Chapter 20

Zhen the innkeeper walked back to the Jixiang Restaurant, and it was just lunchtime. On a normal day, the restaurant would be bustling with customers, lively and noisy, but now the vast hall had only two tables occupied, and not a single scholar, let alone those wearing the robes of a child student or a scholar.

This had only been one day.

At this moment, a waiter rushed over, anxiously saying, "Boss, it’s not good. Master Su has already spoken, forbidding the Su family from dining at our restaurant and prohibiting any business dealings with the Su family. The other two prominent families are following suit. You need to think of a way. I heard from a friend at the county office that County Magistrate Cai also said that the county office will no longer choose our Jixiang Restaurant for hosting guests. If that happens, those clerks, officials, and their relatives won’t come either."

Zhen the innkeeper looked blankly at the empty hall, stood there for a long time, and then sat on the threshold, wailing.

"I shouldn’t have looked down on people with my dog eyes…"

Unlike the usual lunch, the Fang family’s lunch today had meat and vegetables. Yang Yuhuan no longer hesitated to eat but ate whatever she wanted with Fang Yun.

While eating, Yang Yuhuan talked about some trivial matters, such as more people coming to give gifts and several wealthy families sending invitations for Fang Yun to attend evening banquets.

After the meal, Fang Yun wrote some brief letters in response to those who invited him, first expressing his gratitude, and then saying he would go to County Magistrate Cai’s house to study the classics, hoping for their understanding.

After a brief nap to rest and regain his energy, Fang Yun ground ink and laid out paper.

"The path of the Confucian sage is long and arduous, and one must take steady steps forward. Even with the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth, I need to work hard, or rather, to not辜负 the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth, I should work even harder!"

"First, I need to practice calligraphy. As a literatus, calligraphy is very important. On the Holy Yuan Continent, good handwriting is more important than a good face."

"Second, I need to memorize and understand the classics of the sages. The Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth can help me understand all things, but it cannot make me omnipotent. What is learned from books is always shallow; the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth is my stepping stone, not the key to opening the path of the sage! The key to the path of the sage is only myself! If everything relies on the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth, I will never be able to walk my own path of the sage, and I will never be able to become a sage!"

"Third, I need to read the 'Literary Gazette,' which is published every ten days, reporting on the political, cultural, economic, and technological information of the entire Holy Yuan Continent over the past week. It is the best way for me to understand this world. The monthly 'Path of the Sage' is also essential, as the poetry and prose in it are the essence of the ten countries, representing the development trends and fundamental ideas of the entire world. I also need to read all the past issues of the 'Literary Gazette' and the 'Path of the Sage.'"

Fang Yun took a deep breath, and with a thought, several calligraphy models appeared. Fang Yun ultimately chose "Liu style," the regular script style of the great Tang Dynasty calligrapher Liu Gongquan, which had not yet appeared on the Holy Yuan Continent.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan were the two great calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty, whose achievements in regular script were not inferior to those of the Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, but their running script was far inferior to Wang Xizhi.

Yan style was too square and rigid, not suitable for Fang Yun to learn at this time, while Liu style was balanced and graceful, elegant and lively, with a strict structure, more in line with Fang Yun’s personality and age.

In the imperial examinations, regular script was more important than running script, but in calligraphy, the two were on par. In the military, cursive script was more prevalent.

Fang Yun first closed his eyes and silently memorized a famous work by Liu Gongquan, the "Shence Army Stele," deeply imprinting it in his mind. Then he picked up the brush and began to copy it.

"Emperor’s inspection of the Left Shence Army…"

Fang Yun wrote stroke by stroke, one sheet, two sheets, three sheets…

He wrote ten sheets of paper with no improvement, but he did not become discouraged and continued writing.

After writing the twentieth sheet, Fang Yun stopped to examine it carefully, a smile appearing on his face. The characters had made a small improvement.

