Chapter 17

Ah Fei — from now on, let's call him Shi Xun — after paying a formal bow to the memorial tablets of his "parents," suddenly burst into tears. At that moment, he was no longer himself; he was possessed by the spirit of Biaozi from the Beijing Film Studio!

He mixed his nostalgia for his previous life with the pain he had experienced in this world, adding a pinch of hypocrisy, a dash of fear about his uncertain future, and a touch of sorrow for the already determined course of history — the Five Barbarians' Invasion, the An Shi Rebellion, the Jingkang Disgrace, the Battle of Yashan, the Manchu invasion of Beijing, the Opium War, the Japanese invasion of China... How tragic, how lamentable, how hateful, how infuriating! "Ahhhh... waaaahhh..." "Waaaaaahhh..."

Of course, no matter how much he cried, it had to come to an end. For a good performance, the end usually reaches the peak of emotion. So, Shi Xun used his old trick again, and with another "Ahhhh," he fainted.

If it were just a second faint, it wouldn't be enough to win an Oscar. So, in addition to fainting, Shi Xun had another ace up his sleeve: when he "woke up," he suddenly lost his ability to speak. With a "gag," he went hoarse and could no longer utter a single word!

The Shi family was greatly alarmed and quickly sought medical help. However, Shi Xun was not afraid this time. As the three doctors all said in unison, "Your brother's pulse is steady. This is not a physical illness but a mental one. Can a mental illness be cured by medicine? Please forgive my inability to help."

Shi Zhe was anxious: "Does this mean my brother will be mute for the rest of his life?" The doctors could only comfort him with self-deception: "When your brother's mood stabilizes, he might recover without medicine... or perhaps we should invite a priest to take a look?"

Shi Xun thought to himself, "Don't even talk about a priest. Even if you bring in the Celestial Master Zhang, he won't be able to cure my muteness. Hehe, don't worry, when the time is right, I'll naturally get better."

Although he knew everything about the Shi family, from the father and son to the minutiae of the household, it was all based on gossip and observations from the perspective of a servant. Impersonating the young master of a landlord was something he had never practiced. The first scene was boarding the boat at Nanpu, and the main people he interacted with afterward, including the boat owner Qian, Taishi Ci, and the governor of Donglai, Cai Feng, were either of a different class or not familiar with the Shi family, so it was hard to spot any flaws. But now he was in the heart of the Shi family's stronghold, and every gesture and word could potentially reveal a flaw.

He couldn't pretend to be paralyzed, so he decided to pretend to be mute and stopped speaking to the Shi family. His mouth was at rest, but his ears and eyes were not. He quickly got to know everything about the Shi family again—gossip doesn't require a mouth. He also took the opportunity to carefully observe and learn the speech and behavior of the Shi brothers, hoping that when the time was right, he could speak without arousing any suspicion.

So, Shi Xun forced himself to lie in bed for three days, during which he met three doctors and two priests, all of whom were helpless with his so-called muteness. After three days, he couldn't stay in bed any longer, fearing that his limbs would atrophy and degenerate. He got up and, under the guidance of the old servant assigned to him by Shi Yi, first paid respects to the Shi brothers and then toured the entire Shi residence, except for the second miss's bedroom.

The Shi residence was indeed large, estimated to be over 3,000 square meters. It was divided into two areas: the eastern area was mainly the living quarters for servants, including the well, kitchen, garage, warehouse, and workshop; the western area was the living quarters for the family, with a front courtyard for the living room and guest rooms, and a back courtyard with several semi-independent living quarters and two small buildings, ending with a small courtyard.

This courtyard was sometimes used to store miscellaneous items and was usually empty, providing a space for the family to walk and practice martial arts. At that time, as a scholar, one was theoretically required to be both literate and martial, fundamentally different from the later scholars who were weak and helpless. Of course, this "martial" did not mean being able to leap seven feet high or punch through eight horses, but rather being able to drive a chariot and shoot arrows—both of which were part of the six arts of a gentleman.

So, when Shi Xun toured the courtyard, he found it almost empty—Lelang's courtyard was much larger and filled with various weapons and stone balls—only two straw targets stood on one side. He decided to exercise his body and returned to his room to fetch the bow and arrows given to him by Taishi Ci. After staying at Taishi's house for three days, he had learned a few tricks from Taishi Ziyi, who was proficient in all eighteen martial arts, especially archery. He wanted to see if his archery skills had improved.

In the courtyard, he stood thirty-five paces from the target, raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and with a strong effort, his left hand held the bow like a mountain, his right arm like cradling a baby, the bow was drawn to a full moon, and the arrow flew like a meteor. But with a "thud," the arrow landed more than a foot away from the target...

