent verses for your teacher to appreciate?” Li Mubai probed.
Xu Qi An shook his head and said, “Student has come with a request.”
“Feel free to speak.”
Xu Qi An explained his purpose to the two teachers, concealing his intention to take revenge on the Minister of Revenue. He only mentioned that the mastermind behind the tax silver case was likely Minister Zhou, and if he survived the imperial inspection, he would surely seek revenge against the Xu family.
“This…” Li Mubai glanced at Zhang Shen, who also looked troubled, and said helplessly, “The academy forbids outsiders from staying overnight. It’s the rule.”
Scholars value rules the most.
Just as Xu Qi An was about to make his plea, Xu Xinnian spoke up: “Doesn’t the Princess Royal often stay at the academy?”
Zhang Shen shook his head: “The Princess Royal’s status is different.”
Xu Xinnian nodded: “So the academy forbids outsiders from staying overnight unless they’re royal relatives.”
Hey! This blunt fellow still doesn’t know how to speak properly.
The three great Confucians present were both amused and annoyed.
Xu Qi An almost laughed out loud; Er’lang’s sharp tongue was as incisive as ever.
Li Mubai shook his head, “Brother Jinyan, I’m quite looking forward to seeing your student enter the Life-Establishing Realm in the future.”
That would be terrifying… Zhang Shen’s mouth twitched.
Only Chen Tai was smiling as he scrutinized Xu Qi An. He then interjected, “You are Xu Ning Yan?”
“That’s me,” Xu Qi An, dressed in scholar’s robes and pretending to be a true scholar, bowed.
“I hear you have quite a talent for poetry. How about this: if you can compose a poem on the spot that satisfies all three of us, I’ll take responsibility and allow the Xu family’s women to stay temporarily at the academy, and ensure their safety.”
Permitting the Xu family women to stay at the academy wasn’t the main point; the key was his last statement about ensuring their safety.
This was the true purpose of the Xu brothers’ visit.
Xu Xinnian’s face lit up slightly, and he turned to look at his cousin: “Big Brother…”
He was both excited and nervous. Writing poetry wasn’t difficult; every scholar could compose structured poems. The challenge was to satisfy the three great Confucians.
Is this difficult?
It’s extremely difficult.
Write a poem? Are you forcing me to get something for free from you? Xu Qi An didn’t agree immediately, but instead asked carefully:
“Should I compose freely or on a fixed theme?”
The three great Confucians exchanged glances, and Zhang Shen said: “Encourage learning!”
As expected, free composition wasn’t an option. Otherwise, I could produce another timeless masterpiece in a minute… Xu Qi An sighed inwardly.
At the same time, he felt relieved because this topic wasn’t beyond his capabilities. His limited literary knowledge could handle it.
The phrase “encourage learning” first reminded Xu Qi An of the “Exhortation to Learning” he had read in high school, but since they wanted a poem, that ancient prose wouldn’t be suitable.
“In books lie golden mansions, in books lie beautiful maidens!”
This widely circulated motivational verse immediately came to Xu Qi An’s mind.
In the realm of encouraging learning, few could match its fame.
He was about to decide to use this poem to get a free pass from the three great Confucians when he suddenly remembered Yunlu Academy’s situation over the past two hundred years.
“If I’m not mistaken, this poem was written by a Song Dynasty emperor, right? It has a flavor of enticing with fame and fortune, but graduates of Yunlu Academy have always had difficult careers.
“When Cixiu passed the provincial exam, he lamented about not knowing which remote, poor area he’d be assigned to in the future…
“If I recite this poem, wouldn’t I be poking at Yunlu Academy’s sore spot? It would be counterproductive…”
Seeing him silent for so long, Xu Xinnian’s brow furrowed even more deeply. Among the three great Confucians, Zhang Shen and Li Mubai were expectant, while Chen Tai sipped his tea with a smile.
Xu Qi An snapped back to reality and cupped his hands, saying, “Student will humbly try. Cixiu, please grind the ink for me.”
Xu Xinnian found the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, arranged them on the desk, and personally ground the ink for his cousin. He held the brush in one hand, rolled up his sleeve with the other, dipped the brush tip in the ink, and turned to indicate that his cousin should take the brush.
My terrible handwriting would be embarrassing… No, I don’t even know calligraphy… Xu Qi An inwardly complained, but outwardly adopted the posture of a scholar about to compose an impassioned piece, and said:
“Cixiu, please write for me.”
Xu Xinnian nodded and sat properly at the desk.
“At the third watch, by lamplight; at the fifth watch, as the rooster crows.”
“This is the time for a man to study.”
“In youth, one knows not the importance of diligent study.”
“In old age, one regrets studying too late!”
Xu Xinnian finished writing, put down the brush, and stared at the elegant seven-character lines on the paper, his eyes shining brightly, his expression slightly excited.
The room fell briefly silent. Xu Xinnian savored the lingering charm of the poem, while the three great Confucians hurried to the desk, silently staring at the paper.
Wordlessly staring.
Chen Tai, with his long beard reaching his chest and dressed in a black robe, had a flickering gaze…