"Truly, in the world of talent, now that I have talent, not only has my body become stronger and I can 'see clearly at night,' but my mind is also more agile, and I can learn things faster than before."

With renewed confidence, Fang Yun wrote more smoothly.

After practicing calligraphy for an hour, Fang Yun took a fifteen-minute walk in the courtyard, then returned to his room to continue practicing.

After finishing his calligraphy practice, Fang Yun burned all the practice sheets. The "Shence Army Stele" recorded events such as the submission of various countries to the Tang Dynasty, and it should not be seen by others.

Fang Yun rested for a moment, then took out a slightly worn copy of the "I Ching" from the bookshelf and began to read.

The original text had no punctuation and was poorly segmented, but Fang Yun had made some marks with a brush, similar to periods, known as "sentence reading."

Fang Yun began to recite the "I Ching," and after reciting the first chapter, "Qian," he was surprised to find that he had completely memorized it, which was not clear in his previous memory.

"This is photographic memory. Scholars, due to multiple infusions of talent, have extraordinary bodies and minds, so they can have photographic memory. I am just a child student, yet I can also have photographic memory. Could this be a power bestowed by the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth?"

Fang Yun was delighted and began to recite the chapter "Qian" again from the beginning.

"Reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will become clear."

By the third recitation, Fang Yun found his mind becoming clearer, and the characters before him seemed to come alive, with perceptible but indescribable information appearing in his mind, aiding his understanding of the "I Ching."

Fang Yun immediately guessed that this was another function of the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth, helping to digest knowledge, transforming the content of the Wondrous Book of Heaven and Earth and the book into his own, turning the dead into the living.

Fang Yun continued to recite, and the most essential meanings hidden in the characters passed through his mind, gradually being understood and absorbed.

After reading ten times, Fang Yun felt a slight sense of fullness, as if he had just eaten a meal.

"No wonder Confucius said he did not taste meat for three months. It must be because he 'ate' the most fundamental things of this world, so he naturally did not care about the taste of meat."

Fang Yun did not recite the next chapter of the "I Ching" but instead wrote down what he had just recited.

After writing the first chapter, "Qian," the feeling of fullness in Fang Yun’s abdomen disappeared, and the characters he wrote this time were much better, each one tending toward perfection, each one seemingly containing true meaning.

Fang Yun picked up the page and found that the paper was ten times heavier than the previous practice sheets, and the ink did not spread and took a long time to dry.

Fang Yun touched the ink, and it felt as smooth and round as glass.

The ink did not stick to the skin.

"Non-stick ink is a sign of integrating talent into writing. Even a scholar needs to practice for three to five months to achieve this. The next step is 'resonance of characters,' and then one can mobilize the elemental energy of heaven and earth, fully mastering 'talking on paper.' If I can achieve non-stick ink as a child student, I might be able to 'talk on paper' as soon as I become a scholar. The paper becoming heavier is not surprising; it is said that the characters of sages are as heavy as mountains, which is even more terrifying."

Fang Yun did not expect to progress so quickly, feeling happy and motivated, he continued to study and practice, reciting ten times and then writing with ink.

As he wrote and studied the "I Ching," the talent in his Literary Palace gradually increased, and the entire Literary Palace became more solid.

Unconsciously, the sun set, and the room became dim, but Fang Yun seemed unaware, continuing to recite and write.

At night, his eyes were brighter than usual. As a child student, he had the ability to "see clearly at night," so even in pitch darkness, everything was as clear as in daylight.

Fang Yun finished another sheet of writing and was reciting when Yang Yuhuan’s voice came from outside.

"Xiao Yun, it’s time to eat."

"Okay, I’ll be right out."

Fang Yun ate as usual, but Yang Yuhuan was slightly different. She used to chat with Fang Yun but said very little, but in the past two days, she talked about everything in detail, from finding a maid to neighborhood affairs. Each time someone praised Fang Yun, she was overjoyed, her face glowing, making her even more beautiful.