Just as he was about to release the string, he caught a glimpse of a figure outside the courtyard, and his hands instinctively trembled. Indeed, someone then asked, "Has Hongfu ever studied archery?" It was Shi Zhe.

Shi Xun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This elder brother was easier to deal with than the fourth brother. He bowed and continued practicing, deliberately lowering his level. In twenty shots, he hit the target seven times, but the best shot only grazed the edge of the palm-sized red center.

While practicing, Shi Xun also asked Shi Zhe to lend him books to read. To blend in with the scholars for a long time, he had to read some books. Now that he couldn't speak, he had to write, but fortunately, he had learned calligraphy in his previous life, even though he hadn't practiced much in clerical script, he knew the basic structure and transitions. His writing wasn't particularly excellent, but it was at least neat and straight—most scholars of that era were at this level. When he was at the Lelang family, he had claimed to know a few characters and had shamelessly asked Shi Xun to teach him writing. Although Shi Xun had taught him fewer than twenty characters in three years, and the most complex had only five strokes, at least he hadn't completely forgotten the basics.

One day, he wrote a message on a bamboo slip to borrow a book from Shi Zhe. Shi Zhe asked, "Who was your teacher in Lelang, and what classics did you study?" If he had spoken, he would have said, "In a remote and desolate place, how could there be a teacher? I have read very little and dare not claim to have studied." But since he was writing, he could be more concise, so he wrote only four characters: "No teacher, no study."

Shi Zhe didn't have many books—probably fewer than a street library in the 21st century. There were only a few classics like the *Analects*, *Book of Documents*, *Book of Rites*, *Book of Songs*, and *Spring and Autumn Annals*. There were no *Records of the Grand Historian*, *Book of Han*, or *Sun Tzu's Art of War*, and even the *Gongyang Commentary*, *Zuo Commentary*, and *I Ching* were missing. The Lelang family had these three books, supposedly provided by an elderly scholar who claimed to be a disciple of Zheng Kangcheng and had received the correct interpretations of these books, though it was unclear if this was true.

Although there were few books, they required thorough study, not just a quick read. First, one had to memorize them, then digest them, otherwise, it would be impossible to engage in scholarly conversations. Fortunately, Shi Xun's soul was a product of exam education, and his body seemed to have a good memory. With no entertainment to distract him, he had plenty of time to read.

Shi Yi returned home every five days for a rest. When he heard that Shi Xun was mute, he sighed, but when he learned that Shi Xun was reading books, he was delighted and encouraged him, instructing Shi Zhe to teach his brother without holding back.

Over the past few days, Shi Xun had also noticed that Shi Zhe was half a bookworm, physically inactive, and ignorant of practical matters. Although he was in charge when their father was away, he delegated most tasks to the fourth brother, Shi Yu. Shi Yu was a young man with some social experience and practical skills, and without him, the Shi family would likely be in chaos. However, Kong Beihai only praised Shi Zhe and the third brother, who was studying abroad, for their broad-mindedness, and didn't think much of Shi Yu.

On his second rest day, Shi Yi also brought his youngest son, Shi Jun. According to Shi Xun's observations, this child was a typical spoiled brat, lazy and dissolute, and that was probably why his father had to keep him close and strictly discipline him.

One day before the New Year, Shi Xun went to Shi Zhe again to ask about some questions in the books. The first book he borrowed was the *Analects*, but the more he read, the more confused he became. Many passages seemed unfamiliar, different from what he had read in his previous life. He didn't know if the later versions were corrupted or if there was something wrong with the Shi family's version. At that time, there was no printing, and books were copied by hand, often with errors and omissions, and some self-important scholars even made unauthorized changes. As he read, he found some passages incomprehensible.

There were also small notes on the edges of the bamboo slips, probably the insights of someone in the Shi family, or Shi Zhe himself, but most of them were incomprehensible. Shi Xun had no choice but to seek Shi Zhe's help in person.

There was no need for formalities between brothers, and Shi Xun knew that Shi Zhe's wife had her own bedroom and rarely came to his study. The door was open, so he knocked three times on the door frame and stepped in.

As soon as he entered, he saw a graceful figure hurriedly dart behind a screen. He was stunned, unsure whether he should quickly leave. Then he heard Shi Zhe say, "No need to hide, this is your seventh brother, you can come and pay respects."

Hearing this, it must have been Shi Yi's second daughter. Shi Xun quickly bowed deeply toward the screen. When he looked up, the woman had already stepped out from behind the screen, her head slightly lowered, and she also bowed. Shi Xun caught a glimpse—oh, what a beauty!