Fang Yun listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a few words. He felt warm, and Yang Yuhuan had become more dependent on him.

After the meal, Fang Yun took some paper and left, buying fruit and heading to the county office, where County Magistrate Cai lived in the back courtyard.

In the back courtyard of the county office, Fang Yun met Lady Cai, who was very polite. After some small talk, County Magistrate Cai took him to the study and taught him how to write the classics.

"The structure of the classics is complex, including the introduction, connection, small discussion, conclusion, original topic, large discussion, remaining meaning, original classics, and conclusion. You don’t have to stick to this structure, but you must understand all the parts."

Fang Yun already had some understanding of the classics, as even a child student must read the classics to gain knowledge and lay a foundation for the future.

Fang Yun listened while writing quickly, noting down all the important points.

County Magistrate Cai nodded.

"The introduction is the most important part of the classics. The introduction is about breaking down the topic, explaining the words of the sages in your own words. If the introduction is wrong, everything that follows will be wrong. If an examiner finds the introduction incorrect, they will immediately discard the paper as a failure."

After that, County Magistrate Cai gave several examples of how to set questions and analyzed the traps in the questions, explaining them clearly and thoroughly.

Generally, teachers for child students are only scholars, and even the best scholars cannot match a scholar, especially since these scholars continue to study the classics and pay attention to the annual exam questions, as the classics are most helpful in understanding the ways of the sages.

County Magistrate Cai spent an hour and a half explaining the structure of the classics, making it very clear. Although Fang Yun had written everything down, he lacked experience and did not understand many parts.

After finishing, Fang Yun was about to take his leave, but County Magistrate Cai suddenly asked, "What types of questions did I just explain? Answer them all without looking at your notes."

Fang Yun remained calm and answered, "You first explained the 'comprehensive chapter question,' which uses the content of a chapter as the exam question. Next is the 'partial question,' which takes only the first four characters of a sentence. The third is the highly debated 'partial connection question'…"

Fang Yun answered all the question types without error, adding his own understanding.

County Magistrate Cai was taken aback, then his face lit up, and he said, "Well done! No wonder you are a double-methane sage. You will surely have a place in the imperial court! Even if you have a place in the 'Sage Tower,' I won’t be surprised! I’m afraid I can’t explain too much for you to fully understand, otherwise, I would teach until dawn!"

"Thank you, Master Cai." Fang Yun bowed deeply in gratitude.

"You gave me a top evaluation and a poem when you left the county. Teaching you some classics is nothing."

As they talked, they walked out together.

After seeing Fang Yun off, County Magistrate Cai stood in the courtyard, gazing at the moon and sighing, "This child is perfect in every way, except that he is not my son!"

Back home, Fang Yun continued to read the classics and practice calligraphy, repeatedly recalling what he had learned at County Magistrate Cai’s house before going to bed.

That night, Fang Yun first encountered the classics.

That night, a pawnshop of the Liu family in Dàyuan Prefecture was burned, with losses exceeding 30,000 taels of silver.

That night, Fang Shouye visited the Liu family’s mansion, slapped Liu Zicheng, forcing him to bow and apologize, and left a stern warning that if Fang Yun was killed, the next day would be Liu Zicheng’s memorial day!

That night, Liu Zicheng used the literary academy’s pigeon post to contact his brother Liu Zhi in the capital and received his reply.

That night, Liu Zicheng, with all his savings, visited the Prefecture Literary Academy’s Director Wei, presented Liu Zhi’s letter, and bribed this fifth-rank official of the Liu Shan lineage.

That night, Liu Zicheng, looking in the direction of Jixian County, made a vow.

"I won’t kill you, but I will tarnish your literary reputation, cut off your literary path, and ruin your future! Not only will you not be able to enter this Prefecture Literary Academy, but on the day you try to enter, I will humiliate you in front of everyone, making you kneel before me and beg like a dog, to wash away the humiliation Fang Shouye, that old dog, inflicted on me!"